Short answer: The IELTS mistakes that cost the most bands are rarely about English. They are a word over the limit in Listening, a FALSE where NOT GIVEN was right in Reading, a Task 2 essay with no position, a memorised Part 2 answer that stops after a minute. Below are twenty of them, five per section, each in three parts: what the candidate does, what it costs, and the corrected version shown next to the faulty one. A Do and Don't table closes each section, and a ten-line checklist for the night before closes the guide.
Every section of IELTS has its own way of taking marks from candidates whose English would have earned them. Listening and Reading do it through form: spelling, word limits, the answer written in the wrong box. Writing and Speaking do it through the criteria: a good essay that does not answer the question, a fluent speaker who recites. The twenty below are the ones that come back most often in reviewed practice tests, and every one of them is fixable before exam day.
Listening
1. Writing the first number you hear
What happens: the speaker says a price, a date or a time, then corrects it ("that's 40 pounds ... sorry, 45 with the booking fee"), and the candidate has already written the first one. What it costs: one mark per correction, and Section 1 has several. The fix: keep the pencil moving and write the last version, because the correction is the answer.
Wrong: Total cost: 40 pounds.
Right: Total cost: 45 pounds.
2. Ignoring the word limit
What happens: the instruction says ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER and the candidate writes what they heard, in full. What it costs: the mark, even when every word is right. The fix: write the limit at the top of each group before the audio starts, and count the words in every answer during the transfer time.
Wrong: Date of arrival: 15th of March (three words, limit one word and/or a number).
Right: Date of arrival: 15 March.
3. Misspelling a common word
What happens: the answer is heard and understood, and written with one letter missing. What it costs: a misspelled answer scores nothing in Listening, however clear the meaning. The fix: learn the twenty or so words that come up in every Section 1 (accommodation, address, Wednesday, February, receipt, temporary, environment) and use the transfer time to check the doubled letters.
Wrong: Type of accomodation: shared flat.
Right: Type of accommodation: shared flat.
4. Losing the thread and not letting go
What happens: one gap is missed in Section 4 and the candidate keeps listening for it while the lecture moves on, so the next two gaps are missed too. What it costs: two or three marks for one. The fix: the audio does not wait; when a gap is gone, put a mark next to it, look at the next gap, and guess the missed one at the end.
Wrong: 36: (blank) 37: (blank) 38: (blank), because 36 was missed and the candidate was still waiting for it.
Right: 36: (guess written at the end) 37: nectar 38: hive, because the candidate moved on at once.
5. Changing an answer because of the next question
What happens: an answer heard correctly is changed during the transfer because it "does not fit" with the following one. What it costs: a right answer turned into a wrong one; questions are independent. The fix: during the transfer, check spelling and word limits only. What you wrote while listening is more reliable than what you reason afterwards.
Wrong: 22: B, changed to C at the end "because 23 is also B".
Right: 22: B, left as heard. Two consecutive questions can have the same letter.
| Do | Don't |
|---|---|
| Read the questions in the time given before each section and underline what kind of answer each gap needs. | Read ahead into the next section while the current one is still playing. |
| Write the corrected version when the speaker changes a detail. | Trust the first number you hear. |
| Count the words in every answer against the limit during the transfer. | Write the full phrase you heard if the limit is one word. |
| Move on the moment a gap is gone. | Keep listening for an answer the recording has passed. |
| Check spelling and doubled letters at the end. | Change an answer for a reason you did not hear. |
Reading
6. Reading the whole passage first
What happens: ten careful minutes on the passage before the first question, and most of what was read was never asked about. What it costs: the third passage, which is rushed or skipped. The fix: questions first, a one-minute skim of the passage second, close reading only where a question sends you.
Wrong: Passage 1 finished at minute 29, passage 3 started at minute 50, questions 34 to 40 blank.
Right: Passage 1 closed at minute 20 with two guesses marked, passage 3 started at minute 41, every box filled.
7. FALSE where the passage says nothing
What happens: a statement sounds wrong, or cannot be found, so the candidate writes FALSE. What it costs: the most common lost mark in Reading. The fix: FALSE needs a sentence in the passage that says the opposite; if you cannot point at it, the answer is NOT GIVEN.
