IELTS preparation books are the best companions and play a crucial role in helping you achieve your desired band score. Join IDP in exploring these 20+ effective IELTS preparation books to choose the most suitable one for yourself and prepare well for this important exam!
1. IELTS preparation books for beginners (0 - 3.5)
IELTS practice books are divided into different band scores corresponding to specific target groups. If you are a beginner on your IELTS preparation journey, you should first look for IELTS preparation books related to grammar and vocabulary learning. This is because these form a solid foundation in English that will help you easily improve your language proficiency.
IDP will introduce you to the top books to help you kickstart your IELTS preparation process. The more solid your preparation, the more opportunities you'll have.
1.1. Grammar Practice Books
Even if you've spent a long time studying grammar, not everyone can remember and summarize all the knowledge they've learned. Here are some grammar books you should read:
Grammar In Use (Raymond Murphy)
If you're looking for a book that comprehensively covers grammar knowledge for IELTS preparation, this is the solution. The book's content includes over 145 important topics in English grammar in general and IELTS in particular. Each grammar topic focuses deeply on a specific issue, helping readers understand and memorize more quickly. You can refer to the table of contents to look up these 145 topics.
An easy-to-understand and user-friendly grammar book, suitable for exam preparation, self-study, or classroom learning.
English Grammar (Mai Lan Huong)
Known as a national book in Vietnam, this will be a suitable choice if you struggle with books written in English. The book is edited and divided into grammar topics such as sentence types, tenses, parts of speech... all explained in detail and clearly by the author. It also includes examples and practice exercises with specific and easy-to-understand answers, aiming to provide readers with comprehensive knowledge of core English grammar.
The book is edited by a Vietnamese author with concise, easy-to-understand, and very comprehensive content.
1.2. Vocabulary Practice Books
Vocabulary is considered the foundation to help you learn English skills well. Here are some English vocabulary books you should refer to:
Basic Vocabulary in Use (Cambridge)
An excellent book for beginners with a relatively weak vocabulary foundation. Basic Vocabulary in Use categorizes specific vocabulary topics, helping readers easily review and absorb information more quickly and effectively.
English Vocabulary In Use - Elementary
English Vocabulary in Use - Elementary provides reference information and exercises to reinforce vocabulary for elementary-level learners. The book equips learners with 1250 basic vocabulary words revolving around 60 essential topics. The topic groups about people, houses, and the world are useful, practical vocabulary sets based on the latest research from Cambridge University. If you need a resource to systematize your vocabulary to meet IELTS exam requirements, you shouldn't miss this book.
English Vocabulary In Use Elementary – A vocabulary book for IELTS learners who lack basics or want to start over.
1.3. Pronunciation Practice Books
Correct pronunciation will help you not only improve your listening and speaking skills but also is a fundamental step to improve the other two skills. Here are some books that support standard pronunciation for elementary level:
Pronunciation in Use Elementary (Cambridge)
This book provides you with an elementary learning path, edited in sound pairs to help you learn and remember more easily. The book's content is divided into 5 sections with 50 pronunciation lessons, aiming to provide you with pronunciation lessons from basic to advanced. Readers can look up answers at the end of the book.
A pronunciation practice book for students who are just starting to learn English
Tree or Three
Tree or Three is a book for elementary level specializing in pronunciation and intonation. Each lesson is specifically divided, teaching a single sound or sound pair through images describing the position of the tongue, lips (breath through mouth or nose), the vocabulary in the book is also quite simple, and you are also provided with a disc and software file to help practice speaking and pronunciation effectively.
The book is compiled in various exercise formats for IELTS beginners.
2. IELTS preparation books for intermediate level (3.5 - 6.0)
With basic knowledge, you are no longer a beginner in this subject; however, to become proficient, you are still far from the finish line. Choosing suitable IELTS books and materials will help you easily shorten this distance. Below, IDP will introduce the best IELTS preparation books, suitable for those who want to achieve a band score of 3.5 - 6.0.
