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IELTS without preparation.
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itsamberariamay
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#1
Hey guys!
I'm already did my IGCSEs last June in my home country and I have been accepted for a foundation degree in SOAS. Therefore, I need to take the IELTS test for visa purposes. Is it possible to attain a band score of about 7 or 7.5 if we answer the test without any preparation (but I have a strong English background and I got a B in IGCSE)?
Would really appreciate it if you could just weigh in your opinion!
I'm already did my IGCSEs last June in my home country and I have been accepted for a foundation degree in SOAS. Therefore, I need to take the IELTS test for visa purposes. Is it possible to attain a band score of about 7 or 7.5 if we answer the test without any preparation (but I have a strong English background and I got a B in IGCSE)?
Would really appreciate it if you could just weigh in your opinion!
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brent_
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You'll ace it, don't worry. When I came into the UK, they didn't require me to do IELTS and (back then) I didn't have any qualifications(GCSE, IGCSE or whatever). I've heard from my other friends that IELTS is plain simple. You have a B in IGCSE anyway, so you don't have to worry about that much. It's all simple and you don't have to worry about it 
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MariaKaehne
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#3
(Original post by itsamberariamay)
Hey guys!
I'm already did my IGCSEs last June in my home country and I have been accepted for a foundation degree in SOAS. Therefore, I need to take the IELTS test for visa purposes. Is it possible to attain a band score of about 7 or 7.5 if we answer the test without any preparation (but I have a strong English background and I got a B in IGCSE)?
Would really appreciate it if you could just weigh in your opinion!
Hey guys!
I'm already did my IGCSEs last June in my home country and I have been accepted for a foundation degree in SOAS. Therefore, I need to take the IELTS test for visa purposes. Is it possible to attain a band score of about 7 or 7.5 if we answer the test without any preparation (but I have a strong English background and I got a B in IGCSE)?
Would really appreciate it if you could just weigh in your opinion!
Just wanted to say that I pretty much did the same thing as you. If you don't prepare for the test (with dummy tests etc) , then the best thing you could do is probably find out how it works. If you don't already know, I believe that the first test is Listening: You will be sat in a classroom with a group of other people listening to a tape. They use different accents on the tape, Scottish, Australian, American, Irish, South African and your answers must be given in a certain amount of words Your next test is Reading, Which I found to be the hardest. I was given 2 x 3-4 articles about scientific subjects written by different scientists on the same subject, but they hold different opinions. Your answer sheet is on the back of those and the answers (multiple choice) you must give are NOT written the same way as in the articles, so you must concentrate! Then there is writing, where you must write 2 essays. The first one is short, and is based upon a graph that you must explain. The second is a topic that you must discuss, prove or similar. Just watch your word-count, grammar and spelling The last is speaking, and it is the most laid back one. The teacher will ask you about yourself, then ask you to elaborate on a topic. If you know how it works, you should be fine. I got a 7.5 overall with 6.5 as the lowest in a component.
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itsamberariamay
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#4
(Original post by MariaKaehne)
Hi there Just wanted to say that I pretty much did the same thing as you. If you don't prepare for the test (with dummy tests etc) , then the best thing you could do is probably find out how it works. If you don't already know, I believe that the first test is Listening: You will be sat in a classroom with a group of other people listening to a tape. They use different accents on the tape, Scottish, Australian, American, Irish, South African and your answers must be given in a certain amount of words Your next test is Reading, Which I found to be the hardest. I was given 2 x 3-4 articles about scientific subjects written by different scientists on the same subject, but they hold different opinions. Your answer sheet is on the back of those and the answers (multiple choice) you must give are NOT written the same way as in the articles, so you must concentrate! Then there is writing, where you must write 2 essays. The first one is short, and is based upon a graph that you must explain. The second is a topic that you must discuss, prove or similar. Just watch your word-count, grammar and spelling The last is speaking, and it is the most laid back one. The teacher will ask you about yourself, then ask you to elaborate on a topic. If you know how it works, you should be fine. I got a 7.5 overall with 6.5 as the lowest in a component.
Hi there
Just wanted to say that I pretty much did the same thing as you. If you don't prepare for the test (with dummy tests etc) , then the best thing you could do is probably find out how it works. If you don't already know, I believe that the first test is Listening: You will be sat in a classroom with a group of other people listening to a tape. They use different accents on the tape, Scottish, Australian, American, Irish, South African and your answers must be given in a certain amount of words Your next test is Reading, Which I found to be the hardest. I was given 2 x 3-4 articles about scientific subjects written by different scientists on the same subject, but they hold different opinions. Your answer sheet is on the back of those and the answers (multiple choice) you must give are NOT written the same way as in the articles, so you must concentrate! Then there is writing, where you must write 2 essays. The first one is short, and is based upon a graph that you must explain. The second is a topic that you must discuss, prove or similar. Just watch your word-count, grammar and spelling The last is speaking, and it is the most laid back one. The teacher will ask you about yourself, then ask you to elaborate on a topic. If you know how it works, you should be fine. I got a 7.5 overall with 6.5 as the lowest in a component.
