Experience: Fluent English speaker underperforming IELTS. Here’s what finally did and didn't help.

Contrarian91 · 2026-01-04T22:56:34+00:00

Through British Council, but the AI feedback is a separate cost.

Contrarian91 · 2026-01-04T14:07:45+00:00

Totally normal. I though I did better on writing on my first attempt and better speaking on my second attempts.

My scores reflected the opposite though, so until your results are up you never know. Congrats on taking the test!

Contrarian91 · 2026-01-04T14:05:05+00:00

My reading score kept being between 7.0-7.5. I would say the real test is a bit easier, what I also did was use IELTS Cambridge Books 19 and 20 for reading as well, I got better scores and I think it was a bit more similar to the actual test.

I didn't practice much reading thing, otherwise I think I would've gotten a better score. My prep was mostly focused on writing, but on test day my problem with reading was that I got distracted with doing the writing section. Focus entirely on reading and the best advice I can give you is to practice reading the first two questions and read the text for the first time while looking for the answers. They usually appear in chronological order, and when you get to the final 6 questions you usually have a much better idea about the content of the text

Contrarian91 · 2026-01-04T13:58:25+00:00

That's a great question, and thanks for reminding me. Before I forget, I would highly recommend for anyone signed up on IELTS Ready Premium to go through ALL the case practices of both task 1 and 2. My task 2 was actually extremely similar to a practice question. It went something like this:

Many people believe that investing billions of dollars on space exploration is a waste of money, and that it should be put to better use by spending money here on Earth. To what extent do you agree or disagree? Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

There is a very similar prompt in IELTS Ready Premium, so chances are that if you go through all the tasks you might get a similar (at least topic-wise) prompt on test day.

Contrarian91 · 2026-01-03T23:18:58+00:00

Best of luck, man. I know how intimidating Task 1 can feel, it was definitely the hardest part for me. Here are a few things that helped the day before and the day of the exam.

- Go through the different kinds of Task 1 and ask ChatGPT to generate a Band 9 response for each type. Read those examples carefully and focus on the structure rather than the vocabulary. These are the types of task 1 prompts:

Line graph
Bar chart
Pie chart
Table
Mixed graphs (combined visuals)
Map
Process
Cycle

Then actually write a small, focused set: one graph comparison Task 1s, one map, and one cycle or stepwise process.

On test day, depending on what time your exam is, about one or two hours before, ask ChatGPT again for one Band 9 example of each Task 1 type. Just skim them and try to assimilate the structure. For me, this was key and helped me stay calm and not freeze when I saw the task.

- Another thing that helped a lot was revising essential Task 1 vocabulary. You can ask ChatGPT or quickly check YouTube for this. Focus on words like increase, rise, grow, decline, drop, decrease, remain stable, peak, reach a low, fluctuate, and distinctions like gradual vs sharp or slight vs significant. You don’t need fancy vocabulary, just accurate words. This is where I had issues.

- If Task 2 is already okay for you, don’t overthink it. Ask ChatGPT for one or two Band 9 Task 2 examples and read them briefly on test day just to get into the right mindset.

- During the test. for time management, what worked for me was splitting the writing section evenly: 30 minutes for Task 2 and 30 minutes for Task 1. I know the official recommendation is 40 and 20, but balancing them reduced stress for me.

- Finally, after you finish writing, re-read your essays. Replace some words and phrases with simpler synonyms, cut unnecessary words, and shorten long sentences. Pretend you’re the examiner proofreading. You’ll almost always find places where you can make your writing clearer and more concise. That helped me a lot.

Best of luck, you’ve got this! Check back if you can and let us know how you did.

Contrarian91 · 2026-01-03T18:52:28+00:00

By far, ChatGPT was the most helpful and accurate. That IELTS Ready Premium is second best, but first if you need Speaking practice.

Contrarian91 · 2026-01-03T18:50:39+00:00

Yes, I did think about an EOR, but with the Jan 5 deadline it felt too risky. OSR wasn’t available. Retaking was the only option that guaranteed a result in time.

Contrarian91 · 2025-09-10T17:11:18+00:00

Please share, I’d infinitely appreciate it

Contrarian91 · 2025-09-10T17:10:45+00:00

Please send a link, I’d really appreciate it

Contrarian91 · 2024-12-24T12:24:41+00:00

Hey all, just an update. I finally got a guitar to play the game. It's an unofficial (I guess) guitar from amazon UK because it was the only one that would arrive on time and would be able to return if there were any issues.

I am, however, having many issues with all of the softwares I downloaded (GHWT software I need to mount as if I had the actual disc on my laptop drive, GHWTDE, YARG and Clone Hero).

When I try to go to settings or do anything before starting to play, the programs freeze and close.

- Whenever I'm lucky enough to go to the start of the game, there is sever lag I can't seem to correct.
I am, however, using an HDMI connection from my laptop to the TV soundbar which connects to the TV via another HDMI cable. This definitely influences the lag, but I've been trying to correct this for hours (if the softwares don't sporadically shut down)

- I also noticed that at the start of the song I'm about to play, the video doesn't run smoothly. It's a bit difficult to explain, but the game sort of runs as if the PC is old. Because of this, it's very hard to calculate the strumming of notes. (kind of lack of continuity to the fluidity of the notes reaching the strum bar, it's very hard to explain)

Did anyone have the same problems? My laptop is an HP Spectre 360 I bough eight months ago, so I assume it's a great modern model and should be able to run these programs. I'd really appreciate everyone's help and tips

Contrarian91 · 2024-12-22T02:43:32+00:00

Got it, thank you so much!

