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So, we received this question from a member of our private Facebook group (Feel free to join)

“What do I need to do to ace the IELTS exam?”

So, we though about a list of things NOT to do. Why? Because IELTS is a just a test of your English level, nothing more. If your English is Band 6 level, you will get Band 6. If your reading is great and your writing rubbish, you will see this in your results. 99% of the time, IELTS is pretty accurate.

So, things not to do

1. Don’t use word lists. They are the worst way to learn.
2. Don’t get your writing corrected by someone who charges $5. Their English will be worse than yours. No professional works for $5.
3. Don’t believe anything anyone tells you about IELTS. 99% of what you read about IELTS on the internet is not true (Examples – you need to use academic English to do well, don’t use contractions, you need to use idioms, you will lose marks if you write less than 250 words etc etc. It’s all false)
4. Don’t use social media to get your writing corrected. I see lots of people do this on Fbook and the feedback is always wrong, and full of mistakes!
5. Don’t self-study. You are going to pay 150USD+ for your exam. Don’t waste your money. Have you ever prepared for an exam by yourself? At school? University? Post-grad? Remember, you had teachers guiding you. It’s exactly the same thing.
6. Don’t do IELTS practice test after IELTS practice test. Do one, find out what you need to work on and go from there. Remember, IELTS is testing your level of English so do you expect to get a different level every time you do a test?
7. This is a double negative so but…….Don’t not read!! Read a book, a newspaper, anything you are interested in, but read. It’s by far the best way to improve your vocabulary, reading speed and bank of ideas to draw on in the IELTS writing/speaking exam.

You should read our article on what not to do in the IELTS speaking test too

So, lots of Dont’s! There are a lot of Do’s too.

Get IELTS examiners to assess your writing/speaking and show you exactly what you need to do to get higher marks.  You can buy everything you need here in our shop.

If you have questions about the IELTS exam, you can contact us or message us on Facebook