IELTS is a test to check the English language ability of an individual. Since most countries abroad have English as the medium of instruction, it is necessary to prove your English language ability. The test covers four skills: reading, writing, listening, and speaking.

Each skill has its band score and overall mark, which gives you an idea of how well you speak English compared to other people taking the same exam at that time. The test has been designed by examining English language learners worldwide, and it’s designed to be fair, accurate, and consistent across different locations.

Every exam is distinct from the others and has a separate scoring system. IELTS is also the same. A study conducted in 2019 reveals that about 27% of the pupils 2019 received a band of 6, 21% received a 5.5, and 19% received a 6.5%.

Each skill in IELTS is referred to as a band and is namely:

Listening: The examiner will read aloud passages from your textbook or other material you have been given before the test begins. They will ask questions about these passages based on content or context. This section will have 40 questions.
Reading: This section has three tasks: reading passages with a variety of content, comprehension questions, and essay-writing tasks. This section is identical to the previous section and has 40 questions.
Writing: Test takers to write an essay expressing their opinion on a topic or question. The candidate will be awarded a score based on the following:
- Task Achievement (for Task 1) or Task Response (for Task 2)
- Coherence and Cohesion
- Lexical Resource
- Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Speaking: This section consists of two types of responses – short answers (around 150 words) and more extended responses (about 750 words). It will be scaled as shown below. The candidate will be scored based on the following:
- Fluency and Coherence
- Lexical Resource
- Grammatical Range
- Accuracy and Pronunciation

Each section is scored as shown below.

Reading, writing, and listening are scored on a scale of 1 to 9.
Speaking is scored on a scale of 0 to 9.

The person scoring 9 is considered an expert in English. A score of 5+ brings you the title of a modest user, and anything below 5 means you need great improvement. Scoring in IELTS is far from rocket science. A student can easily achieve a good score with a few simple tips and dedication to the language.

LeapScholar has two programs in place to make it easier for you. If you are well ahead in your journey, you may take up LeapScholar’s IELTS Plus course. This course allows you the flexibility to finish it in either 2 or 4 weeks, depending on your learning pace; it comes with mock tests and lives/recorded classes. If your exam is only a few days away, you need to add LeapScholar’s masterclass to your to-do list. Having trained over 2.5L students, the experts know exactly what you need to score well in your IELTS.

To understand the scoring system the following points must be kept in mind:

The total IELTS score will be rounded up to the next half band if the average of the four individual scores is equal to .25.
The total IELTS score will be rounded up to the next whole band if the average of the four individual scores is equal to .75.

Your IELTS score will be considered invalid under the following circumstances:

If you have a score below 5.0 on any band
If you do not pass all four sections

Your band score is determined by your overall performance, as well as where you sit with other IELTS candidates from around the world. The greater your knowledge of English and communication skills, the higher your band result will be. The closer the score is to 9, the better your ability will be considered. A few universities also look at specific band scores as well as overall scores. We advise that you look for university and course-specific requirements to understand what you need to achieve.

If you have taken the IELTS test and received a score below 5.0 on any band, we recommend that you re-sit the test with an official IELTS testing center. It is always okay to try again.

Conclusion

English language learners typically utilize the IELTS to demonstrate competency (International English Language Testing System). The IELTS exam can assist you in achieving your academic, professional, or personal objectives if you want to enroll in a university or college, apply to a business organization, or register for a visa from governmental organizations in nations like the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, or Canada. The British Council, Cambridge English Language Assessment, and IDP Education Australia jointly own and regulate the IELTS exam.