From Band 6 to Band 8 – analysing mistakes and a four-week plan
How to review IELTS Reading practice tests so that every mistake improves your score, plus a four-week study plan and a test-day checklist.
Doing practice tests does not, by itself, raise your score. Many candidates complete twenty tests and remain on the same band, because they repeat the same errors twenty times. Improvement comes from what you do after each test. This final lesson explains how to review your work, how to identify your personal weaknesses and how to organise four weeks of preparation.
What separates the bands
| Band | Raw score (approx.) | Typical profile |
|---|---|---|
| 6.0 | 23–26 | Understands the passages in general; loses marks on paraphrase, Not Given, matching tasks and timing; often does not finish Passage 3 |
| 7.0 | 30–32 | Finishes the test; handles most paraphrase; occasional errors on fine distinctions and in the hardest tasks |
| 8.0 | 35–36 | Reads precisely; mistakes are rare and usually due to carelessness with a small word or a word limit |
Moving from 6 to 7 means winning about six more marks. Moving from 7 to 8 means winning five more. In both cases the marks are there to be won in the questions you currently get wrong for reasons you can identify.
The error log
After every practice test, do not just count your score. For each wrong answer (and each lucky guess), go back to the passage, find the evidence and decide why you went wrong. Record it.
| Q | Type | My answer | Correct | Why I was wrong | Category |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | TFNG | FALSE | NOT GIVEN | Assumed ‘attempt’ meant failure | Logic (F vs NG) |
| 9 | Notes | special axe | axe | Wrote two words | Word limit |
| 17 | Match info | C | E | Chose paragraph with same words | Word matching |
| 31 | MCQ | B | D | Option true but didn’t answer the stem | Distractor |
| 38 | Summary | — | banks | Ran out of time | Timing |
Use a small set of categories:
- Location – I looked in the wrong part of the passage.
- Paraphrase – I did not recognise that two expressions meant the same.
- Vocabulary – I did not know a key word.
- Logic – I confused False with Not Given, or the writer’s view with a reported view.
- Close reading – I missed a small word (only, most, until, almost).
- Distractor – I chose an option that was mentioned but did not answer the question.
- Instructions – I broke the word limit, misspelt a word or wrote the wrong kind of answer.
- Timing – I guessed or left it because of time.
After three or four tests, count the categories. Most people find that two of them account for more than half of their errors. Those two are your study plan.
What to do about each category
| If your main problem is… | Work on… | Lessons |
|---|---|---|
| Location | Skimming and paragraph mapping; do the 3-minute skim exercise on ten passages | 2 |
| Paraphrase | The paraphrase notebook: write question words and passage words side by side for every question | 3 |
| Vocabulary | Academic word families and IELTS synonym sets; 30 minutes of general reading daily | 11 |
| Logic | The opposite test for Not Given; identifying whose opinion is whose | 4 |
| Close reading | Slow down at the key sentence; highlight quantity, time and certainty words | 3, 4 |
| Distractors | Answer the stem before reading the options; give a reason for rejecting each wrong option | 7 |
| Instructions | A fixed final check: limit, grammar, spelling | 8, 9 |
| Timing | The 20-minute passage drill and the 90-second rule | 10 |
Review the questions you got right, too
When you have time, look at your correct answers and ask: was I certain, or was it a guess between two? A guessed correct answer hides a weakness. Also study the explanations provided with each practice test on this site. They show the exact evidence and the paraphrase involved, and reading them trains you to think like the question writer.
A four-week plan
This plan assumes about an hour a day. Adapt it to your timetable.
Week 1 – Learn the methods
- Days 1–2: Lessons 1–3. Practise the 3-minute skim on three passages. Start your paraphrase notebook.
- Days 3–4: Lessons 4–6. Do the True/False/Not Given and matching tasks from two practice tests, untimed. Check every answer against the explanations.
- Days 5–6: Lessons 7–9. Do the multiple choice and completion tasks from the same tests, untimed.
- Day 7: Rest, or read something in English for pleasure.
Week 2 – Accuracy
- Three single passages on different days, untimed but with full attention to method. Start the error log.
- One day on your weakest question type: collect that type from several tests and do them together.
- Daily: 20–30 minutes of general reading; add ten items to the vocabulary notebook.
- End of week: count your error categories.
Week 3 – Speed
- Lesson 10. Four single passages at 20 minutes each, on different days.
- One full test in 60 minutes at the weekend. Record your time at the end of each passage.
- Continue the error log; spend as long reviewing as you spent on the test.
Week 4 – Test conditions
- Three full tests in 60 minutes (try one in 55), spaced through the week.
- Between tests, work only on your top two error categories.
- Two days before the exam: no new tests. Reread your error log and your paraphrase notebook.
- The day before: rest.
Test-day checklist
Before you start
- Remember the plan: about 17, 20 and 21 minutes, two minutes to check.
- Adjust the text size if you need to.
For every passage
- Title and subtitle → 2–3 minute skim → label the paragraphs.
- Read the instructions for each task. Note the word limit.
For every question
- Keywords → locate → read closely → answer.
- More than 90 seconds? Guess, flag, move on.
In the last two minutes
- No blanks.
- Word limits respected.
- Spelling copied correctly.
- TRUE/FALSE not mixed up with YES/NO.
- Letters where letters are required.
A final word about mindset
The Reading test is not a test of intelligence, and a difficult passage does not mean you are failing. Everyone in the room finds Passage 3 hard; the bands are set with that in mind. Keep moving, collect the marks that are available and trust the methods you have practised. Candidates who stay calm and stick to their plan almost always score higher than those who know more English but lose their heads.
Key points
- A practice test without review teaches almost nothing.
- Log every error with its cause; your two commonest causes are your study plan.
- Progress in stages: methods → accuracy → speed → test conditions.
- On the day, follow the checklist and keep to the clock.
Now try it in a real section
A complete IELTS reading section in the official format — every answer explained.
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