IELTS Computer Delivered Tests + Band Score

How is the IELTS Speaking Test Graded?

by Ricky

Hi,

I attended my Speaking yesterday. The cue card topic was:


"Describe about a classical song which you like the most"

I'm fond of music a lot and even listen to it almost everyday but I was not able to recollect a single line of how to describe it?

My mind was blank but finally I spoke until she said to stop but I wasn't satisfied with my vocabulary I used.

Done very well in part 1 & part 2 almost answered every question. But getting scared about my score. I have to get 6 at any cost.

I would like to ask you how much band they assign for these 3 parts?

I mean one of my colleagues told me that it's of 3, 3, 3, or sometimes 2 for introduction and from others 2, 3, 2, (total 9).

Is it true? If so how much can I expect? Am really worryng because this is my 2nd attempt.

Please advise.

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Sep 13, 2016
Grading of the IELTS Speaking Test
by: IELTS buddy

Hi Ricky,

No it is not graded as you say.

Please do an online search and you can find the IELTS public band descriptors for speaking and you can then see how it is marked.

You are marked on 4 criteria:

- Fluency and Coherence
- Lexical Resource
- Grammatical Range and Accuracy
- Pronunciation

But you are marked on those for your performance throughout the WHOLE test - you are not given separate grades for each of the three sections.

So for example you may be given in those 4 criteria - 6, 7, 7, 6.

So your score for speaking would be 6.5.

Jan 21, 2017
Not understanding a question
by: Anonymous

Hi,

I had my speaking test yesterday. In section 3 I was asked to answer a question.

When I started to answer at a moment the examiner stopped me and repeated the question. Then I realized that somewhere my answer went wrong. So I answered again. But I didn't mention that I could not understand the question.

After getting the question again I answered and I felt that the examiner accepted the answer. Will I get a low score for this?

There were some grammatical errors so far I can remember. Thanks.

Jan 22, 2017
Not understanding a question
by: IELTS buddy

As I've said before, you are graded over the whole test rather than being penalised for one specific error.

So you are not likely to be downgraded just because there was one question you felt was not that good, and anyway, you say that you think you answered it ok the second time.

The examiner will look at what you did cumulatively so if you were struggling more generally in part 3, yes it would affect your score.

Apr 15, 2017
helpful blog
by: Prosper

Thanks for sharing

Apr 15, 2017
how much band u got
by: Anonymous

SO RICKY HOW MUCH BAND YOU GET IN YOUR SPEAKING TEST.

Aug 14, 2017
Repeat question twice
by: Anonymous

Today was my speaking test. In part 3 I don't understand two questions. So I asked the teacher for two times. Can my score be decreased?

Aug 15, 2017
Repeat question twice
by: IELTS buddy

Your score isn't decreased due to asking the examiner to repeat the question.

Dec 12, 2017
Stammering and embarrassing
by: Dhruv patel

Hi,

I am not able to give answer in time and it take more time to give answer to teacher. Did these affect my band score??

Dec 12, 2017
Stammering and embarrassing
by: IELTS buddy

Yes, if you were Stammering throughout the test and having difficulty answering the questions it will affect your score for fluency, coherence and possibly pronunciation.

Dec 12, 2017
About stammering
by: Dhruv patel

But they told me to give medical certificate for stammering. So they considered it or not??
So it will affect my band score??

I have my speaking exam on 17 December but i feel nervous by hearing that i am loosing by band due to such problem please give me advise ..... what can i do for my exam ??

======

If it is because of a medical problem then you should bring it to the attention of staff with a letter so the examiner is aware. The examiner can take it into account but unfortunately it could still affect your score. But as I said, discuss it with the admin staff first.

IELTS buddy

Feb 09, 2018
I didn't do well in part 2 cue card in speaking
by: Anonymous

hi,
I am sandeep raaj from Chennai

Actually i did my speaking test today in trichy ..
so part 1 and part 3 was easy for me and i have answered for that ..In part 2 cue card questio was

DESCRIBE A TRADITIONAL PRODUCT YOU MADE!!

So that was the question asked for me and at the point of time ..I didn't get points and i found the question was tough but i have spoken something related to traditonal product about that topic till the time ends ..

So shall i know how the scores are evaluated?
And how much score can i expect? for this whole speaking test !!

Feb 09, 2018
I didn't do well in part 2 cue card in speaking
by: IELTS buddy

It's completely impossible to tell you how you did without hearing your test.

