IELTS scoring
IELTS band scores, explained.
IELTS reports a score for each skill and an overall band on a 9-band scale. Here's exactly how those numbers are produced — and where the easiest half-bands hide.
The 9-band scale
- 9
- Expert user
- 8
- Very good user
- 7
- Good user
- 6
- Competent user
- 5
- Modest user
How each skill is scored
Listening & Reading are marked out of 40. Your raw score converts to a band with a fixed table — roughly 30/40 is Band 7 and 35/40 is Band 8. Every mark counts, and spelling must be correct.
Writing & Speaking are marked on four equally-weighted criteria (Task Response, Coherence & Cohesion, Lexical Resource, Grammatical Range & Accuracy — plus Pronunciation in Speaking).
How the overall band is calculated
- Your overall band is the average of the four skill bands, rounded to the nearest half-band.
- A .25 average rounds up to the next half-band; .75 rounds up to the next whole band. So 6.75 becomes 7.0.
- Within Writing, Task 2 counts twice as much as Task 1.
- Because of rounding, lifting your weakest skill by half a band can raise your whole result.
Aiming for a specific band?
How to get Band 6.5 in IELTS
the common minimum for many undergraduate courses and some visa categories.
How to get Band 7 in IELTS
the most requested band for skilled migration and competitive university courses.
How to get Band 8 in IELTS
a strong score for elite universities, professional registration, and standing out in migration.
How to get Band 9 in IELTS
the maximum score — near-native, sought by a small number of candidates and for perfect scores.
See your band before exam day.
Practise with instant AI band scoring on Writing and Speaking — free to start.
Start practising free