IELTS Energy 1611: Avoid a Last-Minute Scramble on IELTS

This is an IELTS Energy Podcast, Episode 1611. Avoid a last-minute scramble on IELTS. Welcome to the IELTS Energy Podcast from All Ears English. Downloaded more than 35 million times with examiner-trained IELTS whiz Aubrey Carter and Michelle Kaplan, the New York radio girl.

If you are stuck with a low score, our insider method will help you get the score you need to unlock your dreams. Get your estimated band score now with our two-minute quiz at allearsenglish.com forward slash my score.

Are you often running late? Today, learn five high-scoring phrases to describe time management and get three band nine sample part one answers. Have you ever walked away from a conversation thinking, wait, what did they just say? Native speakers speak fast.

They interrupt. They use slang. They don't speak textbook English. If you sometimes feel one step behind, you're not alone and you're not incapable. You just need targeted listening training.

The first step, find out your exact level and where the breakdown is happening. Take our quick free fluency quiz at allearsenglish.com slash fluency score. Again, that's allearsenglish.com slash f-l-u-e-n-c-y-s-c-o-r-e.

Hello, Michelle. How are you today? I am doing well, Aubrey. How are you? I am great. When is the last time you lost track of time? This happens to me all the time.

It happens to me a lot, too. I think as a parent, you know, also, like, it's just there's constant, oh, my gosh, we were supposed to leave at this time. I didn't realize it was already this late and Friday. I have to tell you, I haven't told you this story yet, Michelle, quickly for the listeners.

I was supposed to pick my kids up at school at 3 o'clock, we'll say. And at like 3.15, they get home. And it was really not a good day for them to have to walk home. We only live a half mile from the school, but it was 105 degrees outside, first of all.

And they were wearing costumes for this small World's Fair. So my son was wearing a costume that represented traditional clothing from Bahrain. And my daughter was wearing like Oktoberfest costume for the Netherlands. And they were both very hot things to be wearing out in that.

And they were carrying their poster, those big trifold posters that kids will do a big project on. They had to carry them because I was supposed to pick them up. I felt terrible. They were so mad at me.

I just lost track of time. And I had set an alarm for 2.10 a.m. instead of p.m. Oh, I've done that. Oh, isn't that the worst? 2.50 a.m. instead of 2.50 p.m.

I felt terrible. I was like, let's go get ice cream. I'm so sorry. Mom is sorry. It was terrible. But yeah, sometimes you just lose track of time. Yeah, well, I'm sure the ice cream helped them.

It did. It did help, but it took a while for them to fully forgive me. Aww. But anyway, we're talking about this today because this comes up a lot on IELTS, managing time.

Whether you're a timely person, someone who is on time or always late, questions like this come up a lot and you need interesting vocabulary. This is also very highly valued in American culture, punctuality, being on time at work. So even after IELTS, you're going to need this vocabulary to talk about this, especially if you work in English.

Yeah, exactly. So yeah, today we are going to, you know, share this vocabulary and sample answers for a common IELTS speaking part one topic. Exactly. So stay to the end.

We'll share three band nine answers. And that's after these five really high scoring phrases. So you want to make sure to stay to the end for all of this.

And also be sure to hit follow if you are missing any of our episodes. We're sharing high scoring vocabulary, sample answers, strategies, answering questions about the IELTS exam. If you are studying for IELTS, be sure to hit follow so you don't miss any episodes. Yes, absolutely.

So, all right, where are we starting? Yeah, let's dive in with the first one, which is cut it close. This means to leave very little extra time before a deadline or an event, right? You might say, I almost missed my flight because I cut it close getting to the airport.

That means you got there right on time with no time to spare. Yeah. So he always cuts it close when submitting assignments. That means he submits it at the last minute.

Really? Yes. That happens. So my daughter is in college and she will do this sometimes. And then something crazy happened with this college. The software they use was hacked.

Yeah. And whoever hacked it sent like a ransom reward to the school that was like, this is how much you have to pay us for us to unlock this software that you use for students to submit assignments and finals and stuff. This just happened this last weekend. And so the professor, it was like, if anyone got it done ahead of time, they're fine.

