IELTS Section-wise Time Management Tips

The very wish and will to score the best band in IELTS exam only comes true when your preparation is complemented with a solid time management plan. Time management is not about chalking your schedule on a planer or at the end of your notebook. In case of IELTS exam, time management implies an optimum use of the more than two hours you are allotted, to solve the four sections of an English Language paper -- Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking. Here’s a time management plan for IELTS exam that you can start practicing in advance, for guaranteed good score. Time plan for the Listening section: You have a total of 40 minutes for the Listening section which you can divide as 30 minutes, 8 minutes and 2 minutes respectively. Use the extra 2 minutes at the very beginning to have a quick look at the questions before you hear the audio. During this bird eye view on the questionnaire, underline the keywords you find are standing out, and then start listening to the audio. It makes finding out the answers very simple and also, you will get a hint of what can be the probable subjects in the audio provided. Time plan for the Reading section: A dedicated 20 minutes is considered enough to crack the three paragraphs and their related questions in the Reading section. If you find you are running out of time while reading the passages, simply skip a little and move forward. Also while answering if you get stuck at one, just work on the next question. Again, do not skip questions in this process. You can always do a guess work for the questions that boggle you and move forward. Time plan for the Writing section: Simply, split your 1 hour into 40 minutes for the first writing assignment and 20 minutes for the next one. Your focus in the writing section is not to exhibit your entire knowledge of English but keep a special eye on grammatical errors, typos and silly mistakes. Make sure, you also stick to the word limits as exceeding them leads to negative marking. Time plan for the Speaking section: The Speaking section of IELTS solely depends on the rapport you create with the examiner. If your answers are engaging and interesting, the examiner may go on. In case of fumbling on the same statement, he may lose interest and let your opportunity go. So, the trick is just being consistent and to the point to whatever you are being asked about by the examiner. Neither keep blabbering unnecessarily nor remain tight shut. This is a brief idea on how you can plan your time during IELTS exam. Its only after practicing this continuously at home and in coaching, that you can follow the same pattern during the exam time. Ample practice with genuine knowledge is sure to bag you a good band score in IELTS.