English IELTS practice
Practice questions for the IELTS, taken from the sets of the English course that need no account: a few questions from each part with the answer and the reason, and a quiz on those sets.
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Show a question's answer to check yours. These are practice questions in the exam's format, not the provider's own papers; the quiz runs without an account.
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- 12 sample questions
IELTS
4 sets · 788 questions, no account needed, in 4 parts. The page shows 12 sample questions with the answers, a few from each part.
Reading
1 set · 198 questions
from the set Reading
TEXT MESSAGE Hi love — the sofa we liked is £200 cheaper in the online sale, but delivery isn't until next month and there's a £40 charge for it. If we collect from the warehouse ourselves it's free, though that's a two-hour drive. Shall I just order it for delivery? Let me know before six, when the sale ends. Question: What is the drawback of collecting the sofa from the warehouse?
- It means missing the online sale price
- It costs an extra £40 to collect
- It delays the sofa until next month
- It involves a long drive of two hours
show the answer
answer D. It involves a long drive of two hours
Collection is described as 'free, though that's a two-hour drive' — the drive is the downside. The £40 charge and the month-long wait apply to delivery, and the sale price is available either way.
from the set Reading
EMAIL Subject: Your recent order #48213 Dear Mr Owusu, Thank you for your order. Unfortunately, the walnut dining chair is temporarily out of stock, so we have not charged your card for that item. The rest of your order has shipped and will arrive by Friday. We will notify you when the chair is available again and take payment only once it is ready to dispatch. Kind regards, Customer Care Question: What does the email say about payment for the walnut chair?
- It will be taken only when the chair is ready to be sent
- It will be refunded once the chair is back in stock
- It has already been charged along with the rest of the order
- It must be paid again before Friday's delivery
show the answer
answer A. It will be taken only when the chair is ready to be sent
The email states they 'have not charged your card for that item' and will 'take payment only once it is ready to dispatch'. No charge has been made yet, so there is nothing to refund and no second payment is required.
from the set Reading
Chefs have long debated whether presentation genuinely affects taste or merely flatters the eye. Recent studies lend support to the former view: identical desserts arranged more artfully were rated as tasting better by diners who could not otherwise tell them apart. The effect, researchers suggest, is that visual expectation primes the palate, so a beautiful plate can quite literally make food seem more delicious. Question: What do the studies mentioned in the passage suggest?
- Diners can always detect differences in ingredients
- Taste is unaffected by how a dish looks
- Attractive presentation can make food seem to taste better
- Presentation matters only to professional chefs
show the answer
answer C. Attractive presentation can make food seem to taste better
The studies found identical desserts plated more artfully 'were rated as tasting better', because visual expectation primes the palate. The diners could not otherwise tell them apart, and the finding contradicts the idea that looks do not matter.
Listening
1 set · 198 questions
from the set Listening
Transcript: FEMALE: Letting students use AI to write essays is straightforward cheating. It has to be banned. MALE: I get the worry, but calculators didn't end maths. We changed what we assessed instead. FEMALE: An essay is about thinking, though, not arithmetic. If the machine does the thinking, what's left? MALE: Then assess the thinking directly, oral defence, drafts, in-class writing. Ban the shortcut, not the tool. What does the man propose instead of a ban?
- Letting AI write students' essays for them
- Replacing all essays with arithmetic tests
- Banning calculators as well as AI
- Assessing the thinking more directly
show the answer
answer D. Assessing the thinking more directly
The man draws on the calculator analogy to argue for changing assessment, using oral defence, drafts and in-class writing, so the thinking is tested. He doesn't endorse AI writing essays, replace essays with arithmetic, or call for banning calculators.
from the set Listening
Transcript: Interviewer: You've worked mostly in large corporations. This is a start-up. What concerns might you have? Candidate: I'd be lying if I said there were none. The main one is resources. In a big firm you have specialists for everything; here I'd need to wear several hats. But I actually see that as a chance to broaden my skills rather than a drawback. What is the candidate's main concern about the role?
