Questions, answered

An AI-graded mock test platform, built for IELTS first, with PTE next on the roadmap. You sit a full module under exam conditions, and get a band score plus a breakdown of exactly what cost you marks — not just a number.

No. Your account is free, no card: unlimited Reading and Listening, one Writing attempt a day, two Speaking sessions a week. Just a name and email to start.

IELTS is what we're building first, so the mock experience and grading are actually right before we expand. PTE is next, built the same way.

It depends on the module. Listening is around 30 minutes, Reading and Writing are around 60 minutes each, and Speaking runs 11 to 14 minutes. A full four-module IELTS mock takes roughly the same time as the real exam.

Yes. You can sit Speaking, Writing, Reading, or Listening on its own — most people practice their weakest module more often than the others.

No. It runs in your browser. For the speaking module you'll need mic access, and a headset helps but isn't required.

No. SmoothMock is an independent mock test and preparation tool. It isn't run by, or officially connected to, the organizations that administer the real IELTS or PTE exams.

Anyone prepping for IELTS or PTE, but it was built for people who can't easily get a proper mock test where they live — expensive one-off sessions, booked-out slots, feedback that's just a number.

Yes. First-timers get the same full mock, timing, and grading as repeat test-takers. It's a reasonable way to see the actual format before your real exam.

A book can't grade your speaking or writing against real band descriptors, and a YouTube video can't respond to what you actually say. SmoothMock runs a live, graded attempt and tells you what specifically to fix.

Yes, there's a sample grading report linked from the homepage so you can see what a mistake breakdown and coach narrative actually look like before you sit a mock yourself.

There's no dedicated classroom or bulk-license setup yet. If you run a coaching center and want to talk about it, email us directly.

It's a live, turn-based conversation, not a recording you read into. It asks Part 1 questions, gives you a Part 2 cue card with prep time, then moves into a Part 3 discussion, following up on what you actually said.

Yes, the same way a real examiner would if you go too long or drift off-topic. It's built to feel like a conversation, not a monologue.

11 to 14 minutes, matching the real IELTS speaking test length across all three parts.

Not mid-attempt — that would defeat the point of practicing under real conditions. You can start a fresh attempt right after, though, and compare the two reports.

Both. Speaking attempts are scored against all four IELTS speaking criteria: fluency and coherence, lexical resource, grammatical range and accuracy, and pronunciation.

Whatever your laptop or phone has built in works fine. A headset with a mic cuts down on background noise and tends to give cleaner results.

Yes. The speaking flow works on mobile with mic permission enabled, and a lot of people prefer practicing speaking on their phone specifically.

It shouldn't. Grading is based on the IELTS pronunciation criteria — intelligibility, stress, intonation — not on sounding like any particular accent.

Cue cards are written to match the style, length, and difficulty of real IELTS Part 2 topics, drawn from a large rotating set so you don't get the same one twice in a row.

Yes, along with the waveform and timing for each part, so you can see exactly where you paused, rushed, or lost the thread.

Run-on sentences and losing coherence in Part 3 come up constantly, along with overusing a small set of filler phrases under pressure.

Yes — one minute to prepare, matching the real exam, before your two-minute response starts.

Against the four official IELTS writing criteria — task achievement, coherence and cohesion, lexical resource, and grammatical range and accuracy — with inline corrections mapped to a mistake taxonomy, not just a single number.

Yes, the writing module runs the full 60 minutes covering Task 1 (report or letter) and Task 2 (essay), same as the real test.

Yes, you can attempt either task on its own if you're short on time, though the full 60-minute mock gives the most realistic band estimate.

Both are supported. Academic gives you a chart, graph, or diagram to describe; General Training gives you a letter-writing prompt.

It goes further than a spellcheck-style tool. Errors are tied to specific IELTS marking criteria, so you see how a mistake actually affects your band, not just that it's grammatically off.

Yes, live as you type, along with a flag if you're under the minimum word count for that task.

You type it, in a plain text editor built to feel close to the real computer-delivered IELTS writing screen.

Recurring patterns like article agreement, run-on sentences, uncountable noun errors, and cohesion gaps between paragraphs — the same category of mistake across attempts, so you can see if you're actually improving or just getting lucky.

Grading runs right after you submit; most writing reports are ready within a couple of minutes.

Some prompts include a model response at a higher band for comparison. Coverage is growing, so not every prompt has one yet.

Yes, it's part of task achievement — the report checks whether your introduction meaningfully paraphrases the prompt rather than copying it.

The timer behaves like the real exam: your attempt gets submitted and graded as-is, including a note that task completion was affected, since that reflects the real marking.

Three passages, 40 questions total, matching the real IELTS reading test structure and difficulty progression.

60 minutes for all three passages, same as the real exam, with no extra time added for transferring answers.

Yes, both passage sets are available, matching the different text types and question styles each version uses.

The same range as the real test — multiple choice, matching headings, true/false/not given, sentence completion, and summary completion, among others.

You can move freely between questions and passages within the module, same as the real computer-delivered test.

Yes, the breakdown groups your misses by question type, so you can see if it's specifically matching headings or true/false/not given dragging your score down.

Passages are written to match the register, length, and subject range of real IELTS reading texts, spanning science, history, and general interest topics.

Yes, each attempt pulls from a rotating passage set so you're not just memorizing the same text.

Yes, the same way it does on the real exam — a correct answer with a spelling mistake is marked wrong, since IELTS grades reading that strictly too.

From your raw score out of 40, converted using the same band conversion tables IELTS itself uses.

Four recordings, moving from an everyday conversation through to an academic lecture, matching the real IELTS listening structure.

About 30 minutes of audio, played once straight through, plus time to review and finalize answers.

No — each recording plays once in real time, same as the actual exam, since that's part of what the test is checking.

A mix of British, Australian, North American, and other accents that show up on the real test, so you're not just trained on one accent.

Yes, that's expected and encouraged — the interface leaves room for notes the same way the real test paper does.

Multiple choice, form and note completion, matching, and map or plan labeling — the same set used across the real four sections.

Yes, broken down section by section so you can see if it's Section 4's academic lecture format specifically causing the drop-off.

Yes, by design, matching how the real exam gets progressively more academic and dense from Section 1 through Section 4.

Yes, and it's recommended — the audio is mixed to sound close to exam-room playback, and headphones make the accent shifts easier to catch.

From your raw score out of 40, converted through the same band conversion table used for the real IELTS listening test.

Not yet. We're building IELTS first so the mock experience and grading are actually right, then expanding to PTE. It's next on the roadmap, not a someday idea.

While researching how test centers grade speaking and writing, we kept hearing PTE candidates describe the same problem — expensive one-off attempts and feedback with no explanation. That's why PTE is next, not a one-off idea.

Same philosophy — a mistake breakdown instead of a bare score — mapped to PTE's own scoring criteria rather than IELTS band descriptors, since the two exams score differently.