2.2. Grammar practice books
If you already have basic knowledge of vocabulary and grammar, what you need to do at this stage to achieve a band score of 3.5 - 6.0 is to persevere and practice. To make learning more effective, you should mark, take notes, or summarize lessons in your own way to remember them longer. Some English grammar books that IDP suggests at this stage you can refer to are:
Destination B1 – B2 (Malcolm Mann)
These two books, categorized according to the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) proficiency levels, will be suitable for those who are at IELTS band 4.0 and want to improve to band 6.5. The books compile and summarize grammar topics and vocabulary, combined with corresponding exercises to help you easily internalize and grasp the knowledge units.
If you need to focus on the IELTS Writing and Speaking sections, the vocabulary part in Destination will be a useful choice with high applicability. The vocabulary is divided by topics, helping readers absorb faster, and also provides phrases, phrasal verbs, and idioms for each topic that are very relevant to the current IELTS test.
Cambridge Grammar for IELTS
If you're looking for a comprehensive book covering all the important and necessary Grammar topics for the IELTS exam, you shouldn't miss this. The exercises also have a format similar to the actual IELTS test, helping you practice your test-taking skills and apply knowledge effectively. Grammar for IELTS focuses on important grammatical points in IELTS tests such as:
Grammar of tenses: past, present, and future;
Clauses in sentences;
Usage of countable and uncountable nouns, position of prepositions.
25 bài trong cuốn sách tương ứng với 25 điểm ngữ pháp quan trọng cần nhớ trong tiếng Anh.
The 25 lessons in the book correspond to 25 important grammatical points to remember in English.
2.2. Vocabulary practice books
Increasing vocabulary is always necessary regardless of your level, learning to combine phrases and phrasal verbs into basic topics. Expanding your vocabulary also helps you improve all four skills: Listening - Speaking - Reading - Writing. Some vocabulary books suitable for practicing to achieve a band score of 6.0 are as follows:
Check your English Vocabulary for IELTS (Rawdon Wyatt)
Check Your ENGLISH Vocabulary for IELTS has a logical, sequential presentation that goes through essential vocabulary topics that all candidates need to pay attention to. The logical order of content presentation not only expands vocabulary but also ensures that candidates don't get "lost" during the review process.
The structure of the book will help candidates at all levels identify their weaknesses and gaps in their vocabulary knowledge, thereby designing a reasonable and scientific review plan.
The book systematizes essential types of vocabulary to help you score points in the eyes of IELTS examiners
Vocabulary in use Intermediate (Cambridge)
This is known as a popular book and one of the best IELTS preparation books chosen by students to improve their vocabulary. Because the book not only provides vocabulary for daily communication, but it's also a wonderful vocabulary treasure trove with high applicability to serve the improvement of skills such as Listening - Speaking - Reading - Writing in the IELTS test.
Not only providing diverse vocabulary, the book also guides how to learn vocabulary effectively and remember longer in specific contexts.
Vocabulary for IELTS (Pauline Cullen - Cambridge)
Cambridge Vocabulary for IELTS is not simply a book that lists essential vocabulary groups but focuses on groups of test-taking tips and common error types to help candidates easily reference. The book includes 25 smartly designed topics:
The first 20 units focus on vocabulary topics that commonly appear in life and academics. The book allows readers to practice and learn vocabulary through 3 skills, while providing skill tests that simulate the IELTS exam.
The remaining 5 units focus on basic skills to help develop and enhance vocabulary.
Another reason why you should own this book is that the topics covered are all topics that frequently appear in current IELTS exams.
Collocation in use Intermediate (Cambridge)
The English Collocation in use series is an extremely useful resource for introducing and guiding the study of English collocations. You can use this book as a self-study material for IELTS or as a classroom textbook. The combinations of English phrases help make writing and speaking more fluent and natural, creating a good impression on exam assessors.
2.3. Books for skill practice and test preparation
At the intermediate level, if you want to achieve high scores, in addition to reviewing theory, you should practice with test papers to familiarize yourself with the IELTS exam structure. Suitable IELTS study books for you:
Focus on IELTS & Focus on Academic Skills for IELTS
The book's content includes: Guidance on effective study and practice methods, and it also provides 10 sample lesson modules on the most common topics today. If you choose to take IELTS Academic, this is an effective book, as each module will have 2 lessons in academic format to help you approach in-depth academic knowledge more quickly.