Wrong: "Magnetite has been found in more bird species than cryptochrome has." FALSE (the candidate could not find it and assumed the passage disagreed).
Right: NOT GIVEN. The passage discusses both, and never compares how many species have each.
8. Choosing the option that copies the passage
What happens: in multiple choice, the option that reuses three words from the text is chosen because it "matches". What it costs: the mark, because that option was written to catch exactly that reflex. The fix: the right answer is usually a paraphrase; the copied phrase is usually attached to a different claim.
Wrong: "Why do sceptics doubt that carbon detected near a tree has reached that tree?" The candidate picks "The measurements are taken in the wrong season" because "measurements" appears in the paragraph.
Right: "It may remain in the fungal tissue around the roots", which paraphrases "remaining in the fungal tissue wrapped around its roots".
9. Changing the form of the word
What happens: in completion tasks, the candidate writes the word in the form their own sentence would use. What it costs: the mark; the answer must be the passage's word as written. The fix: copy, do not translate.
Wrong: "Gutenberg's press used individual metal ________ that could be rearranged." Answer written: letter.
Right: LETTERS, as in the passage: "individual metal letters, known as type".
10. Leaving a box empty
What happens: time runs out, or a question seems impossible, and the box stays blank. What it costs: a certain zero, where a guess in True / False / Not Given or multiple choice has a real chance and costs nothing. The fix: there is no negative marking; at the end of each passage, every box has something in it.
Wrong: Questions 38 to 40: (blank).
Right: Questions 38 to 40: B, C, C. Three guesses, marked for review if time remains.
| Do | Don't |
|---|---|
| Read the instructions and the questions before the passage. | Read the passage from the first line to the last before looking at a question. |
| Decide TRUE, FALSE or NOT GIVEN on the one claim in the statement. | Write FALSE because the statement sounds unlikely. |
| Prefer the option that paraphrases the passage. | Prefer the option that repeats words from the passage. |
| Copy completion answers letter for letter and count the words. | Adjust the word to your own grammar. |
| Move on at 20 minutes per passage, with guesses in every box. | Perfect passage 1 and skip the end of passage 3. |
Writing
11. An introduction with no position
What happens: the introduction rewrites the question and announces "this essay will discuss both sides", and the reader reaches the conclusion without knowing what the writer thinks. What it costs: Task Response, the criterion that decides most Task 2 bands, held at 6 or below. The fix: the last sentence of the introduction states the position, in one clause.
Nowadays, many people think that governments should spend money on public transport, while others think roads are more important. This essay will discuss both views and give my opinion.
Whether public money should go to public transport or to roads divides opinion. This essay argues that transport networks deserve priority, because they reduce both congestion and pollution in ways that new roads do not.
12. Under 250 words, or under 150 in Task 1
What happens: the essay is finished at 220 words because the ideas ran out. What it costs: a penalty on Task Response before the quality of the English is considered, and usually a paragraph that was not developed. The fix: plan two body paragraphs of about 90 words each, with one idea, one explanation and one example; 250 arrives on its own.
Secondly, public transport is better for the environment. Buses and trains produce less pollution than cars. Therefore governments should invest in them.
The second argument is environmental. A full bus or train moves dozens of people for a fraction of the emissions of the cars they would otherwise drive, so every passenger it attracts is a small reduction in urban air pollution. When a new tram line opened in my home city, the traffic on the parallel road fell within months, and with it the air quality readings at the nearest school. Roads cannot produce that effect; they attract the cars that transport networks remove.
13. Linking words in every sentence
What happens: "Firstly", "Moreover", "Furthermore", "In addition", "However", "Therefore", one per sentence, as if they were the cohesion. What it costs: Coherence and Cohesion marked as mechanical, which is the band 6 descriptor. The fix: link through meaning and reference ("this policy", "such a change", "the former"), and keep the connectives for real turns in the argument.
Firstly, cars cause pollution. Moreover, they cause traffic jams. Furthermore, they are expensive. Therefore, public transport is better. However, some people prefer cars.