Anybody else, we have to figure out another way for you to submit it. And of course, she hadn't submitted it yet because she's one to cut it close. And it ended up being this huge hassle. It's crazy that that could even happen.

That's so insane. Right? Yeah. It's probably going to happen more and more as the people are using AI to hack systems. Like, I'm worried about all of that happening.

Right? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, definitely. So, all right. Number two is run behind schedule. So that is to be delayed or later than planned. Right. We're often talking about how we're running behind, right?

So we say run behind schedule. You'll often be like, oh, I'm running behind. That means I need to catch up. Somebody who used all these phrases just means like, I'm not where I thought I would be at 2pm.

I thought I would have all these things done. And if I'm running behind, it means I have a lot of things still to do that I thought I would have done by now. Yeah.

Yeah. So public transportation was running behind schedule because of the storm. So yeah, we also talk about something like that running behind, right? If the subway was supposed to be there at 310 and it's four o'clock and it's not there yet, it's running behind.

It's running behind schedule. Or you might say, yeah, go ahead. I'm sorry I'm late. My morning meeting ran behind schedule. So sometimes ran behind schedule or just ran behind.

My morning meeting ran behind means it was late. It started late. Yeah. And meetings are notorious for taking longer, right? Yes. That's the problem. One starts late because the one before it took longer.

It's doctor appointments too, right? You're supposed to get in at three, but you get there if they're running behind. That means some of these other appointments went long and so yours is pushed back. Yep.

It happens. Definitely. Definitely. Or right on the dot. So I love that one. Exactly at the scheduled time. So the train arrived at 7 right on the dot.

Yes, exactly at seven. I called my sister today because she had texted and said, call me at 830. And so right at 830, I called her and I think she even said, wow, you called me at 830 right on the dot. It means exactly at that time, right?

Yes. Or you might say my grandfather eats dinner at six o'clock right on the dot every day. That means like exactly at that time. Yes. Or number four is to lose track of time.

So this is what we were talking about earlier, right? To become unaware of how much time has passed. Like Aubrey and her kids. I lost track of time and did not pick up my children from school.

Sorry, guys. I usually, to be fair, they ride their bikes. Almost every day they ride their bikes so I don't have to pick them up. so this was very out of the normal for out of the ordinary for me right i'm like but i told them i would be there so i should have been there uh that's okay aubrey and they couldn't ride their bikes because they couldn't carry these giant posters so that and or and they couldn't ride in these costumes so i was like no problem i'll take you to school i'll be there to pick you up mom fail no big mom fail that that it happens to everyone um

All right. So I lost track of time while reading and stayed up until 2 a.m. I do this all the time. Yeah. Same. And like the word I remember, like when I was a kid and I would play computer games just like by myself, like The Sims.

Yeah. And that. Oh, my gosh. You get sucked into those things. And then the track of time. You're like, how is it three in the morning? How is it 3am?

I started at 6pm and that was two minutes ago. It's such a time suck. You totally lose track of time. Absolutely. Yeah. So this is right. Whenever I play video games, I completely lose track of time.

That happens to all of us or scrolling on TikTok. People will set timers because you'll be scrolling and all of a sudden you really, a minute, an hour has gone by and you could have sworn it was a minute. Yeah, for sure. Yeah.

um all right let's do one more and then we're gonna give some sample answers so this last one is a last minute scramble which is a rushed and successful and excuse me and stressful attempt to finish something just before the deadline right might be successful might not but it's definitely rushed and stressful if you're yes exactly may not last minute right yeah so packing for the trip turned into a last minute scramble yep

Familiar with that one. Same, right? Why am I procrastinating? I don't know, but I do it every time. Or there was a last minute scramble to prepare for the presentation.

This happens a lot, right? Especially if we're delaying something and then we have to scramble at the last minute, but it can happen even if you're prepared and you're not delaying, then something comes up and someone's like, can you have that ready in 10 minutes? Yes. Got it.

Last minute scramble. Yes, exactly. Oh no, that's never fun. Right. You've heard us share vital strategies here on the IELTS Energy Podcast that will help you get the score you need.

