How to use BandLift

1. Getting started

1. Open the study app. It opens on the 7-day plan tab.
2. Enter your exam date above the plan. The app counts the days left and tells you how to compress the plan if you have less than a week.
3. Set your current or practice scores in the score calculator at the top.
4. Work through the day's tasks, ticking each one off. The tabs along the top (Listening, Reading, Writing, Speaking, Vocabulary, Exam day) hold the strategies and tools each task refers to.

You don't need an account. Everything runs in your browser.

2. Score calculator

Choose a band for each of the four skills. The overall band is the average, rounded the way IELTS rounds it:

Below the plan, Convert a practice score turns a raw Listening or Reading score out of 40 into an approximate band. Press Use in calculator to copy it up. Conversion tables vary slightly between test versions, so treat the result as an estimate.

3. The 7-day plan

Each day lists 3–5 tasks and roughly how long they take. Tick a task's box when you finish it; the progress bar and the day's box turn green when a day is complete.

• Day 1 is a baseline test. It tells you which skill to prioritise.
• Days 2–4 build technique in Reading, Listening, Writing and Speaking.
• Day 5 is a full mock under exam conditions; Day 6 repairs your weakest area.
• Day 7 is deliberately light. Rest matters the day before the test.

With fewer than 7 days, follow the advice that appears under the exam date.

4. Listening drill

The spelling & numbers drill practises the details that cost the most marks in Part 1: surnames spelled letter by letter, phone numbers with “double”, prices, dates, and speakers who correct themselves.

1. Press Play item. Your device's built-in voice reads it aloud.
2. Type exactly what you'd write on the answer sheet, then press Check or Enter.
3. Read the trap explanation, then press Next item.

Try to answer after one listen, as in the real test. Your running score is saved.

5. Reading pacer and TFNG drill

The passage pacer times Passages 1, 2 and 3 at 17, 20 and 23 minutes. Use it alongside any practice passage: press Start, and press Next passage when you move on. When time runs out, guess the remaining answers. Blank answers score nothing.

The TFNG drill is a short passage with six True / False / Not Given statements. Choose an answer for each, press Check answers, and read every explanation, including the ones you got right.

6. Writing frames and practice pad

The Writing tab shows what separates band 7 from band 8, a paragraph frame for each task, and a model answer for each. Try the task yourself before opening a model.

The timed practice pad:

• Choose Task 1 (line graph or table, 20 minutes) or Task 2 (essay, 40 minutes). New essay prompt cycles through ten Task 2 questions.
• Press Start for the timer. The word count turns green once you pass the minimum (150 or 250 words).
• Your draft saves as you type, separately for each task and prompt.
• Spellcheck is off, as it is in the real test.
• Before you finish, work through the self-check list under the pad.

7. Speaking simulator

• Part 1 practice gives three topics with short questions. Answer each aloud in 2–3 sentences.
• Part 2 & 3 simulator: press Start 1-min prep and make notes. When prep ends, the 2-minute speaking timer starts automatically. Keep talking until it ends.
• Open Part 3 follow-up questions for the discussion questions linked to the card.

Use Record yourself below the simulator to record your answer in the browser, then listen back. Tick Record automatically during the Part 2 talk to record exactly the 2 minutes you speak. Note hesitations and words you repeat, then try the same card again. Recordings stay on your device; download any you want to keep.

8. Vocabulary flashcards

Choose a deck with the buttons at the top: Task 1 trends, Task 2 topics, Linking & hedging, or Paraphrase pairs. Tap a card to see its meaning and an example. Say your own sentence with the phrase first, then mark it I know it or Again. Tick Hide cards I know to review only what's left.

Full practice tests

The practice tests page has three complete IELTS Academic tests. Open any section from a test card.

• Listening: choose Exam mode (the recording plays once without pausing, then you get 2 minutes to check) or Practice mode (pause, rewind and choose a part). Type or select your answers as you listen. The numbered buttons show which questions you've answered.
• Reading: 60 minutes for three passages. Switch passages with the tabs. Select text and press Highlight to mark it. On a phone, switch between Passage and Questions.
• Results: after you submit, you see your score out of 40, an estimated band, and every answer with an explanation. For Listening, you can replay each part with its transcript.
• Writing: 60 minutes for both tasks, with a word count. Afterwards, check your answers against the band-descriptor checklists and compare them with band 9 model answers.
• Speaking: questions appear one at a time. With your permission, your answers are recorded in the browser so you can listen back. Recordings never leave your device.

Answers save as you go, so you can close the page and come back. Scores appear on the practice tests page and in My progress.

9. Your progress and data

BandLift has no accounts. Instead, the study app tracks your progress automatically in your browser, and the My progress tab shows it all in one place:

• Days to your exam, how much of the 7-day plan you've done, and your study streak.
• Minutes studied each day for the last two weeks. Time counts while you're using the app or a timer is running.
• Results by skill: listening drill accuracy, TFNG scores, timed reading passages, essays written to the word limit, speaking talks completed and flashcards learned.
• Your latest activity, and a Continue where you left off button that takes you to your next plan task.

Moving to another device

Progress is saved only in the browser where you made it. To continue on another phone or computer:

1. In My progress, press Back up (download file). A small file called bandlift-progress-date.json is saved.
2. Send the file to your other device, for example by email or cloud storage.
3. On the other device, open My progress, press Restore from backup and choose the file.

Private or incognito windows forget everything when closed, and clearing your browser's site data resets the app, so back up now and then. Reset all progress in the same tab deletes everything saved on that device.

See the privacy policy for details.

Offline use and installing the app

After your first visit, pages you've opened keep working without a connection. To open BandLift like an app, add it to your home screen: in Chrome or Edge choose Install app (or Add to Home screen on Android); on iPhone or iPad tap Share, then Add to Home Screen.

10. Official practice material

BandLift teaches strategy and gives drills. For full mock tests at the real difficulty, also use:

• Cambridge IELTS Academic books: past papers with audio and answer keys.
• ielts.org: official sample questions and the public band descriptors.
• British Council · Take IELTS and IDP IELTS: free practice tests, including computer-delivered samples.

11. Troubleshooting

12. Tips for the fastest gains

• Aim for 8 in Listening and Reading. Technique improves them fastest and gives Writing and Speaking room at 7.
• Keep an error log: every wrong answer, its question type and why. Patterns show up within two days.
• In Writing, answer every part of the question and state a clear position. That alone moves many essays from 6.5 to 7.
• In Speaking, extend your Part 3 answers: answer, reason, example, other side.
• Sleep properly the night before. It helps more than one extra practice test.