Language requirements are one of prominent yet crucial aspect in the process of pursuing either a career or education abroad. One of the traditional method of proving the ability is through tests one of which we are going to talk about: ielts. As a member of globmove team who would like to inform people about opportunities and crucial insight, I will share with you the techniques I have utilized as they were helpful and how they got me a good score which are 7 and above. There are several paid coaching and other services out there which might be the best in some cases but they could be expensive or even harder to access for many at time which is why I feel this is important to share with you.  

To state the fact from my personal experience as well, you don’t need another party as long as you utilize proper strategy and you absolutely can prepare on your own and still score high result the same way I did. I recently took the IELTS ACADEMIC exam myself and I did not use paid  coaching or things like that at all. In this article, we are going to talk about crucial tips, areas to improve and resources/techniques I utilized alongside other information that are vital from my experience.

 Why Self-Study for IELTS Works Better Than Coaching

Sometimes you might think that you will never fully prepared on your own and instead

choose other option which often requires payment and  Here’s why self-study can be better:

• You learn at your own pace

You don’t have to follow someone’s schedule and you also have the freedom of practicing a the time that works best for you like I just did. You don’t follow a generic schedule.

• You focus exactly on your weaknesses

I highly recommend that you do this early and doing on your own gives you more time and opportunity to work on it very well.  

• You avoid outdated teaching methods

You have freedom to choose the method that works for and that avoids old materials or “test tricks” instead of real skills.

• You save money

Some of these programs can be costly and you can avoid paying any amount of money by preparing appropriately on your own.  

• You improve real English — not memorized templates

As I have talked about this in the other blog here on globmove site this is language test and not memory one so instead of memorizing stuff from coaching you practice actually in your own by engaging with preparation.  

 Part 1: Understanding the IELTS Exam Format (The Foundation)

One of the most important thing to understand regardless of how advanced your English language ability is knowing the format which shapes strategy.  

1. IELTS Listening

There are 40 questions of different sorts which requires concentration and, it lasts 30 minutes. It’s important to expose yourself to different accents such as: British, Australian, Canadian, etc.

2. IELTS Reading

It’s crucial to keep track of time as I did as well and it also has 40 questions, and lasts60 minutes. Here time pressure is the challenge you have to remember.

3. IELTS Writing

This one actually has 2 different questions with different weight and requirement and there are different types you might be asked here as well lasting 1 hour.  

4. IELTS Speaking

You either take this before or after the other three and in my case I took it two days before the other one’s which allowed me with final 24-48 hr preparation. It lasts about 12–14 minutes and it took like 7 or 8 minutes in my case and I scored one of high score in here.

Part 2: The 30-Day Self-Study Strategy I Used

 To give you the schedule I had alongside the tasks and preparation activities, there is no complication and you could easily utilize it.

Week 1 — Build Basics & Understand Patterns Focus on:

• Grammar review to avoid errors in your tests
• Basic vocabulary and synonyms look up
• Familiarizing with format briefly stated above
• Listening practice with simple English content
• Reading short passages

I recommend these free resources that I used which are:  

• BBC News and articles online
• Podcasts from different countries on various subjects
• British Council samples
• YouTube channels: IELTS Advantage which I have recommended before on the other blog, Ross IELTS Academy

Week 2 — Improve Skills Through Daily Practice It is vital you stay consistent and Focus on:

• Listening daily to the podcasts and talk shows
• Reading articles daily
• Writing simple essays and practicing interpretation ofgraphs
• Practicing speaking with a partner or yourself

Resources that I have used and think you should check out are:

• TED Talks youtube channel with variety of speakers
• Podcasts ( I recommend joe rogan, chris Williamson, steen bartlet shows)
• Cambridge IELTS Books and other relevant materials
• Write & check essays using Grammarly or Quillbot and eventhough it can be harsh at times use chatgpt to evaluate your essay but di not rely on it as I saw it mark band 9 essay as band 6.

Week 3 — Full Practice Tests & Mistake Analysis

In the third week you already have reached crucial stage and the daily tasks should include:

• Listening test practice you could find to enhance concentration
• Reading tests as well while focusing on time management
• Both of the Writing tasks under time limit
• Some minutes of Speaking practice
• More importantly review every mistake carefully and focus on your weaknesses

Mistake analysis is extremely impactful when I was in the process as well and they will help you address why mistakes have been occurred and how you will become more accurate and improve for the test.

