How the computer-based test works

In a computer-delivered sitting, Listening, Reading and Writing are completed on screen while Speaking is a live conversation with an examiner. Some locations also offer a writing-on-paper option — this platform treats delivery mode as a setting, so a test can be configured either way.

Listening

About 30 minutes

Four recorded parts, played once. Questions include multiple choice, matching, form, note, table and sentence completion, short answer, and map or diagram labelling.

Reading

60 minutes

Three passages with 40 questions. Question types include True/False/Not Given, Yes/No/Not Given, matching headings, information, features and sentence endings, completion tasks and short answer.

Writing

60 minutes

Task 1 (at least 150 words) and Task 2 (at least 250 words). Assessed on task achievement, coherence and cohesion, lexical resource, and grammatical range and accuracy.

Speaking

11–14 minutes

Three parts: an introduction and familiar topics, a long turn from a task card with one minute of preparation, and a two-way discussion. Assessed on fluency and coherence, lexical resource, grammatical range and accuracy, and pronunciation.

On-screen tools you get here

  • Persistent countdown timer
  • Question navigation with answered, unanswered and flagged states
  • Highlight and underline tools
  • Note-taking panel
  • Adjustable text size
  • Accessible colour and contrast settings
  • Audio player with volume control
  • Clear section transitions and a final review before submitting

On scoring here

Listening and Reading are scored automatically against the answer key, then converted to a practice band using a versioned conversion table. Writing and Speaking receive an AI-assisted estimate, which a teacher can review and finalize. Both the AI estimate and the teacher's score are kept and shown separately, so you can always see where a band came from.