How Much Time is Required to Prepare for the IELTS Exam?
4 min read
Preparing for the IELTS exam can sometimes be a difficult task for non-native English speakers. Thus, the most common question among the students is how much time is required to prepare for IELTS. So, first of all, it depends on an individual and their efforts. Moreover, every student has a different catching and learning capacity. However, in this article, you will read about the ideal time required for the exam preparation and that too for every section. Also, you will find a schedule to make your study effective. Furthermore, there will be a few tips like taking the help of IELTS practice test free and other resources.
Time Required to Prepare Each IELTS Section
Generally, the usual time to prepare for the IELTS exam is around 6-8 weeks or 2 months maximum if you are already at an intermediate level. However, if you are a beginner, it depends on your learning capacity and catching power. Furthermore, you should focus on knowing the IELTS test format in this preparation period. Also, this time is important because you can make necessary changes in your exam strategy. So, read below to know the ideal time required for each section.
Listening Section
The IELTS speaking section lasts for around 40 minutes and has 40 questions in total. Moreover, the ideal time required to prepare for this section is around a week. But, you can take more time if you are a beginner or have a slow learning pace. Furthermore, there are 4 tasks here which are as follows:
- Part 1: You will listen to a dialogue between 2 people on any general topic.
- Part 2: you will listen to a monologue on any general event. Here you need to focus on the factual information.
- Part 3: you will hear 2 or more people talking about academic subjects or events. You must note down what the speaker is saying and the factual information.
- Part 4: you will hear a lecture or a talk by a speaker on any academic topic. Here, you need to listen to the main ideas in the talk.
Writing Section
The IELTS writing section lasts for about 60 minutes and has 2 tasks. Moreover, the time required for preparation of this task is not more than 2 weeks. Furthermore, this section involves:
- IELTS writing task 1: you need to understand some pictorial information and write down in 150 words what you have observed. This task tests your observing and English language skills.
- IELTS writing task 2: you need to express your ideas and opinions in the form of an essay of 250 words. Further, you must present your views clearly and logically with the relevant examples.
Reading Section
The IELTS reading section lasts for 60 minutes and has 40 questions. Moreover, the time required to prepare for this section would be a few weeks because of the high level of English proficiency. Also, the tasks are the same for both academic and general papers. So, the tasks involved in this section are:
In the IELTS reading section, you will get text in the form of passages from different sources such as textbooks, magazines, newspapers, etc.
The reading section covers several types of questions such as MCQs, short-answer questions, sentence completion, table completion, and matching information.
Speaking Section
The IELTS speaking section lasts for around 11-14 minutes and is like a face-to-face interview. Moreover, it includes three tasks. Also, the required time to prepare for this section is around a week. Furthermore, this section includes:
- Part 1: questions are asked to candidates about themselves, family, work, and hobbies.
- Part 2: you will get a task card or cue card on which you need to speak for 2 minutes.
- Part 3: you will be asked the possible follow-up questions related to your IELTS speaking part 2.
So, this was the basic time required to prepare for each section in the IELTS exam. Thus, read them and see if you can master every section in this period and score well in the exam. Now, let us read the test preparation schedule for effective IELTS preparation.
Test Preparation Schedule for IELTS Preparation
One of the most followed and reliable test preparation schedules is:
- Week 1: Build the basics. Listen to the songs and watch movies. Moreover, read short stories, and articles and note down the new words. Also, record yourself while talking on any topic of your choice. Furthermore, maintain a diary and write about your day daily.
- Week 2: Develop skills. Listen to the podcasts and write down a summary of it. Moreover, engage in an English conversation with friends. Also, you can start writing essays on your favorite topic and practice it more. Furthermore, learn new words daily with their synonyms.
- Week 3: Focused practice. Present a speech to a small group or in front of a mirror. Moreover, read a book with tough language used. Also, you can start writing an essay on the topics used in the IELTS examfor practice. Furthermore, create a flashcard for 20 advanced words.
- Week 4: Mock Tests and Refinement. Take the IELTS practice test freefor final practice and analyze your preparation.
So, this is the final and reliable schedule that will help you prepare well for the exam.
Conclusion
To conclude, this was all about the time required to prepare for the IELTS exam. Here, you got to know about the time required for preparing every section individually. Moreover, there is a schedule present in this article that you can take help of in your exam preparation. Besides, many people face issues in the writing section of the IELTS. So, you can take the IELTS writing practice test to improve your preparation and score in this section. Thus, prepare well for the exam and make your dream of studying abroad a reality.
