The Official Cambridge Guide to IELTS

The Official Cambridge Guide to IELTS has two separate parts. The first half of the book looks in detail at the skills you need to master to achieve a high score in IELTS. This part of the book is divided up into 4 sections reflecting the 4 separate papers of the test. There are 8 chapters focused on IELTS listening skills, 8 chapters looking at IELTS reading skills, 8 chapters focusing on IELTS writing, and 4 chapters about IELTS speaking. The second half of the book has 8 complete practice tests. The book has a DVD with listening recordings as well as videos showing authentic speaking tests with candidates of different levels.

Although there are many books about IELTS, The Official Cambridge Guide to IELTS is the first book to focus on the skills candidates need to learn for the test. The chapters in the skills section break down the broad skills of reading, writing, listening, and speaking into specific micro skills. The units explain why these are important, show you how these skills are tested, and how to apply the skills you learn to different IELTS test questions. It is also the first book to combine this information with 8 complete practice tests. Another key features is that all of the writers of this book are skilled, IELTS test writers, with many years of test writing experience between us. So you can be sure that the practice tests and the information in the book reflect the real test.

If you have never taken the IELTS test before, the skills section of The Official Cambridge Guide to IELTS will explain exactly how IELTS works and teach you the skills you need to show in each part of the test. The 8 practice tests at the end of the book then help you to practice these skills, so that on the day of your test, you can feel confident that you know exactly what to expect and what to do. The practice tests also help you assess whether you are ready to take the test or not as they show you the level of difficulty you can expect in each of the 4 papers.

Many IELTS candidates have taken the test several times and feel frustrated that they are not making progress. If you read my free book, The Key to IELTS Success, you will see that this is often due to myths about IELTS and the use of test materials that do not reflect the real test. These two problems cause candidates to remain stuck, even though they feel they are working hard. If you already have an IELTS score, The Official Cambridge Guide to IELTS helps you to identify the key skills you need to improve on. Through basing your study on facts about IELTS and authentic test practice materials, you can finally begin to make progress and graduate from IELTS.

IELTS tests your language ability. While The Official Cambridge Guide to IELTS shows you the skills you need, it cannot teach you all of the language you need for the test. To focus on language, look for my other books: Cambridge Vocabulary for IELTS, Cambridge Vocabulary for IELTS Advanced, Common Mistakes at IELTS Intermediate, and Cambridge Grammar for IELTS.