Practice tests
Real exam format, with band scores.
Reading
The Umbrella: A Short History of Staying Dry
The invention and spread of the umbrella as a practical tool
A213 questions18 min
Honeybees and the Business of Pollination
The role of managed honeybees in farming and the risks they face
A213 questions18 min
Farming in the Shadow of a Volcano
Why volcanic ash makes such productive soil, and the risk farmers accept in return
A213 questions18 min
Why Teenagers Cannot Get Up
The shift in the adolescent body clock and what schools have tried to do about it
B113 questions18 min
An Old Machine with a New Job
How machines driven by the wind changed their purpose from grinding grain to making electricity
A213 questions18 min
Ridgeway Sports & Leisure Centre
Three everyday notices from a leisure centre: membership tiers, the class timetable, and locker and car-park rules
A213 questions20 min
Oakfield Lettings
Three notices from a letting agency: booking a viewing, flats currently available, and how a deposit is protected
B113 questions20 min
The Rise of the Lighthouse
The history and engineering of coastal lighthouses and their changing role in maritime navigation
B214 questions20 min
How Seeds Travel
Plant dispersal and the strategies seeds use to move
B114 questions20 min
Bringing buried rivers back to the surface
Urban planning and the environment
B214 questions20 min
The Return of the Night Train
Why European sleeper services collapsed, and why they came back
B214 questions20 min
Why Cities Are Getting Quieter
Urban noise, and why measuring it is only half the problem
B214 questions20 min
Reading the Rings of Trees
How tree rings became a dating method precise to a single year
B214 questions20 min
Salt: The Mineral That Built Trade Routes
The historical importance of salt in preservation, trade and taxation
B113 questions20 min
From Sand to Window: The Making of Glass
The chemistry and industrial history of glass manufacturing
B113 questions20 min
Taming the Horse
The domestication of the horse and its effects on early human societies
B113 questions20 min
The Urban Heat Island Effect
Why cities are warmer than surrounding countryside, and how planners are responding
B213 questions20 min
Reading by Touch: The Story of Braille
The invention and adoption of the braille reading system for blind people
B213 questions20 min
Coral Bleaching and the Limits of Recovery
The biology of coral bleaching and the prospects for reef survival under warming oceans
B213 questions20 min
How Young Birds Learn to Sing
Vocal learning in songbirds: the stages, the timing and why the ability might have evolved
B113 questions20 min
Buildings That Ride the Shaking
How engineers design structures to survive earthquakes, and why the harder problem is the buildings that already exist
B213 questions20 min
The Card with Holes in It
How punched cards moved from weaving to record-keeping, and the idea they left behind
B213 questions20 min
The Generation Where a Language Stops
Why small languages fall out of use, and what actually produces new speakers
B213 questions20 min
Bankside Logistics and QuickMove Couriers
A warehouse staff handbook extract and a job advertisement for a delivery driver
B113 questions20 min
Meadowcross Hotel
A hotel's induction training note on food hygiene and fire safety, and a job advertisement for a front desk assistant
B113 questions20 min
Earworms: Why Songs Get Stuck in Our Heads
Why certain songs repeat themselves in the mind, what triggers the effect, and how people try to stop it
B214 questions20 min
The Return of the Doorstep Milk Round
Why doorstep milk delivery is seeing a small revival, and what still limits how far it can spread
B214 questions20 min
The Outsourced Mind: Cognitive Offloading and Its Discontents
Cognitive science
C114 questions20 min
The Value of Waiting
Queues, rationing and what economists call the price of time
C114 questions20 min
The Economics of Repair
Why household goods became hard to mend, and whether legislation can change it
C114 questions20 min
The Problem with Averages
Why designing for the average person produces designs that fit nobody
C114 questions20 min
The Placebo Response: Belief as a Physiological Event
The clinical and neurological reality of the placebo effect in medicine
C113 questions20 min
Cooperation Without Enforcement: Lessons from Game Theory
How repeated interaction and reciprocity sustain cooperation without central enforcement
C113 questions20 min
The Sense That Resists Description
Why the science of smell has proved harder than the science of vision or hearing
C113 questions20 min
The Argument Inside the Display Case
Museum collections, claims for return, and why the dispute is really about process
C113 questions20 min
Where the Athlete Ends and the Equipment Begins
How governing bodies decide which sporting technology counts as fair, and why the evidence rarely settles it
C113 questions20 min
More reading papers on the way
New ones are written and added regularly — this is not the whole set.
