Complete IELTS Academic preparation for university admission and professional registration, taught by a Band 8 scorer. Covers all four skills: Listening, Reading, Writing Task 1 (graphs, charts, maps and processes) and Task 2, and Speaking, with clear strategies for every question type. Learn at your own pace on any device, and start with the first module free.
Total modules9
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What is IELTS and how is it scored?
IELTS (International English Language Testing System) measures your English in four skills: Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking. 📌 TEST FORMAT • Listening — about 30 minutes, 4 parts, 40 questions • Reading — 60 minutes, 3 sections, 40 questions • Writing — 60 minutes, 2 tasks • Speaking — 11–14 minutes, 3 parts, face-to-face with an examiner Listening, Reading and Writing are taken on the same day with no breaks. Speaking may be on the same day or up to a week before or after. 📌 BAND SCORES Each skill gets a band from 0 to 9 (half bands like 6.5 are possible). Your overall band is the average of the four, rounded to the nearest half band. For example: • 7 + 7 + 6.5 + 7 = 27.5 ÷ 4 = 6.875 → Overall 7 • 6.5 + 6.5 + 6 + 7 = 26 ÷ 4 = 6.5 → Overall 6.5 • 8 + 7.5 + 7 + 7.5 = 30 ÷ 4 = 7.5 → Overall 7.5 An average ending in .25 rounds up to the next half band; an average ending in .75 rounds up to the next whole band.
The band descriptors — what examiners actually reward
Writing and Speaking are marked against public band descriptors. Learning them is the fastest way to improve, because they tell you exactly what a Band 7 or 8 answer looks like. ✍️ WRITING (each criterion = 25%) 1. Task Achievement (Task 1) / Task Response (Task 2) 2. Coherence & Cohesion 3. Lexical Resource (vocabulary) 4. Grammatical Range & Accuracy 🗣️ SPEAKING (each criterion = 25%) 1. Fluency & Coherence 2. Lexical Resource 3. Grammatical Range & Accuracy 4. Pronunciation 🎯 WHAT SEPARATES BAND 7 FROM BAND 8 • Band 7: a clear position, logically organised, a range of vocabulary with some less common words, frequent error-free sentences. • Band 8: fully developed ideas, skilful paragraphing, a wide vocabulary used naturally with only rare errors, and the majority of sentences error-free. Throughout this course every lesson tells you which criterion it improves.
Your 6-week study plan
A realistic plan for moving up 0.5–1.0 band. Aim for 60–90 minutes a day. WEEK 1 — Diagnose • Take one full practice test under timed conditions • Record your Speaking and write one Task 1 and one Task 2 • Identify your two weakest skills WEEKS 2–3 — Techniques • Learn the strategy for every Reading and Listening question type • Learn the structures for Writing Task 1 and Task 2 • Practise Speaking Part 2 cue cards daily (1 minute prep, 2 minutes speaking) WEEKS 4–5 — Timed practice • One timed Reading passage and one Listening part every day • Two full essays per week — compare them with the band descriptors • Review every mistake and keep an error log WEEK 6 — Test conditions • Two full mock tests • Light revision in the final two days — rest before test day
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