Modules
Full tests with answers and explanations, and how to use one properly. No signup, no payment.
These free IELTS practice tests are full length and follow the format, timing and question types of the real test. Every question is explained as soon as you answer it, so a test tells you why you were wrong rather than only that you were.
A practice test is only worth taking properly. Done under time, in one sitting, with a real review afterwards, it is the most useful hour in your preparation. Done casually with the answers visible, it tells you almost nothing.
Method
Six rules. The third is the one that turns a test into progress.
Sixty minutes for reading, and stop when the time stops. There is no extra time in the real test to transfer answers, so treat every answer as final when you write it.
Concentration in the third passage is part of what is being tested. Doing one section a day measures something the real test does not.
Spend as long on the review as on the test. Knowing which question types you lose marks on is worth more than the score itself.
Looking at an explanation before you have committed turns a test into an exercise. Both are useful; they are not the same thing.
One test, then a few days working on what it exposed, then the next. Three tests in a week teaches very little.
Note your score and your weakest section each time. Progress across four tests tells you far more than a single result.
Method
Six honest limits.
This is the commonest failure in reading, and it is the one thing only a timed full test reveals.
Consistently losing marks on matching headings is a fixable problem once you know it is happening.
Roughly 30 out of 40 is Band 7 in Academic reading and 34 in General Training. Boundaries vary between test versions.
There is no raw score for writing. An examiner judges it against four criteria, and self-assessment is unreliable.
The same applies. Recording yourself tells you how you sound, not what you would score.
A test taken at home, in silence, with no pressure, usually produces a higher score than the same test on the day.
Practice
Five decisions about how to use a practice test.
A practice test is a measurement, not a lesson.
The lesson happens afterwards, when you work out why each wrong answer was wrong.
1How long should a reading practice test take?
Sixty minutes. With no extra time at the end. Untimed practice measures your comprehension but not your ability to finish.
2You have taken a test and scored 24 out of 40. What is the most useful next step?
Review the wrong answers. The score is a measurement. The improvement comes from the review, and skipping it is why some candidates plateau.
3Should you check answers as you go?
Finish first. Checking as you go turns a test into an exercise, and you lose the one thing a test measures.
4How many practice tests should you do in a week?
One, properly reviewed. Quality of review beats quantity of tests every time.
5Your practice score is higher than your real test score was. Why?
Home conditions. No pressure, no unfamiliar room, no strict invigilation. Practice scores usually flatter, so plan for a little less on the day.
Almost everyone does. The gap is usually timing and pressure rather than ability, and both improve with full tests taken under real conditions.
The complete IELTS course on IELTStestONLINE has video lessons on every question type, many more exercises like this one, and your own support tutor you can ask when an answer does not make sense. Take a look at the complete course
A practice test scores two of the four papers. The other two have to be assessed against the band descriptors.
IELTStestONLINE keeps every score you get in one place, gives you an estimated band as you work, and assesses your writing and speaking against the four criteria so you can see where you stand before test day. See what full membership includes
They are full-length tests written to the same specification as the real thing, with the same structure, timing and question types. Past papers are not released by the test providers.
No. The tests, the answers and the explanations are all open, with no account and no payment.
Roughly 30 out of 40 in Academic reading and 34 in General Training, though boundaries vary slightly between test versions.
About one a week, with a proper review in between. Taking several in quick succession teaches very little.
No. Writing and speaking have no raw score to convert, and are judged by an examiner against four criteria.
Full membership
Reading and listening give you a number. Writing and speaking are where most candidates lose the band they need, and neither can be self-assessed.
IELTStestONLINE assesses your writing and speaking against the four IELTS criteria, instantly and as often as you like, using a system built by a former IELTS examiner and examiner trainer. It keeps every score in one place with an estimated band, and it carries no advertising.
See what membership includes