IELTS Test Day Survival Guide: What to Bring, What to Expect, How to Cope

The night before

Most band drops on test day are caused by decisions made the night before. These are the ones that matter:

• Pack everything except your phone. Tomorrow morning is not the time to be hunting your passport while half-awake. Lay out: passport (or accepted national ID), confirmation email printed or saved offline, a clear water bottle (label off in some centres), and a clear pencil case if you're paper-based.
• Set two alarms. One on your phone, one on a backup device or family member. You can't reschedule a missed test in any meaningful way.
• Stop preparing. Don't drill new question types the night before. Re-read your essay structures if it calms you. Anything new at this point destabilises what you already know.
• Sleep early, even if you can't sleep. Lying in the dark for eight hours is rest, even if it isn't sleep. Doom-scrolling for those eight hours is not.
• Eat a normal dinner. Now is not the time to try a new restaurant.

Morning of the test

You should aim to arrive 45 minutes before your reported start time. Not 5 minutes early; 45. Test centres are often deep in office complexes that look identical, with parking that's hostile, and you do not want to be the candidate sprinting through the door at 8:29 for an 8:30 test.

What to bring:

• Passport (or the ID you registered with). Without it, you don't sit. They will not accept "I left it at home, let me run back".
• Your booking confirmation (printed or screenshot — but they verify you by ID, not by booking number).
• A clear plastic water bottle, label removed. Most centres allow this in the room.
• Glasses if you wear them.
• A simple analogue watch is not allowed in any IELTS room. Don't even bring one.

What not to bring (or leave in the locker):

• Phone — surrendered to a locker or bag drop. Phones in the room get the test invalidated.
• Smartwatch, fitness tracker, any wearable.
• Wallet, keys, headphones, food, gum, paper notes.
• Hoodies and jackets are sometimes asked to be left outside; layer accordingly.
• Anything in your pockets. Most centres make you turn pockets inside out before entering the room.

Wear something layered. Test rooms are notoriously either too cold or too hot. A thin sweater you can take off mid-Reading is your friend.

Arrival and identity check

You'll queue. Have your passport open in your hand. The invigilators check your photo against your face, take a digital photograph of you, and (in many countries) take a fingerprint scan. This is normal and it's there to prevent identity fraud. It takes a couple of minutes per candidate; the queue moves slowly.

After ID check, you go through bag drop, sign a register, and are escorted into the test room. You'll be assigned a desk. Do not move things on the desk — the question booklet, answer sheet, and pencil are placed exactly as the invigilators want them.

Once seated, do not turn over the booklet. Do not touch the answer sheet. Wait for the invigilator's instruction. They mean it.

The written sections — order and timing

In both Academic and General Training, the written sections run in this order, with no break between them:

1. Listening — 30 minutes + 10 minutes for transferring answers (paper-based only; on computer-delivered, transfer happens automatically).
2. Reading — 60 minutes.
3. Writing — 60 minutes.

Total: ~2 hours 45 minutes of actual seated time, plus admin. From the moment you sit down to the moment you can stand up, expect roughly 3 hours.

There is no scheduled break. You can raise your hand to be escorted to the toilet, but the clock keeps running. Plan your hydration and toilet stops around this. Most candidates go to the toilet immediately before the test starts and don't go again until it's over.

Listening

Headphones go on. Volume check happens before the audio starts — say something if it's wrong. The audio plays once. There is no rewind, no replay, no "wait, I missed that". Look ahead at the next question while the audio is still finishing the previous one — that's the discipline.

Reading

Sixty minutes for forty questions across three passages. Most candidates' instinct is to read the passage thoroughly first; that's the wrong instinct. Skim for structure (~2 minutes), then go to the questions. We have a whole post on the pacing model that works if you want the deep version.

Writing

Sixty minutes for two tasks. Task 2 is worth twice as much as Task 1. Spend 20 minutes on Task 1, 40 on Task 2. The clock on the wall is not optional reading. If you finish early, you proofread until you're ordered to stop — never sit there idle.

Speaking — the part you can't predict

Speaking is 11 to 14 minutes. It can be on the same day as the written sections (typically afternoon) or up to seven days before/after — whichever your centre offers.

Three parts:

1. Introduction and interview (4-5 minutes). Easy questions about you — your job, your hometown, hobbies. Warm-up.
2. Long turn / cue card (3-4 minutes). You get a card with a topic. One minute to prepare with a pencil and paper, then 1-2 minutes to speak uninterrupted.
3. Discussion (4-5 minutes). Abstract questions on the same topic from Part 2. The hardest section.

Two pieces of advice that matter more than any "Speaking template":

• Talk like a normal human, not a textbook. Examiners are scoring fluency, range and accuracy. They are not scoring memorised phrases. They are trained to spot memorised phrases and they actively penalise them.
• Do not stop talking unless asked to. If you stop early, you've shown them less. Even on Part 2, fill the full two minutes if you can. Repeating yourself slightly is better than going silent.

What if something goes wrong?

• You feel sick mid-test. Raise your hand. The invigilator will arrange a brief break. The clock generally pauses for medical issues. You're not the first person; they have a procedure.
• A question seems impossible / has a typo. It almost certainly doesn't. Move on. Come back at the end if there's time. Do not flag it to the invigilator mid-test.
• The audio glitches in Listening. Raise your hand immediately. They have a fix protocol. Do not wait until the section ends.
• You spilled water on your answer sheet. Raise your hand. They'll give you a new sheet. Don't try to dry it with your sleeve.

After the test

• Computer-delivered: results in 3 to 5 days in your candidate portal.
• Paper-based: results in 13 days.

You don't get a printed certificate immediately. Your Test Report Form (TRF) is mailed (or, in some countries, available for collection from the centre). Universities and visa offices verify the TRF directly with your provider — they don't rely on the printed copy.

If your score is below your target, you can register for another sitting any time you like. There is no waiting period. Many candidates retake within two to four weeks, especially when they were a half-band off in a single skill.

If you're a single half-band away from your minimum, consider an Enquiry on Results (EOR) before you book a retake — it's cheaper if it works. We covered when EOR makes sense in our registration post.

The night of

Eat the meal you wanted to eat last night. Do not check Reddit for "what did the answers turn out to be" — your sheet is your sheet, and you'll only stress yourself by misremembering. Sleep, get on with whatever is waiting for you, and check the candidate portal in three days.

You've done the test. The work is done.

What's next

If you scored below your target, see why most students plateau at Band 6.5 and how to break through. If you're aiming for one more half-band, our 30-day prep plan is designed for exactly that. And if you have a follow-up test coming, browse our practice catalog — the first one in each skill is free.