IELTS Academic preparation online

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How the test works, how it is marked, and how to use this course well.

1. How IELTS Academic works · 12 min

   The four parts of the test, how long each takes, and what each one measures.

2. How band scores are worked out · 10 min

   What each band means, how the overall band is rounded, and the four criteria examiners use.

3. How to use this course · 6 min

   A routine that works: learn a strategy, practise it, check it under time.

Listening

The four parts, the question types, and how to hear the answer the first time.

1. The Listening test and how to prepare · 12 min

   What happens in each part, and the habit that matters most: predicting.

2. Form and note completion: spelling, numbers and word limits · 15 min

   Where most easy marks are lost — and how to keep them.

3. Multiple choice and matching: hearing the distractors · 15 min

   Why the first option you hear is often wrong.

4. Parts 3 and 4: discussions and lectures · 15 min

   Following several speakers, and taking notes on a lecture.

Practice: Part 1: booking a room (form completion) · Part 2: a talk at a nature park (multiple choice and matching) · Part 3: students discuss a project (multiple choice and matching) · Part 4: a lecture on urban heat islands (note completion)

Reading

Academic passages: timing, the main question types, and the reasoning behind each answer.

1. The Reading test: managing 60 minutes · 12 min

   Skimming, scanning, and why you should not read every word first.

2. True / False / Not Given (and Yes / No / Not Given) · 18 min

   The most feared question type, and a reliable way to decide.

3. Matching headings · 15 min

   Finding the main idea of a paragraph, not a matching word.

4. Summaries, sentences, notes and tables · 15 min

   Completion questions: word limits, grammar and synonyms.

5. Multiple choice and matching features · 15 min

   Eliminating wrong options, and matching statements to people or theories.

Practice: True / False / Not Given: the humble pencil · Matching headings: why the sleeping brain remembers · Summary completion: farming upwards · Matching features: predicting the weather

Writing

Task 1 reports on charts, processes and maps, and Task 2 essays — structure, language and marking.

1. Task 1 (Academic): the overview comes first · 15 min

   What a band 7 report contains, in what order — and the one paragraph you must never leave out.

2. The language of change and comparison · 15 min

   Verbs, nouns and prepositions for trends — used accurately.

3. Processes and maps · 12 min

   The two visuals without numbers: sequence, passive voice, and describing change in a place.

4. Task 2: understanding the question and planning · 15 min

   Five minutes of planning saves an essay that answers the wrong question.

5. Task 2: paragraphs that develop an idea · 15 min

   One idea per paragraph, explained and supported — not a list of points.

6. Coherence and cohesion without mechanical linkers · 12 min

   Why "Firstly… Moreover… Furthermore…" can lower your score.

Practice: Task 1: internet access by region (bar chart) · Task 2: should university be free? (opinion essay) · Task 2: free public transport (discussion essay)

Speaking

All three parts, what examiners listen for, and how to speak at length without losing your way.

1. The Speaking test and what examiners listen for · 12 min

   Three parts, four criteria, and the myths that cost marks.

2. Part 1: answering naturally · 12 min

   Answer, reason, example — the shape of a good Part 1 answer.

3. Part 2: two minutes from one minute of notes · 15 min

   How to make useful notes, and how to keep going for the full two minutes.

4. Part 3: discussing ideas · 15 min

   Moving from your own life to society in general — and speculating comfortably.

5. Fluency and pronunciation · 15 min

   Speaking in chunks, stressing the right words, and sounding clear.

Practice: Part 1: home, work and studies · Part 2: a skill you would like to learn · Part 3: learning new skills

Grammar for IELTS

Accurate complex sentences, articles, countable nouns and tenses — the grammar examiners notice.

1. Complex sentences that stay accurate · 15 min

   Range matters for band 7 — but only if the complex sentences are correct.

2. Articles and countable nouns · 15 min

   The small words that appear in almost every sentence — and in almost every learner's errors.

3. Tenses that match the time · 12 min

   Past simple for finished time, present perfect for up to now, and future forms for predictions.

Practice: Accuracy check: the errors that cost marks

Vocabulary for IELTS

Collocations, topic vocabulary and paraphrasing — used precisely, not memorised in lists.

1. Collocations: words that belong together · 12 min

   Why *make research* sounds wrong, and how collocations lift your vocabulary band.

2. Paraphrasing: the skill behind every part of the test · 15 min

   Saying the same thing in different words — for reading, listening, writing and speaking.

3. Topic vocabulary: education, work, environment and technology · 12 min

   The four topics that appear most often, with phrases you can actually use.

Practice: Collocations: make, do, take and pay

Listening: more practice

Predicting answers before you hear them, following a lecture's signposts, and two new recordings.

1. Predict the answer, follow the signposts · 12 min

   Use the reading time well, and never lose your place in a lecture.

Practice: Part 1: registering at a medical centre (form completion) · Part 4: a lecture on street trees (notes and multiple choice)

Reading: more question types

Matching information, short answers, flow-charts, sentence endings and the writer's views — with three new passages.

1. Matching information: which paragraph contains…? · 12 min

   The question type that does not follow the order of the passage.

2. Flow-charts, sentence endings and short answers · 12 min

   Following a process, and completing sentences that make sense.

3. The writer's views: Yes, No or Not Given · 12 min

   Reading for opinion, not just facts.

Practice: Matching information and short answers: the bicycle · Flow-chart and sentence endings: from bean to bar · Yes / No / Not Given: the four-day week

Writing: more Task 1 and every Task 2 type

Pie charts, tables and processes for Task 1, and the five kinds of Task 2 question, with models.

1. Pie charts, tables and processes · 15 min

   Selecting the figures that matter, and describing a process in order.

2. The five kinds of Task 2 question · 15 min

   A plan for each — and the part of the question people forget.

Practice: Task 1: travelling to campus (pie charts) · Task 1: water use in four cities (table) · Task 1: collecting rainwater (process) · Task 2: traffic in cities (problem and solution) · Task 2: working from home (advantages and disadvantages) · Task 2: moving to the city (two-part question)

Speaking: topic bank

Part 1 questions across common topics, four Part 2 cue cards with Part 3 discussions, and how to prepare stories that fit many topics.

1. Stories that fit many cue cards · 12 min

   Prepare six experiences, and you can answer almost any Part 2 topic.

2. Part 3: answers that go further · 12 min

   Answer, reason, example — and the other side.

Practice: Part 1 topic bank · Topic bank: a person you admire · Topic bank: a place to recommend · Topic bank: a useful piece of technology · Topic bank: a celebration you enjoyed

Vocabulary: topics and word forms

Topic vocabulary for health, environment, technology and work, collocations for Task 2, and word forms that keep your writing accurate.

1. Topic vocabulary: health, environment, technology and work · 15 min

   Words that let you discuss the common Task 2 and Part 3 topics precisely.

2. Word forms: noun, verb, adjective, adverb · 10 min

   Small errors in word form lower your Lexical Resource score.

Practice: Collocations for Writing Task 2 · Word forms: the right form of the word