Recently a few people have asked me whether it's possible to get a band 9 if English is not your first language.
The answer is yes. Band 9 is not reserved for native English speakers. Remember, the IELTS exam is primarily a test for people whose first language is not English. An educated native English speaker should be capable of getting band 9 without too much difficulty. In fact, an English speaker who writes/speaks well (e.g. a journalist) should be 'off the scale' (beyond band 9).
Note: I said band 9 was possible, I didn't say it was easy!
I agree with you Simon, once I study and practice more,I feel that the exam questions are getting easier to me. well, I am still far away from my goal, I am still working on.
I think most people have the same problem as mine which is many english words, sentacnes and ideas in my head but when the question comes, my brain doesnt work probably to pick up a correct one to answer it. The same as you got many quality ingredients and a perfect recipe on hand, but you dont know where to start.
I think learning english is the same as cooking
let's keep practicing!!
Best regards,
Luminous
Posted by: luminous43 | August 21, 2011 at 01:33
Luminous,
People aiming high shouldn't have much difficulty expressing themselves or choosing the correct word (collocations or diction, I'd say). They usually find organizing the whole essay 'more' difficult because the organization of an essay can spoil everything. (just imagine everything is like a mess!)
I talked to some of my friends, asking them what their worry is and they told me it is the organization of an essay that puzzles them most of the time. The control of paragraphing, the logical progression, and the organization of a piece of writing are usually their concerns.
Simon has given us a lot of good ideas, all of which are worth noticing and 'savoring'.
Best wishes, and hope you can get a high score!
MT.
Posted by: MT | August 21, 2011 at 04:17
hello Simon,
my reading, listening and writing is good. In my mock test i daily get 6.5 to 7 bands but my speaking is not good, i have lot of idea, all idea is very good and relative to qstn, but i speak very fast. i try to control my speed, start with slowly but after few times i speak very fast. what i do? plz help me.
Posted by: Deepak | August 22, 2011 at 07:40
Thanks for sharing your thoughts Luminous and MT. I like your 'cooking' idea Luminous!
...
Hi Deepak,
Maybe you could try recording yourself - then you can listen to yourself and analyse what you're doing well and badly. The act of recording your answers might make you slow down.
Some of my students recorded themselves on their phones - they were surprised when they listened to themselves later.
Posted by: SImon | August 22, 2011 at 17:27
Hi Simon,
I effortlessly aced my IELTS 5 years ago scoring 9, 8, 8, 7.5 in each band. Now after 5 years and studying English at a university level, I scored 6.5 in my writing twice. Has the writing criteria changed?
Posted by: Pratistha | September 25, 2013 at 06:48