IELTS preparation, live online
IELTS is marked by people against published band descriptors, which makes it the most learnable of the English tests: you can read what a band 7 answer has to do and work towards it. Most candidates lose marks in Writing Task 2, and in the speaking parts where a short answer is offered as a complete one. Both are fixable with feedback rather than with more practice tests.
Exam format
What the IELTS actually looks like
The structure, the timing and the scoring, stated plainly — before anything about a course.
- Length
- 2 hours 45 minutes
- Questions
- Four papers: Listening, Reading, Writing, Speaking
- Scored
- Band 1–9, in half bands, per skill and overall
Listening — four recordings
Two conversations and two monologues, increasing in difficulty, played once. The question types punish a missed signpost more than a missed word: candidates lose their place and then lose a run of answers rather than one.
Reading — three sections
Academic passages, or workplace and general-interest texts on General Training. True/False/Not Given and matching headings account for a disproportionate share of lost marks, because both reward precision about what a text actually asserts.
Writing — two tasks
Task 1 is a chart, process or map description on Academic, and a letter on General Training. Task 2 is an essay on both, and carries twice the weight of Task 1.
Speaking — a three-part interview
With a real examiner, in person or by video. Part 1 is personal questions, Part 2 a two-minute long turn from a card, Part 3 an abstract discussion of the same theme.
- It is marked by people against published band descriptors, which is the most useful fact about it: you can read what a band 7 answer has to do and work towards it, which is not true of a machine-scored test.
- Academic and General Training differ in Reading and in Writing Task 1 only. Sitting the wrong one is a costly and surprisingly common mistake — check what your application requires before booking.
Before you start
Is IELTS preparation right for you?
Who it suits. Learners with an IELTS target who want focused work on the skills holding them below the required band.
When to check another option. Choosing Academic or General Training without checking the requirement. Confirm the module before deciding which reading and writing work you need.
Why it matters
What a IELTS score is for
IELTS is accepted by universities, professional bodies and immigration authorities across the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and Canada, and by most of the rest of the world besides — which makes it the safest single choice when a shortlist is not settled. Because it is human-marked against published descriptors, it is also the most transparent of the English tests to prepare for: the criteria are readable, and a candidate who has read them writes and speaks differently from one who has not.
Coverage
What the preparation covers
The ground a course goes over. A group course takes it in its published order; for one-to-one lessons, how much of it you need and in what order is what the diagnostic decides.
- Listening: four recordings, and the question types that punish a missed signpost
- Reading: Academic or General Training passages, and skimming that still answers accurately
- Writing Task 1: the Academic chart description, or the General Training letter
- Writing Task 2: essay structure read against the band descriptors
- Speaking: all three parts in interview conditions, with recorded feedback
Where marks go
Where candidates lose marks on the IELTS
Not a list of study tips. These are the specific ways this particular test takes marks off people who know the material.
Writing Task 2 without answering the question asked
The prompt sets a specific task — discuss both views, agree or disagree, address a problem and a solution. An essay that is well written but answers a nearby question is capped by Task Response no matter how good the English is.
Short answers in Speaking Part 1
Part 1 questions are simple and the temptation is to answer them simply. A one-sentence answer gives the examiner nothing to mark, and the band descriptors reward extended, connected speech — which is a habit, not a talent.
True / False / Not Given
The distinction between False and Not Given costs more marks than any other Reading question type. False means the text contradicts the statement; Not Given means it does not say. Candidates reason from what is likely rather than from what is written.
Describing every number in Task 1
Academic Task 1 asks for an overview and the significant features, not a transcription of the chart. Listing every value uses the word count on the part the descriptors value least.
Losing your place in Listening
The recording plays once and moves on. Missing one answer is cheap; not noticing you have missed it is expensive, because the next four go with it. Following the signposts is a trainable skill.
Memorised material in Speaking
Examiners are trained to spot rehearsed answers, and the descriptors penalise them. Preparing structures and topic vocabulary works; preparing sentences does not.
Lesson format
Group course, or one-to-one
Group · 45 hours
Forty-five hours for IELTS Academic: 25 ninety-minute lessons across Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking, then five full mock exams, each gone through live in class. Classes hold at most six, Speaking is practised as an interview rather than a group discussion, and Writing and Speaking carry on as marked homework.
