IELTS Academic 9990 (IELTS Academic)
Original practice questions with long-form, step-by-step worked solutions, organised by the 9990 syllabus strands. Everything here is free to read.
- Subject code
- 9990
- Topics
- 26
- Worked questions
- 260
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Official Cambridge references: 9990 syllabus ↗ · past papers ↗
Listening
Listening Section 1: Form & Note Completion
Assesses the ability to follow a short, everyday conversation between two speakers (a booking, an enquiry, a registration call) and extract specific factual…
Listening Section 2: Matching & Map/Plan Labelling
Tests the ability to follow a single-speaker monologue about an everyday, non-academic subject (a guided tour, a facility announcement, a community programme)…
Listening Section 3: Multiple Choice & Matching
Assesses comprehension of a discussion between two to four speakers in an educational or training context (students planning a project, discussing an…
Listening Section 4: Note & Table Completion
Assesses the ability to follow an extended academic monologue (a lecture excerpt) and extract key facts into a structured set of notes or a table, without the…
Reading
Reading: Matching Headings
Tests the ability to identify the main idea of each paragraph in an academic passage and match it to the correct heading from a longer list, distinguishing a…
Reading: True / False / Not Given
Assesses the ability to judge whether a given statement agrees with, contradicts, or is simply absent from the factual information in a passage, which…
Reading: Yes / No / Not Given
Tests the ability to determine whether a statement reflects the writer's own opinions, claims or arguments, as opposed to purely factual content, matching it…
Reading: Matching Information to Paragraphs
Assesses the ability to locate a specific piece of information, example, reason or comparison within an unlabelled set of paragraphs, testing scanning skill…
Reading: Matching Features
Tests the ability to link a set of statements, findings or characteristics to the correct person, place, era, theory or category named in the passage, when…
Reading: Sentence Completion
Assesses the ability to complete a partial sentence using a short extract of words taken directly from the passage, staying within a stated word limit and…
Reading: Summary, Note & Table Completion
Tests the ability to follow how a passage's content is reorganised into a condensed summary, note outline or table, and to supply the missing words, either…
Reading: Multiple Choice
Assesses close reading comprehension by requiring candidates to choose the option that most accurately reflects the passage's stated meaning from several…
Reading: Diagram Label Completion
Tests the ability to connect written descriptions in a passage to the parts of a visual diagram (such as a labelled process, mechanism or piece of equipment)…
Writing
Writing Task 1: Line Graph
Assesses the ability to describe, in report format and without personal opinion, the key trends shown in one or more line graphs (overall direction, rate of…
Writing Task 1: Bar Chart
Tests the ability to report the key comparisons shown in one or more bar charts (highest and lowest categories, notable gaps between categories, and change…
Writing Task 1: Pie Chart & Table
Assesses the ability to report proportional data from one or more pie charts, or numerical data from a table, selecting and comparing the most significant…
Writing Task 1: Process Diagram
Tests the ability to describe the sequential stages of a process or natural cycle shown in a diagram, using appropriate sequencing language and passive…
Writing Task 1: Map / Plan (change over time)
Assesses the ability to describe changes to a place shown across two or more maps or plans of the same location at different points in time, using appropriate…
Writing Task 2: Opinion (Agree/Disagree) Essay
Tests the ability to take and sustain a clear personal position on a given statement or claim across a full essay, supporting that position with relevant…
Writing Task 2: Discussion (Both Views) Essay
Assesses the ability to present two contrasting views on an issue fairly and in balanced depth, then state and support the candidate's own opinion, when the…
Writing Task 2: Problem & Solution Essay
Tests the ability to identify the causes or problems described in a prompt and propose realistic, well-explained solutions or measures to address them, going…
Writing Task 2: Advantages & Disadvantages Essay
Assesses the ability to weigh the benefits and drawbacks of a described trend, policy or practice, either presenting both sides evenly or, when the prompt…
Writing Task 2: Two-Part (Direct) Question Essay
Tests the ability to answer two distinct but related questions posed directly in the same prompt, giving each one a full, well-supported answer rather than…
Speaking
Speaking Part 1: Interview
Assesses the ability to answer short, familiar questions about everyday topics (home, family, work or study, interests) fluently and with some development…
Speaking Part 2: Cue Card (Long Turn)
Tests the ability to speak at length, largely uninterrupted, on a topic given via a cue card with bullet-point prompts, using one minute of preparation time…
Speaking Part 3: Discussion
Assesses the ability to discuss more abstract questions related to the Part 2 topic, comparing, speculating, and evaluating ideas, often at a societal rather…