As 2024 comes to a close, I wanted to share some exciting updates with you. This year, IELTS-Blog.com turned 19 years old, and the team and I have worked tirelessly to make your IELTS prep experience even better.

We added lots of helpful IELTS advice to our website, updated all our books, and welcomed so many new members to our IELTS VIP Club. It’s been amazing to see people from all over the world join us—this community just keeps growing. Your inspiring success stories as high achievers kept pouring in—they’re proof that all this hard work is paying off!

We introduced the IELTS Diagnostics Package, where I personally guide students to identify their weaknesses, create personalised plans, and help them reach their target scores faster. We also enhanced our Writing Correction Service, enabling students to achieve even better results with clear, actionable feedback.

Another highlight was coaching an exclusive group of students one-on-one, helping them overcome challenges and make remarkable progress. Watching their confidence grow has been incredibly fulfilling.

Happy New Year,
Simone and the IELTS-Blog.com Team

The post Goodbye 2024… Welcome 2025! first appeared on IELTS-Blog.

Hi everyone, this is Simone. As 2023 draws to a close, I’m doing my end-of-year ritual of reflecting on the past year and looking forward to the next. It’s a special time, as IELTS-Blog.com just celebrated its 18th birthday, and what a fantastic year it’s been!

We’ve been super busy enhancing your IELTS prep experience. This year, we totally revamped our website, improved our mobile app, added lots of new features to the IELTS Online Prep platform, updated all our books, and welcomed many new members to our exclusive IELTS VIP Club. It’s thrilling to see people joining from all around the world!

Our impact in 2023 was huge – 2.7 million people visited our site, we sent out over 12 million emails, and kept everyone updated with the latest IELTS questions and model answers.

The steady flow of success stories of our IELTS competition winners is a testament to our efforts.

Our social media presence has grown significantly too, with a strong following across Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter. It’s a joy to connect with so many of you there!

Helping you conquer IELTS has been my passion for as long as I can remember, and in 2024, my team and I will continue to be there for you with new resources and friendly, accessible help. Thank you for being part of IELTS-Blog.com family, and I’m grateful for your friendship and support.

Here’s to a fantastic 2024 and a Happy New Year!

The post Goodbye 2023… Welcome 2024! first appeared on IELTS-Blog.

For some test takers this is a very familiar situation: you’ve taken the IELTS exam, the results are out, everything is what you hoped for… except for that one pesky little score, that’s just half a band lower than you need. Argh… now what?!

If that’s your experience and you’re in Australia, Cambodia, India, or the Philippines IELTS One Skill Retake (OSR for short) is a solution to that problem.

All you need to do is log into your IELTS profile, view your results, choose the skill you wish to retake and book your new test date.

IELTS One Skill Retake costs AUD $267 in Australia. Prices in other countries will be updated here as soon as they become available.

If IELTS One Skill Retake isn’t yet available in your country, this information is still useful, so read on. IELTS has just started the roll-out of this new option, using Australia as their testing ground. When IELTS One Skill Retake comes to your country, it will likely work the same as in Australia, so it’s worth knowing how it can help you and what it can do for you, for when you get access to it.

Where is IELTS One Skill Retake available now?

IELTS One Skill Retake is now available at IDP Melbourne, IDP Sydney, IDP Brisbane, IDP Adelaide, IDP Perth and IDP Cairns. The roll-out is in full swing and soon the option will be offered in many other test centres across Australia.

You can also opt for IELTS One Skill Retake in Cambodia, India, and the Philippines.

What will my IELTS One Skill Retake result look like?

After completing the IELTS One Skill Retake you will receive an IELTS certificate that will include the 3 unchanged scores from your previous full test and your new score from the One Skill Retake test. The date on the Test Report Form (TRF for short) will be the original date of your full test.

Important! Your previous TRF remains valid, and in case your score in the One Skill Retake is lower than the original one in your full test, you can still use the original TRF if it helps.

Is IELTS One Skill Retake acceptable for immigration and further study?

For immigration purposes some visa subclasses accept the IELTS One Skill Retake (OSR) and some don’t, so make sure to check the list of visa subclasses where OSR is allowed here.

For further study there are no known issues, because you will receive a new IELTS certificate including the unchanged scores from your previous test and your new score from the skill you took again.

What are the limitations of IELTS One Skill Retake?

1. You must take the IELTS test on computer, at a test centre that offers One Skill Retake.

At present IELTS One Skill Retake is only available to people who took their full IELTS test on computer and it’s not available to people who took the paper-based test. So if you are planning to go for IELTS One Skill Retake in case your score is lower than you need, book your full test on computer AND make sure your test centre offers IELTS One Skill Retake, to be eligible to retake just one skill later.

