Thread by @umairtahir_

Here’s a thread about how I prepared for my IELTS.

This is my personal opinion after trying different methods for over 4 months, and consulting numerous websites. 1/n

First thing first; the Cambridge Books, or most of them for that matter, don’t really help. They did maybe a couple of years ago but the essays that are written there won’t get you a band 7. They’re helpful for getting the topics to write though. 2/n

Second, I tried a total of 3 times. Self-evaluated my writings the first two times which, to be honest, did not help much. You can not exactly point out your own mistakes. The third time I got a teacher to properly evaluate my tasks, and improved a lot. 3/n

If you use websites, few that are better than the rest are:
- E2 Ielts youtube.com/channel/UCglDI… Try to follow the pattern shown in these videos.
- ieltsonlinetests.com for topics.
- ieltsbuddy.com for topics. 4/n

E2 Ielts will be the most useful with numerous videos on every section of the IELTS Test. Tips about Listening and Reading; Speaking techniques; and detailed tutorials on how to structure each kind of essay, and explain graphs. 5/n

Listening:
Take the tests on the IELTS website. If u get a band 8 in those consistently, u’ll know u don’t need a lot of work there. If not, listen to songs; watch movies or TV series; try to really understand what’s being said. Also, take more tests if u r not getting an 8. 6/n

Reading:
Proceed just like for Listening. Take tests; evaluate yourself; do as many tests as you can till you consistently score band 8. Reading helps you with writing too. Try to learn new sentence structures while reading. Get Listening and Reading out of the way first. 7/n

Speaking:
Watch TV shows; listen to podcasts or songs; but most importantly, start speaking. Practice speaking on topics, and giving clear arguments. Speak proper and complete sentences. Try limiting the use of informal words. 8/n

Writing:
This is the most annoying part for the majority. People, including me, get stuck on band 6 or 6.5, although, to be very honest, there is not much wrong with their writing except the sentence structure. The most important thing is how you structure your essay. 9/n

If you read one of the articles I write (link in the bio) you’ll know the difference between how I actually like to write and how I had to write for IELTS (checked essays below). I was too stubborn to change that style the first two times, which is why I failed. 10/n

Here’s a link to my evaluated essays. They’ll help you explore what we do wrong while writing. I made stupid mistakes too at times. Try to follow that pattern if you like, but what you have to do is be clear. 11/n dropbox.com/sh/x2tqm2l4p9h…

When you write, present an argument; explain why you argue that; then give an example. Use a lot of SUBORDINATE CLAUSES; examiners are particularly looking for those. Learn about them from Jay’s videos on Youtube.
Do not use personal pronouns like I, We, They, He, She, etc. 12/n

Use linking words like however, because, instead, firstly, Moreover, Therefore, etc. Read the checked essays above and you'll get the idea.

Work on Task 1 too. I was tougher for me to explain these. 13/n

Finally, I strongly suggest you spend some extra money and get your essays evaluated as this helps pinpoint your flaws. I’ll provide my tutor’s number below, and a few others, but the only guarantee I can give is that this way, you will know exactly where you are lacking. 14/n

Essay Correction Services:
Dr. Amir Rauf (0315-1939233). I got mine checked by him.

Beyden Dingle (passyourielts.com). I know at least two people who passed using this site.

These are the only two I know to be honest. 15/n

Summary: Do not use a lot of material. Work on how to generate ideas. Listening and Reading can be improved by self-evaluation. Speaking can be practiced alone, and with others. Writing takes a little time because you have to write exactly how they want it. 16/n

Feel free to ask anything, or add any information you have.

Best of Luck!