With a writing style that goes from general to specific, this book will help you get the most comprehensive overview of this exam
Preparation and Practice for IELTS
The next book that IDP would like to suggest to you is IELTS Preparation And Practice. The set consists of 3 books with the following contents: Speaking – Listening, Writing – Reading General, Writing – Reading Academic.
If you are currently at band score 4.0 and want to increase your band score, you should gradually familiarize yourself with the exam structure during this stage. And this will be the perfect set of books for your test practice. The book combines a system of practice exercises and related exam tips for candidates to actively apply the knowledge they have learned to real exam situations.
The book set provides necessary IELTS test-taking skills for readers
Complete IELTS (Band 4 – 5)
If you're looking for a book that combines all the necessary knowledge for the 4 skills in the IELTS test, this is a good suggestion. It brings together comprehensive grammar knowledge, vocabulary, and other reference materials; it also provides detailed answer explanations. The review exercises at the end of the book will help you apply and consolidate the knowledge learned. This aims to support learners in absorbing complete knowledge more quickly for each topic.
The Cambridge Official Guide to IELTS
The content of the book is divided into 4 parts, corresponding to the 4 skills of Listening - Speaking - Reading - Writing in IELTS. Each part has independent lessons, written according to the structure of the actual test. Additionally, at the end of the book, there are answers and audio materials for you to self-study IELTS and check at home in the most convenient way.
10 practice exercises at the end of the book help learners practice and apply the knowledge they have learned previously
Cambridge Practice Test for IELTS
If you already have a solid foundation in English, this set of books will be suitable thanks to its high applicability, helping you familiarize yourself with the current exam structure and types. The set includes 16 books, each containing 4 IELTS Academic tests and 1-2 IELTS General Training tests covering 4 skills: Listening, Reading, Writing, and Speaking.
From book number 14 onwards, they will be divided into two separate books for the 2 different types of tests to serve the needs of learners.
The book structure is designed according to the standard of real IELTS tests in recent years
3. Advanced IELTS self-study books (6.0 and above)
If you already have solid basic knowledge and want to improve your IELTS band score, you can refer to some books to familiarize yourself with IELTS test formats. Here are some English books for IELTS preparation that IDP would like to recommend to help you achieve a 6.0+ goal:
3.1. Vocabulary practice books
At this stage, you already have a relatively good English vocabulary. Therefore, you should choose books that help build better vocabulary usage skills to score high in IELTS. The following IELTS preparation books will be suitable for students at this level:
English Vocabulary in Use - Advanced (Cambridge)
A perfect choice for advanced learners who want to build their vocabulary. The book set includes over 2,000 advanced vocabulary words along with new expressions presented and practiced in everyday life contexts.
Learning and understanding vocabulary in specific life contexts is the key to helping learners internalize and communicate effectively in real life. This is the most sustainable way to improve your ability and IELTS test scores.
The book provides difficult grammar topics and more in-depth exploration of topics
Collocations in Use Advanced (Cambridge)
If you don't know how to distinguish the meanings between phrases, this book will be your companion to help you overcome that difficulty. With bilingual content design, you will be able to absorb a range of knowledge from basic to advanced. Along with that is a detailed lesson system with 60 lessons clearly divided by topic.
Each lesson will begin with theory, phrases listed by topic along with simple and memorable illustrative examples. In addition, at the end of each lesson will be practice exercises to help learners review knowledge and memorize them more easily.
The book guides candidates on how to use dictionaries and reference sources to learn collocations
Idioms and Phrasal Verbs Advanced (Oxford)
If you are looking for a book to consolidate your knowledge of idioms or phrasal verbs, don't miss Idioms and Phrasal Verbs Advanced (Oxford). In each lesson, idioms or phrasal verbs are presented first for learners to grasp the theory. The annotations and examples that follow help you visualize more easily.
The lesson content is usually contained in a short and concise page. Exercises are the next content, designed very diversely from matching images, error correction, fill-in-the-blanks, reading and finding idioms in paragraphs, to true or false statement types... A small test at the end of each topic will help learners self-assess their knowledge and absorption ability, thereby finding better solutions.
