How long to prepare for IELTS if you are aiming for band 7 or above? I keep searching how long to prepare for IELTS but the answers are all over the place, so I wanted to ask people who actually took it.
My current level is somewhere around intermediate to upper-intermediate I think. In school and uni I can read academic stuff okay, but my listening drops if the audio is fast, and writing is definitely my weakest section. Speaking is weird because some days I feel fluent and other days I start hesitating and lose simple words.
I am trying to make a realistic plan instead of just studying randomly for months. My target is:
- Listening: 7
- Reading: 7
- Writing: 6.5 or 7
- Speaking: 7
Right now, if I am honest, I feel closer to 6 or 6.5 overall.
So for people who improved their score, how long did your IELTS preparation actually take?
A few specific things I am wondering:
- If you started around band 6, how many weeks or months did it take to get to 7?
- Did you study every day or only a few times a week?
- Was writing the section that needed the most time?
- Did taking full mock tests help more than doing section practice?
- Is 2 months enough, or is that only realistic if your English is already strong?
My current idea was maybe 8 weeks with around 2 hours a day on weekdays and more on weekends, but I genuinely do not know if that is too little or too much. I also do not want to burn out before the exam.
I have Cambridge practice books and I was thinking of splitting my prep like this:
- Weeks 1-2: figure out my weak areas and learn the test format properly
- Weeks 3-6: focus hard on writing and speaking, plus timed reading/listening
- Weeks 7-8: full practice tests and fixing repeated mistakes
Does that sound sensible, or should IELTS prep be more skill-based first and test-based later?
If anyone has done this recently, it would help a lot if you shared:
- your starting band and final band
- how long you prepared
- what section improved the fastest
- what section took forever
I am especially interested in hearing from people who were not already near-native speakers, because some study plans online sound impossible unless your English is already very advanced.
Would really appreciate honest answers, even if the answer is basically it depends on your level. I just want a rough idea so I can book my test at the right time instead of rushing it.