IELTS preparation tips and resources: what is free, what to buy and how to plan

Start with the free official materials: IELTS Prepare, practice tests with answer keys, the free Masterclass and the sample papers. IDP Australia's preparation guide, dated 15/08/2022, says that when you book IELTS you get a free online preparation course worth $80 (no currency is shown), so check on IDP's booking page that the offer still runs. Pay for a mock test or course only if you want feedback on Writing and Speaking.

IELTS is owned by the British Council, IDP IELTS and Cambridge University Press and Assessment. Between them they publish a lot of free material. IDP Australia says where to begin.

IDP says what free practice tests do for you.

• Get familiar with the IELTS test format.
• Test yourself and get used to real test time conditions.
• Experience tasks similar to test tasks.
• Review your answers by comparing to model answers.

It also says what practice tests cannot do on their own. This is worth reading before you plan your study.

Our reading: do the practice tests, and fill the rest of your week with English that is not a test: news, podcasts, conversation, notes in English. Both halves count.

IDP's own pages describe a free preparation course in two places, and Inside IELTS as a separate free programme. They do not say whether the first two are the same course, so read all three before you pay for anything.

Our reading: Inside IELTS is Academic-focused and not on demand, so General Training candidates should check before planning around it.

IDP lists what the course with a booking includes.

• 60+ expert-guided tutorial videos.
• 100+ practice questions and quizzes.
• 150+ grammar and vocabulary lessons.
• sample writing assessments with model responses.
• speaking assessments.
• mock tests with answers.

Our reading: the one-skill and all-skills choices differ a lot in time. Thirty days on one skill suits a clear weak spot. Four days on all four skills suits a last-minute look at everything. Decide before you activate it, and check IDP's page for when the 4 or 30 days start, because the guide does not say.

Paid options

IDP is open about the free and paid materials.

We have not tested these. Check the price on IDP's own page before you buy. We list no prices here.

How to choose

These rules of thumb are ours.

• Reading and Listening come with answer keys, so you can mark yourself for free. Start there.
• Writing and Speaking need someone to judge them. If you pay for anything, pay for feedback on those two.
• If your weak skill is clear, the one-skill package (30 days) gives you more time on it than the all-skills package (4 days). If you are unsure, take a timed mock test first to find out.
• Do not buy a paid course until you have used the free practice tests. They will show you what you actually need.
• Tutors, apps and extra courses from other companies are outside what we reviewed. We make no recommendation about them.

IDP says what the official preparation books do.

• Learn more about the sections and format of the test, as well as how many questions and how much time you should dedicate to each section.
• See samples of the different question types that are used in the test.
• Complete practice tests and review the results.
• Learn strategies to increase your band score.

IDP describes one title in the list, Official IELTS Practice Materials 2 (with DVD), like this.

Of that title, IDP says where to buy it.

Cambridge University Press and Assessment, which publishes the numbered practice test books, describes one title, Official IELTS Practice Materials 1, like this.

Its catalogue lists the books by title. These are the practice-test titles in the IELTS section, with the dates it gives.

IELTS.org points to both the books and the free papers.

• From practice tests to expert advice, our books have everything you need to get test ready.
• Teacher-led courses can help you learn and practise English.

PDFs

If you are after a Cambridge IELTS PDF or an IELTS exam practice PDF, here is what the owners themselves publish. These are free, official and downloadable.

The IDP booklet is described as a free preparation booklet that is packed with useful information about the test format, questions you might encounter on test day and tips to get the most out of your test preparation.

Our reading: we found no PDF of a whole Cambridge practice book on the Cambridge pages that we read. Those pages list the books for sale, and IDP says to buy them from Cambridge.org or a test centre. If a site gives you a whole numbered Cambridge practice book as a free PDF, ask where it came from. The free owner PDFs above are the ones to use.

Your preparation should copy the real test, so start with its shape. IDP Australia sets it out.

Listening and Speaking are the same in Academic and General Training. Reading and Writing differ. The recordings play once and use a mix of accents.

• The IELTS Listening and Speaking tests are the same, regardless if you choose to sit IELTS Academic or IELTS General Training test.
• You will hear the recordings once only.
• Different accents, including British, Australian, New Zealand, and North American, are used.

The score you need depends on who asks for it. IDP says so in its Listening tips, and the point applies to every skill.

The overall score is made in a simple way.

Our reading: because the overall score is an average, a very weak skill pulls it down, and a strong skill can lift it. Find your weakest skill early and give it the most time.

Listening

IDP's Listening tips start with the format and the questions. Here is what matters most.

• Before each audio recording is played, you will be able to view the questions for that recording. Use this time to think about which words might be important.
• Spend some time looking up synonyms for words you use often, and practice saying the same sentence in as many different ways as possible.
• if you realise that you’ve missed an answer, stay calm! Keep answering the questions as the audio plays, and fill in the missed answer with your best guess when the recording is finished.
• You'll not receive any marks for a blank answer on the listening test, so it’s important to try to answer every question.