May 09, 2018
Disappointed
by: Anonymous

Hi,
I finished my speaking test yesterday!! I got little bit nervous in 1st section but did well in part 2 & 3 as I was comfortable till then. Will it affect my band score???

May 10, 2018
Disappointed
by: IELTS buddy

Please see my comment from Feb 9th.

Oct 22, 2018
Forgot to speak introductory sentence
by: Nil Mani

Hello,

I gave my IELTS speaking 2 days ago. I did overall well but in beginning of part 2 I forgot to start with introductory sentence..but covered all topics of cue card and explained well examiner stopped me at the end of 2 mins.
Will it reduce my score?

Regards,
NilMan

Oct 24, 2018
About my score
by: Rahul

Hiii there,
Yesterday I just did my speaking exam. it went well but in part 3 there was one question that has asked to me and I gave it answer but examiner told me that it is irrelevant. So I just wanted to know does it effect in my bands.

Oct 25, 2018
Speaking
by: IELTS buddy

Nil Mani - no something like that is very unlikely to affect your score if you did overall well in that part.

Rahul - an examiner probably shouldn't really be telling you that as it can put you off, but if one answer was slightly irrelevant it is not likely to affect your score much unless you are getting to finding ways to differentiate better the high levels such as 8 or 9.

Of course if you talk about several irrelevant things that are not answering the question it can affect your score.

Oct 29, 2018
Examiner writing down numbers
by: Mehak

At the end of the test she write 14.5 on the paper whats the meaning of this ...is ths the timming or any code

Nov 07, 2018
Examiner writing down numbers
by: IELTS buddy

That will just be timing.

Nov 19, 2018
Pronounced word other than english
by: Anonymous

In my speaking test, I mistakenly pronounced 2 words other than English, my native language. How much would it affect in my band score?

Nov 23, 2018
Pronounced word other than english
by: IELTS buddy

The IELTS Speaking Test is not graded in a way that your question could be answered. Take a look at some of the questions and comments below and it is explained.

Jan 05, 2019
Known error in Speaking part 2
by: Karan

My topic was an important plant in your country..
So, I said the eucalyptus which in my native language known as tulsi...

Now I know that Eucalyptus is NOT tulsi... Will this error bring down my score?

Jan 10, 2019
Contradiction
by: Anonymous

Hey, I'd like to know how many points I might lose for contradiction.

In the first section, the examiner asked me if I am a patient person. I replied that I am a very patient person. But for the very next question, which was "How do you feel while waiting for something to happen?" I replied that the pain is excruciatingly painful while waiting due to the suspense that the future holds.

Could you please let me know how many points do you think I stand to lose?

Jan 13, 2019
Contradiction
by: IELTS buddy

You won't lose marks for that. The examiner is marking you on your speaking ability, not whether you happened to contradict yourself once in the test. It's not part of the marking system.

Jan 22, 2019
Use of a non English word
by: Anonymous

Hi,
I accidentally used hindi word "daal" while explaining an Indian recipe. What will be the impact of this on my band score?

Regards,
Saw

Mar 26, 2019
Examiner stopped after two minutes though I had to speak more about.
by: Praveen Chakravarthy

I was given a topic to talk about an old person I met.
Who/ where/ how.
I tried covering all the questions in the topic but there was lot more to talk about, while I was talking examiner stopped me.
Actually the rest of the topic I left had more range of words and grammar.
I was worried that wd it affect my score.?

Sep 10, 2019
Examiner asked me to speak more
by: Anonymous

In part two I was asked to speak more plus I also messed up in part 1 I guess. The examiner had to repeat the question again for me. Will these affect me badly ?

Sep 12, 2019
Speaking que
by: Anonymous

I have question about part 2 of speaking regarding to time I had speak for only 1:30 minutes approximately so that will effect to by score card but in that1:30 minutes I speak fluently than my band will be cut or not??

Dec 29, 2019
spoken very far from cue card
by: Anonymous

hello sir today was my speaking test
the topic which was given by examiner was that a lexical activty which you did with your complete family
but i speak on my mothers birthday
so i have cinfusion can birthday is a luxical activity or not
if not how much band i loose from this big issue

Dec 29, 2019
spoken very far from cue card lexical
by: IELTS buddy

Sorry I don't know what lexical activity is. I think you have forgotten the word you were given.

