Everything you need to know to achieve your desired Band Score.
IELTS preparation involves understanding the test format, how it is marked, and then making a plan to achieve your desired score. To do this, you will need to improve your English, practice test skills and join a preparation course to check your progress before registering for the test.
Quite simply, IELTS can take months of hard work and thousands of rupees in tuition and test fees, so there is a lot of pressure to get it right the first time.
Most English schools recommend at least 6 months to improve a student's level of English by the equivalent of 0.5-1 band score.
You need to master specific strategies for each of the four test components, which requires dedicated practice and expert guidance.
IELTS is essentially an English language test; therefore, the higher your level of English, the better your score should be. Simply studying IELTS skills and doing practice tests will not be enough if your level of English is not high enough.
At least 6 months to improve by 0.5-1 band score
Daily practice is essential for consistent improvement
Each part of the IELTS test requires specific skills and strategies
Academic students can expect to see one of seven different types of questions in Task 1. Each requires specific skills.
Requires clear communication, good vocabulary, grammatical range, and pronunciation skills across three parts.
Academic and General Training have different texts but both feature over 10 different question types requiring specific strategies.
Features four sections with over 10 different question types, each requiring a different strategy and set of skills.
Learning test-specific skills
Understand how each section is scored and what different band scores represent.
Same for Academic and General Training
| Correct Answers | Band Score |
|---|---|
| 39-40 | 9 |
| 37-38 | 8.5 |
| 35-36 | 8 |
| 32-34 | 7.5 |
| 30-31 | 7 |
| 26-29 | 6.5 |
| 23-25 | 6 |
| 18-22 | 5.5 |
| 16-17 | 5 |
| 13-15 | 4.5 |
| 10-12 | 4 |
Academic Reading
| Correct Answers | Band Score |
|---|---|
| 39-40 | 9 |
| 37-38 | 8.5 |
| 35-36 | 8 |
| 33-34 | 7.5 |
| 30-32 | 7 |
| 27-29 | 6.5 |
| 23-26 | 6 |
| 19-22 | 5.5 |
| 15-18 | 5 |
| 13-14 | 4.5 |
| 10-12 | 4 |
| Band | Task Achievement | Coherence & Cohesion |
|---|---|---|
| 9 | Fully satisfies all requirements | Uses cohesion in such a way that it attracts no attention |
| 8 | Covers all requirements | Sequences information and ideas logically |
| 7 | Covers requirements | Logically organizes information and ideas |
| 6 | Addresses requirements | Arranges information coherently |
| 5 | Addresses task only partially | Presents information with organization but may be faulty |
| 4 | Responds to task only minimally | Presents information but lacks organization |
| Band | Fluency & Coherence | Lexical Resource |
|---|---|---|
| 9 | Speaks fluently with rare repetition | Uses vocabulary with full flexibility |
| 8 | Speaks fluently with occasional repetition | Uses a wide vocabulary resource readily |
| 7 | Speaks at length without noticeable effort | Uses vocabulary resource flexibly |
| 6 | Is willing to speak at length | Has a wide enough vocabulary |
| 5 | Usually maintains flow with repetition | Manages to talk about familiar topics |
| 4 | Cannot respond without pauses | Uses simple vocabulary to convey meaning |
* Detailed criteria may vary slightly between Academic and General Training modules