Test day
What actually happens on the day, what you must bring with you, and the difference between sitting it on a computer and on paper.
This page would state facts about the official test: timings, question counts, how bands are worked out. We only publish those from the official published material, cited here. We will not write them from memory, because being confidently wrong on a page like this is worse than leaving it empty.
- The official test-day guidance for candidates: identification requirements, what is permitted in the room, and the order of the papers.
- The official comparison of computer-delivered and paper-based IELTS, including where they differ and where they do not.
We hold the official Writing and Speaking band descriptors, so how writing and speaking are marked is written in full, cited, and is the same table your work is marked against here.
Meanwhile, the thing that actually changes your preparation is knowing where you stand. The assessment is free and marks all four skills.
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