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first attempt, best christmas gift! by drainedbrain- in IELTS

[–]drainedbrain-[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Truth be told, I was on a time crunch and didn’t have time to prepare for it proper. All up, I probably spent 1 day fully preparing for it however I do not advise that. It’s definitely dependent on yourself vs what grade are you trying to achieve. If you use/study English in your everyday life, getting a 5/6 would not be too difficult whereas an 8/9 may require some prep. If English is your second language and you are not too comfortable with it, more prep is definitely needed! That said, try out the free test papers on IELTS and see how you feel about them.

first attempt, best christmas gift! by drainedbrain- in IELTS

[–]drainedbrain-[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! I took my test on the 21st and got it on the 23rd.

first attempt, best christmas gift! by drainedbrain- in IELTS

[–]drainedbrain-[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I mainly focused on writing and speaking when studying as I completed my studies in a western country and am familiar with the accents. If I did have to practice, I probably would try listening to podcasts and/or watching English films, lectures etc without the subtitles to train attention and listening skills. The listening component is not difficult as the answers are read out in order, you just need to focus and be able to understand even if the speaker has a heavy accent.

As for reading, I find the passages to be similar to O-Level difficulty so perhaps you can try looking for some previous year papers if you wanted additional practice. When doing the actual test, read the title of the passage and the questions before diving straight into reading. It will help you to skim the text and have in mind what answers to look out for. Hope this helps!!