IELTS: 7.5 and Pillow Talk

Guys, I’ve got some juicy news to share!

Yep, you guessed it—it’s my IELTS results!

My goal was an overall band score of 6.5, with each section scoring at least 6.5 too.

Well, drumroll please... I smashed it with an overall score of 7.5!

And guess what? I somehow scored a whopping Band 8 in Speaking! Like—who is she?? I was honestly expecting my Listening section to come out on top (because duh, I have the ears of a hawk), but plot twist—it was Reading that took the crown with a Band 8.5!

And yep, Speaking came in strong at 8 too. Apparently, I talk a lot. Who knew?

As for Writing… well... let’s just say it held the line at 6.5. I might have wandered off-topic in Task 2—like, metaphorically took a wrong turn and just kept going. But hey, as long as every section hit at least 6.5, I’m already dancing with joy!

Thank God for the glory!

Now, let me spill the tea on Part 2 of the Speaking test.

I was asked to describe “a thing you can't live without—but NOT a mobile phone or computer.” I’d seen this type of question before and thought, “Okay, I’ll talk about something normal like a shirt… or money... or maybe air??”

But then, a little voice inside my head whispered,

“Tell them about... the pillows.”

Yes, friends. I poured my heart out about my tiny, handmade pillows gifted by my grandma.

The examiner looked like she was on the verge of bursting out laughing, and honestly? Same. But I think that made it work! It was weirdly wholesome and totally me.

Moral of the story? Be honest. Be weird. Be pillow-loving you.

Don't memorize stiff, robot answers. Examiners can smell that from a mile away (they're like the IELTS Avengers or something). Just be natural and talk like you’re gossiping with a friend.

Some quick tips for future IELTS warriors:

• The IELTS Test Taker Portal is actually quite useful for prep.

• For Speaking, I watched videos of other candidates and tried to get a feel for the flow.

• The actual content of your answer doesn't need to be rocket science. You can talk about spoons if you want—just make sure your ideas are clear and you speak smoothly.

So yeah—cheers to small pillows, big scores, and trusting your gut! 

good enough!