The IELTS Band Scores
Multi-level
IELTS is a multi-level exam. You get a score between 1 and 9 for each section. Half scores such as 6.5 are possible. Universities often demand an IELTS score of 6 or 7. They may also demand a minimum score in each of the 4 sections.
IELTS Listening marking schemes
For the listening test, which contains 40 questions, the approximate band scores can be calculated using this table.
BandScore |
9 | 8.5 | 8 | 7.5 | 7 | 6.5 | 6 | 5.5 | 5 | 4.5 | 4 | 3.5 | 3 | 2.5 | |
Score/40 |
39-40 | 37-38 | 35-36 | 32-34 | 30-31 | 26-29 | 23-25 | 18-22 | 16-17 | 13-15 | 10-12 | 8-10 | 6-7 |
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IELTS General Reading marking schemes
For the academic reading test, which also contains 40 questions, but is more difficult, the approximate band scores can be calculated using this tableBandScore |
9 | 8.5 | 8 | 7.5 | 7 | 6.5 | 6 | 5.5 | 5 | 4.5 | 4 | 3.5 | 3 | 2.5 | |
Score/40 |
40 | 39- | 37-38 | 36 | 34-35 | 32-33 | 30-31 | 27-29 | 23-26 | 19-22 | 15-18 | 12-14 | 9-11 |
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IELTS Academic Reading marking schemes
For the academic reading test, which also contains 40 questions, but is more difficult, the approximate band scores can be calculated using this table.BandScore |
9 | 8.5 | 8 | 7.5 | 7 | 6.5 | 6 | 5.5 | 5 | 4.5 | 4 | 3.5 | 3 | 2.5 | |
Score/40 |
39-40 | 37-38 | 35-36 | 32-34 | 30-31 | 26-29 | 23-25 | 18-22 | 16-17 | 13-15 | 10-12 | 8-10 | 6-7 |
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IELTS Writing marking schemes
The two writing questions are marked out of 9 according to the following criteria:Task Achievement
Coherence and Cohesion
Lexical Resource
Grammatical Range and Accuracy