Share some tips on IELTS

Georgie335 · September 2014

Goodluck sa mga kaka take lang ng exams kanina!

Listening - ang daming multiple choices. 1st answer is August 24 ata. without year dapat kasi 2 numbers na un? and sab kasi sa instructions ng section 1, 1 word and 1 number.

Tapos bat pinili nya ung yearly na membership? to become fitter ba?
products and _____? services nalang hinulaan ko. hahaha.
GT Reading - fairly easy for me.
GT Writing - 30min/30min ung inallot qng time. nag focus ako masyado sa task 1. hopefully, my word count sa task 2 is enough.

Writing Tasks was (not exact wording),

task 1: tell your manager that you will be conducting a presentation based from your recent conference that you have attended.
task 2: Some people believe that young people are more influenced by their friends rather than their parents or teachers.

Just a quick question ng matahimik ako, tama ba ung color coding below:

GT Task 1 = Yellow Paper.
GT Task 2 = White Paper.

buyanyan · September 2014

@Zaire
Di ko din sure kung august 24 without ang tama, kase ako nilagyan ko ng year. Medyo tricky din kase.
Yearly kase gusto nya maging fitter.
San pala sya pupunta sa month ng july? Namiss ko kase at ubo ng ubo katabi ko. Tsk tsk. Hinulaan ko nalang na mag holiday sya. Pero may narinig ako friends wedding..

Products or _____ namiss ko din eto.. tsk tsk.. eto yung tungkol netrepreneur db?

Eto pa, _____ habits... migration ba?

Good luck sa lahat. 3rd time ko na to.. ongoing remarking ng 2nd exam ko.. sana atleast one of them will have a good result.

Georgie335 · September 2014

San pala sya pupunta sa month ng july?
- Lol nalito din ako dyan! final answer ko was yung travel for business.

Mukhang parehas tayo ng mga items na namiss hahaha.

seasonal habits. sagot ko, ewan ko hula ko lang yan!

@buyanyan Do you remember kung anong kulay nung paper for GT Writing Task 1 and 2? Feel ko kasi napagpalit ko dahil sa kaba. :S

buyanyan · September 2014

@Zaire mas tiwala ako sa mga hula mo kesa sa hula ko kase talagang distracted ako ng sound ng ubo ng katabi ko. Tinignan ko nga ng masama nung matatatapos na, ayun tumigil din. Lol

Yung yellow for task 1
Yung white for task 2.

I hope you did not interchange them. By the way, sa SG ka din ba?

Georgie335 · September 2014

Thanks for clarifying. d q na interchange. Hehe.

Dusit thani ph po ako. I guess same exam sa lahat ng countries.

Georgie335 · September 2014

I think it is time to contribute my experience after reading all the helpful posts here.

Some tips based from my initial experience in doing IELTS:

Speaking - just be yourself, honest and describe the picture that immediately pops in your head. Part 1 is personal and all about yourself so it should be very easy. In part 2, it is very important to track the time as 2 minutes is required as minimum. Cover all the points in the cue card. For easy tracking, try to answer it in order as shown in the cue. You may look at it while talking. Just avoid taking pauses while tracking it. Make sure you elaborate and wait for the speaker to stop you as this is the ideal scenario (means that you said enough already).

Listening - Focus, focus, and focus! Imagine that you are in the conversation. Your sense of hearing is very delicate during this time so learn to ignore unnecessary noises eg coughs. Learn to anticipate answers. Move on and let go if you did not get the answer as this may impact your score even more. Learn to read the questions 2-3 numbers in advance so you remain on track in case of this scenario. The worst case scenario that you would not want to happen is - the answer for the next item is currently being said but you are still bugged about the previous item, thus, making more mistakes.

GT Reading - If you paid attention in your english classes back when you were in elementary, high school and in college, this should be a breeze. Questions are pretty basic. However, time is really our enemy here, so just keep that in mind.

GT Writing - Do not focus too much on task 1. Complete and simple answer is enough for you to ace this. Remember, task 2 is worth more than task 1. Based from my planned strategy, I will count the number of words after answering the essay. Guess what? you would not have the luxury of time to do this. Practice writing using 250 words so you would know how will it look like.

Again, good luck everyone!

I will keep you updated on my band score results and my quest in targetting 8.0 in all components.

ios_dev · September 2014

Products or _____ namiss ko din eto.. tsk tsk.. eto yung tungkol netrepreneur db?

Eto pa, _____ habits... migration ba?

Ako nilagay ko yun full date with year. "Aug. 24, 1979". Ganun kasi sa mga sample exams.
Products or "Commercial Purposes" yata yun sinagot ko.
Migration sinagot ko pero nagdadalawang isip din ako dun.

