10 things no ILETS mentor would tell you.

Firstly, we need to clear this doubt of whether it is ILETS or IELTS. The correct acronym is IELTS, short for International English Language Testing System and it is pronounced as ( i-al-ts)

Now, let us proceed to the top ten things an IELTS mentor won’t tell you.

1. Criteria for assessment.

For all the four skills i.e. Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening skills the main criteria on which the assessment is based on:

• Structure 25%
• Coherence 25%
• Lexical Terms 25%
• Grammar 25%

The weightage may vary depending on the skill that’s being assessed.So it is necessary for the examinee to understand the criteria before they attempt to give their IELTS.

2. Importance idioms and phrases

Never underestimate the power of idioms and phrases, when you deal with the speaking task and writing task. using idioms will improve the quality of your sentences and show that you have good grasp over English language, which is exactly what they are looking for.

Do make yourself familiar with using idioms when talking about food, success, failure knowledge i.e. on topics dealt with on day to day life.

3. Paraphrasing

Another important yet never mentioned trick is the use of paraphrasing.Little do people know about paraphrasing and the way it can improve your sentence structure.

For example: Will was famous for his delicious sweets.

Could be paraphrased as: Will was well known for his delicious sweets.

4. Time management in speaking task 2.

In the speaking task two, you are asked to think about a topic on which you will have to talk about for 2 mins. when you are shown the cue card you are given one minute to think about the topic. What would you do in that one minute? Should you start writing a speech on the topic in that one min?Will that minute be enough to write on a topic that you will speak on?

The answer is simple. One minute is enough time for you to list down all your ideas.

This you will do in the 30 -40 sec and in the remaining time you are going to think of connectors that you can use to connect these ideas.

5. Using connectors while speaking

Connectors are words that help you to frame sentences and connect thoughts in order to make the sentences coherent.

Words like – Although,occasionally,recently, etc.

6. Using connectors while writing.

Connectors used in writing are is another tip that prolific writers use when writing an essay or report.
The purpose of using connectors are that they link one paragraphs to another. For your writing task you can use connectors that will help you link paragraphs.

For example: “In the illustrated graph…”, “In contrast to…”

7. Not using filler

Fillers are words the speaker utters when he/she is searching for words. Usually people say “um”,“ah”,”you know” when they get stuck with their thought process.  The only way you can avoid using fillers is to follow strategies to remove fillers while speaking.

8. Brainstorming the content

Another tip that’s never mentioned is the importance of brainstorming before you start writing or speaking. It is a useful skill to help you to think of all the ideas beforehand instead of thinking on one particular idea and then progressing to the next one. This skill will also give you plenty of time to organize your thoughts and use connectors in the sentences.

Now that you know what some trainers won’t tell you, you will be better prepared. Keep these critical points in your mind while preparing and there will be no turning back.