Amanda listening ielts

Today youll meet Amanda, and hear her advice for getting an 8.5 IELTS Reading score.

The first time Amanda took the exam, she didnt prepare at all, and it was a disaster, according to her.

She got 7 for Listening, 8 for Speaking, and 6.5 on Reading and Writing.

Subsequently, she became a 3 Keys student, and her Reading score jumped to an 8.5!

How did she go from 6.5 to 8.5 in IELTS Reading?!

Realizing that she couldnt read everything, and following the 3 Keys strategies.

Her Speaking score actually decreased by a half a band, due to anxiety.

Amandas been in Australia for 3 years, so she sounds basically fluent. She even has an Aussie accent!

Jessicas advice is that she review the scoring requirements, the Moment of Zen, and also the Anti-Anxiety module.

At 3 Keys IELTS, we realize that fighting nerves is a testing skill, so we have a whole module addressing that!

Her Listening score increased to a 7.5 as well, using the 3 Keys strategies.

As Amanda has a month before her next test, she is recommended to review all the strategies and keep up with test practice.

Sometimes, students let practice slip for the parts theyve already got their scores in, and then their scores drop.

Writing is Amandas Achilles heal, however.

She is having trouble breaking past that 6.5.

Nonetheless, she is on her way! She won this months Writing Wizard contest.

Her vocabulary is phenomenal. Amanda says she gets this from non-commercial magazines, like Womankind, and newspapers, like USA Today and local publications.

When she sees a new word, she looks it up in the dictionary.

Then, she makes herself use it, out loud, in the same day.

She also enjoys TED Talks, as they use higher-level vocabulary. These are great models for IELTS Speaking Part 3.

Amandas advice for IELTS Writing is to keep it simple! Dont search for the perfect idea, and dont try to include too many pieces of information.

What do you think of Amandas advice?

Share your ideas in the comments section below!