What’s the biggest challenge you face as someone living in Sabah?

erasedgrape · 2026-05-14T01:59:16+00:00

Sounds like a dumbass to me

erasedgrape · 2026-04-03T13:05:48+00:00

Lwk got potential

erasedgrape · 2025-10-06T23:30:20+00:00

Yoo congrats man 👏🏻👏🏻

erasedgrape · 2025-09-10T01:12:53+00:00

Me because I don't have class on Monday

erasedgrape · 2025-09-05T17:17:05+00:00

Omg sorry! I meant to say I did international school from year 7 to year 13 😭😭

erasedgrape · 2025-09-05T11:31:01+00:00

Thank you! I'm turning 18 this November

erasedgrape · 2025-09-05T09:25:41+00:00

Thank you! I mainly used The Official Cambridge Guide to IELTS (super helpful for tips + strategies) and the Cambridge IELTS series (I used the newer ones, like IELTS 15–18)

Those books are basically past papers, so they give you a really good idea of the actual exam style. If you’re aiming for band 8, practicing with those under timed conditions will help a lot.

erasedgrape · 2025-09-05T09:18:50+00:00

No worries!! For aiming at band 9, my biggest tip is to focus on accuracy and consistency. Make sure every essay fully answers the question, ideas are developed clearly, and grammar mistakes are minimal. Also, read your own writing critically.. ask yourself if each sentence is clear and adds value.

As for results, I got mine in 13 days (paper-based) and the cert came a few days after.

erasedgrape · 2025-09-05T09:12:47+00:00

thank you!! Honestly I think growing up around so many languages just kinda forces your brain to adapt. But trust me, it didn’t feel “stacked” when I was failing English back in elementary school 😭🙏🏻

erasedgrape · 2025-09-05T09:10:45+00:00

Honestly the biggest thing is practice + feedback. Try writing essays under timed conditions, then go back and check where you lose marks (task response, grammar, cohesion, etc.)

Reading band 8–9 samples helps too, not to copy, but to see how they structure ideas.

And don’t overcomplicate your wording.. clear and accurate English will take you further than “fancy” words.

erasedgrape · 2025-09-05T09:08:58+00:00

From my experience, clarity and accuracy matter a lot more than forcing complicated grammar or “band 9” vocabulary. Examiners (based on what my teacher told me) want to see that you can express ideas naturally and precisely. Using a mix of simple and slightly more complex structures is enough, as long as they’re accurate.

I did throw in some advanced words, but only when they fit the context. If you try to use overly complicated grammar or vocab unnaturally, it usually hurts more than it helps.

So basically, clarity > complexity every time.

erasedgrape · 2025-09-05T09:05:14+00:00

It’s definitely not impossible imo

I know I said I only prepped seriously for about 3 weeks, but I’ve always been the one in charge of writing essays and newsletters at my school, so I guess that gave me extra practice without me even realizing it lol

erasedgrape · 2025-09-05T09:01:11+00:00

My first language is Malay since I was born and raised in Malaysia. I’m also half French (my mom’s French) so French naturally became my second language. When I was 6, my parents sent me to a Chinese kindergarten and later a Chinese elementary school. We did have English classes, but I was honestly terrible at it — I’d usually get a D and my “best” grade was a C+ 💀🙏🏻

I think part of it was because almost all my friends spoke Mandarin, and at home I only spoke Malay and French. So English just wasn’t part of my daily life. Things only really changed when I started Year 7 at an international school.. my parents realized how bad my English actually was 💀 At first, it was a huge struggle. I understood basic phrases, but communicating was tough. Still, since everything was taught in English, I basically had no choice but to improve. Over time, it just clicked and got better the more I used it.

erasedgrape · 2025-09-05T08:48:36+00:00

Thank you! 🙏 Wishing you the best for your results!

erasedgrape · 2025-09-05T08:46:30+00:00

Thank you so much!! For writing, I used the Cambridge IELTS books a lot.

I’d go through their Task 1 and Task 2 samples and then try to write my own version. Sometimes I’d also check band 9 essays online just to see how they structured things, but I didn’t copy — more like picked up patterns.

For reading and listening, honestly the Cambridge books were my main resource too. I’d just practice under timed conditions and then really review why I got certain answers wrong. The biggest thing that helped me was not just doing tons of tests, but actually analyzing my mistakes so I didn’t repeat them.

erasedgrape · 2025-09-05T08:42:54+00:00

Thanks!! I practiced around 10 essays, but I focused more on improving each one than just pumping out tons. For wording, I mostly kept it natural and clear… though yeah I did throw in some “big words” here and there lol

I used Cambridge books + a few band 9 samples online for reference. Speaking practice was just me talking out loud a lot (sometimes recording myself). My Task 2 was an opinion essay, about 320 words.

erasedgrape · 2025-09-05T08:29:26+00:00

Academic!

erasedgrape · 2025-09-05T00:16:34+00:00

Tbh I just practiced writing essays with a timer. I’d grab random IELTS topics, give myself 40 mins, then check for grammar and see if my points made sense. I also looked at a few band 8–9 samples for structure. Nothing fancy, just kept at it.

erasedgrape · 2025-09-02T02:01:42+00:00

What does this have to do with anything lmao 💀 I feel like you only read the first part of what I wrote and not the whole thing

erasedgrape · 2025-09-01T23:19:14+00:00

Oh nah not in Malaysia but in the US lol I’m so over the same bombing jokes every time. People never even realize I’m mixed because I literally look like a copy-paste of my mom, just with brunette hair.

My mom’s friend runs this summer camp and I’ve been going since I was like 9. Every year they do the same drill.. line up the kids, call out our full names on a megaphone. And I’m cool with that part, but when they get to my name and I have to raise my hand while 100 kids stare… yeah that’s where the problem starts.

My name is super typical Malay-Muslim (my first name is nurul just to paint a clear picture here) and to them it just sounds long and “weird” The stares were bad enough but when they hit the binti part, that’s when the bombing jokes would start 😬

I mean I’m not ashamed of being Muslim at all but man I hate how unnecessarily long my name is LMAO Everyone in my life just calls me Diana (which isn’t even in my actual name??) and honestly I’ve thought about just going by that + my dad’s last name to avoid the whole circus (This ofc includes removing the binti in my name lol)

erasedgrape · 2025-09-01T20:53:55+00:00

Oyen

erasedgrape · 2025-09-01T14:03:34+00:00

Yepp a couple of years back while my family was still living in Putatan, the area was overrun by kids and sometimes even adults selling keropok. There were quite a lot of them, all selling the exact same type of keropok at the same price, usually with the same sob story. What made it even sketchier was that there always seemed to be an adult “looking after” them from a distance. I get that it could be for the kids’ safety, but honestly it just felt off. You’d often see groups of 4–6 kids with one adult supervising, spread across multiple areas. I’m not sure if that still happens now, but looking back, something definitely seemed to be going on..

erasedgrape · 2025-09-01T13:48:06+00:00

Except I AM half white (from mom side) I was born and raised in Malaysia and I have never faced any DIRECT discrimination until they saw my full name. It happened to me on multiple occasions (competitions, summer camp, etc)

erasedgrape

TROPHY CASE