IELTS Speaking
Band Scores

IELTS Speaking Band Scores
The Speaking section is one of the important sections of the IELTS test, and it is essential to learn how the scoring is done so that you have an idea of how to attempt the test. It checks your competency in English and how proficient you are in speaking the language. The scoring is based on four criteria; fluency and coherence, lexical resource, grammatical range and accuracy, and pronunciation.
The blog contains all details regarding the IELTS speaking band score, the scoring criteria, band score descriptors and much more. You can read the blog completely so that you can learn in detail about the scoring pattern, which will help you get a good score on the test.

IELTS Speaking: Scoring Criteria

As mentioned above, the scoring criteria of the IELTS speaking section comprises four parts, or the scoring is based on four criteria. The overall score will be calculated by taking the arithmetic mean of all these. The IELTS band score marking criteria are given below.

  1. Fluency and coherence
  2. Lexical resource
  3. Grammatical range and accuracy
  4. Pronunciation

IELTS Speaking: Category-wise Marking

The marking system of the IELTS speaking test, as mentioned above, is by taking the arithmetic mean of the scores of the four criteria. For instance, if you score 8 in all four sections, your total score will be 8+8+8+8/4. We have given below the speaking band score chart so that you can get a better understanding of it.

 

Criteria 

Score 

Fluency and Coherence

6

Lexical Resource

7

Grammatical Range and Accuracy

8

Pronunciation 

7

Total IELTS Speaking Score

7

IELTS Speaking: Band Score Descriptors

The IELTS speaking band descriptors range from 0-9. It will be beneficial for you to get detailed information about the different criteria of the speaking section. Your ability to communicate in a face-to-face communication will be checked here. The table below will help you understand better.

Band 

Fluency and Coherence

Lexical Resource

Grammatical Range and Accuracy

Pronunciation 

9

Speaks fluently with only rare self-correction

Has a good vocabulary and uses idioms naturally

Uses all structures appropriately and naturally

Subtle and precise pronunciation that is easy to understand

8

Develops topics appropriately and speaks fluently with occasional hesitation that is content-related

Uses a wide vocabulary, paraphrases and idioms

Produces error-free structures

Flexible use of features, which has lapses only occassionally

7

Noticeable effort and hesitation is found

Uses less common and idiomatic vocabulary

Grammatical errors persist though the content is flexible

Shows all positive features of band 6, and not all of band 8

6

Occasional repetition is found

Has a wide vocabulary and uses paraphrases

Makes frequent mistakes

There is clear pronunciation, though there is mispronunciation

5

Simple and fluent speech with repetition

Uses good vocabulary with limited paraphrases

There are errors and comprehension problems

Shows all positive features of band 4, and not all of band 6

4

Speaks slowly and has noticeable pauses

Is able to convey only basic meanings

Produces simple sentences with errors

Limited pronunciation features with mispronunciation

3

Unable to convey basic messages and speaks with long pauses

Uses simple vocabulary and has a lack of vocabulary

Has memorised utterances and makes numerous errors

Shows some features of band 2 and some positive features of band 4

2

Little communication with long pauses

Produces isolated words with memorised utterances

Cannot produce basic sentence forms

Speech is often unintelligble

1

No communication possible and no relatable language

     

0

Does not attend

     
Related Blogs:
IELTS Score Validity
We have included all details you need to know about the IELTS speaking band scores. You can read our related blogs to learn more about the IELTS test. 
You can also contact AECC’s expert counsellors to get more details about the IELTS test. You can get one-to-one assistance for free. Don’t hesitate to contact us!

FAQs - IELTS Speaking Band Score

The IELTS speaking band score is calculated by taking the arithmetic mean of all four criteria.

 

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