L38: 15-minute daily dictation

Dictation means listening and writing down exactly what you hear, word for word. It sounds like something from primary school. But for IELTS, it's gold. It shows you the exact words your ears miss. And when you're aiming for band 8, those small missed words are the difference.

Why this matters

When you do a practice test, you only check 40 gaps. You never find out what else you missed. Dictation checks every single word. It shows you if you miss small words like a and the, word endings like -ed, or whole chunks of fast speech. It also trains spelling at the same time.

What you need

• Audio with a transcript (IELTS practice tests are perfect)
• A pen and notebook, or a laptop
• 15 minutes

The method

1. Choose a short piece. About 6 to 8 sentences.
2. Play one sentence. Pause.
3. Write the whole sentence. Every word, exactly.
4. Replay if needed. You can play each sentence up to three times.
5. Move to the next sentence. Repeat until you've finished the piece.
6. Compare with the transcript. Underline every difference.
7. Label the differences. Small word, ending, spelling, or didn't hear.

What a typical result looks like

Audio: "The museum has been closed since last March, but it's expected to reopen in the spring."

Student wrote: "The museum has closed since last March, but it expected to reopen in spring."

Differences:

• missed been (small word)
• missed 's in it's (small word)
• missed the before spring (small word)

The student understood the meaning. But they missed three tiny words. At band 8, missing a not or a the can change an answer.

A 4-week progression

Make it a habit

• Same time every day. Maybe right after breakfast or before bed.
• Keep your dictation notebook. Looking back after a month is very motivating.
• Count your mistakes. Week 1 might be 15 differences per piece. Week 4 might be 5.

Try it yourself

Ask a friend to read this sentence aloud at normal speed, once. Write it down.

"If you'd like to join the trip, you'll need to pay the deposit by the end of the week."

Then check: did you get you'd and you'll? Did you get all four thes and the of?

Honest note

Dictation is boring. There's no way to make it exciting. But it's one of the few exercises that directly targets band 8 mistakes. Do it for 15 minutes, not 60. Short and daily is the key.

Your task today

Take a Part 1 transcript you haven't read. Dictate 6 sentences. Count your differences.