# IELTS writing: Moving up from 7.5 to 8?



## funkyzoom (Nov 4, 2014)

I'd really appreciate some help regarding this.

My IELTS (General) has been scheduled on December 6th. I have been practicing hard to obtain 8 in each band. So far, I have been able to do pretty well with mock tests and paid evaluations. But I seem to be having an issue with the writing part. 

So far I have purchased 4 evaluations for writing. I got 7 the first time, and 7.5 the remaining 3 times. With the exam so close, I don't want to purchase any more evaluations. But I'm totally stumped as to how I can bring up this 7.5 to 8. Also, I fail to understand the difference in quality between a 7.5 and 8 in the writing section.

Kindly help me out with this, because if I fail to get 8 in each bands, I need to take up IELTS again.


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## vijendra (Jul 11, 2012)

funkyzoom said:


> I'd really appreciate some help regarding this.
> 
> My IELTS (General) has been scheduled on December 6th. I have been practicing hard to obtain 8 in each band. So far, I have been able to do pretty well with mock tests and paid evaluations. But I seem to be having an issue with the writing part.
> 
> ...


Read the PTE Academic thread and you'll find your answer. 
http://www.expatforum.com/expats/au...ats-living-australia/573034-pte-academic.html


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## funkyzoom (Nov 4, 2014)

vijendra said:


> Read the PTE Academic thread and you'll find your answer.
> http://www.expatforum.com/expats/au...ats-living-australia/573034-pte-academic.html


I saw that thread. It is a totally different exam, and also its academic. Would that apply for IELTS general too?


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## vijendra (Jul 11, 2012)

funkyzoom said:


> I saw that thread. It is a totally different exam, and also its academic. Would that apply for IELTS general too?


DIBP now accepts PTE Academic for immigration purpose. If your are not able to score in one module, I suggest you to try for PTE.


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## funkyzoom (Nov 4, 2014)

vijendra said:


> PTE Academic can be used for immigration purpose. If your are not able to score in one module, I suggest you to try for PTE.


Ok thanks, I'll do that if I fail to get 8 in each band in my actual IELTS exam scheduled on December 6th.


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## thomasvo (Nov 8, 2013)

funkyzoom said:


> I saw that thread. It is a totally different exam, and also its academic. Would that apply for IELTS general too?



I had the same problem as you. Apart from the first time I did my IELTS test, I always had a 7.5 on writing and I needed band 8 to get an invitation.
I think a lot of it depends on who marks your writing and you just have to be lucky with it. I did 4 IELTS tests, had a 5th one booked when I heard about PTE. Scheduled a PTE and and got a 90 for writing  That 5th test is still scheduled and paid for but I'm not going to take it obviously.
The PTE test is academic but that doesnt matter since the academic one is the only one from PTE accepted by immigration. I think PTE has a general test as well (not sure of that) but immigration does not mention that one.


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## nicemathan (May 29, 2013)

Hi FunkyZoom, 

Going by the current trend better go for PTE-A

*Advantages of PTE-A over IELTS:*

Fully computerize not subjective evaluations
No need to count the number of words written or do any assumption on word count, this is taken care of by the system.
Can take optional break in-between 2nd and 3rd section
Slots can be booked within few weeks in advance, unlike few months in advance for IELTS
Results, as per the updates from other forum members will be announced in 24-48 hours, unlike 2-4 weeks for IELTS (even though they say online results will be out in 13 days, its not happening for the last few months for candidates in India)

*Few tricky stuffs in PTE-A:*

Need to talk to a MIC, rather than F2F interview, some might prefer having a human touch while interacting.
Some might get tensed while seeing a timer count down.
Repeat sentence might be difficult for few, including myself.

I hope it helps


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## ozengineer (May 19, 2014)

Cheers for the information about PTE! 

By the way, does PTE have any room for excusable error, i.e is it still possible to achieve a maximum score if you some mistakes or imperfections have slipped in?


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## thomasvo (Nov 8, 2013)

Yes. I had 90 on all 4 modules. There was one part where you had to repeat a sentence. Some of them are fairly basic but there were a few complicated ones. I had to be very focused to remember what they said. One sentence I completely forgot the beginning so I just mumbled for the first bit and then said the part of the sentence I remembered 

In my Skills profile my score on spelling was 89 and written discourse 77. My scores were still 90 despite this.


