is it accurate or should i follow cambridge mock tests 17-21 for reading esp, i find that reading passages in cambridge books are straightforward

Hi everyone! I'm preparing for IELTS Academic and practising Writing Task 1 right now.

I've been using AI tools to assess my writing, but I've noticed that the estimated band scores can vary between tools. I'd really appreciate an honest assessment from people who have experience with IELTS writing or are familiar with the official band descriptors.

Could you please give me an estimated band score and briefly explain why, particularly for Task Achievement/Task Response, Coherence and Cohesion, Vocabulary, and Grammar?

I'm looking for realistic feedback rather than just corrections, so I can understand my current level and what I need to improve.

Thank you!

I genuinely thought i messed up my writing task and kept replaying everything i said after the test.

i walked out of the test convinced i messed up my writing task. checked my results today and i’m actually shocked. i need to know if anyone else has experienced this because WHAT 😭

Hello everyone.

It's been 3 days already since I've taken the IELTS test and I'm impatiently waiting for the results. I'm planning to apply for Master's and the university I'm applying to is asking for a score of 6.5. I'm worried that I'll get much lower than that as I haven't got the time to prepare for the test due to work.

I was shocked to just realize that the Writing test required us to write the 2nd task in a more formal tone. Since I wasn't aware of this, I used informal expressions such as "Believe it or not" and "gotta" which I came to know that these could significantly lower your score.

I'm a slow reader, and I forget a lot of the things I read almost quickly, because of this, the Reading part was especially difficult for me, the time limit was also stressing me out and affected my comprehension speed. I had to reread a lot of paragraphs when I went through the questions which made me scan through the passage for certain words that are related to the question.

Speaking was for the most part easier than I expected, except for part 2 where I got a topic I had to discuss for 2 minutes. I ran out of things to say at nearly the 1 minute mark and the examiner was doing a hand gesture asking me to keep talking, which led me to start rambling the same things I mentioned before. Although my pronunciation and grammar were great in my opinion, and I answered a lot of her questions instantly without stuttering, even though some of the questions felt repetitive and I found myself saying the same things again trying to figure out synonyms of words while I was talking which turned out a bit tricky.

Listening was by far the easiest for me, I believe that I answered most of the questions correctly, except for maybe one or two.

I'm genuinely sort of worried that I might not score the required 6.5, the test wasn't that affordable for me and having to retake it will not only be a financial burden but will also delay my university application further.

Hi everyone!

I'm planning to prepare for the IELTS exam and would love some recommendations for good books to refer to.

I'm looking for books that cover the four modules: Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking, preferably with practice tests, answer explanations and useful strategies.

I'd especially appreciate recommendations for:

- The best books for someone starting IELTS preparation.

- Books that are genuinely useful for improving Writing and Speaking.

- Whether Cambridge IELTS practice test books are enough or if I should use additional resources.

If you've prepared for IELTS before, please share which books you used, your target/achieved band score, and what you found most helpful.

Thank you!

Had attempted 1 sample paper and learned writing templates before the test. Needed to pass B2 eligibility for my skilled worker visa.

Just only prepared for two weeks , to be honest most of mock test was a little bit less than I wanted to have in real exam , but still got overall 7.0

I am not confident with Speaking. Tried using AI, but I'm not sure if it's trustable.

Does getting a study partner help? If so, I would love to practice with someone. I have to sit for the exam within the first week of December.

For Writing Task 2 Essay,

Should I watch

The Complete 6-Hour Course

OR

The Free 5-Day Course??

Kindly lemme know😭

Am super frazzled

Exam in less than a we*ek

I am happy that I was able to score band 7 in individual topics but writing part really messed me up for my university I need individual score of 6.5. therefore, I have to write it again, need advices in writing guys !! Pls help me out need to improve my writing within 2 weeks

Got the result. I am not happy with speaking results as the mic issue happened, I will be asking them again but I feel like they just said they will look into it and contact to get me out of there. Listening was expecting the same marks. Reading matching heading was the section I fumbled. Writing I kinda did not finish task 1 at all so okay. I will be focusing on GRE now and might give IELTS again after GRE is complete.

Is it just intense practice of listening mocks available that will help me? Listening is my weakest section. We have to read questions listen audio (multitasking). Once missed, it is gone. How are so many people here if i see recent results scoring 9, 8.5, 8 in listening?

