How to improve IELTS score from 6.5 to 7

International English Language Testing System (IELTS) is a language proficiency test for non-native English speakers. The IELTS examination is usually taken by applicants seeking admission to top-ranked universities in countries like the USA, the UK, Canada, and Australia. To get admission to the best overseas educational institutions, applicants need an IELTS score of at least 7. An IELTS score of 7, as per the test conducting body IDP, means “Good User”. However, it is not an easy task to secure a band score of 7 in IELTS, and students often get stuck at 6.5. Therefore, here are some essential tips on how to improve IELTS score from 6.5 to 7.

 Tips to improve your IELTS score from 6.5 to 7:

The IELTS examination has four sections—Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing–and students need to be an expert in all of them to get a band score of 7 or above.  

 IELTS Listening:

•     When the passages are read out, students need to listen very carefully. They should be able to pick up every small piece of information.
•     Multitasking is an important skill when attempting the listening section. Here, the applicants need to listen and keep taking notes so that they don’t miss anything. It is better to keep a note of everything in keywords.
•     Applicants should make a note of all grammatical errors and changes that need to be made in the answers. The answer should be grammatically correct as it is an English language proficiency examination.
•     Attempt all the questions as there is no negative marking.
•     Listening is a bit more difficult than reading because there is no text to  refer to. The passage that they need to understand and interpret is just an audio clip.

IELTS Speaking:

•     Applicants need not impress the examiner with complex vocabulary. They should avoid using words that they are not familiar with.
•     Speak in grammatically correct sentences. Applicants must take care of a few areas like fluency, pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary. It is important to take care of all these while taking the speaking test.
•     Practice enough so that it is easy to speak about a good number of topics. Applicants should be comfortable while speaking.
•     When speaking, demonstrate a good command over the language.
•     It is okay to pause and think, but make sure that when you are answering, the sentences are spoken with fluency. 
•     The right usage of tenses, grammar, and modal verbs are important.
•     Applicants should be quick to formulate answers. This will come with a lot of practice.

IELTS Reading:

•     It is necessary to have a good vocabulary to understand and identify synonyms within a limited time. However, the applicants are not expected to memorize the dictionary. Whenever they are not able to understand a particular word, they should try to break down the sentence, to make an informed guess.
•     Organize the sentences right after finding the relevant details and information.
•     Use the keywords to spot and locate the details and information in the reading passage.
•     Use the right tone, words, and format when drafting the letter in IELTS Reading Task 1.
•     The two tasks in the Reading section are to be attempted in the limited time, and applicants must learn time management to attempt them properly.  

IELTS Writing:

•     Plan quickly and effectively to complete the tasks within the time given.
•     Always use the right flow of words, and sentences should be coherent.
• Excellent grammatical knowledge with a focus on vocabulary and academic writing is important to get a band score of 7 in writing.