This is a million dollar question if ever there was one. The simple answer is that it all depends.
It depends on where you are now, it depends on how much time you have to study and it depends on the actual bands you are looking at achieving.
In the past this wasn’t even possible. You could not re-take IELTS for 3 months and there was perhaps some sense in this rule. However things have changed and now you can take the test whenever you want.
Realistically, if you are around Band 5 and you want 7 or 8 then it is unlikely.
If you have no time to improve your skills or study for the test during the month in question then again probably not.
If you want to go from Band 6.5 to Band 7 and you have lots of study time then it might be possible (although writing may be hard to improve in this time-scale if you don’t get it checked).
Your last test result gives you a clear indication of where you need to work in order to increase your band.
- Which parts of the test fell below your desired score?
- Did anything happen in the exam to cause this?
- Are you surprised at your results? If so why?
- Were you expecting a much higher score for some of the parts?
Go through the test and analyse what might have caused your score to fall below what was expected. If you think the score is fair then think about what you need to do to improve your level.
Now do an audit of your skills and practice.
Check the areas that you need to improve against the timetable that you have. Are some things getting more attention than the others – what you focus on improves – are you focusing on the right things? Do you need to spend more time on other things?
It’s human nature to do the things that are fun and enjoyable and be more reluctant to do the things that are perhaps more challenging and therefore less enjoyable. Is this your situation? If so then bite the bullet and get started on those things!
You’ll need to check detail – if your reading score was lower than you wanted don’t just do more reading tests – look at the reading questions that are stopping your score from improving. The same applies to listening. If your writing is failing to get the desired band then get someone to check it – don’t just keep doing more of the same.
Now monitor your progress – you should see if your scores in reading and listening are going up and if you are practising speaking regularly then you should feel more confident and fluent. The only exception to the rule of “the more you do the better it gets” is with IELTS Writing. Here, if you know exactly what you are doing and everything is ok then it will happen BUT if you are making lots of mistakes or you are uncertain about what you are doing then the chances are it will stay the same and even worse you will be learning and perfecting all the mistakes.
To be sure of your band try to achieve a few marks above the score consistently. So, for band 7 try to get around 33 or 34 (for GT reading you’ll need 37 or 38) in reading and listening almost every time you practise a test. In this way you should be ‘safe’ in the exam. Make sure that you speak often and record and listen to your Part 2. For writing the only way you can be sure is to get your work corrected.
A month is not a long time to improve a whole band but if the difference is very small and you have a good idea what is stopping you then it might be possible if you study smartly. If this is not the case then my advice is not to book a test until you have enough evidence that you can get your score.