That's the plan — PTE's distinctive task types, like repeat sentence, describe image, and re-tell lecture, not just standard reading and listening questions.

PTE speaking is scored on shorter, task-based responses like read-aloud and repeat sentence, rather than a free-flowing three-part conversation, so the grading criteria will reflect that format.

Yes, that's the intent — one account, both exam types, once PTE ships.

No fixed date yet. Join the waitlist and you'll be emailed when it's ready.

Same underlying grading approach, tuned to PTE's own scoring rubric rather than IELTS band descriptors, since the two exams don't score the same skills the same way.

That's the plan — one set of plans covering both exam types once PTE is live, not a separate PTE-only tier.

Yes — email nishant@smoothmock.com. Early feedback from actual PTE candidates is exactly what shapes what gets built first.

Yes, that's the standard we're building it to — a breakdown of recurring error patterns and a written explanation of what to fix, not just a score.

Because building both at once usually means neither is done properly. IELTS first means the grading, the mock experience, and the taxonomy are solid before PTE gets the same treatment.

Grading runs against the same official band descriptors and marking criteria human examiners use. It won't catch every nuance a specific examiner might, but it's built to be consistent — the same answer gets the same score every time, which isn't always true between different human examiners either.

A fixed set of error categories — like article agreement, run-on sentences, or coherence gaps — that every attempt gets checked against, so you can see whether the same type of mistake keeps showing up across multiple attempts.

A short written explanation after each attempt that names the specific pattern costing you marks, for example: losing half a band to run-on sentences in Task 2, three of them flagged in that attempt.

It's an estimate, not a guarantee. It's built on the same criteria examiners use, but the real exam has its own examiner variability too — no mock test from any provider can promise an identical score.

Yes, grading is consistent for identical input — the same essay gets the same score every time, which isn't something you can promise with two different human examiners.

There's no formal appeals process the way real exam boards have one, since this isn't an official exam. If a report looks clearly wrong, email us and we'll look into it.

Full criteria breakdown — for writing that's task achievement, coherence, lexical resource, and grammar, each shown separately alongside the overall band.

Over 3,200 distinct mistake patterns have been tracked across graded attempts so far, which is part of what makes the taxonomy specific rather than generic.

Test-takers who complete three or more attempts see an average band gain of 0.7. Individual results vary with how much study happens between attempts.

No, grading is entirely AI-driven on every plan, including Intensive. If a specific transcript or report looks clearly wrong, email us and we'll check it manually.

It happens occasionally with background noise or a weak connection. If a transcript looks clearly wrong, email us with the attempt and we'll check it manually.

Weighting follows the official IELTS and PTE criteria splits for each module, not an arbitrary internal formula.

Yes, on Full Access and Intensive, progress tracking shows band score and mistake patterns across all your past attempts, not just the most recent one.

Most reports are ready within a few minutes of submitting, though writing and speaking sometimes take slightly longer than reading or listening.

Free, Full Access at $7/month, Intensive at $19/month, and Unlimited at $29/month. Free covers unlimited Reading and Listening plus daily Writing and weekly Speaking. Full Access raises Writing to 120 and Speaking to 30 a month; Intensive raises those further to 300 and 120, and adds a weekly study plan, a monthly deep-dive report, and custom topic requests; Unlimited removes the caps on every module entirely.

Reading and Listening are unlimited, no cap. Writing gets one full graded attempt a day. Speaking gets two a week, usable standalone or as part of a full mock. Full AI grading and a band score every time, no card required.

Unlimited Reading and Listening, 30 Speaking sessions a month, 120 Writing attempts a month, the full mistake taxonomy, a coach narrative after every attempt, and progress tracking across attempts.

Higher caps — 120 Speaking sessions and 300 Writing attempts a month — plus a weekly personalized study plan, a monthly deep-dive report on your #1 weak area, the ability to request mock questions on a specific topic, and priority grading so your reports come back faster.

No caps on Reading, Listening, Speaking, or Writing, at $29/month. The only thing that can get an account flagged is usage that looks automated or scripted rather than a real person studying — see the fair-use section in our Terms. Genuine daily practice, however heavy, is exactly what the plan is built for.

Not currently — plans are monthly only, since most test-takers only need a few weeks of prep around one exam date.

About 4 to 8 weeks, timed around their real exam date, which is why plans are monthly with no lock-in rather than long annual contracts.

Yes, you can upgrade at any point and the new plan applies immediately.

Yes, you can move down a tier whenever you want; the change applies from your next billing cycle.

Not at the moment. Given the audience is almost entirely students and test-takers, plans are already priced with that in mind.

Standard debit and credit cards through our payment processor. Specific local payment options depend on your country.

Yes, pricing is listed in USD; your card issuer or bank handles the conversion if you're paying in a different currency.

Yes, paid plans renew monthly until you cancel. You can cancel anytime to stop future charges.

No. The price shown for each plan is what you pay, with no separate setup fee or exam-day upsell.

They can, as the product develops. If pricing changes for an existing subscriber, it won't apply mid-cycle without notice.

Just a name and email to get started with the free mock. No payment details required until you choose a paid plan.

Yes, a phone number isn't required to sign up or take mocks — it's optional if you'd rather be reachable that way for updates.

Current versions of Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Edge. Chrome tends to give the smoothest experience for the speaking module's mic access.

Not yet — SmoothMock runs fully in the browser on both desktop and mobile, so there's nothing separate to install.

For reading and writing, your progress up to that point is generally saved and you can resume. For live speaking, a dropped connection may end that attempt, and you'd need to start a fresh one.

Yes, it works on tablets through the browser, though a laptop or desktop tends to be easier for the writing module's typing-heavy format.

Use the 'forgot password' link on the login screen — it sends a reset link to your registered email.

Yes, from your account settings. If you run into trouble, email us and we'll update it manually.

Yes, you can request full account deletion at any time. Email us and we'll confirm once it's processed.

Accounts are meant for individual use — progress tracking and mistake history only make sense tied to one person's attempts.

Try refreshing first, since grading for writing and speaking can take a couple of minutes. If it's still stuck after that, email us with your account email and the approximate time of the attempt.

Most browsers remember the permission after the first time you allow it for the site. If it keeps asking, check your browser's site settings.

No. SmoothMock is a preparation and mock test tool, not a booking service. You book your real exam directly through the British Council, IDP, or Pearson, depending on which test and center you choose.

Most people start 4 to 8 weeks out, which gives enough time to sit multiple mocks and act on the mistake breakdown between attempts.

A light one is fine if it helps settle your nerves, but cramming a full four-module mock the night before usually does more harm than good. Save the heavier practice for at least a few days out.

It can't guarantee a specific real-exam outcome, but consistent band estimates across several mock attempts are a reasonable signal of where you actually stand.

Yes, there's a dedicated fee guide covering IELTS pricing, British Council versus IDP costs, and test centers by country.

