The LinguaRocket blog.
Straight answers on IELTS scoring, strategy and the Academic-vs-General question — from the team that marks your practice honestly. No gimmicks, no band-9-in-a-week promises.
How to get from IELTS band 6.5 to 7
Stuck at 6.5? The jump to 7 is usually about accuracy and consistency, not more vocabulary. Here's what actually moves each skill from 6.5 to 7.
Sep 15, 2026 · 6 min readReadingIELTS Reading: a reliable method for Matching Headings
Matching Headings is one of the hardest IELTS Reading tasks. Here's a method that works — match the paragraph's main idea, not a keyword — plus how to dodge the distractors.
Sep 15, 2026 · 6 min readWritingIELTS General Training Writing Task 1: formal vs informal letters
GT Task 1 is a letter, and getting the register right — formal, semi-formal or informal — is half the mark. Here's how to tell which, and how each one sounds.
Sep 15, 2026 · 6 min readWritingIELTS Writing Task 2: how to write a 'discuss both views' essay
The 'discuss both views and give your own opinion' essay trips people up — they discuss both sides but forget their opinion. Here's a structure that covers both.
Sep 10, 2026 · 6 min readSpeakingIELTS Speaking Part 2: how to use your 1 minute of prep and talk for the full 2
Part 2 gives you 1 minute to prepare and up to 2 minutes to talk. Here's how to use the prep minute and keep talking without drying up.
Sep 10, 2026 · 5 min readReadingIELTS Reading: how to manage your 60 minutes across the 3 passages
60 minutes, 3 passages, 40 questions — and no extra transfer time. Here's how to split the clock, when to move on, and how not to run out on Passage 3.
Sep 10, 2026 · 6 min readWritingIELTS Writing Task 2: how to structure an opinion essay
A clear four-paragraph structure for the 'agree or disagree' essay — introduction, two body paragraphs, conclusion — and what each needs for band 7.
Sep 4, 2026 · 6 min readListeningIELTS Listening: how to stop losing marks on spelling and plurals
In IELTS Listening a misspelt or wrong-plural answer is marked wrong even if you heard it right. Here's how to stop leaking these easy marks.
Sep 4, 2026 · 5 min readWritingIELTS Academic Writing Task 1: how to describe a graph or chart
A simple, repeatable structure for describing any graph, chart, table, process or map in 150 words and 20 minutes — and the one paragraph that earns the most marks.
Aug 10, 2026 · 6 min readScoringHow is IELTS Speaking scored? The 4 criteria, and how to lift each one
Fluency, vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation — the four things the examiner marks, what each really means, and the fastest way to raise each band.
Aug 10, 2026 · 6 min readStrategyTrue / False / Not Given: the rule that fixes most wrong answers
Why 'Not Given' trips up band-7 candidates, and a repeatable way to tell it apart from 'False'.
Aug 9, 2026 · 6 min readBandsHow many questions do you need right for each IELTS band?
The raw-score-to-band idea for Listening and Reading (Academic & GT), and why '40 questions' doesn't mean 40 marks to worry about.
Aug 9, 2026 · 5 min readChoosing your testIELTS Academic vs General Training: which one do you actually need?
They share Listening and Speaking but differ on Reading and Writing Task 1. A 2-minute decision guide by goal — study, work, or migration.
Aug 9, 2026 · 6 min readScoringHow is IELTS Writing scored? The 4 criteria, and what moves you from band 6 to 7
The exact rubric examiners use — Task Achievement, Coherence, Lexical Resource, Grammar — and the one change per criterion that lifts your band.
Aug 9, 2026 · 8 min read