There now exists an established body of work outlining the challenges international students can face as part of the acculturation process, including a range of academic and non-academic pressures to overcome. For many students, writing essays in academic English for the first time is problematic. This article considers pedagogical approaches for IELTS writing test preparation prior to university admission, and the potential for introducing academic writing skills at an earlier stage of students' learning. Noting implications of test constructs, we investigate pedagogical support for candidates preparing for the writing section of IELTS. Conducted at a test preparation centre in China, observational data from courses across three proficiency levels provided the basis for inquiry, alongside interviews with teachers (n = 2), students (n = 20), and collating homework essays (n = 50). Results indicate that teacher cognition highly influenced pedagogical practice for writing test preparation at the centre involved. It was also evident that (despite variations) overall test preparation objectives were broadly similar. Additionally, higher proficiency learners appeared to be more receptive to -- and capable of -- learning about early-stage academic writing skills. We suggest a series of tentative recommendations for instructors and areas for future research, including looking at other major university entrance tests, newer 'digital first' tests, and the implications of online test preparation.