Band Descriptor breakdowns, 5-minute study habits, and module-specific tactics — written by the IELTS Drills team.
IELTS Enquiry on Results: the 6-week deadline, why no official success rate exists, why your result is unusable in Japan while the review runs, and the arithmetic to run before you pay.
IELTS is retiring the paper test market by market. What IELTS actually said, the Writing on Paper option, and what changes in each of the four skills.
IELTS Band Descriptors explained: the four Writing criteria and four Speaking criteria, what separates band 6 from 7 on each, why Reading and Listening have none, plus the official PDFs.
IELTS paraphrasing done right: the four techniques, how each maps to the Band Descriptors, the meaning-drift trap to avoid, and why copying the prompt scores nothing.
The IELTS combination chart (Writing Task 1, two or multiple charts): one combined introduction and overview, splitting the body, the two tenses, and a Band 9 model.
The IELTS table (Writing Task 1): why selection beats listing every cell, static vs dynamic tables and the tense each needs, comparison language, and a Band 9 model.
The IELTS process diagram (Writing Task 1): the passive and present tense it needs, natural vs man-made processes, sequencing language, and a Band 9 model.
The IELTS map (Writing Task 1): which tense each map variant needs, compass and change vocabulary, organising by area not by change, and a Band 9 model answer.
The IELTS pie chart (Writing Task 1): what the overview needs, the proportion language that lifts your score, one pie versus two, and a Band 9 model answer.
The IELTS bar chart (Writing Task 1): spot static vs dynamic, the comparison language and tense each needs, the overview that scores, and a Band 9 model.
The IELTS line graph (Writing Task 1): the overview that decides Task Achievement, the trend vocabulary and tense you need, and a Band 9 model answer.
The IELTS two-part (direct) question essay gives you two questions to answer in equal depth, one often for your opinion. Structure, a Band 9 model, and traps.
The IELTS problem-solution essay needs both halves developed and every solution matched to a problem. Structure, a Band 9 model, and the Band 6 traps.
Official IELTS Writing Task 1 band descriptors PDF, plus what Task Achievement, Coherence and Cohesion, Lexical Resource and Grammatical Range mean band by band.
The IELTS advantages and disadvantages essay has two versions: 'discuss' needs no verdict, but 'outweigh' demands one. Structure, a Band 9 model, and the traps.
The IELTS discussion essay (discuss both views and give your own opinion): both sides covered evenly, one clear opinion, a Band 9 model, and the Band 6 traps.
The IELTS opinion essay (agree or disagree, to what extent) turns on one clear position held to the last line. Plus a Band 9 model and the Band 6 traps.
IELTS General Training Writing Task 1 is a letter. How register and tone decide Band 6 vs 7, covering all three bullet points, with formal and informal models.
IELTS Writing Task 2 has endless topics but only five question types: opinion, discussion, advantages, problem-solution, two-part. How to spot each one.
IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 has seven chart types: line, bar, pie, table, process, map, combination. What each overview must capture, and the tense to use.
IELTS Band 7 is CEFR C1. An overall 7.0 needs four sections averaging 6.75, Listening and Reading near 30/40, plus the right Writing and Speaking descriptors.
IELTS Writing Task 2 decides two-thirds of your Writing band. The five question types, one structure for all of them, and what the four descriptors reward.
IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 is scored on the same four band descriptors as Task 2. Why a missing overview caps Task Achievement at Band 5, and what each axis rewards.
Task Response is the IELTS Writing Task 2 criterion examiners read first. Why answering the question isn't enough for Band 7, with examples that show what is.
Grammatical range and accuracy is 25% of each IELTS Writing task score, yet piling on complex sentences is a Band 6 habit. What GRA rewards instead, with examples.
Lexical resource is 25% of each IELTS Writing task score, yet reaching for rarer words is a Band 6 habit. What LR rewards instead, with before/after examples.
Coherence and cohesion is 25% of each IELTS Writing task score, yet piling on linking words is a Band 6 habit. What CC rewards instead, with before/after examples.
Your IELTS overall band is the average of four sections, rounded to the nearest half. The exact rounding rule (6.25 becomes 6.5), worked examples, and which section to push for your next 0.5.
Why 'just improve your English' stops working at Band 6.5, and how to diagnose which of the 4 Writing Band Descriptors (TR / CC / LR / GRA) is blocking your next 0.5.