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El Salvador
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#5
It may benefit you to know the structure and types of tasks in the test, but generally preparation is not needed.
I took IELTS twice, the first time I did some past papers, and I got an overall band 8.0; the second time (a year later, basically forgot all about it, literally travelled for several months and back home less than a week) I did nothing, and I got a band 8.5.
Now, I don't think preparing for it hurts you, but it definitely isn't needed.
---
Whilst I was reading in Australia however, I did read up some stuff for weaker learners. The University of Queensland apparently said you can get a 0.5 upgrade with 10 weeks of preparation. I think that's mostly a way to get people to take their IELTS preparation courses, but perhaps it works for weaker learners. (They aim at people from 4.0-5.5.)
I took IELTS twice, the first time I did some past papers, and I got an overall band 8.0; the second time (a year later, basically forgot all about it, literally travelled for several months and back home less than a week) I did nothing, and I got a band 8.5.
Now, I don't think preparing for it hurts you, but it definitely isn't needed.
---
Whilst I was reading in Australia however, I did read up some stuff for weaker learners. The University of Queensland apparently said you can get a 0.5 upgrade with 10 weeks of preparation. I think that's mostly a way to get people to take their IELTS preparation courses, but perhaps it works for weaker learners. (They aim at people from 4.0-5.5.)
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El Salvador
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(Original post by MariaKaehne)
Hi there Just wanted to say that I pretty much did the same thing as you. If you don't prepare for the test (with dummy tests etc) , then the best thing you could do is probably find out how it works. If you don't already know, I believe that the first test is Listening: You will be sat in a classroom with a group of other people listening to a tape. They use different accents on the tape, Scottish, Australian, American, Irish, South African and your answers must be given in a certain amount of words Your next test is Reading, Which I found to be the hardest. I was given 2 x 3-4 articles about scientific subjects written by different scientists on the same subject, but they hold different opinions. Your answer sheet is on the back of those and the answers (multiple choice) you must give are NOT written the same way as in the articles, so you must concentrate! Then there is writing, where you must write 2 essays. The first one is short, and is based upon a graph that you must explain. The second is a topic that you must discuss, prove or similar. Just watch your word-count, grammar and spelling The last is speaking, and it is the most laid back one. The teacher will ask you about yourself, then ask you to elaborate on a topic. If you know how it works, you should be fine. I got a 7.5 overall with 6.5 as the lowest in a component.
Hi there
Just wanted to say that I pretty much did the same thing as you. If you don't prepare for the test (with dummy tests etc) , then the best thing you could do is probably find out how it works. If you don't already know, I believe that the first test is Listening: You will be sat in a classroom with a group of other people listening to a tape. They use different accents on the tape, Scottish, Australian, American, Irish, South African and your answers must be given in a certain amount of words Your next test is Reading, Which I found to be the hardest. I was given 2 x 3-4 articles about scientific subjects written by different scientists on the same subject, but they hold different opinions. Your answer sheet is on the back of those and the answers (multiple choice) you must give are NOT written the same way as in the articles, so you must concentrate! Then there is writing, where you must write 2 essays. The first one is short, and is based upon a graph that you must explain. The second is a topic that you must discuss, prove or similar. Just watch your word-count, grammar and spelling The last is speaking, and it is the most laid back one. The teacher will ask you about yourself, then ask you to elaborate on a topic. If you know how it works, you should be fine. I got a 7.5 overall with 6.5 as the lowest in a component.
1. I got an A (highest possible) in HKCEE English writing;
2. I got an A (highest possible) in HKALE English writing (the British Council published a research saying that the HKALE is two grades more difficult than GCE A-levels);
3. I got an overall band 8.5;
4. I got straight level 5s (highest possible) in Language Proficiency Tests for Teachers' writing paper;
5. I got almost 90% in my writing papers whilst reading at University of Queensland;
6. I got an A* in IGCSE first language English.
AAAAND
All these add up to a band 8.0 in writing (my weakest component).