So it's not possible to know if you were on-topic or not. Anyway, it's really impossible to judge anyone's speaking without actually hearing it.

Feb 21, 2020
IELTS speaking
by: Anonymous

While I was doing the exam the examiner wrote seven on the paper in front of him three times so what that mean and he wrote it like that 7/...I can't remember what was after 7

Feb 23, 2020
IELTS speaking
by: IELTS buddy

The test has timings for each section so the examiner would probably have just been writing these down as he/she went along so they know when to move on.

They won't write down scores in front of you.

Mar 03, 2020
Need to out of how much do the examiner mark in speaking parts
by: Anonymous

May I please know, in speaking test for all 3 parts... Each part mark will be out if how much..for example in part 1 it's 4/5 ...like this!??

Feb 03, 2021
Marking of band score
by: Anonymous

Can you please tell me how they give band to each 4 section in vocabulary, Fluency, grammar and pronunciation in ielts speaking.
Because today i completed my speaking very well but she was writing something on paper where she writen 4.5 in first column and something in 2 3rd colum and in last column it was something 6.5237 some number was there after 6.
What does this means?

Feb 03, 2021
Marking of band score
by: IELTS buddy

It's not likely the examiner was writing down scores - they wouldn't do that in front of you (or they shouldn't anyway). Scores are done later when the candidate has left.

Examiners do though write down timings as they have to make sure they allocate the right amount of time to each section and move on when it's needed.

So I'm sure your examiner was just writing down the timings.

Jan 24, 2022
i messed up Part 3
by: Anonymous

Hi! I am still waiting for my IELTS result.. I am very worried about my Speaking Test. I did a pretty good job in parts 1 and 2 but on the part 3, i messed up big time.. I cannot answer properly and I was stattering the whole time because I couldn’t organize my thoughts well. Will this affect my score dramatically?

Oct 11, 2023
Speaking Test Grade
by: Anonymous

Hey there, just had my speaking exam!
Part one was good enough, part 2 the examiner stopped me during the cue card in which i used over 3 idioms perfectly. Additionally, part three was that okayish and I answered the last question not on point the examiner asked it to me again. What score can I expect!

Oct 12, 2023
Speaking Test Grade
by: IELTS buddy

It's impossible to know what your score might be without hearing your test.

Dec 04, 2023
Help
by: Anonymous

Hey i gave my ielts speaking on 1 dec.

On a video call it went horrible. The sound was pretty low I couldn't even hear the examiners questions & it was too late to ask anyone to fix up the sound issue.

However i managed to do well in part 1 as i was familiar with the questions already & did well in part 2 too but on part 3 the questions were too long i def would have understood if the sound was a bit louder but i did ans everything but man i m worried I didn't address the examiners questions.

Well pls tell me can i at least expect a 6? i used to get 7 on mock (in speaking) so u can say my vocab, pronunciation, fluency is quite on point help me man i'm worried

Dec 04, 2023
Help
by: IELTS buddy

As I've said before on here, unfortunately it's impossible to know what your score might be without hearing your test.

If you got 7 in mock tests before (and that assessment was by a knowledgeable trainer) then you should really be able to get around that again or at least 6.5. You shouldn't really be dropping a whole band score.

You'll have to just wait for your score though.

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When is the IELTS speaking test graded?

by lee

How is the ielts speaking test graded? Is it scored then and there by the examiner or do they send the recording to a second person to score it?

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Aug 15, 2015
Grading of speaking test
by: IELTS buddy

Hi,

The examiner grades it as soon as the test is finished and before the next candidate comes in.

Thanks

Aug 16, 2015
recording the test
by: Anonymous

Then what is the purpose of recording the conversation?

Aug 17, 2015
Recording the speaking
by: IELTS buddy

The examiner may still want to listen to parts of it again.

Also, it is recorded for monitoring purposes and the centre would also need a recording if the candidate asked for a remark.

Nov 24, 2016
If thinking aloud is allowed.
by: israel

Please, I am having my speaking test tomorrow and I will like to know if using 'Mmm' before answering is right.

Nov 24, 2016
Mmm
by: IELTS buddy

Well, there's nothing in the marking that says you can't say 'Mmm'. But I'm not sure why you would want to be planning to do that.

You want to sound natural. Saying something like that when it is not natural may sound odd.

Oct 26, 2017
wrong in introduction
by: sami

I said "it's me syed sami" when examiner asked my name. Is it right or wrong?