Not directly for booking, but knowing your realistic band or score range from mock results can help you judge which test center or exam date actually makes sense for your timeline.

There's no fixed number, but people who see the biggest gains typically sit three or more attempts, spaced out with real study in between, rather than back-to-back with no changes.

The mock content and grading follow standard IELTS format and criteria. If you're specifically sitting IELTS for UKVI, check with your visa or institution for any format differences that matter for your application.

Weekly band-score projection is available on the Intensive plan, which gives a running sense of trajectory as your exam date approaches.

Yes, there's no daily limit on attempts for paid plans — you can sit the same module again right away if you want another shot at it.

It's built around the computer-delivered typing format, which is what most IELTS and all PTE test-takers now sit.

Valid ID matching your registration and knowing your test center's specific check-in process. Format, timing, and content practice is what SmoothMock covers; logistics are on you.

No. Payments for Full Access and Intensive are final and non-refundable once processed, including for partial months. See the full refund and cancellation policy for details.

Email us with your account email and the transaction dates. A genuine duplicate or billing-system error is corrected, since that's not the same as a change-of-mind refund request.

No, but you keep access to your paid plan until the end of the billing period you already paid for. Cancelling only stops the next renewal.

From your account's billing settings. It takes effect at the end of your current billing period, and you won't be charged again after that.

The Free plan itself works as the trial — unlimited Reading and Listening, a Writing attempt every day, and two Speaking sessions a week, before you decide whether to pay for anything.

Individual attempts aren't billed separately, so there's nothing to refund per attempt. If a report looks clearly broken, email us and we'll look into what happened.

There's no pause option currently. Cancelling and resubscribing later is the way to stop and later restart billing.

No, your report history stays tied to your account. You just lose access to unlimited mocks and paid features until you resubscribe.

Paid plans don't work on a per-attempt credit system, so there's nothing unused to carry over or refund when you cancel.

Every plan includes real free access before you ever pay — unlimited Reading and Listening, daily Writing, weekly Speaking — so you can see exactly what the grading and reports look like beforehand. That's why paid plans are treated as a final decision rather than a returnable purchase.

Yes, speaking attempts are recorded so they can be graded and so you can review your own transcript afterward. Details on retention are in the privacy policy.

See the privacy policy for the current position on this. If it changes, the policy is updated and dated accordingly.

Just you, by default. Grading is fully automated on every plan, so no one else sees your attempts unless you email us about a specific report.

No, your email isn't sold or shared with third parties for marketing. It's used for account access, receipts, and product updates you can opt out of.

Email us with your account email and we can arrange an export of your reports and account data.

Account and attempt data is deleted following an account deletion request, aside from anything we're required to retain for legal or billing records. Full detail is in the privacy policy.

Yes, for basic site functionality and analytics. See the privacy policy for the specific categories used.

No, card details are handled directly by our payment processor and aren't stored on SmoothMock's own systems.

Yes, marketing emails have an unsubscribe link, separate from transactional emails like receipts or password resets, which keep going as long as your account is active.

Email nishant@smoothmock.com directly — a real person reads and responds to it.

No. A lot of people start with no idea what they're at. Your first attempt on any module gives you a baseline band score to work from.

No. It works the same whether you're prepping for study, work migration, or a visa application — the exam format doesn't change based on why you're taking it.

Yes, plenty of people do. It works well as extra practice and objective feedback between coaching sessions, since a tutor can't grade every attempt in real time the way the platform can.

English. Since the exam itself is an English proficiency test, the platform doesn't currently offer a translated interface.

You can switch tabs during Reading, Listening, and Writing without losing progress. For Speaking, staying on the tab keeps the mic connection stable — switching away can drop the session.

No leaderboard or ranking feature right now. Progress tracking compares you against your own past attempts, not other users.

The account should belong to the person actually taking the mocks, since progress tracking and mistake history are tied to one person's attempts and speaking recordings are of that person's voice.

The site and grading work anywhere with a stable internet connection. Payment method availability for paid plans can vary slightly by country depending on what your card issuer supports.

A headset with a built-in mic works fine — that's what most people use. A dedicated external mic isn't necessary.

A short pause is normal and part of natural speech — it's factored into fluency scoring the same way a real examiner would read a thinking pause. An extended silence gets flagged as reduced fluency.

Yes, you can ask for a question to be repeated or clarified, the same as you could with a real examiner.

Only if it's used accurately and naturally. Reaching for words that don't fit the sentence tends to hurt grammatical accuracy and coherence, which can cancel out any lexical resource gain.

It's scored on IELTS pronunciation criteria — intelligibility, stress patterns, intonation — not against a specific reference accent. A strong accent that's still clear and easy to follow shouldn't be penalized.

Yes, your notes are saved alongside the transcript and recording in your report.

The scoring focuses on the content and delivery of your speech, not ambient noise. That said, heavy background noise can affect transcription accuracy, so a quieter space gives you a more reliable report.

No, a speaking attempt runs as one connected session across all three parts, the same as the real exam, since Part 3 builds on the Part 2 topic.

No, follow-ups are generated based on what you actually said, so they vary attempt to attempt even on a repeated topic.

By how logically your ideas connect and how well you use linking language to move between them, separate from grammar or vocabulary — you can have advanced vocabulary and still lose marks here if your answer jumps around.

The coach narrative usually spells out the size of the impact — for example, noting that a specific pattern is costing you roughly half a band — so you can see what fixing it is worth.

The grading focuses on scoring what you submit against the criteria, not detecting how it was produced. That said, submitting text you didn't write yourself defeats the purpose of practice — you'd only be misleading your own progress tracking.

IELTS Task 2 expects a formal, academic register, and the grading reflects that — contractions, slang, or casual phrasing get flagged the same way a real examiner would note them.

No, Task 1 needs to be written in full sentences and paragraphs, same as the real exam — bullet points aren't part of the accepted format.

Directly lifting long chunks of the prompt without rephrasing can cost you on lexical resource, since it doesn't demonstrate your own vocabulary range.

Two or more independent clauses joined without correct punctuation or a conjunction — a very common flag in the mistake taxonomy, especially in Task 2 arguments that build momentum without a full stop.

No direct penalty for length itself, but padding an essay with repetition or irrelevant content to hit a higher count can hurt task achievement and coherence.

No, a writing attempt runs as one timed session, matching the real exam's single sitting — there's no save-and-resume mid-attempt.

Both — the sentence gets highlighted, and the coach narrative explains the specific rule or pattern it violates, so you know what to change next time.

A misspelled real word is flagged as spelling; using the wrong word entirely, like confusing 'affect' and 'effect,' gets flagged under lexical resource instead — they're tracked as separate categories in the mistake taxonomy.

Grading is tied to a timed mock attempt so that band estimates reflect real exam conditions, including time pressure — there's no separate untimed submission mode right now.

Randomized from a rotating pool, so two attempts rarely pull the exact same three passages together.

