Treat practice tests as diagnostic mirrors: ask ‘Why did I get this band?’, not ‘What band is this?’. Analyse performance against the public band descriptors, not just the answer key.
Moves
- Writing Task 1: pick 2–3 key features and draft only the overview sentence. (The post says no clear overview → can’t exceed Band 5 for Task Achievement. Verify in the descriptors.)
- Writing Task 2: reuse one prompt for planning, brainstorming and paragraphing; compare sample answers against the descriptors.
- Reading: skimming, scanning, paraphrase recognition, T/F/NG distractors.
- Before/during/after checklist; finish with one strength, one weakness, one priority.
Limits
- Publisher blog: practical and partly promotional; no research cited. Verify criteria wording against the official teacher guides and handbooks.
Apply in my context (Claude)
- “One strength, one weakness, one priority” is a ready template for IELTS Pro Gang feedback, and it mirrors the DELTA M1 learner-analysis task.
Connections
Plan KET and PET speaking around the assessment criteria · The illusion of learning - correct answers are not acquisition