2. You need to apply for IELTS One Skill Retake within 60 days of your original, full test.

This shouldn’t generally be a problem, because for computer-delivered tests the results are available 3-5 days after your test, which leaves plenty of time for you to book your IELTS One Skill Retake.

3. You can only retake one skill for each full IELTS test that you’ve sat.

So, for example, if you took the IELTS test and you’re unhappy with your scores in Writing and Speaking, you can retake either the Writing or the Speaking as a single skill, but not both. If you need to change scores in 2 skills, the only way is to take the test again.

What if I have 2 skills where I need to raise my score?

Theoretically, you could apply for EOR (Enquiry On Result, also known as remarking) first, for both of the problematic skills, and see if one of your scores goes up as a result of that, then apply for IELTS One Skill Retake for the other score. According to IELTS.org, EOR takes anywhere between 2 and 21 days, and if you do receive the result of your EOR application within that time frame, that gives you up to 5 weeks to book your One Skill Retake. While in theory this might work, in reality, if there are delays with your EOR, you may run out of time to apply for your One Skill Retake.

Do you have questions about IELTS One Skill Retake? You can ask them in comments.

The post IELTS One Skill Retake: why you should consider it first appeared on IELTS-Blog.

There is a new way to take IELTS: it is called IELTS online and you take the test from the privacy of your home. At the moment you can only take an Academic IELTS test online (not General Training), and your IELTS certificate isn’t acceptable for immigration purposes.

Many people are curious about this convenient option, but also a little bit cautious because it is very new. It is only human to fear the unknown, and the best antidote is to get some information – which is why we have interviewed a student who took IELTS online very recently.

Francesco took IELTS online from his home in Italy, and here is what he said about his experience:

Before taking the test, Francesco downloaded a special software that locks your computer down to the IELTS test and doesn’t let you visit any other websites. It shuts down all the processes running in the background on your computer. IELTS needs your computer to have speakers and no more than one screen (they won’t allow two+ screens).

Before the test started, Francesco showed his passport to the proctor who took some time to verify the document. Who is a proctor? It is an IELTS invigilator who monitors your Listening, Reading, and Writing tests online.

The check-in process is very thorough as the proctor asks you to show every single angle of the room. Also, they don’t want you to move your head nor your lips when you read (and they interrupt you during the exam if you are doing so).

Once the identification process is over and the test begins, you don’t see the proctor anymore, but if they think there is something wrong with the way you behave (you are moving your lips, etc), they will block you and then you will see their face as they talk to you.

To take a bathroom break, you need to get the proctor’s attention by raising your hand and waiting until they respond to you. You can’t leave your desk without their permission. Only one 5-minute bathroom break is allowed and you must take it between test sections (after the Listening test and before the Reading test, or after the Reading test and before the Writing test). When you come back from the break, you need to go through the whole check in process again, grab your laptop and do another 360 degree check of the room (ceiling and floor included).

The order of the sub-tests is Listening, Reading and Writing. Each sub-test has a fixed duration, and the software takes you through them automatically, so you don’t need to do anything to go from Listening to Reading or from Reading to Writing. It is important to know that you can only change your answers while you’re in the same sub-test. For example, if the Listening test has finished and you were taken to the Reading test, you won’t be able to go back and change your Listening answers. The Speaking test is usually taken a day or two before the other 3 sections and you do it via a video call with the examiner.

Francesco’s first impression of the Listening test was that it seemed easier than the practice tests he did previously. In the first two parts, instead of filling in the blanks with his own words, there were alternatives presented that he could choose from. However, they didn’t spell two personal names on the recording so he couldn’t grasp them. He wasn’t allowed to use scratch paper in the Listening test to take notes, but it was possible to type notes on screen. You just need to right click on any part of the text, and then you’ll be able to type notes.

In the Speaking test, in Parts 1 and 3 the examiner asked the questions on a video call. In Part 2 they showed a cue card on the screen and then gave Francesco 1 minute to think and write down notes on the IELTS software. Francesco liked the attitude of the examiner who asked follow-up questions based on his responses, so that was really nice.

So, if you are interested in taking IELTS Online, here is the list of countries where it is currently available:

Argentina, Austria, Australia, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Cameroon, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Germany, Ghana, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Laos, Macao, Malaysia, Morocco, Myanmar, Netherlands, New Zealand, Paraguay, Philippines, Portugal, Qatar, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, Venezuela, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

If you intend to take IELTS Online (or the computer-delivered IELTS), the best way to prepare is on a computer, and we have developed a website with an interface very similar to the one you will see in your IELTS exam. Visit our IELTS Online Prep Platform today and make the most of your preparation by signing up for the free trial. You will be able to do a complete IELTS test (with or without time limits), see your score, check your answers and get help with understanding why these answers are correct. To continue practicing you can unlock more practice tests for a minimal fee – we intentionally made it extremely affordable for our students.

