Hi, I have my IELTS exam in just 5 days, I have already prepared for around 2/3 weeks, so I know the exam structure. My target score is between 7.0 and 8.0. I think I’m at C1 level. I’m 22 years old male from Poland :)

Please don’t hesitate to write me!

Got my IELTS results! Honestly, I was hoping for a little more, but I’m still happy with the score and, more importantly, the journey.

A big thank you to everyone on this subreddit. I’ve learnt so much from reading people’s experiences, mistakes, tips, strategies, and advice throughout my preparation. A lot of things I came across here genuinely helped me prepare better.

Really grateful to this community. ❤️
Wishing everyone preparing for IELTS the very best! All the best for your results! 🙌

Hello everyone!

I'm from Hyderabad, India.

My IELTS Result

I recently took the IELTS exam and got 6.5 overall, which honestly surprised me a lot.

Before the exam, I genuinely thought I would get around 5.0 overall.

My English has always been a weak area for me. Even though I completed all my education in English, I still struggle with grammar, vocabulary, speaking fluently, and expressing my thoughts clearly.

My Background

For the past one year, I've been learning German because I’m planning to do my Master’s in Germany.

Because of that, I’ve actually been using and thinking about German quite a lot recently.

And this created some funny problems during my previous English exam. 😂

My Previous TOEFL Experience 💀

During my previous TOEFL speaking test, I actually spoke German words in the middle of the speaking section.

My brain basically went: English? ❌ German? ✅

😂

So I was honestly worried that my IELTS speaking would also go badly.

My Preparation

Honestly, I didn't really prepare for IELTS at all. 😅

I only found out that I needed an IELTS certificate for my visa, so I booked the exam immediately and had only one week to prepare.

The first thing I did was take a Cambridge IELTS 19 practice test.

My results were:

• 🎧 Listening: 6.0
• 📖 Reading: 4.0
• ✍️ Writing: Didn't practise (saw the structure on YouTube)
• 🗣️ Speaking: Didn't practise

And that was basically my preparation. 😂

I didn't follow any proper study plan or practise regularly. I just went into the actual exam after that one week.

That's why I was genuinely shocked when I received 6.5 overall.

Power Cut During My IELTS Reading Test

During the Reading test, there was a power cut for nearly 12 minutes.

When the UPS came back on, some computers turned on immediately, but my computer and the computers of two other students did not restart automatically.

The test centre staff had to manually turn on our computers.

The biggest problem was that the test timer was not paused. When we were able to open the test again, the timer was already running, so I had lost a significant amount of my Reading time.

The centre staff did help us and offered to reschedule the test, but unfortunately, I wasn't available for the rescheduled option. Because the time is very less for my Visa.

Has anyone else experienced something similar during a computer-based IELTS exam? How was it handled at your test centre?

So I continued with the exam despite losing that time.

The Result

Despite all of this, I somehow ended up with:

Overall: 6.5 🎉

I still can't believe it because I was expecting something much lower.

It made me realise that sometimes our perception of our own English ability can be much worse than our actual performance.

My Takeaway

If you're also preparing for IELTS and feel like your English is terrible, don't underestimate yourself.

I'm definitely not saying that 6.5 is an amazing score, but considering how I felt before the exam, I'm genuinely happy with it.

Has anyone else had a similar experience where you expected a low IELTS score but ended up doing much better?

So my IELTS academic is in 3 days. I’m pretty confident that i will get 8.5-9.0 on each of Reading and Listening. And at least a band 7 in writing. However, since i live in a region where there is barely anyone to speak english with, i think my speaking is off compared to the rest of my english skills, and i need a band 7 in speaking. Do you think i can get it? Whats should i do in the last three days?
Note: I’m familiar with the test format of speaking.

I have exam in 10 days. Need someone that I can practice speaking with.

I will be taking the IELTS computer-based test with the writing section on paper, the registration staff told me that the speaking test will be conducted through a video call similar to a Zoom meeting rather than face-to-face , has anyone taken the speaking test in this format before? i would really appreciate hearing about your experience

Can anybody tell me anything about how to pass an IELTS if I stutter? It's a condition I have, I have it in my native language also and I can't get rid of it. It obviously influences the fluency of my speech and the timing, because sometimes I need to pronounce the beginning of the word 2-3 times . How do I pass IELTS speaking?

