The 10 Best IELTS Preparation Books of 2022

Let’s talk about the best IELTS preparation books. It’s hard to name the absolute best books for IELTS preparation—what helps one person may not be as effective for another. However, our experts have picked some of the best IELTS prep materials, including the best IELTS books and free IELTS resources (like Magoosh’s free IELTS eBook), and categorized them according to their strengths. This should help you prepare for the IELTS in a smart, efficient, and focused way. Let’s get started!

Cambridge English also offers official practice exams. I recommend the IELTS book The Official Cambridge Guide to IELTS, which includes six full-length Academic IELTS practice exams and two full-length General Training practice exams. This IELTS book also contains useful chapters with exercises and tips to help you prepare. If you plan to purchase only one book, this is most likely the one to choose out of all the IELTS preparation books. There is one flaw, though. While this is the best book for IELTS Academic practice, it may not be the very best book for IELTS General Training practice.

All in all, these three books are great, full of tips, tricks, and practice materials that will help you prepare well for test day. That said, the three Barron’s books in the Superpack have some minor flows: occasionally they give advice that doesn’t really ring true. For instance , these books tell you that the True/False and Yes/No questions are the hardest questions on the test, but this is not true for most students. To give one other example, you’re also told to add as many personal details and experiences as possible into your Task 2 essay, but this is not necessary at all for getting a top score. And the practice material, while fairly IELTS-like, is just a little off; the audio focuses on American accents far more than the real IELTS would, and the passages and questions are simpler than average for the exam.

These are all insignificant complaints, though. For the most part, Barron’s does a fantastic job here, and the three Superpack books are all a good investment in your IELTS prep.

While I do really like this course, it does have some disadvantages. At times, the skill-building materials seem a little too broad. For example, many of the IELTS Writing exercises include activities that are focused much more on listening or reading. In general, you’ll see an integration of all skills in the exercises for each of the four sections. This can be helpful to overall English ability, but it can feel distracting for students who want to focus on just one section or skill at a time.  

In addition to the online course I mentioned above, I have several other web-based IELTS resources I can recommend to you. Many of these are free, and the rest are quite affordable.

While many standardized tests have one official website, the IELTS has numerous official sites. The main four sites feature quite a few free practice tests and question sets, and a variety of free or cheap webinars, video lessons, eBooks, and so on. Magoosh offers a guide for the four official IELTS websites and how to use them.

Magoosh also offers the following guides to the sections and important elements of the IELTS exam:

If you like what you see on our blog, go to Magoosh IELTS and consider signing up for a free trial or perhaps even a paid subscription. A paid subscription comes with over 125 lessons, more than 600 questions, and free email assistance. You also have the option to have your IELTS Writing essays scored, for a small additional fee.

Those are our rankings for the best IELTS preparation books! For more rankings of great IELTS resources, check out the Best Apps for IELTS Students. We hope these resources help you prep in an effective and helpful way. Good luck! 🙂

David is a Test Prep Expert for Magoosh TOEFL and IELTS. Additionally, he’s helped students with TOEIC, PET, FCE, BULATS, Eiken, SAT, ACT, GRE, and GMAT. David has a BS from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and an MA from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. His work at Magoosh has been cited in many scholarly articles, his Master’s Thesis is featured on the Reading with Pictures website, and he’s presented at the WITESOL (link to PDF) and NAFSA conferences. David has taught K-12 ESL in South Korea as well as undergraduate English and MBA-level business English at American universities. He has also trained English teachers in America, Italy, and Peru. Come join David and the Magoosh team on Youtube, Facebook, and Instagram, or connect with him via LinkedIn!

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Eliot Friesen-Meyers is the Senior Curriculum Manager for Magoosh IELTS and TOEFL. He attended Goshen College (B.A.), New York University (M.A.), and Harvard University (M.T.S.), gaining experience and skills in curriculum development, ESOL instruction, online teaching and learning, and IELTS and TOEFL test prep education. Eliot’s teaching career started with Literacy Americorps in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and later, taught ESL programs at Northeastern University, University of California-Irvine, and Harold Washington College. Eliot was also a speaker at the 2019 TESOL International Conference. With over 10 years of experience, he understands the challenges students face and loves helping them overcome those challenges. Come join Eliot on Youtube, Facebook, and Instagram. Recent blog posts Complete Guide to IELTS Writing Task 1 Complete Guide to IELTS Writing Task 2

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