Magoos Originals
Magoos Originals
Magoos Originals
With only a month to prepare for the Academic IELTS exam, it’s likely you’re feeling
some pressure! The IELTS is challenging, even for test-takers who are very proficient in
English—which is why it's helpful to use an IELTS guide as you learn how to study for
IELTS.
Of course, it is also critical that you use this time to become very familiar with the IELTS
exam and how to approach each section of the test. And that is what this study schedule
is designed to do!
The schedule is useful for students with varying degrees of English proficiency. Plan to
spend between 1-2 hours studying each day (although some days will require more time
and some less). Students with lower English proficiency will need additional time to
complete the daily tasks simply because they will have more incorrect answers to review
from the practice exercises. (Lower proficiency students may also want to spend extra
time reviewing passages, questions, tasks, and audio tracks.)
Even if you don’t have time to complete all the listed tasks for a given day or week, do
what you can! Modify the schedule to fit your circumstances. The goal of the study
schedule is to keep you organized, motivated and on track with your IELTS preparation.
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Table of Contents
Click these links to jump to the resource lists or the day you’re working on:
● IELTS Prep Materials
● Week One
● Week Two
● Week Three
● Week Four
● If you have time remaining
● The day before your IELTS test
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IELTS Prep Materials
Here are three essential things you need to use this study schedule:
And here are some great resources that are also mentioned in the study schedule. These
are optional, but highly recommended!
How Should I use Magoosh’s IELTS Essay Scoring Service in my Study Plan?
Magoosh offers IELTS essay feedback to our premium subscribers. Those with a
six-month Magoosh IELTS subscription can get up to four of their essays scored. The
one-month plan includes one scored essay. While we don’t strictly require the use of
essay grading in our IELTS study schedules, it can definitely be useful.
If you have just one essay credit, it’s good to use that credit in the first week of your
study plan. That way you can check your Writing “baseline” and get some feedback on
how you should improve over the course of your study schedule.
If you have four essay credits, it’s still get one essay scored at the beginning. However,
from there, you should space your remaining essays evenly throughout the rest of your
schedule. That way, you can periodically re-check your progress. And the feedback you
receive can help you decide which Writing skills to focus on in a given week.
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How to Prepare for the IELTS: Week One
Week 1, Day 1:
● Lessons:
○ Watch the first three videos in Magoosh under Introduction to the IELTS:
■ General Overview
■ Exam Format
■ Scoring
○ Also watch the video Using the Grammar Lessons in Introduction to IELTS
Grammar.
○ Watch any 4-5 grammar videos of your choice in Magoosh. Choose
grammar lessons that will help you most with your weaknesses.
● Magoosh Practice:
○ Start working on Magoosh’s IELTS flashcards. Your goal should be to learn
15-20 new words each day.
● Official Practice:
○ Complete some Reading and Listening questions from the official IELTS
website. Today, your goal is to become familiar with the format of the test.
Don’t worry too much about how many right and wrong answers you get.
For Reading, make sure to choose “Academic Reading” questions on this
web page.
● Lessons:
○ Watch the next four videos in Magoosh, under Introduction to the IELTS:
■ Reading Paper Overview
■ Listening Paper Overview
■ Speaking Overview
■ Writing Paper Overview
● Magoosh Practice:
○ Click the “Practice Reading” button on your Dashboard. Read one passage
and answer all questions for that passage. Watch the explanation video for
every question you get wrong.
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○ Click the “Practice Listening” button on your Dashboard. Answer all of the
questions associated with two different recordings. Watch the explanation
video for every question you get wrong.
● Official Practice:
○ Respond to the Speaking and Writing questions in The Official Cambridge
Guide to IELTS on pages 171-172. Make sure to read the directions for both
sections carefully. For the Speaking questions, simply respond out loud to
the prompts one-by-one. Your goal today is to become familiar with the
format of these IELTS sections. Don’t worry about grading yourself today.
● Lessons:
○ In Magoosh, watch the video Studying for the IELTS in the Introduction to
IELTS section. Then, watch the first video under the Reading section, titled
The SUN Method.
○ Watch any 3-4 grammar videos of your choice in Magoosh, according to
your weaknesses.
● Official Practice:
○ Take the Reading section of Practice Test 1 from The Official Cambridge
Guide to IELTS (pages 160-170). Use the self-scoring chart in the back of
the book (pages 387-388) to see where you stand. You should review your
wrong answers carefully so that you understand why you made every
mistake. However, the goal for today is to become familiar with the
question types you will encounter in the IELTS Reading section.