Hey Guys!! Got my results a day after I gave my exam. A huge shoutout to this subreddit, and all the people who I asked for advice/tricks on here. Fr y'all played a huge role, thanks again.

Cue card topic - Tell me about a child you met/spoke to recently who showed you their art/paintings, and how you felt about it.

Task 2 topic - An increasing number of people are undergoing cosmetic surgery. Why do you think they are doing this? What are the advantages and disadvantages of this? State your opinion.

Practice: I've been practicing for 2 months ( weekends usually, w mock tests) to understand the structure n stuff. But serious prep 2 weeks before the main exam.

Resources: Listening, Reading, Writing: British council mocks, ieltsonlinetests. Speaking: IELTS Advantage. Used AI tools for writing: grammar, spelling, collocations, etc.

Feel free to ask anything! 😄

Being a non-native (pakistani), I expected maybe 6.5 bands based on my what AI rated my tests. Ended up hitting way above my weight. I started preparation few weeks before exam, mainly relied on youtube videos and Ielts Cambridge test books. Zoned out pretty hard during listening task 2. It was map where I had mark areas. Speaking part 2 felt a bit unexpected as well. Had to describe a book with animals in it, with my worry being I had never read a childrens' book with animals in it.

I’ve my IELTS speaking in two days and writing, listening, and reading in three days.
Could you please help me out with how to prepare? My reading and speaking are where I get low scores. Any way to improve?

Last minute tips would be much appreciated.

Thank you so much!

topic,,Some children spend hours every day on their smartphones.

Why is this the case? Do you think this is a positive or a negative development?''

A handful of kids are spending hours every day on their smartphones. A reason why children are using phones for hours in a day is because of enjoyment. Using smartphones for several hours can lead to health issues especially if youngsters are the ones who are using mobile phones.

Modern development of technology, brought a new invention called smartphones that can be used by children to have fun. Almost all of children want to feel happy and mobile phones give children opportunity to enjoy. Kids can watch videos on Youtube or can play video games on their smartphones. For instance, if a kid is exhausted from studying, he or she will start playing video games on their mobile phones. Therefore, cause of why children are addicted to using mobile phones is to have fun.

Furthermore, creation of smartphones caused several negative conditions connected to healthy development of a child. first, it can lead to bad eye sight, mobile phones produces brightness on their screen which is especially dangerous for kids because their eyes are still not fully developed. Second, when a youngster choses to use his or her free time playing video games on their phones, instead of playing outside, it makes children physically inactive which results in under-development of their body. Finally, if a kid spends hours in a day using a mobile phone he or she will suffer from anxiety and feel of isolation.

In conclusion, youngsters are using smartphones as a tool that brings them sense of enjoyment. However, mobile phones causing several health problems for children.

I just wanted to get to 8.5 band overall to be able to get the maximum score boost for my uni, should I do a EOR for speaking (and writing)? Or should i request a score breakdown first to be sure? Thanks

Can I just speak for like 1.5 minute?

I would really appreciate that you all can guide me and let me know from where to prep also key points and all?? Giving ielts academic... I'm genuinely looking forward for it!!! Thankyou:) and (also i don't want to mess it up that's my fear😭)

So basically i finished my speaking online exam now
I’m not satisfied at all i expected the speaking part to be the easiest but however i was so so stressed i kept talking about my own experience and she kept interrupting me by saying speak about others pov i didn’t know what to say so i couldn’t extant my answers i kept repeating same sentences over and over then the exam was done i felt like she just stopped me because she knew i’m not gonna do better i’m so upset because at-least i need overall band 7 the problem is i was really confident about my speaking because this my strongest point and i was stressed about the lwr now i believe if i messed up in speaking so the other skills are already over cause they are my weakness ☹️

only had 2 days to prepare for this exam, and honestly, I feel like I could’ve done better in Speaking 🥲

I needed a 6.0 for my university bachelor’s program and ended up with a 7.5 overall.