Yun last 2 questions sa listening hula sa akin.. Yun sa middens.. "glass" atpos "soldiers" tama ba?

Nagkamali din ako na nagspend ako too much time sa task 1 writing. Kinapos tuloy ako sa task 2 on word count. Hays..

Georgie335 · September 2014

@ios_dev Based from IELTS 9 document with the same case (Section 2, Item 2). The correct format is without a year (March 31), even though the year was mentioned in the audio script. Although I hope they will accept the ones with the year because napaka misleading naman talaga. Anyways, mukhang 2 na sure na mali ko.

You are right sa last 2 questions.

answers are like:
glass. bone. axe. road. soldiers. lakes? in the mountains. <<< isa pang d q sure yan!

ios_dev · September 2014

Galing mo naalala mo pa ah. Yup those are my answers din. I feel confident dun sa listening now. I might have perfected it! Sa writing talaga ako nagkamali. I dont think nakuha ko yun desired 8 band. Argh.. Retake!

ios_dev · September 2014

Also, i think tama kasama yun year since they were talking about birth date. Pag wala year, it wouldn't make sense.

Georgie335 · September 2014

@ios_dev I suggest wag na tayo mag worry too much, wala na namang magagawa but hope for the best.

I have a strong feeling parehas tayo ng case, need ko din ng band 8s. 21 years old with almost 2 years experience sa IT. Kakapusin talaga sa score kung hindi mag band 8s. Hindi pa aq nag papa assess kasi sa need nun ng 2 years experience which is sa November pa.

ios_dev · September 2014

@ios_dev I suggest wag na tayo mag worry too much, wala na namang magagawa but hope for the best.

I have a strong feeling parehas tayo ng case, need ko din ng band 8s. 21 years old with almost 2 years experience sa IT. Kakapusin talaga sa score kung hindi mag band 8s. Hindi pa aq nag papa assess kasi sa need nun ng 2 years experience which is sa November pa.

Ahh.. Medyo magkaiba tayo. 9yrs exp.. Kaso, nadeduct ako ng 5 years due to my degree. So i need 8s to make up for the lost exp. If i wait 1 year, kailangan ko lang 7s. Buti ka pa bata pa mataas ang points sa age.

Sept 19 yun results noh?

dbarcelon · September 2014

@ios_dev, Kakaexam ko lang din nung september 6 pero base sa information nyo sa listening exam eh di ako makarelate so I conclude that we have a different set of exam in listening and for the reading the last part of the exam was all about crocodile. BTW, I am here from riyadh.

RMAN · September 2014

Mga Sir/Ma'am, ask ko lang po kung saan review center ok mag review about IELTS speacially reading and listening. Need ko po kasi mkakuha ng band 7 in all subtests

Georgie335 · September 2014

@ios_dev yes, september 19! goodluck sa aten!

filipinacpa · September 2014

@filipinacpa, ganyan din pala ko nung 2nd take ko, siguro 1 min pa lang tapos na ko magsalita pero ang bait nung examiner ko, puting babae, pretty pa hehehe. Nung tapos na 1 min ko na realise na dami pa oras tapos tinulungan nya ko, nag tanong sya kung hindi ko ba pinost sa social media ung picture nung suot ko tapos ayun na tuloy tuloy na, nagkaroon ako idea.

Yung topic ko kasi eh recent outift na sinuot ko sa isang gathering tapos expound mo na...

My examiner also helped me. She asked me additional impromptu questions just to make me speak more. I gave another short answer and yeah, na-mental block nga. Haha I failed to invent an answer. I remember her question to me was to describe the story of a movie that I do not like. Since I really don't watch a movie that much, I've got nothing to answer. Haha

mlac23 · September 2014

hi @Zaire, pag-practisan ko nga yung binigay mo na gt writing tests

filipinacpa · September 2014

Guys, pahingi rin niyan. Thank you ü

Georgie335 · September 2014

@filipinacpa @mlac23 eto ung mga sub questions during the exam:

task 1: tell your manager that you will be conducting a presentation based from your recent conference that you have attended.
- Explain why was the conference very helpful.
- Explain what will be the presentation all about.
- Explain why do you think it would interest your co-workers.

task 2: Some people believe that young people are more influenced by their friends rather than their parents or teachers. Do you agree or disagree?

Extra tip: do not practice sa mga essay related about morals eg gay marriage, euthanasia, abortion, contraceptives, premarital sex, teenage pregnancy etc. kasi walang ganun sa IELTS tasks.

ios_dev · September 2014

@ios_dev, Kakaexam ko lang din nung september 6 pero base sa information nyo sa listening exam eh di ako makarelate so I conclude that we have a different set of exam in listening and for the reading the last part of the exam was all about crocodile. BTW, I am here from riyadh.

