Improve your IELTS score next time

If you want to know how to improve your IELTS score, you must improve your English first! Take a look at your Test Report Form and see which skills you need to work on.

Taking the test again and again will not improve your results unless you work on the weaknesses identified in your test report form. You need to

• review your preparation activities
• consider how you performed on the test day
• consider taking a course to improve your English in an area of weakness
• once you are ready, book a new test

How did you prepare last time?

Think about how you prepared for your test. Did you do enough?
To improve your score next time, make sure you

• understand your IELTS score
• understand the test format
• try our online sample tests
• read our tips on how to succeed
• practise your English at home, at work, or at university
• listen to English on radio and television
• read English newspapers and websites
• practise using British Council online IELTS resources
• use IELTS preparation materials

IELTS is a test of English language proficiency, so you need to work on all skill areas to maintain and improve your English.

How did you perform on test day?

Think about what happened on test day:

• how did you perform on your IELTS test day?
• did you know where the test location was?
• did you arrive in time?
• were you as calm and relaxed as possible?
• was the format of the test familiar?
• did you know what to expect?

Consider taking a course

You might want to consider taking an IELTS preparation course. This will help you:

• practise the type of tasks included in an IELTS test (e.g. writing a short essay or letter for the Writing test)
• get feedback and learn from your answers to practice questions
• become more confident in your test-taking skills

Your teacher may be able to advise you about your skill level and whether you are ready to re-take your test.
It takes time to learn a language, and the best way is to take an English course. The feedback you receive from your teacher will help you improve the specific skills involved in speaking, listening, reading and writing English.

Re-take the IELTS test

Book another test when you feel ready. You can take IELTS as many times as you like.
Have a look at Test day advice before you re-take your test.
We hope this information will help you further understand how to improve your IELTS score.

UK qualifications

We work in partnership with a number of UK awarding organisations, professional bodies and educational institutions in promoting professional and vocational qualifications overseas. To find out more about the qualifications they offer, please visit their websites.

see also School exams English language (ESOL) exams

Professional and vocational qualifications AAT Association of Accounting Technicians ABE Association of Business Executives ABRSM Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music ACCA Association of Chartered Certified Accountants ACT Association of Corporate Treasurers AIA Association of International Accountants APMG APMG International AQA Assessment and Qualifications Alliance BCS BCS - Chartered Institute for IT BSC British Safety Council BMAT Cambridge Assessment Admissions Tests CEM College of Estate Management CFA Chartered Financial Analysts Institute CII Chartered Insurance Institute CIM Chartered Institute of Marketing CIMA Chartered Institute of Management Accountants CIPD Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development CIPS Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply CISI Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment C&G City and Guilds GEM-A Gemmological Association of Great Britain ICAEW Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales ICS Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers IOE Institute of Export IFS Institute of Financial Services IMIS Institute for the Management of Information Systems IOA Institute and Faculty of Actuaries IoLET Chartered Institute of Linguists IWCF International Well Control Forum LCCI LCCI International Qualifications MRS Market Research Society NCC NCC Education NEBOSH National Examination Board in Occupational Safety and Health Pearson Pearson BTEC PLAB General Medical Council RAD Royal Academy of Dance RCP Royal College of Physicians RCPCH Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health RSS Royal Statistical Society TCL Trinity College London

Punctuation Rules - Avoid these common errors

Punctuation is a very important aspect of writing; good writing presupposes correct punctuation. Incorrect punctuation is the sign of weak writing, or carelessness. But this sort of thing is eminently avoidable, because punctuation is quite simple to master. Here are some basic rules to keep in mind:

