IELTS blog

Dr Ammar Hadi Kadhim achieved his overall IELTS score of 8.0, finding time to prepare in the middle of his busy work schedule. How did he do it? He shares his experience of preparing with Road to IELTS here.

To do well in IELTS, you need to understand how the test works. This is difficult to do quickly because there are so many task types, and so many sections to the test (Speaking Parts 1, 2 and 3; Writing Parts 1 and 2; and so on). Each part tests different things in different ways. So, there’s a lot to learn.

The IELTS test is critically important for most people. It can make the difference between studying overseas and staying at home; between having your immigration status confirmed or denied. So, with your IELTS test coming up, you should be studying non-stop to prepare and get the result you need, right? The evidence suggests that this is not the case. Yes, you need to study, but you need to study strategically.

There is clear evidence that learning the various task types in IELTS is the quickest and most effective way of improving your band score. We recently conducted research on over 100,000 British Council candidates using Road to IELTS (our official IELTS preparation product) to do just this. We found that after using the program for just six hours, candidates’ scores in the Reading module activities improved by, on average, 64%. Clearly, in six hours there can be no significant change in their level of English; their improvement came from learning how to answer the questions. This can be achieved in a relatively short period of time.

How is IELTS scored? What is a good IELTS score? How can you find your IELTS level right now? Read on to learn about all the basics — and find out how to access the British Council’s free IELTS Score Calculator.