Any of these issues can frustrate your effort of preparation and bring tears to your face on exam day. Read carefully.
- International passport.
There have been cases in which students assume they will go to the exam with other identification cards other than their international passports. This is a big mistake because you won’t be allowed to sit for the exam. Another issue is if the person on the passport doesn’t look like you. We had an experience with a student who is sick at the time of the exam, so he looked emaciated compared to the face on the passport. He was denied the chance to sit for the exam. He was told he was supposed to come with medical evidence to prove he is the real person on the passport. We also had the case of a student who assumed he was going to be allowed to use a photocopy of an International passport. We discovered this a few hours before his speaking exam. He couldn’t do the exam too.
Your passport must be original and must be valid at the time of sitting for the exam.
- Punctuality.
You need to come early to the exam venue at least an hour before it starts. For example, you are to report by 8 am while exams start at 9 am. This means you must have left your house on or before 7 am depending on where you are coming from. A good student is supposed to have gone to check the exam venue before the test date. And he or she should have planned the timing and distance to ensure he gets there early. Don’t give room for chances. Also, take note of the peculiarity of the state or region the exam will take place. If it’s in Lagos, Nigeria, ensure you do you get reliable transport or you lodge in a hotel close to the exam venue. Finally, take note of the peculiarity of the Saturday. If the day is for environmental sanitation, ensure you leave earlier so you can be at the venue before the road is blocked.
- Health
I can’t over-emphasize this. We have had students that have runny stomachs on the day of the exam. This is a sure path to failure if care isn’t taken. The exam starts with Listening which requires rapt attention. If your body isn’t in good shape, you will be distracted and concentration will be difficult. Watch what you eat the day(s) before the exam so that your body will not react negatively on exam day. Be wise. On a funny note, probably, you lodge with a family member or friend who has seen you for a long. And he chose to spoil you with food, wisdom demands that you put a knife to your throat. In the same vein, ensure you empty your bladder before starting the exam and do not drink too much water which may warrant urination. Exams can not be stopped for any form of break needed by the student. This means using the toilet will waste your time in exams.
- Change of exam details.
Some students don’t check their emails during the week of the exam. Often time, the IELTS body changes the speaking dates of candidates and even the main test dates due to reasons beyond their power. You need to check your emails to be sure you haven’t been rescheduled for an earlier or later date. For example, one person was to do speaking the same day as the other exams, but the venue was different. His speaking was at a different hotel from the Listening Reading and Writing. When he was done with the speaking exam, he had to rush to the second venue. Apparently, he got there late, tired and disoriented. Events like this can destabilize students on exam day. To prepare ahead of this, check your email very well when it’s a week or two before the exam.
- Fear
Fear fear! Don’t allow any form of fear before and during the exam. Most students get overly sensitive on exam dates. They may begin to run stool. Some may begin to fidget or shake. Don’t allow the news of IELTS failure to break you. You can do it! Say it over and over to yourself that you can do it. Say positive things and words to yourself. Dream and picture yourself as passing. Don’t allow fear, it’s your major enemy of failure.
Things you need for the exam.
- International passport( original and valid)
- Black pen and Pencils, maybe an eraser( because most venues now use biro: black not blue pen)
- You don’t need to print out anything from your email as the last confirmation email always says. Just go with your passport alone.
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Akinwumi Taiwo
IELTS expert and Education Consultant
www.grace.educonsult.com
09095128434