The last 24 hours before IELTS are not for cramming. They’re for protecting the band you already have. This is the checklist I give every student in the final session before their test.
24 hours before — the day before
- Do one — only one — short practice set. A single Listening Section 1 or a 20-minute Reading passage. The goal is to stay warm, not to learn anything new.
- Confirm your test-day logistics. Test centre address, arrival time, ID required (passport is safest), permitted items (water in a clear bottle, no electronics).
- Print or save your confirmation email. Not just on your phone — phones get confiscated at check-in.
- Stop studying by 6 PM.Eat normally, go to bed at your normal time. Do not try to cram Writing Task 2 vocabulary the night before; it won’t stick and it raises anxiety.
The morning of
- Eat breakfast. Protein + carbs. Not a heavy breakfast — enough to keep you from crashing at hour two of Listening.
- Water, but not a litre.IELTS doesn’t allow toilet breaks during Listening or the Writing exam. A large glass an hour before, sips during.
- Arrive 30 minutes early. Registration queues are slow. Arriving late means forfeiting the exam.
- Bring two pencils, two erasers, a sharpener. Plus your ID and confirmation. Nothing else is permitted on the desk.
Between sections
- Don’t replay the previous section.If you think you bombed Listening, you probably didn’t — and second-guessing costs you points on Reading.
- Move your shoulders and neck in the short pause.Physical tension is the fastest way to miss a distractor in the next section.
- In the writing exam, use the first 3 minutes to plan, not write. Students who start writing immediately almost always lose marks on Coherence.
The Speaking test — if it’s a separate day
- Warm up your mouth. Speak English aloud for 10 minutes before the test — read a podcast transcript, narrate your morning. Your first answer will be more fluent.
- Dress neutrally. Not for the examiner — for you. Feeling put-together reduces test-day anxiety.
- Smile at the examiner. Speaking is rated partly on communicative effectiveness. A warm opening helps both of you.
After the test
- Do not post-mortem.You cannot change the answers now. Waiting for results with self-criticism doesn’t change the band; it just makes the wait worse.
- Note one thing you’d do differently. If you need to re-sit, that note is worth more than any forum thread.
The mindset
The band you get on the day is the floor of what you’ve been scoring in practice over the last two weeks — never higher. That means if you’ve been averaging 7 in practice, walk in expecting 6.5 or 7, and treat anything above as a bonus. Testing anxiety eats 0.5 bands; calm-and-expected eats nothing.
Note from Isabel
Guides are a starting point. The real learning happens when you apply the framework to your own writing or speaking and get it marked. If you’d like feedback on a task you drafted using this guide, submit it for grading and I’ll return per-criterion comments within 48 hours.