IELTS Speaking
Band Scores
IELTS Speaking
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.
- Fluency and coherence
- Lexical resource
- Grammatical range and accuracy
- 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.
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|
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 |
 |  |  |
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.Â
FAQs - IELTS Speaking Band Score
How to calculate Speaking bands in IELTS?
The IELTS speaking band score is calculated by taking the arithmetic mean of all four criteria.
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What if I speak for less than 2 minutes in the IELTS Speaking test?
How can I get a 7+ on the IELTS Speaking test?
How can I improve my IELTS Speaking score from 6.5 to 7?
