Intensive IELTS 7.0+ Study Plan
A structured roadmap focusing on Writing Task 2 and Speaking Part 3, with practical homework tasks.
Built by Gareth Montgomery
19 years teaching, 15 of them at Belfast Met
Don’t just memorise English rules. Practise them live.
Games, exam practice and a Gothic literature course I built for my own students. Most of it is free to try.
Why I built these: In 19 years of teaching, I noticed that gap-fill worksheets rarely prepare you for thinking under exam pressure. So I started building my own: games, essay builders and a literature course I use with my students. Most are free here.
Who’s it for?
4 Free / £24
Dark Academia C1/C2
12 Painted Gothic Lessons
Free to Play
The Grammar Arcade
Crypt 2D/3D, Reactor & More
4 Modules
Cambridge & IELTS Lab
Band 8.5 & C1/C2 Drills
Free Guides
Study Guides & PDF
Syllabi & Model Essays
Teens B1–B2
Chronicle ’88 CYOA
PC-88 Visual Novel + 2d6
Kids A1–B1
Professor West 3D
3D Study & Pencil the Cat
ESL Tutors & Schools
🎓 The ESL Teacher & White-Label Vault
35+ Printable/HTML Lesson Packs, Prezi Decks & White-Label Commercial License →
Quick one: C1 inversion
Have a go
“_______ had Jonathan Harker crossed the bridge than the wolves began to howl.”
19 Years Teaching (15 at Belfast Met)
CELTA-Qualified Tutor (BA Hons, Stirling)
Hundreds of Students Through C1/C2 & IELTS 7.0–8.5
§ Complete 12-Lesson Edition • C1 Advanced & C2 Proficiency
All 12 Lessons Live • 4 Free + 8 Unlocked by Access Code (£24)
Dark Academia: C1/C2 English Through Classic Gothic Stories
Great novelists use the same grammar patterns that turn up in Cambridge and IELTS writing: inversion, participle clauses, clefts and past deductions. Each lesson is built on a Gothic story, with a painting, British narration and Key Word Transformations to practise.
A painting for every lesson
Read along to British narration
Sound like a C2 writer, not a Victorian ghost
Printable study guide with answers
§ Try the First Lesson of Every Book Free (No Sign-Up):
Plate I • Caspar David Friedrich, Abbey in the Oakwood (1809–10)
Bram Stoker’s Dracula: Participle Clauses & Negative Inversion
All 12 Lessons + 180-Item Compendium
£24 one-off • instant access code
When you buy, you’ll be asked to agree to instant access, which means the 14-day cooling-off period no longer applies (details in the digital content terms).
After Stripe checkout, you are redirected automatically to unlock your browser and receive your multi-device access code. Lost your access code or didn’t get redirected? Email me your Stripe receipt.
The Grammar & Vocabulary Arcade • 100% Free in Browser
Four games to play between lessons.
Quick games for the parts of English that need repetition: inversions, phrasal verbs, word formation and polite professional phrasing. No sign-up.
Instant Browser Play • No Sign-Up
Grammar Crypt
25 Floors • 2D/3DClimb through the crypt by building correct sentences from word-runes. Gentle hints when you’re close, and music you can mute.
Phrasal Reactor
B2–C2 VerbsChoose the right particle for each phrasal verb before the reactor overheats.
Word Factory
Part 3 PressAdd the right prefix or ending to each root word before the conveyor belt runs out. Good practice for Cambridge Part 3.
The Boardroom Pitch
Exec C1/C2Turn the blunt things you’d like to say into polite, professional English: client pushback, tricky meetings, salary talks.
The 4 Narrative Arcade Worlds
Deep-dive immersive grammar simulations
Four story-based grammar games
Practise mixed conditionals in a deep-sea bathysphere, send telegrams from a Himalayan signal box, or crack a vault with C1 grammar.
Want the grammar rules behind the games?
Get my Free C1/C2 Inversion Cheat-Sheet & IELTS/Cambridge Syllabus PDF
Sent straight to your inbox so you can revise the exact structures tested in Grammar Crypt and Phrasal Reactor.
Built around the published marking criteria
Cambridge & IELTS Exam Lab
Interactive exam practice modules built around the published Cambridge Assessment and IELTS Band 8.0+ marking criteria. Filter by your target exam below:
IELTS 7.0–8.5
Writing Task 2
[Intro] → [Body 1] → [Body 2] → [Conclusion]
The 5 Essay Types Masterclass
Recognise all 5 standard Task 2 question types in 30 seconds and build Band 8.0+ sentences interactively.
