band 7 ielts speaking Archives - Preparation for the IELTS Exam

IELTS Vocabulary: Adverbial phrases

April 28, 2022November 20, 2020 by Ray IELTS Focus

Comment adverbials and set phrases for a higher speaking score.

Updated: April 28th 2022.

In the IELTS speaking exam you will be judged on the range and accuracy of your vocabulary, so having a wide range of expressions helps your score.

Comment adverbials are a good way to show emphasis that something is surprising, true, disappointing, coincidental, unbelievable, fortunate or unfortunate.

Key point: These are mainly used in speaking because in IELTS writing they look too informal.

9 Tricky IELTS Part 2 Speaking topics

July 14, 2020August 22, 2019 by Ray IELTS Focus

Tips and ideas for difficult IELTS Speaking part 2 topics.

Sometimes in IELTS speaking, you will get a tricky topic to answer in part 2. It can cause anxiety if you go into the exam and get presented with one of these. The important thing here is to use your imagination if you cannot think of a story.

Be prepared with a few ideas beforehand as that will go a long way to easing your nerves. I haven’t given any model answers here because there are so many variations on how you could answer these. Click the blue buttons to see the tips and ideas.

Why am I stuck at Band 6 in Speaking?

July 30, 2019October 9, 2018 by Ray IELTS Focus

This is one of the most common questions I get asked about in IELTS.

‘Why can’t I get Band 7 in speaking?’

There are a lot of IELTS students out there stuck on a Band 5 or Band 6 in the speaking section and are frustrated. Many of you are near to giving up on hitting a Band 7. Some people get the wrong advice, poor feedback or are promised a high score by their teacher just to keep them happy. It is important to be realistic about this.