• Use the reading time before each recording. Underline the key words in the questions, and think of other words that mean the same.
• Listen for meaning, not for the same word that is in the question. The answer often comes in different words.
• Keep answering while the recording plays. If you miss one, leave it and move on; you can guess when the recording ends.
• Never leave a blank. A blank earns nothing, and a guess may earn a mark.
• Practise with the transcript. Listen once as in the test, mark it, then listen again with the transcript and see what you missed.
• Listen to a spread of accents: the format quote above lists British, Australian, New Zealand and North American voices.

Reading

IDP's Reading tips are about time and about method.

• You have 60 minutes to complete 40 questions on the test.
• There are three sections in the Reading test, and you should aim to spend no more than 20 minutes on each section.
• Read the questions before you read the text.
• Skim through the passage.
• Identify key words.
• Answer every question.
• Check your answers.

IDP gives specific advice for statement questions (True, False, Not Given) and for matching headings.

• The information in the text appears in the same order as the questions, so you can find the information for the first statement before the information for the second statement.
• If you are unsure of the distinction between two or more headings, make a note of all the possible answers and move on to the following paragraph.

IDP's skimming and scanning guide separates two skills you should practise separately.

• Practise with a timer set to 20 minutes per passage, from the first day.
• Mark your answers and, for each mistake, find the sentence in the text that proves the right answer. This is what teaches you to read the question properly.
• For True, False and Not Given, find the matching sentence first, then decide. Not Given means the text does not say it, not that it is false.
• Keep a list of the question types that cost you marks, and drill that type for a week.

Writing

IELTS says what you must write. Task 1 differs between Academic and General Training, so both versions are here. Task 2 is the same in both tests. These facts decide how you practise.

• Academic Task 1: In Task 1, you have to describe some visual information in your own words (a graph, table, chart or diagram). You need to write at least 150 words in about 20 minutes.
• General Training Task 1: In Task 1, you have to respond to a situation by writing a letter, for example, asking for information or explaining a situation. You need to write at least 150 words in about 20 minutes.
• Task 2: In Task 2, you are given a point of view, argument or problem which you need to discuss. You need to write at least 250 words in about 40 minutes.
• Marking: Task 2 contributes twice as much as Task 1 to the Writing score.
• Academic Writing page: You must write your answers using full sentences. You must not write your answers as notes or bullet points.

IDP's advice is short. The first line is for Academic Task 1, and the other two are for Task 2.

• Our expert advice to you is to write an overview in your second sentence, just to make sure if you run out of time, that your overview is included in your response.
• Cover all parts of the question.
• Don't use memorised essays that might not address the task.

• Time the two tasks separately, and stop each one on the clock.
• Academic Task 1 needs an overview with no figures. Our Academic Writing guide to describing visuals has a worked example. General Training Task 1 is a letter, and our IELTS General Training letter samples show three.
• Task 2 needs every part of the question answered. Our IELTS essay samples show how.
• After you write, mark yourself against the four criteria that IELTS names, and wait a day before you rewrite.

Speaking

IELTS.org describes the Speaking test as a face-to-face interview. IELTS Australia says it is in the same testing room or, in certain situations, by secure video conference, and IDP's Gold Coast centre page says its Speaking test is by video call, so check how your session delivers it. IDP gives the shape and advice.

• The Speaking test takes between 11 and 14 minutes and consists of 3 parts.
• Part 1 (4–5 minutes): the examiner asks general questions about yourself and a range of familiar topics.
• Part 2 (3–4 minutes): you will have 1 minute to prepare before speaking for up to 2 minutes.

• Don't memorise answers, especially in Part 1. Memorised language doesn't give the examiner an accurate measure of your English-language skills.
• Try and answer the examiner's questions in full. Extend your answers and don't wait for the examiner to prompt you with a question.
• There is no harm in taking a brief pause to think about what to say.
• Everyone speaks with an accent and you are not expected to change your accent for the IELTS test.

• Answer each question in three moves: answer, reason, example. That gives you a natural way to extend, which IDP asks for.
• Record yourself, and listen back for repeated words and long pauses.
• Practise Part 2 with a one-minute plan: write four or five words, not sentences.
• Do not learn answers by heart. Learn topic words, and build the answer fresh each time.

For topic prompts, see our IELTS speaking topics page.

These plans assume you have found the free practice tests above. Replace the sets with whichever ones you have.

The week before your test

Four weeks to go

If you have more than four weeks, repeat weeks 2 and 3 with different practice sets. If you have less, keep the one-week plan and add one extra timed paper.

1. Only practising your strongest skill, because it feels good. Spend the most time where you lose the most marks.
2. Doing practice tests without a timer. Reading and Writing are tests of time as well as English.
3. Marking a test and moving on. The learning is in the mistakes. Write down why each one happened.
4. Learning model essays or speaking answers by heart. IDP warns against both, and the topic you get will not match.
5. Starting too late. IDP says you cannot just book and take your test in a matter of days, however strong your English is.

This page is general test preparation. It is not immigration advice. Your university, employer or visa decides the score you need, so check it with them. For which tests Australian visas accept, see English tests accepted for Australian visas, and for how IELTS compares with PTE, see PTE vs IELTS.

Common questions