And one point I said "as far as I am consider" instead of "concerned" so what about these mistakes?

Oct 27, 2017
wrong in introduction
by: IELTS buddy

You are not graded on giving your name.

You can't pick out one phrase and query if it affected your score. You are marked holistically over the whole test on various criteria.

So it would be on density of errors over the whole test.

If that was your only mistake in the whole test I'd be very surprised.

May 16, 2018
Minimum Set up Range Of Bands For An Individual
by: Anonymous

What will be my band score in speaking if i didn't used lot of vocabulary with little bit Fluency problem?

May 17, 2018
Minimum Set up Range Of Bands For An Individual
by: IELTS buddy

The marking doesn't work in a way that your question can be answered.

You are marked over a variety of criteria over the whole test, vocabulary and fluency are just a part of it, and in any case it would be impossible to know how well you did in those without hearing your test.

Sep 23, 2018
cue card
by: syoner

I didn't do well in cue card. i just spoke for 1 min i guess ..what range of score will i get?

Sep 27, 2018
cue card
by: IELTS buddy

It's impossible to tell you as you are marked for a range of criteria over the whole test, not how long you speak for in the Part 2.

Dec 29, 2018
Cue card score for 3 questions
by: Anonymous

I attended speaking test today..went fine..I stammered in 2 places and was silent in 1 place for v few min..besides in my cue card ..I was asked ..what new language other than English we’d u prefer learning. A) wat language is that b) I forgot the 2nd question (now) and I wonder if I answered it..c) how will u learn the language.. I wonder what will b the second cue card question and wat will be the score I will miss if not answered that question. Kindly assist

Feb 17, 2019
Plz clear my brothet 's doubt
by: Anonymous

Hii my brother's speaking exam was on 13 feb .unfortunately he said In hindi language that mam ik ques reh gaya hai in a very light way .overall his speaking was good .and he always scored more than 7at his center nd he did this mistake due to nervousness .will it affect on his band score .

Mar 22, 2019
Slip of tongue
by: Anonymous

In ielts speaking I mistakenly used one single native word...but I didn’t highlighted it as the examiner was giving me instructions....he didn’t seemed to hear anything...will it effect badly?

Mar 22, 2019
Slip of tongue
by: IELTS buddy

The test isn't graded like that. You do not lose marks for one off mistakes.

You are graded holistically, so over the whole test, and it is done using a range of criteria.

So you really can't pick out one error and make any kind of judgement on that.

Jul 20, 2019
Grammer
by: Parth

Actually i am very poor in grammar at a time of speaking so how can i improve it and how much bands will i get if my grammar is not accurate at a time of exam ?

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Giving Short Answers in IELTS Speaking

by Rachel

Just finished my ielts speaking test and I am really worried.

I did not practice much for the test and I got a little flustered after the first few questions even though my first language is English.

I was prompted with a lot of questions ranging from different topics such as "did I enjoy science in school?", "do you think kids should interact with other kids?"

I was so nervous and I kept giving short answers without much elaboration and I was prompted with so many questions. Does being prompted with many questions means that I didn't do well?

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Jun 28, 2016
Being prompted to speak
by: IELTS buddy

Hi Rachel,

You are graded on your willingness to speak at length so it is possible it could affect your score but it is really too difficult to tell whether it did or not without hearing your test.

Jun 29, 2016
Good job
by: Anonymous

Don't worry about that, you wil defentily go through it! Just believe in your self.

Jun 29, 2016
Well done
by: Daicaxuma

I think you have a variety of vocabulary in your writing (it was showed on your post). I guess you have done your test well.

Giving short answers in IELTS speaking without elaboration absolutely is not good, i think. Maybe it will mark your score down.

Anyway, to judge how many score can you get is not easy for people who have no change to hear your presentation.

Jul 07, 2016
plz help
by: Anonymous

I have stammering problem
I have given ielts speaking test
Cue card was on goal of ur life
1st question was about goal
I said i want to study abroad
To become renowned physician etc
Then she asked when u set the goal i said from 7-8 std and elaborate it
Is it right?

Jul 08, 2016
plz help
by: IELTS buddy

I have no idea what this means:

"7-8 std and elaborate it"

So I can't tell you if it is right or not.

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I couldn't pronounce a word properly

by anonymous32

I had my speaking test today, but i felt I might have done terribly in it.

