How to get band 7 in IELTS Speaking

Find which criterion is holding you back

Most band 6 speakers are not 6 in everything. One or two criteria pull the band down. Before changing everything, find out which: record a full test, or get a practice band on each criterion, and work on the lowest first. See the four criteria explained.

Fluency: longer answers, fewer stops

• In Part 1, answer and then extend: a reason and a detail. Two to four sentences.
• In Part 2, use all two minutes. Plan one small story for each prompt.
• Replace silent pauses with natural ones: "Well…", "Let me think…", "What I mean is…"
• Stop restarting sentences. Finish the sentence, then correct yourself once if you must.

Vocabulary: natural, not difficult

Band 7 is not about rare words. It is about the right word with the right partner. Learn words in pairs and short phrases:

• "make a decision", not "take a decision" in most contexts
• "heavy rain", "heavy traffic", not "big rain"
• "I'm really into photography" sounds more natural than "I am very much interested in photography"

Keep a notebook of phrases you hear in English videos and use three of them in your practice each day.

Grammar: more complex sentences, fewer errors

Add a few structures you can use without thinking:

• Relative clauses: "My uncle, who lives in Sylhet, taught me to fish."
• Conditionals: "If I had more time, I'd learn to cook properly."
• Contrast: "Although it's crowded, I still go there every week."

Then watch the small errors that cost the most for Bangla speakers: missing articles (a, the), he/she mix-ups, and the past tense when telling a story. See tips for Bangla speakers.

Pronunciation: clear before clever

Stress the important word in each sentence, pause between ideas, and finish the ends of words ("asked", "months"). Recording yourself and listening back is the quickest way to hear what an examiner hears.

A daily routine that works

1. 10 minutes: answer five Part 1 questions out loud.
2. 5 minutes: one Part 2 card with a timer.
3. 5 minutes: listen back, or read your feedback, and pick one fix for tomorrow.
4. Once a week: a full timed mock test of all three parts.

Twenty minutes a day of speaking does more than two hours of reading model answers. BandGuru gives you a practice band and fixes after every answer, so you know what tomorrow's one fix is. Book a demo.