From 6.5 to 9.0: How a Vietnamese academic manager achieves perfect IELTS score after 8 attempts

Loc, who works at a foreign language center, first took the IELTS exam in 11th grade, scoring 6.5.

Despite multiple attempts over the years during his studies at the Ho Chi Minh City University of Foreign Language-Information Technology (HUFLIT), he had never reached a perfect score until his recent breakthrough.

"I was speechless when I saw the 9.0 score," Loc said.

His achievement included perfect scores of 9.0 in Reading and Listening, with impressive 8.5 scores in Speaking and Writing. Loc attributed his success to rigorous preparation strategies, including listening to podcasts at 1.5x speed to sharpen his reflexes.

Reading, previously his weakness with scores around 7.5, improved significantly when Loc adjusted his strategy to skimming and breaking down passages into manageable sections. He employed elimination techniques for True/False/Not Given questions and practiced with stricter time limits.

Loc boosted his Writing score from 7.5 to 8.5 by closely adhering to the IELTS scoring criteria. He emphasized precise vocabulary, specific collocations and structured essay development.

His approach for Writing Task 1 involved deeper data analysis, and for Task 2, he used the Analytical Hierarchy Process, building essays from smaller, coherent points to more complex arguments.

Although his Speaking score slightly dropped from 9.0 to 8.5, Loc highlighted the importance of fluent conversation rather than speaking rapidly or overly complex vocabulary.

His strategy includes dimensional thinking to approach questions comprehensively and focusing on vocabulary usage in practical contexts.

Vietnamese candidates' average IELTS score was 6.2 out of 9 during the 2023-2024 period, and only 5% of test-takers achieved scores of 8.0 or higher, according to IELTS.