Your final week before IELTS: a calm plan that works
Feeling panicked in the last week is completely normal. If you've been preparing for a month or two, you already have most of what you need. The goal now is to sharpen what you know, not to learn everything new.
Days 1 to 4: find your repeated mistakes
Do one full practice test under real timing, ideally from the Cambridge IELTS books. Then spend more time reviewing your mistakes than doing new tests. Write down your top three repeated mistakes for each skill. For example:
- Listening: spelling, plurals, missing the word limit
- Reading: running out of time on one passage
- Writing: not answering every part of the question
- Speaking: short answers with no reason or example
Days 5 to 7: fix those mistakes
Now practise only what your list shows. Write one Writing Task 2 essay a day and check that you answered every part of the question. Practise Speaking out loud every day: record yourself, listen back, and fix one thing at a time.
The last two days: light review only
Read your mistake list, do a short speaking warm-up, and stop studying by the evening. Cramming new vocabulary now usually adds stress, not marks.
The night before
Sleep. A rested brain is worth more than any last-minute study. Students who study day and night right up to the exam often perform below their real level.
On exam day
- Listening: read ahead and predict the type of answer (a number, a name, a noun). Check spelling.
- Reading: don't get stuck on one question. Move on and come back.
- Writing: plan for 5 minutes before you write. Do Task 2 justice; it's worth twice as much as Task 1.
- Speaking: extend your answers with a reason and an example. It's fine to say "That's an interesting question, let me think…"
You've done the hard work already. Trust it.