IELTS Exercise Schedule — What to Actually Do Each Day

Companion to 05-study-plan.md (the strategy). This file is the concrete exercises: exact materials, exact quantities, exact drills, day by day.
Your two rules baked in: (1) No Writing before August 15 — until then it's Listening + Reading only. (2) Because writing is dropped, L+R volume is pushed up to ~3 full tests/week.

0. "Is 2 tests a week enough?" — the honest answer

• For skill-building, depth of review converts a test into score, not the raw count. One test fully reviewed beats three rushed.
• BUT since you're doing no writing until Aug 15, that time is free — so yes, do more: aim for ~3 full tests/week of Listening + Reading (≈ one Cambridge book every ~1.5 weeks).
• Non-negotiable rule: every test still gets its full review half. A test you don't review is mostly wasted, no matter how many you pile up.

1. Materials to get

Core (do almost everything from these):

• Cambridge IELTS 12–19 (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19) — official past papers. Each book = 4 full tests. 32 tests total — plenty for the whole plan plus re-dos.
• Each comes with audio + answer keys + transcripts (essential for review).

Use them in order, oldest first. Drill with the older books (12–16) during the Listening + Reading phase, and reserve the newest (17–19) for the final full mocks — recent papers best reflect the current exam, so you want them when simulating the real thing.

Free supplements: BBC 6 Minute English, TED, podcasts (extensive listening) · band-8/9 writing models (for the writing phase) · your booked classes/teachers (speaking).

One notebook or note app for your 3 lists: paraphrase list · error log (writing phase) · vocabulary list.

2. The drills (your exercise "recipes")

🎧 LSP — Listening Section Practice (~25 min)

1. One Cambridge listening section (≈10 Q). 30 sec preview: underline keywords, mark anchors vs. meaning-words, predict each answer type.
2. Play once, answer in real time.
3. Check.
4. Review (~12 min): find every answer in the transcript; for each wrong one ask why; add paraphrase pairs to your list.

🎧 JZ — 精听 / Intensive Listening (~30 min)

On the 2–5 min you found hardest:

1. Listen to the whole clip once.
2. Sentence by sentence: pause and write every word (dictation), replay up to ~5×.
3. Compare to transcript, mark misses.
4. Diagnose each miss (unknown word / linked sound / weak syllable / number).
5. Listen once reading the transcript, then once without.
6. Optional shadow.

📖 RPP — Reading Passage Practice (~35 min)

1. 20 min timed: one passage + ~13 questions.
2. Check.
3. Review (~15 min): locate every answer in the text; why right answer is right and yours wrong; re-check Not Given; add vocab + paraphrases.

📖 NG — Not Given Mini-Drill (~15 min)

One set of True/False/Not Given (8–10 statements). Focus only on the logic, one line of why per item.

🎧 EL — Extensive Listening (~20 min, commute)

Podcast/TED/BBC. Follow the meaning, jot 3 new words. Builds stamina + ear.

✍️ WT1 / WT2 — Writing (Aug 15 onward only)

• WT1 (~30 min): chart prompt → 20 min timed write (150+ words) → check vs model.
• WT2 (~50 min): essay prompt → 40 min timed write (250+ words) → check.
• Then: submit for correction; next time read the correction first and log errors.

🗣️ SP — Speaking session (×4/week, all phases)

Teacher mock (Part 2 cue card + Part 3) or self-record + shadow (~15 min).

🔁 RV — List Review (~5–10 min, commute)

Self-test paraphrase + vocab lists, spaced repetition: today's new items + anything due (Day 1 → 3 → 7 → 14).

📝 MOCK — Timed test

A section/test under exam timing, no pausing, no extra time + full review afterward.

3. Material map (which Cambridge book, which week)

Exam assumed ~mid-September. Two blocks: L+R only (now → Aug 15), then Writing + full mocks (Aug 15 → exam). Shift week dates if your exam date differs.

Block A — Listening + Reading ONLY (now → Aug 15) · ~3 tests/week

Finishes Cam 12–16 by Aug 15, reserving Cam 17, 18, 19 for the writing-phase full mocks.

Block B — Writing intensive + Full Mocks + Taper (Aug 15 → exam)

Spare: Cam 16 T4 leftovers, Cam 17 T3–4, Cam 18 T3–4, Cam 19 T4 — extra mocks or re-dos.

4. Daily plan — Block A (Listening + Reading only, now → Aug 15)

No writing. ~3 tests/week. Call the week's three tests A, B, C. Speaking ×4 slots into whichever evenings your classes fall on. Commute daily = EL + RV.

Weekly totals: ~3 listening tests' worth of sections (incl. 1 full timed) · ~2.5 reading tests' worth (incl. 1 full timed) · 2–3 JZ sessions · 4 speaking · daily EL/RV.
Goal by Aug 15: paraphrase list 80+ pairs · Not Given automatic · hitting target band on Listening + Reading in practice · Reading done comfortably in 60 min.

5. Daily plan — Block B (Writing intensive + mocks, Aug 15 → exam)

Writing is now primary (only ~4 weeks, so it's intensive from day one). L+R drop to maintenance — protect gains, don't build new.

Weekly totals: 3–4 essays (all corrected) · 1–2 full mocks · maintenance L+R · 4 speaking.

Writing technique & structures: see 03-writing.md. Use the error log before every essay so you stop repeating mistakes (deliberate practice).

6. Taper — last 2–3 days before the exam

• One short timed section to stay warm — no new material.
• Read through your 3 lists only.
• No cramming. Sleep 8 hrs. Prep ID, location, route, snacks. Walk in rested.

7. Weekly consolidation review (Sundays, ~30 min)

1. Skim the week's notes/error log — which mistake repeats most? → next week's focus.
2. Self-test paraphrase + vocab lists (cover one side, recall the other).
3. Re-do 2–3 questions you got wrong earlier — can you get them now?
4. Note your weakest area → give it one extra session next week.

8. Vocabulary routine (every day, ~10 min)

• Add ~10 words/day from transcripts and (later) writing corrections.
• Topic vocab — one theme/week: work, hometown, technology, environment, education, health, travel, media (for Speaking now, Writing later).
• Review via spaced repetition on your commute (the RV drill) — recall actively.

9. A concrete sample day (Block A, Week 3, Wednesday)

• Morning commute (25 min): EL — one BBC 6 Minute English episode. RV — self-test 15 paraphrase pairs.
• Evening (≈1.5 hr): LSP ×2 — Cam 13 Test 3, Listening Sections 3 & 4, each previewed 30 sec, played once, checked, reviewed against transcript (log 4 paraphrases). Then RPP ×1 — Cam 13 Test 3, Reading Passage 3, timed 20 min → check → review.
• Speaking session (15 min): SP — record cue card "Describe a place you like to relax," listen back, mark 3 hesitations.
• Evening commute (10 min): RV — review today's new words.

~1.75 hr total, fits around work, no writing.

Use 05-study-plan.md for the reasoning; this file is your daily checklist. Scale quantities to your energy — push to a 3rd test on light weeks, drop to 2 on heavy ones — but never skip the review half. The review is where the score comes from.