With our IELTS class kicking off this coming Monday I thought I’d just go through a couple of ideas on “good study practises” to help you make the most of your time here with us at GV Byron Bay.

Brainstorming!

As you will have heard constantly from Andrew, Ginny, Angie and I,  brainstorming is the key to success with any kind of academic language use. It helps focus you and prepares you for the topic. There are also some other great advantages to brainstorming; such as helping enforce co-operation between students (which is really useful language practise too!) and it helps in energizing the classroom, which is better than having a coffee sometimes!

Make sure you allocate a certain amount of time for your brainstorming. In the IELTS exam, for task 2, 5-7 minutes is enough. Write down your key ideas. Then try to organise your ideas by paragraphs. Don’t write sentences, just write down the key words. Once you have come up with enough key ideas, try to think of associated vocabulary around the topic. Remember, the better your vocabulary, the better your grade.

Practise, practise, practise..Brainstorming is a critical skill in order for you  to get the best possible outcome from your exam. Even a very educated native speaker will always brainstorm before attempting any kind of formal essay. So I can’t encourage you enough to do the same!