Throw in the fact that their past papers listed only band 8.0 writing samples (or 'very good' answers, whatever it means), and that in all countries, the average writing bands are generally lower, I'm thinking if 8.0 is actually the actual ceiling of the writing paper.
One of my exes actually got a band 9.0 overall, with a sole 8.0 in writing, and all 9.0 in all the other papers.
Now I didn't think my writing was perfect (though I'm slightly bitter cuz I could have gotten a 9.0 with a 8.5 in writing
), but I just don't see how it could be my weakest component when most other test scores said otherwise.
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FormerlyHistoryStudent
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#7
Ah, IELTS. I've taught a little bit of academic IELTS prep. Despite your current level I'd still advise that you do some practice papers and familiarise yourself with the format and timings of each section. Off the top of my head... with the listening, make the most of the first couple of sections as they are easier but each question is worth the same as the later ones. In the writing, finding different ways to describe the same thing (ie. trends from a graph) and avoiding repetition of words is good because the examiner will be looking for variety of language. Don't just copy chunks from the information given to you - sounds obvious but is more common than you'd think.
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El Salvador
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IELTS Listening Score-Band Table (Academic)
IELTS Reading Score-Band Table (Academic)
| Scores (Out of 40 / Percentage) | Band (Out of 9.0) |
| 40 – 39 / 97.5% (1 – 0 mistake) | 9.0 |
| 38 – 37 / 92.5% (2 – 3 mistakes) | 8.5 |
| 36 – 35 / 87.5% (4 – 5 mistakes) | 8.0 |
| 34 – 33 / 82.5% (6 – 7 mistakes) | 7.5 |
| 32 – 30 / 75.0% (8 – 10 mistakes) | 7.0 |
| 29 – 27 / 67.5% (11 – 13 mistakes) | 6.5 |
| 26 – 23 / 57.5% (14 – 17 mistakes) | 6.0 |
| 22 – 20 / 50.0% (18 – 20 mistakes) | 5.5 |
| 19 – 16 / 40.0% (21 – 24 mistakes) | 5.0 |
| 15 – 13 / 32.5% (25 – 27 mistakes) | 4.5 |
| 12 – 09 / 22.5% (28 – 31 mistakes) | 4.0 |
| 08 – 05 / 12.5% (32 – 35 mistakes) | 3.0 |
| 04 – 03 / 07.5% (36 – 37 mistakes) | 2.0 |
| 02 – 01 / 02.5% (38 – 39 mistakes) | 1.0 |
| 00 – 00 / 00.0% (40 – 40 mistakes) | 0.0 |
IELTS Reading Score-Band Table (Academic)
| Scores (Out of 40 / Percentage) | Band (Out of 9.0) |
| 40 – 39 / 97.5% (1 – 0 mistake) | 9.0 |
| 38 – 37 / 92.5% (2 – 3 mistakes) | 8.5 |
| 36 – 35 / 87.5% (4 – 5 mistakes) | 8.0 |
| 34 – 33 / 82.5% (6 – 7 mistakes) | 7.5 |
| 32 – 30 / 75.0% (8 – 10 mistakes) | 7.0 |
| 29 – 27 / 67.5% (11 – 13 mistakes) | 6.5 |
| 26 – 23 / 57.5% (14 – 17 mistakes) | 6.0 |
| 22 – 19 / 47.5% (18 – 21 mistakes) | 5.5 |
| 18 – 15 / 37.5% (22 – 25 mistakes) | 5.0 |
| 14 – 12 / 30.0% (26 – 28 mistakes) | 4.5 |
| 11 – 09 / 22.5% (29 – 31 mistakes) | 4.0 |
| 08 – 05 / 12.5% (32 – 35 mistakes) | 3.0 |
| 04 – 03 / 07.5% (36 – 37 mistakes) | 2.0 |
| 02 – 01 / 02.5% (38 – 39 mistakes) | 1.0 |
| 00 – 00 / 00.0% (40 – 40 mistakes) | 0.0 |
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economist2
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LeviosaNight
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#10
hello! i have to decide today whether to join or not. I got A in IGCSE English as well (and an A in Lit as well) and want to studying Eng Lit. Needless to say, if I'm not good at English, I am at least better than some people. I was wondering if I really need the IELTS training course. My teacher said that English ability doesn't matter, the aim of the course is to get familiar to the exam. But it sounds like a very easy exam to ace from what you guys said. Do I really need to join?
