A Complete Guide to the IELTS Test in BLCU!

Introduction

Everyone wonders how the IELTS test is going to be. I have prepared these tips not to actually teach you with the content but to enhance and boost your self-confidence to be ready for the BIG DAY and know what and how you are going to be dealing with things!

For those who don’t know what IELTS exactly is, it stands for International English Language Testing System which is a testing system made to determine your English language levels. Its divided into 4 parts

1. Oral
   1. Speaking
2. On Paper
   1. Listening
   2. Reading
   3. Writing

The test is taken in two different parts and days that is why I have divided the components into 2 sectors and then into their sub-sectors.

As you see those sectors written above, I’d like to add here that the order of the test is also the way I have written it out above.

The Speaking test is either taken before or after the day of your written test(In the Case of BLCU or China, its taken prior to your written test) It is simply a spoken test so you don’t need to panic about it. I’ll explain it in detail a bit later.

The written part, however(the day of the actual test) is taken all together. On this day, you should be ready for all the 3 components(Listening, Reading and Writing). It might panic you while overthinking that you have a bunch of 3 different set of things to tackle all in a go. Let me tell you, you’re not wrong here. You may or will panic with it and this is what my tips are mostly going to be about how to actually not worry about things to make them work smoother.

How to work on your Practice?

So Now, let’s talk about how to begin your practice for the test. Most of us get confused here and don’t know what resources to use to begin the practice for the test with. If you are one of them, let me give you a good news. I’ll give you all the digital copies of the books that I used for my practice. I do know that these books are copyright but I believe in sharing the knowledge and to me, knowledge and help are never for sale. So right here is the link for a zip file that has all those books.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Google Drive Link

If you ever face issues downloading you can comment and I can provide a better link again.

Don’t worry about what books to use, how to begin, where to get things, etc. Just work on important things and I’ll share what has been important to me and there could be a chance that those things fall important for you too.

Which component should I begin with?

The core of worry for the whole test comes here.

Where to Begin with?

The answer is simple: Your strong part! For experienced IELTS trainers and those who’ve gone through the test might be wondering I have mistaken…. Fellas, I’ve not and I’ll tell you the reason just in a bit.

So it’s a human psyche that we all start working on things we don’t know about or things we don’t know how to tackle with. This simply ends up to one possible result: Giving up! which we here don’t want to. What actually happens is that when you don’t know how to tackle something it makes you lose your interest and you struggle to cope up with it. I do not intend to say that you cannot go on with it. More than half of us actually manage to get through it but for the remaining half of us we keep on believing that this test was n’t made for us.

So now think of it my way. If you knew how to handle one or more part of the test and found that component easy, you will simply practice a bunch of times and get that portion to one side of your life. Whats eventually gonna happen is that you will have lesser things to worry about rather than wasting or struggling ample of your time in tackling on your weak ends and then having no time to be left with to handle the rest. In some cases, there are likely chances that you will end up being stressed and having to achieve nothing at all.

Let’s keep it short-Work on What you’re good at first to give you a boost!

How to work for the oral component?

Most of us believe that working with the Speaking part is like “ROCKET SCIENCE”. Let me change your whole belief, it’s not.

I’ll keep this one short here. All you need to do to fix this part is to learn how to talk confidently and correctly on any topic. So some people start learning contents about topics but “People” come on!!  Don’t!! It does not matter on how much knowledge you’ve got about the topic. All that matters is the way you talk that surely includes “Pronunciation”, “Clarity”, “Selection of the right words” etc..

So The best way to fix this is to grab someone to talk to who has command on the language and can pinpoint your mistakes while you’re in the conversation. Don’t forget that talking more than your time won’t matter. Don’t worry about learning how to talk in precise 2 minutes of your time. If you talk more than the time given its basically positive.

All you need to remember is to stop talking when the examiner tells you to. 

 

How to work for the written component?

Very well!! Let me wind up this one really quick. So to tell you a few quick tips that I believe are beneficial.

• During the listening test, If you miss any of it just leave it and focus on the next-Focussing on the one missed will make you miss the next few too.
• For the reading component-Read the questions first and then begin reading the passage so that you may not panic if it takes too long to read the passage. If you read the questions first, as you read through the passage, you’ll have the answers in your mind already.
• In the Reading component with TRUE, FALSE or NOT GIVEN, I’ve got a simple crack to it. It’s like a computer binary code
  • 0 or 1- If you have the information given in the passage put it in the category of TRUE or FALSE, if not then NOT GIVEN.
  • Then Simply check if its true or not from the data in the passage and there you go.
• For the Writing Component, Don’t worry on which one to do first. Just do the one you think you can do better with.
  • PS: Experts Advice-Make an outline draft of what you want to write before you begin.
  • Don’t forget that if you use copied contents or original writing styles or patterns from some place or book it’ll make you lose your score.

And Guess what!! That’s all! You’ve got it done.

How to Get to BLCU Test centre?

If your test is in BLCU, they will usually give you the address in Chinese and English Both.

Just in case you’re confused, I’ll briefly explain the route

For the speaking test, It is conducted on the 5th floor of YIFU Building. The map is given right below. It says on the admission ticket that you should come 30 minutes before the test. I’d say go an hour before the test time so that you may relax in the environment too.

For the writing part, it’s conducted in the Teaching Building 1 of BLCU. Make sure you check your floor written on your admission ticket so that you may not end up queuing up on the wrong line and waste your time and strength. The location of the building 1 is right below.

What is going to happen on the test day?

Listening Test:

You will firstly wait in the assigned waiting area. Then they’d call out for the candidates for the time slot. You’ll simply go and get your personal information and fingerprint fed. Once done, you’ll be scanned for personal items and electronics of any sort. Remember you can’t take them along. Better take a small bag pack with you and leave it in the trolley provided for storing your belongings. Later you’re going to wait on a chair right outside the room of your speaking test. Soon your examiner will come out and will begin right there. He will take you in and ask you to settle down. Just remember one thing to crack it the best-Think of it that you are there to talk to a friend you will see again. Just feel free to talk and say things you like but make sure you don’t talk any irrelevant thing to them as your time is limited. Just take it easy and you’re done.

Written Test:

This part is your BIG DAY! So firstly don’t forget to get a good sleep and eat well before the test to stay active. On this day you’ll arrive at the test centre and get your personal data inputted at first. Later you’ll be going through a bunch of security measures to make sure you’re ready for the test. Don’t forget again, just take your passport and the admission ticket. If you plan to take a water bottle, make sure it’s without a tag or print of any sort. Once you’re in the examination hall/room simply follow what the examiner tells you to. To make it easy to understand I’ll explain the whole test in simple bullets.

1. The Answer sheet will be given-Front side is the Listening, the back is the reading.
2. The headphones will be tried out.
3. The Listening question sheet will be given.
4. The Disk will be played and the listening part will begin.
5. The Listening question sheet will be taken and the answer sheet needs to be turned to the back.
6. The Reading question sheet will be given out.
7. The Reading test will begin
8. The Reading question and the answer sheet will be taken.
9. The Writing Answer sheet will be given.
10. The Writing question sheet will be given.
11. The Writing question and answer sheets will be taken.
12. That’s all Folks!

One simple Thing to remember:

Don’t Stress out and remember, its not the end of the world!

All the best!