IELTS 8.0 on My First Try! How I Prepared in 20 Days

I hope that after reading this post you'll come away with efficient IELTS prep tools, free AI speaking platforms and practical test-taking tips!

First-attempt score: L:9 R:8.5 W:6.5 S:7.5 Overall:8

| Background | Economics graduate, National Tsing Hua University

| English level | TOEIC 920 / TOEFL 87 on first attempt

| Prep time | 2023.09.10–2023.09.28 (no prep school)

Why I switched from TOEFL to IELTS

After my first TOEFL attempt went badly earlier in the year, I decided to prepare for the GMAT first and come back to the English test later. So in September I took stock of both tests again and tried an IELTS mock test platform, and found I was fairly confident in IELTS reading and listening (averaging 7.5-8.5). I decided to spend three weeks preparing for IELTS on my own, and to my surprise I nailed it on the first try!

There's already plenty of information online about what's on the IELTS, so let's go straight to the prep tools

▪️Recommended prep tools

1. 雅思哥 (computer-based real past papers): take Cambridge past-paper mock tests on desktop or mobile

2. Talkface 多說 (AI speaking practice app): make good use of the AI mock tests, listening to real speaking questions, monthly question predictions and more

▪️Must-see prep platforms & books

1. Lilie IELTS (YouTube channel): listening and reading test tips that are 100% useful in the real exam

2. IELTS English Academy (YouTube channel): IELTS speaking mock tests, where you can see the scores different test-takers received

3. 牛津英語大師用THINK MAP 教你雅思IELTS 單字 (Oxford-master IELTS vocabulary with THINK MAP): common words for speaking and writing

< Listening & Reading >

After going through lots of prep videos, I found the Lilie IELTS channel the most helpful for real-exam listening and reading! At first I scored about 7-7.5 on my Reading mock tests; after using Lilie's techniques I went up to 8-8.5, and once even got a perfect 9!

I highly recommend these two videos:

1. how I got a band 9 TWICE in ielts reading

IELTS Reading has four passages, each with question types such as True/False/Not Given, multiple choice, gap-fill and heading matching. You can mostly answer in the order of the passage's paragraphs, but each question group may follow its own order. For example, the answers to the first True/False group might be in paragraphs 1-4, and the answers to the second detail gap-fill group in paragraphs 2-5. Here's how I tackle it:

1. First skim the passage's main idea and its question types, and check the type of each question group (True/False, multiple choice...)

2. Skim the keywords of the first question in each group, then skim the passage from the first paragraph and look for answers as you go

3. Key point! Answer all the question groups at the same time as you read the passage. Don't do them one after another from top to bottom and waste time re-reading

2. how I got an 8.5 THREE TIMES in ielts listening

IELTS Listening has four question sets, going from easy to hard.

Since Task 1 & Task 4 are mostly gap-fill and relatively easy, I suggest putting most of your time into Task 2 & Task 3. While the system is explaining the test rules, skim the wordier multiple-choice questions (questions + options) in task 2&3 first. That makes better use of your time, and if you read fast you can go over them 2-3 times to help them stick.

< Speaking >

For speaking I only practiced with TalkFace and 雅思哥 and didn't hire an online tutor. I paid for TF, around $490 a month for unlimited use; the free version seems to cap you at 5-10 practice sessions a day. For short-term prep, I think that price is much better value than online tutors on Cxxbly.

1. TalkFace

First, a huge shout-out for this AI app! Besides splitting the question bank into separate modules for Task 1, 2 and 3, the AI acts like an examiner during practice and asks lots of follow-up questions, which I found very similar to the back-and-forth in the real test. The AI feedback is also pretty spot-on: after each answer it gives you a model answer based on what you said, covering three areas: grammar, idiomatic spoken expressions and suggestions for improvement. It also records you automatically, so you can play back your speaking and check your fluency

2. IELTS English Academy (YouTube channel)

IELTS mock examiners run through real speaking scenarios with IELTS test-takers from around the world. After each test the examiner gives a mock score and specific suggestions for improvement. I watched one or two Band 7.5-8.5 videos a day. You can listen and answer along with the test-taker while getting ready in the morning, listen to how others answer on your commute, or analyze their weak points yourself (for example, not enough content, too many pauses, sentence patterns that are too short) and compare with the scores they got. I don't think you need to feel any pressure watching this channel. It's mainly for getting used to back-and-forth conversation with a real person, so you feel less uncertain and nervous on test day!

< Writing >

IELTS Writing Task 1 is a chart analysis task: based on a line graph, pie chart, flow chart and so on, you summarize the key data points and trends in about 150 words. Task 2 is an argumentative essay, in three types: agree/disagree, discussing both sides and giving your own opinion, and analyzing the causes of the problem in the prompt and proposing solutions.

Honestly, I didn't put much effort into writing, because my goal was to push my listening and reading scores up and just keep speaking and writing steady at the 6.5+ sub-scores schools require. So for writing I only watched some of Lilie IELTS's writing videos and briefly went through some template suggestions on Simon's old website (I remember the new one is paid, but the old site is pretty messy, so it takes time to find what you want to practice). As a side note, on test day my Task 2 turned out to be the exact same prompt I had already written on, asking whether government expenditure should go to railway or train infrastructure.

But my writing score was pretty average, so I won't go into more detail :)

< Mock test plan >

The 雅思哥 mock test platform currently has Cambridge past papers 1-18. I suggest starting your mock tests from Cambridge 10 onward; the earlier books are a bit too old.

Since my prep time was short, I went straight to books 15-18 and did tests 1 and 4 from each once (I personally think test 4 is harder, but judge for yourself). In total I did 8 mock tests during my prep, which I think is more than enough to get familiar with the test techniques!

Most important is reviewing after every mock test. For example, if you tend to run out of time to read the options for multiple-choice and matching questions in Listening, adjust how you allocate your time, like putting most of it into Task 2 & 3 as I mentioned above; if you tend to fall for Not Given on Reading True/False questions, spend the extra time re-reading the original sentence a few more times, never fill in the meaning yourself, and only decide once you've checked!

I hope these test notes and prep tips help everyone still fighting with IELTS get through it and reach their goal soon!!