IELTS Speaking - Band Descriptors (Public Version)

Note: The grading criteria for Pronunciation were changed in August 2008 but there is no public information available about the details of these changes.

Band	Fluency and coherence	Lexical resource	Grammatical range and accuracy	Pronunciation (now changed)
9	speaks fluently with only rare repetition or self-correction; any hesitation is content-related rather than to find words or grammar speaks coherently with fully appropriate cohesive features  ·    develops topics fully and appropriately	uses vocabulary with full flexibility and precision in all topics uses idiomatic language naturally and accurately	uses a full range of structures naturally and appropriately   produces consistently accurate structures apart from ‘slips’ characteristic of native speaker speech
8	speaks fluently with only occasional repetition or self correction; hesitation is usually content-related and only rarely to search for language develops topics coherently and appropriately uses a wide vocabulary resource readily and flexibly to convey precise meaning uses less common and idiomatic vocabulary skillfully with occasional inaccuracies uses paraphrase effectively as required		uses a wide range of structures flexibly produces a majority of error free sentences with only very occasional inappropriacies or basic/non-systematic errors is easy to understand throughout, with L1 accent having minimal effect on intelligibility uses a wide range of phonological features to convey meaning effectively
7	speaks at length without noticeable effort or loss of      coherence  uses a range of connectives and discourse markers with some flexibility  may demonstrate language-related hesitation at times, or some repetition and/or self-correction.	·   uses vocabulary resource flexibly to discuss a variety of topics ·   uses some less common and idiomatic vocabulary and shows some awareness of style and collocation with some  inappropriate choices  ·   uses paraphrase effectively  ·     uses a range of complex structures with some flexibility ·     frequently produces error free sentences, though some grammatical mistakes persist
6	is willing to speak at length, though may lose coherence at times due to occasional repetition, self correction or hesitation  uses a range of connectives and discourse markers but not always appropriately	has a wide enough vocabulary to discuss topics at length and make meaning clear in spite of inappropriacies generally paraphrases successfully	uses a mix of simple and complex structures, but with limited flexibility may make frequent mistakes with complex structures, though these rarely cause comprehension problems can be understood throughout, though mispronunciation may occasionally cause momentary strain for the listener
5	usually maintains flow of speech but uses repetition, self-correction and/or slow speech to keep going   may over-use certain connectives and discourse markers  produces simple speech fluently, but more complex communication causes fluency problems	manages to talk about familiar and unfamiliar topics but uses vocabulary with limited flexibility attempts to paraphrase but with mixed success	produces basic sentence forms with reasonable accuracy  uses a limited range of more complex structures, but these usually contain errors and may cause some comprehension problems
4	cannot respond without noticeable pauses and may speak slowly, with frequent repetition and self-correction links basic sentences but with repetitious use of simple connectives and some breakdowns in coherence	is able to talk about familiar topics but can only convey basic meaning on unfamiliar topics and makes frequent errors in word choice rarely attempts paraphrase	produces basic sentence forms and some correct simple sentences but subordinate structures are rare    errors are frequent and may lead to misunderstanding	produces some acceptable features of English pronunciation but overall control is limited and there can be severe strain for the listener
3	speaks with long pauses   has limited ability to link simple sentences gives only simple responses and is frequently unable to convey basic message	uses simple vocabulary to convey personal information  has insufficient vocabulary for less familiar topics	attempts basic sentence forms but with limited succ ess, or relies on apparently memorized utterances  makes numerous errors except in memorised expressions
2	pauses lengthily before most words little communication possible only produces isolated words or memorised utterances cannot produce basic sentence forms			speech is often unintelligible
1	no communication possible no rateable language
0	does not attend

Bonus: IELTS Academic Test – Approximate Band Score:

There is no pass or fail mark. Scores are given on a Overall Band Score of one to nine.

Correct Listening answers	16 to 22	23 to 29	30 to 34	35 to 38	39, 40
Approximate Band Score	5	6	7	8	9
Correct Reading answers	16 to 22	23 to 29	30 to 34	35 to 38	39, 40
Approximate Band Score	5	6	7	8	9

IELTS General Training – Approximate Band Score

Correct Listening answers	16 to 22	23 to 29	30 to 34	35 to 38	39, 40
Approximate Band Score	5	6	7	8	9
Correct Reading answers	23 to 29	30 to 33	34 to 37	38, 39	40
Approximate Band Score	5	6	7	8	9