IELTS General Training Practice Test Online — Computer-delivered Format (2026)
Sit a complete, timed IELTS General Training practice test in the computer-delivered format: Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking in the order of the real test day, with the on-screen layout, the question palette, the highlight and notes tools and the clock of IELTS on computer. ExamStep has ten full tests and ten single-skill practice tests in each of the four skills, with Writing and Speaking assessed on the four official criteria and reported as a band score. The practice tests are papers of their own, not sections of the full tests, so nothing you have practised comes round again when you sit a full test.
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What a full IELTS General Training practice test includes
A full test is 40 Listening questions in four parts, 40 Reading questions across three sections, two Writing tasks in one 60-minute sitting, and a three-part Speaking test led by a recorded examiner with a British accent. The Reading paper is the General Training one: Section 1 carries short everyday texts of the kind found in notices, advertisements and timetables (ielts.org: two or three short texts or several shorter ones; ours have two or three), Section 2 two texts about work, and Section 3 one long text of general interest. Writing Task 1 is a letter, not a report on a chart.
How it is scored
Listening and Reading are marked the moment you finish. Reading uses the General Training band table, which is not the Academic one: the same raw score is worth about a band less here, because the texts are easier. Writing and Speaking are evaluated on the public assessment criteria — task achievement or response, coherence and cohesion, lexical resource, grammatical range and accuracy, and for Speaking fluency and pronunciation — and returned as an estimated band with specific feedback. The overall band is the average of the four sections rounded to the nearest half band, as IELTS does.
Why timed practice matters
IELTS on computer runs Listening, Reading and Writing back to back — about two and a half hours without a break, with Speaking on the same day or within a few days. Reading gives no extra time to transfer answers, and Writing shares one hour between the letter and the essay, which carry different weight: the essay counts twice. Sitting the whole paper under those rules is how you find out whether your pacing holds.
How to use full tests in your prep
Sit one full test early to find the section holding your band down, work on it with the single-skill practice tests, then sit another full test close to your date. Aim for the same band in every section: IRCC reads the lowest of your four scores, not the average, so one weak skill decides the level your application is judged at.
Frequently asked questions
Should I take General Training or Academic?
It depends what the score is for. General Training is the version for Canadian permanent residence and citizenship — IRCC accepts IELTS General Training for Express Entry, not Academic — and for some work and training programmes. Academic is what universities and most professional bodies ask for. The two share Listening and Speaking; Reading and Writing Task 1 are different papers.
How is the band worked out?
Listening and Reading use raw-score-to-band tables, and General Training Reading has its own: 30 correct out of 40 is Band 6.0 here, where the same score in Academic Reading is Band 7.0. Writing and Speaking bands are estimates produced by our AI marker on the official criteria; treat them as a guide, not a result. The overall band follows the official rounding rule: the mean of the four sections to the nearest half band.
What is Writing Task 1 in General Training?
A letter of at least 150 words, written to a reader the task names, covering three bullet points you are given. It may be personal, semi-formal or formal depending on who it is addressed to, and you are told you do not need to write any addresses. The marker here judges it as a letter: whether all three points are covered, whether the purpose is clear, and whether the tone fits the reader.
Is the Reading paper easier than Academic?
The texts are — they are the kind of English you meet in daily life and at work rather than journal articles. The band table corrects for it, so an easier paper does not mean an easier band. Section 3 is a long text and is closer to the Academic level of difficulty than the first two sections.
Which accent are the recordings?
British. The real test mixes British, Australian, New Zealand and North American speakers, so expect a wider range on the day. Listening and Speaking are the same papers in both modules, so the Listening and Speaking tests here are taken from our Academic bank rather than written twice.
Are these real IELTS questions?
No. Every text, 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.
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