Find your real IELTS problem. Not the one you think you have.
Most students don't actually know why their score is stuck. They guess — and they guess wrong. This diagnostic tests all four skills (Reading, Listening, Writing, Speaking), graded by AI for pattern analysis and reviewed personally by me for the recommendation. Free. Honest. Specific.
If this sounds like you
"I'm not even sure what to study."
You've taken practice tests. You've watched YouTube videos. You've maybe done a course. Your score is still stuck — but you can't tell whether it's vocabulary, grammar, exam strategy, anxiety, or all of them. So you keep studying everything, and nothing moves. The first step out of this is finding out what's actually going wrong.
Graded by AI for the pattern analysis. Reviewed by me for the recommendation.
Most free diagnostics are pure questionnaires — they ask what you think is wrong and give you a generic answer. The serious ones charge $50-100 and take weeks. This is the middle path: AI handles the heavy lifting on Reading, Listening, Writing, and Speaking samples, applying detailed rubrics consistently across all four. Then I review the AI's analysis personally and write your specific recommendation. Two layers. One report. Free.
AI grading — speed and consistency
Reading and Listening answers checked against the key. Writing graded against five-dimensional rubric (task response, coherence, vocabulary, grammar, error categories). Speaking transcribed and analysed for fluency, lexical range, grammar, pronunciation, and Part 3 analytical thinking. AI applies the same standards to every diagnostic — no inconsistency.
Sean reviews — judgment and context
I read your self-report answers, the AI's grading output, and your actual submissions. Then I write the recommendation myself. I cross-check the AI's analysis against what you said in your own words, look for patterns the AI might miss, and decide whether modules, coaching, or something else fits your situation. The final report is personal, not automated.
What you'll do
Eleven context questions plus four short skill tasks.
The whole thing takes about an hour. You don't need to do it all in one sitting — the test page lets you pause and come back. Submit when all four tasks are done.
11 questions about you
Your IELTS history, your goal, your timeline, what you think is going wrong. Short answers — takes 5-10 minutes. This is the context I use to interpret the skill samples.
Passage 3-level reading task
One academic passage at real IELTS Passage 3 difficulty. 11 questions: Matching Headings, Yes/No/Not Given, Summary Completion. Diagnoses strategy, speed, and precision.
Section 4-level lecture
One academic lecture at real IELTS Section 4 pace. 8 questions covering note completion and sentence completion. Diagnoses processing fluency and decision-making under speed.
Academic opinion paragraph
One Task 2-style prompt. Single academic paragraph (150-200 words) with opinion, reasoning, and counterpoint acknowledgement. Diagnoses structure, language, and grammar accuracy.
Part 2 story + Part 3 opinion
One narrative cue card (2-minute response) plus one analytical follow-up (1-2 minutes). Recorded on your phone. Diagnoses fluency, story structure, tense control, and analytical thinking.
Email everything to me
The test page tells you exactly what to send. Reading and Listening answers, Writing paragraph, and Speaking audio file (or transcript if you can't send audio). One email.
How it works
Three steps. No tricks.
This is genuinely free. I won't add you to a mailing list or send marketing follow-up unless you specifically ask for it. Your submission is used to write your report, full stop.
Take the diagnostic
Click through to the test page. Answer the 11 self-report questions and complete the four skill tasks. About an hour total. Pause and resume as needed.
Email me your submission
The test page gives you exact submission instructions. Reading and Listening answers, Writing paragraph, Speaking audio. One email to my address.
Get your personalised report
Within 5-7 days, I send back a detailed analysis: estimated band per skill, specific evidence from your work, and a study plan tailored to your goal and timeline.
What your report will look like
Real evidence from your work. Specific module recommendations. Honest reads.
Here's what a recent report looked like for a student who scored 7/11 Reading, 5/8 Listening, wrote a structurally weak Writing paragraph with strong vocabulary, and produced a good Part 2 but underdeveloped Part 3.
Reading (7/11): Your Matching Headings work was solid (3/4) — you can locate main ideas. The two questions you missed were both YNNG, and in both cases the answer was NOT GIVEN where you wrote YES or NO. You're being confident where the passage is being neutral. R2 covers TFNG/YNNG specifically; R3 covers the precision layer (qualifier traps, hedging language) where you slipped on question 8.
Listening (5/8): Strong start, weaker back half. You missed questions 6, 7, and 8 — all in the final third of the audio. That's lecture-drift, not a comprehension problem. L2 Section 4 work and L3 (specifically the embedded-answer and qualifier traps) would help most. Your synonym work was good — you got "footprint" on Q3, which is a Band 7 catch.
Writing: Your vocabulary is genuinely strong — wide range, natural collocations, appropriate register. Grammar is mostly accurate. What's holding the paragraph back is structure. Your opening sentence doesn't state your opinion clearly — it presents both sides and leaves the reader guessing. Your counterpoint acknowledgement is missing. This is what W2 is designed for, not W1 — your editing is fine, your architecture isn't.
Speaking: Your Part 2 was strong. You reached the full 2 minutes, the story had a clear shape, and your past tense was consistent. Your Part 3 was where things shifted — your answer was largely personal when the question asked about young people in general. You reached only about 45 seconds when 90+ would have been ideal. That's a classic Band 6 Part 3 ceiling, and S2 (The Ideas Engine) is built specifically for it.
My recommendation: Most urgent — W2 Essay Writing Fundamentals and S2 The Ideas Engine. Second priority — L2 and R2. Don't worry about W1 yet (your editing is solid) or W3 unless you have Task 1 work to handle. Honest read: you're closer to Band 7 than you probably feel. The gaps are specific and trainable, not broad.
Your report will be specific to your submission. If your patterns are different from this example, your report will be different too.
Who this is for
If any of these describe you, take the diagnostic.
You don't need to be a coaching client or a module buyer. Most people who take this end up doing nothing else — and that's fine.
You've taken IELTS before, scored between Band 5.5 and 6.5, and you're not sure what to change before retaking it.
You've never taken IELTS, but your test is coming up and you want a real assessment instead of guessing.
You've looked at the modules on this site and don't know which one to start with — or whether you need all of them.
You're considering coaching but want to see how I think before committing $350.
You're stuck. Practice tests, YouTube, prep books — your score isn't moving and you can't see why.
You've taken IELTS courses before and feel like nobody actually addressed your specific problem.
Be honest with yourself
What this is, and what it isn't.
What you'll get:
A real diagnosis based on your submitted work — what's costing you marks, why, and what to do about it. Estimated band per skill. Specific evidence from your own writing and speaking. If self-study modules are right for you, I'll say which ones and in what order. If coaching is right for you, I'll say that too — but only if I think it would actually help.
What you won't get:
An official IELTS band score. The estimates are based on one sample per skill, not a full exam. My estimates are usually within half a band of real IELTS results, but they're estimates, not certifications.
A sales pitch. If your situation doesn't need me, I'll say so. There are great free resources for some problems, and not every student needs paid help.
A miracle. The diagnostic identifies your real problem. Fixing it is still your work. But knowing the right problem to work on is the difference between months of wasted study and weeks of focused progress.
Ready to take it?
Find your real IELTS problem in about an hour.
Click through to the test page. Read the instructions carefully. Take the four skill tasks at your own pace. Send everything to me in one email. I'll write back with a real report in 5-7 days.
Start the diagnostic →Or browse the modules first
If you'd rather see what's actually on offer before committing an hour to the diagnostic, the modules page lists everything I teach with honest difficulty estimates and entry criteria.