IELTS practice: all four modules

What IELTS is

IELTS (International English Language Testing System) measures English for study, work and migration. There are two versions:

• Academic — for university admission and professional registration. The Reading and Writing papers use academic sources and tasks.
• General Training — for migration, work experience and non-degree study. Reading uses workplace and everyday texts; Writing Task 1 is a letter.

Listening and Speaking are identical in both versions. This mock test follows the Academic format.

Structure at a glance

Total test time is about 2 hours 45 minutes. Listening, Reading and Writing are taken on the same day without breaks; Speaking may be on the same day or up to seven days apart.

The band scale

Each module is scored 0–9 in half bands, and the Overall Band Score is the mean of the four module scores, rounded to the nearest half band (a mean of 6.125 rounds to 6.0; 6.25 rounds to 6.5).

Most universities ask for 6.0–7.0 overall with no module below 6.0; competitive and clinical programmes may require 7.0–7.5.

Academic Reading: raw score to band

The Reading paper has 40 questions, one mark each. There is no negative marking, so always answer every question.

These boundaries vary slightly between papers; treat them as a guide, not a guarantee. In this app a Reading attempt uses 26 questions, so convert by proportion first: multiply your percentage correct by 40, then read the table. For example, 18/26 is 69%, which is about 28/40, or roughly band 6.5.

Practical rules

• Reading answers must be transferred to the answer sheet within the 60 minutes.
• Spelling and grammar count in Reading and Listening: a correct idea spelled wrongly scores zero.
• Respect word limits ("NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS"); exceeding them scores zero even if the meaning is right.
• Both British and American spelling are accepted.

Listening (~30 minutes, 40 questions)

Four recordings, each heard once:

1. A conversation between two speakers in an everyday social context (booking, enquiry).
2. A monologue in an everyday context (a talk about local facilities).
3. A conversation between up to four people in an educational context (students and a tutor).
4. An academic monologue (a lecture extract).

Question types: form and note completion, table and flow-chart completion, multiple choice, matching, labelling maps, plans and diagrams, short answer. Accents vary (British, Australian, North American, New Zealand).

Strategy. Read the questions during the pauses and predict the type of answer (number, name, plural noun). Follow the speaker's signposting language; answers come in order. Watch for corrections ("actually, make that Thursday"). Never leave a blank.

Reading (60 minutes, 40 questions)

Three passages of increasing difficulty, 2,150–2,750 words in total, taken from books, journals, magazines and newspapers, and always non-specialist in the sense that no subject knowledge is needed.

Question types: multiple choice; identifying information (True/False/Not Given); identifying the writer's views (Yes/No/Not Given); matching information, headings, features and sentence endings; sentence, summary, note, table and flow-chart completion; diagram labelling; short answer.

Strategy. Budget about 20 minutes per passage and move on when a question resists you. Skim for structure first, then locate answers by scanning for names, numbers and distinctive nouns. For True/False/Not Given, ask whether the passage states the idea, contradicts it, or is simply silent — silence means Not Given, however plausible the statement sounds.

Writing (60 minutes, 2 tasks)

• Task 1 (20 minutes, at least 150 words): describe visual information — a graph, chart, table, map, plan or process diagram. No opinions, no reasons for the data.
• Task 2 (40 minutes, at least 250 words): an essay responding to an argument or problem. Task 2 carries twice the weight of Task 1.

Both are marked on four criteria: Task Achievement/Response, Coherence and Cohesion, Lexical Resource, and Grammatical Range and Accuracy.

Speaking (11–14 minutes, 3 parts)

• Part 1 (4–5 min): introduction and questions about familiar topics — home, work, study, hobbies.
• Part 2 (3–4 min): the long turn. You receive a task card, have 1 minute to prepare with paper and pencil, then speak for 1–2 minutes; the examiner asks one or two rounding-off questions.
• Part 3 (4–5 min): a discussion of abstract issues connected to the Part 2 topic.

Marked on Fluency and Coherence, Lexical Resource, Grammatical Range and Accuracy, and Pronunciation. The test is recorded and conducted face to face or by video call.