How will if affect my score if I had a difficult time pronouncing only 1 word: "conversationalist"

I have braces, not to use it as an excuse, but I had to repeat the word thrice because I had a hard time saying it..

Another thing, if I didn't give any examples in some of the questions in part 3, will that matter?

I need a band 7 on the speaking.

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Feb 20, 2016
Wrong pronunciation
by: IELTS buddy

Hi anonymous32,

If you pronounced everything correctly in the rest of the test, it is unlikely that one single word will affect your score.

You are marked over the whole test. There is not something in the marking system that suggests marking someone down for an error with one single word. You general pronunciation over the whole test would be considered.

As for part three, again you are not graded for giving examples. You just have to answer the questions. If you do that by using examples that is fine but if you did something else that's ok.

Jun 03, 2017
Speaking
by: Dhan

Hi,

I had my speaking test today. I performed well in first and third part but could not perform well in second part. I paused for two seconds in between.

Can I know how much score will I get? I saw examiner marking 8.25 after my first part.

Jun 04, 2017
Speaking
by: IELTS buddy

It's impossible to predict scores without hearing your test.

The examiner was probably just writing down the timings, not your scores.

A two second pause is not going to make any difference. Everybody pauses now and again when they speak.

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I got an idiom wrong in the speaking test

by Ankur

Today was English speaking.

I have one worry...If you can solve it ..It will be beneficial for other students as well.

Well during speaking interview I said wrong idiom...instead of saying "charity begins at home" ...I said "Charity starts with own home". Is it a mistake?

And two times I saw downward ...One I time I also said..."Sorry I am not getting you".

Please guide us for such mistakes. I will be grateful to you.

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Oct 25, 2015
Idioms in the speaking test
by: IELTS buddy

Hi Ankur,

Yes it is a mistake, but there is no specific rule for making mistakes with idioms

Any error in your grammar or collocations is a mistake.

But examiner does not note one error then put your score up or down based on that. Your grammar and lexis (plus use of idioms etc) will be taken account of throughout the whole test, and your band score based on that.

So don't worry about one error like that.

Nov 02, 2015
Ielts reading and listening
by: Anonymous

Is it allowed to bring highlighter to the exam?

Nov 03, 2015
highlighter
by: IELTS buddy

No, you can't take your own stationary in.

Oct 09, 2020
wrong
by: lexis

i got an idiom wrong i can not remember the word when i remember i get back to you

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Speaking test worries

by Jessie Hegazie
(Cairo, Egypt)

Hello everyone!

I took my Ielts speaking test on friday. I thought it'd go well because everyone says I'm good at English. I am good with the pronunciation, fluent most of the time and I have a good accent.

However I was a bit nervous before -and I would say a little during- the exam.

During part one I was asked about trees? And if there are trees where I live and I said yes so she asked me why? It was a weird question to ask so I said it's because the color green brings relaxation to people and it makes the surrounding place less polluted also.

So after that she asked me if I liked trees so I said yes! So she asked me why? I didn't know what to say so I repeated the same reasons that I have mentioned earlier!

Will that be marked as a lower band?

Another thing is the topic I had to talk about is a place that I have been to that is full of color.

I decided to talk about an Indian temple in Malaysia. I talked about how to reach it. And that there were so many colors everywhere like the sculptures, the saris ..etc.

Then when I had covered all the points I stopped talking but she kept nodding her head so I had nothing more to say!

I'm not even sure if I had covered all the points?

Do you think that I would be able to get a 6?

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May 19, 2015
Speaking test worries
by: IELTS buddy

Hi Jessie,

In the IELTS speaking test, you are marked for your performance over the whole test, so that is what will decide your score.

It is not likely to affect your score just because in one question you gave a similar answer to the one before.

And for the part two, where you stopped speaking, obviously you had not spoken for long enough. But again, it is really impossible to say if that would affect your score in any way as there are so many factors that are considered during the test. And, as I said above, you are assessed over the whole test.

To get an idea of what the examiners are assessing on, do a search on the 'IELTS Speaking Public Band Descriptors'.

So really, no one can possibly make any predictions on your score, but you could certainly still get a 6 even with the factors that you mentioned.

Please post back on this page when you get your score. I'm sure other poeple would like to know.

Good luck.

Jun 05, 2015
Full question
by: Anonymous

Hi Jessy

Could you please post on the questions on your cue card? I know you said the question was on a colorful place you' ve been to, but pls give details of the question. I wish you best of luck.