Cars impose three costs on a city: pollution, congestion and the expense of the roads they need. Public transport reduces all three at once, which is why the case for it holds even for the drivers who would rather keep their cars.
14. Memorised phrases that do not fit the question
What happens: a learned opening ("In the contemporary era, it is an undeniable fact that ...") and a learned closing, applied to any topic. What it costs: Lexical Resource and Task Response, because the phrases say nothing about the question, and examiners recognise them. The fix: write the first sentence about the topic in the question, in plain words.
In the contemporary era, it is an undeniable fact that the issue of transport has become a controversial topic among people all over the world.
Most large cities now face the same choice: build more roads for the cars they already have, or build the trains and buses that would need fewer of them.
15. Task 1 eating Task 2's time
What happens: 30 minutes on the chart, every figure described, then 30 minutes for the essay that counts double. What it costs: a Task 2 that is short, unplanned, and unchecked, in the task that weighs twice as much in the Writing band. The fix: 20 minutes for Task 1, an overview and the main comparisons, not every number; 40 for Task 2 with five minutes of plan.
In 2010 the figure was 12, in 2011 it was 14, in 2012 it was 15, in 2013 it rose to 19, in 2014 it was 21, in 2015 it reached 22, in 2016 ...
Overall, the figure rose steadily across the period, almost doubling between the first and last years, with the sharpest increase in the middle of the decade and a slowdown towards the end.
| Do | Don't |
|---|---|
| State your position in the introduction and repeat it in the conclusion. | Announce that you will "discuss both views" and never say which you hold. |
| Plan two body paragraphs with one idea, one explanation, one example each. | Stop at 220 words because the ideas ran out. |
| Link with reference words and the meaning of the sentences. | Start every sentence with a connective. |
| Write the first sentence about the topic in the question. | Open with a memorised phrase that fits any topic. |
| Give Task 1 twenty minutes and Task 2 forty, plan included. | Describe every figure in Task 1 and rush the essay. |
Speaking
16. Reciting a memorised answer
What happens: the cue card says "a place you visited" and the candidate delivers the prepared answer about "a person you admire", with the same rhythm and the same idioms. What it costs: Fluency and Coherence, because the answer does not follow the question, and examiners are trained to hear rehearsed speech; the interviewer may also interrupt. The fix: prepare structures and topics, not scripts, and let the four keywords of the minute of preparation shape the answer.
I would like to talk about a wonderful person who has had a tremendous impact on my life, namely my grandmother, who is the apple of my eye ...
The place I want to describe is a small harbour town I visited two summers ago with my brother. We went because he had found a cheap ferry, and what I remember first is the smell of the fish market at seven in the morning.
17. One-sentence answers in Part 1
What happens: "Do you like your job?" "Yes, I like it." What it costs: nothing to assess; Fluency, Lexical Resource and Grammar are scored on what you produce, and one clause produces almost nothing. The fix: every Part 1 answer is two or three sentences: the answer, a reason, a detail or an example.
Yes, I like it.
Mostly, yes. I work in a small logistics company, and what I like is that no two days are the same, although the early starts in winter are hard.
18. Stopping Part 2 after a minute
What happens: the four bullet points on the card are covered in 50 seconds, then silence, then "that's all". What it costs: a Fluency band that reflects a short performance, and a Part 3 that starts on a bad note. The fix: in the preparation minute, note four keywords and one feeling for each bullet; the "and explain why" bullet alone can fill 40 seconds if you give a reason and an example.
... so that is the place. I liked it. It was nice. That's all, I think.
... and the reason it stayed with me is that it was the first trip I organised without my parents, so every small thing, finding the hostel, ordering food in a language I barely spoke, felt like a success. I have been back once since, and it was not the same, which is probably the point.
19. Correcting yourself into silence
What happens: "I went ... I have gone ... no, I go ... sorry, I went to", every verb tried three times. What it costs: Fluency, more than the original error would have cost Grammar. The fix: one correction is fine, two is a pause; after that, keep going. A finished sentence with one slip scores higher than three unfinished ones.
Last year I go ... I went ... I have been ... sorry ... I went to the coast with ... with my friends and we ... we was ... we were ...
