ReadFluent IELTS
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ReadFluent IELTS

IELTS practice that shows you what to fix

46 original lessons with example answers and our notes, weak and better versions side by side, and timed practice. Five of them are free to start, with no sign‑up.

Start a free lessonSee an example essay

Example

An example of the dashboard on a laptop, for an imaginary learner: 14 of 46 lessons done, 5 days in a row, 26 days to the test. Start here is finished. Writing Task 2 is 45% done, Task 1 Academic 29%, Task 1 General 33% and Speaking 25%.
  • Academic and General Training, in one course.
  • Five lessons free, no sign‑up needed.
  • Writing Task 1
  • Writing Task 2
  • Speaking
  • Reading
  • Listening
  • Academic
  • General Training

What's inside

Before you sign up, watch an essay get fixed

A test result gives you a band, not the reasons. Here is a paragraph from one of our example essays, with our notes from the lesson drawn on it.

Example

Essay 1: older people and work

From the free lesson Example essays with notes · about band 6 overall, our estimate

On the one hand (a stock linker, note 4), there are many reasons why older people (repeated, note 5) should continue working. Firstly (a stock linker, note 4), older workers has (should be “have”, note 1) a lot of experiance (should be “experience”, note 2), so they can teach younger colleagues. For example (a stock linker, note 4), an older nurse knows how to deal with difficult situations that a new nurse has never seen. Moreover (a stock linker, note 4), many older people (repeated, note 5) are still healthy and want to stay active. If they stop working, they may feel boring (should be “bored”, note 3) and lonely. This is not good for their health. (an idea left unexplained, note 6)

  • 1–3Slips
  • 4–5Words and linking
  • 6An idea left unexplained

  1. Step 1: Every slip, marked

    Grammar, spelling, word form, linking and repeated words, marked where they happen.

    Exampleour notes on Essay 1, in short

    1. Note 1, Grammar ‘Workers’ is plural, so the verb is have.
    2. Note 2, Spelling Experience.
    3. Note 3, Word form You feel bored. A dull job is boring.
    4. Note 4, Linking Eight of the essay’s eighteen sentences start with a linker. Cut most, and link with words that point back: this experience, such workers.
    5. Note 5, Repetition Older people comes six times in the essay. Vary it: older employees, people in their sixties.

  2. Step 2: An idea that stops too soon

    The last sentence says what, but not how or why.

    Examplenote 6, before and after

    BeforeThis is not good for their health.

    AfterThey may lose the daily routine and social contact that keep them well.

  3. Step 3: A band for each criterion

    About 6 on all four, by our estimate. The lesson says what would lift each one.

    Exampleour estimates for Essay 1

    Task Response
    Coherence and Cohesion
    Lexical Resource
    Grammatical Range and Accuracy

    Next in the same lessonEssay 2 · about 7Essay 3 · about 8

    Our estimates, to help you practise. Never an official result.

  4. Step 4: What to fix first

    One priority, so your next practice counts.

    Fix this first: Task Response

    The criterion most at risk in this essay: the opinion arrives late, then changes. Give it in the introduction, keep it in the conclusion, and support each point with a reason and an example.

    Example From our notes on Essay 1, in the lesson.

Open now

Next: your own essay, marked like this

The notes above are ours, on our essays. Start your free trial and the AI marks your own Writing answers on the four criteria, with an estimated band and notes on your own sentences. Every band is our estimate, never an official result, and there is a daily limit.

Sign up to try it

Inside the practice

See each test part before you start

Real screens from the practice pages, one for each part of the test, and what each one does for you.

  1. Reading

    Reading, set out like the computer test

    The passage is on the left and the questions are on the right, so you read and answer side by side.

    • All 14 question types the exam uses, from multiple choice to matching headings.
    • Select words in the passage to highlight them as you read.
    • When you check your answers, each wrong one shows where the answer is in the passage, circled, with the reason.
    • 84 passages
    • 7 levels
    • Timed or untimed

    Example

    Example Reading practice screen: a passage about mangroves on the left and four questions on the right. Three are marked right, one is wrong, and the sentence in the passage that holds its answer is circled with the reason below.

  2. Listening

    Listening, with the questions beside the recording

    Play the recording and answer as you listen, one part at a time, from Part 1 to Part 4.