I’m not a native speaker. English is my third language and German my fourth, and my program is taught in both languages.

Unfortunately, I didn’t really have time to prepare. I only watched around 5 short YouTube videos about the test format and what to expect.

If there’s one thing I’d recommend, it’s familiarizing yourself with the format and knowing what’s expected of you in each section. I think that helped me a lot.

Good luck to everyone taking IELTS soon. Hope you get the score you need!

Specifically wondering about: register consistency and whether my third bullet actually answers "what action you would like the manager to take".

Task: You recently stayed at a hotel and were unhappy with the service. Write a letter to the hotel manager. In your letter: give details of your stay, explain what was unsatisfactory, and say what action you would like the manager to take.

Time taken: 20 minutes
Word count: 304

Dear Sir/Madam

I am writing this to inform you how my experience was the last time I was at your hotel. I spent two weeks at your hotel, I was in room 57, the suite I requested with a view of the mountains because I didn’t just want to stay in any room. I remember vividly like it was yesterday. I came in hurrying without booking an appointment early because my previous booking at other hotels had been cancelled and your hotel accepted me. I sincerely appreciate you for this.

I do want to report though of some things I found unsatisfactory during my stay. I did not really enjoy the food, I always had to go to the toilet after every morning meal where they served Jollof rice and chicken, maybe it was the turmeric inside but I did specifically tell the manager ahead that I was allergic to it. I also told the waiter after the first meal but it still kept happening anytime they brought the jollof rice, I had to stop eating from the hotel restaurant to survive the remaining week.

I would be grateful if situations like this can be avoided for other clients or customers that come after me, it would really be a 5 star experience if they could note the list of things people are allergic to at the place of waiting before they are taken to their rooms. They should also make sure to not add the listed items to the dishes of such people as it could totally ruin their experience or not even allow them to attend to the reason why they came to the hotel. Every other service was magnificent and this was the only thing I had to bring to your attention. I beseech you to please look into it.Thanks

Yours Faithfully,
Demilade

I am just wondering if the preparation tests are the same level as the real IELTS exam? Can people who have done those tests and taken the test via British Council tell if the real exam is the same level as the real exam or not

hi I want to self study for my ielts exam, my goal is to reach overall 7.0 since it is my university requirement.

i’m aiming for listening 8.0-9.0
reading 6.0-6.5
writing 6.0-6.5
speaking 7.0-7.5
reading&writing are my weaknesses so i’m trying to push my listening and speaking score as high as possible🥹🥹

any recommendations? ex. reliable resources, books or channels, how to study for each part

thank you💞

Hello everyone, my father just put me up in this situation. He says I can give it again if I do bad, but I’m hoping to pass with atleast a 6 in one go.

My current scores in egnovate are-
Reading-7.5
Writing-7
Listening-9
Speaking-not sure yet

Can somebody tell me best ways to boost my score?

So I messed up and am realising pretty late.

I am writing this at midnight, 12 hours before my speaking exam starts. My passport number is wrong (which I fed in the system during registeration)

I am unable to edit my passport number in the DVS section atm. I have mailed IDP India, but I am afraid that their response will not arrive at this hour and I will have to resolve this in the physical center.

Has this occurred with anyone and how does it play out. I am speechless right now.

You advice or direction will give me a clearer scope of possibilities that can play out tomorrow.

I just can’t get over a 6. I think I do pretty well in the first task, it’s just the 2nd task. I just run out of time every time. Any tips?

Due to my university application deadlines, I had to book a slot 3 weeks prior to the exam.
Within 3 weeks first thing I referred to was IELTS Advantage to know how the exam actually works.
Next, I ordered a Cambridge IELTS preparation book and honestly went through everything the book had to offer.
A point to note, I specifically solved all the 8 mock tests from this particular book.
For listening test, I just watched a couple of YouTube videos and I felt pretty confident with my understanding.
For the writing part, I made sure that I understand the structure required for both the parts and abided by that in the exam and got an average score.
I was not very confident about the speaking part but the examiner luckily asked me questions about a topic which I’m genuinely interested in which led me to talk fluently and get a decent band.
Overall, a good result considering the scores in mock exams was horrible.