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7 to 8 is a big jump. You need to increase your score in all the 4 skills. You have probably already got a higher reading and listening score but it is the speaking and writing that will be more difficult. If you live in an English-speaking country, work in English, live with English speakers, etc then you are probably looking at 6–8 months. However, this means that you are actively studying English, going to classes 3 hours a day from Mon-Fri.

This is not the case for most people so it will take you much longer. If you are trying to self-study, don’t have a teacher, and just do IELTS practice exams, then you are probably looking at 2 years, possibly more.

It is a good idea to find out what areas you need to work on in your writing and speaking. Without doing this, you are pretty much blind. So, as an idea…..

1. Do a full IELTS writing test. You can do one here.  They will have your writing checked by IELTS examiners in the UK. They will evaluate your writing and tell you what you need to do to get to Band 8.
2. Use the feedback and plan your studies around this. For example, if they say you are making too many grammatical mistakes then focus on the mistakes they highlight. If they say your range of vocabulary is repetitive, then start reading more and noting down new words; put them into sentences and make them part of your vocabulary.
3. Come back to us and do another IELTS full writing test. Is there any improvement? Are the same mistakes being made? If there is improvement, great, but go back to step 2 anyway!

Once you are hitting Band 8 regularly, then your writing is ready. You can follow the same method for speaking too. Don’t book another exam though until you are told you are ready.

Good luck.