The Analyst Down Under

No, I'm not losing my religion, as much as you'd imagine from my previous post (I said too much, I said it all...). And I'm not so big on REM either, except for this very sticky song. Well, I lost at least five listening questions to my lack of concentration and love for drifting thoughts. The reading was sharp, and I finished my writing just in time, going over each task and finishing satisfactorily. My preparation was a little half-baked, as I did not do an all-important practice test beforehand and this cost me quite a few on the listening as I still hadn't oriented myself properly to pay attention. However, watching 'Australia' with my folks over the last two nights paid off as I could easily make out that Australian accent in one of the clips, though I still missed one in that section while I was gloating. This Ramadan's tasbeeh and ziarat of Bhaiji Bhai probably had a lot to do in taking me through this paper (as usual, I was fretting like a nervous co...

Well, a hop and jump later, here I am, wondering. Once again, I was a stammering fool (or half) when I was asked the same two questions I should have anticipated in the speaking test and been able to prepare better for: 'what do you do?' and 'is it easy to find a job in you country?'. And as for my two-minute 'something that broke or stopped working and what you did', I had no idea of how much time had elapsed so I was left wandering and digressing scared I wouldn't be able to take up all of my two minutes like last time and only got so far. I left out all the juicy funny parts and wasn't able to keep purely to the topic. However, my responses in the last part were so interesting for the interviewer that she even continued the conversation long after she stopped recording. Unlike the dimly lit sleepy hotel room in my last interview, this was in a classroom right past the dungeon keeper and barricaded locker rooms. Also, the interviewer was lively and res...

Well, the day of the speaking test has finally arrived, one day before the written. Having gone through the British Council website and judging from my past experience, walking in for the interview with a clear, focused mindset is a pretty good idea. This is my strategy to get a good score (as good as last time or better): 1. Be relaxed and natural, but also confident, upbeat and super-interested in conversing with the interviewer 2. Remember not to simply reach the interviewers level of communication, but to exceed it - articulating thoughts skillfully as well as dripping lexicon and idiomatic phrases all over the place. A good way to do this would probably be to imagine that I'm an expert on Wall Street that has been approached by only the most glorious news channel for a short fifteen minute radio interview. The topic could be anything, so I need to communicate as much information as richly as possible, especially in my 2-minute monologue and in the ensuing conversation. Of co...

Unlike the last time I sat the IELTS, now there are online resources that prepare candidates for the test. I received an email from the IELTS around six days to a week after submitting the application at the branch. It reads: Dear TAAHA ABDUL LATIF Thank you for registering for IELTS with The British Council. Please note that we have received your application form and payment slip. Your registration status is confirmed now. Following are your test details: Customer Reference Number : ommitted - Name : TAAHA ABDUL LATIF Test Date : 25 Sep 2010 Test Centre : KARACHI Test Module : AC Date of Birth : 1981-01-09 Gender : Male Passport/CNIC No : - ommitted - Payment Date : 2010-09-15 Your Correspondence Address : - ommitted - You...

Contrary to what I had in mind, IELTS did not become history as early as I would have liked. I still have to deal with clearing the English Language requirements because for all my linguistic brilliance, I messed up in the writing section last time - falling short of the word limit in the second part of the test, having taken up most of my time in the first task. This was very reckless and irresponsible because: 1. IELTS information material clearly stated that falling short of the word limit in the writing section would be a costly mistake. 2. My exam strategy couldn't have been any worse - the second part of the test was worth twice the marks than the first part, but I managed to allocate only half as much time as I took in the first part. Falling short by half a band in this section means that I have to go through the whole process and empty my pockets once again. However, some consolation comes from the fact that my targeted accounting body for migration assessment (ICAA) does...