SOL LEARNING ACADEMY
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SOL LEARNING ACADEMY consist of well trained and educated trainers who work hard 24/7 to give the desired results. At SOL there is a complete research team for the prepration of IELTS exam ehich judge the candidate and prepares him according to his level and in this way candidates improve their band scores.
following are the 8 ways to pass IELTS
1. IELTS is a test of English – find a teacher of English
The best way to prepare for IELTS is to learn good general English. This should be obvious, but often candidates forget to do this. They prepare for an exam and they learn strategies and tips believing that that is the best way to pass. It is not. Tips and strategies only work if your English is good enough.I like people who learn for themselves. In many ways that is the best way to learn. At some stage, however, you need someone to help you with the language. That person does not have to be a native speaker. That person does not even have to be a qualified teacher.
2. Learn from your mistakes
This is a basic of language learning. You are going to make mistakes, that isn’t the problem though. The problem is if you keep making mistakes. What you need to do is to correct them – frequently this does not happen as people practise quantity not quality. How can you correct your mistakes?- find a teacher to tell you where you are going wrong with your language. Make a checklist of your mistakes.
- with your skills, if you do an exercise badly, do it again. This works in speaking, writing, reading and listening. Do the test. Correct it. Look at the answers. See what the correct answer is. Do the test again. It doesn’t matter that it is not exam conditions. You will be learning.
3. The only exam tip you need is to answer the question
The longer I teach IELTS (10 years and counting) the simpler it seems to me. You will find websites and books full of tips and tricks. You will find some tips here too. In truth, in the exam the only tip you need is to read/listen to the question and answer it. You would be surprised how many problems that solves. You should note that this is the exam tip. What you do before the exam may be quite different. See below.4. Realise that everyone is different – beware of big promises
You will know people who improved their score in one month. They were band 6, then by magic they got band 7. I know this is true because it has happened to some of my students. The danger is that you believe that you too only need a few weeks. You may be lucky, but probably not. Let me explain a littleWhat has not happened is that their English has improved by a band. Their English was always band 7. What has happened is that they have learnt to read and answer IELTS questions. As I say, IELTS is a simple exam. It only takes a few weeks (or sometimes days) to learn what to do in it.
The problem is that for many/most people the problem is with their English, not the exam. English can take months to put right. A difficulty is that you will find websites and teachers who promise success by just following a few simple tips. Sorry, no. It’s a test of English. Here again, this is where you need a teacher. If the first one says 2 weeks, get a second opinion.
4. Learn skills, don’t practise questions – less can be more
Language is a skill. Skills need practice, but they also need to be practised in the right way and that means quality, not quantity. The problem here is that too many people believe that practise, practise, practise is good advice. It isn’t if all you are doing is repeating exam questions. That way your skills and language are going to improve slowly.It is in fact much quicker to learn slowly. Just as the tortoise beat the hare, so will the candidate who learns to write paragraphs beat the candidate who only ever writes essays.
5. Preparing for the exam is not the same as taking the exam
What you do before the exam and in the exam are two different things. In the exam, there should only be one thing in your head: read/listen to the question and answer it. If you are thinking of more than that, then you are not concentrating on your English. All the other skills should be almost automatic: you don’t waste time thinking about them, you just do them.It takes time, however, before you reach this point. How long depends on you. What you need to do before the exam is practise those skills carefully. As you are doing this, you will find that you work more slowly because the skills maybe new. Don’t worry. All that means is that you are not quite ready yet. You are still learning and learning is a positive process.
6. Learn English, don’t memorise it
You are in a hurry. You need to pass the exam as soon as possible. What do you do? You go and find some sample essays and learn them or you look for sample speaking questions and learn what you are going to say. This tends to be a HUGE error. If you do this, it’s probably too late and you won’t believe me, but let me try and explain.- Examiners will know you are not using your own language. Trust me on that one. They hate this more than anything else. It can be regarded as a form of cheating. Bad news. You want the examiner to like you.
- Perhaps, you have learned an answer to a similar question, not that exact question. Disaster. You won’t answer the question. There is no bigger crime in IELTS. You could lose several band scores for this.
- You may feel more nervous, not less. In the exam, you are under pressure. Typically, you have to work harder to remember something written by someone else than to say it simply for yourself. You end up making more mistakes, not fewer.
7. Learn some general English
Yes, there are special IELTS topics. Yes, you can sort of predict the right language to learn. No, in my experience, the best thing is not to concentrate solely on that English. This is very personal, but the IELTS candidates who succeed most quickly are those who take an interest in learning English. Why? They are interested and interested people tend to be people who learn.In contrast, candidates who only do IELTS work, often get stuck. Either they get bored (IELTS is boring) or they don’t understand why they need to learn English. This is personal, but typically bored people and people who don’t see the need to improve their English, don’t improve their English.
8. Learn the exam format
Reading
Timing
60 minutes (no extra transfer time).
Questions
There are 40 questions. A variety of question types are
used, chosen from the following: multiple choice, identifying
information (True/False/Not Given), identifying a writer’s
views/claims (Yes/No/Not Given), matching information,
matching headings, matching features, matching sentence
endings, sentence completion, summary completion,
note completion, table completion, flow-chart completion,
diagram label completion, short-answer questions.
Test Parts
There are 3 sections. The total text length is 2,150-2,750 words.