In addition, at the end of the book, there are some interesting stories about idioms as well as a summary table of phrasal verbs and idioms that often appear in the topics to make revision easier.
Each exercise has detailed answers and is presented in an easy-to-understand manner
3.2. Skills practice and test practice books
After honing all 4 skills well, you can start practicing IELTS test papers. It's necessary to understand the test structure in each section as well as the time allotted. Here are some books that provide test formats close to the actual test that you should refer to:
How to crack the IELTS Speaking Test Part 1 (Đặng Trần Tùng)
With 20 common topics in the IELTS Speaking test all updated in this book. Along with that are useful tips to help you achieve desired band scores at levels such as 6.0, 7.0 and 8.0. The sample answers selected by the author, with examples appropriate to real-life situations, will create a familiar and relatable feeling. Learners will easily be able to reason out suitable answers for themselves.
In addition to guiding IELTS learning through thinking methods, How to crack the IELTS Speaking Test Part 1 also provides a lot of grammar knowledge, vocabulary and diverse sentence patterns.
With 20 common topics in IELTS Speaking updated, it helps learners effectively improve their speaking scores
Cambridge Practice Test Plus
If you want to experience real test situations, Cambridge Practice Test Plus is the perfect choice. The book set includes IELTS test papers simulated equivalent to the real test but with a higher difficulty level to help candidates approach the test formats easily. You will draw many valuable lessons and knowledge and use them as experience for the real test.
4. Some supplementary materials for IELTS preparation
In addition to the IELTS preparation books that IDP introduces at different levels, you should explore and practice with other resource materials to diversify and have the best preparation for your exam. IDP suggests some supplementary reference sources for IELTS test preparation that you should know:
English - English Dictionary: This classic book will be your companion to overcome all difficulties during the exam preparation period. Whether using a paper book or an online dictionary, constantly looking up and self-learning is a good habit in the preparation process.
Real IELTS Writing tests: The most up-to-date sample tests in Vietnam. This tip will help you practice thoroughly with various test formats and structures.
English vocabulary reference sources: If you want to find the "family" of vocabulary words such as synonyms/antonyms, or groups that will help in learning vocabulary and improving your language use.
Sources of books, newspapers, radio for English listening - reading practice: Regularly exposing yourself to the language through videos, books, and newspapers will help you practice your Listening - Speaking skills. English sources in books and newspapers will also reinforce your specialized vocabulary, which is also your advantage when doing the Writing and Speaking tests.
See more:
5. Practice with the online IELTS preparation program at IDP
To better prepare for the IELTS test, you can refer to the online preparation programs at IDP center.
IDP - Reputable IELTS test organization center
5.1. Benefits of online preparation at IDP
The online IELTS preparation classes organized at IDP are completely free, aiming to help candidates get closer to the knowledge and methods of the 4 skills.
When registering, you are allowed to choose the skill you want to practice.
With about 25 hours of online learning for each skill, it will be enough for you to acquire the necessary knowledge for the test.
You are also allowed to choose a completely free test according to the skill you selected earlier.
You will receive detailed comments from the instructor and guidance on sample answers for specific skills.
At the same time, IDP instructors also provide tips to make the exam preparation more effective.
5.2. How to receive the offer?
When registering for IELTS at IDP, you will be provided with an activation link to the preparation section you chose earlier by the staff. You have full access to use the online preparation course for 30 days from the activation date.
Preparing a solid mental state is something you should do before each exam. A stable mindset will help you be more confident, maintain a relaxed spirit, thereby helping you feel comfortable during the test. In addition, monthly, IELTS IDP organizes test skill training classes for all candidates with guidance from experienced foreign IELTS Experts. The sharing session helps Vietnamese candidates improve and enhance their test-taking skills while grasping important principles in the test process to achieve optimal scores.
Above is the list of the most effective IELTS preparation books that you can choose to help improve your band score. Besides, you can also register to participate in mock tests at IDP. This will give you an interesting mock test experience and gain experience for yourself. Contact IDP when you need IELTS preparation or testing for more detailed advice by following the IELTS IDP website: https://ielts.idp.com/vietnam for more detailed information.