How your IELTS band score is calculated

Universities and visa offices ask for a band, like "6.5 overall". Knowing how that number is made helps you plan where to spend your study time.

One band for each module

You get a separate band from 0 to 9 for Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking. Bands go up in halves, so 5.5, 6.0, 6.5 and so on.

Listening and Reading each have 40 questions, one mark each. Your number of correct answers out of 40 is turned into a band. Academic and General Training Reading are converted a little differently, because the texts are different.

Writing is marked by a trained examiner on four things:

• Task Achievement (Task 1) or Task Response (Task 2): did you answer the question fully?
• Coherence and Cohesion: is it organised and easy to follow?
• Lexical Resource: your range and accuracy of vocabulary.
• Grammatical Range and Accuracy.

Task 2 counts for twice as much as Task 1, so the essay matters most.

Speaking is marked on four things too: Fluency and Coherence, Lexical Resource, Grammatical Range and Accuracy, and Pronunciation. Each counts the same.

How the overall band is worked out

Your overall band is the average of the four module bands, rounded to the nearest whole or half band. The rounding has one rule worth knowing:

• An average ending in .25 goes up to the next half band. 6.25 becomes 6.5.
• An average ending in .75 goes up to the next whole band. 6.75 becomes 7.0.
• Anything else goes to the nearest half. 6.125 becomes 6.0.

Worked examples

• Listening 6.5, Reading 6.5, Writing 5.0, Speaking 7.0: the average is 6.25, so the overall band is 6.5
• Listening 6.5, Reading 6.5, Writing 5.5, Speaking 6.0: the average is 6.125, so the overall band is 6.0
• Listening 7.0, Reading 6.5, Writing 6.5, Speaking 7.0: the average is 6.75, so the overall band is 7.0
• Listening 6.0, Reading 6.5, Writing 6.5, Speaking 6.5: the average is 6.375, so the overall band is 6.5

Why one module can cost you

Many universities and visa routes ask for an overall band and a minimum in every module, for example "6.5 overall with no band below 6.0". A strong Listening score can lift your overall band, but it cannot fix a Writing band that is under the minimum. Find your weakest module early and give it the most practice.

Know your band before the real test

Every mock test at Kandy IELTS College gives you a band for each of the four modules and an overall band worked out with the same rounding. Your results appear on your student page, so you can see exactly which module needs work before you book the real test.