Memorising can be a good strategy for speaking part 2 because the same topics are often repeated. Click here to see the six main topic areas that I tell my students to prepare first.
But memorising can be a risky strategy unless you are able to adapt your answers to the specific question. For example, if you prepared a description of a holiday, would you be able to adapt it for this question about a positive experience you had as a teenager?
The smart way to study for part 2 is to prepare a few key topics, then spend lots of time practising ways to adapt what you prepared to other questions.
Hello Simon sir,just got my result...;lis-7.5,read-6.5,writing-6.5,speaking-7...overall 7.I need 7 in individual catagorie ,Someone told me there is no half band in writing....I don't know wht to do?would you pls give me some advice?
Posted by: maya | May 09, 2014 at 11:05
Check this from Simon´s page
Sunday, February 16, 2014
IELTS Advice: from 6.5 to 7
One of the most common questions that people ask me is: "How can I improve my score from 6.5 to 7?"
Here's some advice if your current score is 6.5:
The good news is that you are not doing anything wrong in terms of exam technique. The fact that you are getting 6.5 means that you are doing the exam in the right way.
You are very close to getting a 7. In the writing and speaking tests, a score of 6.5 means that you are already achieving band 7 in half of the requirements.
You don't need a special technique or piece of advice. You only need to make small improvements. For example, in the speaking and writing tests, try to express your ideas in a bit more detail, and try to reduce the number of small mistakes that you make.
Posted by: JuanM | May 09, 2014 at 13:16
My cue card question was about talk about a situation when you forgot to do something..my test was on 7th of May..
Part 3 was so tricky and tough..examiner ask different questions about memory. .
In part 1 questions were related to my home town like which things u dislike about ur home town etc
Posted by: sara | May 09, 2014 at 15:40
JuanM,thank you very much....I'm afraid next time if I could obtain 7 or not.I m gonna sit fr exam next 24th of may
Posted by: Maya | May 09, 2014 at 16:41
Can anybody help the word staff is singular or pleural.which word is correct staff or staffs?
Posted by: bj | May 09, 2014 at 17:12
Ielts result of 26th April:,L7.5,R7,W6.5,S7.
Struggling to get 7 each for a long time. It's frustrating .
Ielts score going to be raised 7.5 overall and not less then 7 individual for GMC registration from 18th June. Anybody knows how much individual score will be needed to get a 7.5 overall .
Thanks.
Dr Tariq
Posted by: Tariq | May 09, 2014 at 19:11
In order to ADAPT something you have memorized to a new topic, the first thing you must do is to UNDERSTAND what you have actually memorized, and then MODIFY the original version to make it suitable and logical for the specific question.
In my opinion, "rote memorization" is becoming a big problem especially for students with low level of English as they tend to use memorized phrases, expressions, or even full sentences inappropriately for their answers (in both speaking and writing). When you see something nice from model essays/answers, make sure you do a bit of research on its usage (dictionary or Google) before spending the time to memorize it, otherwise I think that is just a waste of effort.
Have a nice weekend everyone!
Posted by: Martin | May 09, 2014 at 20:42
Thanks Martin sir,I noticed your previous advice before,it was real
help.thanks a lot
Posted by: Maya | May 09, 2014 at 21:39
Good point Martin. I was concerned about using the word "memorise" because of the problem you describe.
I hope students understand that I'm recommending that they memorise their own ideas for task 2 topics, not lists of "any topic" phrases.
Posted by: Simon | May 09, 2014 at 23:17
Bj
Staff is uncountable. Don't write or say 'staffs'.
Posted by: sjm | May 10, 2014 at 03:49
Find partner to practice IELTS speaking every day.
Anyone feel interested to joy with me please add my skype premmanat.k
Hope to see you.
Posted by: Tai | May 10, 2014 at 17:51
Hi Simon,
I had my speaking exam last Friday ..and for many questions in part one the examiner was interrupting my answer and move to next question , I was to answer these questions with 5 statements but once I said the first statement ,he would interrupt me ..is this normal ??
Posted by: amro | May 11, 2014 at 07:34
I forgot to tell you that for the last month I have been practicing how to answer ielts question in a structured way ... like if the question was about the "Types of" then I would use general structure and add some details to it... or if the question was about "advantages of something" then I would use another structure !!!
Posted by: amro | May 11, 2014 at 07:38
Hi amro
could you please explain these structure ?
Posted by: sami | May 11, 2014 at 14:21
Hi Sami,
The structure as follows :
1- The question was about types of TV programs I like ? so I started my answer with :
Of course , it goes without saying that theres quite a mixed variety of Tv programs that I like , Though I think ... then he interrupted me and moved .
2- The question was about "advantages of something" : the answer would be :
Well I suppose that there are quite a few clear benefits , but I would probably have to say that for the most part , the one thing that really stands out is that .......
I guess that another obvious plus point is that .... Along with this , a further merit is that ...
And I do have other structures as well .
Posted by: amro | May 12, 2014 at 07:10
Hi amro,
I'm afraid those "structures" are the ones that examiners don't want to listen... and maybe that's the reason why the examiner kept interrupting you? Remember that Part1 questions are supposed to be easy, so just keep your answers short and go straight to the point.
If you read the sample answers that Simon or I have been posting, you will notice that we actually never use such phrases/structures.
Posted by: Martin | May 15, 2014 at 00:43