IELTS Academic · Band 0–9
IELTS Academic practice tests — the computer-delivered paper, marked
Sit the whole paper in test-day order against the official timings: Listening, Reading and Writing on a screen modelled on IELTS on computer, then Speaking with a recorded examiner — on the real test it is face to face. Listening and Reading are marked the moment you finish; Writing and Speaking come back as an estimated band on the four published criteria.
- 10
- full tests
- 51
- single-skill tests
- 130
- question-type drills
- 3,070
- questions & tasks
Free with an account, no card: 1 full test and 4 single-skill tests.
Four skills, one sitting
Practise it the way you will sit it — same order, same clock, same tools on screen.
Listening is about 30 minutes of recording plus the two-minute check; Speaking runs 11–14 minutes and ends on the clock, as the examiner would end it. On the real test Listening, Reading and Writing come back to back and Speaking may be the same day or up to a week before or after.
Practise one skill at a time
Start with the one holding your band back — moving a single skill is usually the fastest route to the score you need.
Listening
Four parts played once, British voices, then the two minutes the computer test gives you to check.
Practise listening →Reading
Three academic passages of the kind journals and broadsheets print, 40 questions, 60 minutes, with the passage on the left and the questions on the right, as IELTS on computer lays them out.
Practise reading →Writing
Task 1 reports a graph, chart, map or process in at least 150 words. Task 2 is an essay of at least 250 words and counts twice as much. Both on one 60-minute clock.
Practise writing →Speaking
Three parts with a recorded examiner — face to face on the real test: interview, a two-minute talk from a cue card, then discussion.
Practise speaking →Which module is yours?
Academic is the module universities and most professional bodies ask for. If the score is for Canadian permanent residence or citizenship, you almost certainly need General Training instead — IRCC accepts IELTS General Training for Express Entry, not Academic.
Academic Reading and General Training Reading use different band tables: 30 correct out of 40 is Band 7.0 here and Band 6.0 in General Training. Listening is the same paper, and the same table, in both.
Requirements vary by programme and change. Confirm what your own stream asks for before you book or apply.
See IELTS General Training →Questions people ask
- Is this the computer-delivered format?
- Yes, as far as the test makers describe it. IELTS runs on computer or on paper with the same content, timing and marking, and IDP describes the computer version: the passage on the left and questions on the right in Reading, highlighting and notes, a timer that flashes in the last ten and five minutes, and two minutes to review your answers at the end of Listening. These tests are modelled on that description; the finer details of our screen are our own design. Speaking on the real test is face to face with an examiner, on computer or paper; here the examiner is recorded.
- How accurate are the bands?
- Your Listening and Reading marks are exact — every answer is marked against its key. The band they convert to is close but indicative: ielts.org publishes the marks for Bands 5 to 8 (30 out of 40 is Band 7.0 in both Listening and Academic Reading), says the exact marks vary slightly from one test version to another, and the steps in between follow the commonly used conversion. Writing and Speaking are estimates from our AI marker on the four public criteria, and every screen that shows one says so.
- How long does a full test take?
- About two and a half hours for Listening, Reading and Writing back to back, plus 11–14 minutes of Speaking. You can also sit a single skill on its own when only one is holding your band down.
- Are these real IELTS questions?
- No. Every passage, recording and task is written for ExamStep to the published test specification. IELTS is a registered trademark of the British Council, IDP IELTS and Cambridge University Press & Assessment; ExamStep is not affiliated with them.