IELTS Compass
Preparing your study plan
IELTS Guide
How to Prepare for IELTS in 30 Days — Free Day-by-Day Study Plan
A complete, day-by-day IELTS study plan built from 141 real tasks across all five skills. Follow the phases below, track your progress daily, and sit four full mock exams before test day.
How to use this plan
This plan is a fixed, day-by-day sequence. You pick a start date; every day is pre-planned with objectives, durations and Cambridge test references. Before you begin, here is what the plan assumes and what you need to run it.
How much time per day?
A typical day runs 2.5–3.5 hours. Build and Speed phases average around 3 hours; full mock days run up to 4.5 hours because they include a complete timed test. Day 30 is deliberately light — under 2.5 hours of review and rest. Every task lists its duration, so you can split a day across morning and evening sessions.
What materials do you need?
- Cambridge IELTS books 10–19 — the plan references real tests by volume and test number, so you need the actual books (paper or e-book).
- An error log — a notebook or spreadsheet where you record every mistake. Your correction sessions feed directly from it.
- A timer — for strict mock conditions. No pauses, no dictionary, no second chances.
- A recording device — for Speaking tasks. You'll record answers daily and review them.
How the seven phases work
The plan moves from building blocks to full exam simulation. Phases 1–2 build foundations and core techniques; phases 3–4 introduce time pressure; phase 5 prepares for mocks; phase 6 is four full mock exams with deep mistake-correction; phase 7 is rest and review. You can't skip ahead — the sequence is deliberate — but you can pause a day and resume later.
Prefer paper? Get the printable version
The free printable 30-day plan PDF renders all 141 tasks as a day-by-day checklist you can print, tick off and pin to your wall — no account or login needed.
Why 30 days works
Thirty days is short enough to stay urgent and long enough to build real skill. It is not an arbitrary number — it matches how IELTS preparation actually compounds:
- Daily habit beats weekly bursts. Ten vocabulary words a day is 300 words by test day; one Listening section a day is 30 sections plus four mock papers. Consistency does the work.
- Four mock exams give you a progress curve. You measure your band at roughly weekly intervals, so you see what is improving and what is not — and you adjust the final week accordingly.
- Deliberate practice, not random practice. Every task has an objective and a test reference. You are always working on a specific skill, and the mistake log turns errors into a revision list.
- A fixed deadline focuses effort. Test day is non-negotiable. A plan with a finish line is easier to stick to than an open-ended “study harder”.
The plan is also the product: IELTS Compass runs exactly this 30-day structure with automatic progress tracking, streaks and score logging. Start it free — or use the printable checklist if you prefer pen and paper.
What this plan gives you
This is the exact structure behind IELTS Compass: a fixed 30-day sequence of 141 tasks using real Cambridge IELTS materials. You pick a start date; every day is pre-planned with objectives, durations and test references — your only job is to show up and do the work.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Total days | 30 |
| Total tasks | 141 |
| Skills covered | Listening, Reading, Writing, Speaking, Vocabulary |
| Full mock exams | 4 |
| Approx. total study time | ≈ 105 hours |
| Materials | Cambridge IELTS 10–19 (you supply the books) |
Short on technique? Pair the plan with the skill guides: our IELTS listening tips cover the section-by-section strategy used in Week 1, the True/False/Not Given reading strategy cracks the trickiest question type, and the Writing Task 2 templates give you the essay structures behind the plan's timed writing tasks.
Week at a glance
| Week | Days | Focus | Goal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Days 1–7 | Build foundations | Master Section 1 listening, Passage 1 reading and Task 1 overview writing. |
| Week 2 | Days 8–14 | Speed techniques | Handle MCQs, matching and full Task 2 outlines under time pressure. |
| Week 3 | Days 15–21 | Mastery + first mocks | Complete Section 4 listening, timed writing, and your first full mock. |
| Week 4 | Days 22–28 | Mock exams + correction | Three more full mocks with deep mistake-correction between them. |
| Final stretch | Days 29–30 | Final mock + rest | One last mock, then light review only — walk in confident. |
The seven phases, day by day
The plan moves from building blocks to full exam simulation. Each phase below shows the average daily time commitment and the skills it focuses on.
1–4
Build Phase · Foundational Skills
≈ 179 minutes per day
Listening Section 1, Reading Passage 1 sentence completion, map labelling and True/False/Not Given — the building blocks of every section.
