As you already know, every student applying to study in Australia and New Zealand needs to undertake an IELTS exam in order to meet the English requirements for both Immigration and University Admission requirements. We know how hard it is to prepare for the exam, so we have prepared this guide on IELTS! Read these useful tips on how to register, prepare and succeed with your English exam!
1. Registration
To book the test you need to visit the official IELTS website here.
You will be required to make a new user profile which you complete with your personal information. For the next step you will choose the test venue. In South Pacific countries the test is being held once every month. It is important to book your test in advance to secure the seat. The test fee is approximately $460AUD, however, the fee might vary in different countries. You will be required to make payment at the end of the booking in order to successfully secure your seat. If you are taking the test in Australia or New Zealand while you are visiting the country, the fees for the exam is even lower. Also, always choose the Academic type of the test.
2. Preparation
Once you book your test, you will have a couple of weeks to prepare for the test. It is very important that you practice before sitting the test. Even though you had English as the medium of instruction for your primary and secondary school and you speak English easily, it is crucial to understand the test structure and grading criteria.
Each test consists of four parts: listening, reading, writing and speaking.
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Listening
In the listening part of the test you will listen to the records of some dialogue or monologue with increasing difficulty. While listening to the record, you will need to answer the question related to what you have heard. There won’t be an extra time to answer the questions after the record is finished and you will listen to each record only once.
You can find sample records with questions and answers here.
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Reading
In the reading part of the test you will be given three texts with questions to each of them. You will be allowed 60 minutes to read the passages and answer the questions. The third passage will be the most difficult and it’s important that you allow enough time for yourself to complete the full section.
You can find sample passages with questions and answers here.
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Writing
In the writing part of the test you will be given one hour to complete two tasks. In the first task, you will be asked to describe a graph, diagram or chart. The vocabulary and structure are crucial in this task. You can easily prepare with the hundreds of samples available online. In the writing task 2 you will be given a topic to write an essay about. You will have to write a minimum of 250 words and complete this task within approximately 40 minutes. There are different kinds of essays such as; opinion essays, advantage and disadvantage essay and more.
You can find sample questions here.
You can also visit this website for over 100 IELTS essay questions here.
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Speaking
The speaking test takes between 11 and 14 minutes. You will be sitting face to face with the examiner. The test will start with a short greeting, then you will be given some questions and at the end you will have a short discussion with the examiner about the topic given.
You can find example topics for the speaking test here:
There are hundreds of videos on Youtube, where you can get a lot of tips for the test preparation. Some of them are delivered by professional teachers and accessible for everyone for free!
The New IELTS Computer Test: Everything you need to know – with Rebecca
3. Score
Below you can find the table with the IELTS score you need to obtain based on the level of program you are applying for or wish to study:
There might be some exceptions for some programs. For example, if you would like to undertake Diploma in Nursing, the overall score you need to achieve is 7.
If for some reason you achieve a score lower than what is required for your program, not to worry, there will still be other options for you to study your desired course. Some Universities/Colleges offer pathway programs and some even offer English courses for those who did not score highly on IELTS. The most important thing to remember is to stay calm and believe in yourself, because you can do it! ?
If you are having difficulties with registering for the exam, please contact your Case Officer for a help. We are here to make the process as easy as possible for you!