One-to-one
One-to-one lessons for a band requirement with a deadline. Writing and speaking are scored against descriptors, so feedback on your own answers is what moves them.
Group course
How the IELTS group course runs
A fixed timetable, in Türkiye time (UTC+3). The dates and lessons below are the ones the classes are actually taught to.
- Lessons
- 90 minutes each
- Days and times
- Monday, Wednesday and Friday evenings, 19:00–20:30
- Length
- 13 to 14 weeks · 45 hours
- Class size
- Up to 24 students per group, taught by level in classes of at most 6
Week by week
- Topic lessons: Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 19:00–20:30 — 25 lessons of 90 minutes.
- Mock exams: five full mocks, online and timed, on Sunday mornings at 10:00, outside lesson time.
- Mock reviews: each mock is gone through in class the following Tuesday, 19:00–20:30. A review covers only the mock before it.
- Writing and Speaking carry on between lessons as weekly homework, which your teacher marks and returns with feedback.
What the lessons cover
- Listening · 3 lessons
- Reading · 5 lessons
- Writing · 10 lessons — four on Task 1, five on Task 2, and one fully timed workshop
- Speaking · 4 lessons — Parts 1, 2 and 3, then all three under test conditions
- Format, timed practice and strategy · 3 lessons — the opening format lesson, a timed Listening and Reading lesson, and a final strategy lesson
- Mock reviews · 5 lessons — one after each of the five full mocks
Start dates open for enrolment
Starts Mon 4 January 2027
Last lesson 30 March 2027 · enrol by 1 January 2027
Starts Mon 1 March 2027
Last lesson 1 June 2027 · enrol by 26 February 2027
Starts Mon 17 May 2027
Last lesson 17 August 2027 · enrol by 14 May 2027
What the course includes
- 20 full-length IELTS practice tests
- The IELTS question bank, full access
- TestPrep AI Tutor, which talks you through the mistakes in your practice tests — your first 2 are free
- Five full IELTS mock exams, each reviewed live in class
- Speaking mocks, and marked feedback on your Writing
- Every lesson recorded, to rewatch for 14 days
- A study plan written for you by TestPrep
- Homework, with your progress tracked from lesson to lesson
- Questions answered within 24 hours
- Regular progress reports for parents
- All course materials, at no extra cost
The question bank opens on your account once the first week of the course is over, and the practice tests on the day of the last topic lesson.
The group course prepares for IELTS Academic.
Paid by card on this site, in US dollars, through Stripe. The exact amount is shown before you pay. A group place is confirmed by e-mail once the payment goes through, and what the course includes opens on the account registered here with the student's e-mail address.
How it runs
How the teaching works
A diagnostic before one-to-one lessons are planned
One-to-one lessons start by finding out where the marks are actually going. That is not a formality: on most of these tests the gap a student describes and the gap the diagnostic shows are different, and hours spent on the described one are hours wasted. A group course starts on its published first lesson instead. If you want a baseline of your own first, the free IELTS diagnostic test is there for that.
Teaching in the order your deadline allows
A group course works through the syllabus in a fixed order because a class has to. One-to-one starts with whatever is costing you most and works outwards, which is why it suits a retake or a short runway better.
Timed work from early, not saved for the end
Untimed accuracy is a poor predictor of a timed score, and finding that out three weeks before the test is too late. Timed sections start in the first fortnight, short at first.
Review and progress checks
Review looks beyond the mark: which errors recur, whether the reasoning is clearer and how accuracy holds under time pressure. Bring earlier attempts to the discussion so the next practice has a specific purpose.
All of it runs in the browser, live, with a teacher on the other end. There are no recordings sold as a course and no premises to travel to.
Timeline
How long IELTS preparation takes
A rough shape rather than a promise. People arrive at different starting points and the plan is built around yours, but this is what a full run usually looks like.
- 1
Eight to fourteen weeks out — diagnostic and the Academic/General decision
A full mock to establish the band, and a check that you are preparing for the right version. Then the descriptors, read properly, because most candidates have never seen them.