VocabularyListeningReading
- Cam 10 T1 S1 · Q1–10 — play once, no pause | transcript + exact spelling for every missed name/number/date
- Cam 11 T1 P1 · Sentence Completion Q1–7 (15 min) — skim 2 min, underline keys, find proof
- Cam 10 T1 Task 1 — write ONLY the Overview sentence (main trend / key info). Max 5 min
5–8
Build Phase · Core Techniques
≈ 193 minutes per day
Task 1 overview writing, Reading headings and summary completion, and Listening multiple-choice strategies across all four skills.
VocabularyListeningReading
- Cam 13 T1 S2 · Map Labelling Q14–20 — study map 30–40 s, note direction words, play once
- Cam 11 T1 P1 True/False/Not Given — find exact sentence; not mentioned → NOT GIVEN
- Finish Cam 10 T1 Task 1 (Body 2 + short Conclusion); whole task ~20 min
9–12
Speed Phase · Time Pressure
≈ 194 minutes per day
Listening Section 3 matching and MCQ, Reading Passages 2–3, and full Task 2 essays under timed conditions.
VocabularyListeningReading
- Cam 12 T1 S3 · Multiple Choice + Note Completion — listen for opinions and key details
- Cam 11 T1 P2 True/False/Not Given + Diagram Labelling — find exact proof for each statement
- Cam 10 T2 Task 2 — ONLY: intro sentence (paraphrase + opinion), 2 topic sentences, 1 conclusion sentence
13–16
Speed Phase · Full-Test Pacing
≈ 199 minutes per day
Longer passages, harder question types and complete timed writing tasks — building the stamina the real exam demands.
VocabularyListeningReading
- Cam 15 T1 S3 Multiple Choice — beware the speaker naming wrong answers first
- Cam 12 T1 P3 Yes/No/Not Given — focus on writer's opinion, not just facts
- Cam 13 T1 Task 2 — complete essay in exactly 40 min
17–19
Mastery Phase · Mock Preparation
≈ 215 minutes per day
Listening Section 4, full mock writing (Task 1 + Task 2 in 60 minutes) and Cambridge 15, 18 and 19 test papers.
VocabularyListeningReading
- Cam 14 T1 S4 · Q31–40 — predict the word type (usually a noun) per gap
- Cam 13 T1 P2 Matching Headings + Matching Features — find evidence for each match
- Cam 14 T1 — both Task 1 and Task 2 in exactly 60 min
20–29
Exam Days · Mocks & Correction
≈ 243 minutes per day
Four full mock exams with strict timing, deep mistake-correction sessions and targeted weak-area drills between them.
VocabularySpeakingListening
- FULL MOCK 1 — Cam 15 T1 (Listening all sections, Reading, Task 1+2). Strict timing
- Mock 1 Speaking — recorded full mock
- Correct Mock 1 — read the full transcript for every wrong Listening answer
30
Final Day · Rest & Review
≈ 150 minutes per day
Light vocabulary revision and strategy review only. No new writing tasks — mental prep for test-day confidence.
VocabularyListeningReading
- Rest-prep — skim a Transcript from your error log for 30 min
- Rest-prep — re-read your best Reading strategies and Top 5 mistakes (no new passages)
- Re-read your top Task structures and Top 5 mistakes list (no writing)
How much time per day?
A typical day runs 2.5–3.5 hours depending on the phase. Build and Speed phases average around 3 hours; full mock days run up to 4.5 hours because they include a complete timed test. Day 30 is deliberately light — under 2.5 hours of review and rest.
Short on time?
Every task lists its expected duration, so you can split a day across morning and evening sessions. The plan is sequential — you can't skip ahead — but you can pause a day and resume it later.
Tips to finish the 30 days
- Do the vocabulary block first. Ten words a day compounds into 300 words by test day.
- Record every mistake. The plan's mistake log feeds your correction sessions — your top five errors become your revision list.
- Treat mocks as real exams. Strict timing, no pauses, no dictionary. The score you get is the score you can trust.
- Don't skip the light days. Rest and review are part of the plan, not a break from it.
Want the plan with automatic progress tracking, streaks and score logging? Start it free on IELTS Compass — the product is this plan, with every task tracked for you.
Keep exploring
Printable Plan PDF
Download a free printable checklist of all 141 tasks — no account needed.
IELTS Band Score Calculator
Find your current overall band and your gap to target.
Writing Task 2 Templates
Band 7+ essay structures to use inside the plan's writing tasks.
IELTS Listening Tips
Section-by-section strategy for the plan's listening blocks.
Start your free 30-day plan
141 pre-planned tasks across all five IELTS skills — your first study session is ready the moment you sign up.
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