Do you have questions about IELTS online? You can ask them in comments.

The post IELTS Online – everything you need to know first appeared on IELTS-Blog.

Hi everyone, this is Simone. Today is the last day of 2022, which means I have one last thing to do, before I can go on and celebrate the New Year. It’s been a tradition for many years now, for me to take a look back, see what I’ve accomplished this year, and think about everything I’d love to do in the New Year.

In 2022 IELTS-Blog.com turned 17 years old! And what a year it’s been.

After collating all the new features, products, services and everything that came into existence in 2022, no wonder the year went past in a flash – me and the team, we haven’t sat down for a minute

So, as a 2022 recap, here’s goes:

The IELTS prep tools we created for you

To help you study for the IELTS test easily, on paper, computer or your mobile phone, we

• completely redesigned the website
• released a new mobile app for practice on iPhone and Android
• created the IELTS Online Prep platform for a very close simulation of IELTS on Computer
• updated our print books and e-books to reflect the latest changes and trends in IELTS exams
• opened a brand new IELTS VIP Club, to deliver model answers for the latest IELTS questions to the VIP members. The minute we opened doors, people from all over the world started joining and now we have members from Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, China, Saudi Arabia, UAE, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, UK, Ireland, Brazil, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Singapore, Turkey, Italy, Germany, Thailand, Vietnam, Kuwait, Oman, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan and other countries. Having processed Order #868 last night, I am feeling very optimistic about 2023!

Numbers don’t lie

Knowledge is power, and in 2022 we proudly empowered 2.6 million people who visited IELTS-Blog.com and read our blog posts 6 million times (!)

We delivered over 11 million emails with IELTS questions, advice and preparation materials to our subscribers this year.

To make sure you know what questions might come up in your exam, every day of the week we either posted an exam update with the latest IELTS questions, or a model answer – so that you know how to a respond.

And our efforts paid off – just look at these happy IELTS competition winners who achieved outstanding results!

Our IELTS community knows no bounds

Social media has long morphed from its original purpose to something that serves other needs today, and so many people appreciate an opportunity to learn something new via their social channels. Our Facebook following is 423K-people strong, and on Twitter we’re followed by 39K users. On YouTube we’ve got over 10K subscribed and many more watching our videos, and on Instagram our following is about 5.6K (but we’re relatively new to the platform, so I am sure the best is yet to come!)

Many people are searching for their purpose in life. I am blessed to have found mine – and it is to help YOU. I am here to break IELTS down for you, to explain how to approach it, and show you how to achieve your target score. So let me teach you how to calmly and confidently study, take the test, pass it and step into your bright future sooner.

To everyone who read our blog posts in 2022 – I wish you the IELTS score of your dreams in 2023.

To all the teachers, IELTS tutors and volunteers helping people pass their IELTS exams – I hope your students get amazing results in the New Year.

You can be 100% certain that in 2023, just like the 17 years before it, my team and I will continue to help you, and there will be new IELTS books, practice tests and services.

Just keep coming back; we’ll make it worthwhile.

Thanks again for being part of IELTS-Blog.com family in 2022. Thank you for your friendship and kindness, for your feedback and ideas, for sharing your knowledge and for spreading the word about IELTS-Blog.com.

Here’s to making 2023 your BEST year ever!

Happy New Year from Simone and the entire IELTS-Blog.com Team

The post Goodbye 2022… Welcome 2023! first appeared on IELTS-Blog.

“Which should I book, IELTS on paper or IELTS on computer?”

But ideally, you should be thinking about this much, much earlier – before you start preparing for your test, and here is why. In terms of interface IELTS on computer is very different from the paper-based test and it requires some different skills which you may need a bit of time to develop.

The question types and the way your answers are marked doesn’t change, but the presentation of some questions does, so they will look differently and the way you need to answer them is also different on a computer. For example, when you match headings to paragraphs, in the paper-based test you write the letter corresponding to the right heading in the answer gap. In the computer-delivered IELTS you need to drag the actual heading into the answer gap.

Here is a quick comparison of the two ways to take IELTS, with their pros and cons, to help you choose the right type for you.

General considerations for and against the computer-delivered IELTS

Pros

• The results are out faster when you take the computer-delivered test – they are ready in just 3-5 days. In the paper-based test it takes 13 days to get the results.
• If you have a problem with bad handwriting, on a computer it’s gone.

