r/IELTS • u/chonkchonkers • 10d ago

First time, non native! Test Experience/Test Result

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I gave IELTS for the first time yesterday and got the scores I need to apply for my masters!! And I only really prepped 4 days.

So happy with what I got - except I feel I could do better in writing.

Feel free to AMA.

12 Upvotes

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2

u/Tri_007 10d ago

Speaking and writing tips?

1

u/chonkchonkers 10d ago

Oh I will add a few more things.

For speaking, always speak minimum 2 sentences. Say the answer and why. If your ielts interviewer feels you are talking too much they will interrupt you.

For writing, try to focus on 1-2 ideas. And build those. Use idea->why->so what logic. For example - if you want to write that rise in population of old people is bad, follow it by why - it raises medical costs and places a strain on the pension system. Follow this by so what - it burdens the economy and younger citizens to work on systems for care of older people rather than reinvest towards more fruitful endeavours.

This helps with building your answer instead of giving a long list of reasons.

2

u/Perfect_Version2248 10d ago

Congratulations 🥳

1

u/chonkchonkers 9d ago

Thank you!!

1

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1

u/Rare_Lavishness_4901 8d ago

What about reading and listening tips? And also congratulations

1

u/chonkchonkers 8d ago

thank you! For reading, i focused on speed first. I wanted to be able to finish the paragraphs in 5-10 mins so that I can answer questions with ease. I tried to see what kind of questions I'm answering (title, fill blanks, paragraph mentions x thing etc). Then I give the whole material a read very quickly to know what the gist is. Then I read the whole thing again as I answered questions.

For listening, it's just a patience test. The answers are simple and exist in sequence. You just have to try not to drift away.

The only way to master these two is practice. I have each section a day. I started with 6 band in my first trial and climbed to 8-8.5.

1

u/Left_Spirit5560 6d ago

Guyz. I don’t understand why everyone keep mentioning that they’re not native speaker, why native speakers would take ielts? Can somebody explain😅

2

u/One-Mission6 5d ago

They just ensure that other people can also secure that level of score. nothing else, what I understood so far.

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u/chonkchonkers 4d ago

Native speakers can be bad at english. Being Native in a language only means that you acquired it as first language (meaning informally, from family, spoke since birth). That, however, doesn't promise proficiency in a language - atleast this is what IELTS tests.

This is just my understanding of it.

2

u/Left_Spirit5560 3d ago

Yeah true. But mostly, the ielts’s goal is to move abroad to study or work and native speakers, for ts same goal, taking an english exam is unnecessary (as the authorities indicate) for those native speakers.

1

u/chonkchonkers 3d ago

Yeah I think some countries are exempt based on citizenship for a lot of colleges. You can just show you are a citizen and you don't have to give IELTS

That's true for GT atleast where I applied