The Ultimate Guide to IELTS Speaking comprises thousands of questions and cue cards with answers and tips that may help you sharpen your speaking skills.
This book sure has a lot, but is it enough for your IELTS preparation? Worry not because this book review will answer your questions by providing a detailed critique of this prep material. We will provide an overview of its content, price, user ratings, and tips on using it.
Everything You Need To Know About The Ultimate Guide to IELTS Speaking:
The first set of things we need to know is the basic information about the Ultimate Guide to IELTS Speaking. With that, we will discuss the authors, content, latest edition, and the expenses you may have in using this prep guide.
Authors
Parthesh Thakkar is the prominent author of the Ultimate Guide to IELTS Speaking. The Foreign Education and Immigration Aspirants community has known him for so long because he has been in the industry for two decades.
Thakkar and his team, Visa Consultants and Foreign Education Counsellors, aim to guide candidates in deciding their fields of study, finding colleges, and applying for universities. Moreover, they assist in Visa documentation filing for students who want to study in the USA, New Zealand, Canada, Singapore, Europe, Australia, and other English-speaking countries.
Parthesh Thakkar’s company, Angel EduNext Pvt Ltd, has received numerous best industry accreditations such as ICEF, AIRC, NAFSA, ENZ, UniAgents, WEBA, NET, EAIE, and the likes. He is also a member of the Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council or the ICCRC.
Aside from the popularity of his IELTS Speaking book, he also authored the Ultimate Guide to IELTS Writing. Until now, his primary goal is to help everyone who wishes to pass and achieve high band scores in different language tests.
Book Contents
The Ultimate Guide to IELTS Speaking offers a wide range of topics and questions that you may use to get familiar with the possible content of the actual IELTS Speaking test. Its first edition has over 1500 IELTS Speaking interview questions with answers and practice questions and more than 140 IELTS Speaking cue cards with sample answers and cue cards for practice.
The first part of this prep book contains basic information about the IELTS exam, IELTS Speaking, speaking assessments, problems and solutions, and a few questions frequently asked by test-takers. The succeeding three sections include lessons and practice questions related to the three parts of the IELTS speaking exam.
The latter part of this prep material has a shortlist of other IELTS books you may use for your preparation. It also includes a band descriptor to know the skills needed for the test. If you want free video tutorials and DVDs, you may look for this book’s revised edition.
Latest Edition Available
Parthesh Thakkar first published the Ultimate Guide to IELTS Speaking (1st Edition) in August 2007 under The Primary Publication. Due to high demand and popularity, they went for a second reprint in January 2008.
In January 2009, Thakkar decided to write and publish a revised edition of the same book with free video tutorials and DVDs. Unfortunately, the book did not have any newer editions after that.
What’s Inside?
The following is the summary of the official content of the first edition of The Ultimate Guide to IELTS Speaking (2007).
I. Introduction to IELTS
II. IELTS Speaking Assessment
III. Problems and Solutions for developing speaking skills
IV. Frequently Asked Questions about IELTS Speaking
V. Section 1
- 116 Questions and Answers for Part 1 of IELTS Speaking Test
- 111 Practice Questions for Part 1 of IELTS Speaking Test
VI. Section 2
- 63 Q Cards with Sample Answers followed by Follow-Up Questions
- 73 Q Cards with Suggestions and Follow-Up Questions for Practice
VII. Section 3
- 43 Questions and Answers about Various Topics for Part 3 of the IELTS Speaking Test followed by Practice Questions
VIII. List of Books That Can Help You in Improving Your IELTS Score
IX. IELTS Speaking Band Descriptors
X. Feedback Page
XI. Notes
Price
The Ultimate Guide to IELTS Speaking is an excellent book for IELTS Speaking preparation. Fortunately, you can find this prep guide for USD 5.13 to USD 30.02 on Amazon.
You may take note of your location because additional expenses may vary according to the respective shipping fees. Some individual stores ship from India, Canada, or the USA. Furthermore, the price may also differ due to the book’s condition.
Book Review — The Ultimate Guide to IELTS Speaking:
We have finally come to our previous question: is this book enough for your IELTS Speaking preparation?
The next part of this book review will analyze the benefits and drawbacks of using this prep material. We will provide its pros, cons, and some user ratings.
