English Exams/IELTS Exam Preparation/General IELTS Exam Preparation
English Exams General IELTS Preparation Resources
Understand The General ELTS Exam, Reach Your IELTS Score
Prepare for the General IELTS test with high-quality General IELTS Exam Preparation learning resources covering Speaking, Writing, Reading, Listening, vocabulary, grammar, and exam strategies. Explore practical lessons, activities, and practice materials designed to build your confidence and help you achieve your target band score.
Each resource includes clear explanations, practical examples, and engaging exercises to help you develop the practical English language skills and exam techniques needed for success in the General IELTS test.
General IELTS Exam Test Structure
Test overview
The General IELTS test consists of four sections: Listening, Reading, Writing, and Speaking, designed to assess the practical English language skills needed for everyday life, work, training, and migration to English-speaking countries.
Test Structure
2hrs 45 Minutes Total
Listening 30 m
Reading 60 min
Reading 60 min
Speaking 14
Listening, Reading and Writing are taken back-to-back, same day, no breaks.
Speaking: same day or within 7 days.
01 Start Here
What is IELTS Academic?
IELTS General Training is the version of the test used for migration, work, training programmes, and professional purposes where candidates need to demonstrate their English proficiency for everyday and workplace communication.
Academic vs. General Training: only two of the four skills are different. Listening and Speaking are identical in both versions. General Training Reading uses everyday texts from notices, advertisements, workplace materials, and general interest sources, while General Training Writing Task 1 requires you to write a letter rather than describe visual data.
02 The exam
Format, section by section
All four sections happen on the same test day for Listening, Reading and Writing. Speaking may be scheduled separately.
Section
Duration
What you do
Listening
30 min + 2 min
4 recordings, native-speaker accents, 40 questions. Played once.
Reading
60 min
Three sections with a total of 40 questions based on everyday, workplace, and general interest texts. No additional time to transfer answers.
Writing
60 min
Task 1 (20 minutes, 150+ words): Write a letter in response to a given situation, using an appropriate formal, semi-formal, or informal style. Task 2 (40 minutes, 250+ words)
Speaking
60 min
Face-to-face interview, 3 parts, with a certified examiner.
03 Recent change
The Move To Computer Delivery
2026 Update
Paper-based IELTS is being phased out
Paper-based testing is being discontinued globally, with the final paper test date set for 27 June 2026. From that point, Listening, Reading and Writing are delivered on computer everywhere. Speaking stays a face-to-face interview, unchanged. If you’re preparing now, build in practice typing your Task 1 and Task 2 responses and navigating an on-screen Reading passage, not just handwriting them.
04 Scoring
How the band scale works
Each of the four skills is scored from 1 to 9, in half-band steps. Your overall band score is the average of all four, rounded to the nearest half band.
9
Expert user
Fully operational command
8
Very good user
Occasional inaccuracies
7
Good user
Occasional errors, handles complexity
6
Competent user
Generally effective command
5
Modest user
Partial command, frequent problems
4
Limited user
Competence limited to familiar situations
05 Results After The Test
Results, retakes and validity
Results: computer-delivered tests typically return results within a few days; paper-based results (where still offered before the June 2026 cutover) take longer.
One Skill Retake (OSR): many computer-delivered test centres now let you resit a single section instead of the whole test, if you’re close to your target but one skill let you down. Check availability at your local centre.
Score validity: your Test Report Form is valid for 2 years from your test date. Plan your test date with application or registration deadlines in mind, not just your target band.
06 Your Plan
How to prepare?
A practical order to work through, adjustable to how much runway you have before test day.
Your 5 Steps To Success
01
Take a diagnostic
Establish your current band per skill before you start, so study time goes where it’s actually needed.
02
Work skill by skill
Build Listening and Reading technique alongside Writing and Speaking practice, rather than one skill at a time.
03
Get Professional Help
Get professional help with expert guidance, personalised feedback, and targeted practice to improve your Listening, Reading, Writing, and Speaking skills for Academic IELTS.
04
Target your weakest criterion
Within Writing and Speaking especially, identify which of the four scoring criteria is capping your band, and drill that specifically.
05
Sit full timed mocks
In the final weeks, practice under real time pressure, ideally on-screen given the move to computer delivery.
07 Where to Next
The Four Modules
Prepare for the IELTS General Training test with expert lessons, practical vocabulary, grammar resources, and exam practice activities designed to improve your English skills and help you achieve your target band score. Choose a skill to start your preparation:
Direct Feedback Available
Listening
General IELTS
Move beyond Band 6.5 with focused IELTS General Training Listening practice and proven exam strategies. Improve your ability to understand everyday conversations, follow different accents, identify key information, and achieve Band 7.5–9.0.
Direct Feedback Available
Reading
General IELTS
Move beyond Band 6.5 with focused IELTS General Training Reading practice and proven exam strategies. Develop faster reading skills, understand everyday texts, locate key information, and build the techniques needed to achieve Band 7.5–9.0.
Personal Feedback Available
Writing
General IELTS
Move beyond Band 6.5 with focused IELTS General Training Writing practice and proven exam strategies. Master Task 1 letters, write stronger Task 2 essays, improve your vocabulary and grammar, and build the skills needed to achieve Band 7.5–9.0.
Personal Feedback Available
Speaking
General IELTS
Move beyond Band 6.5 with focused IELTS General Training Speaking practice and proven exam strategies. Improve your fluency, expand your vocabulary, develop stronger answers, and build the confidence needed to achieve Band 7.5–9.0.
The Foundation
Grammar & Lexical Resource
To achieve a Band 7 or higher, you need more than just good ideas and to speak fluently. Strong grammar, a wide range of vocabulary, and the ability to use them accurately are essential to go beyond a band 7+. Our lessons help you build these skills step by step through targeted practice and personalised feedback.
Advanced Grammar Drills →
Conditionals, Passive structures, inversion, complex clauses,…
Topic Specific Vocabulary →
Advanced collocations, phrasal verbs, colloquial language, functional language,…
Self-Study Materials
Popular Free IELTS Exam Worksheets
Start practising today with free worksheets, writing templates, and exam practice activities. Download them instantly. no sign-up required!
Cambridge (B2/C1)
Use of English Practice
A 5-page worksheet on Key Word Transformations, covering the most common grammar patterns and exam-style questions to help you improve accuracy and confidence.
IELTS Essay (Task 2)
Essay Structure Guide
A step-by-step essay template that helps you organise your ideas, use linking words naturally, and stay focused on the question throughout your writing.
All Exams (B2-C2)
Speaking Part 1 Prompts
A collection of 20 realistic Part 1 speaking questions with useful vocabulary and model ideas to help you practise confidently at home.
English Exam feedback
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Exam Feedback
Written Evaluation
Submit your essay, report, review, or letter and receive detailed, personalised feedback. I’ll correct grammar, improve vocabulary and collocations, check your organisation, and show you exactly how to meet the exam criteria. Your evaluation will be delivered within 48 hours.
490 Kč/text
Exam Feedback
Speaking Assessment
Record and send your speaking practice, and receive detailed, personalised feedback. I’ll assess your fluency, pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, and exam performance, with clear advice on how to improve . Your evaluation will be delivered within 48 hours.
490 Kč/text
Your Teacher
Kristof Abrath
English Teacher and Teacher Trainers with 20+ years of experience across four continents. I have trained over 10,000+ students face-to-face in the Czech Republic, Belgium. Vietnam, Myanmar, Indonesia, Tunisia, and Colombia, as well as online with students all over the globe.
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