IELTS Band Scores Explained: How Your Score Is Calculated
How IELTS turns raw marks into bands: Listening and Reading conversion, Writing and Speaking criteria, overall rounding rules and what each band means in CEFR.
Knowing how IELTS calculates your score does two useful things: it tells you how many more correct answers you need for your target, and it shows where examiner-marked sections lose marks. Everything below applies to both IELTS Academic and General Training unless noted.
A realistic six-week IELTS General Training study plan with weekly goals, daily tasks and mock test checkpoints, built around your weakest skill and target.
Both sections have 40 questions, each worth one mark. Your raw score is converted to a band using a table. The tables below show approximate minimum raw scores; exact conversions can vary a little between test versions to keep difficulty fair.
Band
Listening (both versions)
Academic Reading
General Training Reading
9.0
39
39
40
8.5
37
37
39
8.0
35
35
37
7.5
32
33
36
7.0
30
30
34
6.5
26
27
32
6.0
23
23
30
5.5
18
19
27
5.0
16
15
23
Two things stand out:
Every mark matters near a boundary. In Academic Reading, 29 correct answers typically gives 6.5, while 30 gives 7.0.
General Training Reading needs more correct answers for the same band, because its texts are more accessible. It is not an easier route to a high Reading band.
Each task is marked against four criteria of equal weight:
Criterion
Task 1
Task 2
Task Achievement / Task Response
Covers key features, gives an overview, reports data accurately (Academic); covers all bullet points with the right tone (General Training)
Answers every part of the question, presents a clear position, develops ideas
Coherence and Cohesion
Logical organisation, paragraphing, linking
Same
Lexical Resource
Range, precision, spelling
Same
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Variety and accuracy of structures
Same
Task 2 counts twice as much as Task 1 in your Writing band. Writing below the minimum length (150 words for Task 1, 250 for Task 2) is penalised under Task Achievement or Task Response.
What this means in practice: a Task 1 response without a clear overview, or a Task 2 essay that only answers half of the question, can hold your score down even with good grammar and vocabulary.
Add your four skill bands, divide by four, and round:
An average ending in .25 rounds up to the next half band.
An average ending in .75 rounds up to the next whole band.
Other averages round to the nearest half band.
Listening
Reading
Writing
Speaking
Average
Overall
6.5
6.5
5.5
6.0
6.125
6.0
7.0
6.5
6.0
5.5
6.25
6.5
7.5
7.0
6.5
6.0
6.75
7.0
8.0
7.5
6.5
7.0
7.25
7.5
Many universities and organisations also set a minimum band for each skill ("6.5 overall with no band below 6.0"), so the overall alone may not be enough.
Suppose your target is 7.0 overall with no band below 6.5, and your latest full mock gives:
Skill
Result
Needed
Gap
Listening
28/40 → 6.5
6.5+
Met, but two correct answers short of 7.0
Reading (Academic)
31/40 → 7.0
6.5+
Met
Writing
6.0
6.5+
Half a band short
Speaking
7.0
6.5+
Met
Your average is 6.625, which rounds to 6.5 overall, so you miss both conditions. The fastest route is Writing: a 6.5 there would lift the average to 6.75, which rounds up to 7.0 overall, and clear the minimum. Two more correct answers in Listening would raise that section to 7.0 as well and give you a safety margin.
This kind of calculation turns a vague goal ("I need to improve") into a specific one ("I need half a band in Writing and two more Listening answers").
To compare IELTS with other tests through official alignments, use our score converter. If your goal is Canada, remember that IRCC converts IELTS General Training bands to CLB levels skill by skill, using its own table.
Every half band is a real step. In Listening, the distance between band 6.0 (about 23 correct) and 7.0 (about 30) is roughly seven questions. In Academic Reading, it is also about seven. For many candidates, that means:
recovering marks lost to spelling and word limits
improving on one or two task types that repeatedly cost marks
finishing every question on time instead of leaving the last few blank
Put together, those gains can be enough to move up a band in a receptive skill. Writing and Speaking usually need targeted feedback on the weakest criterion rather than more of the same practice.
Take one full timed mock and record all four bands.
For Listening and Reading, note how many more correct answers you need for your target, using the table above.
For Writing and Speaking, identify which criterion is weakest from feedback.
Spend most of your time on the skill with the largest gap to target.
EnglishHub's IELTS Academic simulator follows the real test format, with 50 full mock tests, 200 practice sets and AI feedback on Writing and Speaking. Your first mock is free: take an IELTS Academic mock, or see the IELTS Academic hub.
EnglishHub is an independent practice platform and is not affiliated with IELTS, the British Council, IDP or Cambridge University Press & Assessment. Practice scores are estimates, not official IELTS results.
Frequently asked questions
How is the IELTS overall band score rounded?
Your four skill bands are averaged. If the average ends in .25, it rounds up to the next half band; if it ends in .75, it rounds up to the next whole band. For example, 6.25 becomes 6.5 and 6.75 becomes 7.0. Other averages round to the nearest half band.
How many correct answers do I need for band 7 in IELTS Reading?
In IELTS Academic Reading, band 7 typically needs about 30 correct answers out of 40. In General Training Reading, it needs about 34. The exact conversion can vary slightly between test versions.
Are all four Writing criteria weighted equally?
Yes. Each Writing task is marked on four criteria that carry equal weight. Task 2 then counts twice as much as Task 1 in your Writing band.
What IELTS band equals CEFR C1?
IELTS bands 7.0 to 8.0 correspond to CEFR C1. Bands 5.5 to 6.5 correspond to B2, and 8.5 to 9.0 to C2.
How to describe graphs, tables, processes and maps in IELTS Academic Writing Task 1: a four-paragraph structure, the overview, key language and common errors.
A practical guide to the IELTS General Training letter: formal, semi-formal and informal tone, a simple structure, useful phrases and mistakes that cost bands.