Academic Reading
Each section contains one long text. Texts are authentic and
are taken from books, journals, magazines and newspapers.
They have been written for a non-specialist audience and are
on academic topics of general interest. Texts are appropriate
to, and accessible to, test takers entering undergraduate or
postgraduate courses or seeking professional registration.
Texts range from the descriptive and factual to the discursive
and analytical. Texts may contain non-verbal materials such
as diagrams, graphs or illustrations. If texts contain technical
terms, then a simple glossary is provided.
General Training Reading
Section 1 contains two or three short factual texts, one of which
may be composite (consisting of 6-8 short texts related by topic,
e.g. hotel advertisements). Topics are relevant to everyday life
in an English-speaking country.
Section 2 contains two short factual texts focusing on work-
related issues (e.g. applying for jobs, company policies, pay and
conditions, workplace facilities, staff development and training).
Section 3 contains one longer, more complex text on a topic
of general interest.
Texts are authentic and are taken from notices, advertisements,
company handbooks, official documents, books, magazines
and newspapers.
Skills assessed
A wide range of reading skills are assessed, including:
•
reading for gist
•
reading for main ideas
•
reading for detail
•
understanding inferences and implied meaning
•
recognising writer’s opinions, attitudes and purpose
•
following the development of an argument.
Marking
Each correct answer receives 1 mark. Scores out
of 40 are converted to the IELTS 9-band scale.
Scores are reported in whole and half bands.
Writing
Timing
60 minutes
Tasks
There are 2 tasks. You are required to write at least
150 words for Task 1 and at least 250 words for Task 2.
Test Parts
There are 2 parts.
Academic Writing
In Task 1, you are presented with a graph, table, chart or
diagram and are asked to describe, summarise or explain
the information in your own words. You may be asked to
describe and explain data, describe the stages of a process,
how something works or describe an object or event.
In Task 2, you are asked to write an essay in response
to a point of view, argument or problem.
The issues raised are of general interest to, suitable for
and easily understood by test takers entering undergraduate
or postgraduate studies or seeking professional registration.
Responses to Task 1 and Task 2 should be written
in an academic, semi-formal/neutral style.
General Training Writing
In Task 1, you are presented with a situation and are asked to
write a letter requesting information or explaining the situation.
The letter may be personal or semi-formal/neutral in style.
In Task 2, you are asked to write an essay in response to a
point of view, argument or problem. The essay can be slightly
more personal in style than the Academic Writing Task 2 essay.
Topics are of general interest.
Skills assessed
In both tasks, you are assessed on your ability to
write a response which is appropriate in terms of:
•
content
•
the organisation of ideas
•
the accuracy and range of vocabulary and grammar.
Academic Writing
In Task 1, depending on the task type, you are assessed on your
ability to organise, present and possibly compare data; to desc
ribe
the stages of a process or procedure; to describe an object or
event
or sequence of events; to explain how something works.
In Task 2, depending on the task type, you are assessed on
your ability to present a solution to a problem; to present and
justify an opinion; to compare and contrast evidence, opinions
and implications; to evaluate and challenge ideas, evidence
or an argument.
General Training Writing
In Task 1, depending on the task type, you are assessed on your
ability to engage in personal correspondence in order to: elicit
and provide general factual information; express needs, wants,
likes and dislikes; express opinions (views, complaints etc.).
In Task 2, you are assessed on your ability to provide general
factual information; to outline a problem and present a solution;
to present and possibly justify an opinion; to evaluate and
challenge ideas, evidence or an argument.
Marking
You are assessed on your performance on each task
by certificated IELTS examiners according to the IELTS
Writing test assessment criteria (Task Achievement/Response,
Coherence and Cohesion, Lexical Resource, Grammatical
Range and Accuracy). The public version of the assessment
criteria can be found at
www.ielts.org/criteria
.
Task 2 contributes twice as much as Task 1 to the Writing score.
Scores are reported in whole and half bands.
Speaking
Timing
11-14 minutes
Test Parts
There are 3 parts.
Part 1 Introduction and interview (4-5 minutes)
The examiner introduces him/herself and asks you to introduce
yourself and confirm your identity. The examiner asks you
general questions on familiar topics, e.g. home, family, work,
studies and interests.
Part 2 Individual long turn (3-4 minutes)
The examiner gives you a task card which asks you to talk about
a particular topic and which includes points you can cover in your
talk. You are given 1 minute to prepare your talk, and are given
a pencil and paper to make notes. You talk for 1-2 minutes on
the topic. The examiner may then ask you one or two questions
on
the same topic.
Part 3 Two-way discussion (4-5 minutes)
The examiner asks further questions which are connected
to the topic of Part 2. These questions give you an opportunity
to discuss more abstract issues and ideas.
Skills assessed
A wide range of speaking skills are assessed, including:
•
the ability to communicate opinions and information
on everyday topics and common experiences and
situations by answering a range of questions
•
the ability to speak at length on a given topic using
appropriate language and organising ideas coherently
•
the ability to express and justify opinions and to analyse,
discuss and speculate about issues.
Marking
You are assessed on your performance throughout the
test by certificated IELTS examiners according to the IELTS
Speaking test assessment criteria (Fluency and Coherence,
Lexical Resource, Grammatical Range and Accuracy,
Pronunciation).
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