In planning your IELTS prep, you probably want to know how long you need to study. Is it weeks or months? Is it dozens of hours or hundreds? The answer to these questions depends on a number of factors, including your target score, your mock test results and the amount of time you can dedicate to studying.

Let's imagine that your target band in IELTS listening is a 7. It's 30-32 correct answers. If you want to have a guaranteed result, you should book the test only when you regularly get band 7.0 or higher during your mock tests. If you get 28-29 correct answers, you may expect to get Band 7.0 in your real IELTS test. But it's risky. If your target band is 7.0, and your result now is 5.0, I'm afraid you have little chance of achieving the desired result in a month, especially in IELTS writing. In this case, if you decide to take the test, you will just waste your money. And remember that every attempt to take the test costs more than $200. As you see, it is very important to get fully-prepared for the test before booking a test.

How much time does it take to increase the IELTS band score? There can be 2 scenarios. Some people have good knowledge of English, but they still get very low band scores in their mock test. Why does this happen? The problem is that they don't know the test format, some important rules of writing essays, or strategies of dealing with reading passages. They hear everything almost word for word, catch correct answers, but make spelling mistakes. These people may see significant improvements even after a few weeks of studying. For example, they can improve their band score by 0,5 - 1 for a few lessons and 1-2 for 1 or 2 months. Some people don't know English well. So, they shouldn't expect to get results fast. It is very important to have a realistic study plan and realistic expectations. On average, it takes people 2-6 months of hard work to achieve the desired band score.

OUR STATISTICS

If you start from band score 3.5-4.5…If your mock test result is band 3.5-4.5, you will need about 6-8 months of hard work in order to get band 5.0-6.0. If your mock test result is band 3.5-4.5, and you need to get band 6.5-7.0, get ready to work for a few years. If your current result is band 3.5-4.5, and you need to get band 8.0, look for other ways to move abroad or choose another visa or you will have to spend half of your life on achieving this band score.

If you start from band score 5.0-5.5… The majority of our students start from band score 5.0-5.5. It normally takes about 1-2 months to get band 6.0. If you need band 7.0, you should allow at least 8-12 months to achieve this result, especially if minimum required scores in the IELTS are an overall score of 7, with sub scores of 7 each. We're afraid that getting band 8.0 is an unlikely occurrence or you may spend half of your life on it. But it's, of course, possible if you are ready to work hard for some long period of time.

If you start from band score 6.0-6.5… We rarely see such mock test results, but we do see them. If your mock test result is band 6.0-6.5, you can expect to get 6.5-7.5 in 1-3 months. Some of our students even get band 8 quite fast.

Is it possible to get band 9? Some people claim that their target is band 9. Of course, band 9 overall score is achievable. However, we would strongly doubt that even a person who got 8.5 can get band 9 within a month or two at the first attempt. But when people write that their current result is band 5, their target is band 9.0 and the test date is in 2 months, we think that either people don't understand what band 9.0 is or they are just kidding. We think that the question should be 'Does it make any sense to try to get band 9?' We have never heard of any organizations that require band 9.0. Even if you want to study in Harvard, you need the IELTS band score of 7.

We hope that now you understand how much time you need to get the desired score. The ideal scenario is when you have as much time as you need to get the desired score. Have a good time preparing for IELTS! Remember to write essays, do IELTS reading and listening tests, practise IELTS speaking every day! If you need our help, get our IELTS Tips and Secrets self-study course now.