    • Hear it once, like the exam, or as often as you like while you learn.
    • When you may replay it, drag the line to any moment or slow the voice down.
    • Every answer is explained when you check.
    • 84 recordings
    • Parts 1 to 4
    • 7 levels

    The recordings are read by a computer voice, so the accents are not the real exam's.

    Example

    Example Listening practice screen: a recording player with a waveform on the left, and multiple-choice questions on the right with one answer chosen.

  3. Writing

    Writing, marked in about a minute

    Write Task 1 or Task 2 against a word count, with a timer if you want one, then press Get feedback.

    • An estimated band overall, and a score out of 100 for each of the four things the exam marks.
    • Notes drawn on your own sentences: circled, corrected and explained in the language you choose.
    • What went well, and what to work on next.
    • 84 questions
    • Task 1 and Task 2
    • Timed or untimed

    The feedback is written by AI, and each account has a daily limit.

    Example

    Example Writing feedback: an estimated band of 6.5 with a short summary, then the learner's essay with notes drawn on their own sentences, each with a correction and a reason beside it.

  4. Speaking

    Speaking, with an AI examiner

    Go through Part 1, Part 2 (the cue card, with a minute to prepare) and Part 3 the way the test runs.

    • Talk out loud, or type your answers if your microphone is not available.
    • Choose how much help you get: none, a little, or in your own language.
    • At the end, an estimated band, a score out of 100 for each marking criterion, and what to work on.
    • Parts 1, 2 and 3
    • 7 levels
    • Also a full mock test

    Talking out loud works in Chrome, Edge and Safari. In other browsers you type your answers.

    Example

    Example Speaking practice screen: the examiner introduces Part 2, a cue card asks the learner to describe a place near their home, and a countdown gives them a minute to make notes.

These pictures are the real practice pages. The answers and the feedback shown in them are examples we wrote, so your own marking will differ. Every band on this site is our estimate, never an official IELTS score.

Start a free lesson

3-day free trial, then a monthly price set for your country. Cancel any time before the trial ends and you won’t be charged.

The course

And everything around it, in the course today

Each card is a real piece of the course, shown as an Example. Each module teaches a method, then gives you practice.

Weak and better, side by side

Lessons show a weaker and a better version, with the reason.

ExampleFree lesson · Writing Task 2

WeakerWorking from home has both advantages and disadvantages for workers and companies.

BetterI agree that home working benefits most employees, but I disagree that it is equally positive for the companies they work for.

Why: both are balanced, but only the better one answers the question.

Write against the clock

A 40-minute essay with a live word count and a checklist, inside a free lesson.

ExampleYour baseline essay · 40 min

212 words · aim for at least 250

The lesson suggests 5 minutes to plan, 30 to write and 5 to check.

  • Ticked: My position is the same in the introduction and the conclusion
  • Ticked: Every paragraph answers this question, not just the general topic of technology
  • Not ticked yet: In my last few minutes I checked for my most common grammar mistakes

Answers checked as you go

1,061 quiz and gap-fill questions, each with an explanation.

ExampleReading · Not Given

“The city library opened in 1998. Entry has always been free, and the library stays open until 8 p.m. on weekdays, except on Fridays.”

Choose the statement that is not given.

  • Visitors have never had to pay to enter the library.
  • The library opened in the late 1990s.
  • The library closes at 8 p.m. every weekday.
  • Chosen: The library is busiest on Saturdays.

Correct. The text says nothing about how many people visit on any day.

Speaking, out loud

Record your answers and play them back. Recordings never leave your device.

ExampleFree lesson · Speaking

Part 2 · 1:00 to prepare, 2:00 to talk

Describe an object you use every day that makes your life easier.

Open today: record and listen backIn your free trial: an AI speaking examiner

One path through all four parts

Seven modules in order, for Academic and General Training. Learn how the test and the bands work, then go straight to the skill that’s holding you back.

