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    SpeakMetry Team

    The team that builds SpeakMetry's mock tests writes these guides. Every rule is checked against the official IELTS, British Council and IDP pages listed in the guide, and every example question, passage and sample answer was written for the guide it appears in.

    A brass balance scale on a pale wooden desk, perfectly level, beside a small stack of blank index cards and a pencil

    The test and scores

    How IELTS Band Scores Are Calculated, Paper by Paper

    The exact rounding rule for the overall band, the raw-score tables for Listening and Reading, and how Writing and Speaking criteria become a band.

    8 min read

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    Speaking

    How to Practise IELTS Speaking on Your Own

    A routine for practising IELTS Speaking with no partner: record and time each part, check it against the descriptors, and use AI feedback for what it measures.

    9 min read

    A cream envelope closed with a red wax seal beside a folded blank letter and a fountain pen on a wooden desk

    Writing

    IELTS General Training Letter: Formal, Semi-Formal and Informal

    How to write the IELTS General Training Task 1 letter: choosing the tone, openings and closings, covering all three bullet points, and two sample letters.

    10 min read

    Studio headphones hanging from a brass hook above a wooden desk with a blank notepad and a sharpened pencil

    Listening

    IELTS Listening: Seven Ways Marks Are Lost (Hear Each One)

    The seven ways IELTS Listening answers are marked wrong, from corrected details to word limits, each with a short recording to try and how to hear it coming.

    10 min read

    A quiet test centre booth: a computer monitor with a dark screen, a keyboard, a mouse and over-ear headphones on a white desk between two pale partitions

    The test and scores

    IELTS on Computer: What Changes and How to Practise for It

    IELTS is now taken on computer almost everywhere. What the screen gives you, what changes in each paper, results in 1–2 days, and how to practise for it.

    10 min read

    A glass hourglass with pale sand running, beside a closed book and three loose sheets of blank paper on a wooden desk

    Reading

    How to Finish IELTS Reading in 60 Minutes

    A minute-by-minute plan for three passages and 40 questions: what to read first, skimming and scanning, matching headings, and what to do when stuck.

    10 min read

    A brass magnifying glass resting on the pages of an open book, the print blurred and unreadable, with three smooth pebbles beside it: one white, one black, one grey

    Reading

    True, False or Not Given: An IELTS Reading Method That Works

    What TRUE, FALSE and NOT GIVEN really mean, how to tell FALSE from NOT GIVEN, the traps that cost marks, and a passage to practise on.

    10 min read

    Four objects in a neat row on a pale desk, seen from above: over-ear headphones, an open book, a fountain pen on a sheet of blank lined paper and a small desk microphone

    The test and scores

    IELTS Test Format: Every Paper, Part and Minute

    The four IELTS papers part by part: timings, question counts and types, Academic and General Training compared, computer delivery and results.

    10 min read

    A neat stack of pages covered in blurred, unreadable handwriting with a red pencil lying across the top page and a pair of reading glasses beside it

    Writing

    IELTS Writing Band Descriptors in Plain English

    The four IELTS Writing criteria band by band in plain English, quoted from the official descriptors, with a Band 6 and a Band 7 paragraph side by side.

    10 min read

    A small bar chart built from pale wooden blocks of five different heights on a desk, with a pencil and a steel ruler beside it

    Writing

    Writing Task 1 Academic: How to Describe Any Chart, Map or Process

    How to write an IELTS Academic Task 1 report: the overview examiners look for, which features to select, a worked Band 8 example, and maps and processes.

    10 min read

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    Writing

    The Six IELTS Writing Task 2 Essay Types, and How to Plan Each

    The six IELTS Writing Task 2 question types, how to recognise each from its wording, a paragraph plan for every one, and a Band 8 essay with notes.

    10 min read

    A vintage studio microphone on a desk stand beside four smooth river stones laid in a row

    Speaking

    IELTS Speaking Band Descriptors in Plain English

    What examiners listen for in fluency, vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation at Bands 5 to 9, quoted from the official descriptors and put into plain English.

    11 min read

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    Speaking

    IELTS Speaking Part 1: Common Questions and How to Answer Them

    How IELTS Speaking Part 1 works, the six kinds of question the examiner asks, how long to answer, and real questions with Band 8 samples to hear and try.

    9 min read

    A blank index card and a pencil beside a small brass one-minute sand timer on a wooden desk

    Speaking

    IELTS Speaking Part 2: The Cue Card, Minute by Minute

    How the IELTS Speaking long turn works: one minute to prepare, up to two minutes to speak, a note-taking method, how to keep going, and samples at three bands.

    9 min read

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    Speaking

    How to Get Band 7 in IELTS Speaking: What Changes From Band 6

    What separates Band 6 from Band 7 in each IELTS Speaking criterion, a Band 6 and a Band 7 answer to the same question, and the Band 6 habits to fix first.

    9 min read