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IELTS strategy, written by people who took it.
Evergreen guides on every part of the test. No filler, no spam.
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How IELTS Speaking is scored: the four criteria explained
IELTS Speaking is marked on fluency, vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation — each worth a quarter. What examiners reward, and what candidates get wrong.
Aug 1, 2026
4 min read
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IELTS Listening completion: notes, forms and tables
Note, form, table and sentence completion share one marking scheme and one set of traps. The word limit, the spelling rule, and how to predict the answer.
Aug 1, 2026
5 min read
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IELTS Listening diagram labelling: parts and processes
Diagram labelling looks technical but rarely tests technical vocabulary. What it actually tests, why answers follow the picture, and the traps that cost marks.
Aug 1, 2026
5 min read
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IELTS Listening map labelling: how to stop getting lost
Map labelling punishes you for reading the map instead of following the speaker. The orientation routine, the direction language, and the correction trap.
Aug 1, 2026
5 min read
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How your Listening and Reading answers become a band score
IELTS Listening and Reading are marked out of 40, then converted to a band. See the conversion tables and why General Training needs more correct answers.
Aug 1, 2026
4 min read
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IELTS Writing Task 1: Academic charts and GT letters
Task 1 is the half of IELTS Writing candidates prepare least. What each version asks for, how it is marked, and the mistakes that cap the band.
Aug 1, 2026
5 min read
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What IELTS band score do you actually need?
A good IELTS score is whatever your university or visa route asks for. How to find your real target — including the per-skill minimum most candidates miss.
Aug 1, 2026
4 min read
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How long does it take to go from Band 6.0 to 7.5?
An honest answer: what a 1.5-band improvement actually requires, why the timeline differs per skill, and how to plan the months realistically.
Jul 11, 2026
3 min read
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IELTS Academic vs General Training: which one do you need?
The real differences between the two IELTS versions — what changes, what doesn't, and the scoring detail about Reading that surprises people.
Jul 11, 2026
3 min read
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IELTS Writing Task 2 topics: the themes that keep appearing
The recurring Task 2 topic families, the four question formats they arrive in, and how to prepare ideas without memorising essays.
Jul 11, 2026
3 min read
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Matching headings without rereading the whole passage
A method for IELTS matching headings questions: find the paragraph's job, not its vocabulary, and stop losing minutes to second-guessing.
Jul 11, 2026
3 min read
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True, False, Not Given: the strategy that ends the guessing
Why TFNG questions feel unfair, the one distinction that fixes most wrong answers, and a repeatable method you can use under time pressure.
Jul 11, 2026
4 min read
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How the IELTS writing band scale actually works
A practical breakdown of what each band score means and how examiners grade your essay across Task Response, Coherence, Lexical Resource, and Grammar.
Jun 1, 2026
3 min read