JOURNALISM AND MEDIA

Cambridge English

The website is straightforward and it's easy to get started. Users are not confused with a lot of information.
You ca read the FAQ and tutorial before getting started, or whenever you need to.
Minimalistic but modern page design. Intuitive and easy to navigate.
Good tutorial for first-time users: includes videos, pdf brochure and on-page FAQ.
Clear instructions. You can always access help features, even during the test.
The interface language can be changed to 4 other languages.
Tests open in a pop-up page, which doesn’t scale well on all monitors sizes. You may have to maximise the page manually.

Vital English

The pages are nicely displayed, and not using pop-ups.
Information is easy to comprehend and each lesson has an essential preview summary.
It's not very clear how to return to the main site menu.
If you exit a course before finishing it and later come back, you start from where you left off.
You can easily navigate between sections using the lesson menu on the left side.
Videos load immediately.

Included IELTS preparation materials

IELTS Test Online

Includes over 80 interactive lessons and 350 tutorial videos.
A vocabulary introduction is available before each lesson.
There is an initial quiz to before each lesson to test your starting knowledge.
You'll find a lot of instructional videos included in the lessons.
The platform includes preparation for a wide range of test takers: 5.0 to 9.0 score band.
You'll find a study plan to help you with the learning rhythm.

There are learning materials about how to take the test only included in PDF format.
A few test samples included.
You have the option to take preparation test before starting the actual simulation.
Unfortunately, the preparation test is the same as the simulation. More variety would have been more helpful.

The lessons are well structured and user-friendly.
There are targeted recommendations for beginners and more advanced English-learners, before starting the lessons.
Includes lessons for academic as well as general English IELTS preparation.
Summary at the end of practice tests and lessons to remind you the keywords, topics and main ideas of the lesson, to help you learn how to approach a text.
25 hours of practice materials for each test section.
Learning meant for 4.5 to 7.5 language level of IELTS.

15 preparation tests for each IELTS section for a total of 60 tests, regardless of the subscription you choose.
Each test has a band score estimator included.
You can take the tests as many times as you want.
The tests loads in a pop-up page.

Pop-ups appear with test requirements and answers. Answers need to be filled in separately, on a different page. This feature is a bit cumbersome and takes away from the simulation experience.
You have the option to print the question sheet and the answer sheet.
There is a visible timer included with the test. You can start, pause or reset it freely.
Includes: 2 Writing practice tests, 3 Reading practice tests, 2 Listening practice tests, 2 Speakingpractice tests.
However, you will need to buy the help of an IELTS personal tutor for the Writing and SpeakingTests, if you want your assignments corrected and evaluated.
Examples are included for each test. Also, before starting the actual test, students get an example of how to fill in their answers.
The text of the listening test can be seen by clicking a button.

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