Example

  • Start here: how IELTS works4 lessons2 free
  • Writing Task 2: the essay11 lessons2 free
  • Writing Task 1 (Academic)7 lessonscharts, tables, maps
  • Writing Task 1 (General Training)3 lessonsletters
  • Speaking: the interview8 lessons1 free
  • Reading: strategy and practice7 lessons
  • Listening: strategy and practice6 lessonsscripts read aloud
Original lessons
46
Example answers with our notes
38
Practice tasks
103
Quiz and gap-fill questions
1,061
Study time
About 42 hours

Every number here is counted from the course itself.

Free lessons

Start with the question you already have

Five lessons, no sign-up. Pick the one that fits where you are.

Start a free lesson

The other 41 are for members.

See the whole course

Who we are, and why us

A band tells you where you are. The course shows what moves it.

ReadFluent IELTS is made by Martzey Ltd. It’s part of ReadFluent, which also makes a phone app. We built this course for people who prepare for IELTS on their phones, in the time they have.

We built ReadFluent IELTS to show the working: the sentence, the slip, the fix and the reason, so you can see what to change next. Every lesson here is our own, every band is our estimate, and we say plainly what isn’t ready yet.

The ReadFluent team

Three common ways to prepare, and where we fit

A score on its own

Gives you:
a number.
Leaves out:
the reasons, and what to change first.

Free videos and tips

Gives you:
plenty of advice.
Leaves out:
an order to follow, and practice that checks your answers.

A tutor by the hour

Gives you:
someone who reads your own work, often very well.
The catch:
you pay for every hour, and help comes when it’s booked.

ReadFluent IELTS

  • The reasons, shown on example essays, criterion by criterion.
  • One path through all four parts, in order.
  • Practice on a clock, and questions checked as you go.
  • Five lessons free to read, with no sign-up.
  • Also open in your free trial and to members: AI marking of your own writing and an AI speaking examiner, with estimated bands and a daily limit.

Lessons and examples are written by us in clear, natural English with the help of AI, around the four public marking criteria. No past papers. Every band is our estimate, never an official result. Not affiliated with IELTS, the British Council, IDP or Cambridge.

Questions

Plain answers before you start

Is it really free? Do I need a card?

Five lessons need no sign-up and no card. With a free account, still with no card, you can try one of each: the first lesson of every module, one Reading and one Listening practice, one Writing answer and one Speaking test marked by the AI, and Mock Test 1. Everything else is for members: Basic membership is a 3-day free trial, then a monthly price set for your country. Cancel any time before the trial ends and you won’t be charged.

I keep getting 6.5 in Writing. Can this help?

It can show you what usually holds an essay at about 6, and what lifts it towards 7. Start with the free lesson ‘What Writing Task 2 asks for’, then the free lesson ‘Example essays with notes’, with essays at about 6, 7 and 8 and our notes. We can’t promise a band. Nobody honest can.

When can I get my own essay marked?

Now. Start your free trial and the AI marks your Writing practice answers on the four marking criteria, with an estimated band and notes on your own sentences, and an AI examiner takes you through a Speaking test. There is a daily limit on each, and every band is our estimate, never an official IELTS score.

Who writes the lessons?

We do, in clear, natural English and with the help of AI, around the four public marking criteria. Every passage, question and essay is original, with no past papers. No examiner or official body has checked or approved them, so try the free lessons and judge for yourself.

Is the band an official result?

No. Every band on this site is our estimate, to help you practise. Only the real test gives you an official result.

Academic or General Training?

Both. Writing Task 1 has a module for each: charts for Academic, letters for General Training. Which one you need depends on your plans, so check with whoever you’re applying to.

My test is soon. Where do I start?

With the skill that’s holding you back, because your weakest skill can decide your result. The lesson ‘Make your study plan’ helps you choose a 4-week or 8-week plan and the lessons you need.

Does it work on my phone? What do you keep?

Yes, it’s built for phones first. Your drafts stay in your browser, and Speaking recordings are never uploaded. An account keeps your email, when you log in, and your course progress (lessons done, level, XP, test scores, flashcards and test date) so it is still there on another device. No password. A membership adds its status and dates from Stripe, our payment provider: we never see your card number.

Are you part of IELTS?

No. ReadFluent IELTS is independent. It isn’t made or approved by IELTS, the British Council, IDP or Cambridge.

Open a lesson. Judge for yourself.

Five lessons need no sign-up. The other 41 are for members.

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