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## funkyzoom (Nov 4, 2014)

thomasvo said:


> Yes. I had 90 on all 4 modules. There was one part where you had to repeat a sentence. Some of them are fairly basic but there were a few complicated ones. I had to be very focused to remember what they said. One sentence I completely forgot the beginning so I just mumbled for the first bit and then said the part of the sentence I remembered
> 
> In my Skills profile my score on spelling was 89 and written discourse 77. My scores were still 90 despite this.


I'm quite confused, to be honest. Some people say that PTE-A is easier than IELTS, and others say that IELTS is only diffcult with teh writing section, and the other sections are much easier with IELTS compared to PTE-A. The common problem many users had with PTE-A, is that a pause of more than 3 seconds is marked as 'completed' during the speaking test, and people tend to get breathless. 

Suppose I don't get 8 in each band of IELTS this time, would it make sense to try PTE-A, or should I reattempt IELTS since I would already be familiar with the format? If its PTE-A, I would need to get 79 in each part.


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## thomasvo (Nov 8, 2013)

funkyzoom said:


> I'm quite confused, to be honest. Some people say that PTE-A is easier than IELTS, and others say that IELTS is only diffcult with teh writing section, and the other sections are much easier with IELTS compared to PTE-A. The common problem many users had with PTE-A, is that a pause of more than 3 seconds is marked as 'completed' during the speaking test, and people tend to get breathless.
> 
> Suppose I don't get 8 in each band of IELTS this time, would it make sense to try PTE-A, or should I reattempt IELTS since I would already be familiar with the format? If its PTE-A, I would need to get 79 in each part.


Go for PTE mate. The 3 second pause never bothered me. Just keep talking until you're finished
PTE is marked by a computer while IELTS is marked by actual people. You can still get good scores when making mistakes, in IELTS, almost every mistake is counted and could mean 0.5 difference


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## funkyzoom (Nov 4, 2014)

thomasvo said:


> Go for PTE mate. The 3 second pause never bothered me. Just keep talking until you're finished
> PTE is marked by a computer while IELTS is marked by actual people. You can still get good scores when making mistakes, in IELTS, almost every mistake is counted and could mean 0.5 difference


Thanks for your suggestion! If i don't get the required score in IELTS, I'll try PTE-A.


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## akafinal (Dec 3, 2014)

thomasvo said:


> Go for PTE mate. The 3 second pause never bothered me. Just keep talking until you're finished
> PTE is marked by a computer while IELTS is marked by actual people. You can still get good scores when making mistakes, in IELTS, almost every mistake is counted and could mean 0.5 difference


May I ask how long it took you to study before taking PTE? What's your latest IELTS score in each band? 

Thanks.


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## thomasvo (Nov 8, 2013)

akafinal said:


> May I ask how long it took you to study before taking PTE? What's your latest IELTS score in each band?
> 
> Thanks.


I didnt really study, I just did the test boosters to get used to to the type of questions.
My IELTS scores were always 8 or higher except writing 7.5


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## akafinal (Dec 3, 2014)

Thanks man, 

I've noted down every post of yours in this thread. One more question: How about the format of writing module? I read somewhere that it's quite similar to IELTS writing except for the part that it's marked more correctly since it's computer-based .


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## thomasvo (Nov 8, 2013)

akafinal said:


> Thanks man,
> 
> I've noted down every post of yours in this thread. One more question: How about the format of writing module? I read somewhere that it's quite similar to IELTS writing except for the part that it's marked more correctly since it's computer-based .


Yeah. There is an essay for which you have 20 mins and have to write between 200 and 300 words. Since its on the computer it displays how many words you've typed so you dont have to lose time with that.
There's also a small text that you have to summarize in max 75 words. Make sure you mention only the key points and not go into detail too much.

I only had 1 essay to do but someone else on this forum said that he had 2 essays in his test.


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## aikonoer (Feb 13, 2013)

similar problem here. I got R & L: 8.5, S: 8 W: 7.5 Basing on your suggestion, I will try PTE-A.

Thanks.


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## aikonoer (Feb 13, 2013)

thomasvo said:


> Yeah. There is an essay for which you have 20 mins and have to write between 200 and 300 words. Since its on the computer it displays how many words you've typed so you dont have to lose time with that.
> There's also a small text that you have to summarize in max 75 words. Make sure you mention only the key points and not go into detail too much.
> 
> I only had 1 essay to do but someone else on this forum said that he had 2 essays in his test.


Hi,

if you don't mind what was your ielts mark before you took PTE-A?

Thanks.

Brian


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## thomasvo (Nov 8, 2013)

aikonoer said:


> Hi,
> 
> if you don't mind what was your ielts mark before you took PTE-A?
> 
> ...


everything 8 or higher except writing, 7.5


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