Week 4 — Real Exam Simulation

Here Is more serious that ever before and now you should create situation that best emulate the exam setting. Take tests like on the ielts portal you used, practice speaking with someone as evaluator and stay focused mentally as well. I did that and I can tell you that nothing beats practicing under these conditions.

Part 3: How I Improved IELTS Listening (Without Coaching)

As I mentioned above exposure to accents and concentration is important for this at least from my personal experience and I have seen the value of these.

• Daily exposure to accents

As I recommended I listened to youtuber’s of different contents some of which I have recommended above and it is very powerful as you will familarize yourself with them to excel on listening.

• Practicing Cambridge listening tests

Regularly try these as they are the closest to the real exam.

• Focus on Section 3 & 4

The difficulty goes up and while practicing focus on hardest one’s, you will see the value of this as I did on the test day and also utilize the best strategy for you.

• The biggest tip: don’t panic if you miss a word

It’s normal to miss one or two details as sometimes accent or synonym or distractors might make you, but don’t brood over it and fill your guess, and move on like I did when I missed answer.

Part 4: How I Improved IELTS Reading (My Exact Strategy)

This is the section where you would have to be very careful with time while using techniques and some of tips are:

• Read questions BEFORE reading the passage

If you develop vital techniques to look for information, you don’t read the whole text you just scan for answers which saves you time and utilize keywords when scanning.

• Don’t get stuck on one question

Time is big challenge here so stop wasting it If you can’t find the answer, skip it and come back later.

• Practice 1 reading test daily

Reading improves faster with consistency so read and improve.

 Part 5: How I Improved IELTS Writing (The Hardest Section)

I have crucial insight to share as writing is where self-study can be difficult  but completely doable.

• Task 1 Strategy (Academic)
  • Identify main features to summarize at the beginning
  • Compare data and report with data presented
  • Use formal tone and diverse vocabulary not just fancy word

For the task 2 think of ideas before writing  and use example structure:

• Introduction
• Overview
• Body paragraph 1
• Body paragraph 2

• Avoid memorized templates

It is not hard to detect for them so avoid this and be authentic.  

• Use simple sentences

One thing I have realized is that IELTS rewards clarity, not complexity which is why you should avoid fancy words you might use wrongly.

• Write at least proper number of words

Too short = low score Too long = mistakes

 Part 6: IELTS Speaking — My Real Experience & Tips

This is my favourite part as I was relaxed and it was just a conversation in which I engaged and did well, so here’s what I learned from the real test:

• The examiner is not your enemy

The one I talked with was very calm and easy to talk to and I din’t felt like exam so get rid of that assumption before you proceed.

• Don’t memorize answers

Initially questions are similar so be prepared and answer simultaneously but not robotic memorized answer which is detectable.

• Improve fluency, not accent

You must know that accent is not graded but fluency and clarity matter. Add details to answers and practice for exam format like I did. I also watched a lot of high band score youtube video’s so do it as well.

Part 8: Mistakes I Made — So You Don’t Repeat Them

Here are the errors I made during preparation:

1.   Not timing myself in the beginning

I didn’t knew importance at the time but time pressure is real.

2. Ignoring writing for too long

It is harshly marked and therefore writing needs practice.

3. Not practicing reading daily

Reading requires consistency and I kind of neglected it.

4. Losing focus in listening when I missed one answer

This ruined the one or two answers as I once distracted from conversation.

Part 9: What I Would Do Differently If I Took It Again

If I had to retake IELTS, I would:

• Start writing earlier and focus on accuracy
• Do reading preparation better than I did
• Practice listening with harder recordings and concentrate more on convo
• Build vocabulary through reading, not lists
• Sleep well the night before and improve my time management as well

Conclusion  

In conclusion, there is common assumption that this is extremely hard to do it on your own but as you have seen from mine and also other’s you definitely can score high by practicing on your own. But that doesn’t mean the work should be less but in fact it should even be more and with the proper focus, consistent practice and reflection on mistakes you can prepare as effective as you could be. And If I did it without coaching, you can do too