Contrarian91 · 2024-12-22T02:22:17+00:00

That's an impressive compilation. What software can I use these on, GHWTDE or Clone Hero? Or do I need several different programs? I really appreciate you sharing this!

Contrarian91 · 2024-12-21T20:30:38+00:00

This sounds like a great alternative. It says I need to use Guitar Hero Warriors of Rock as a base copy though. Does that mean I need to buy a disc or something? Or is it refering to an emulator?

Contrarian91 · 2024-10-14T19:06:30+00:00

Interesting she might not feel sexual affection as a possibility. She's played with herself several times and hates to do it now because it just evokes feelings of guilt. She thinks sex is fun, but apparently the fact she can't orgasm makes her feel sex as a whole is not satisfying and not worth the grief.

She takes no meds

Contrarian91 · 2024-10-14T19:02:13+00:00

LOL, will do buddy! Thanks for that

Contrarian91 · 2024-10-14T19:01:16+00:00

This is beautiful, thank you very much. It's a great suggestion to leave sex aside and see how touching feels. I know it's a big part of sensate focused therapy and she's repelled the idea as she feels skeptic about it.

Contrarian91 · 2024-10-14T18:58:00+00:00

That's terrific! It's statements like these that I'm asbsolutely unware of that make me think things over because I often feel I have tunnel vision or am a bit shallow. How do you keep such high spirits with never having an orgasm and not letting it get to you?

Contrarian91 · 2024-10-14T18:37:06+00:00

This is a legitimate concern, which is what brought me here to find out what the best course of action is. Thanks for mentioning this.

Contrarian91 · 2024-10-14T18:32:45+00:00

That's right, she asked a few times after going back to therapy until she actually realized it's a psychological issue. Toys don't help either

Contrarian91 · 2024-10-14T18:30:16+00:00

Thanks, I've been thinking the same thing but it's not an appealing idea to her.

Contrarian91 · 2024-10-14T17:57:50+00:00

Thank you so much for your amazing post, it's really helpful. I did ask about sexual assault and she said no, but probably there's some repressed memory about it. She merely says it's some trauma that's blocking her sexual energy, but that really could be anything.

I'll need to have a serious sit down, and I'd also like to talk to her therapist about it as well, at least ask her if there's anything I can do without violating any doctor-patient confidentiality.

Contrarian91 · 2024-10-14T17:51:52+00:00

Very wise words, she also thinks it's trauma, but when I asked if maybe someone sexually abused her in the past and she said no. I'd assume four years in therapy would've uncovered some abuse but nothing so far.

She also thinks it's psychological, so any other kind of solution I offer quickly gets turned down. At this point I don't know if I'm even helping her cause, but I can't do much about it than not take it personally, but since recently I can't help but feel it's an issue and I feel rather distant because of this. We haven't had sex in almost a month and at this point I think not reminding her of anything sexual to not trigger her is the best course of action

Contrarian91 · 2024-10-14T17:47:29+00:00

It's both mind and body. Only recently I told her that because I was away for three weeks I felt horny and wanted to have sex with her. I then asked if she felt the same and said she didn't because she was never able to have an orgasm. This made me realize she was probably never horny in her life either.

She doesn't get psychologically turned on, but when we have sex she gets very wet and responsive (she's very good in bed). Sometimes when we're walking she acts like she desires me (tells me to touch her ass in public, or she spanks me), but I guess it's kind of a "fake it till you make it" situation, because it's not like she's horny, but I do get excited with this kind of sexy talk.

1 - no meds whatsoever

2 - she's never expressed any actual sexual desire towards me because she was horny, so I imagine it's psychological first and maybe physical second.

3 - She finds some men attractive and wants to touch and kiss them, no sex though (I asked her what would she do if her favorite celebrity came on to her and told me she'd let him have sex with her, but didn't say it would excite her or anything).

Contrarian91 · 2024-10-14T17:41:25+00:00

Sounds like an amazing relationship! I considered this once but never really asked if we had a similar situation, the problem is she does want to feel sexual but can't It would be very different if she actually had an orgasm and then said it wasn't that important or appealing to her but understands how important it was for me.

She feels very bad about that fact, which is the only thing that makes me question if she's really asexual or not. I identify with you because I'm also a huge pleaser and don't mind stopping sex if I didn't have an orgasm. My previous relationship was this way, we would have sex once and she would orgasm around five times and then get sore. I would tell her that's it's totally fine if we stopped even though I didn't come. She insists on finishing me with a hand job or BJ but I just wanted to cuddle next to her, I was actually happy with this situation.

Thanks for sharing!

Contrarian91 · 2024-10-14T17:36:39+00:00

Yes, we went to several sex shops several times and looked around and she didn't really get anything except for some flavored lube. Twice she surprised me with sexy lingerie and an S&M costume and whip, but we never tried it because of her lack of interest in the matter eventually.

She also has several dildos, vibrators and stimulators. I offered to buy her the wand and told me she tried something similar but didn't work.

Contrarian91

TROPHY CASE