Titi Omo

Jul 20, 2019
Teacher writting something during speaking
by: Anonymous

While i was giving my speaking test indian teacher took my speaking and he wrote something on his sheet

Jul 22, 2019
Teacher writting something during speaking
by: IELTS buddy

I'm not sure what you mean by 'took my speaking'. But anyway, examiners usually write the timings down as they go along to make sure they don't go over each part, that's all.

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Using non English Words

by arya
(india)

Hello! I gave the ielts test a few days ago. My mother tongue is hindi and during the speaking test i used a hindi word once or twice. I was wondering how many bands will i lose bcoz of this?

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Feb 11, 2016
Non English words
by: IELTS buddy

Hi,

As I've said before on here, the grading is not as simple as that. There are not set things you do that suddenly bring your score down.

If you just spoke a couple of Hindi words by mistake a couple of times its unlikely to have a direct impact on your score.

To understand the scoring, do a search on "IELTS speaking public band descriptors".

Jul 24, 2018
Using Non Engilsh Words
by: Anonymous

Can you share the score you have got in speaking?

May 18, 2019
Misunderstanding
by: Anonymous

I did my speaking test today .. didn’t go well , what will happen if i said I don’t know to several questions and also I misunderstood 2 questions and answered them . Will i at least get a 7 ?

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Grading of Tenses

by Pooja

Regarding tense.

Today was my test. In cue card i was asked to describe the course which you would like to do if you had a time. And i said if i have a time. So does it affect my score?

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Aug 12, 2016
Tenses
by: IELTS buddy

It's difficult to understand what you are asking.

You say you were asked to describe a course you would like to do, and it sounds like that is what you did.

Anyway, it is really not possible to answer your question. The grading does not work on the basis that you can pick out one thing like that and specify how it a affects the score.

You are graded on many things throughout the whole test.

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Who grades the candidate?

by Sultan Rakhimzhanov
(China, Beijing)

Hi there,

I have a question regarding speaking part.

Who is assessing student's answer, is it the same examiner who sits with a student or another examiner?

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Nov 20, 2016
Who grades the candidate?
by: IELTS buddy

It's the same examiner who is with you in the test.

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IELTS in Kerala and Qatar

by jinu
(doha)

HELLO,

Is taking IELTS in Kerala and Qatar differ in level of difficulty?

I understand that the questions and modules will be the same. But regarding the evaluation by examiners, the level of English of all the candidates who appear for test matters. (IN WRITING AND SPEAKING MODULES.

Please advise

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Nov 14, 2016
Using different test centres
by: IELTS buddy

There will be no difference as they use exactly the same grading methods. The test is standardised which means it will be the same everywhere.

Sep 08, 2019
Evaluation on speaking bands
by: Aman

Heyi Ricky, today was my speaking nd the examiner score me. 4.5, 5,6,8 what will be my score?

Nov 30, 2019
Band detail
by: Kirandeep

Examiner given to me 5.70 6.50 6.50 and 7.80 what is my speaking band score

Dec 02, 2019
Scores
by: IELTS buddy

These will probably be timings. The examiner won't write scores in front of you.

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Was my IELTS Speaking Score Affected

by NervousChatter
(India)

Ok so I had my speaking test today.

I believe it went well...although due to being a little nervous I couldn't stretch and utilise the extent of my vocabulary that I am normally able to tap into when writing.

I tried to keep my speech simple and used maybe some higher calibre alternative words that aren't used in normal conversation.

Also two questions in the 1st part I began with answer as "Most times". I do not know if this is appropriate or makes sense when describing frequency or number of occasions.

I found the examiner was rushing through questions but gave me a vibe and smiling for the most part as if he already had a sense of my linguistic capability from the 1st question itself.

After my speech in the 2nd part in the questions that followed he tried to confuse me in justifying my stand against higher pay for teachers vs creative people asserting that teachers are crucial in developing human resource.

I believe initially I took a stand that they should not be paid more than creative types as they are not developing any idea/product from something they are merely guiding/influencing but ended up contradicting my statement saying it's not about being born creative but it has to do with development of inner talents.

I was intending to say its about your own ideas and how you develop them and teachers only help you by guiding, influencing etc but ended up not explaining it this way.

I was nervous at this point and later realized my mistake.