● Lessons:
○ In Magoosh, watch these videos under Speaking:
■ General Tips and Strategies
■ Part 1
■ Part 2
■ Part 2 Sample Response
● Magoosh Practice:
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○ Click the “Practice Speaking” button on your Dashboard. Answer 2 full sets
of interview questions. Make sure to utilize the built-in recording function.
Afterwards, assess your responses using official IELTS band descriptors for
Speaking. If possible, find a native English speaker or someone proficient in
English to help you assess your speaking. Make sure to watch the
explanation videos for both sets of interview questions.
○ Master at least 20 more words in Magoosh’s IELTS flashcards. If you
believe the deck you are working on is easy for you, finish it today.
● Official Practice:
○ Complete the “Listening” section of Practice Test 1 on pages 154-159 in The
Official Cambridge Guide to IELTS. You should review your incorrect
answers carefully, learning from your mistakes. However, the goal for today
is simply to become familiar with the question types you will encounter in
IELTS listening.
● Lessons:
○ In Magoosh, watch the videos in the Listening s ection called General Tips
and Strategies and APT Method. You should also watch these short
introductory Listening videos:
■ Part 1 Introduction
■ Part 2 Introduction
■ Part 3 Introduction
■ Part 4 Introduction
○ Watch any 3-4 grammar videos of your choice in Magoosh, according to
your weaknesses.
● Magoosh Practice:
○ Click the “Practice Writing” button on your Dashboard. Complete one Task
2 essay and watch the explanation video.
● Official Practice:
○ Take the “Reading” section of Practice Test 2 on pages 177-187 in The
Official Cambridge Guide to IELTS. Review your wrong answers carefully
so that you understand why you made every mistake.
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Week 1, Day 6:
● Lessons:
○ In Magoosh, watch these lessons in the Writing s ection:
■ How to Practice Writing
■ Academic Task 1
■ Introduction to Task 2
■ Task 2 Organization
● Magoosh Practice:
○ Click the “Practice Reading” button on your Dashboard. Read one passage
and answer all questions for that passage. Watch the explanation video for
every question you get wrong.
● Official Practice:
○ Take the “Writing” section of Practice Test 2 on page 188 of The Official
Cambridge Guide to IELTS.
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How to Prepare for the IELTS: Week Two
Week 2, Day 1:
● Lessons:
○ In Magoosh, watch three videos under IELTS Skills:
■ Finding Information: Skimming and Scanning
■ How to Skim
■ How to Scan
● Magoosh Practice:
○ Spend time today learning more new words with Magoosh’s IELTS
flashcards.
○ Click the “Practice Listening” button on your Dashboard. Listen to two
different passages and answer all questions related to those passages.
Watch the explanation video for every question you get wrong.
● Official Practice:
○ Read the essays that you wrote on Week 1, Day 6. Compare them to the
sample essays and answer explanations in the back of the book. Edit both
of your essays. Did you catch any errors that you could correct the next
time you write? Did you meet the word count minimum? Are your essays
organized clearly? Use the official IELTS Writing band descriptors to help
you evaluate how you did. Here are the band descriptors for Task 1 and
Task 2. If possible, find a native English speaker or someone proficient in
English to help you assess your writing and give you feedback.
● Lessons:
○ In Magoosh, watch these videos under Speaking:
■ Part 3
■ Part 3 Response Structure
■ Improve your Band Score: Fluency and Coherence
○ Watch 4-5 new grammar videos in Magoosh. Have you discovered any
areas of weakness with your grammar by evaluating your writing and
speaking responses? Focus on these areas.
● Magoosh Practice:
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○ Click the “Practice Speaking” button on your Dashboard. Answer two full
sets of interview questions and watch the explanation videos.
● Official Practice:
○ Complete the “Listening” section of Practice Test 2 on pages 173-176 in The
Official Cambridge Guide to IELTS. Review your incorrect answers
carefully. Study the scripts in the back of the book (pages 344-346) to
understand your incorrect answers.
● Lessons:
○ In Magoosh, watch these videos under Speaking:
■ How to Practice Speaking
■ Improve Your Band Score: Pronunciation
■ Improve Your Band Score: Lexical Resource
● Magoosh Practice:
○ Click the “Practice Writing” button on your Dashboard. Complete one Task
1 essay, and then watch the explanation video.
○ Spend 20-30 minutes answering questions from this set of Speaking
prompts on the Magoosh IELTS blog.
● Official Practice:
○ Answer all questions from the “Speaking” section of Practice Test 2 in The
Official Cambridge Guide to IELTS (page 189). You should record your
responses so you can evaluate them at a later time using official IELTS
band descriptors. You may be able to use your computer or phone to
record your responses. This online recorder may also be helpful.
