If you are planning to study abroad in countries like Australia, New Zealand, Canada or the United Kingdom a good score in IELTS strengthens one’s profile. IELTS is one of the most popular international English language proficiency tests.
IELTS stands for International English Language Testing System. Depending on your specific case, you can opt for IELTS Academic or IELTS General Training.
Before you start preparing for the IELTS exam, in order to achieve a high score for admission to a Master’s degree program, you should ensure that you are fluent in English and that the foundation of your language is solid. You must have a mastery of basic as well as advanced English grammar and a rich vocabulary to achieve a good band score in the Writing and Speaking modules, and sound comprehension skills to perform well in the Listening and Reading modules
The average recommended duration to prepare for IELTS is 3 months. However, your English proficiency and more importantly the efforts that you put in determine how much time it would take to thoroughly prepare for the test. You should then spend some time to become familiar with the specific IELTS requirements and accustomed to the exam forma
Here are a few essential steps that will help you hit a high IELTS score:
- Start your preparation early, be consistent, and get your progress monitored on a regular basis.
- You should efficiently master the basic English grammar rules.
- Spend an equal amount of time on practicing all the four modules – Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing.
- Make sure that you take every opportunity to converse in English. This will help you to strengthen your verbal and written communication.
- Enhance your English vocabulary. We all know that this doesn’t happen overnight. You should aim to learn at least 5 new words from different subject areas daily.
- To learn and practice, listen to the news and watch TV documentaries on several different topics, albeit, only in English.
- Make a default practice to speak with others in English especially those who are willing to support you – You can talk about your hobbies, interests, everyday life, family, job, dreams and professional aspirations.
- When you are confident that you have a solid foundation of English language, join an IELTS course or work with a professional IELTS tutor.
- If you are sure that you are ready to start preparing for the IELTS exam, take a diagnostic test and get feedback from a professional instructor first before appearing for the test.
In the end, you should start by setting one clear goal for each of the four parts of the test. The more specific your goals are, the less overwhelmed you will be with the process of preparation and the IELTS test. Remember: an opportunity missed is an opportunity wasted.