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MariaKaehne
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(Original post by LeviosaNight)
hello! i have to decide today whether to join or not. I got A in IGCSE English as well (and an A in Lit as well) and want to studying Eng Lit. Needless to say, if I'm not good at English, I am at least better than some people. I was wondering if I really need the IELTS training course. My teacher said that English ability doesn't matter, the aim of the course is to get familiar to the exam. But it sounds like a very easy exam to ace from what you guys said. Do I really need to join?
hello! i have to decide today whether to join or not. I got A in IGCSE English as well (and an A in Lit as well) and want to studying Eng Lit. Needless to say, if I'm not good at English, I am at least better than some people. I was wondering if I really need the IELTS training course. My teacher said that English ability doesn't matter, the aim of the course is to get familiar to the exam. But it sounds like a very easy exam to ace from what you guys said. Do I really need to join?
I would check the requirements of the universities you want to apply to! They might say that you're IGCSE is enough, but some may require you to score a certain grade in an IELTS.
Good luck ☺️
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LeviosaNight
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i think i'll need to to study in the UK (for a visa), but what i'm worrying about is whether i need preparation or not. It seems like all the course material does is teach me grammer and spelling, which might not be helpful to me. It might be a waste of my time (I'm doing the IB) but not join the course might also heavily disadvantage me...?
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_Fergo
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(Original post by LeviosaNight)
hello! i have to decide today whether to join or not. I got A in IGCSE English as well (and an A in Lit as well) and want to studying Eng Lit. Needless to say, if I'm not good at English, I am at least better than some people. I was wondering if I really need the IELTS training course. My teacher said that English ability doesn't matter, the aim of the course is to get familiar to the exam. But it sounds like a very easy exam to ace from what you guys said. Do I really need to join?
hello! i have to decide today whether to join or not. I got A in IGCSE English as well (and an A in Lit as well) and want to studying Eng Lit. Needless to say, if I'm not good at English, I am at least better than some people. I was wondering if I really need the IELTS training course. My teacher said that English ability doesn't matter, the aim of the course is to get familiar to the exam. But it sounds like a very easy exam to ace from what you guys said. Do I really need to join?
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LeviosaNight
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#14
Thanks
i think i'll join...
my course is 2.5 hours per week for 10 weeks though...seems too excessive lol
i think i'll join...
my course is 2.5 hours per week for 10 weeks though...seems too excessive lol
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Arieisit
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#15
IELTS is kinda hard. I took it just to see how difficult it can be for non native English speakers and boy was I suprised. I got this wrong! And I'm native!! With A* in english!
So yes, you should prepare.
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So yes, you should prepare.
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LeviosaNight
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raffaela.b
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#17
I didn't prepare much. Just took some sample tests on the internet and I got an overall score of 8.0. For Listening and Reading it is good if you do 1-2 practice tests to get used to the format. For me, I should have practiced writing a little bit more as this was my weakest part and I also heard from others that they had the lowest score in writing.
If you want to prepare, I would also recommend you to buy a book. You don't really need a course...
If you want to prepare, I would also recommend you to buy a book. You don't really need a course...
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SiminaM
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#18
I took the CPE(got A 
) and IELTS looks like a joke to me. My class prepared for it though so I had to do it too so here is my advice/experience with IELTS:
As long as you speak english, just try to familiarise yourself with the format of the test. If you are focused then you should be fine.
Practice a couple of reading parts.
The trick with writing(also at CPE) is the task. Don't try to wow them. Just do the task and have a good structure, no need for pretentious words/phrases. NEVER FORGET THE MAIN TASK, it is easy to miss crucial points and it really is a shame. It really is that easy.
Don't be scared that they only play the recording once at listening. It is REALLY obvious just pay attention.
I don't know much about speaking, just that it is more like a converstation so as long as you speak ON THE SUBJECT you should be fine. Extra points for interesting ideas.
) and IELTS looks like a joke to me. My class prepared for it though so I had to do it too so here is my advice/experience with IELTS:As long as you speak english, just try to familiarise yourself with the format of the test. If you are focused then you should be fine.
Practice a couple of reading parts.
The trick with writing(also at CPE) is the task. Don't try to wow them. Just do the task and have a good structure, no need for pretentious words/phrases. NEVER FORGET THE MAIN TASK, it is easy to miss crucial points and it really is a shame. It really is that easy.
Don't be scared that they only play the recording once at listening. It is REALLY obvious just pay attention.
I don't know much about speaking, just that it is more like a converstation so as long as you speak ON THE SUBJECT you should be fine. Extra points for interesting ideas.
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milkberries
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I only went over a few sample tests the night before in order to familiarize myself with the structure/format. Maybe not the best idea, but I did get 8.5 overall haha
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geoffen
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Here's a good page to practice your reading: http://lanternlanguages.com/reading-practice-1/
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