You can highlight text for your own reference while reading, the same way you'd mark up a paper copy — it doesn't affect scoring either way.

Not Given means the passage doesn't address the statement at all; False means the passage directly contradicts it. Mixing these two up is one of the most common mistake patterns the taxonomy tracks.

Yes, you can mark a question to revisit and jump back to it before time runs out, same as the real test interface.

The report shows how much time you spent per passage, so you can see if a specific passage type is slowing you down even when your accuracy on it is fine.

No, the passage content itself differs — Academic uses longer, more technical texts, while General Training includes shorter workplace and everyday-life texts alongside longer ones.

Yes, you can go back and change any answer up until you submit the module or time runs out.

That's common — the third passage is usually the densest, and many test-takers spend too long on the first two. The section-by-section timing breakdown in your report is built to catch exactly this pattern.

Yes, you can adjust your device volume before and during playback, same as you'd control volume on exam-room speakers or headphones.

Some recordings include light ambient sound where it's realistic for the setting, like a busy office, but it's kept well below the level that would make the speech hard to follow.

A short review window is included after the four recordings finish, matching the real exam's answer-transfer time.

Different speakers across sections, and often multiple speakers within a single recording, matching how the real test mixes monologues and conversations.

No, listening plays straight through without pausing, the same as a real exam room where the audio doesn't stop for anyone.

That question type tests spatial-language comprehension, like directions and prepositions of place, which is a different skill from general listening comprehension. The report flags it as its own category if it's a recurring weak spot.

Yes, at around 30 minutes it's shorter than Reading or Writing, though the real-time, one-pass format makes it feel more intense per minute for a lot of test-takers.

Decent headphones help you catch quieter details, but the recordings are mixed to be followable on standard laptop speakers too. What matters more is a quiet room.

Yes, that's part of the plan — PTE's reading and listening integrated tasks, not just the speaking-and-writing side.

Different, not necessarily harder — PTE's scoring is more automated and rubric-driven by design, which actually maps well to structured AI grading. The complexity is in covering all of PTE's distinct task types properly, which takes time.

Same platform, same account. PTE will sit alongside IELTS as a second exam type, not a separate product.

Join the waitlist and mention PTE in the 'how did you hear about us' step, or just email nishant@smoothmock.com — either way you'll hear when it's ready.

PTE Speaking does weight fluency and pronunciation heavily, and its automated scoring style is part of what we're specifically building the grading engine to match, rather than just reusing IELTS speaking criteria.

PTE Academic is the initial focus, since it's the more widely required version for study and general immigration pathways. PTE Core support depends on demand once Academic is solid.

Quite different — it's a single-sentence summary task under a strict word limit, testing compression and precision rather than the extended essay structure IELTS Task 2 asks for. It'll get its own grading criteria, not a reused IELTS rubric.

Start with IELTS mocks now if you're deciding — the free tier costs nothing to try, and knowing how you perform under real timed conditions is useful information regardless of which exam you end up sitting.

Your submission (text for writing, audio and transcript for speaking, or your answer sheet for reading and listening) is checked against the official band descriptors for that module. Writing and speaking get analyzed sentence by sentence for the mistake taxonomy, then a coach narrative is generated explaining the pattern. Reading and listening are checked against the answer key and converted through the standard band conversion tables.

No. Grading is fully automated on every plan, including Unlimited. If you think a specific report is wrong, you can email us and someone will look at that one attempt manually, but that's a manual check after the fact, not part of the standard grading pipeline.

Task Achievement (Task 1) or Task Response (Task 2), Coherence and Cohesion, Lexical Resource, and Grammatical Range and Accuracy. Each is scored separately and shown in your criteria breakdown, then averaged toward your overall writing band the same way the real exam calculates it.

Fluency and Coherence, Lexical Resource, Grammatical Range and Accuracy, and Pronunciation. Same four categories, same weighting logic as the real exam.

It processes the full essay as one piece, since criteria like coherence and task achievement depend on how the whole argument holds together, not just individual paragraphs in isolation.

It doesn't just count errors and subtract points — band descriptors are holistic, weighing how errors affect communication, not just how many there are. A few high-impact errors that block meaning cost more than several minor ones that don't.

Yes, easily. A grammar mistake that changes meaning or confuses the reader costs more than one that's just a technical slip a reader would barely notice. Severity and impact matter more than raw count.

Yes, both are accepted as correct, the same way the real IELTS and PTE exams accept either as long as you're consistent within one piece of writing.

Identical input produces identical output regardless of when or where it's processed — there's no time-of-day or server-based variation, unlike human examiner scoring which can vary by mood, fatigue, or time pressure.

Yes. Deterministic input gets deterministic grading — that consistency is one of the main things AI grading offers over the natural variability between different human examiners.

Mainly the final text against the criteria, though whether you finished within the time limit factors into task completion the same way it would in a real exam.

Content and language use (vocabulary, grammar, coherence) are judged from the transcript; delivery (pronunciation, fluency, pacing, hesitation) is judged from the audio itself. Both feed into the four criteria together.

It doesn't explicitly detect memorization, but a rehearsed answer that doesn't actually respond to the specific question or follow-up tends to lose marks on task response and coherence anyway, the same way it would with a real examiner.

IELTS Task 2 expects a clear position, even in a discussion-style question. An essay that stays neutral throughout typically loses marks on task response for not fully addressing the task.

Yes, the grading quality is identical across every plan. What changes between plans is how many attempts you get and which extra features (study plans, deep-dive reports) come with the report, not the accuracy of the grading itself.

Follow-up questions respond to what you say in the moment, but the overall difficulty of Part 1 and Part 2 topics stays standardized, the same way a real examiner's script doesn't change based on how well you're doing.

The band score is the single overall number for that module. The criteria breakdown shows the four sub-scores that combine into it, so you can see exactly which criterion is pulling your overall band down.

Completing within the time limit is part of realistic exam practice, but the grading itself scores what you wrote against the criteria. If you go over time, your report notes it, since that reflects a real constraint you'd face on test day.

Not currently outside of the Intensive plan's custom topic requests, which still grade against the same official criteria — general free-form writing outside the exam format isn't something the grading engine is built for.

The underlying criteria are the same, but what counts as strong task achievement differs — a line graph needs trend description and comparison, a process diagram needs clear sequencing. The grading is tuned to what each visual type actually requires.

No, reports are based entirely on the official band descriptors, not a comparison against other users' scores.

No, it will grade whatever you submit, but a significantly under-length response gets marked down for task achievement the same way it would on the real exam, since word count minimums are part of the actual criteria.

It can, like any grading system, human or automated. If a specific report looks clearly off, email us with the attempt and we'll check it manually — that's the safety net rather than a promise of zero errors.

It was built directly on the published official band descriptors and marking criteria for each module, and tuned against real graded sample responses. It's an estimate calibrated to those standards, not a certified substitute for the real exam.

