IELTS Advance Tips That Can Help You

Note: I am assuming that you know the basics of IELTS and know how things
work such as planning before writing or what will be the sections in speaking.
These are advanced tips that can help you get that 1 or 0.5 bands you might get
stuck on.
If your foundation is not strong and you are not able to make simple sentences,
these tips will not be helpful for you and I suggest first join an academy first and
make your basis strong.
If you think that you have time during the exam then you are wrong, managing
time properly for each activity. From solving to rechecking on time is a skill you
should master.
1.1 LISTENING
1) Make sure the headphone given to you is working properly and adjust the volume that is bearable
as high sound can cause some issues to hear
2) Underline key points in each sentence as some sections especially the last one are long and you
can forget what you have read before the recording starts.
3) Underlining key points will make you stay on track and maintain focus when the recording is
playing.
4) This is the most important tip but requires some practice as executed poorly can prove to be a
disaster. Read questions and underline key points when the recording is guiding you on what to
do. Basically, staying few seconds ahead and focus on understanding the question by ignoring
what is being guided in the recording (for example, turnover to next page…, or listening tests have
4 sections…). As the guidelines are the same for each test you must have heard them while
practicing for IELTS and you know what to do, you don’t need to listen to them carefully during
the exam.
5) Remember as soon as the guidelines recording is finished (for example, turnover to next page, or
listening tests have 4 sections) and the question-related recording starts leave everything and
listen to the recording properly to answer the questions. By this time you must have underlined
key points making it easy for you to answer

1.2 READING
1) Never read the passage as stories or novels. You are in an exam, not reading for leisure purpose
2) Focus on answering the questions.
 3) Start with reading the title of passage and sub-heading this will be enough for you to get an idea
of what is the passage about.
4) Turnover to the questions next. Read the questions and start skimming the passages using
keywords or ideas.
5) For example, the question can be about ‘'what Dr. John believed about the airline crash?’. Scan
the passage find word Dr. John and read the sentences around it you will get the answer in them.
6) However, there are some questions like giving headings to their most appropriate paragraph in
the passage. For this purpose, you have to read the paragraphs and extract the idea of what the
paragraph is about and which heading should be given to it.
7) Still in this situation, extract the idea as quickly as possible.
8) Be quick, each passage should take no more than 10-12 minutes.

1.3 WRITING
1) Never take this module easy, your practice should be dedicated 70% towards this module. It took
me 3 attempts to get 7 bands in writing while I have also scored 9 bands each in listening and
reading previously.
2) Practice writing as much as you can and hire a professional trainer for this module who can
breakdown and check your scripts properly.
3) Download the IELTS writing app from play store on your mobile and read its sample paras, also
compare those sample paras with your scripts.
4) No fancy words are needed for writing all you need is fully answering the tasks with logical
reasoning and arrangement of your paragraphs in both essays and letters.
5) This one is important, the following words are your golden ticket to 7 or 7+ bands, use them
wherever possible but they should make sense wherever used:
a. Moreover
b. Furthermore
c. Nevertheless
d. Likewise (do use ; before likewise: It was raining cats and dogs in Karachi; likewise the
streets were flooded with water)
e. However
f. Nonetheless
g. On the other hand
h. To conclude
i. Provided that
j. Rather Than
k. Whereas
l. Although
m. Even though
n. Unless
o. While
p. Whether
q. Neither
r. In order that
 s. For instance
t. To illustrate
u. As an illustration
v. For example
w. To give a clear example
x. Since
6) Don’t use like to give example, instead use such as, namely, for example etc.
7) Instead of etc. use many more or others.
8) Don’t use contractions: Can’t instead use Cannot. Doesn’t instead use Does not.
9) Don’t use repeating words instead use a good range: e.g. for and you can use along with, as well
as, in addition to.

1.3.1 LETTER
1) Try writing a separate paragraph for each bullet point given in the question.
2) Introduction para should be clear on what you are writing about. You can always use sentences
for formal letters like:
a. I am writing to let you know….
b. I am writing to inquire about….
c. I am writing to express my dissatisfaction about……
3) For informal letters like:
a. I am overly joyed to tell you that….
b. I am really excited to tell you….
c. I am writing to you with a heavy heart as….
4) In a formal letter, stick to Yours faithfully, at the end instead of Yours sincerely. While both are
totally okay there are some instances where Yours sincerely is not appropriate and this was told
to me by an official IELTS examiner in a webinar I had attended. So better use Yours faithfully
always at the end of the formal letter, don’t take any chances.

1.3.2 ESSAY
1) Review and consider 9 tips under section 1.3 above.
2) Be crisp, clear, logical, and to the point. Nobody wants to read your pages written illogically with
a weak structure, vocabulary and grammar.
3) Arrange your paragraphs in a proper manner like:
a. Intro
b. Other side of the story
c. Your support opinion or the side for which you are agreeing with
d. Conclusion
4) Never give out the main idea in the introduction para.
5) The structure of the 2nd and 3rd para always goes like: Main Idea + Supporting Reason + Relevant
Example.
6) Remember your support opinion should always be closer to the conclusion. How you can pull this
off?
 a. Intro para: While some agree with A, others argue that it should be B. I agree with A/I
believe A should be implied.
b. Second Para: There are reasons why people argue that it should be B……explain the reasons
with corresponding examples
c. Third Para: However, the fact cannot be denied that A will be better….explain with reasons
and corresponding examples.
d. Fourth Para: To conclude,…..give a conclusion and state all the main ideas in 4 to 5 words
each.
7) Never give examples with fake studies or statistic figures: According to the research of Howard
University, about 90% of people are fat instead write ‘…this can be seen by the growing number
of people becoming obese’.
8) Never give examples that include your personal things: ‘For example, my grandfather is 90 years
old and still fit to walk miles without exhausting’.
9) Use adverbs in 2nd para like essentially, rigorously, eventually, etc.

1.4 SPEAKING
1) Speak for at least 2 minutes or until the examiner stops you in part 2 of the speaking module.
2) Be yourself, talk as if you are doing it as a part of your daily routine, and don’t panic.