“I am scheduled for the IELTS examination in a couple of months. My friends let me borrow their reviewers but I think it is not enough. What book is good for IELTS first-takers like me? –Elsa, 23, culinary arts student

Looking for materials for the International English Language Testing System examination? Candidates for the IELTS test visit bookstores in search for these reviewers and manuals. Indeed, there is a wide variety of books to choose from. Some sound promising, while some seem like books for dummies. The best thing to do is to know a particular book that is good in preparation for the IELTS. One book that is best for IELTS preparation is How to Ace the IELTS by Simone Braverman.

The author, Simone Braverman, is also an IELTS test passer. With his experience in preparing for the IELTS examination, he thought of coming up with a book that will help other candidates pass the IELTS in a very easy way.

The book is a guide to teach skills and techniques for the IELTS test and not teaching you essentials for the English language. In the IELTS test, English skills are useless unless you are prepared; hence, this book will address three main problems of time, tricks and logical traps common in the test.

The book aims to teach the following to the readers:

• Faster listening and note taking skills
• Quicker scanning and skimming for reading
• Writing essays fast
• Brainstorming and making responses faster
• Recognizing logical traps in the test

The author emphasizes that candidates need to give themselves at least three hours of studying in a day. This time for practice is already the best to get the desired result of the test.

This book is composed of different exercises for listening, reading, speaking and writing. In addition, there are tips given and common misconception on studying habits for the IELTS in each section. Each section is completely independent of the other. Each section is explained and detailed tips on how to come up with a good and correct response. Further, reminders on how to understand instructions, skills on different question types, and techniques on choosing answers are only some of the details discussed in the book. At the end of the book, there are more tips that will refresh the reader’s memory and help them focus on what really is important in the IELTS examination.

Surely, buying this book is not a waste of time and money for any IELTS candidate. Let How to Ace the IELTS help you hit your score for the test.

To improve your vocabulary, you must read a lot and varied reading materials. In the International English Language Testing System examination, the candidate’s vocabulary is a very crucial factor in getting a good overall band score in the test. Expanding your vocabulary realms not only benefits your reading skills but also the other skills like listening, speaking and writing. That is why, it is really important for anyone to know a lot of words and use it correctly in their sentences. If you are looking for a good book to improve your vocabulary, then better check Cambridge Vocabulary for the IELTS by Pauline Cullen.

Cambridge Vocabulary for the IELTS has been specifically made to improve the accuracy of a candidate’s academic vocabulary in preparation for the IELTS examination. Vocabulary words are introduced through reading and listening activities which are basically part of the IELTS examination. The book is a great avenue for learners to learn and practice new words and make it a part of their vocabulary bank.

Candidates can follow the per unit order of the book to thoroughly learn new vocabulary. Each unit are focused on particular topics which you might be familiar with already. Some say it is better to start working with the book from beginning to the end for you will see your development on each unit. Others skip units where they feel that they are skilled already on such topic.

Each unit of the book has vocabulary exercises from the different skills in the IELTS test – listening, reading, speaking and writing. What’s more is that there are exercises on pronunciation for unfamiliar words you are encountering in the book. Further, the book gives advice on how to learn new vocabulary, tops on developing your vocabulary and the proper usage of dictionary, and teach helpful strategies in the individual sections of the test.

The book also comes with a CD where the listening and pronunciation exercises are found. It is best for any candidates who are using the book to have a notebook and take note off all the new vocabulary they are going to use. Categorize them according to new words, words to be used often, commonly misused words and topic words. In this way, you will be able to locate words that you need to use in the future.

Cambridge Vocabulary for the IELTS is best for students who want to obtain scores higher than 6.5. The book has very challenging activities like paraphrasing and collocation too. This book is best for those individuals who want to study by themselves or those who want it as a supplement reading to be used with a teacher.

Review manuals for the IELTS or the International English Language Testing System examination can easily be purchased. These review materials are targeted to help candidates for the IELTS examination to understand what the IELTS is and learn the right techniques in responding to the questions. Moreover, these review materials also come with CD-ROMs as practice tests. This is also great for candidates to become aware of the real test would look or feel like. Among the many review materials available, let us talk about a book by Sam McCarter, Improve Your IELTS Writing.

Writing is a very tricky skill in the English language. Almost all elements in the English language like grammar, punctuation, sentence making, and vocabulary are put into test in this skill. In the IELTS examination, the writing section is different from both Academic Module and General Training Module. In the Academic Writing, graphs and charts are to be interpreted whereas in the General Training, a letter based on a situation is to be made. The second task for both is quite the same which is based on a given independent question. With this challenge, English proficiency training will be the best way to improve this writing skill.

The book, Improve Your IELTS Writing Skills, is aimed for those IELTS candidates between 4.5 and 7.5 bands. The book covers academic reading, academic writing, listening and speaking. With the help of the exercises in the book, certain skills are developed to help the candidates improve their scores for the TOEFL.

The exercises in the book are on task-based approach. The discussion on the skills and technicalities in the writing section are chopped into smaller topics. Because of this style, candidates find it easier to understand and apply on their writing samples. Some IELTS books are so technical that confusion usually arises from the one reading it. However, with this book, ideas and topics are presented clearly and practically. The book contains a lot of writing exercises and they usually start from the very basic into the complicated ones. Readers will start learning about vocabulary and correct phrases to be used in writing. In addition, lessons on transition words and techniques on how to smoothly connect ideas in a paragraph. Hence, this book can be considered a good workbook for the IELTS writing examination. Additionally, answer keys and model answers are available.

This book puts emphasis on the importance of sentence structures, vocabulary, and improving one’s ideas from a variety of drills for the examination. This book is a must-have for all candidates for the IELTS test. Study with alone or with a coach, Improve Your IELTS Writing Skills will definitely be the best English proficiency training for you.