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Free IELTS practice · Academic & General Training

Your IELTS journey starts here.

Build the English skills behind the test. Start with a short activity, understand your mistakes, and practise listening, reading, writing and speaking at your own pace.

Try a reading warm-up ↓Choose your test

Free starter activities. No sign-up required.

Step 1 · Know your goal

Which IELTS test do you need?

Check the exact test and score requirements with the organisation receiving your results before choosing. Academic and General Training share the Listening and Speaking tests; their Reading and Writing tests are different.

Academic

Study & professional goals

Usually relevant for undergraduate or postgraduate study and professional registration. Reading and Writing focus on academic contexts.

Official Academic guide ↗
General Training

Everyday & workplace English

Uses more everyday and workplace contexts in Reading and Writing. Confirm that this is the version required for your purpose.

Official General Training guide ↗

New to English? Build a foundation with our Beginner Roadmap. Already comfortable with everyday English? Use the Intermediate Path alongside IELTS practice.

01 · Listening

Listen for the answer, not just a familiar word.

Practise following a speaker’s meaning and noticing corrections. For example, in “We first booked Tuesday, but the appointment is now Thursday,” the final appointment day is Thursday.

Your first listening routine

  1. Open a Listening sample on the official practice page. Read its instructions and questions first.
  2. Predict the kind of answer needed: a name, number, place or other detail.
  3. Play the recording once and answer. Then use its answer key and transcript to review.
  4. Listen again to the part you missed. Note what changed your understanding.

Follow the question’s word limit and check spelling. The example above is a written warm-up; use the official recording for audio practice.

Open official listening samples ↗

Continue with the full lesson: Listening: Numbers, dates and corrections →
Academic & General Training · 25 minutes · Audio + transcript

Next task: Listening: Multiple choice →
Academic & General Training · 25 minutes · Audio + transcript

Practise another task: Listening: Matching activities →
Academic & General Training · 25 minutes · Audio + transcript

02 · Reading · 5-minute warm-up

Find evidence before you choose an answer.

Read this original ESS passage. Decide whether each statement is True, False or Not Given, then reveal the explanation. This short skills exercise is not a full IELTS test.

A quieter place to study

Riverside Library introduced quiet study sessions in September. The sessions run on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 6 to 8 p.m. Visitors do not need a library card, but they must reserve a seat online. The library provides free Wi-Fi. Food is not allowed in the study room, although visitors may bring water. After the first month, staff added ten more seats because demand was higher than expected.

1. A library card is required. Reveal answer

False. The passage says visitors do not need a library card. This directly contradicts the statement.

2. The library added seats after the first month. Reveal answer

True. The final sentence says staff added ten more seats after the first month.

3. Most visitors are university students. Reveal answer

Not Given. The passage does not identify most visitors. A library setting alone is not evidence that they are university students.

Remember the difference: False means the text contradicts the statement. Not Given means the text does not provide enough information to decide.

Continue with the full lesson: Reading: True, False and Not Given →
Academic & General Training · 25 minutes

Next task: Reading: Matching headings →
Academic & General Training · 25 minutes

Practise another task: Reading: Sentence completion →
Academic & General Training · 25 minutes

03 · Writing · 10-minute warm-up

Plan a clear answer before you write.

Try this original opinion prompt: Some people prefer studying alone, while others prefer learning in a group. Discuss both views and give your own opinion.

Build a four-part plan

  1. Introduce the topic and state your position.
  2. Explain one benefit of studying alone, with an example.
  3. Explain one benefit of group learning, with an example.
  4. Summarise your judgement without adding a new argument.

Write one body paragraph after planning. This warm-up is shorter than a complete exam response.

Check your paragraph

  • Does the first sentence make one clear point?
  • Have you explained why it matters?
  • Does your example support that point?
  • Are verb forms, articles and sentence boundaries accurate?

A useful idea: “Studying alone makes it easier to work at a personal pace. For example, a learner can spend more time reviewing a difficult topic.” Develop your own examples rather than memorising this wording.

For full tasks, choose the official Academic samples or official General Training samples and follow the stated instructions. Review sentence patterns in our grammar lessons.

Continue with the full lesson: Writing: Plan a discuss-both-views essay →
Academic & General Training · 45 minutes, plus optional essay practice

Next task: Writing: A clear request letter →
General Training only · Task 1 · 35 minutes, plus optional writing

Practise another task: Writing: Compare table data →
Academic only · Task 1 · 40 minutes, plus optional writing

04 · Speaking · 5-minute warm-up

Give a reason. Add a real example.

Describe a skill you would like to learn.

Explain what the skill is, why you want to learn it, how you could practise, and how it could help you.

  1. Spend one minute writing brief notes, not complete sentences.
  2. Speak for one to two minutes. You can record yourself with your phone’s recorder if you wish.
  3. Listen back: did you explain your ideas clearly and give a specific example?
  4. Try again, improving one thing: a clearer reason, a better example or a more accurate sentence.

Focus on being understandable and using language naturally. You do not need to imitate a particular accent or force an idiom into every answer.

Try more conversation practice and learn vocabulary in context with Word of the Day. These self-study activities do not provide an IELTS band score.

Continue with the full lesson: Speaking: Develop a clear Part 2 response →
Academic & General Training · 30 minutes

Next task: Speaking: Develop Part 3 opinions →
Academic & General Training · 30 minutes

Practise another task: Speaking: Natural Part 1 answers →
Academic & General Training · 25 minutes

Step 2 · Build a habit

A simple first week

Days 1–3: understand & try

  1. Day 1: confirm your test type and explore its official sample questions.
  2. Day 2: complete the reading warm-up and explain each answer using evidence.
  3. Day 3: try an official listening sample and review missed answers.

Days 4–7: practise & review

  1. Day 4: plan the writing prompt and develop one paragraph.
  2. Day 5: record the speaking warm-up and review it.
  3. Day 6: practise your weakest skill with an official sample.
  4. Day 7: review mistakes and choose next week’s focus.

Keep a small error log: the question, your answer, the correct answer or improvement, and the reason. Review patterns instead of only counting mistakes.

Build your IELTS skills

Choose your next focused lesson

Learn a method, try original practice and review your work before moving to official sample questions. These short lessons are not full IELTS tests.

Reading lessons

Listening lessons

Writing lessons

Speaking lessons

Step 3 · Go further

Official resources for your next step

Use IELTS.org for current test formats, sample recordings, questions and answer keys. Our activities help you get started; official materials help you become familiar with the actual test.

Academic sample questions ↗General Training sample questions ↗Explore ESS English tools →