The examiner's
notebook.
Field notes on how IELTS is scored — and how to score higher. Short essays, specific claims, nothing padded.
All Essays
Band 7 vs Band 8: the gap is smaller than you think
The difference between a 7.0 and an 8.0 isn't more vocabulary or longer essays. It's three specific habits — and you can learn all of them in a week.
The five mistakes that quietly kill your Speaking score
Long pauses are not the problem most candidates think they are. These five habits cost more — and most test-takers don't even notice them.
How to read like an IELTS examiner
The three-pass technique that turns a 60-minute Reading test from a panic into a procedure. Most test-takers read every passage twice. Examiners would tell you to read it three times — differently each time.
Why Part 3 quietly destroys your Listening score
Most candidates lose Listening points in the same place. It isn't the accent. It isn't the speed. It's the one section that punishes anyone who isn't fully present.
Describing a chart without sounding like a robot
Task 1 Academic is the most templated section of the IELTS exam — and that's exactly why most candidates lose marks on it.
The Part 2 cue card: a structure that always works
Two minutes of uninterrupted speech, on a topic you've never seen before. There is one structure that works every time — and most candidates have never been taught it.
Why memorised essay templates always lose Band points
Every IELTS course teaches templates. Every candidate uses them. Every examiner can spot them in ten seconds — and every templated essay is silently capped at Band 6.5.
The IELTS General Training letter, decoded
Formal, semi-formal, informal — the three letter registers most candidates can't keep straight. Get them wrong, and the rest of your Task 1 doesn't matter.
Test-day routine: the two hours before matter most
Everyone prepares for the test. Almost no one prepares for the hours before the test. That gap is where bands quietly disappear.