Short, practical explanations of how IELTS Academic is structured and scored — the parts that decide what you should practise next.
Question typesReadingUpdated 6 min read
A process you can see, a word limit you can break, and answers that do run in order. Read the chart first, predict the word class, then find the words.
Read the guideStudy timelineGeneralUpdated 6 min read
The jump most candidates actually need, and the one where progress still comes quickly. What the research supports, and where those weeks should go.
Read the guideQuestion typesListeningUpdated 6 min read
One speaker, an everyday topic, and a change of direction you will miss if you are still writing. Why Part 2 catches people after an easy Part 1.
Read the guideQuestion typesReadingUpdated 7 min read
Distractors are manufactured, not random. The four ways a wrong option is made from the passage, and the elimination order that beats reading all four twice.
Read the guideQuestion typesWritingUpdated 6 min read
The prompt asks for a judgement, not a balanced tour of both sides. How to commit to a position on a trend and still concede what the other side gets right.
Read the guideQuestion typesListeningUpdated 7 min read
A list of options, a conversation that moves fast, and no replay. How to pre-read the options and mark answers without falling behind the recording.
Read the guideQuestion typesReadingUpdated 6 min read
Options can repeat, options can go unused, and the answers do not follow passage order. How to work a set without re-reading the passage three times.
Read the guideBand descriptorsGeneralUpdated 6 min read
Most requirements have two parts, and the per-skill minimum is the one that fails people. How to read a requirement and work out which skill to push.
Read the guideQuestion typesWritingUpdated 6 min read
Two direct questions in one prompt, and answering one of them well caps Task Response. The structure that covers both without padding either.
Read the guideComparisonsGeneralUpdated 6 min read
A review of your score is a real option, not a rumour. Which results it can move, which shortfalls it cannot fix, and how it compares with a retake.
Read the guide