Target IELTS 7.0 for Nurses – Case Study: Maria Frances
Maria Frances has been a nurse for 6 years and has worked both in the Philippines and in Saudi Arabia. Last year, encouraged by a friend who already works as a nurse in England, she decided to apply to work in the UK where she is excited about the possibilities she has to further her career as a dialysis specialist.
Unfortunately, although she had taken the IELTS in 2009 and got a level 7.0 overall, she had struggled to get level 7.0 in all papers. She described the Writing paper as ‘her Waterloo’ as she had consistently scored a 6.5 and didn’t know how to improve – despite taking a preparation course at a local centre.
She completed the ‘Target IELTS 7.0’ course with SLC and found that having a chance to discuss her essays with a tutor was invaluable. Her tutor helped her improve the structure and flow of essays, made her aware of grammar errors she was prone to making and gave her strategies to use in the exam to improve the quality of her answers.
“The personalised feedback helped to highlight my strengths and point out weaker areas for me to concentrate on”.
She recently took the exam again and got an overall score of 7.5 including a 7.0 in the writing paper.
We asked her for her top tips for success in the exam and how to make the most of the course. Here they are:
- Listen to the tutor – they are experienced examiners; they know what you need to do to score a 7.0
- Complete all of the tasks that they suggest and attend the webinars – these are a chance for you to get lots of tips that can often contradict what you thought was the best way to approach the exam.
- Read up on common topics which often come up in the exam – healthcare, transport, education etc. This will help you with your opinions when writing during the exam.
Maria Frances is now on to the next phase of her application process and hopes that it won’t be too much longer until she starts her new life at a hospital in the UK.