General Overview
The Ultimate Guide to IELTS Speaking has everything you need, but it has two things that you can consider as its weak points. With that, here are the boons and banes of using this prep material.
Pros
The Ultimate Guide to IELTS Speaking is an excellent prep book suitable for all levels. People may use it for self-studying or in a classroom setting. Moreover, it helps test-takers to have hands-on experiences and vital skills for gaining confidence in speaking.
This prep guide also includes thousands of topics that you may practice. You can formulate ideas about these topics to master answering random questions. Furthermore, its vast range of ideas also assists you in improving your way of thinking.
Here comes a fun fact: this book may also be helpful for TOEFL iBT preparation! You can use this material to pass the examinations and get high band scores.
Cons
Fortunately, there are not many disadvantages to using this book. It’s just that you may find it pretty expensive because you can only use it for practicing speaking skills. You will need to find and purchase other supplementary materials for writing, reading, and listening.
Moreover, since the words used in this book are simple, you may not find new vocabulary. Other than that, there’s nothing more to say!
Ratings
Moving on, here are some user ratings from three different sites to provide a more thorough critique of this book. We will discuss the opinions and reviews of actual users of the Ultimate Guide to IELTS Speaking.
Goodreads
Users from Goodreads rated this prep book 4.2 out of 5. Unfortunately, only some commented about this guide’s quality and efficacy.
They said that this is an excellent book for IELTS Speaking practice. Furthermore, it has well-explained content, simple language, and excellent writing.
Amazon
The Ultimate Guide to IELTS Speaking got a user rating of 4.2 out of 5 in Amazon. Some people said that this prep book is helpful, especially when you still do not have any ideas about the question types and answers in the IELTS Speaking.
You can get an excellent overview of what may appear on the actual test, so you will not be surprised on the exam day. There are general ideas on formulating answers for random questions and suggestions on improving your responses.
The descriptions in the book are also easy to follow because the grammar used is understandable. Some users also said they achieved a band score of 7 or higher because of the book.
Flipkart
Lastly, users from Flipkart gave this prep book a user rating of 4.22 out of 5. These users said that this guide contains everything every test-taker needs to pass the IELTS Speaking test. It has well-presented ideas and strategies and over 2250 questions with varying topics.
Aside from that, the DVD provided in the revised edition has excellent information. The book also provides ideas for essay writing because you can practice answering questions using paragraph forms in this guide.
How To Use The Book Effectively?
You can always ace the IELTS Speaking test, especially when you know how to use different prep books effectively. Luckily, doing this thing is not as challenging as you think!
Here are some tips on using the Ultimate Guide to IELTS Speaking productively.
- First, you will need to go through the book’s introduction and assessment before proceeding to the question types and answers.
- Nonetheless, you are free to move on to the questions if you already have solid ideas about the criteria for assessment.
- Ensure to read the IELTS Speaking band descriptors to know everything you need to master for the actual test. This part includes the things the examiners require you to have.
- You will also need to finish all sections to get familiar with the parts and content of the IELTS Speaking test.
The book’s author also suggests taking the opinions and answers expressed in this guide as reference only.
Final Thoughts
The Ultimate Guide to IELTS Speaking can be everything you need when preparing for the IELTS Speaking exam. It includes numerous topics, questions, and cue cards for practice that improve your speaking skills. Furthermore, it also has many tips and suggestions on enhancing your ideas in formulating responses.
Nonetheless, this book cannot be all you need for the whole IELTS preparation. You will still need to find other prep books for writing, listening, and reading. In this case, we can recommend Parthesh Thakkar’s The Ultimate Guide to IELTS Writing.
Have you ever tried boosting your confidence using this book? Or do you have any experience in taking the IELTS exam? Feel free to share your thoughts and opinions here!
Additional Reading — IELTS Exam Preparation Books
- Best IELTS Exam Preparation Books
- Book Review of “The Official Cambridge Guide to IELTS”
- Book Review of “Mometrix IELTS Book for General Training and Academic”
- Book Review of “IELTS Superpack (Barron’s Test Prep)”
- Book Review of “Makkar IELTS Guides and Books”
- Book Review of “Objective IELTS Intermediate Student’s Book”
- Book Review of “Focus on IELTS Foundation Coursebook”
- Book Review of “Ace the IELTS”
- Book Review of “Kaplan’s IELTS Prep Plus 2019-2020”
