“Where can I practice the IELTS for free?” and “Are there any free IELTS mock tests?” are two questions I get a lot. We’re answering both of those questions by offering a free IELTS practice test PDF from Magoosh. Plus, I’ll also link to IELTS sample test PDFs from other trustworthy sources.
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Free IELTS Practice Test PDF from Magoosh
Actually, Magoosh offers two IELTS sample test PDFs: one for IELTS Academic, and one for IELTS General Training. You can access either of them by clicking the buttons below:
A Bonus Free IELTS Practice Test for Each of the Four Parts of the Test
Magoosh also offers additional full individual sections of the IELTS. You can put these sections together to make your own additional free IELTS test, or you can practice them individually. Check out the various IELTS sample test PDFs, videos, and assorted web pages below!
Free IELTS Practice Test: Listening
Would you like to practice with just a standalone Listening section? Our Listening test comes in video format, with full audio, onscreen questions and the answer key on a separate video.
Click here for our full IELTS Listening practice test (video)
This is a great starter activity before you dive into Magoosh’s in-depth guide to IELTS Listening.
IELTS Sample Test PDF and Video for Reading
Next, you can practice with some free full IELTS Reading sections, both for Academic with its longer text passages, and for IELTS GT, with its mix of long and short texts.
For the IELTS Academic Reading Test, click here for an IELTS Reading test (video), with an onscreen timer. You can keep your own blank answer sheet to record answers on as you watch the video.
And for IELTS General Training Reading, click for our free General Reading practice test PDF. (This IELTS sample test PDF includes links to video explanations of all the answers!)
Finally we have a whole blog post dedicated to additional IELTS Reading practice tests and resources, with links to more IELTS Reading prep from Magoosh and from the makers of the official exam.
Writing Section: Free IELTS Sample Test PDF and Video
We have several different free IELTS sample test PDFs in our free IELTS Writing Practice Test, including free IELTS practice test PDFs for GT and the Academic Writing test. (As you may know, Writing Task 1 is different on these two writing tests and tests considerably different writing components. In GT, you’ll write a letter that addresses a specific social context, whereas in Academic, you’ll describe a graph, map, or diagram.)
Or, if you want to quickly access just one free IELTS practice test PDF for the version of the exam you’re taking, click on one of these links:
Speaking IELTS Practice Test (PDF and Video)
Magoosh has a video that simulates an IELTS Speaking interview. Our lead IELTS instructor Eliot asks you IELTS Speaking questions, and you can pause the video to say your answers.
But wait, there’s more! For additional IELTS Speaking test practice, you can use the following resources (and possibly assemble them into a second full Speaking section):
The Best Kind of Free IELTS Practice Test: Official Tests
Which is the best IELTS mock test online? Well, in spite of the hard work my colleagues and I put into the Magoosh free IELTS practice test PDFs, I can still only say ours are second-best. Why? Because there’s nothing quite like the real thing from the people who make the exam!
IELTS sample test PDFs from each official IELTS website (there are four) are taken from real IELTS exams that students sat for in the past, so they’ll give you the best experience. They are truly authentic and trustworthy in a way that even the best unofficial IELTS exam practice can’t reach. These resources answer another common question I get from students: “Can I take the IELTS test for free?” While the exam you’ll take on test day has fees, the tests I’m going to show you below are real IELTS exam practice online, free of charge. So you’ll definitely want to download some of the PDFs below!
The British Council’s Free IELTS Practice Tests
The British Council offers four free IELTS practice tests: two Academic tests, and two for the IELTS General Training test. Click here to access these official IELTS tests from the BC.
Free Sample IELTS Test PDFs (Academic and GT) from IELTS.org
IELTS.org has an IELTS sample test PDF for each section of IELTS Academic and IELTS General Training, both full of authentic sample questions.
Click here for those official IELTS sample test PDFs.
Can you take a free IELTS practice test for IELTS on Computer?
The IELTS on Computer is a relatively new test format. But it’s becoming more and more widely available. If IELTS on Computer is an option for you, then you’ll want to practice for the computer-based exam.
There is no full official practice test for IELTS on Computer just yet. But right now, you can see some sample practice questions on IELTS.org’s IELTS on Computer practice page. And you can go through additional official IELTS on Computer practice questions on the IELTS IDP website. Between these two resources, you’ll have something that’s roughly equivalent to a full IELTS practice test.
Cambridge’s IELTS Sample Test PDF Archive (Writing)
Cambridge, one of the other official sponsors of the IELTS, offers some practice materials that are a bit different. Unlike the other official websites for the IELTS, Cambridge specializes in print books of IELTS prep, not IELTS sample test PDFs or other digital resources.
But Cambridge does offer free IELTS sample test materials, excerpted from their books. To see the links to all of that content, you’ll need to register for the Cambridge publishing website, log in, and find the IELTS content in their menu. I’ve put together detailed instructions on how to do that in my post on the four main official IELTS websites and how to use them.
While I do like many of the resources Cambridge offers, there is one problem with their free practice test PDFs: they tend not to come with answer keys. For Writing PDFs, such as this GT IELTS sample practice test PDF or this practice test for IELTS Academic Writing, that’s not a huge problem. But for Cambridge’s Reading and Listening practice, you may need to find answer keys in other online forums. (And Cambridge’s Listening PDFs don’t always have audio and may even lack transcripts, which makes some of them useless!)
The Importance of Full-Length IELTS Tests
Full IELTS practice tests are a key part of your IELTS exam preparation, especially if you want to get a top band score. You absolutely must do some full test practice, so you can have a realistic preview of your test day experience, and get a sense of how hard the IELTS is for you at your current skill level. Studying for the IELTS in a cost-effective way is also important. And as you can see, there are many free options to practice those language skills in full online tests.
So I would encourage you to use a free IELTS practice test PDF or two in your IELTS study plan—perhaps as part of one the IELTS study schedules Magoosh offers. (We even specifically list this article as a resource in our one week IELTS study plan.)
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