Yes, flagged sentences are highlighted directly in your report, linked to the specific mistake category so you can see exactly what triggered it, not just a summary count.

No, the criteria and grading process are the same regardless of your first language. Certain mistake patterns are more common depending on your native language's grammar, but the scoring standard itself doesn't change.

Similar, usually within a few minutes of submission for both, though speaking can occasionally take slightly longer since it involves processing audio into a transcript before the language analysis runs.

A fixed, structured set of error categories, things like article agreement, run-on sentences, uncountable noun errors, or cohesion gaps, that every writing and speaking attempt gets checked against. It's what turns 'you made mistakes' into 'you make this specific mistake repeatedly.'

Dozens, spanning grammar, vocabulary, coherence, and pronunciation, and the set has grown as more attempts get graded. New recurring patterns get added as distinct categories rather than lumped into a generic 'grammar error' bucket.

That's the point — the taxonomy is built to surface exactly that. If 'article agreement' shows up in four attempts in a row, that's a clear, fixable pattern, not bad luck.

Yes, pronunciation and fluency patterns get their own categories in the speaking taxonomy, separate from the grammar and vocabulary categories shared with writing.

Yes, on Full Access, Intensive, and Unlimited, progress tracking shows your mistake pattern history across all past attempts, not just the most recent report.

The four criteria (task achievement, coherence, lexical resource, grammar, etc.) are what your band score is built from. The taxonomy is more granular — it explains why a criterion score is what it is, at the level of specific, nameable error patterns.

The category set is stable — once a real recurring pattern is added, it stays, since removing it would break historical comparisons across your past attempts.

No, they're different categories. A run-on sentence is a grammar-level punctuation issue within one sentence. A coherence gap is about how ideas connect across sentences or paragraphs, even if each individual sentence is grammatically fine.

A single sentence can get flagged under more than one category if it genuinely has more than one issue, for example, both a tense error and a coherence problem in the same sentence get logged separately.

Yes, your report lets you filter by category so you can look specifically at, say, every article agreement flag without scrolling past everything else.

Yes, incorrect collocations are their own recognized category, separate from spelling errors or general lexical resource comments.

The underlying idea carries over, but the specific categories will be tuned to PTE's own task types and scoring criteria once that launches, since PTE tests some different things than IELTS does.

It's specific: treating a noun like 'advice,' 'information,' or 'furniture' as if it were countable, for example writing 'an advice' or 'informations.' It's common enough across attempts that it gets its own dedicated category instead of a generic grammar label.

It still gets flagged and explained in the coach narrative, just without a named taxonomy tag. Genuinely new recurring patterns can get added as their own category over time.

Not always perfectly — a one-off slip and a genuinely wrong spelling can look similar in a single attempt. The pattern becomes clear once the same word gets misspelled the same way across multiple attempts.

It's fully visible in your report — that's the whole point of it. It's built to be read and acted on, not hidden scoring logic.

A band score tells you where you stand. The taxonomy tells you what to actually do about it — practice the specific pattern instead of vaguely 'studying grammar.'

Yes, Drill Mode pulls directly from your own taxonomy history, so the categories you drill are the exact ones your reports have flagged, not a generic practice set.

A personal word list built automatically from your own attempts, words you've misspelled, misused, mixed up, or leaned on too heavily, pulled straight from your writing and speaking history rather than a generic word list everyone gets.

No, it populates automatically from your graded attempts. You can also add a word manually if there's something specific you're working on.

Anything flagged in your mistake taxonomy as a lexical error, a wrong collocation, a misused word, a repeated overused filler word, gets added, along with the correct usage and an example from your own attempt.

Yes, it uses a spaced-repetition review pattern, showing words you're shakier on more often and words you've clearly mastered less often, rather than a flat repeating deck.

No, it's flashcard-style review, not a graded attempt, so it doesn't draw from your monthly Writing or Speaking allowance on any plan.

No, it's a Full Access, Intensive, and Unlimited feature. Free gives you the graded attempts themselves, which is where Vocabulary Builder's word list would be pulled from anyway.

Yes, once a word stops appearing as a mistake across new attempts, it naturally moves to a mastered state, and you can also mark it mastered manually.

Both, since mistakes in your actual attempts span everyday words as much as academic ones. It's built around your real errors, not a fixed 'IELTS word list' unrelated to how you actually write and speak.

You can view and study it in the platform. A dedicated export isn't available yet, though it's a reasonable request, email us if it'd be useful to you.

Where a word came from a speaking attempt with a pronunciation flag, the card includes that context, not just the definition and correct usage.

A generic list teaches you words in general. Vocabulary Builder teaches you the specific words you personally get wrong, which tends to matter more for moving your actual band score.

Yes, once PTE is live, mistakes from PTE attempts will feed into the same personal word list as IELTS attempts, since it's one account, one history.

No cap on list size. It grows with your attempt history for as long as you're using the platform.

No, it's included at no extra cost on Full Access, Intensive, and Unlimited.

The spaced-repetition scheduling handles the timing for you, surfacing cards when they're due rather than needing you to decide a schedule yourself. A few minutes a day is usually enough.

Cards include the correct usage and, where relevant, a short example, so it's grounded in real sentence context rather than an isolated definition.

It moves toward mastered status rather than disappearing outright, so you can still glance back at words you've improved on if you want to.

They draw from the same underlying mistake data, so a recurring vocabulary issue that shows up in your deep-dive report will also be reflected in your Vocabulary Builder deck.

Yes, review sessions are separate from taking a mock — you can open Vocabulary Builder any time to review, independent of sitting a graded attempt.

Yes, since both are accepted in grading, Vocabulary Builder reflects whichever variant showed up in your own attempts rather than forcing one standard.

Short, focused practice reps that target one specific mistake pattern at a time, pulled from your own mistake taxonomy, instead of a full 60-minute module attempt. It's built for quick practice between full mocks, not a replacement for them.

A few minutes, usually — a handful of targeted exercises on one pattern, like article agreement or run-on sentences, graded instantly.

No, Drill Mode exercises are separate from full graded attempts and don't draw from your Writing or Speaking allowance on any plan.

No, it's part of Full Access, Intensive, and Unlimited, since it's built on top of the mistake taxonomy data those plans track fully.

It suggests your most frequent or highest-impact recurring mistake first, though you can also pick a specific category yourself if you already know what you want to work on.

Both. A speaking-related pattern, like a specific pronunciation issue or filler-word habit, gets its own short spoken drill, not just written exercises.

It's graded against the same underlying criteria logic, but scored per-exercise rather than producing a full band score, since it's testing one narrow skill, not the whole module.

Yes, Drill Mode isn't capped by attempt quota the way full mocks are, so it's meant to be used often, in short bursts, between your full graded attempts.

Drill Mode itself doesn't feed into your band score, but fixing a pattern through repeated drilling should show up as fewer flags on that category the next time you take a full graded mock.

