Building a Study Plan and Reading Band Descriptors

IELTS Writing and Speaking are scored against four published criteria each. For Writing: Task Achievement/Response (did you actually answer the task fully), Coherence and Cohesion (is it organized and logically linked), Lexical Resource (vocabulary range and precision), and Grammatical Range and Accuracy. For Speaking: Fluency and Coherence, Lexical Resource, Grammatical Range and Accuracy, and Pronunciation. Listening and Reading are scored objectively by counting correct answers out of 40 and converting to a band using a published conversion table -- there's no subjective judgment involved in those two sections.

Knowing the criteria matters because it tells you what to practice, not just how much. A learner stuck at band 6 in Writing because of narrow vocabulary needs different practice than one stuck at band 6 because of poor paragraph organization -- both might get the same overall number but need entirely different fixes.

A realistic study plan scales with your band gap. Moving from roughly band 5.5 to 6.5 across all sections is commonly estimated (by test-prep researchers, not by IELTS itself, which sets no official timeline) to take somewhere in the range of 6-12 weeks of consistent practice, though this varies enormously by individual starting point, native language, and hours per week available -- treat any timeline estimate as a rough planning tool, not a promise.

Start with a diagnostic: attempt a short sample from each section under realistic time pressure, and honestly note which section felt weakest. Spend more of your weekly practice time on your genuinely weakest section rather than splitting time evenly, while still touching every section regularly so skills don't decay.