The IELTS exam assesses the language skills of non-native English speakers who want to study, work, or settle in a country with English as their first language.

Universities, educational institutions, and governments across the world recognize this exam. It shows results in bands where the higher bands reflect better marks.

The requirement for bands varies on different factors, including visa type, education level, institution, government, age, etc. However, more bands are always better as it improves the chances of getting a visa.

If you are going to attempt IELTS exams for the first time, follow these tips to achieve higher bands.

1.   Read as Much as You Can

Nothing can improve your language skills more than reading. It improves almost everything you need to learn a new language. Unfortunately, most students believe reading can only help them in the reading test.

However, the reality is that reading can assist them in every test, including listening, speaking, and writing. Don’t know how it happens? Let’s see!

When you read, you regularly get acquainted with new words, phrases, idioms, sentence structures, and everything you need. All the things you learn during reading assist you in writing better essays. You can use those words and phrases to buff up your articles by avoiding repetition and bringing some diversity to the text. Moreover, it also helps you choose the right words in the right places.

Apart from that, reading loudly improves your speaking skills and gives you the confidence to speak in front of others. That confidence is a must to get better bands in the speaking test.

Lastly, when you regularly read your lessons or other things, your listening capacity increases as you are already acquainted with many unknown words that you may hear in the listening test. So, when those words aren’t new to you, it would be easy for you to understand them and get better bands in listening.

2.   Improve Your Grammar Knowledge

If you compare the bands of different tests in IELTS exams, you will find that most people get fewer bands in the writing test. Although writing seems the most straightforward task, conquering it is the most difficult. The question is, why do most people fail or get insufficient bands in writing? They ignore grammar rules.

Grammar rules are the most important in the writing test. You don’t need grammar knowledge to get good bands in listening, reading, and speaking. However, grammar mistakes can cost you a lot in writing. In the writing test, even the punctuation marks are worth a lot. So, enlightening yourself with grammar rules is necessary to prepare for the IELTS exams.

But how can someone improve their grammar knowledge? There are two different ways for that. First, read the grammar rules. Second, practice what you have learned.

When you practice writing, you should always proofread your text with an online grammar corrector. That grammar checker highlights all the grammatical issues in your writing.

An advanced grammar check tool suggests the right solutions to improve the text. So, when you know where you make mistakes and their solutions, you gradually start preventing all the grammar mistakes you make while writing. That’s how you can learn writing without grammar mistakes and get better bands.

3.   Learn and Practice Paraphrasing

Paraphrasing is a writing skill you need the most in the IELTS writing test. Paraphrasing helps writers learn multiple ways of stating the same thing. With this skill, they can avoid repeating the words and phrases. Moreover, paraphrasing also enhances vocabulary.

In addition to the writing styles, paraphrasing can also improve vocabulary, as when you try to paraphrase anything, you learn some new words that can define the same phenomenon in a better way.

To learn to paraphrase, you can get some assistance from an online rephraser. That tool will help you learn the synonyms and alternatives of the words you regularly use in the text. Moreover, they can also teach you new ways to write a sentence without disturbing its structure.

To efficiently use a paraphrasing tool for learning, you should write a paragraph and then paraphrase it with a tool. After that, compare both texts. That’s how you can quickly learn to paraphrase and write better content.

4.   Watch/Listen to Lectures in English

Many channels on video-sharing platforms frequently share videos for students to prepare for IELTS. Those online lectures are beneficial in preparing for the IELTS test. They help students to learn different things about each module. Those lectures are available in almost every language. Most students with weak listening skills prefer listening to lectures in their local languages.

You must avoid making that mistake. To improve your language skills, you should always watch and listen to those lectures in the English language. When you listen to them in the English language, your listening skills and vocabulary improve with time as you frequently search for the meanings of the words you don’t understand. That’s why almost every IELTS teacher recommends students listen to lectures