- The long hours typical of start-ups
- A lack of clear career progression
- Having fewer specialists to call on
- The lower level of pay at a start-up
show the answer
answer C. Having fewer specialists to call on
She names resources as her main concern, since a start-up lacks the specialists a large firm has. Pay, progression, and hours are not raised.
from the set Listening
Transcript: MALE: Nuclear power is the obvious answer to the climate crisis. It's reliable and low-carbon. FEMALE: Low-carbon, yes, but the waste lasts millennia and new plants run wildly over budget. MALE: The waste is manageable and the cost overruns come from building too few, we've lost the expertise. FEMALE: Maybe, but by the time a new plant opens, cheaper renewables could have done the job. That's my real doubt. What is the woman's chief reservation about nuclear power?
- Renewables may deliver sooner and cheaper
- There is no way to store the waste at all
- It produces large amounts of carbon dioxide
- It cannot provide reliable electricity
show the answer
answer A. Renewables may deliver sooner and cheaper
Her real doubt is timing and cost: renewables could do the job before a slow, over-budget plant opens. She concedes nuclear is low-carbon and reliable, and the man, not she, addresses the waste as manageable.
Grammar
1 set · 195 questions
from the set Grammar
When the inspector finally arrived, the technicians ____ on the faulty engine for hours.
- have been working
- were working
- worked
- had been working
show the answer
answer D. had been working
The past perfect continuous 'had been working' expresses an activity that continued up to a point in the past ('for hours' before the arrival). The present perfect continuous belongs to the present, the past continuous omits the duration leading up to that moment, and the past simple states no prior ongoing effort.
from the set Grammar
The glowing brochure finally persuaded us ____ the more expensive hotel by the sea.
- booking
- to book
- book
- to booking
show the answer
answer B. to book
'Persuade' follows the pattern verb + object + to-infinitive, so 'persuaded us to book' is right. It does not take a gerund ('booking') or a bare infinitive ('book') after the object, and 'to booking' is never valid.
from the set Grammar
The symptoms of the illness are remarkably similar ____ those of ordinary seasonal flu.
- from
- with
- to
- as
show the answer
answer C. to
'Similar to' is the fixed adjective-plus-preposition pairing for comparisons. 'Similar with' and 'similar as' are common errors (the 'as' pattern belongs to 'the same as'), and 'similar from' reverses the sense, echoing 'different from'.
Vocabulary
1 set · 197 questions
from the set Vocabulary
As the eldest child still living at home, she took on most of the _____ responsibilities such as cooking and cleaning.
- domestic
- commercial
- industrial
- corporate
show the answer
answer A. domestic
'Domestic' relates to the home and family, so 'domestic responsibilities' correctly covers cooking and cleaning. 'Commercial' and 'corporate' relate to business, and 'industrial' relates to manufacturing and factories.
from the set Vocabulary
Vaccines work by training the body's _____ system to recognise and fight off specific germs.
- muscular
- nervous
- immune
- digestive
show the answer
answer C. immune
The 'immune' system is the body's defence against infection, which is exactly what vaccines strengthen. The 'nervous' system controls signals, the 'digestive' system processes food, and the 'muscular' system enables movement.
from the set Vocabulary
The apprentice showed real _____ for the trade, mastering skills far faster than expected.
- altitude
- gratitude
- aptitude
- attitude
show the answer
answer C. aptitude
'Aptitude' means a natural ability or talent for something, which explains rapid mastery. 'Attitude' means a settled way of thinking, 'altitude' means height above sea level, and 'gratitude' means thankfulness.
how it works
Each part shows a few of its questions, picked in a fixed order, so the page reads the same on every visit. Show an answer to see the correct option and why.
Practising a part runs a quiz on the sets made of that part alone, up to 12 of them; practising the whole exam draws a quiz at random from up to 12 of the exam's sets, the ones that mix parts included, and every start draws again. No set of this exam needs an account. Each answer is marked on the spot and what you miss comes back. A free account keeps your progress and lets you sit the mock exam.
frequently asked questions
Are these the real IELTS questions?
No. The 12 sample questions on this page, and the 788 questions behind them, are practice questions in the format of the exam, written for wspell. The exam's own papers belong to its provider; the exam's page on wspell links to the official sources.
Do I need an account to practise for the IELTS?
No. The quiz on the IELTS runs without one (all 4 sets), and a practise link starts the course for you in the same tap. A free account keeps your progress and lets you sit the mock exam.
Exam names and trade marks on this page belong to the organisations that own and run those exams. wspell is independent and is not affiliated with or endorsed by any of them.