IELTS Study Plans
A Free 30-Day IELTS Study Plan You Can Actually Follow
Four weeks, about 90 minutes a day: week one diagnoses your level, weeks two and three build the weak skills, and week four is full timed practice under exam conditions.
Most IELTS study plans fail for the same reason: they list forty tasks, assume unlimited time, and give no way to adjust when you fall behind. This one assumes about 90 minutes on weekdays, one longer weekend session, and that you will miss a day or two.
The structure is deliberate. Week 1 finds out where you actually stand. Weeks 2 and 3 fix the weakest areas. Week 4 rehearses under exam conditions.
Before you start: three decisions
1. Know your target band and which module you need. Academic and General Training differ in Writing Task 1 and in the Reading passages. Preparing for the wrong one wastes weeks.
2. Book the test, or set a date. An open-ended plan slips. A fixed date makes week 4 real.
3. Set up a mistake log. One document, three columns: what you got wrong, the correction, and the rule. You will review it every week and it will become the most valuable thing you produce this month.
Week 1 — diagnose
The goal this week is information, not improvement. You cannot prioritise what you have not measured.
| Day | Session 1 (45 min) | Session 2 (45 min) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Full Reading test, timed | Mark it; log every error with the reason |
| 2 | Full Listening test, timed | Mark it; note which question types failed |
| 3 | Writing Task 2, 40 minutes | Get it assessed against all four criteria |
| 4 | Writing Task 1, 20 minutes | Compare with a band 7+ model answer |
| 5 | Speaking Parts 1 and 2, recorded | Listen back; count hesitations and restarts |
| 6 | Speaking Part 3, recorded | Review the whole week's mistake log |
| 7 | Rest, or re-read the log | — |
At the end of week 1 you should be able to name your weakest skill and your three most frequent errors. Everything after this points at those.
Week 2 — build the weakest skill
Give your weakest skill the first session every day and rotate the others through the second.
If Writing is weakest: one Task 2 essay every other day, but only after five minutes of planning. On the alternate days, write plans only — introduction sentence, two topic sentences, conclusion sentence — for three different questions. Planning practice is fast and it targets the criterion most candidates lose marks on.
If Speaking is weakest: fifteen minutes a day of recorded practice, always played back. Redo the same cue card immediately after listening; the second attempt teaches you what fluent feels like.
If Reading is weakest: one passage a day, strictly timed to twenty minutes, and for every wrong answer write down the words in the passage that gave the right one.
If Listening is weakest: one section a day, then listen again with the transcript and mark exactly where you lost the thread. Spelling and number formats deserve their own log entries.
Keep the second daily session for whichever skill you did not touch the previous day. Every skill should get at least two sessions this week.
Week 3 — build the second weakest, keep the first warm
Same structure, new priority. The skill you worked on in week 2 now gets one session every other day so it does not fade.
Add two things this week:
- Review your mistake log every day, not weekly. Five minutes, out loud. Repetition is what moves a correction from "I know that rule" to "I do not make that error".
- Start timing everything. Reading passages at twenty minutes, Task 2 at forty, Task 1 at twenty, Part 2 at two minutes. Timing problems are much easier to fix in week 3 than in week 4.
Week 4 — rehearse
This week is about conditions, not new content.
| Day | Focus |
|---|---|
| 22 | Full Listening + Reading, back to back, timed |
| 23 | Full Writing, both tasks, 60 minutes total |
| 24 | Full Speaking, all three parts, recorded |
| 25 | Review everything from days 22-24 against the mistake log |
| 26 | Weakest skill only, targeted practice |
| 27 | Full test: all four skills in one sitting |
| 28 | Light review, no new material |
| 29 | Read your mistake log; nothing else |
| 30 | Rest |
Doing all four skills in one sitting on day 27 is uncomfortable and that is the point. Stamina is a real variable on test day, and finding out about it in advance is much better than finding out during the exam.
How to adjust the plan
If you have 45 minutes a day: do session 1 only, and move the full tests to weekends. Skip nothing structurally — just halve the volume.
If you have 60 days: run weeks 2 and 3 twice, with a fresh diagnostic in between. Do not extend week 4; a second rehearsal week produces diminishing returns.
If you fall behind: skip forward to the current day rather than trying to catch up. The plan's value is in the sequence, not in completing every task.
If your target is band 7.5 or above: spend proportionally more time on Writing. It is the skill where most candidates score lowest, and the gap between band 6.5 and 7 there is usually about development of ideas rather than language.
What actually moves the score in a month
In thirty days you can realistically expect to improve test technique, timing, and error frequency. Those are worth real marks. What you cannot do in a month is substantially raise your underlying proficiency.
So spend the time where technique is the bottleneck: knowing the question types, managing the clock, structuring an essay, filling two minutes in Part 2, and eliminating the four errors you make most often. That is what this plan is built around.
Now put it into practice
Try it on your own work
Frequently asked questions
Is 30 days enough to prepare for IELTS?
It is enough to learn the test format, fix recurring errors, and improve timing — which for many candidates is worth half a band or more. Raising underlying English proficiency by a full band usually takes longer than a month.
How many hours a day does this plan need?
About 90 minutes on weekdays and one longer session at the weekend for a full timed test. If you only have 45 minutes, halve each day's tasks rather than skipping days — frequency matters more than session length.
What if I can only prepare for two weeks?
Do week 1 and week 4 of this plan. The diagnostic and the timed full-test practice deliver the most improvement per hour; the skill-building weeks are what you compress.
Should I study all four skills every day?
No. Two skills a day is more effective than four, because each gets enough time for real practice rather than a token session. Rotate so every skill is covered twice a week.
Keep reading
- IELTS Writing IELTS Writing Task 2 Structure: A Paragraph-by-Paragraph Guide Most Task 2 essays work best as four paragraphs: an introduction that paraphrases the question and states your position, two...
- IELTS Speaking IELTS Speaking Part 2: How to Use the One Minute and Fill Two You get a cue card, one minute to prepare with paper and pencil, and one to two minutes to speak. The candidates who do well...
- IELTS Reading IELTS Reading Time Management: 20 Minutes per Passage You have 60 minutes for 40 questions across three passages and no extra transfer time on paper. Twenty minutes per passage,...
Intellecta is an independent practice platform. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the organisations that own or administer IELTS or TOEFL. Practice results and AI feedback are study indicators, not official scores. See our editorial policy and AI feedback methodology.