Cons

• If you are slow at typing it will create a problem in a computer-delivered test. You may miss answers just because you couldn’t type them in time.
• If you have a problem looking at the computer screen for 3 hours, the computer-based test is not for you.

Listening in IELTS on computer

Pros

• You get headphones for the Listening test and can hear the audio more clearly.
• The volume can be adjusted.

Cons

• Your attention is split between typing answers on the screen and making notes on a draft paper. Making notes is optional, but people do it when they hear something that seems important, yet they don’t know which question this may be the answer for.
• You get less time to check your answers after the Listening test ends. In a computer-delivered test you have 2 minutes instead of 10 in the paper-based test. Students use that time to check the notes they wrote on a draft paper during the test and possibly find and add some answers they missed earlier. They also check the spelling of their answers during that time, which is important to avoid losing marks for misspelled answers.
• People who aren’t used to typing while listening may find it tricky.

Reading in IELTS on computer

Pros

• You can see the text and the questions at the same time, as the screen is split into two parts. The text is on the left side and the questions are on the right. Each side can be scrolled independently, which lets you see any part of the passage and any group of questions, side by side. There is no need to flip pages back and forth, so that saves you time.

Cons

• Reading on screen is harder compared to reading on paper, and it can lead to some problems. People tend to understand and remember the information better when they read on paper. Reading on screen is more suited for skimming and scanning, however, many IELTS question types require reading for detail, which is harder to do well on a screen.
• Highlighting text and making notes is different on screen and on paper, it involves a few clicks and may feel not as instantaneous as highlighting / underlining and writing notes on paper.
• Your notes are less visible – you need to click on the highlighted portion of text for your notes to show up on the screen. When you write something on your test paper, it’s right there, you can’t miss it.

Writing in IELTS on computer

Pros

• Editing your writing task 1 or task 2 is easier on a computer because you can copy and paste content, rearrange sentences or paragraphs and delete without crossing off or rubbing out.
• There is no need to count words in your writing task 1 or 2, they are shown on the screen and that saves you time.
• Bad handwriting stops being a problem in the computer-delivered test.

Cons

• Some test takers find the noise from other people typing during the writing test very distracting. Headphones can help block out the noise to some extent.

Speaking is the same in both exam types, there is no difference – you either do it in person at the test centre or via a video call with the examiner.

Whether you choose IELTS on paper or IELTS on computer, make sure you prepare for the type that you have chosen. If paper-based IELTS is your choice, you need to practice on paper. That would involve downloading and printing the practice tests, answering your Listening and Reading questions on paper and writing your Writing Task 1 and 2 on the answer sheets. You can use the practice tests here to prepare for your exam.

If you have chosen to take IELTS on computer, our IELTS Online Prep Platform is perfect for your practice sessions. It’s a new part of IELTS-Blog.com, where you can take the practice tests online, with or without time limits, check your answers, analyse your mistakes and improve all of your IELTS skills. You will get to see all the possible question types before the test, and you’ll know how to answer them – plus there are explanations for the answers, telling you why the correct answers are correct.

It’s a true game-changer if you are taking IELTS on computer, because on our website the tests look and work JUST LIKE in the real computer-delivered IELTS. Why is that a good thing? If you are taking IELTS on computer, you will be so well-prepared, there won’t be any surprises for you in the real exam.

Sign up for the generous free trial and practice, practice, practice!

The post Computer-delivered or paper-based IELTS: which is better? first appeared on IELTS-Blog.

Google announced that they will terminate Feedburner for email subscriptions soon. This means that people who subscribed to get our feed to their email will stop receiving our daily posts. But here is an easy solution to keep receiving our daily IELTS updates: visit this page and subscribe by entering your name and email in the form. This is our replacement email service for when Feedburner goes away. It is free, you will be getting the same content as via Feedburner, and you can unsubscribe any time.

We would hate to lose you, so please go here and subscribe!

This quick action today will save you a lot of time throughout all of your IELTS preparation period, because instead of searching for IELTS questions, model answers, materials for practice, tips and advice, etc you will be receiving it effortlessly. Reliable guidance, tried and proven techniques, all you need to get a high score in IELTS, absolutely free.

Thank you for staying with us! We will make sure you get a great score in IELTS.

The post Action required to continue receiving IELTS-Blog daily posts to your email first appeared on IELTS-Blog.

Today is the last day of 2021, and looking back, it was one RolLEr cOAsteR year!

