Are you still struggling to get a high score in IELTS?

Free tips, advice, and lessons for the IELTS exam.

Hi, I’m Ray and I run a small English school in Kyushu, Japan (London Language Lounge). I have been teaching IELTS here since 2009. I founded IELTS Focus in 2016 to help my students hit their target score in the IELTS exam.

This website contains free materials, tips, strategies and free lessons to help you on your IELTS journey. I also have an online writing correction service and one to one IELTS speaking sessions online.

There is so much bad advice online regarding IELTS and many students are completely misinformed or simply confused. The aim of this website is to clear up confusion and show you clearly what you need to do to get a Band 7 or more.

Take a look at the testimonials page to see what my students have said.

Is writing stopping you from hitting your target score?

Take a look at the writing correction service here or click the banner below to access the page.

Recent free lessons and blog posts

IELTS writing task 1: 3 diagrams/maps with a model answer

IELTS model answer for 3 diagrams/maps over 3 time periods. Updated: Feb 12th 2023 Here is a tricky looking task ...

IELTS opinion essay about wealth

Model answer for an IELTS essay on the topic of wealth and helping others. Before writing anything we must always ...

Paraphrasing in IELTS speaking

The key to a higher score in IELTS speaking is paraphrasing. Updated: September 2023 You are probably aware that paraphrasing ...

IELTS General Writing Task 1: Formal letter model answer

A letter to your boss asking for time off In the IELTS general training, you will need to write a ...

IELTS Listening lesson: Maps

Labelling a Map in IELTS listening. Listening to directions for a map can be quite tricky for some people. In ...

IELTS Grammar: Conditional sentences.

How to use zero, 1st, 2nd and 3rd conditionals (if sentences) There are four kinds of conditional sentences. The zero ...

9 tricky IELTS speaking part 2 topics

Tips and ideas for difficult IELTS speaking part 2 topics. Updated: September 2023 Sometimes in IELTS speaking, you will get ...

Writing task 1: Process diagram about recycling aluminum

Model answer for a process diagram about recycling. Updated: February 2023. Process diagrams are some of the easiest tasks in ...

IELTS General writing task 1: Letter to a friend

Model answer for a letter to a friend about exercise. In the general version of IELTS writing task 1, there ...

IELTS speaking sessions online.

I offer 30-minute IELTS mock speaking sessions online covering part 1 to 3 of the speaking exam. Full feedback is given to help you find what is stopping you from getting a higher band score in your speaking. This is a one to one session on Skype or Zoom. Click here for more details.