Mock tests are the single strongest predictor of your real band. This document explains how ours are run and how to use the results.
Cadence
The full preparation track includes eight full-length mock tests. They are spaced so that each one follows a completed review of the previous result — a test you have not reviewed is data you have not used.
Conditions
Mocks are run under exam conditions:
- Full timing, with no pauses between sections.
- No dictionary, spell-check, or grammar assistance.
- Speaking conducted live, recorded for review.
Marking
Each mock returns:
- A band per skill and an overall band, rounded the way IELTS rounds.
- A per-criterion breakdown for Writing and Speaking.
- Two or three specific, actionable corrections — not a list of everything wrong.
How to use a mock result
Read the criterion breakdown before the band. The band tells you where you are; the criteria tell you what to change.
Work through the result in this order:
- Identify the lowest criterion, not the lowest skill.
- Practise that criterion in isolation for a week.
- Re-test only after that practice block.
Common mistakes
- Taking mocks back-to-back without reviewing them.
- Chasing overall band gains while ignoring the criterion capping the score. See Grammar errors capping your band.
- Treating an untimed practice set as a mock.