The difference between a stuck Band 6.5 candidate and a fluent Band 8 candidate is rarely hard work. It is calibration —knowing exactly what the examiner is listening for and adjusting your output accordingly.
A native speaker from a rural village might get a Band 6.5 because they cannot structure an essay or they ramble in Part 3. A non-native speaker who practices genre analysis (understanding what a "compare and contrast" essay looks like ) will get a Band 8. IELTS Preparation Material
The examiner is not grading your opinion; they are grading your discourse management —your ability to keep talking without silence. The difference between a stuck Band 6
Take one Listening Section 4. Do not check the answers. Listen again. And again. Transcribe every word. Do this three times. You will see your score improve faster than any app can provide. Do not check the answers
Most IELTS preparation material is a lie. It promises a "magic template" for Task 2 or "10 words for a Band 9." But if you open the official marking criteria, you will not find the word "template" anywhere. You will find Coherence , Lexical Resource , and Grammatical Range .
Stop studying English. Start studying IELTS logic. The language will follow.