Task 1 (20 minutes, 150+ words)

You describe visual information objectively. There are five families of task: line graph, bar chart, pie chart, table, and process or map.

Structure that works for every data task

1. Introduction — one sentence paraphrasing the prompt (change nouns and verbs, keep the numbers).
2. Overview — two or three sentences giving the biggest picture: the overall trend, the highest and lowest values, the clearest contrast. The overview is compulsory; scripts without one rarely pass band 6.
3. Body 1 — the first group of data with figures.
4. Body 2 — the remaining group, with comparisons.

Language to have ready. Verbs of change: rose, climbed, surged, dipped, plummeted, levelled off, fluctuated. Adverbs: sharply, steadily, gradually, marginally. Noun forms: a sharp rise in, a steady decline in. Comparison: nearly twice as many, a third of, by contrast, whereas.

For a process diagram, use the passive and sequencers: the material is first sorted, after which it is heated to 400 degrees. For a map, use the past passive if the change is historical, and position language: to the north of, adjacent to, on the opposite bank.

Task 2 (40 minutes, 250+ words)

Five common question types: opinion (to what extent do you agree?), discussion (discuss both views and give your opinion), problem and solution, advantages and disadvantages, and two-part questions.

A reliable four-paragraph plan

1. Introduction — paraphrase the question, then a thesis stating your position in one clear sentence.
2. Body 1 — one main idea, explained, then made concrete with an example or a chain of consequences.
3. Body 2 — the second main idea, or the opposing view followed by your rebuttal.
4. Conclusion — restate the thesis in different words and add nothing new.

What the band descriptors reward (summary)

• Task Response — answering every part of the question, holding a clear position, developing ideas rather than listing them.
• Coherence and Cohesion — logical progression, one central idea per paragraph, linking that is varied and not mechanical.
• Lexical Resource — precise and topic-specific vocabulary, natural collocation, some less common items used correctly. Misused "impressive" words cost more than they gain.
• Grammatical Range and Accuracy — a mix of simple, compound and complex sentences with a high proportion of error-free sentences.

Band 7 typically means: clear position, well-developed paragraphs, occasional lexical or grammatical slips that never obscure meaning. Band 6 means: relevant but sometimes underdeveloped ideas and noticeable errors that do not prevent communication.

Sample prompt 1 (opinion)

Some people believe that governments should invest heavily in restoring damaged natural habitats, while others argue the money is better spent on developing clean technology. Discuss both views and give your own opinion.

Model outline

• Intro: both approaches address the same crisis by different routes; thesis — restoration deserves priority because it is cheaper and delivers immediate benefits, though technology remains indispensable in the long run.
• Body 1 (habitat restoration): degraded ecosystems such as peatlands are large active sources of emissions; rewetting is low-tech and quick; co-benefits include flood control and cleaner water.
• Body 2 (clean technology): only new energy systems can cut emissions at source; but development is slow, capital-intensive and uncertain in outcome.
• Conclusion: a sequencing argument — fund restoration now for immediate returns while sustaining long-term investment in technology.

Sample prompt 2 (agree/disagree)

Modern communication technology has made people less able to concentrate. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Model outline

• Intro: paraphrase; thesis — partly agree: the design of platforms fragments attention, but the effect depends on habits rather than technology itself.
• Body 1 (agree): services compete for attention and are engineered around interruption; constant notifications train shallow, switching behaviour.
• Body 2 (qualify): the same technology supports deep work when configured deliberately; evidence on harm is contested and concentration appears trainable.
• Conclusion: technology creates the conditions for distraction but does not determine the outcome; education in attention habits is the practical answer.

How the interview runs

The examiner records the test and follows a script for Part 1 and Part 2, with more freedom in Part 3. You are not assessed on the opinions you express, only on the language you use to express them.

Core strategy

• Answer, then extend. A bare answer costs fluency marks; two or three extra sentences of reason, example or contrast is the target length in Part 1.
• Buy time naturally: That is an interesting question, I have never thought about it, but I suppose...
• Do not memorise speeches. Examiners recognise rehearsed material and it depresses the fluency score.
• Self-correct briefly and move on; long repairs break the flow more than the original error did.
• In Part 3, signal your structure: There are two sides to this. On the one hand... On the other...

