30-year-old Vietnamese achieves perfect 9.0 in IELTS with AI practice

Nguyen Thanh Tung, 30, achieved the perfect score last month, after improving his writing score by 0.5 points. He already scored perfect marks in listening and reading and 8.5 in speaking.

According to IELTS statistics, only about 1% of test-takers in Vietnam score 8.5 or higher.

Nguyen Thanh Tung in a photo he provided.

Test-takers have up to 60 days to retake a single IELTS skill after their initial test, and Tung used this time to focus on Writing. He studied high-scoring essays from former IELTS examiners to refine his approach, particularly in Task 2, which requires writing argumentative essays.

He noticed that essays scoring 8.5 often featured concise sentences, whereas his writing was too wordy. For example, a recent prompt asked candidates why they hesitate to recycle and how to encourage recycling. Previously, he would write:

"People fear recycling due to high costs. Manufacturers face higher production expenses for recyclable goods, making them more expensive for customers. As a result, consumers prefer cheaper, readily available products over costly, reusable ones."

This time, he streamlined it: "Recycling adds financial strain on consumers, making them less likely to buy recyclable products."

"The sentence became shorter but still conveyed the full idea, cutting down from two or three sentences to one while improving the overall clarity," Tung said.

To improve his writing, Tung also used ChatGPT. He asked the AI chatbot to make his passages more concise without losing meaning. Over time, he learned to break long sentences into shorter, clearer ones.

"It's harder for examiners to follow arguments when sentences are too long and complex," he said.

Beyond refining sentence structure, he also used ChatGPT to test his ideas and spot weak arguments. This helped him strengthen his counterargument skills by presenting him with opposing views before letting him refute them.

For example, after arguing that producing recyclable goods raises costs for businesses, he countered by pointing out that government incentives could help offset these costs through pollution reduction programs.

In Task 1 of the writing section, which involves analyzing charts, Tung developed a structured approach. He summarized key trends in one paragraph using six key factors: largest, smallest, strongest, weakest, most similar, and most different.

"This approach helps me interpret charts quickly without missing key details," he said. To expand on these points, he grouped similar data together to avoid redundancy, ensuring a clear and logical analysis.

While writing was his primary focus, Tung also worked on improving his speaking skills. He admitted that he sometimes spoke too fast or stumbled over words and ideas. To fix this, he used AI to generate natural phrasing and practiced for hours daily until he spoke fluently. He also took mock exams with former IELTS examiners.

His use of AI extended to reading and listening.

In reading, he realized that many questions could be answered by analyzing grammar structures rather than just focusing on vocabulary. To refine this skill, he used ChatGPT to break down complex passages into simpler parts, making them easier to understand.

"English is like Lego - understanding grammar structures and how to use them helps build clearer sentences, not just knowing vocabulary," he said. He added that this method also helps middle school students excel in reading, even with complex topics like archeology and history.

For listening, he practiced dictation using the website Daily Dictation. While transcribing, he also read aloud to improve pronunciation.

"This way, I trained both my listening and pronunciation, killing two birds with one stone," he said.

Nguyen Hoai Thanh, a lecturer at the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam who studied IELTS with Tung, described him as highly meticulous.

"He's meticulous about scoring criteria, always choosing what words and grammar structure he'd use carefully," Thanh said. "He's also hardworking and regularly shares study tips and materials with others."

Tung believes mastering English takes daily practice and persistence. Now that he's reached his goal in English, he plans to learn Chinese to broaden his language skills.