Your study plan: six weeks or two weeks
By Michael Ukwuma
Two realistic plans built on the MAPLE Method, depending on how much time you have.
A plan you cannot keep is worse than no plan. These two plans assume you work or study full time. Adjust the days, but keep the shape.
Before you start: the baseline
Take one practice test in each skill under real timing. Do not prepare first. You need an honest starting point. Write your scores down and compare them with your targets. The skill with the biggest gap gets the most time.
The six week plan
Weeks 1 and 2: Map
Learn the format of every part. Read the Learn lessons for each skill. Do one practice task a day with the full feedback loop. Start your Red List and your flashcard deck.
Weeks 3 and 4: Build
Practise each task type with its frame until the frame is automatic. Start daily fluency work: shadowing for listening, the Three Rounds drill for speaking. Mix Reading parts in one session.
Week 5: Test
Take a full mock exam. Spend the next two days only on feedback. Then attack your three weakest task types.
Week 6: Sharpen
Short timed sets every day. Proofread for your Red List. Rest the day before the test.
The two week rescue plan
Two weeks is enough to collect the cheap points, not to change your English. So focus only on these:
- Days 1 and 2: learn the format of every part and the frame for every writing and speaking task.
- Days 3 to 8: one skill per day, timed, with the feedback loop. Focus on Task Fulfillment and time management.
- Day 9: full mock exam.
- Days 10 to 13: fix your top five errors and your weakest two task types.
- Day 14: light review only. Sleep.
Balance your time
A well known model of language teaching recommends roughly equal time for four things: meaningful input, meaningful output, language study and fluency. Test preparation usually forgets the last one. Do not forget it. Ten minutes of fluency work a day is part of the plan, not an extra.
Key points
- Start with an honest baseline.
- Six weeks: Map, Build, Test, Sharpen.
- Two weeks: collect the format and Task Fulfillment points.
- Ten minutes of fluency work every day.