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IELTS Advice for 2026

 

  1. Never put your vocabulary and grammar low on your priority list. They are the foundation of everything else. 
  2. On speaking: It's difficult to sound fluent on topics you don't care about. Find a way to be interested in the 2026 themes like AI, remote work, and mental health. 
  3. Listen to people more. Read more long-form articles and less social media captions. Watch less TV and spend more time with high-quality English podcasts. 
  4. Don't waste time on "magic tricks." There are no shortcuts to a Band 9, only better strategies. 
  5. Don't let the examiner's silence push you around. Keep talking until they stop you. 
  6. Have clear goals for yourself every day, every week, and every practice session. 
  7. Minimize your own cognitive load by using proven templates for Writing Task 1 and Task 2. 
  8. Skimming and scanning are the best reading skills. Master them. 
  9. Ask for what you want. If you didn't hear the question, ask the examiner to repeat it. 
  10. If you think you're going to regret not checking your spelling, you should probably check it. 
  11. Exercise. Sleep well. A tired brain cannot produce a Band 8 essay. 
  12. Go out of your way to explain English rules to others. Teaching is the best way to master a concept. 
  13. Fluency is a great thing. Don't waste it by over-thinking your grammar. 
  14. Tell yourself you can do this more often. Confidence is half the battle. 
  15. Learn synonyms voraciously. They are the key to a high Lexical Resource score. 
  16. Don't ignore the data and don't skip the overview in Writing Task 1. 
  17. Forgive yourself for small mistakes. The examiner looks at the whole performance, not just one slip. 
  18. Don't chase "fancy" words. Vocabulary without accuracy doesn't work and is unfulfilling. 
  19. Most study sessions are okay in moderation. Almost nothing is absorbed in 10-hour marathons. 
  20. Pre-test anxiety is part of life. It is particularly noticeable the morning of the exam. 
  21. Be grateful for the progress you've made. Don't complain about the word count. 
  22. Be a doer, not a talker. Writing one essay is worth more than reading ten "model" answers. 
  23. Given enough time, it is possible to learn to talk about almost anything, from space travel to gardening. 
  24. Think for a few seconds before you act in Writing. Think for a few seconds before you speak in Part 3. 
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