IELTS Preparation Essentials

The test at a glance: papers, timing, bands

Module: Understanding IELTS

IELTS has four papers - Listening (30 min), Reading (60), Writing (60), Speaking (11-14) - each banded 0-9, averaged to your overall band. Academic and General Training differ only in Reading and Writing Task 1.

Try It Yourself

Look up the band requirement for YOUR goal (university, visa) and write it down - that number drives everything.

Lessons
▶️ 1. The test at a glance: papers, timing,… ▶️ 2. Academic vs General Training ▶️ 3. How bands are scored: the descriptors ▶️ 4. Common myths that cost bands ▶️ 5. Your diagnostic test and study plan ▶️ 6. Register and formality across the test ▶️ 7. The computer vs paper decision ▶️ 8. Test-day logistics and nerves ▶️ 9. Listening: predict before you hear ▶️ 10. Listening traps: the correction trick ▶️ 11. Spelling and transfer discipline ▶️ 12. Maps, processes and section 3-4 strategy ▶️ 13. Reading: skim first, hunt second ▶️ 14. Keywords and paraphrase radar ▶️ 15. True/False/Not Given: the discipline ▶️ 16. Time management across three passages ▶️ 17. Task 1 Academic: describing data with… ▶️ 18. Task 1: comparison and trend language ▶️ 19. Task 1 General: letters that hit every… ▶️ 20. Task 2: decoding the question types ▶️ 21. Task 2: planning the four-paragraph… ▶️ 22. Task 2: paragraphs that examiners reward ▶️ 23. Grammar range: complexity without chaos ▶️ 24. Cohesion: linking without mechanical… ▶️ 25. Speaking format and what examiners score ▶️ 26. Part 1: extending answers naturally ▶️ 27. Part 2: using the one-minute preparation ▶️ 28. Part 2: stretching stories to two… ▶️ 29. Part 3: opinions with depth ▶️ 30. Paraphrase and vocabulary under pressure ▶️ 31. Fluency devices: fillers, repairs,… ▶️ 32. Pronunciation features that lift bands ▶️ 33. The error log: your personal band map ▶️ 34. Timed conditions: practising the real… ▶️ 35. Model answers: study, never memorise ▶️ 36. Vocabulary by topic clusters ▶️ 37. The final month: taper and simulate ▶️ 38. Scores back: retake strategy ▶️ 39. Beyond IELTS: keeping the English ▶️ 40. Full review and exam readiness
Course Home