Under any circumstances, I’m not the person to give IELTS suggestions to anyone, but the least I could do is share my experience and understanding. Also, one of the biggest reasons for posting this everywhere is that I don’t want others to fall into the same situation as I did. If they do, at least they can get some direction on what to do afterward.

My actual exam date was 7th April, which I couldn’t attend because I was so dumb that I didn’t bring my passport with me. As a result, the authorities didn’t let me enter the hall. I was about to lose the full fee, which is currently 20,250 BDT. As per IELTS policy, you won’t get any refund or be able to reschedule your date if you’re absent on the exam date.

The reason I didn’t know about all of these things was that I didn’t take any IELTS courses or mock tests and didn’t look at the IELTS T&C. My knowledge was strictly limited to the question patterns. You may say I wasn’t serious about the exam, or else I would’ve known about all of these. Well, that wasn’t the case, but I won’t try to defend myself. After all, it’s my fault.

However, I was able to reschedule my exam date by contacting customer care, giving proper reasons, and paying an extra 10% of the whole amount.

Now, getting to the actual IELTS part. As I have said, I didn’t take any course or mock test. I had some valid reasons for that. I didn’t have enough time to attend any course, and it’s a bit tough for me to spend this amount of money on a single exam in a short period.

So, I had to rely on online materials to understand how this IELTS thing has to be done. I prepared for a few days roughly. Now, don’t get your hopes high without understanding the whole point. It’s not like a few days are always enough to get a good score. Yes, it’s possible to get a good score without taking months of preparation if your English skills are already decent enough. Twelve years of schooling is more than enough to make you a decent English user. But if you’re not confident enough, you have to do some more work.

By online materials, I meant three specific things: two YouTube channels and a website. That’s all it took.

  • E2 IELTS : I watched some of their videos to understand the whole exam pattern. They have short videos on every module, explaining the basics.
  • IELTS-up Online lessons : To get ideas and instructions about writing.
  • IELTS69 : A pretty useful website that has almost everything you need.

These three things will cover reading, writing, listening, and a bit of speaking. Speaking is about practicing, so get a speaking partner or talk to yourself. Just make sure people can understand what you’re saying. You don’t have to be too hard on yourself about it.

Another thing is, IELTS on computer or IELTS on paper? I prefer computer. My typing is fairly good and accurate, and I am comfortable in typing rather than writing. The difference between these two options is about the timing. You’ll get ten minutes to check your answers before submitting your writing module on paper-based, while the time is two minutes on the computer. It doesn’t matter much, to be honest. You won’t need more than two minutes to check your answers on the computer.

That’s all, I guess. Again, I’m not the person to give proper suggestions regarding IELTS. You should get an idea from this write-up and take further steps or seek a professional’s assessment.