Finally he asked me another question. When I started to answer he told me the interview is now over, thank you.

What do you think, how much will this affect my score? Especially the section 3. Is having a fixed opinion given more criteria over elaborating on my opinion?

Comments for Was my IELTS Speaking Score Affected

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Mar 29, 2017
Speaking Score
by: IELTS buddy

As I've said in the forums quite a few times it's really impossible to judge a person's speaking test without actually hearing it, which we obviously can't do.

But the points you are worrying about are minor details that are unlikely to make much difference to your score.

It's not possible to know if 'Most times' fitted without knowing the question and how you used it, but it's a minor point anyway.

And as for the point in Part 3, the examiner is not going to mark you down because they disagree with your opinion. The grading doesn't allow for that.

And people often contradict themselves so the examiner may not have even noticed or found it relevant. But as I say without hearing what you said it's impossible to judge it.

I understand your concerns but you really just have to wait for your result.

Good luck

Apr 12, 2017
The final result of my ielts addressing my previous concerns
by: Nervous Chatter

Hey ielts buddy,

Hi! So with my first post i was concerned about my speaking and all those tiny little errors that made me a bit anxious.Thank you for the quick response and for adding my post on your site.Today i would like to announce my results for the test.My overall score is 7.5 and below are the scores for each band:

1) Listening = 8.0
2) Reading = 7.5
3) Writing = 6.5
4) Speaking = 7.0

Now, my only concern is whether that score in writing is a bad score? By the way these scores are for the academic module. I knew my weakness was in task 1 for writing and this is not because i dont have adequate knowledge of english or low grasp on good grammar, vocabulary etc.

I felt rushed during the exam and organizing the report by comparing the graphs, finding patterns and using varied vocabulary coupled with the constant reminder that task 2 has more weight-age while marking did affect my ability to present the information well.

I faced the same issue while practicing but i had to move onto task 2 which was my strength in writing. Task 2 has that advantage of free thinking as compared to task 1. Therefore the low score.

I hope this score would be good enough to get me into most universities that am planning to apply to. Thanks once again. Good luck to everybody else who will be attempting the ielts.

Apr 12, 2017
Final score
by: IELTS buddy

6.5 isn't a bad score but whether it is good enough willl vary for everyone as it depends on the admission criteria of the university you are applying to.

You need to think about what course you may want to do and at which universities. Then online you should be able to check what that university's IELTS admissions requirements are for the course you are interested in.

Good luck.

Apr 07, 2019
Speaking fast in part 1 and part 3
by: Sandeep

I gave my speaking test today and went through all the three parts in an around 14 to 15 minutes approx.

The part 1 went well with 5 questions asked and I answered well, but what worries me that examiner gave me a slight signal to speak slow.

Part 2 went well with around little more than a minute and then a follow up question.

Part 3 was related to environment and business which went good but again was hinted to go slow.

Will this comment from examiner to go slow is going to effect my score and of yes then in what way or amount.

Apr 08, 2019
Speaking fast in part 1 and part 3
by: IELTS buddy

The examiner won't normally speak about anything else apart from what is on their script in front of them till Part 3 so I'm not sure what he/she would have done in Part 1 to suggest you slow down.

But anyway, it's not possible to say what the examiner did with your score. If you were speaking a bit fast and then you slowed down as your examiner suggested then it may be fine.

If you were speaking too fast in the test and it was in a way that affected your delivery of English then that could be penalised possibly in your 'fluency and coherence' or maybe 'pronunciation', as this also takes account of things like 'chunking' which you may not have been doing well if you spoke too fast. The things you mentioned could limit one or both of those criteria to maybe a band 5/6.

But as I said, it's really impossible to know without hearing your test whether it did impact on it, and if it did, to what extent that may have affected your score. You may have nothing to worry about.

May 29, 2019
Please help
by: Anonymous

Hello. I gave my ukvi IELTS speaking test last week and I'm very nervous about the result. I paused once in the first part as I answered a question about my job. I said about 3 to 4 sentences on it, and finished the answer but the examiner didn't ask any further questions, so I continued the same answer.
Secondly the cue card topic was odd but I managed. I said umm I think twice or thrice throughout the test. I tried not to repeat myself and was quite fluent as well. In the following questions, I forgot the word photoframes and took a long pause on it because I couldn't remember it. I mentioned the word indigenous but didn't elaborate on it.The following questions were about memories and the examiner asked a lot of follow up questions and I'm not that satisfied with my answers as I should be.
I need a minimum of 7 band. Do you think I made it?

