Easy IELTS Tips and Tricks

IELTS. SYNONYMS FOR WORDS COMMONLY USED

Amazing- incredible, unbelievable, improbable, fabulous, wonderful, fantastic, astonishing,

astounding, extraordinary

Anger- enrage, infuriate, arouse, nettle, exasperate, inflame, madden

Angry- mad, furious, enraged, excited, wrathful, indignant, exasperated, aroused, inflamed

Answer- reply, respond, retort, acknowledge

Ask- question, inquire of, seek information from, put a question to, demand, request, expect, inquire,
query, interrogate, examine, quiz

Awful- dreadful, terrible, abominable, bad, poor, unpleasant

Bad- evil, immoral, wicked, corrupt, sinful, depraved, rotten, contaminated, spoiled, tainted, harmful,
injurious, unfavorable, defective, inferior, imperfect, substandard, faulty, improper, inappropriate,
unsuitable, disagreeable, unpleasant, cross, nasty, unfriendly, irascible, horrible, atrocious,
outrageous, scandalous, infamous, wrong, noxious, sinister, putrid, snide, deplorable, dismal, gross,
heinous, nefarious, base, obnoxious, detestable, despicable, contemptible, foul, rank, ghastly,
execrable

Beautiful - pretty, lovely, handsome, attractive, gorgeous, dazzling, splendid, magnificent, comely, fair,
ravishing, graceful, elegant, fine, exquisite, aesthetic, pleasing, shapely, delicate, stunning, glorious,
heavenly, resplendent, radiant, glowing, blooming, sparkling

Begin - start, open, launch, initiate, commence, inaugurate, originate

Big - enormous, huge, immense, gigantic, vast, colossal, gargantuan, large, sizable, grand, great, tall,
substantial, mammoth, astronomical, ample, broad, expansive, spacious, stout, tremendous, titanic,
mountainous

Brave - courageous, fearless, dauntless, intrepid, plucky, daring, heroic, valorous, audacious, bold,
gallant, valiant, doughty, mettlesome

Break - fracture, rupture, shatter, smash, wreck, crash, demolish, atomize

Bright - shining, shiny, gleaming, brilliant, sparkling, shimmering, radiant, vivid, colorful, lustrous,
luminous, incandescent, intelligent, knowing, quick-witted, smart, intellectual

Calm - quiet, peaceful, still, tranquil, mild, serene, smooth, composed, collected, unruffled, level-
headed, unexcited, detached, aloof

Come - approach, advance, near, arrive, reach

Cool - chilly, cold, frosty, wintry, icy, frigid

Crooked - bent, twisted, curved, hooked, zigzag

Cry - shout, yell, yowl, scream, roar, bellow, weep, wail, sob, bawl

Cut - gash, slash, prick, nick, sever, slice, carve, cleave, slit, chop, crop, lop, reduce
Dangerous - perilous, hazardous, risky, uncertain, unsafe

Dark - shadowy, unlit, murky, gloomy, dim, dusky, shaded, sunless, black, dismal, sad

Decide - determine, settle, choose, resolve

Definite - certain, sure, positive, determined, clear, distinct, obvious

Delicious - savory, delectable, appetizing, luscious, scrumptious, palatable, delightful, enjoyable,

toothsome, exquisite

Describe - portray, characterize, picture, narrate, relate, recount, represent, report, record

Destroy - ruin, demolish, raze, waste, kill, slay, end, extinguish

Difference - disagreement, inequity, contrast, dissimilarity, incompatibility

Do - execute, enact, carry out, finish, conclude, effect, accomplish, achieve, attain

Dull - boring, tiring,, tiresome, uninteresting, slow, dumb, stupid, unimaginative, lifeless, dead,
insensible, tedious, wearisome, listless, expressionless, plain, monotonous, humdrum, dreary

Eager - keen, fervent, enthusiastic, involved, interested, alive to

End - stop, finish, terminate, conclude, close, halt, cessation, discontinuance

Enjoy - appreciate, delight in, be pleased, indulge in, luxuriate in, bask in, relish, devour, savor, like

Explain - elaborate, clarify, define, interpret, justify, account for

Fair - just, impartial, unbiased, objective, unprejudiced, honest

Fall - drop, descend, plunge, topple, tumble

False - fake, fraudulent, counterfeit, spurious, untrue, unfounded, erroneous, deceptive, groundless,
fallacious

Famous - well-known, renowned, celebrated, famed, eminent, illustrious, distinguished, noted,

notorious

Fast - quick, rapid, speedy, fleet, hasty, snappy, mercurial, swiftly, rapidly, quickly, snappily, speedily,
lickety-split, posthaste, hastily, expeditiously, like a flash

Fat - stout, corpulent, fleshy, beefy, paunchy, plump, full, rotund, tubby, pudgy, chubby, chunky, burly,
bulky, elephantine

Fear - fright, dread, terror, alarm, dismay, anxiety, scare, awe, horror, panic, apprehension

Fly - soar, hover, flit, wing, flee, waft, glide, coast, skim, sail, cruise

Funny - humorous, amusing, droll, comic, comical, laughable, silly

Get - acquire, obtain, secure, procure, gain, fetch, find, score, accumulate, win, earn, rep, catch, net,
bag, derive, collect, gather, glean, pick up, accept, come by, regain, salvage

Go - recede, depart, fade, disappear, move, travel, proceed

Good - excellent, fine, superior, wonderful, marvelous, qualified, suited, suitable, apt, proper, capable,
generous,