Yes, your Drill Mode history shows accuracy on that pattern across sessions, so you can see whether it's actually sticking.

Yes, you're not limited to your own flagged patterns — you can select any taxonomy category to practice proactively.

No, it's untimed by default, since the point is focused repetition, not exam-pressure simulation, that's what full mocks are for.

Vocabulary Builder is flashcard-style review of specific words. Drill Mode is active practice exercises targeting grammar and structural patterns, like sentence construction or article use, not individual vocabulary items.

New exercises are generated for the pattern you're drilling, so you're not memorizing a fixed set of repeated questions.

Yes, it's suited to quick pre-exam practice specifically because it's short and targeted, rather than the heavier full-mock session you'd want to avoid cramming the night before.

Yes, Drill Mode will extend to PTE's own mistake taxonomy once that's built out, the same way the rest of the platform will.

No fixed daily limit — it's designed for frequent, short use.

Yes, a shorter version, explaining how you did on that specific pattern and whether it's improving across sessions.

Yes, you can move between categories freely rather than being locked into one pattern per session.

It's most useful once you have at least one graded attempt, since that's what generates your mistake taxonomy for it to pull from. Before that, a full mock is the better starting point.

Your band score and mistake pattern history across every past attempt, module by module, so you can see whether you're actually trending up or just fluctuating attempt to attempt.

Basic history of your own attempts is visible on Free. The fuller cross-attempt trend view is part of Full Access, Intensive, and Unlimited.

A visual trend line for band score over time, plus a breakdown of which mistake categories are becoming more or less frequent.

Separately for each module, since your Speaking trend and your Writing trend can move very differently depending on where you're actually putting in practice time.

You can set a target band, and your trend line shows how far off you currently are and whether the gap is closing.

As far back as your account's attempt history, for as long as you've had an account, unless you've requested account deletion.

Yes, your dashboard shows a practice streak, since consistency tends to matter more for actual improvement than any single long session.

Full mocks drive your band score trend; Drill Mode and Vocabulary Builder activity show up as their own separate practice metrics, since they're not graded the same way.

Not as a built-in export feature yet. Email us if you need your history for something specific, like a scholarship or consultant request, and we can help.

Not currently — the dashboard focuses on band score and mistake pattern trends rather than behavioral timing data.

Regular progress tracking shows what's already happened. The weekly projection extrapolates a likely trajectory from your recent trend, giving you a forward-looking estimate rather than just a historical record.

Yes, you can select any two attempts on the same module and see a direct comparison of band score, criteria breakdown, and mistake patterns between them.

The trend view shows dates alongside scores, so you can see the gap yourself — a jump after two weeks of no practice reads differently than one after daily drilling.

Yes, your full history stays attached to your account regardless of which plan you're currently on. Plan changes affect what you can do going forward, not your past data.

Not as a direct share link right now. Screenshots or the downloadable PDF report per attempt (on higher plans) work as a practical way to share specific results.

A flat trend line across several recent attempts is visible directly in the graph, and the coach narrative will often note if a specific pattern keeps recurring without improvement.

Not as a partial reset — your full history stays intact by design, since even old attempts are useful context for the mistake taxonomy. Full account deletion is available if you genuinely want a clean slate.

No, it's purely about your own trajectory over time, not a comparison against other test-takers.

Yes, setting your exam date lets the platform tailor its suggestions, and on Intensive, feeds directly into your weekly band-score projection.

On Intensive, the weekly personalized study plan suggests what to focus on based on your recent mistake patterns and how much time is left before your exam date.

You can opt into practice reminder emails from your account settings. They're separate from marketing emails and easy to turn off if they're not useful to you.

A longer synthesis specifically on your single biggest weak area that month, going deeper than the per-attempt coach narrative, with targeted drills and examples tied to that one pattern.

The weekly plan is short and forward-looking, what to focus on this week. The monthly deep-dive is a longer, single-topic breakdown of your most persistent issue across the whole month.

You submit a topic you're specifically worried about, and get a mock speaking or writing question built around it, instead of relying on the standard rotating question pool.

They draw from your normal Speaking and Writing monthly allowance on Intensive (120 and 300 respectively), rather than being a separate unlimited add-on.

It updates weekly based on your latest attempts, so it shifts focus as older patterns get fixed and new ones show up.

Yes, it'll still work off your mistake patterns without a set date, just without the exam-countdown pacing that comes from knowing how many weeks you have left.

The personalized weekly study plan and monthly deep-dive report are Intensive features. Free and Full Access give you the graded attempts and mistake breakdown those plans are built from.

The weekly band-score projection on Intensive gives you a trajectory estimate, which is the closest thing to that, rather than a specific attempt-count target.

The plan is built from your actual mistake history, so it needs at least one graded attempt on a module before it can suggest anything specific for it.

You can set your general availability, and the suggested plan adjusts pacing accordingly rather than assuming daily practice by default.

The same weekly-plan and deep-dive-report structure will apply to PTE attempts once that launches, tuned to PTE's own criteria and task types.

Yes, notification preferences and the study plan itself are controlled separately in your account settings.

It's built from your own mistake taxonomy and attempt history specifically, not a generic template assigned by band range.

Everything in Intensive, but with no monthly caps on Reading, Listening, Speaking, or Writing at all, for $29 a month. It's built for genuinely daily, heavy use, protected by a fair-use policy rather than a hard number.

Someone doing full mocks more than a few times a week, or drilling Speaking heavily in the final weeks before their exam, where Intensive's 120 sessions a month might start to feel tight.

For most people, yes, that's roughly 4 a day, every day, which is far beyond what a typical study routine looks like. It only becomes a real constraint for people doing multiple speaking drills daily in the final stretch before an exam.

Yes, you can downgrade at any point, effective from your next billing cycle, once you have a sense of how much you're actually using.

They reset on a rolling monthly basis from your signup or last renewal date, not the calendar month.

No, unused attempts don't carry over to the next month — the allowance is a monthly cap, not a banked credit system.

Immediately — an upgrade takes effect right away, including the higher module caps for the rest of your current cycle.

Not currently. Each plan is built around one individual account, since progress tracking and speaking recordings are tied to one person.

A flat global price in USD right now. Your card issuer or local bank handles the currency conversion if you're paying in something other than dollars.

AI grading has a much lower marginal cost than a human tutor's time, and that saving is passed through directly rather than priced to match traditional coaching rates.

Not a separate trial, but the Free plan itself lets you experience the same grading quality on a smaller scale before deciding whether the higher caps are worth it to you.

Charges are processed in USD; if your card is in another currency, the conversion happens on your bank's end at their exchange rate.

If pricing changes, it won't apply to a billing cycle you've already paid for without notice. Existing subscribers get advance notice of any change before it takes effect.

It's about ongoing usage patterns, not a look-back at history — an account only gets flagged based on how it's actually being used, not past activity that was already fine.

Yes, you can access your account from different devices, though it's meant for one person's use, not simultaneous shared access.

