Students are confused about whether to write an IDP IELTS exam or a British Council IELTS exam. Many have the misconception that they have different checking criteria. Some believe the British Council is fair in checking, while others think IDP offers the best exam results.
You know who’s right?
NONE!!!
Both are the same. They mirror one another. Whether you sit for the IELTS IDP exam or go for the British Council IELTS exam, you will be marked based on your English proficiency.
Also, check. Does the IELTS exam location matter?
If you are not ready and are still taking your IELTS exam, you may be disappointed with the result. You will keep hopping from the British Council to IDP or even the location of your IELTS exam, but finally, you will give up without realizing what you are missing.
You are missing the mindset and preparation required to score your desired band in the IELTS exam.
We meet many students with the same mindset, and that’s how we start to work on it. Firstly, the mindset needs to be transformed. Until the thoughts and vision are clear, the view will be blurred, and Visa will seem like a distant dream.
Students need to understand what works and what doesn’t in IELTS. They should start their preparation by evaluating the weaknesses in their minds. This process acts as a guidebook to steer their efforts in the right direction.
- Listening & Reading –
This is the band score parameter of IELTS. If you are getting Listening & Reading scores that you need CONSISTENTLY… CONSISTENTLY means CONSISTENTLY, not once or twice. You should be less worried about your Listening and Reading Band. The trick is to prepare from the Official and authorized IELTS material or Cambridge IELTS books to understand the test difficulty.
If you are getting the scores needed for your Study Visa or Immigration purposes, you might not get them in the exam either. Don’t gamble with your hard-earned money. On the exam day, you will not magically manifest the powers to get the desired score. It takes patience and hard work to pass the IELTS exam if you have difficulty communicating in English.
Below is a scoring format calculator showing your scores’ real-time estimate.
- Writing –
Regarded as the toughest module of all 4 and a nightmare for most of the IELTS test takers, the average band score in writing worldwide is 5.5 band. It’s not hard to score your desired band if you know or have an idea of what IELTS examiners look for in your writing test.
Writing is judged on the four parameters. They are worth studying. Most students who are tired and have taken many IELTS exams but are still stuck in their writing band score should seriously consider working on those four parameters. They are designed and published on the IELTS website for students.
Many General Training students make the same mistake. Their writing score is 7 minimum if they want to boost their CRS score for Canada Immigration or 7-8 band for Australia Immigration. They also ignore studying and keep on writing the exam and most often get stuck on the 6.5 band.
Remember –
IELTS Writing TASK 1 = 3 Band & IELTS Writing TASK 2 = 6 Band
Most students make the mistake of focusing more on TASK 2 and almost forgetting to prepare Task 1. Although the Task carries less band, getting a minimum band of 6 for Academic test takers and 7 for GT test takers is equally or probably more important.
Below are the 4 parameters for Task 1 and Task 2 that the examiner uses to evaluate your writing score.
Official Writing TASK 1
TASK 2 band descriptors
Each parameter is further marked on band 9.
For instance –
- Task Achievement – 9
- Coherence and Cohesion – 9
- Lexical Resource (Vocabulary) – 9
- Grammar Range and Accuracy – 9
The examiner totals all 4 bands and divides them by 4, and the scores are then calculated.
The same goes for Task 2.
It’s, however, not clear how they calculate the ratio of both the module score that prints on your TRF (Test Report Form).
Below is a rough estimate.
Example: If you get 5.5/9 in Task 1 and 6/9 in Task 2, you get 6 bands overall in writing.
That’s a rough estimate.
- Speaking –
Many IELTS test takers have glossophobia, and their fear controls them when they walk into the speaking room. IELTS Speaking is a one-to-one interview designed to judge a candidate on four different parameters. Since you plan to immigrate to an EFL (English as a First Language) country, you must know how to speak English.
It’s also designed with four different parameters. As usual, most IELTS students don’t pay any attention to the parameters and keep on doing whatever they love to do. Sometimes, some students get good improvement, even without knowing, but that’s rare. Most students get stuck on their band score.
Below is the public version of the IELTS Speaking parameter. Its calculation is similar to writing. All 4 parameters are judged on band 9 independently and then divided by 4 to calculate your overall 7 speaking band score.
I hope this article has given you an idea of why IDP or the British Council doesn’t matter. Your preparation matters in the end; it will sail you through the skies and take you to foreign lands.