Reading tips

(i)Read many articles A week or two prior to the exam, ensure that you read as many articles as you
can. This will give a certain kind of experience and confidence for that matter. This is the most
important tip here. You can’t just wake up someday and go hit a band score of 8.0 in reading module
without reading practice. ii) Skimming This is a reading technique that allows you to read through a
given text very fast and within the shortest time possible while identifying main ideas of the given
text. This technique will help you save on time and will also allow you to have an idea of what the text
is all about within the first reading. iii) Scanning This is a technique where you read through every line
very quickly looking for a specific word or phrase. It comes in handy when you are looking for a one
word answer. It’s quite different from scanning because the latter doesn’t require you to find any
specific word or phrase. iv) Use Key words This is self-explanatory. Reading a text without identifying
the keywords is a suicide mission! Don’t try it. Ensure that you mark some of the keywords as they will
be helpful when time for answering questions come .You wouldn’t need more time to scan through
the text again. v) Title The title of the text that you are reading will tell you what the text is all about.
First read the title. It will give you an idea of the content of the text so you’ll have an ample time
comprehending since you already have an idea of what you are reading. vi) Time management This is
very key! The reading module is 60 minutes long and there are three questions for you to answer. Do
NOT share time equally so that you allocate each question twenty minutes. The IELTS standard works
with an increasing difficulty that means the last question difficulty level will be higher than the last
two so make sure that you’ll have close to thirty minutes for the last question. vii) Check grammar Be
extra careful with the grammar at the beginning of the questions. More so the negatives because they
totally change the question and if you are not careful enough you may end up answering oppositely
with all your gathered confidence. Every beginning of a sentence is very important. viii) Do not read
the whole text. Yes! You heard me right. Time is of essence here. There will never be enough time to
read through all the text. There are parts of that text that you will never find any question rising from
so no need to read. Just remember that your job is to look for the right answers not reading
everything. ix) If you can’t find an answer of the current question, leave it pending and proceed. The
trick here is moving from the known to the unknown so just mark it maybe with a big star and move
on to answer other question but always remember that you have unanswered question. Once you
have finished writing your answers then go back for it. x) It is very tragic to answer all the questions in
the question paper and get caught up by time before transferring it to the answer sheet. I would
strongly recommend that after answering every question, just flip over to your answer sheet and write
your answer. xi) There are those questions that dictate the number of words. Ensure that you abide by
the rules. Count your words one by one and remember that a vowel in a sentence e.g. “a” is also
counted as a word. xii) Spelling mistakes will always count. Try as much as possible to check on your
spelling when you are writing short answers and if you get time after answering all the questions then
check once again in case you made any spelling error. xiii) There are those questions that you are
required to complete the sentence. Make sure that you put all your attention on the meaning of the
sentence not just throwing any word to fit in. You need to do well in this exam remember. xiv) There is
something called intelligent guessing. At times you’ll be given difficult words in the passage that you
may have no clue at all. What should help you make a correct guess is the context in which the word
has been used. Certainly this difficult word will always be related to the topic of the given text. xv) At
times the unfortunate happens. I am talking of elapsed time and you haven’t finished up. If you have a
multiple choice question left guess! There is always a 25% chance that you’ll get a correct answer in a
question of ABC and D multiple choice answer

TIPS FOR BAND 8 ESSAY WRITING: The secret for successful essay writing is lots of practice, guidance
and patience. The following tips will help you to get ideas and how to plan your answers. You'll find
out what to expect in the IELTS writing test. In short these tips focus on The style of language you
should use; Effective ways to come up with ideas and plan your essay; How to make sure you have
properly answered the question; How to structure your responses. 1. Read the task carefully,
understand it and write the answer: Read the task carefully and underline the keywordswhich you
need to include. In essay writing you will find the background information in the question itself.Make
sure that you answer the question. (Eg- Do you agree?). Do not write generally about the topic, if you
copy from another essay, you will lose marks. 2. Think and plan before writing: As soon as you finish
reading don’t just start writing.Think think think! How can you answer it using your language,
knowledge and experience? Very often there will be more than one part to the question; sometimes
even three or four parts. When you produce your answer you must answer all the different parts of
the question. Some good study guides provide set plans, they make the process much easier, with
these guides you just have to drop your ideas into the plan. Part of the point is that you should treat
each different chapter as a mini essay. - Borrow structures/ideas/language from essays you have
written in the past, but make certain they apply to the question in front of you. That means thinking:
thinking not just about what to include but what not to include. Your ideas must link together to form
a whole – that requires more thought. If you start writing and then halfway through realise your essay
doesn’t make sense – it’s too late to start over. SO MAKE SURE YOU THINK BEFORE STARTING. 3.
Don’t write the wrong essay or the essay which you already know: The danger with pre-planned
essays is that they don’t answer the question. You sit down and start writing an essay which is already
in your head and not one that answers the question in front of you. Alternatively, you may get a
question type that you are unfamiliar with.In this situation, it helps to have a routine or process you
can rely on. You can still answer the question, even if it seems to be a question type you don’t know.
Learn the skill of writing an essay, learn the process of exam essay writing and life becomes easier. 4.
Get into the habit of SELF CHECKING your essay after you have finished. Look for mistakes you have
made previously. If you don’t know where your mistakes are then you need an expert to look at them
for you. If you need some essays checked and would like more advice how to write fantastic essays
clickhere. 5. The Introduction: The introduction matters for various reasons. It is the first thing the
examiner reads if you get it wrong and you have made an immediate bad impression. That’s not
good. The introduction is the link between the ques…