Listening
Renting a Car for the Weekend
A customer visits a car hire branch to arrange a short weekend rental.
A210 questions12 min
Lost Property Office Message
A recorded answerphone message at a train station's lost property office explains how to collect an item.
A210 questions12 min
Cancelling a Gym Membership
A gym member visits reception to ask about cancelling their membership.
A210 questions12 min
Radio Announcement: Bramley Farmers' Market
A presenter on a local community radio station announces details of an upcoming farmers' market.
A210 questions12 min
Ordering a Cake at Fenner's Bakery
A customer at a bakery counter places an order for a large cake and settles the details with the baker.
A210 questions12 min
Weekend Engineering Work on the Marchford Line
A duty station manager stands on the concourse and explains to waiting passengers how a weekend line closure will affect their journeys.
A210 questions12 min
Hollowbrook Country Park
A ranger welcomes a group of visitors to a country park and shows them where everything is on the site plan.
A210 questions12 min
Booking a Badminton Class
A caller phones a leisure centre to book a place in a community badminton class.
A210 questions12 min
Renting an Allotment Plot
A caller enquires about renting a vegetable plot from a town council.
A210 questions12 min
Volunteering at Marlow Fen Nature Reserve
A reserve manager briefs a group of new volunteers on how the site works and what their first day will involve.
B110 questions12 min
Joining a Community Choir
A caller telephones the secretary of a local choir to ask about joining.
A210 questions12 min
A Tour of the Harbour Museum
A guide introduces a museum housed in a former ice house before taking a group inside.
B110 questions12 min
Reporting a Lost Bag at the Station
A passenger reports a bag left on a train and is told how lost property is handled.
A210 questions12 min
Planning a Campus Recycling Project
A tutor and three students discuss how to organise a student project promoting recycling on campus.
B110 questions12 min
Booking Rooms for a Wedding Party
A guest phones a hotel to book several rooms for family attending a wedding.
B110 questions12 min
Welcome to Harborne Museum
A recorded welcome talk introduces visitors to a local history museum and explains how to find their way around.
B110 questions12 min
Reporting a Leak to the Letting Agency
A tenant telephones a letting agency about water coming through a bedroom ceiling and arranges for a plumber to visit.
B110 questions12 min
The Ashfield Repair Café
The coordinator of a monthly community repair event welcomes people who have brought broken possessions and explains how the morning works.
B110 questions12 min
An Apprenticeship at Redmayne Engineering
A recruitment manager gives a short talk at a careers fair about her company's engineering apprenticeship and how to apply for it.
B110 questions12 min
Feedback on the First History Essay
A history tutor returns two first-year essays and then sorts out which items on the reading list are worth the students' time.
B110 questions12 min
The History of Timekeeping
A university lecture on how humans have measured time, from ancient devices to atomic clocks.
C110 questions12 min
What Museums Choose to Keep
A university lecture on how museums decide which objects enter a collection.
C110 questions12 min
Planning a Fieldwork Study on Chapel Street
Three geography students meet their tutor to plan a fieldwork project on a recently pedestrianised shopping street.
B210 questions12 min
Planning a Presentation on Food Waste
Two students discuss a presentation with their tutor, who challenges their argument and their timing.
B210 questions12 min
How Coral Reefs Recover
A university lecture on what a damaged coral reef needs in order to recover.