Last year I went to the coast with two friends, and we were there for a week, mostly walking, because the weather was too cold for anything else.
20. Answering Part 3 with a personal story
What happens: "Why do people move to cities?" "Well, my cousin moved to the capital because ...", one anecdote, no general view. What it costs: Part 3 assesses the ability to discuss abstract questions; an anecdote alone shows Part 2 skills again. The fix: the formula opinion, reason, example, nuance: the example can be your cousin, after the opinion and the reason.
My cousin moved to the capital last year because he found a job there, and now he has a flat near the centre and he likes it.
Mostly for work, I think, because that is where the jobs in most sectors are concentrated. My cousin is a typical case: he moved to the capital for a position that simply did not exist in our town. That said, the cost of housing is starting to push some people the other way.
| Do | Don't |
|---|---|
| Prepare topics and structures; adapt them to the card in front of you. | Deliver a memorised answer whatever the card says. |
| Give every Part 1 answer a reason and a detail. | Answer in one clause and wait for the next question. |
| Use the preparation minute for four keywords and speak for the full two minutes. | Cover the bullets in 50 seconds and stop. |
| Correct yourself once, then move on. | Retry a verb three times. |
| Answer Part 3 with an opinion, a reason, an example and a nuance. | Tell a story about one person and stop there. |
Where to work on each section
The four section guides on this site go deeper on the mechanics behind these twenty: Listening question types, spelling rules and traps, Reading question types with a method each, the Task 2 structure with a plan per essay type and Speaking Part 1, 2 and 3 with cue cards. For Writing, the fastest way to see mistakes 11 to 15 in your own essay is the Writing checker, which returns an estimated band on each of the four criteria with the sentences concerned; treat the band as a practice signal and the sentences as the work.
The night-before checklist
- The identity document you registered with is in the bag, and the confirmation is printed or saved offline.
- Route and arrival time checked; arrival is before the test time, and Speaking may be on another day.
- Word limits: you will write the limit at the top of every Listening and Reading group before the audio or the passage.
- Listening: the last version the speaker gives is the answer; spelling and doubled letters checked in the transfer time.
- Reading: questions first, 20 minutes per passage, FALSE only with a contradicting sentence, every box filled.
- Writing: 20 minutes for Task 1, 40 for Task 2 with a five-minute plan, the position in the last sentence of the introduction.
- Writing: two body paragraphs, one idea each, an example each, 250 words without counting.
- Speaking: two or three sentences per Part 1 answer, four keywords in the Part 2 minute, opinion then reason then example in Part 3.
- No new practice test tonight, no new word list; the error journal reread once.
- Alarm set, a second alarm set, and in bed at a normal hour.
Quick answers
What is the most expensive mistake?
In Writing, an essay with no clear position, because Task Response is the criterion that decides most Task 2 bands and Task 2 counts double in the Writing band. Across the whole exam, the most expensive habit is not reviewing practice tests: the same word-limit and spelling mistakes then repeat on the day, and each one costs a mark that your English had earned.
Do spelling mistakes cost marks in Listening?
Yes. A Listening answer that is misspelled scores nothing, however clear the meaning, and so does an answer over the word limit. Both British and American spellings are accepted, but "accomodation" is neither. Use the transfer time on paper, or the check time on computer, for spelling and word counts, not for changing answers.
Can I use memorised answers in Speaking?
Not as answers. Examiners are trained to recognise rehearsed speech, an answer that does not follow the question is marked down on Fluency and Coherence, and the interviewer can interrupt or change the question. What you can memorise is structure: two or three sentences per Part 1 answer, four keywords for Part 2, opinion, reason, example and nuance for Part 3, and a stock of topic vocabulary you adapt on the day.
Is the AI band official?
No. The bands returned by the Writing checker and the Speaking test on this site are estimates from an AI model against the official criteria, made to show which criterion is holding you back; only a certified examiner gives an official IELTS band. This site is independent and not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to IELTS, the British Council, IDP or Cambridge English.
The short version: the twenty mistakes above are habits, and habits show up in timed practice before they show up in the exam. Sit the four sections under the real conditions, review every lost mark, and cross each mistake off as it stops happening.