- 4-paragraph blueprints
- Tap-to-build sentence tiles
- 5 Band 8+ model essays
B2 First
Vocab & Part 4
Unless / Provided that / As long as
True Friends & Conditionals
Practise 8 compound personality adjectives and conditional linkers beyond simple “if” clauses.
- 3-minute speaking timer
- Interactive adjective matcher
- Use of English Part 4 drill
C1 Advanced
Writing Part 1
⏱️ 05:00 Sentence Clock • Live Stitcher
The “Human Tower” Essay Builder
Build a C1 essay sentence by sentence against a 5-minute timer while ticking off advanced grammar structures.
- 5-minute sentence clock
- Live essay stitcher & word count
- Published C1 marking criteria
C2 Proficiency
Reading & Passives
It is widely contended that...
Psychometric Testing & Passives
Evaluate corporate screening arguments and practise C2 causative and impersonal passive structures.
- Pro/Con reading analysis
- C2 nuance multiple-choice drill
- Key Word Transformations
Free Study Guides & Model Scripts
Study Guides & Model Answers
Step-by-step exam blueprints, annotated Band 8+ / C2 model essays, and interactive lecture decks.
Task 2 Structure & Model Essay
A reliable 4-paragraph framework, band scoring breakdown, and complete sample essay with analysis.
Mastering Negative Inversion
Rule breakdowns, typical traps, and 8 exam-style key word transformations with click-to-reveal answers.
Interactive FCE Review Presentation
An interactive presentation built from real college lectures to sharpen exam technique and grammar.
Free Digital Study Pack
Get the Free C1/C2 Study Pack & PDF Syllabus
Enter your email for instant links to the C1/C2 Negative Inversion guide, 10 Common Mistakes breakdown, and downloadable IELTS/Cambridge Study Syllabus PDF.
Teens • CEFR B1 Preliminary & B2 First (Ages 13–17)
CHRONICLE ’88: 8-Bit PC-88 Detective Adventure & 2d6 CYOA
A retro 80s detective adventure where grammar is how you crack the case. Question suspects, work out whose alibi doesn’t add up, and roll the dice when things get risky. Three short episodes for teens at B1–B2.
🗣️
Talking character portraits
🎲
Dice rolls for risky moments
⚡
Grammar puzzles to get out of trouble
🎵
Chiptune music (mute any time)
Neon Alibi 1989
Inspector DeckA neural chip is stolen at 23:15. Cross-examine suspects by spotting the timeline difference between Past Simple, Past Continuous, and Past Perfect alibis.
Narrative Tenses • Reported Speech
Play Tape 1 →
The Citadel of Echoes
The GuardianInspect cobwebbed levers with modals of deduction (must have / can’t have), solve defining vs. non-defining mirror riddles, and parley with the Guardian.
Modals • Conditionals • Relatives
Play Tape 2 →
Signal Lost at Station Zero
MOTHER-88 AI
Trapped on an orbital base where the AI mainframe MOTHER-88 only obeys exact Passive Voice diagnostics, Causative repair orders, and Future Perfect telemetry.
Passives • Causatives • Future
Play Tape 3 →
Parents & adult learners: Preparing for Cambridge B2/C1/C2 or IELTS yourself, or looking for 1-to-1 exam coaching?
Reserve a January Trial (£35) or £39 Async Audit →
Young Learners Section • CEFR A1–B1 (Ages 6–12)
Professor West’s 3D Study & Pencil the Cat
My lessons are for adults, but younger learners are welcome in Professor West’s Study: a little 3D room with a short animated intro, a British storyteller and six word games with Pencil the Cat. No ads, no sign-up.
- 4-Act Animated Intro Movie
- Interactive 3D Study & Bookshelf
- Pencil the Cat’s 6 Word Quests
- 100% Free • No Ads, No Sign-Up
Enter Professor West’s 3D Study →
Parents & adult learners: Preparing for IELTS or C1/C2 yourself? Reserve a January trial (£35) →
For ESL Tutors, Academies & Freelance Educators
The ESL Teacher & White-Label Vault
Save hundreds of prep hours. Instant access to 35+ classroom-tested lesson packs, interactive Prezi presentations, and white-label commercial lesson plans used across 19 years of teaching (15 at Belfast Met).
Personal Feedback from Gareth Montgomery
Want personal feedback on your speaking and writing?
Games are great for building habits, but nothing beats someone looking at your actual writing and speaking. Reserve a 30-minute January trial, or send me an essay and I’ll mark it line by line.