IELTS Band 7 Plan Week 1: Quick Check and Listening

This week's sessions

Tick each session when you finish it. Your ticks are saved only in this browser.

Day 1 · 🎧 Listening · about 35 minTake the quick checkDo all four parts of the quick check. Note any skill that's below 7: that's where to spend extra time.
Day 2 · 🎧 Listening · about 20 minParaphrase and distractorsRead this week's lesson, then do the practice set below. For each multiple-choice question, note why the two wrong options were mentioned.
Day 3 · 🎧 Listening · about 25 minListening practice test 2Do the practice test without pausing. In Parts 3 and 4, predict a paraphrase for every option before the recording starts.
Day 4 · 🎧 Listening · about 35 minListening mock testDo a full mixed listening test. Afterwards, sort every mistake into paraphrase, distractor, spelling or lost place.
Day 5 · 🔤 Vocabulary · about 20 minAcademic vocabularyLearn 20 flashcards, and for each one write a synonym or paraphrase you might hear in a lecture.

This week's lesson: Parts 3 and 4, where band 7 is decided

Most people at band 6 to 6.5 already score well in Parts 1 and 2. The extra seven or so answers needed for band 7 usually come from Parts 3 and 4: a discussion between two or three speakers, and an academic talk. Three skills make the difference.

1. Hear the paraphrase, not the word

In Part 1, you often hear the exact word you write. In Parts 3 and 4, the question and the recording usually say the same thing in different words.

Question: What does the speaker say about early research on the topic? Option B: It relied on very small samples. You hear: "...the first studies only looked at a handful of participants..."

A handful of participants = very small samples. If you're waiting to hear the word sample, you'll miss it. While you read the questions, think of one or two other ways each option could be said.

2. Handle distractors in multiple choice

Recordings often mention all three options, but only one answers the question. Typical patterns:

A rejected idea: "We thought about using a survey, but in the end we went with interviews."
A partial agreement: "That's true for older students, but it doesn't apply to most of our group."
Someone else's view: "My tutor thinks cost is the main issue. I'm not convinced."

Wait until the speakers settle on an answer. At band 7, you don't choose the option you heard first; you choose the one that's still true at the end of the exchange.

3. Follow the structure of a lecture

Part 4 is a single speaker, often with no break. The speaker signals the structure, and those signals tell you which question you're on:

"I'll begin by looking at..." / "Turning now to..." / "A second factor is..."
"What's surprising, though, is..." (an answer often follows)
"To sum up..."

If you lose your place, listen for the next signal and the key word of the next question, then rejoin.

Note completion in Part 4

Part 4 is often note completion with a word limit. The words you write usually come straight from the recording, but the notes are paraphrased around them.

Notes: Bees use the ______ of the sun to navigate. You hear: "...bees find their way by tracking the sun's position, even when it's hidden by cloud."

The answer is position. Check that it fits the grammar of the note (here, a noun after the).

Precision habits for band 7

Check grammar: a gap after a needs a singular noun; after several, a plural.
Hyphenated words count as one word. Part-time is one word.
Numbers: 2,000 or two thousand, both are fine; write whichever is faster.
Transfer carefully. Spelling and plurals cost band 7 candidates more marks than misunderstanding does.

This week

You'll take the quick check, then practise Part 4-style paraphrase and distractors, and finish with a full listening test. For every wrong answer, write down what you heard and what it meant.

Practice for this week

Paraphrase and distractors

Loading questions…

Weekly check: Listening full test 3

Aim for about 30 out of 40; look closely at Parts 3 and 4.

Start the weekly check

When you finish, come back to your plan home: your dashboard updates with the new score.

Answers, explanations and transcripts

Finish the test first, then open each section to check your answers. Every answer has an explanation.

Paraphrase and distractors

Transcript: Part 4: a lecture on the shipping container

Today I'm going to talk about an invention that most people never think about, but which has changed the world economy: the standard shipping container.

I'll begin with the situation before containers. Until the 1950s, cargo was loaded onto ships piece by piece: sacks, barrels and wooden boxes, all of different sizes. This was extremely slow. A ship could spend a week or more in port, and the cost of loading and unloading was often higher than the cost of the voyage itself. Theft was also a serious problem, because goods were handled so many times.

Turning now to the container itself. It's often said that the container was invented by a single person, but in fact, metal boxes for cargo had been tried for decades. What was new in the 1950s was the idea of a complete system: containers of the same size that could move directly from a ship to a truck or a train without being opened.

The key to this system was standardisation. At first, different companies used containers of different lengths, which meant they couldn't share equipment. It wasn't until international standards were agreed in the late 1960s that the system really took off.

So what were the effects? The most obvious one was cost. Some estimates suggest that loading costs fell by more than ninety per cent. But what's surprising is that the biggest change wasn't in shipping at all; it was in where things were made. Because transport became so cheap, manufacturers could move production to countries where wages were lower, and still sell goods profitably on the other side of the world.

There were losers, too. Traditional ports in city centres often didn't have the space for container cranes and storage, so many of them closed, and thousands of dock workers lost their jobs. Many of those old waterfront areas have since been redeveloped as housing and parks.

Answer key (8 answers)

#	Question	Answer	Why
1	…cargo loaded piece by piece; ships could stay in port for a ___	week	Note completion uses paraphrase around the answer word: 'a serious problem' → 'another problem'; 'took off' → 'grew quickly'; 'didn't have' → 'lacked'.
2	or more. Another problem: ___	theft	Note completion uses paraphrase around the answer word: 'a serious problem' → 'another problem'; 'took off' → 'grew quickly'; 'didn't have' → 'lacked'.
3	…goods were handled many times. The new idea in the 1950s: a complete ___	system	Note completion uses paraphrase around the answer word: 'a serious problem' → 'another problem'; 'took off' → 'grew quickly'; 'didn't have' → 'lacked'.
4	The system grew quickly after international ___	standards	Note completion uses paraphrase around the answer word: 'a serious problem' → 'another problem'; 'took off' → 'grew quickly'; 'didn't have' → 'lacked'.
5	were agreed. Old city ports often lacked ___	space	Note completion uses paraphrase around the answer word: 'a serious problem' → 'another problem'; 'took off' → 'grew quickly'; 'didn't have' → 'lacked'.
6	What does the speaker say about who invented the container?	B. Metal cargo boxes had existed long before the 1950s.	'It's often said that the container was invented by a single person, but in fact, metal boxes for cargo had been tried for decades.' A is the view the speaker rejects.
7	According to the speaker, what was the most surprising effect of containers?	C. Manufacturing moved to other countries.	'What's surprising is that the biggest change wasn't in shipping at all; it was in where things were made.' A is mentioned, but as 'the most obvious' effect, not the surprising one.
8	What happened to many old waterfront areas?	B. They were turned into homes and public spaces.	'Redeveloped as housing and parks' = homes and public spaces.

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