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.

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.

Discuss IELTS preparation View lesson prices

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. How much of it you need, and in what order, is what the first session 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 · 50 hours

Fifty hours across the four skills, in classes of six, split by Academic or General Training where the tasks differ. Speaking is practised as an interview, not as a group discussion.

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.

How it runs

How the teaching works

A diagnostic before anything is planned

The first session is spent 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.

Teaching in the order your deadline allows

A group course works through the syllabus in a fixed order because a class of six 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.

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