1. Every sentence must end with a full stop.
2. Proper nouns (names of people, places, brands, etc, i.e. unique instances of a class) must always be capitalised.
3. When you use opening quotation marks, do not forget to use closing quotation marks at the end of the quoted word or phrase.
4. Quotation marks are when quoting or sometimes to convey irony, not for emphasis; emphasis is conveyed by emboldening or italicisation, followed by an exclamation mark.
5. Do not use an apostrophe when you are pluralising a word. The plural of toy is toys, not toy’s. Apostrophes are used to form contractions (it is = it’s) and indicate possession.
6. The ellipsis, used to indicate variously the intentional omission of a section of text, an unfinished thought, and a trailing off into silence, consists of only 3 dots. It is pointless to add more dots to an ellipsis. This is excessive punctuation, which is in other words incorrect punctuation.
7. As per the rules of British English, any punctuation mark that is not part of a quoted section of text must be placed outside the quotation marks. However, in the case of direct speech, punctuation marks must be enclosed within the quotation marks.
8. Do not link independent clauses with commas. Independent clauses are groupings of words that can stand alone as sentences. For example, in He knew how to drive, that he didn’t do it very often was a matter more nerves, not inability both the parts before and after the comma are full sentences. In such cases, the comma is not the correct punctuation mark of connection. In needs to be replaced with a semi-colon (‘;’). The sentence becomes: He knew how to drive; that he didn’t do it very often was matter of nerves, not inability.
9. Use a comma after the introductory element of a sentence. The introductory element is a word or a phrase that begins a sentence by providing background, or simply modifies it. For example, Honestly I don’t know how I managed to escape is wrong, because the word ‘honestly’ modifies the sentence. Hence, it should be Honestly, I don’t know how I managed to escape.

Apostrophe

The apostrophe is an important punctuation mark in the English language which is often used incorrectly.
Here are some common incorrect usages of the apostrophe

Your’s shoes are red.
I went to their’s house.
The book’s are on the table.
The flower’s are in the vase.

The apostrophe has two distinct uses in English

1. Used to show possession:
   • Bat owned by Ravi – Ravi’s bat
   • Doll owned by Sita – Sita’s doll
2. Used to show contractions of words:
   • It is so hot today – It’s so hot today
   • I have not done my homework – I haven’t done my homework

Colon and Semi Colon

Many English speakers are uncertain about the correct usage of the colon and the semi colon.

The colon ( : ) is a punctuation mark consisting of two dots one over the other whereas the semi colon ( ; ) consists of a dot above a comma.

In the majority of the cases, the colon is used to introduce a list of things while a semi colon is used to separate sentences where the conjunction has been left out.
The following examples will make the usage clear.

COLON	SEMI COLON
I have packed my cricket kit with the equipment I need: bats, gloves and pads.	Sumit likes to play cricket; Amit likes to play soccer.
A man needs three things to survive: air, water and food.	I drank lemonade; Manish drank tea.

The following sentence will illustrate the use of both these punctuation marks -
I talked to four men: Amit, who is from Delhi; Manoj, who is from Lucknow; Vinod, who is from Mumbai; and Mohan, who is from Patna.

Exclamation Mark

The exclamation mark is a punctuation used to express strong feelings or emotions. It is commonly used after interjections or exclamations.
It is one of the most misused punctuation marks in the English language. We tend to use exclamation marks more often than what is required. 

The exclamation mark should be mainly used to demonstrate shock, surprise, anger or a raised voice. The following cases demonstrate correct usage of this punctuation.

Hurray!
Help!
Go away! I don’t want to talk to you!
Shut Up!

In addition, the exclamation mark can also be used in very informal writing or to express irony, humour or sarcasm.

Comma

A comma is a punctuation used to denote a pause in the sentence. A comma is used to structure a sentence and helps the reader understand the meaning of the sentence.

The following are the most common usages of the comma in the English language.
1. To separate a series of words (nouns, adjectives, verbs or adverbs) in a sentence.
Ramesh, Shravan, Dilip and Radha went for the meeting.
Sheetal is an intelligent, loyal and hardworking employee.
You must complete the assignment honestly, correctly and quickly.
Manish ran, swam and cycled to complete the athletic event.
2. To separate a series of phrases in a sentence.
Amit completed his homework, packed his bags, polished his shoes and went to sleep.
I went to the market, bought the present, got it gift wrapped and came to the birthday party.
3. To separate the parenthetical elements (a part of a sentence that can be removed without changing the meaning of the sentence).
M.S. Dhoni, India’s cricket captain, hit a six to win the match.
Vishnu, the headboy of the school, has been absent for the last three days.
4. To separate the quoted parts from the rest of the sentence.
The great leader told the crowd, “I will fast till death until our demands are met.”
“Please go back to your houses,” said the policeman to the crowd.