Not currently. Password reset via your registered email is the main account recovery method for now.

Depends on what's available at signup — check the login screen for current sign-in options, since this can change as the platform develops.

We'd notify active users in advance and give a window to export or request your data before anything was taken offline, consistent with the commitments in our privacy policy.

No, grading and content delivery require an internet connection since attempts are processed server-side in real time.

Generally yes, though a VPN can occasionally affect audio streaming stability during the speaking module. If you hit connection issues on a VPN, try disabling it for the speaking test specifically.

Progress within reading and writing attempts is saved automatically as you go. There's no manual save step to remember.

Any OS with a current version of Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, and Linux all work through the browser.

A stable connection sufficient for smooth video calls is generally enough. Frequent drops or very low bandwidth can affect transcription quality and live examiner responsiveness.

Yes, if you're already logged in, you can change your password directly from account settings without needing the email reset link.

Core pages follow standard accessibility practices. If you hit a specific screen reader issue, email us, accessibility gaps are something we want to know about and fix.

Sessions can expire after a period of inactivity for security. Logging back in restores access immediately, and any in-progress reading or writing attempt should still be saved.

Most people benefit from tapering, lighter Drill Mode or Vocabulary Builder sessions in the final days rather than a heavy full mock right before test day.

It's built around computer-delivered timing and interface conventions, since that's the format most test-takers now sit, though the timing itself (60 minutes for writing, etc.) is the same regardless of format.

It's a strong signal, since the grading follows the same criteria, but it's not a guarantee. Real exam conditions, nerves, and a different examiner or scoring system introduce some variance.

Not directly for booking, but the IELTS fee and center guide on the site covers pricing and centers by country, which can help you compare before booking directly with British Council or IDP.

Roughly the final week is a reasonable point to shift from fixing new issues to reinforcing what you've already improved, rather than introducing new material to worry about.

The mock experience is built to feel close to the real computer-delivered format's structure and timing, though exact pixel-for-pixel interface replication isn't the goal, familiarity with the format and pressure is.

Yes, you can take a mock whenever you want, so scheduling one at your actual exam's start time is a reasonable way to get used to performing at that hour.

Look at the mistake taxonomy behind that specific score rather than just the number, a bad attempt is often one or two identifiable patterns, not a sign you're unprepared overall.

No, resubscribing doesn't reset caps beyond your normal monthly cycle — it's not a way to get extra attempts within the same billing period.

Fair-use flags are about account review, not billing, they're separate from refund eligibility. Standard no-refund terms apply to the plan itself regardless of a fair-use review.

Yes, you can downgrade at any point; it takes effect from your next billing cycle, and you keep Unlimited access for the rest of the current one.

Your history stays saved on your account. Downgrading to Free means you lose access to actively using those features going forward, not that the underlying data gets deleted.

Typically a short grace period applies before a plan reverts to Free after a failed renewal charge, giving you a chance to update your payment method.

Yes, a receipt is emailed automatically after each successful charge, and past receipts are available from your account billing settings.

No, forgetting to cancel before a renewal charge isn't covered under the no-refund policy's billing-error exception, since the charge itself was correct. Cancelling ahead of your renewal date is the way to avoid this.

Only at the end of your current billing period — you keep full access to whatever you already paid for until then.

Aggregated, anonymized patterns from attempts can be used to improve grading accuracy and the mistake taxonomy over time, as described in our Terms. That's pattern-level learning, not publishing or sharing your individual submissions.

Email us and we can flag your account to exclude it from any aggregated improvement use, separate from the grading you still receive on your own attempts.

Processing is handled through service providers under confidentiality terms, and requests are structured to minimize what's attached beyond what's needed to grade and return your report.

No, grading is fully automated. The only exception is if you specifically email us about a report that looks wrong, in which case that one attempt gets reviewed manually as part of resolving your request.

For as long as your account is active, so your own report and transcript stay available to you. They're deleted along with the rest of your account data if you request deletion.

Email us with the specific attempt and we can remove that recording individually rather than requiring a full account deletion.

No, your data isn't sold to anyone. It's used to run your account, grade your attempts, and, where you haven't opted out, aggregated for improving the grading engine.

No, individual submissions aren't published or shown to other users. Any sample or model answers on the platform are separately written content, not pulled from real user submissions.

Pattern-level information, like how often a certain grammar mistake shows up across many attempts, stripped of anything that identifies you specifically, name, email, or account details.

No, location tracking is limited to country-level from IP address, mainly for understanding where test-takers are practicing from, not precise location tracking.

Yes, email us and we can arrange an export of the data tied to your account, covering attempts, reports, and account details.

Basic analytics cookies are used to understand site usage. There's no third-party advertising network tracking pixel embedded for ad retargeting purposes.

Standard encryption practices are applied to data in transit and account/payment-related data, as part of the reasonable security measures described in our privacy policy.

Access is restricted to what's needed to run the service, automated grading systems process every attempt, and only a specific attempt you've flagged gets looked at by a person, and only for resolving that request.

Yes, account deletion removes you from both transactional and marketing email lists tied to that account.

Deletion requests are processed once confirmed by email, typically within a reasonable window, aside from anything we're required to retain briefly for legal or billing recordkeeping.

Only if legally compelled to. SmoothMock isn't an official score provider, so there's no routine reporting relationship with universities or immigration bodies the way there is with the real IELTS or PTE exam boards.

No, billing history is only visible to you in your account and to the payment processor handling the transaction, not to anyone else internally beyond what's needed for support.

Not as a configurable setting currently. Infrastructure may process data outside your own country, with the same protections described in our privacy policy applied regardless of where processing happens.

There's no formal bug bounty program yet. If you find a genuine security issue, email nishant@smoothmock.com directly and we'll take it seriously.

Yes, the transcript is treated the same way as the audio it's generated from, same retention rules, same deletion process.

We're not making a formal compliance certification either way. What we do offer, access to your data, correction, deletion on request, and no selling your data, is described in full in our privacy policy. If you have specific regional compliance requirements, email us and we'll tell you plainly what we do and don't support.

Email us and we can share which categories of service providers, hosting, grading pipeline, payment processing, handle your data, consistent with what's described in the privacy policy.

They pull from your existing mistake taxonomy and attempt history rather than collecting separate new categories of personal data.

You can use a display name that isn't your full legal name for the account itself. Your email is still required for login and account recovery.

A coaching center usually charges per session or per mock, with limited slots and feedback that's often just a score. SmoothMock gives full AI grading with a mistake breakdown, available whenever you want to practice, at a fraction of the cost.

A general grammar checker isn't built around IELTS or PTE band descriptors, so it can't tell you how a mistake actually affects your score. SmoothMock's grading is specifically tied to the real exam criteria.

Free practice sites typically give you the questions but not real grading, you're marking your own writing and speaking, which is hard to do objectively. The value here is the AI grading and mistake breakdown, not just access to practice material.

