How to prepare for IELTS and secure a Band 8 or Band 9 Score

Admit Abroad - How to prepare for IELTS and secure a Band 8 or Band 9 Score

Table of Contents:

  • What is IELTS Band 8 or Band 9?
  • What to emphasize to secure Band 8 or Band 9 Score?
  • Tips to prepare for IELTS and secure a Band 8 or Band 9 Score
  • Conclusion

What is IELTS Band 8 or Band 9?

The IELTS test is an English language proficiency test that analyzes students’ language abilities in four fields: reading, listening, speaking, and writing. The test results are then published in the form of band scores for each of the modules listed above. In the IELTS exam (including IELTS Academic and IELTS General), the maximum overall band score achievable is 9. 

If a person’s IELTS test results indicate a Band 9 in any of the four modules, they are termed an expert in that part. Similarly, an overall high IELTS band 9 score indicates that the person is totally fluent in the English language and will have no difficulty relocating to a place where the English language is widely spoken.

When we talk about the IELTS exam’s 8 bands, we’re talking about the score on the famous exam. Some of the greatest schools in the world require a score of 7, but a score of 8 will offer you a competitive advantage.

A band with an 8 score is similar to getting 89 percent of the correct questions answered. The IELTS Reading and Listening parts each comprise 40 questions, and an 8 score means the student scored 36 right answers in both the reading and listening sections.

If you are looking for the best coaching for IELTS Preparation and want to secure your Band 8 or Band 9 score, Admit Abroad would be the best and recommended option for you.

What to emphasize to secure Band 8 or Band 9 Score?

  1. Language abilities: to improve your spoken and written English, as well as your listening and reading comprehension. This entails improving your correctness and fluency, as well as your writing and speaking grammar and vocabulary variety and depth.
  2. Exam skills: IELTS test techniques for dealing with the most difficult sections of the exam in each of the four topics.

Tips to prepare for IELTS and secure a Band 8 or Band 9 Score

The fact that IELTS is an English language test is something that most people ignore. Getting a band 8 requires no gimmicks, hacks, or shortcuts. All you need is a basic command of the English language.

  • Simply put, a candidate with a band 8 is a “very good user” of English. These people, according to the British Council:
  • Have complete knowledge of the language, with only a few unsystematic mistakes and incorrect usage on occasion
  • In strange environments, you may mistake some things.
  • well-versed in complicated, thorough argumentation
  • To put it another way, their English is excellent but not flawless. When you think about your IELTS score, keep this in mind.

Speaking it out!

Before we get to know some suggestions for earning a band 9 in IELTS speaking, it’s too important to understand what the IELTS supervisor looks for in the speaking module. This section is analyzed based on four different basic pointers: lexical database (the vocabulary used), Pronunciation( the way you say it), Fluency, and coherence (your ability to respond effectively to the question), as well as a grammatical range.

Some pointers to guide you to achieve a good score while fixing these parameters in mind are:

  • While answering, maintain eye contact with the examiner and be confident.
  • Before taking the final exam, practice in front of a mirror or with an IELTS tutoring mentor.
  • If you are required to wear a mask on the day of the exam, practice with one during your IELTS preparation.
  • Take a moment to think about the answer before speaking wherever it is required.
  • Whenever you respond, try to rephrase the question.
  • Always be kind and humble, and do not use profanity at all (not even on rare occasions, be conscious about your words)
  • The highly trained speaking test applicants make few visible errors, with only a few unsystematic inaccuracies, and have a wide vocabulary that illustrates a good command of the language. 
  • Your accuracy to effectiveness and fluency to produce answers are being assessed.

Time to read

Reading for key ideas, reading for gist, skimming, paying attention to details while reading it out, and knowing the writer’s thoughts, purpose, and opinion are all abilities tested in the IELTS reading section. 

Here are a few pointers to help you master the reading section:

  • After reading the questions, move on to reading the paragraph.
  • Rather than reading one question and discovering its solution, try reading numerous questions at the same time.
  • As a general rule, spend 18-20 minutes on the easy paragraphs and more time on the more difficult ones. To achieve a high band score in reading exercises, time management and organization are essential.
  • Prepare for academic reading by reading books, journals, magazines, and newspapers. Prepare from notices, handbooks, ads, and other sources.
  • While it is critical that the applicant be able to comprehend pretty complicated language, what frequently sets the 8.0 apart is the ability to communicate well in a variety of situations.
  • There is no shortage of advice regarding the value of reading as much and as broadly as possible. To increase their IELTS results and do better on the IELTS reading test, all IELTS students will be doing the same thing. The more new language you acquire, the better your chances of achieving a higher total band score.
  • Determine which types of IELTS reading questions you find the most challenging. As you progress from the first to the third reading passage, the test becomes more difficult.

Listen carefully

The listening section is perhaps the most straightforward to score well in. The best way to earn a good score on the IELTS listening exam is to practice as many IELTS audio exams as possible. These exams will help you get a feel for the types of questions you’ll see on the exam.

Get completely sure that you’ve mastered every kind of question imaginable in the listening section before the exam. Also, make sure you’re filling in your answers in the answer sheet side by side from the very start, rather than waiting for the audio to end before the beginning. 

Write well

The IELTS writing task is frequently seen as the most difficult part of the exam, and if not done effectively, it can lower your overall band score. As a result, students must guarantee that they devote more time and attention to this area.

Here are some pointers to help you improve your IELTS writing task score:

  • Devote 20 minutes of your time to task 1 and the IELTS essay, which is task 2, roughly 30 minutes.
  • To improve the coherence and quality of your essay, include any familiar scenarios in the examples for writing problem 2.
  • Read through IELTS band 9 sample answers on common themes like fossil fuels, global warming, nuclear energy, and so on that were addressed in writing assignment 2 over and over again.
  • Utilize the time you are left with to proofread whatever you wrote and make sure there are no inconsistencies, spelling errors, letter casing errors, or other grammatical errors.

Extra bunch of writing

The rules for both IELTS writing assignments are extremely well specified. You must do the following:

  • Know what each assignment entails and what the IELTS score requirements are.
  • Begin planning your writing at the sentence level and work your way up.
  • Figure out what IELTS band scores you can now get ready.

It’s a step-by-step process in which you must pay close attention to grammatical accuracy, the usage of conjunctions and phrases as linkages between sentences(for example, although, because), and the words of vocabulary you have been using (extensive reading and listening will help here). All of these factors will have a huge impact on your IELTS writing score.

Conclusion

Scoring 8 bands or more on the IELTS exam is a dream come true or a goal to achieve for anyone taking the exam. However, it is something that requires a lot of persistent practice and continuing to improve one’s talents. However, as pleasing as achieving a band score of 9 may appear, the IELTS preparation needed to get this grade is quite hard. The student will have to devote some time improving their English vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation as the major part of their final IELTS exam preparation.

Wrapping it up, now that you’ve gone through all of the IELTS exam tips and tactics, you’re in a firm position to achieve an IELTS band 9 in each section. accessing these pointers, however, does not ensure a high band score. To acquire a high grade on the exam, you must put in the time and effort to study for it using sample tests, preparation modules, and frequent practice.

Our hope is that this article gave you an overview of the preparation for an IELTS exam to score band 8 or band 9. If want to join the coaching for IELTS Preparation or you do have any further queries, do reach out to our experts and get your study abroad journey started today.