C110 questions12 min
Urban Beekeeping
A university lecturer gives a talk on the growth and challenges of beekeeping in cities.
B210 questions12 min
Choosing a Dissertation Topic
A supervisor meets two postgraduate students to discuss and narrow down their dissertation research topics.
B210 questions12 min
The Global Coffee Trade
A university lecturer traces how coffee moved from a regional crop to a global commodity, and the economic tensions this created.
C110 questions12 min
Why the Sleep Experiment Went Wrong
A psychology tutor goes through a pilot study with the two students who ran it, and takes apart the way it was designed.
B210 questions12 min
Usability Testing a Student Website Prototype
Two computing students report the results of their first round of user testing, and their supervisor separates the findings from the guesswork.
B210 questions12 min
How Concert Halls Are Designed for Sound
A lecturer explains why the acoustics of a concert hall are so hard to design, and why the most admired halls were built before the science existed.
C110 questions12 min
Why Languages Disappear
A linguistics lecturer explains that languages are not lost suddenly but given up gradually, and asks what a written record can and cannot preserve.
C110 questions12 min
More listening papers on the way
New ones are written and added regularly — this is not the whole set.
Writing
An essay, timed like the exam. AI marking — all four criteria, and a rewritten model paragraph — is part of the AI plan.
Household internet access in four countries
Describe a table: what it shows and how the figures compare.
B2Task 1150+ words20 min
Water consumption by sector
Describe a table: what it shows and how the figures compare.
B2Task 1150+ words20 min
Letter about a lost item on a train
Write a letter for the reason the task gives.
B1Task 1150+ words20 min
Remote working (opinion)
Write an essay answering the question in full.
B2Task 2250+ words40 min
University purpose (discussion)
Write an essay answering the question in full.
C1Task 2250+ words40 min
Urban traffic congestion (problem-solution)
Write an essay answering the question in full.
B2Task 2250+ words40 min
Declining interest in cooking (two-part question)
Write an essay answering the question in full.
B2Task 2250+ words40 min
Household recycling rates in three cities
Describe a chart: what it shows and how the figures compare.
B2Task 1150+ words20 min
How adults spent their leisure time
Describe a chart: what it shows and how the figures compare.
B2Task 1150+ words20 min
Where a university's income came from
Describe a chart: what it shows and how the figures compare.
B2Task 1150+ words20 min
What four countries generated their electricity from
Describe a chart: what it shows and how the figures compare.
B2Task 1150+ words20 min
Visitors to a coastal town across the year
Describe a chart: what it shows and how the figures compare.
B2Task 1150+ words20 min
Age of first-time home buyers
Describe a chart: what it shows and how the figures compare.
B2Task 1150+ words20 min
Working from home (advantages and disadvantages)
Write an essay answering the question in full.
B2Task 2250+ words40 min
Museums: entertainment or education
Write an essay answering the question in full.
B2Task 2250+ words40 min
Ageing populations (problem and solution)
Write an essay answering the question in full.
C1Task 2250+ words40 min
Free public transport (opinion)
Write an essay answering the question in full.
B2Task 2250+ words40 min
Letter about a delayed order
Write a letter for the reason the task gives.
B1Task 1150+ words20 min
Letter recommending a colleague
Write a letter for the reason the task gives.
B2Task 1150+ words20 min
Letter asking a neighbour for help
Write a letter for the reason the task gives.
B1Task 1150+ words20 min
Weekly exercise by age group
Describe a chart: what it shows and how the figures compare.
B1Task 1150+ words20 min
Public library membership in three towns
Describe a table: what it shows and how the figures compare.
B1Task 1150+ words20 min
How a household's monthly budget was spent
Describe a chart: what it shows and how the figures compare.
B2Task 1150+ words20 min
Letter cancelling a gym membership
Write a letter for the reason the task gives.
A2Task 1150+ words20 min
Homework for school children (opinion)
Write an essay answering the question in full.