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Wrong idea for part 3 speaking

I was asked, "In the future, Would computer generated movies take over and replace humans?"

As I heard "computer generated movies", I thought that computers created a story line, speaking and visual. So I explained how computers are not that capable yet and how unlikely that will happen in near future.

But I had gave an example how Japan had popular a singer that is generated by computers (both sound and visual).

However, at home, I realized that the examiner meant "computer generated movies" as an animation and CGI movies.

How much would this can effect my speaking test?

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Apr 03, 2017
Wrong answer to question
by: IELTS buddy

Hi,

I think you are misunderstanding how the speaking test is graded so you should go online and check out the "IELTS Public Speaking Band Descriptors".

There is nothing about losing marks for answering one question wrong.

You are graded on your grammar, fluency etc.

Of course you are also graded on the extent to which you develop the topics you discuss so if you were misunderstanding lots of questions and giving answers nothing to do with the question your score could be affected, but one single question is unlikely to make any difference.

Sep 27, 2017
Score prediction
by: Swapnil

Hi,

I just finished with my speaking interview. It went fine.

I spoke fluently, did not use any clutch words and my grammar was good. I used fairly decent vocabulary as well.

Here's what did not go too well:

1. I was not able to give very interesting answers to one or two questions but I responded with 2-3 sentences on what I thought on those questions.

2. I slipped on grammer at one place where I said 'I travelled through train' I should have used 'on'.

What kind of score can I expect?

Sep 29, 2017
Score prediction
by: IELTS buddy

1. You are not graded on how interesting your answers are.

2. Are you saying you made one grammar mistake in the whole test??

It's really impossible to predict someone's score without hearing their test. You are not just marked on grammar but lots of other factors.

Sep 05, 2018
Irrelevant answer during second part of speaking section.
by: Ankit Choudhary

Hello Sir/Mam,
I have given my speaking test just few moments before everything was good my talk was clear almost. The biggest mistake I did was that during 2nd part they asked that describe a language you would like to learn other than English. But I spoke about a programming language.

PLEASE IT IS A REQUEST GIVE ME A FEEDBACK
I need at least 6.5

Ankit Choudhary.

Sep 08, 2018
Irrelevant answer during second part of speaking section.
by: IELTS buddy

It's impossible to predict scores or to know what another examiner may have done, and also you are marked over the whole test, not just the Part 2 talk.

Anyway, you did talk about a 'language' even if it was not exactly what the question meant, so it may well have been judged to be on topic. Remember the Part 2 topic is quite subjective.

May 22, 2019
Ielts speaking
by: Anonymous

Hey today i had my speaking exam and i use just 2 words of hindi as the question was asked about the traditional food of the state. Will it affect my score?

May 26, 2019
Ielts speaking - using my own language
by: IELTS buddy

No a couple of words won't matter, and in any case it might have been completely appropriate if you were doing that to explain some food and there is maybe no proper English equivalent to use.

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Swear words in IELTS Speaking

by Veselin

Hello!

Today was my speaking exam and one of the questions was regarding encouragement and motivation.

I was really nervous, although my examiner was very nice and I calmed down. Everything was going well, when all of I sudden I gave an example that went like this:

"If you have one foot in the past, and the other in the future, you're pissing on today."

I apologized in advance, however I'm pretty scared that this can bring my band to a 4.

Can someone explain if this will greately affect my score, because I can't stop thinking about it... :X #nocomment

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Jun 05, 2019
Swear words in IELTS Speaking
by: IELTS buddy

I assume you mean you are worried about the word 'pissing'? I'm not sure why you think that is connected to a band 4.

Of course you should avoid swear words in the IELTS speaking test unless there is a good reason for using them but there is nothing in the grading that means an examiner can mark you down for a swear word.

So what you said would not affect your score in any way.

Oct 18, 2019
Speaking part 2
by: Anonymous

Well tomorrow was my speaking test but in second part i was fumbling do i get a band score of 6. My 1st and 3rd section was very good

Jan 20, 2021
my speaking test
by: Anonymous

the examiner was write "c" in-front of me so, what i expected results.

Jan 20, 2021
my speaking test
by: IELTS buddy

The examiner will only normally write down timings. I don't know what 'c' was but the examiner will not write down anything to do with your score.

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