Do you want to know what score you would get if you used these strategies on the IELTS exam today? We have created a free IELTS quiz that will tell you what you would likely score on IELTS. You can take the quiz, get your predicted score, and we'll also give you free IELTS materials appropriate for your level to help you improve your score. Go to allearsenglish.com slash myscore for our free IELTS quiz.

That's allearsenglish.com slash M-Y-S-C-O-R-E. All right, Michelle, let's do some sample part one answers. Do you want to ask me the first one? Sure. And I'll try to use some of today's vocabulary.

Sure. All right, here we go. So Aubrey, are you usually early or late? I'm usually early, to be honest. I hate feeling rushed. So I try to leave extra time whenever I go somewhere important.

My parents were both extremely punctual. So I kind of grew up believing that arriving right on the dot is a sign of respect or even early. I prefer to be somewhere a good 15 minutes early so that I'm not stressed at all on the way there.

All right. Very good, Aubrey. So I noticed I liked how you used on the dot, right on the dot to talk about this. So that was very good. Good answer. And also this word punctual, most students would say on time, like, oh, you know, my parents like to be on time.

This word punctual is less common. So it's also higher scoring. So keep that in mind as well. It's just a great word that means on time, not late. Yes.

All right, Michelle, you ready to answer one for us? I am ready. Okay. What kinds of things make you late? Honestly, the biggest reason is probably losing track of time.

So if I'm focused on work or watching something online, I can completely forget what time it is. And traffic can also throw everything off, especially during rush hour when buses run behind schedule.

Oh, yes, absolutely. There's so many things that make us late. Sometimes it's our own fault. Sometimes it's really not. How could I know there would be a five-car pileup on the freeway and traffic would be stopped?

One time, the accident was so bad that they had all of the cars on the freeway turn around and go back and exit. And that took so much time to get all of the cars turned around and going the other way on the freeway and exiting. That's funny. Yeah.

I was like three hours late wherever I was trying to go. And there was nothing I could have done to prevent that. Jeez. It happens. Yeah. So ask me another one.

One more. I'm going to ask you another one. Okay. Do you think people should always be on time? For the most part? Yes. I think constantly being late is extremely disrespectful.

Yeah. especially in professional situations, but also friends. I try to be on time. I really appreciate when others try to be punctual as well. But that being said, I understand that life happens.

Unexpected problems can create a last minute scramble. So I try really hard not to judge people too harshly when they're late. Okay, good. Good answer.

So yeah, it seems that you value punctuality, but you are also flexible and understanding, especially with those last minute scrambles, which you use. So that was a really good one. Yes, that's band name vocabulary. I don't think I've ever heard a student say last minute scramble.

It's very native and natural. Add these to your vocabulary notebook, your vocabulary tracker, vocabulary Practice using them in your own answers, right? Answer these questions.

Use this vocabulary. Listen to our interesting intonation. You can hear when we're giving words the space to emphasize them more. So you can hear the emotion in our voice.

Your tone should change. And use this high-scoring vocab to boost your scores. Yeah. Definitely. So yeah, takeaway for today. Oh, also, I wanted to let everybody know that if you haven't listened already, we have episode 1609.

That was How to Avoid Repeating Yourself on IELTS Speaking. So check that one out. Yes. And that's why we give you five different phrases like this. On the average speaking exam, you would probably get one or two questions about this time schedules.

So you might be able to use a couple of these. You need to know a few so that you don't repeat yourself. You need to have different options in your vocabulary arsenal.

Yeah, definitely. So yeah, because one reason that students struggle is that their answers just sound too simple or repetitive. Exactly, right? So you want to avoid that.

Practice answering these. Use this interesting vocabulary. Avoid that repetition that pulls down your vocab scores. And yeah, I'm excited for you guys to use these high-scoring phrases on test day.

So thanks for joining me, Michelle. And I will see you next time. All right. Bye, guys. Bye, Aubrey. Thanks for listening to IELTS Energy. Hit subscribe now and don't forget to find your estimated bandscore at allearsenglish.com slash myscore.

I built Ornod in 2013. We make bike clothes. Thanks to Shopify we can run the company without having a lot of technical knowledge. We can manage everything from the back-end to the front-end and sell products easily online.

If Shopify a car accident would be, then it would actually be the car itself. It's the thing where you do it. Run the company on Shopify.