FASTRACK I ELTS

Hi there,
Are you ready to embark on your IELTS journey? Let me help! Follow these steps
in your exam preparation to save time and achieve the best results.

Good luck with your preparation and exam!

Asiya

1-Month IELTS Study Plan

Learn the best IELTS strategies

These steps will help you prepare for your exam in a short period of time and
perform at your best, no matter what your English level is.
In the weeks before your exam, you should pay particular attention to preparing
for IELTS Writing and Speaking, the two components of the test where most
people achieve their lower scores.

STEP 1. CHECK IF YOU ARE REQUIRED TO TAKE IELTS ACADEMIC OR IELTS

GENERAL TRAINING

The Reading and Writing sections are slightly different for Academic and General
Training students. Ensure that you are preparing for the right tasks.

The Listening and Speaking sections are the same in both types of tests.

STEP 2. TAKE A FULL OFFICIAL PRACTICE TEST

Nothing will tell you more about the exam in three hours than a full practice test.

The official IELTS practice tests are the best because they provide the same level of
difficulty as the real exams and are free of errors.

Below you can find the links to all the official tests that are available for free, as well as
some extra tests you can purchase.

☐ Free official practice test from IELTS.org

☐ Free official practice test from British Council

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☐ Free official computer-based practice test from IDP

☐ (THE BEST) The Cambridge IELTS Practice Tests include four official tests in each book:

 Cambridge IELTS Academic 16

 Cambridge IELTS General Training 16

STEP 3. LEARN THE BEST STRATEGIES FOR EACH SECTION

IELTS examiners use a set of precise criteria to assess your Writing and Speaking answers.
That’s why these two sections require specific preparation, and you should dedicate
more time to developing your IELTS Writing and Speaking skills.

FASTRACK IELTS COURSES | GET BAND 7 IN 7 DAYS

Enrol on our online courses and learn how to provide IELTS Writing and Speaking
answers that meet each Band 7+ requirement, prepare for your exam in less time and
achieve a higher score.

☐ IELTS Academic Pack

☐ IELTS General Pack

IELTS Listening

☐ VIDEO: Best IELTS Listening Strategies

☐ Learn strategies for the most difficult types of tasks:

 VIDEO: Maps
 VIDEO: Multiple-choice questions

☐ Practise answering difficult types of tasks:

 IELTS.org
 IDP

☐ Take several practice tests

☐ Analyse your test results and try to understand why some of your answers were
incorrect. This practice will help you avoid making similar mistakes in the future.

☐ Start working on your listening skills – VIDEO: 3 techniques to understand everything

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IELTS Reading

☐ VIDEO: Best IELTS Reading Strategies

☐ VIDEO: How to answer questions fast

☐ Learn strategies for the most difficult types of tasks:

 VIDEO: True – False – Not Given | Yes – No – Not Given

 VIDEO: Matching Headings
 VIDEO: Multiple Choice

☐ Practise answering difficult types of tasks:

 IELTS.org
 IDP Academic
 IDP General

☐ Take several practice tests

☐ Analyse your test results and try to understand why some of your answers were
incorrect. This practice will help you avoid making similar mistakes in the future.

IELTS Writing
☐ VIDEO: The Essentials of IELTS Academic Writing

☐ Learn the requirements that IELTS examiners use to assess your answers by studying
IELTS Band Descriptors:

 IELTS Writing Task 1

 IELTS Writing Task 2

☐ Check out these examples of Band 9 answers:

 Sample answer: IELTS Academic Writing Task 1

 Sample answer: IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
 Sample answer: IELTS Writing Task 2

☐ Learn about different types of Task 1 and Task 2 and the best structure for each task

☐ Learn how to structure each paragraph of your Task 1 and Task 2 answers and how to
develop your ideas

☐ Learn linking words for Task 1 and Task 2:

 VIDEO: Essential linking words for Task 2

 VIDEO: Synonyms for “but”
 VIDEO: Band 9 linking words

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☐ Learn vocabulary for Task 1:

 IELTS Academic: learn how to describe charts, maps and diagrams

Download free preview
 IELTS General Training: phrases for informal, semiformal and formal letters
Download formal phrases

☐ Use topics from recent exams to practise

Download our PDF guide with recent IELTS Writing and Speaking topics on Telegram.

☐ Practise writing essays every day

☐ Have your writing checked by a native-speaking proofreader on TextRanch* to find

out what vocabulary and grammar mistakes you make. Subscribe with a discount

☐ Write practice essays on official sheets to learn how long your answers should be:

 IDP Task 1 Task 2

 British Council Task 1 Task 2

IELTS Speaking

☐ Watch one mock IELTS Speaking test to learn what to expect on the day

☐ VIDEO: IELTS Speaking Tips

☐ Learn the requirements by studying IELTS Speaking Band Descriptors

☐ Practise answering difficult IELTS topics. If you haven’t downloaded our guide with
recent topics on Telegram, you can do it now

☐ Time your answers

☐ Speak for 15 minutes every day to improve your fluency and pronunciation

☐ You can find everything you need to prepare for your Writing and Speaking sections,
learn how to meet all the Band 7+ requirements in FasTrack IELTS preparation courses:

Go to IELTS Academic Pack

Go to IELTS General Pack

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STEP 4. CHOOSE BETWEEN THE COMPUTER-BASED AND PAPER-BASED

FORMATS

Learn the differences between the two test formats and choose the one that is right for
you.

☐ VIDEO: Computer-based vs. paper-based IELTS

☐ Computer-based practice tasks

STEP 5. BOOK YOUR TEST

You can find all the test centres available in your country and book your test on the
ielts.org website.

Please note that if you are taking your IELTS exam to come to the UK, you may need to
take IELTS for UKVI (UK Visas & Immigration).

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3-Month IELTS Study Plan

Improve your English skills

If you have completed the essential preparation but still have time before your
exam, continue with tasks from the three-month plan. At this stage, taking more
practice tests will not help you improve your score. Now it’s time to work on your
fundamental English skills.

IELTS Listening

☐ Watch TV and listen to audiobooks, podcasts and news in English

 Get your first book on Audible* for free. Subscribe

☐ Get used to British and American accents

IELTS Reading

☐ Read IELTS-style articles and learn new words from them

 Academic IELTS: BBC Science, The Guardian Science, The Science Magazine

 General IELTS – newspaper articles (BBC, The Guardian), instructions, and job
descriptions

IELTS Writing

☐ Do research for your essays

Choose the most common IELTS Writing topics. Look for well-written articles on the
internet. Read them and pay attention to how ideas are developed. Write down good
ideas. Learn topic-specific words and phrases from the articles.

☐ Practise writing. The more you write, the better you get.

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IELTS Speaking

☐ Learn more about English pronunciation

☐ Speak every day

 Talk to yourself.
 Find a speaking partner. On our Telegram channel, you can connect with other
IELTS takers and practise together.
 Take speaking lessons with a native-speaking teacher. Cambly* is a great place to
do that. At the moment, you can try a 10-minute lesson for free, or subscribe with a
discount.

* Links to Audible, Cambly and TextRanch are affiliate links and we will earn a small commission if
you subscribe using our links.

Step up your IELTS preparation. Subscribe to FasTrack IELTS on YouTube