Hello! My mother is trying to pass the Ielts and found out today that her Oral is supposed to take place at 3am? Is this normal? Was there a mistake????

That's INSANE?!?!

Took the test recently, I've described my study plan in the comments.

Feel free to ask questions.

So Basically my test day is in 2 days from now, and so far in my preparation i've improved in all parts, except writing, it just feels impossible and so frustrating, and the problem with me os actually the lack of ideas, especially on task one, when i see a graph my mind just freezs I wouldn't say things are similar in task 2 but this is stressing me so much and i need help please

SIT DOWN BECAUSE ITS GOING TO BE VERY LONG

First of all, my exams didn’t go as good as I anticipated. Listening was bad because I have tinnitus and although headphones provided were top notch, I couldn’t manage it well due to my hearing impairment. Reading was easier than mock tests. I purposely chose the hardest mock tests and I was literally scoring 6.0-6.5 in them, so I thought reading is my weakest section. I wasn’t confident in writing because Gemini consistently graded me 6.5 with occasional 7.0. In mock tests and chatgpt, I scored 7.0-8.0 in speaking, so I was relaxed in it. But my speaking examiner kept interrupting me. I knew why she might be interrupting but she was literally impatient. I thought I had performed horribly in my speaking assessment.

TIPS

LISTENING

1. I practiced with 1.30x speed. I could barely score 27-33 in those, but I was chill since I knew that I would be able to perform well in the exam.
2. Practiced map questions intensely as I’m the weakest in that.

READING
My weakest skill amongst all.

1. Purposely chose hard mock tests to push myself.
2. Heavily utilized the highlighter tool.
3. Highlighted normal key words, but took a note of lines that had the answer and numbered them.
4. In TFNG questions, I had a straight approach. Read the questions first. Search for answers. See if it matches the question. If yes, then it’s true, if no then it’s false, if there is no info as such then not given.
5. Wore the headset even after listening to distract myself from the noise which helped me focus better.

WRITING
I wasn’t very confident although I have good writing skills in general.

1. Before practicing for computer based assessment, I wrote in a notebook because I focus better here.
2. I kept scrutinizing myself with the help of Gemini and correcting mistakes with a red pen as you can see in the pictures attached.
3. Made notes for relevant vocabulary that was helpful for me.
4. Primarily focused on Task Response and cohesion.

SPEAKING

1. I practiced it from chatgpt and mock tests.
2. Asked chatgpt to always ask me uneasy, abrupt and uncomfortable questions to assess how I form answers under exam stress.
3. Gave timed responses.
4. Made sure to smile and keep the environment light.

I feel I could’ve scored higher if the speaking examiner was a little patient, but I’m happy with the results since I didn’t get proper time to prepare. If you have any doubts, you may ask.

Just remember: TRAIN HARDER TO FIGHT EASIER

Hi guys, I'm planning to take my IELTS test in December. I've been practicing through IELTS online tests. The best I could score in reading and listening was 8, and I've been getting a band 7 or 6.5 consistently. I'm at the point where I've started to doubt my English skills. Any recommendations on what I should do? I'm terrified that I'll score badly on the IELTS.

Basically I was really nervous during the speaking test so I ended up getting a low score, but yeah I am happy with my overall result!!

International Indian student. Target: stony brook mscs, sjsu msse, Purdue mscs, and nyu tandon mscs. My scores clears requirements for all colleges but should i retake to have more chance of admit. Is it really needed. I mailed sjsu and department told me ielts is just required for clearing english cutoff. Admission process solely depends on other factors. And also advice for TA as it needs ielts speaking score but I think I am fresher with no work experience. I don't think i have a chance for TA.

holy i did not think i would get more than 7.5

I have an exam on nov 7th(speaking), and 8th(lrw). on listening, im usually getting 7.5-8.5, on reading mostly 7.5. my speaking is ~ 7. writing is 6😭. i need an overall 7.5 at least so i neeeeed to do smth about my writing and speaking. what can i do? also, ant tips for band 9 l/r?

GUYS HELP WHY WRITING IS SO LOW??? Should I retake it or is it okay
P.S. I am not applying to any extremely prestigious universities tho