It’s hard to believe, but this year IELTS-Blog.com turned 16 years old! Yes, you’re reading this right, as of November 2021 it is old enough to start driving or get a job

Jokes aside, this was a busy year for us. In 2021 we

• Grew our Instagram account to nearly 4K members
• Crossed 8K subscribers on YouTube
• Had more than 32K followers on Twitter
• Released the 4th editions of ‘Target Band 7’ and ‘Ace the IELTS’ books, in digital format and in print on Amazon. Now you can use them to prepare for computer-delivered and paper-based tests.
• … and then ‘Target Band 7’ became a bestseller on Amazon Japan
• Created a new website with computer-delivered practice tests
• Released IELTS-Blog App for practice
• Revamped our website for easier access and better user experience (hope you like it!)
• Corrected roughly 14,000 writing tasks, showing people how to score higher in their IELTS Writing tests
• Created a new way for you to take Speaking tests – and get them evaluated by an examiner (via IELTS-Blog App),
• Wrote 252 blog posts, all aimed at helping YOU score higher in IELTS.
• Helped many IELTS test takers achieve their target score. Some even overshot it!

Thank you for choosing IELTS-Blog.com to power your IELTS preparation. I am grateful for your trust, and you won’t be disappointed.

Leave your worries behind and sail happily into 2022. Here is to your best year yet!

Love,
Simone and the IELTS-Blog.com team.

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The post Happy New Year 2022! first appeared on IELTS-Blog.

Hi everyone,

What a year! We all earned a break. Stay healthy and safe, celebrate if you feel like it, or just take some time to relax and unwind.

It’s been such a pleasure to have you with us at IELTS-Blog.com in 2021, you’re a fantastic community!

If you are using the break to study, we will continue to support you throughout the holiday period and into 2022.

We are taking just 3 days off: 25 December, 31 December 2021 and 1 January 2022. You should, too

Happy Holidays!

From Simone and the team at IELTS-Blog.com

The post Happy Holidays from Simone and the IELTS-Blog.com team! first appeared on IELTS-Blog.

You got your wish! IELTS.org announced that test takers around the world will be able to do their IELTS tests online as part of global rollout of this new option, early in 2022.

From what we know so far it seems IELTS Online will only be available for Academic IELTS module, at least initially. IELTS Online will enable students to take the test from their own home or another suitable location.

The content and format stay the same as in current paper-based and computer-delivered tests. The speaking tests will be done via video link online by trained IELTS examiners, giving a true indication of the test taker’s ability to communicate in English effectively.

The results will be available faster than ever before, taking as little as three days.

Will this new test option make it easier to cheat? Not at all, according to Christine Nuttall, Managing Director IELTS at Cambridge Assessment English. “IELTS Online will provide flexibility and confidence, using cutting edge AI and state-of-the-art security features to complement the expertise of IELTS examiners.”, she said.

While millions of students were forced into lockdowns due to COVID19, and IELTS test centres couldn’t operate normally, IELTS wasted no time in adapting to the changes brought on by the pandemic. IELTS has purpose-built a secure remote proctoring test platform with integrated video call speaking software to deliver secure English language tests to streamline the experience for test takers, examiners and proctors. The new online proctoring platform, combined with IELTS’ own proctors who are recruited, trained and managed directly, will ensure high standards of test integrity in the new format.

Quick IELTS facts

For those of you only embarking on your IELTS journey now, IELTS stands for International English Language Testing System, and is the world’s most popular English language test for work, study and migration.

More than 11,000 organisations trust IELTS as a reliable indicator of true to life ability to communicate in English.

According to IELTS.org, IELTS on paper and computer are the only high-stakes language tests recognised for migration across Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

With a focus on human conversations, IELTS was a pioneer of four-skills English language testing more than 30 years ago. IELTS continues to set the standard for English language testing today.

How to prepare for IELTS

The way you prepare for IELTS will differ, depending on the type of test you are taking – paper-based or computer-delivered.

It is best to practice for your paper-based IELTS using paper practice tests, to ensure you are covering all skills, including handwriting. Studies have shown that humans read differently on paper than on screen, and for that reason using paper tests will be the closest simulation of your IELTS test experience at home.

If you intend to take the computer-delivered IELTS, the best way to prepare is on a computer, and we have developed a website with an interface very similar to the one you will see in your IELTS exam. Visit our IELTS Online Prep Platform today and make the most of your preparation by signing up for the free trial. You will be able to do a complete IELTS test (with or without time limits), see your score, check your answers and get help with understanding why these answers are correct. If you decide to continue practicing, you can unlock more practice tests for a minimal fee – we intentionally made it extremely affordable for our students.

The post IELTS announces at-home testing option first appeared on IELTS-Blog.