IELTS Sample Questions with Answers and Explanations

Aswathy Mohandas

07/10/2026

8 min read

IELTS has four sections: Listening (about 30 minutes), Reading (60 minutes), Writing (60 minutes) and Speaking (11–14 minutes), according to the official IELTS Academic test format. Below you will find sample questions for each one, written in the official format, each with an answer and the reasoning behind it.

Looking for full-length practice rather than worked examples? Our free IELTS resources collect sample tests and practice material in one place, and the free IELTS mock test gives you a timed test with audio.

Every question on this page is original. Official IELTS papers are copyright, so we have not reproduced them. Where you want the real thing, we point you to the official IELTS sample test questions and practice papers. Use our samples to learn how each question type works, then practise under time on a full test.

What does the IELTS test look like?

The Academic and General Training tests share the same Listening and Speaking sections. Reading and Writing differ in the texts and tasks, but not in timing. This is the Academic format, taken from the official IELTS pages on 26 September 2026:

For a section-by-section breakdown of what is assessed, see our IELTS syllabus guide.

IELTS Listening sample questions (with answers)

In the real test you hear each recording once. Here we give you the script, so you can see how the questions track the audio. Read the questions first, as you would in the exam, then read the script.

Script (Part 1 style, a phone call to book a room):
“Good morning, Riverside Community Centre.” “Hi, I’d like to book a room for a study group.” “Of course. Can I take your name?” “It’s Anita Varghese, that’s V-A-R-G-H-E-S-E.” “And which day?” “We’d thought of Tuesday, but actually Thursday suits everyone better.” “Thursday is fine. The small room holds eight people and the large one twenty.” “There are twelve of us.” “Then it has to be the large room. That’s fifteen pounds an hour, and you’ll need to bring your own projector, I’m afraid.”

Questions 1–4. Complete the form. Write ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.

1. Surname: ______
2. Day of booking: ______
3. Number of people: ______
4. Cost per hour: £______

Question 5. Choose the correct letter. What must the group bring? A) chairs B) a projector C) refreshments

Answers: 1 Varghese · 2 Thursday · 3 12 · 4 15 · 5 B.

Why: Question 2 is the classic trap. The speaker says Tuesday first, then changes to Thursday, and the second answer is the one that counts. Question 3 is 12, not 20: the room holds 20, but the group has 12. Spelling counts in Listening, which is why the surname is spelled out.

Listening is the one section you cannot really practise on paper, because the difficulty is in hearing each recording only once. For timed practice with real audio, take our free IELTS mock test.

IELTS Reading sample questions (with answers)

Passage (shortened; real passages are much longer):
Urban rooftop gardens were once treated as decoration. Recent city programmes have changed that view. In several European cities, planners now count green roofs as part of their flood defences, because soil and plants hold rainwater that would otherwise run straight into drains. The effect on temperature is smaller than campaigners often claim: a green roof mainly cools the building beneath it, not the street. Critics also point to cost. A green roof can weigh several times more than a conventional one when wet, and older buildings often need structural work before one can be added.

Questions 1–3. Do the following statements agree with the information in the passage? Write TRUE, FALSE or NOT GIVEN.

1. Some planners treat green roofs as a way of reducing flooding.
2. Green roofs lower the temperature of the whole street.
3. Most new buildings in Europe are now built with green roofs.

Question 4. Choose the best heading for the passage. A) Why rooftop gardens are losing popularity B) From decoration to infrastructure: benefits and limits C) How to build a green roof

Question 5. Complete the sentence with NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage. Older buildings may need ______ before a green roof can be added.

Answers: 1 TRUE · 2 FALSE · 3 NOT GIVEN · 4 B · 5 structural work.

Why: Statement 2 contradicts the passage, which says a green roof “mainly cools the building beneath it, not the street”, so it is FALSE. Statement 3 is never discussed, so it is NOT GIVEN. The difference between FALSE and NOT GIVEN is the most common source of lost marks. FALSE needs the text to say the opposite; NOT GIVEN means the text does not say it either way.

IELTS Writing sample questions: Task 1 and Task 2

Task 1 (Academic), at least 150 words: The chart shows the number of international students enrolled at a university in three subject areas (Engineering, Business and Arts) in 2015, 2020 and 2025. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

What a strong answer does: it opens with one sentence restating what the chart shows, then gives an overview of the two or three biggest trends, with no figures, before the detail paragraphs. The overview is the element examiners look for most, and the one candidates most often leave out. Detail paragraphs then group the data by trend, rather than walking through every bar in turn.

Task 2, at least 250 words: Some people believe that universities should focus on preparing students for employment. Others think their main purpose is to encourage independent thinking. Discuss both views and give your own opinion.

What a strong answer does: it states a clear position in the introduction, gives each view its own paragraph with a reason and a specific example, and ends with a conclusion that matches the position stated at the start. Task 2 carries more weight than Task 1, so spend the full 40 minutes on it.

If writing is your weakest section, our guide to preparing for the IELTS written exam covers structure and timing in more depth.

IELTS Speaking sample questions: Parts 1, 2 and 3

Part 1 (introduction and familiar topics): Where do you live at the moment? What do you like about your area? Do you prefer studying in the morning or in the evening? Why?

Sample answer: “I prefer the evening, mainly because my college day ends by four, so the evening is the first quiet time I get. I tried studying early in the morning for a while, but I found I was reading the same page twice.” Two or three sentences with a reason and a small detail is the right length for Part 1.

Part 2 (cue card, 1 minute to prepare, then speak for up to 2 minutes):
Describe a skill you learned outside school. You should say: what the skill is, how you learned it, how long it took, and explain why it is useful to you.

What a strong answer does: it covers every prompt on the card, in order, and keeps talking until the examiner stops you. Use the preparation minute to note one word per prompt, not full sentences.

Part 3 (discussion): Are practical skills valued as much as academic ones in your country? Should schools teach more practical skills? How might technology change the skills people need in the future?

What a strong answer does: Part 3 is abstract, so move from your own experience to a general point, and give a reason for every opinion. For topic practice, see our list of common IELTS speaking topics, and build range with our IELTS vocabulary guide.

Where can you find official IELTS practice papers?

Two sources publish official material. IELTS itself publishes free sample test questions and practice papers for each section. Cambridge publishes the official practice books, and our round-up of the best IELTS books compares them.

Be careful with anything sold as an “IELTS previous year question paper”. IELTS does not publish past papers, so those collections are unofficial at best.

How should you use sample questions in your preparation?

Sample questions teach you the formats. They do not tell you your level. A sensible order is: work through the samples above until each question type is familiar, then take a full timed test, then check what band your raw scores translate to.

Take our free IELTS mock test under exam conditions. Then use the IELTS band calculator to convert your Listening and Reading scores into bands, and read our guide to IELTS band scores to see what each band means for your university applications.