Every class, and where it sits

4 subjects · 40 classes each · 5 bands

The ladder starts where a learner actually is and climbs one band at a time. Each tier gives all four subjects the same number of classes, and the count rises as the bands narrow — six at the start, ten at the top, because the gap between Band 8 and Band 9 is made of more things than the gap below it.

20 questions in every class
3–5 minutes each
Knowing IELTS is never marked
You set the pace

Knowing IELTS

Eight short classes on how the exam works. No questions, no marks — they run before the ladder starts.

1What is IELTS?
2Exam format
3How scoring works
4How to prepare
5Reading
6Writing
7Listening
8Speaking

The ladder

Class numbers run 1 to 40 across the whole path, so class 23 means one thing wherever it is mentioned.

Every BandGuru class by subject and band.
Class	Reading	Writing	Speaking	Listening
Core
1	Skimming and scanning	Task 1 — the right structure	Part 1 — full sentences, not one word	Predicting answers before you hear them
2	True, False, Not Given	Words for describing change	Part 2 — filling the full two minutes	Numbers, spelling and dates
3	Matching headings	Task 2 — understanding the question	Part 3 — opinion and reasoning	Following a conversation with two speakers
4	Vocabulary in context	Task 2 — the four-paragraph structure	Fluency — filler phrases instead of silence	Map and plan questions
5	Managing sixty minutes across three passages	Linking words beyond 'and' and 'but'	Pronunciation habits that cost a band	Multiple choice — spotting the paraphrase
6	Common band-5 mistakes, and the fix	Grammar mistakes that cap you at band 5	What the examiner is actually listening for	What to do the moment you miss an answer
Band 5→6
7	Matching information	Task 1 — selecting the data that matters	Part 1 — a reason that actually explains the answer	Filling gaps with the exact word, not a paraphrase
8	Matching features	Task 1 — combining two charts into one report	Part 2 — answering all four points on the card	Following spoken directions on a plan or map
9	Sentence completion	Task 1 — line graph language: trend, fluctuation, comparison	Part 3 — comparing two ideas, not just describing one	Choosing two correct answers, not one
10	Summary completion with a word bank	Task 2 — the "discuss both views" essay	Everyday words with more range than 'good', 'nice', and 'fun'	Matching each speaker to their own opinion
11	Short-answer questions	Task 2 — the advantages/disadvantages essay	Catching and fixing your own mistake without losing your flow	Tracking three or four voices in an academic discussion
12	Fact vs. opinion vs. claim	Paraphrasing the question accurately	Intonation — sounding interested, not flat	Spelling a name or code you have never seen written
13	Common band-6 mistakes	Common Band 6 mistakes	The mistake that caps good ideas at Band 5	Hearing it right, writing it wrong
Band 6→7
14	Multiple choice: the almost-right trap	Task 1 — process diagrams	Part 1 — natural phrases, not textbook sentences	Section 4: staying with one voice for the whole talk
15	Diagram and flow-chart labelling	Task 1 — maps, before and after	Part 2 — precise words for the actual topic	Note completion when the headings are paraphrased, not copied
16	The writer's purpose and tone	Task 2 — the nuanced opinion essay	Part 3 — weighing both sides before you land	Hearing a speaker's attitude, not only their words
17	Reading between the lines: implication and inference	Task 2 — the problem/solution essay	Conditionals and comparatives, used naturally	Following a digression without losing your place
18	Following a multi-step argument across paragraphs	Subordination for precision, not decoration	Linking ideas across the whole answer	Doing the maths in your head while the audio keeps moving
19	Unfamiliar technical vocabulary: working it out	Cohesion beyond linking words	A topic you know nothing about	When two answers sound alike, only one is ever confirmed
20	Cross-referencing questions on the same paragraph	A fully developed example, not a vague one	Stress and rhythm — which words carry the weight	Flow-chart completion: turning a process into boxes and arrows
21	Common Band 7 mistakes	Common Band 7 mistakes — the lexical plateau	The mistake fluent, accurate speakers still make	Missing one sentence without losing the rest of the recording
Band 7→8
22	The writer's voice vs. a cited voice	Task 1 — unusual or hybrid charts, without panic	Part 1 — answering unexpected questions smoothly	Following an academic lecture even when a term is new to you
23	Reading qualifying language precisely	Task 2 — the two-part question	Part 2 — a genuinely engaging two-minute story	Catching a speaker's self-correction before you write the wrong answer
24	Parsing long, complex sentences	Precise academic vocabulary, not vague words	Part 3 — abstract questions about society and change	Tracking who ends up right when two speakers disagree
25	Tracking a passage's shifting argument	Collocations that native-level writing uses automatically	Precise vocabulary — the exact word, not a rough guess	Hearing what is meant, not just what is said
26	The closest, most dangerous Not Given trap	Task 2 — anticipating the counter-argument	Natural idiomatic expressions, not forced ones	Untangling fast, natural speech into the words underneath it
27	Speed without losing accuracy	Punctuation and complex-sentence control, under time pressure	Recovering smoothly from hesitation or a wrong word	Recognising the same English across different accents
28	Three hard question types, back to back	Task 1 — a genuinely balanced overview, not a list in disguise	Sustaining a sophisticated argument across Part 3	Staying accurate when the audio throws in a distraction
29	Reviewing in the last two minutes	Task 2 — conclusions that add insight, not just restate the thesis	Pronunciation — sounds Bangla speakers most often miss	Using the ten-minute transfer time to actually catch mistakes
30	Common band-8 mistakes	Common Band 8 mistakes	Common Band 8 mistakes — one repeating pattern, not many	The one small lapse that costs a Band 8 listener a single answer
Band 8→9
31	Reading once, not twice	One position, held all the way	Hesitation about the idea, not the word	Section four, with no signposts
32	The paraphrase chain	Answer the counter-argument	Not written yet	The correction is the answer
33	Not Given, at its hardest	The exact word beats the big word	Not written yet	An accent you have not met
34	The verb that carries the stance	An overview, not a list in disguise	Not written yet	Who ends up agreeing
35	Two options that both look right	Unusual charts, without panic	Not written yet	Numbers that sound alike
36	When a name appears three times	Cohesion you cannot see	Not written yet	Spelling a name you have never seen
37	Summary completion, no word bank	Complex sentences, under the clock	Not written yet	A paraphrase three words long
38	Unpacking a heavy noun phrase	The two-part question, answered fully	Not written yet	Holding the thread through a digression
39	Questions that cross paragraphs	A conclusion that adds something	Not written yet	The last two questions of a section
40	The last five minutes	Repairs that pay, in five minutes	Not written yet	Ten minutes to transfer

Speaking Band 8→9 is being written now — nine of its ten classes are still to come.

How many classes a band takes

The ladder is every class there is. This rule is how many of them a learner needs to move up — the number shown on Home, in the classrooms and on the “Classes to reach Band” bar.

24 classes for the first band up
+16 for every band after that
Never fewer than 24

Why not 24 every time: neighbouring bands share classes. What was learned for Band 6→7 carries into Band 7→8, so the second band needs 16 new classes, not 24. Band 6→7 is 24. Band 6→8 is 40, not 48.

Classes needed, counted from Band 5.
From Band 5 to	Classes	How	Per subject
Band 6	24	24	6
Band 6.5	32	24 + 8	8
Band 7	40	24 + 16	10
Band 8	56	24 + 16 + 16	14
Band 9	72	24 + 16 + 16 + 16	18

Formula: classes = 24 + 16 × (bands up − 1), and at least 24. Half a band counts as half: +8.