IELTS Articles | IELTS Learning Tips

I am a slow reader so how can I manage the IELTS Reading Test

I’m not sure that reading speed is the biggest factor in IELTS Reading. I am quite a slow reader myself as I like to savour the words and the text and think carefully about what I am reading, but I can do the reading test quite quickly and accurately using techniques which don’t really need […]

Can I go up 1 IELTS band in just 1 month?

This is a million dollar question if ever there was one. The simple answer is that it all depends. It depends on where you are now, it depends on how much time you have to study and it depends on the actual bands you are looking at achieving. In the past this wasn’t even possible. You could […]

MCQ in Listening – Keep it Simple

When it comes to IELTS Listening, the one question I keep getting asked over and over is how to manage the MCQ questions. I have noticed that these are occurring more and more in Section 4 and they can be quite tricky when they are in the later sections of the listening test. My approach to […]

Fix Your IELTS Writing – Stop putting the cart before the horse

This is a well-known saying in English and it means that we get things the wrong way round, our priorities are not right. It happens a lot, I feel, when you tackle the writing part of the IELTS test. There are a few reasons for this but all of them maintain this practice of having […]

Your Top 10 IELTS Speaking Questions

1. I don’t have anybody to practise speaking with, how can I improve my speaking?This is a conundrum for many people, especially if you love in a remote area. Clearly to improve speaking you have to speak! However, all is not lost because there are some things you can do to practise. Firstly are you absolutely […]

Your Top 10 IELTS Listening Questions

In my experience the Listening part of the IELTS exam improves faster than the other parts for most students if they practise regularly. For a few students there may be some fundamental problems that cause some issues and these can be diagnosed and rectified by asking an IELTS teacher. There are nevertheless, some aspects of […]

Your Top 10 IELTS Writing Questions Answered

In my experience, IELTS writing is generally the part of the test that takes the longest to reach Band 7. There are several reasons for this. The level of writing you need is quite high and requires fairly sophisticated language (especially if you are looking for Band 8) which is close to that of a […]

Your Top 10 IELTS Reading Questions Answered

I get asked about IELTS reading on a daily basis so I have put together a list of the top 10 most asked questions about reading and given my answers. 1. Should I read the whole text? Most IELTS students realise that this is actually not possible to do in the time (for most people). So the […]

Is IELTS an Unfair Test?

I often hear people say that IELTS is unfair or that it is just a money-making machine or that it is set up to make people fail. There are blogs and websites that discuss these things in detail and take examples and comments for IELTS Students and teachers alike. Personally I think that although like […]

Are you afraid to book another IELTS Test?

I often hear students say they are afraid to book another IELTS test. It’s understandable if you have taken the test and not achieved the result you want. If you have taken the test several times then this feeling can be magnified even more and the fear might start to grow as you face the […]