If you have more than a month for your exam, I would suggest start reading Malgudi Days, or even Chetan Bhagat, or Amish Tripathi, or if you have already read a few novels then choose any famous autobiographies for yourself. If you are starting today, don’t read the whole schedule mentioned below. Just go through the first week and start it. After seven days, read further.
You already have some idea where you are lacking and what you believe is easy for you. But we will discover it more clearly in the first week.
Build a foundation in the first week
I will suggest taking listening and reading mock tests on alternate days. Write down your score. After each mock test, go through the solutions/answer key in detail. Go slow to go fast. Understand in detail why you answered Option A and why the correct answer was Option B. If you find any word or phrase which you are not clear about, google it and understand. Believe me, going through each of your mock tests slowly will make your learning and growth faster.
Just go through E2 IELTS videos for academic writing and vocabulary of adjectives for explaining data on the second day. Start writing data explanation answers and topic essays every two days. It’s best if you have a senior or a coach to check your written parts. Otherwise, use free online resources to cross-check. However, never use these tools to write or assist while writing just to check.
Read three examples for all parts of speaking from makkarIELTS everyday. Understand them in detail. First set: just read and understand fully, and if you have doubt, google it or ask someone. Second set: read the question and answer by yourself, record yourself. It is compulsory to record yourself if you want to significantly improve your score. Then read the answer. Now observe the filler words in your recording. Always remember pause is always better than filler words like uh, um, etc. After reading the answer, try to observe the structural difference between your answer and the one you read (speaking answers always read aloud).
Now, repeat the process for the third set, you will observe the difference in your answer.
You can store your recordings on a WhatsApp chat to refer back later.
After three days, observe yourself on the following parameters:
A) What are you good at?
B) What are you running away from or just finishing off?
C) Where do you need help from someone else?
D) Are you comfortable typing in your writing section, or are pen and paper your friends? Do you believe in underlining and flipping pages to refer to reading comprehension?
Now, once you have asked these questions to yourself, refer below to find answers to them:
A) Pat yourself.
B) Either be afraid that each section (writing, reading,..) has minimum criteria for admission in many colleges. Or eat that frog first and more diligently.
C) Find a friend preparing for GRE, or who has scored well in IELTS or any IELTS coach.
D) This will help you choose the exam option: computer based or pen paper. Computer based results arrive early and you can observe reading comprehension and questions in the same window (no flipping required). You can also copy a word from comprehension to answer.
Detailed review in the second week
Again for the first three days, go through all sections in detail. Go slow to grow fast. In the speaking section, it’s better to have someone helping you as an interviewer.
Keep the third week for self-assessment
The questions you need to ask are:
A) Do I remember enough adjectives and words to describe data? How is my typing or writing speed?
B) Have my filler words shifted to pauses and am I more comfortable speaking?
C) Am I reading the questions first, and then reading the comprehension, or am I following the wrong way?
This time focus on the two weaker sections in detail for the remaining days.
Third week, if you have reached the bare minimum, like a score of 6 in each section, then you can focus just on the sections which you are best at. I focused on listening and reading, which are also easy to score.
Final preparation in the fourth week
This is the week to believe in yourself. If you have followed ‘go slow to grow fast’, now you have your own system to practice all sections in three days. Do that. Ask yourself these three questions:
A) Am I a person who prepares till the last minute?
B) How do I feel about my preparation?
C) Have I properly planned everything for my exam day?
Last few days, just go through your best speaking recordings, essays. Give only one mock test each per day if you are confident and not a person who prepares till the last minute.
IELTS is an expensive exam. But if you practiced each section at least once each week, then give the first attempt. You will score well, or you will learn a lot.
Countries where IELTS is not required
The top countries that allow Indian students to study abroad without taking the IELTS include France, Sweden, Japan, Ireland, China, Italy, Spain, and Portugal. Therefore, it is preferable to state that if you choose to study abroad, these nations do not require the IELTS.
Akash Surve is an Indian student pursuing a Master’s in Micro and Nano Systems at TU Chemnitz, Germany.
As told to Simple Vishwakarma