A one-off human mock is usually a single attempt at a fixed price with a delay before you get results. SmoothMock gives repeatable, instant, consistent grading you can use as often as your plan allows.

AI grading is consistent and built directly on official band descriptors. Neither an AI report nor a mock test from any provider is a substitute for your actual exam result, but consistent scoring on identical input is a real advantage AI grading offers over relying on a single human read.

For a lot of people, yes, especially for objective grading and mistake pattern tracking. Some test-takers still value a human tutor for strategy discussions or motivation, and SmoothMock works fine alongside that too.

The market for AI-graded IELTS and PTE prep generally runs $11 to $33 a month for meaningful unlimited-style access. SmoothMock's plans are priced within and below that range, from $7 to $29 a month depending on tier.

Free tools run by exam boards or universities are usually funded as research or marketing projects, not sustainable products built to keep improving over time. SmoothMock's free tier is real and generous, but the paid tiers fund actually building and maintaining the grading engine.

It's a strong complement, not an official substitute. Official practice materials from British Council, IDP, or Pearson are worth doing too, especially close to your exam date, for exact format familiarity.

Anki-style apps require you to build your own deck manually. Drill Mode and Vocabulary Builder are built automatically from your actual graded mistakes, so there's no manual setup and the content is specific to your own gaps.

A general-purpose chatbot isn't calibrated against official band descriptors or trained on a structured mistake taxonomy, so its feedback tends to be inconsistent and generic. SmoothMock's grading is purpose-built for exactly this task.

Instant, consistent grading at any hour, unlimited repeatable practice, and a mistake taxonomy tracked precisely across every attempt you've ever taken, that level of consistency and availability isn't realistic for a human tutor to offer at this price.

Some people do, mainly for variety in practice material. Just be aware that mistake tracking and progress trends only work within one platform's history, so switching around dilutes that continuity.

A language exchange partner is great for general conversation confidence but isn't grading you against IELTS or PTE criteria. SmoothMock's AI examiner follows the actual exam structure and gives a real band estimate.

It works across the range. Grading follows the same official descriptors regardless of your current level, and the mistake taxonomy is arguably more useful at lower bands, where there's more low-hanging fruit to fix quickly.

Freelance essay correction pricing varies a lot by rater, but a single correction often costs close to what a full month of Full Access does, and that month gets you 120 writing corrections instead of one, plus three other modules.

Try refreshing, then check your internet connection, then try a different browser. If it's still down, check whether it's a wider outage by trying again in a few minutes before emailing us.

Check your browser's site permissions to make sure microphone access is allowed for SmoothMock specifically, then refresh the page. Also confirm the correct microphone is selected in your device's system settings.

That's usually a temporary hold from your bank that resolves on its own within a few days. If it's still showing after that, email us with the transaction details and we'll sort it out.

Most reports finish within a few minutes. If it's been significantly longer than that, refresh the page first, then email us with your account email and the approximate time of the attempt if it's still stuck.

Check your spam or promotions folder first. If it's genuinely not arriving, email us directly and we can help you regain access another way.

Try refreshing the page, progress should be preserved. If the timer visibly desyncs from actual elapsed time in a way that affects your attempt, email us with details so we can look into it.

This can happen with background noise or a weak connection. Email us with the specific attempt and we'll check the audio manually.

Clear your browser cookies and cache for the site, then log back in. If it keeps happening, try a different browser to narrow down whether it's browser-specific.

Make sure you're on a current version of Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge, older browser versions can render the site incorrectly. Updating your browser usually fixes this.

Refresh the page or log out and back in, this usually resolves it immediately. If your account still shows the old plan after that, email us and we'll check your billing status directly.

Check your device volume and that the correct output device is selected. Try refreshing the page, and if it's still silent, try a different browser to rule out a browser-specific audio issue.

For reading and writing, progress up to that point is generally saved and you can resume. For a live speaking session, closing the tab ends that attempt, and you'd need to start a new one.

These features pull from your graded attempt history, so if you haven't completed a graded attempt yet on that module, there won't be anything to populate them with. Complete at least one attempt first.

Email nishant@smoothmock.com with what happened, what you expected instead, and roughly when it occurred. Screenshots help a lot if you can include one.

Not a dedicated public status page yet. If something seems broken, email us, if it's a wider outage we'll usually already be aware and can tell you what's going on.

The writing module autosaves as you type, so refreshing the page should recover your last saved text. If it's genuinely gone, email us right away so we can check what happened.

Check your internet connection first, live speaking needs a stable connection to work smoothly. If it hangs consistently, refresh and start a new attempt, and email us if it keeps happening.

Common causes are an expired card, insufficient funds, or your bank blocking an international charge. Try a different card or contact your bank first; email us if the charge should have gone through and didn't.

Drill Mode history reflects your real mistake taxonomy, so it updates naturally as your patterns change rather than needing a manual clear. Email us if something specific looks stuck or wrong.

Cancellation takes effect at the end of your current billing period, so you'll correctly still show your paid plan until then. If it's past that date and still showing incorrectly, email us.

Not currently, the interface is English-only, consistent with the platform being built around an English proficiency exam.

Core pages follow standard accessibility practices. If you hit a specific issue with a screen reader, email us, it's something we actively want to fix.

Not currently built in as a toggle. It's a reasonable request, email us if it'd make a real difference to how you use the site.

Your browser's built-in zoom and text-size controls work normally on SmoothMock's pages.

The audio itself is the test content, matching the real exam's listening format, so a transcript isn't shown during the module itself. Your own answers and the review are available after.

The listening module relies on audio comprehension by design, matching the real exam. If you have accommodation needs for the real IELTS or PTE exam, those are arranged directly through British Council, IDP, or Pearson, not through SmoothMock.

Not as a built-in accommodation setting currently, since SmoothMock isn't an official exam administrator. If you need extended time on the real exam, that's arranged with British Council, IDP, or Pearson directly.

Standard web navigation, tabbing through interactive elements, works across the site. If you find a spot where keyboard navigation breaks, email us.

The design avoids relying on color alone to convey critical information where possible. If something is genuinely hard to distinguish, let us know which page and we'll take a look.

Grading is based on the IELTS and PTE pronunciation and fluency criteria, the same standard applied to everyone. A speech difference that isn't about English proficiency shouldn't be scored as a language error, but the AI grading, like a human examiner, focuses on what it can observe in your speech.

They're built around English mistake patterns specifically, since that's what the exams test, so a translated interface isn't currently planned, though it could be revisited later.

It's built to run reasonably on standard mobile browsers, though the writing module in particular is easier on a larger screen. Reading, listening, and account features work fine on most modern phones.

Support is currently handled in English via email. If English isn't your first language, write however feels natural, we'll do our best to understand and help either way.

Yes, email nishant@smoothmock.com directly. We're a small team, so specific feedback on what's actually blocking you is genuinely useful for prioritizing what to build next.