B1Task 2250+ words40 min
Living in a city or the countryside (discussion)
Write an essay answering the question in full.
B2Task 2250+ words40 min
Single-use plastic packaging (problem-solution)
Write an essay answering the question in full.
B2Task 2250+ words40 min
Keeping pets (two-part question)
Write an essay answering the question in full.
B1Task 2250+ words40 min
Shopping online (advantages and disadvantages)
Write an essay answering the question in full.
B2Task 2250+ words40 min
Government funding for the arts (opinion)
Write an essay answering the question in full.
C1Task 2250+ words40 min
Health workers and hospital beds in five countries
Describe a table: what it shows and how the figures compare.
B2Task 1150+ words20 min
Average weekly pay in five occupations
Describe a table: what it shows and how the figures compare.
B2Task 1150+ words20 min
Rainfall in three cities
Describe a table: what it shows and how the figures compare.
B1Task 1150+ words20 min
Unpaid voluntary work by type of organisation
Describe a table: what it shows and how the figures compare.
B2Task 1150+ words20 min
Letter asking to change your working hours
Write a letter for the reason the task gives.
B2Task 1150+ words20 min
Letter to a friend moving to your town
Write a letter for the reason the task gives.
B1Task 1150+ words20 min
Letter about a neglected local park
Write a letter for the reason the task gives.
B2Task 1150+ words20 min
Consumption of three types of drink
Describe a chart: what it shows and how the figures compare.
B2Task 1150+ words20 min
Bird numbers at a wetland reserve
Describe a chart: what it shows and how the figures compare.
B2Task 1150+ words20 min
Advertising aimed at children (discussion)
Write an essay answering the question in full.
C1Task 2250+ words40 min
A fishing village seafront, 1980 and today
Describe two plans of the same place and say what changed.
B2Task 1150+ words20 min
A primary school site, 2000 and today
Describe two plans of the same place and say what changed.
B1Task 1150+ words20 min
How glass bottles are recycled
Describe a process: the stages, in order.
B1Task 1150+ words20 min
How rainwater is made drinkable
Describe a process: the stages, in order.
B2Task 1150+ words20 min
More writing tasks on the way
New ones are written and added regularly — this is not the whole set.
Speaking
Part 2 cue cards. The examiner asks the Part 1 and Part 3 questions around whichever you choose.
An inspiring person
B1Describe a person who has influenced you in an important way.
A memorable place
B1Describe a place you visited that made a strong impression on you.
A special object
B1Describe an object you own that is important to you.
A memorable event
B1Describe a celebration or event that you particularly enjoyed.
A skill or activity
B1Describe a skill or activity you learned that has been useful to you.
Films and media
B1Describe a film or television programme that you found particularly interesting.
A useful piece of technology
B1Describe a piece of technology that you find useful in your daily life.
A journey you remember
B1Describe a journey that you remember well.
A book you enjoyed
B1Describe a book that you enjoyed reading.
A change you made in your life
B2Describe a change you made that had a positive effect on your life.
A time you helped someone
B1Describe a time when you helped somebody with something.
A sensible rule
B2Describe a rule at your school, your workplace or your home that you think is sensible.
An interesting animal
B1Describe an animal that you find interesting.
A time you had to wait
B1Describe a time when you had to wait for something.
Something you want to do in the future
B1Describe something you would like to do in the next few years.
Looking after the environment
B2Describe something you do that is better for the environment.
Working with other people
B1Describe a time when you did something together with a group of people.
A busy day
B1Describe a day when you were very busy.
Staying healthy
B1Describe something you do to keep yourself healthy.
Speaking in front of others
B1Describe a time when you had to speak in front of a group of people.
More cue cards on the way
New ones are written and added regularly — this is not the whole set.
Generate a fresh test with AI
Never run out of material — the AI plan writes a brand-new exam-format test on demand, saved on this device.