Interesting.. kala ko same ang exam for everyone. I guess ginawa nilang iba para walang potential leak sa mga questions.... sayang! LOL

theumlasfamily · September 2014

@ios_dev Based from IELTS 9 document with the same case (Section 2, Item 2). The correct format is without a year (March 31), even though the year was mentioned in the audio script. Although I hope they will accept the ones with the year because napaka misleading naman talaga. Anyways, mukhang 2 na sure na mali ko.

You are right sa last 2 questions.

answers are like:
glass. bone. axe. road. soldiers. lakes? in the mountains. <<< isa pang d q sure yan!</p>

@zaire@ios_dev Nag-take din ako first time last Sept 6 sa Heritage - GT. Ano di kasama ang year sa first listening question? Grabe naman! Yung 6-11 nga naguluhan ako sa mga membership activities pati yung sa mga tourist areas. Ang bilis! Feeling ko 5 na mali ko sagot. At ano yong last group? Social Worker linagay ko. At last item ko sa likod is "soldiers". Tama ba yon? Lakes din sinagot ko. At ano ba ang spelling? Ax or Axe?

Listening ako nadale. Sa Reading, Writing, Speaking, confident naman ako sa mga sagot ko. Let us know your test results!

All the best sa ating lahat.

Georgie335 · September 2014

@theumlasfamily one word and one number as per the instruction kaya ganun ung ginawa kong format. Nag search ako ng similar case sa mga Cambridge test samples (IELTS 9, Section 2, Item 2) without year nga based from the answer key.

Networker ata ang sagot dun sa last group, @ios_dev please confirm? hahaha.

soldiers, tama un!

Ax or Axe ang tamang spelling according to dictionary and they are very sensitive sa mga possible spellings so they will count it for sure.

will do. let me know then your score and tips for your strengths and weaknesses.

theumlasfamily · September 2014

Isang ding tip na pwede kong ma-share during the IELTS exam is bathroom break.

No going to the washroom during distributing/collecting of test booklets and answer sheets, during the last 10 and 2 minutes of the test and also in between tests hindi rin pwede. They are very strict. Kung lalabas, they will accompany you inside the restroom.

Pero syempre hindi maiwasan dahil sa lamig. The testing venue can be really cold. Bring a jacket or shawl. If you really have to go, use the spare time in the reading section for bathroom break - that is kung matapos mo ng maaga. Sa listening hindi naman pwede dahil continuous ang audio at sa writing kulang nga 1 oras magsulat ng essay.

At kung may kasama kayong nag-aantay during the exams, better leave your personal belongings sa kasama ninyo dahil matatagalan bago maka-claim ng gamit. Imagine sabay kayo lalabas 300+ candidates tapos halos lahat kukuha ng gamit eh di ang haba ng pila. Papaano pa kung may speaking exam sa hapon at malayo ang venue sa BC office. Dagdag stress pa iyon.

Also, take a deep breath before going inside the room for the speaking exam. It calms the nerves.

ImB · September 2014

My examiner also helped me. She asked me additional impromptu questions just to make me speak more. I gave another short answer and yeah, na-mental block nga. Haha I failed to invent an answer. I remember her question to me was to describe the story of a movie that I do not like. Since I really don't watch a movie that much, I've got nothing to answer. Haha

@filipinacpa namental block ka nga ate hahaha...dapat nga nag invent ka na lang. Di bale papasa ka na nyan. Konting konti ka na lang. Good luck sa next exam

isha17 · September 2014

Worried ako sa listening dun sa matching type.. yung anong best tourist area and ankop sa weather. Ung sa mga pine trees ba un,i answered autumn nalang. hinulaan ko nalang lahat.huhu

ios_dev · September 2014

Worried ako sa listening dun sa matching type.. yung anong best tourist area and ankop sa weather. Ung sa mga pine trees ba un,i answered autumn nalang. hinulaan ko nalang lahat.huhu

Di ko masyado naalala yan part na yan.. masnalito ako dun sa license.

buyanyan · September 2014

I just had my speaking test. 8 more days before the result. I hope everything is fine.

paupau29 · September 2014

@theumlasfamily this is super helpful, thanks! just got a confirmation email from IDP. I am scheduled to take the speaking exam on the 19th and the rest on the 20th. The email mentioned that they will be strict when it comes to bringing items inside the exam room. JUSKOOO parang perang pamasahe lang or susi ng koche pwede mo dalin sa loob! saka mga lapis. HAHA.

paupau29 · September 2014

@buyanyan Ano tinanong sayo? And dialogue ba sya? I assume they do converse with the examinee.

buyanyan · September 2014

@paupau29 topic was about intelligent person that I know and what does he/she do. Also how to make children intelligent. It is more on what is opinion about a topic kind of question. There is no right or wrong answer. Good luck sayo.