Mania achieved band score 9 overall in her IELTS test (academic).
You will see that IELTS Band Score 9 is possible!!!
Below she shares her tips for how she scored band 9.
Mania’s IELTS Results: Overall Band 9
- Listening: 9
- Reading: 8.5
- Writing: 9
- Speaking: 9
My test center was in San Francisco, CA, and I took the academic module.
Given that my English was already at a good level, it took me 5 days to study for the test, while working full-time. Please keep in mind I speak/write in English in my daily life, and had also acquired plenty of English degrees / certifications as a high school student; therefore there was no type of question in IELTS that I had never seen before.
IELTS Band Score 9 Tips
My tips for other individuals in my position are the following:
Listening: Probably the easiest part for all good language users. Your time should mostly be spent identifying the different question styles you might encounter. I took 1 practice test and looked at a couple more.
Reading: Remember that T/F/Not Given questions refer to what the text actually says, not what you think. The rest of the questions should be again very easy to handle for good language users. Again, I mostly spent time looking at question styles, rather than taking tests (only took 2 practice tests, mainly for the T/F/NG questions).
Speaking: My biggest fear was that the few minutes/seconds I had for each answer would not be enough to actually make a point (I talk A LOT). However, the examiner interacted with me to lead the discussion accordingly, which actually made it feel like an every day discussion. Fun fact: she kept me an extra 15 minutes after the recording for an actual conversation! In terms of practising, I looked at a few topics just to get an idea of what to expect, and then I just let the generic ones (hometown, family, profession etc) brew in my mind the days before the exam. Again, remember I speak English every day, and it does make a difference.
Writing: Of course, the fear for even the greatest language users is time. You might be able to compose your essays very fast, but in my opinion there is a risk of overthinking things, wanting to give more arguments and/or expand on sophisticated ideas the topic might trigger in your brain, which will actually cause you to lose valuable time. On the day of my exam, I met another woman who was an excellent speaker and had been living in the US for years – even had a green card. After the exam, she told me she ran out of time in the Writing section, what a pity! In a nutshell, look at Liz’s sample essays and identify how your ideal structure should be. When developing arguments, I prefer to stick to 2 arguments for each side of the topic, as I am able to expand on each one of them (it was actually impossible for me to stay under 300 words for Writing Task 2). The instructions Liz gives are super clear, just stick to the “approved” recipe! They don’t actually care how much of a thinker you are. Needless to say the Writing section is the one I focused my studying on. I wrote a total of 4 essays for each Writing task (not much more I could do in a week full of work!), and I self-corrected them in terms of how they could be more concise. After writing the first one and seeing I should write less, I studied the model essays provided here and then wrote the rest of my own; the improvement was significant.
Good luck to everyone! Once again, thank you, Liz!
Comments from Liz
Very well done Mania!! Band 9 is a Fantastic Result!
I agree very much with your preparation for listening and reading. Of course, it is important to do practice tests at home, but you also need to focus on question types. There are many different types of questions that involve different techniques and have different challenges – you need to be prepared for them all. Speaking is all about being ready for general topics and using ideas in a fluid way with different topics. The examiner is not marking your ideas, so you need to prepare your own memories and stories, and also think of your own opinions. Mania, you are spot on for writing 🙂
Praise God Ms. Mania, your practice and hardwork totally paid off.
Thank you Ms. Liz and Ms. Mania for empowering IELTS examinees through your kind tips.
i wanna achieve same score with hardwork
wow…Academic for that matter. Excellent result, i’m prepping also! we’ll see at the top
CONGRATULATIONS! YOU ARE JUST AMAZING! MANIA
Hi mainia congratulation ,outstanding.i inspired i hope i will be in your shoes.best of luck.thank you liz for useful tips i hope i will get benefit will score high.
Congratulations
I tap in your success mania,can’t wait to write my success story too. Congrats!!!
Wow !!!
Good work done Mania
Hoping to be in your shoes.
Wow that is an incredible result obtained. Yours score had made me like your personality. Good job done Mania.
I am now studying all the techniques and skills to lead me take my test some days to come.
I am Emmanuel Aggrey. From Ghana.
I have just started following you liz and I have all my chest pulled out for your guidelines leading me to Band 9.
I will make you proud Liz.
wah excellent !I wish I am near you for your support. keep up and help me my god. i am preparing here ……..had a tough time in reading.
Bravo…It’s awesome Mania. & Best Wishes for ahead.
Liz, you are best…tutor
Congrats Mania. I hope to get there someday.
Congratulations Mania.Your score is the dream of everyone.I think this inspired us to spare no efforts to achieve our goals.
Thanks Liz, this is l believed due to your valuable and sincere instructions.I congratulate you too.
Congratuation Mania this is abriliant job .
Wish you all the best.
Thank you Liz for all your help & support.
Congratulations 😊😊😊 it so amazing marks wishing for ur progress.
congratulations. it is great result.
Great job Mania! Congratulations! Thanks both of you Liz, Mania!!
Congratulations mania for scoring band score 9
Congratulations Mania! Band score 9! Very impressive. I pray for a good score for myself, soon! And thanks Liz, you are the best.
Congratulation Mania. Your result is dream to me and I know 0.0001 % possibility to achieve for me. Well done!!!
Congratulations Mania, that’s an excellent result you’ve got there, and thanks for the tips.
Congratulations Mania
That is an awesome result. Congratulations mania. Even i was a candidate for ielts exam on 7th pf april. But my result wasn’t upto my expectations. I found it difficult to score in my listening and reading. But liz, ur online classes were so usful for me. Thank you so much for all your tips. Hope that i ll be able to do better next time.
Congratulations Mania. Sorry not enough time to comment. taking my kids to bed.😊
Wao! Very interesting, Mania congratulations once again. Meanwhile, am preparing for mine very soon. Thank God for Liz, her blog is the best.
Thany you Liz
I congratulate you,Mania with such perfect result and great thanks for your tips.And,of course,great thanks to Liz for her lessons,which make me be eager to learn English!
Congratulations Mania.Great results inspired us all to go forward to achieve our goals with success .
I also congratulated you Liz for your valuable tips and best instructions that make many results a great success.