Effective IELTS Preparation Online? What Should You Expect?

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The IELTS exam is a difficult test but not an impossible one.
It tests the English-language skills that students actually need to succeed in
graduate programmes, and its assessments are rigorous and thorough.

That said, IELTS also expects each of the four tasks ?
listening, reading, writing and speaking ? to be done in a particular way. It
doesn?t necessarily specify what that way is. Consequently, many ILTS candidates
with high English language skills score more poorly than they might if they knew
the ?rules.?

The prime criterion of a good IELTS preparation course is
that it trains candidates in the ways IELTS wants to see things done. Also,
because IELTS often asks tricky questions, it is imperative that anyone who
wishes to achieve a high score learn the tricks, how to spot them, and how to
overcome them.

To decide whether a particular IELTS preparation course is fully adequate,
look for specific guidance in the following aspects of each of the four tasks:

Listening

• Check to see that the different demands of each of the four sections of
  the Listening Test is explained.


• 
  

  Then make sure that there is a good explanation of the
  question types that are most often encountered in Listening. Although any of
  the question types used in the Reading Test can also be used in Listening, the
  Listening Test is more likely to focus on form-filling, summary gap-filling,
  short-answer, true-and-false and fact-and-opinion questions. You should find
  instruction not only on those question types and how they work, but also on
  the indirect ways IELTS often asks questions, the way it relies on rewordings
  of things that are spoken ? so that you have to understand the same idea
  expressed in two different ways ? and words before and after key ideas that
  change the meaning of words supplied in questions.



• There also should be tips on how to anticipate answers before you hear
  them.

Reading

• 
  

  Make sure that there is thorough explanations of all the
  IELTS question types, how they work, how IELTS sometimes asks them, and how
  you should answer them.



• 
  

  Check that there are at least three readings of appropriate
  IELTS length and difficulty, so you can learn to time yourself to read a
  passage and answer 13 questions in 20 minutes.



• 
  

  Look to see if there are useful tips on how to read quickly
  and with the single purpose of answering questions correctly. Normal advice
  about ?speed reading? is not enough, because the issue is not how fast you
  read or even how much of the passage you understand ? just how many questions
  you answer correctly.

Writing Task 1

• 
  

  Look to see that there are complete explanations about how
  to comprehend information presented in graphic formats such as graphs, bar
  charts, pie charts and diagrams. You must know how to ?read? all six types of
  graphic data correctly, or you will make inaccurate observations that are the
  fatal flaw of Writing Task 1.



• 
  

  Make sure there is a complete, sentence-by-sentence
  explanation of the report form. No matter what data you are asked to describe,
  the report format is the same and must be understood completely and
  thoroughly.



• 
  

  Check to see that all the vocabulary you need to describe
  information precisely is provided. There should be appropriate vocabulary
  lists, indications of how to combine words, and clear explanations of the
  different kinds of vocabulary different features of graphic information
  require.

Writing Task 2

• 
  

  Make sure that the IELTS preparation materials teach you
  what kind of essay? opinion, explanation, or discussion? is required to answer
  the IELTS question properly. Writing the wrong kind of essay, no matter how
  well, could cost you as much as a whole band point.Check that the formats for
  all three essay types are presented in full, with the names and functions of
  each of the sentence types precisely described. Following the expected format
  is key to writing a good essay.



• 
  

  Look to see that the preparation materials include ample
  exercises. Most students need practice to learn how to write the different
  kinds of sentences? from hooks to thesis statements to supporting sentences ?
  that work together to make a successful essay. Make sure that the course you
  take includes plenty of exercises so you can get the practice you need.

Speaking

• 
  

  The Speaking task has three distinct parts. Make sure the
  nature and function of all three is clearly explained.



• 
  

  Check to see that there is clear explanation of the ?Long
  Turn,? the central section in which you must speak by yourself without any
  help from the examiner. There should be clear directions about how to give
  your answer to that critically important question shape and form.



• 
  

  Look to see that the preparation material gives you
  concrete tips on how to turn question-answering into real communication and
  natural conversation.



• 
  

  Make sure that there are explanations of more than just
  proper verbal language. Good, appropriate body language can be almost as
  important in this task, which is the only one that puts candidates
  face-to-face with the examiner.

Svend Nelson is a university lecturer and internet entrepreneur. He is
director of UniRoute Limited, a Hong Kong based company with offices in Bangkok
and London providing IELTS online
preparation and other web-based courses for
online university preparation . Svend lived and worked in various countries
across Latin America, Europe and Asia before settling with his wife in Thailand

online preparation and other web-based courses for . Svend lived and worked
in various countries across Latin America, Europe and Asia before settling with
his wife in Thailandonline preparation and other web-based courses for . Svend
lived and worked in various countries across Latin America, Europe and Asia
before settling with his wife in Thailand