The International English Language Testing System (IELTS) is a language competence exam that is extensively used and acknowledged in education and migration across the world conducted by IDP. The exam assesses four important aspects of English proficiency: listening, writing, reading, and speaking. In this article, we’ll explain how IELTS band scores and band descriptions operate so you can better grasp the exam.

You must demonstrate a high level of English language competence if you want to work, reside, or study in an English-speaking country. The higher your IELTS score, the better your English comprehension and communication abilities are. The criterion for an IELTS score will differ depending on the immigration body, university, job, or institution. What you want to accomplish in the nation, whether its job or school, will influence the score you’ll need.

What are IELTS Band Descriptors?

The IELTS band descriptors are a set of assessment criteria that the examiner uses to assess your performance in different sections of the test. The sub-test scores are all equally weighted. The four separate sub-test scores are used to get the Overall Band Score.

The results of the overall band are reported to the closest full or half band. For clarity, if the average of the four skills ends in.25, it is rounded up to the next half band, and if it ends in.75, it is rounded up to the next entire band.

The following table discusses the IELTS Band Description:

Band score	Skill level
Band 9	Expert user
Band 8	Very good user
Band 7	Good user
Band 6	Competent user
Band 5	Modest user
Band 4	Limited user
Band 3	Extremely limited user
Band 2	Intermittent user
Band 1	Non-user
Band 0	Did not attempt the test

For example, a candidate who scored 6.5 in Listening, 6.5 in Reading, 5.0 in Writing, and 7.0 in Speaking would have an Overall Band Score of 6.5.

Speaking Band Descriptors

Both IELTS Speaking tests have the same band descriptors (Academic and General Training). Your Speaking examiner will use these band descriptors for IELTS to assess your speaking abilities. The examiner uses the Speaking band descriptors as an assessment criteria to evaluate your speaking performance. Your examiner will carefully assess the IELTS band descriptors before allocating a band score to each of the four categories based on your overall performance. Band scores vary from 0 (lowest) to 9 (highest) (the highest).

Your examiner will assess your fluency – your ability to continue speaking without pausing, self-correcting, or repeating yourself. Your examiner will assess how well you communicate – how well your words, ideas, and thoughts flow together, how well you use various words and phrases to connect and arrange your ideas, how well you transition from one point to the next, and how well you transition from one point to the next so on. The examiner will look at the words you use to see whether they serve to clarify your views and if they are understandable, acceptable, and relevant to the topic. They’ll also check to see whether you can choose the proper word forms and combine the right words.

Listening Band Descriptors

When you add your IELTS Listening score to your other IELTS scores (Reading, Speaking, and Writing), you’ll be assigned to one of these more generic bands.

Band Descriptions:

Band 9:You are proficient in the language and can successfully converse in it. Your command of the English language is adequate, accurate, and fluent, and you show that you have a full understanding of the language.

Band 8:With the exception of a few unsystematic mistakes and incorrect usage, you have complete command of the language. You excel at arguing complicated issues in depth. You could make a few mistakes in unexpected situations.

Band 7:You have a functional grasp of the language, albeit with certain inaccuracies, incorrect usage, and misunderstandings in specific circumstances. In general, you have a good command of sophisticated language and understand precise reasoning.

Band 6:Despite a few errors, inappropriate use, and misunderstandings, you have an excellent command of the language. You can use and understand quite sophisticated terms in familiar circumstances.

Band 5:You have a basic grasp of the language and can deal with broad meaning in most situations, but you make a lot of mistakes. You should be capable of handling basic communications in your profession.

Band 4:Your fundamental competency is limited to scenarios in which you are already experienced. You have a history of having difficulty understanding and expressing yourself. You can’t communicate in a complex way.

Band 3:In extremely familiar situations, you express and grasp the only general meaning. There are a lot of communication breaks.

Band 2:You find it extremely difficult to comprehend spoken and written English.

Band 1:Except for a few isolated words, you have no ability to use the language.

Reading Band Descriptors

Both the hearing and reading components of the IELTS are graded on a scale of 40 questions. The final score is converting the raw score to a scaled score.

A candidate’s IELTS reading or listening score is 30 out of 40. The formula for calculating the scaled score is (30/40)*9=6.75. The IELTS Reading scores are calculated in this manner. The breakdown of the band scores reveals the IELTS Listening and IELTS Reading band descriptors.

Band Score	Raw Score
5	16
6	23
7	30
8	35

Writing Band Descriptors

Your Writing test is marked by two to four examiners to ensure the highest degree of correctness and fairness in the marks assigned. Examiners utilize the same assessment criteria for the General Training and Academic examinations.

The following criteria are used to evaluate your answers in Writing Task 1

• Task achievement
• Coherence and cohesiveness
• Lexical resource and grammatical range
• Accuracy

Each band score corresponds to the descriptors’ performance across these four criteria. Except for the task response criterion, Writing Task 2 is scored similarly.

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