- 2
Weeks 2–8 — four skills, writing and speaking prioritised
Listening and Reading improve with volume and technique; Writing and Speaking improve with feedback. The timetable reflects that rather than splitting time evenly.
- 3
Weeks 8–12 — marked work and interview practice
Your own essays marked against the descriptors, and speaking practised in interview conditions with recorded feedback — not as a group discussion, which is not what the test is.
- 4
Final fortnight — full mocks under timing
Complete papers to time, including the speaking interview, so the real thing is the second or third time you have done it rather than the first.
Practice
Practising between lessons
Lessons are where something gets explained; the marks move in the hours between them. The IELTS group course includes both: the question bank opens once its first week is over, and the practice tests on the day of the last topic lesson. One-to-one packages do not include them; both are also sold on their own.
Full-length practice tests
The real section timing, the on-screen tools the test gives you, and the real adaptive behaviour. A score from an untimed paper printout tells you much less than it appears to.
Question bank
Filter to one section and one difficulty band and work a narrow skill until the pattern in your wrong answers is obvious. Solved questions are remembered, so a session does not hand back what you already got right.
TestPrep AI Tutor talks you through the questions you got wrong
When your IELTS practice test ends, pick a mistake on your results page and the lesson starts. The tutor won't just read out the answer: it asks you, writes the steps on the board and lets you find where you went wrong.
On the IELTS it works through Listening and Reading questions. Your Writing Task 1 / Task 2 text is coached against the IELTS band descriptors.
Your first 2 mistakes are free (up to 10 minutes)
No card needed to try it, just your account.
Then 30-minute blocks at $4. Unused minutes stay on your account for your next practice tests.
FAQ
IELTS questions we get asked
- Academic or General Training?
- Academic for university study; General Training for most work and migration routes. They differ in Reading and Writing Task 1. Check what your specific application requires before booking — sitting the wrong one means sitting it again.
- How long does it take to move up a band?
- We will not give you a figure, because it depends on where the marks are going and nobody can honestly promise a band. What we will tell you after a diagnostic is which skill is holding the overall down and what specifically is capping it.
- Is the computer-delivered test different?
- Same content, same marking, same speaking interview with a person. What changes is Listening and Reading mechanics — typing, highlighting, no transfer time in the computer version. Worth practising in the format you will sit.
- Do you mark my writing against the real criteria?
- Yes. Marked work against the published band descriptors, with the reason for the band rather than just the band, is the part of IELTS preparation that cannot be self-taught.
- Can I retake just one skill?
- One Skill Retake is available at many centres, subject to the awarding body's rules and to whether your institution accepts it. Confirm acceptance before relying on it — not every university does.
- How is speaking practised online?
- In interview conditions over video, in all three parts, recorded so you can hear what the examiner hears. That last part is what changes performance fastest.
Pricing
What IELTS preparation costs
Shown in US dollars. Charged in US dollars — there is no conversion at checkout to be surprised by.
One-to-one lessons
One-to-one lessons for a band requirement with a deadline. Writing and speaking are scored against descriptors, so feedback on your own answers is what moves them.
Single lesson
One 90-minute lesson, to see how it goes.
$70Book10 lessons
Prepaid, usable across subjects where the exam has them.
20 lessons
The usual choice for a full preparation run.
Group course · 45 hours
Forty-five hours for IELTS Academic: 25 ninety-minute lessons across Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking, then five full mock exams, each gone through live in class. Classes hold at most six, Speaking is practised as an interview rather than a group discussion, and Writing and Speaking carry on as marked homework.
Monday, Wednesday and Friday evenings, 19:00–20:30, Türkiye time. Next class starts Mon 4 January 2027. Timetable and start dates
Paid in full
The whole course, one payment.
In instalments
Per instalment: 2 monthly payments, the first when you enrol.
First private lesson, or first week of a group course: if it is not what you wanted, you get your money back.
Three or more of you preparing together? We can open a private group at the group course price, with the lesson days and times agreed with the group.
Paid by card on this site, in US dollars, through Stripe. The exact amount is shown before you pay. A group place is confirmed by e-mail once the payment goes through, and what the course includes opens on the account registered here with the student's e-mail address.