Part 1 — familiar topics (4–5 minutes)

1. Do you work or are you a student?
2. What do you enjoy most about your studies or your job?
3. Describe the area where you live.
4. Would you like to move somewhere else in the future? Why?
5. How do you usually get to work or college?
6. What kind of weather do you prefer, and why?
7. Do you enjoy cooking? Has that changed over time?
8. How often do you read for pleasure?

Part 2 — the long turn (3–4 minutes)

Use the full preparation minute to write four or five key words, one for each bullet, and speak from those notes.

Sample card A

Describe a skill you would like to learn. You should say:

• what the skill is
• how you would learn it
• how long you think it would take

and explain why you want to learn it.

Sample card B

Describe a place you visited that made a strong impression on you. You should say:

• where it is
• when you went there
• what you did there

and explain why it made such an impression.

Sample card C

Describe a change you have made in your daily routine. You should say:

• what the change was
• why you made it
• how difficult it was

and explain what effect it has had on you.

Part 3 — discussion (4–5 minutes)

1. Why do some skills seem harder for adults to learn than for children?
2. Should schools focus more on practical skills than on academic subjects?
3. How has technology changed the way people learn new things?
4. Do you think tourism benefits local communities? In what ways?
5. What problems can arise when a place becomes very popular with visitors?
6. Should governments limit the number of visitors to fragile natural sites?
7. Is it easier or harder to change your habits today than it was a generation ago?
8. Why do so many people find it difficult to concentrate for long periods?
9. What responsibility do companies have for the effect their products have on users?
10. Do you think people will work fewer hours in the future?

Useful functional language

• Speculating: it may well be that, I would imagine, it is quite likely that
• Contrasting: whereas, having said that, that is not to say that
• Generalising carefully: broadly speaking, by and large, as a rule
• Giving examples: take my own city, for instance, a good case in point is

Assumes 8–10 hours a week. Adjust the balance towards your weakest module after the diagnostic in week 1.

Week 1 — Diagnose

Sit a full timed test, including Writing, and mark it honestly. Record a Part 2 answer on your phone and listen back. Convert the Reading raw score to a band and write down your target. Start a vocabulary notebook organised by topic, not alphabetically.

Week 2 — Reading mechanics

Work on one question type per day: True/False/Not Given, matching headings, summary completion. Do them untimed first; accuracy before speed. Rule of the week: the answer must be justifiable by a specific line in the text.

Week 3 — Listening and note-taking

One recording a day, then a second pass with the transcript to see exactly where you lost the thread. Practise spelling numbers, dates and names under dictation. Begin daily 10-minute shadowing of a podcast.

Week 4 — Writing Task 1

Learn one visual type per day and write four full Task 1 answers this week. Build a personal bank of trend language and check every answer for a genuine overview paragraph.

Week 5 — Writing Task 2

Plan ten essays in five minutes each; write three of them in full under 40-minute conditions. Focus on developing a single idea per paragraph rather than adding more ideas. Compare your work with model answers by structure, not by wording.

Week 6 — Speaking

Answer five Part 1 questions and one Part 2 card every day, recording each one. Score yourself on fluency and repetition, and note where you paused for vocabulary; those gaps become the week's word lists. Practise Part 3 with a partner or by writing spoken-style answers aloud.

Week 7 — Full timed practice

Two complete practice tests under exam conditions, ideally on the same days of the week and at the same hour as your real test. Review every wrong Reading answer by category: misread question, unknown vocabulary, ran out of time, or fell for a Not Given trap.

Week 8 — Consolidate and taper

Light, targeted work only: revise your error log, rehearse Task 1 openings, review your vocabulary notebook, and do one short timed section per day. Stop new material three days before the test. Sleep, and prepare your documents.

Habits that matter more than materials

• Keep an error log with three columns: the mistake, the reason, the rule.
• Read one 800-word article a day and summarise it in three sentences.
• Learn vocabulary in collocations, not single words.
• Time everything from week 4 onward; untimed practice hides the real problem.