If you are taking the IELTS soon then you might ask yourself, “when should I start preparing for IELTS under test conditions?”
Great question!
There is a right and a wrong way to prepare for IELTS and today we’ll show you when to start mixing in test practice with your IELTS preparation.
Are you worried that you are spending a lot of time learning test strategies but not practicing them enough under real test conditions?
Here is what you need to do to create your IELTS study plan:
- Step 1: Start by building your general fluency skills and test strategies for each section. Learn how to write the best possible essay for IELTS Writing Task 1 and Task 2. Build these skills slowly and step by step. Take the issue of timing out. Just build the skills. Don’t worry about test conditions.
- Step 2: After you have your IELTS strategies and your general fluency skills, then you can take those skills and practice them under real test conditions using IELTS practice tests.
Use this timeline:
- If you have 30 days, give yourself 7-10 days of timing yourself using actual practice tests under test conditions. For the first 3 weeks you want to only learn the strategies and work on your general fluency skills.
- If you have 60 days, start the test prep under test conditions two weeks before the exam to work out timing issues and for the first 6 weeks you need to be working on the strategies and general fluency.
The best time ratio is 1/4 of your time is under test conditions and 3/4 of your time is spent learning strategies and building your general fluency.
Set up your study plan, be organized, keep working hard, and don’t panic!
If you are prepared and organized then you will be fine.
What questions do you have about today’s episode? Let us know in the comments below.
