The mock test bank.

01Test conditions

The rules that make a mock count.

A mock only measures anything if it runs like the test: timed, recorded, out loud, no restarts.

Eleven to fourteen minutes end to end. Part 1: four to five minutes of short answers. Part 2: exactly one minute of paper preparation, then up to two minutes speaking. Part 3: four to five minutes of discussion. Record the whole thing on one take – a fumbled answer stays in, because recovering from it is part of what you are rehearsing. Mark afterwards against the four criteria using the self-assessment band indicators in Chapter 15 of The Proper English Grammar Guide to IELTS Speaking.

02Mock test A

Work, objects, and consumption.

Run straight through. Do not read Part 3 before finishing Part 2.

Part 1 – set one (your work or studies): Do you work or study? What do you enjoy most about it? Is there anything you would change about it? Do you think you will do the same thing in ten years?

Part 1 – set two (objects): Do you find it easy to throw things away? Is there an object you have kept for many years? Do people in your country repair things or replace them? Has this changed since your parents’ generation?

Part 2: Describe something you bought that turned out to be a waste of money. You should say: what it was, why you bought it, why it disappointed you, and explain what you learnt from buying it.

Part 3: Why do people buy things they do not need? Does advertising create desire, or just direct it? Should products be built to last longer, even if they cost more? Is renting and sharing replacing owning in your country? How might shopping habits change in the next twenty years?

03Mock test B

People, places, and belonging.

Fresh material for the second sitting of the week. Same rules.

Part 1 – set one (where you live): How long have you lived in your current home? What can you see from your windows? Do you know your neighbours? What would make your area better to live in?

Part 1 – set two (celebrations): How does your family celebrate birthdays? Are there celebrations you find tiring? Do you prefer giving presents or receiving them? Have celebrations in your country become more commercial?

Part 2: Describe a person you know who moved somewhere completely new. You should say: who they are, where they moved and why, how the move changed them, and explain what their experience taught you about starting again.

Part 3: Why do some people feel they belong to a place and others never do? What do newcomers owe the place they move to, and what does it owe them? Does moving away change how people see where they came from? Are online communities a real substitute for local ones? Will people move more or less in the future?

04Extra cue cards

For Part 2 repetitions.

Between full mocks, run single Part 2 rounds: one minute of preparation, two minutes speaking, one listen back.

• PeopleDescribe someone whose way of speaking you admire.
• PlacesDescribe a building you think deserves more attention.
• EventsDescribe a time you were pleasantly surprised by something free.
• ThingsDescribe a piece of technology you resisted, then accepted.
• ExperiencesDescribe a journey that did not go to plan.
• IdeasDescribe a piece of advice you disagreed with at the time.

05After the mock

Marking and the L1 replay.

The score is less useful than the pattern. One replay, three passes.

Pass one: mark against the four criteria with the Chapter 15 band indicators, honestly. Pass two: find the worst thirty seconds and identify which criterion broke first – that criterion sets next week’s practice. Pass three is L1-specific: Romance speakers, count the sentences that tangled; East Asian and Slavic speakers, count the articles; Arabic speakers, count the sentences that restated rather than advanced. Then take the criterion that broke to its bank page: fluency and coherence, lexical resource, or the ceiling gauntlets for Part 3 collapse.