● Lessons:
○ In Magoosh, watch the next three videos under the Writing section:
■ Task 2 Introductions
■ Task 2 Body Paragraphs
■ Task 2 Conclusions
○ Watch 3-4 new grammar videos in Magoosh.
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● Magoosh Practice:
○ Click the “Practice Listening” button on your Dashboard. Listen to 3
different passages and answer all questions related to those passages.
Watch the explanation video for every question you get wrong.
● Official Practice:
○ Take the “Reading” section of Practice Test 3 on pages 195-204 in The
Official Cambridge Guide to IELTS. Review your wrong answers carefully
so that you understand why you made every mistake.
● Lessons:
○ In Magoosh, watch three videos under Reading:
■ Matching Features Questions
■ Matching Information Questions
■ Sentence Completion Questions
● Magoosh Practice:
○ Click the “Practice Writing” button on your Dashboard. Complete one Task
2 essay, and then watch the explanation video.
● Official Practice:
○ Edit the essays you wrote today and on Week 2, Day 3. How could you
make them better? Can you find grammar mistakes you could avoid next
time you write?
○ Listen again to your recorded Speaking responses from Magoosh and your
official practice. Can you find mistakes or ways to improve your answers? If
you had trouble answering a few specific questions, try answering them
again. Repetition is a great way to improve your speaking responses.
● Lessons:
○ In Magoosh, watch the next three videos under Reading: Matching
Headings Questions, Matching Sentence Endings Questions, and Multiple
Choice Questions.
● Magoosh Practice:
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○ Click the “Practice Reading” button on your Dashboard. Read one passage
and answer all questions for that passage. Watch the explanation video for
every question you get wrong.
○ Spend 10-20 minutes working on your vocabulary either with Magoosh’s
IELTS flashcards or these vocabulary exercises.
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How to Prepare for the IELTS: Week Three
Week 3, Day 1:
Congratulations–you’ve now reached the halfway point of your one month of IELTS
study!
● Lessons:
ask 2 Essay Type:
○ In Magoosh, watch the next two videos under Writing, T
Advantages and Disadvantages and Task 2 Essay Type: Agree or
Disagree?
● Magoosh Practice:
○ Click the “Practice Listening” button on your Dashboard. Listen to two
different passages and answer all questions related to those passages.
Watch the explanation video for every question you get wrong.
● Official Practice:
○ Take the “Writing” section of Practice Test 3 on page 205 of The Official
Cambridge Guide to IELTS.
● Lessons:
○ In Magoosh, watch the next three videos under Reading:
■ True/False/Not Given and Yes/No/Not Given Questions
■ Summary Completion Questions
■ Flow-Chart Completion Questions
○ Watch 3-4 new grammar videos in Magoosh and review one more.
● Magoosh Practice:
○ Click the “Practice Speaking” button on your Dashboard. Answer two full
sets of interview questions and watch the explanation videos.
○ Spend 10-20 minutes working on your vocabulary using these vocabulary
exercises.
● Official Practice:
○ In The Official Cambridge Guide to IELTS, read page 132-133. Take your
time as you analyze the three essay samples on page 133. Then do the
same exercise with the essays you wrote on Week 3, Day 1. Make sure you
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also read the sample essays in the back of the book (pg. 390-391).
Compare them to your own. What features of these essays could you
incorporate into your own responses to improve them?
● Lessons:
○ In Magoosh, watch three more videos under Listening:
■ Question Type: S hort Answer
■ Question Type: Sentence Completion
■ Question Type: Plan, Map, and Diagram Completion
● Magoosh Practice:
○ Click the “Practice Writing” button on your Dashboard. Complete one Task
1 and one Task 2 essay, and then watch the explanation videos.
● Official Practice:
○ Complete the “Listening” section of Practice Test 3 on pages 190-194 in
The Official Cambridge Guide to IELTS. Review your incorrect answers
carefully, learning from your mistakes.
● Magoosh Practice:
○ Click the “Practice Reading” button on your Dashboard. Read three
passages and answer all questions. Watch the explanation video for every
question you get wrong.
● Official Practice:
○ Answer all questions from the “Speaking” section of Practice Test 3 in The
Official Cambridge Guide to IELTS (page 206). Record your answers so you
can review them later.
● Lessons:
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○ In Magoosh, watch three more videos under Listening:
■ Question Type: Multiple Choice
■ Question Type: Matching
■ Question Type: Form, Note, Table, Flow-Chart, Summary Completion
○ Watch 3-4 new grammar videos in Magoosh and review one other lesson
of your choice, grammar or IELTS-based.
● Magoosh Practice:
○ Click the “Practice Listening” button on your Dashboard. Answer all of the
questions for with three passages. Watch the explanation video for every
question you get wrong.
○ Click the “Practice Writing” button on your Dashboard. Complete one Task
2 essay, and then watch the explanation video.
Today, you’re going to take a full practice test. If you don’t have a full three hours to
spend, then switch this day with a day next week when you will have the time. You need
three hours with no interruptions to complete the test.
Take Practice Test 4 in The Official Cambridge Guide to IELTS. Do not take breaks
during the Listening, Reading, and Writing sections, and be careful with the clock. Time
yourself strictly in order to replicate exam conditions the best you can.
If at all possible, try to find a native English speaker to interview you for the Speaking
exam. If that isn’t possible, find a friend who knows some English to read you the
questions. And if that is also impossible, simply read the questions and answer them on
your own. Remember to record your responses so you can analyze them later!
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How to Prepare for the IELTS: Week Four
Week 4, Day 1:
● Lessons:
○ In Magoosh, watch the last three videos under the Writing section:
■ Task 2 Essay Type: Cause and Solution
■ Task 2 Essay Type: Thematic Questions
■ Task 2 Essay Type: Discuss Both Sides
● Magoosh Practice:
○ Click the “Practice Writing” button on your Dashboard. Complete two
essays: a Task 1 essay and a Task 2 essay. Watch the explanation videos.
● Official Practice:
○ Review all of your answers from the full practice test you took at the end of
last week. Pay careful attention to your wrong answers in Reading and
Listening, learning from your mistakes. Grade your Speaking and Writing
tasks by comparing them with the examples provided in the back of the
book.
● Lessons:
○ In Magoosh, watch the last three videos under IELTS Skills:
■ Structuring Answers: Transition Words and Phrases
■ Structuring Answers: General and Specific
■ Paraphrasing
○ In Magoosh, watch this video in the Speaking section:
■ Practice Interview #1
● Magoosh Practice:
○ Click the “Practice Reading” button on your Dashboard. Read two
passages and answer all questions. Watch the explanation video for every
question you get wrong.
● Official Practice:
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○ Do the Listening section of Practice Test 5 from The Official Cambridge
Guide to IELTS. Review your incorrect answers carefully.
● Lessons:
○ In Magoosh, watch the last two videos under Reading:
■ Table Completion Questions
■ Diagram Completion Questions
● Magoosh Practice:
○ Click the “Practice Listening” button on your Dashboard. Listen to two
different passages and answer all questions related to those passages.
Watch the explanation video for every question you get wrong.
● Official Practice:
○ Do the Writing section of Practice Test 5 from The Official Cambridge
Guide to IELTS. Compare your essays to the responses provided in the
back of the book.
● Lessons:
○ In Magoosh, watch these Speaking videos:
■ Improve Your Band Score: Grammatical Range and Accuracy
■ Practice Interview #2
■ Practice Interview #3
● Magoosh Practice:
○ Review all your vocabulary from both Magoosh flashcards and English
Vocabulary Exercises.
○ Click the “Practice Speaking” button on your Dashboard. Answer 2 full sets
of interview questions. Watch the explanation video for both sets.
● Official Practice:
○ Return to the Speaking task recordings you created on Week 3, Day 4.
Repeat the same tasks better than the first time, attempting to include new
vocabulary in every answer. Try to avoid grammar errors you made the first
time through. When you’re done, compare the recordings. Were you more
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fluent than the last time? Were your responses more organized? Did new
problems emerge?
○ Return to the essays you wrote yesterday. Edit them and consider ways to
improve them. If at all possible, give your essays to a teacher, friend, or
family member (with knowledge of English) to read and evaluate. It can be
very helpful to get a another person’s opinion about your writing.
● Magoosh Practice:
○ Click the “Practice Writing” button on your Dashboard. Complete one to
two essays, watching the explanation videos.
● Official Practice:
○ Complete the Reading questions from Practice Test 5 from page 232 to
243 of The Official Cambridge Guide to IELTS. Review each incorrect
answer carefully.
● Magoosh Practice:
○ Click the “Practice Reading” button on your Dashboard. Read two
passages and answer all questions. Watch the explanation video for every
question you get wrong.
○ Click the “Practice Listening” button on your Dashboard. Listen to two
different passages and answer all questions related to those passages.
Watch the explanation video for every question you get wrong.
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If you have time remaining:
● Review Magoosh videos and practice questions daily.
● Take Practice Test 6 in The Official Cambridge Guide to IELTS.
● Review vocabulary that you’ve already learned.
● Regularly listen to TED talks and read articles from New York Times or Newsweek.
After every article or talk, summarize what you learned either in writing or in
speech. If you speak your summary, record yourself.
Good luck!
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