The IELTS Speaking test assesses your ability to communicate in English. Your examiner will use the four assessment criteria to assess your speaking performance:
Pronunciation
Lexical resource
Fluency and coherence
Grammatical range and accuracy
Remember that each of these criteria is worth 25% of your overall Speaking score. The assessment criteria used by IELTS examiners are the same for both the General Training and Academic tests.
In this article, you will see different videos comparing the difference between Band 6 and Band 7 performances in all the speaking band descriptors.
Pronunciation
Pronunciation criteria assesses how easy it is to understand what you say, and you are assessed on the range of pronunciation features you can use, including stress, intonation and rhythm.
This measures how well you are understood and how clearly (and correctly) you pronounce words.
Lexical Resource
Lexical Resource means your ability to choose the right words and phrases to express yourself clearly.
The examiner looks at the kinds of words you use, whether they help make your ideas clear, and whether the words are understandable, appropriate and relevant to the topic.
The use of idiomatic language and less common words are important at higher levels (band 7 and up). This doesn’t mean that you need to use very uncommon words, or phrases and clichés that you have memorised. It takes time and practice to use idiomatic language naturally when discussing a variety of topics.
The examiner also assesses your ability to paraphrase, saying what you mean using different words when you can’t think of the right word or phrase.
Fluency and Coherence
Fluency and Coherence assesses your ability to keep speaking and if you need to hesitate, self-correct and repeat yourself to keep going.
Your examiner will look at how coherent you sound - how your words, ideas and thoughts flow together, using a range of words and phrases to connect and organise your ideas, help you move on to another point.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Grammatical Range and Accuracy assesses your ability to produce speech that is grammatically correct using both simple and complex sentence structures.
It is also important to try and limit the number of grammatical errors you make. Become aware of the errors you usually make (e.g. articles, prepositions, subject/verb agreement) so you can make sure that your sentences are accurate.
Band 6 Speaking score: What it means
Scoring Criteria | Band 6 |
|---|---|
Pronunciation | Uses a range of pronunciation features with mixed control Shows some effective use of features but this is not sustained Can generally be understood throughout, though mispronunciation of individual words or sounds reduces clarity at times |
Lexical resource | Has a wide enough vocabulary to discuss topics at length and make meaning clear in spite of inappropriacies Generally paraphrases successfully |
Fluency and coherence | 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 |
Grammatical range and accuracy | 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 |
Band 7 Speaking score: What it means
Scoring Criteria | Band 7 |
|---|---|
Pronunciation | Shows all the positive features of Band 6 and some, but not all, of the positive features of Band 8 |
Lexical resource | 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 |
Fluency and coherence | Speaks at length without noticeable effort or loss of coherence May demonstrate language-related hesitation at times, or some repetition and/or self-correction Uses a range of connectives and discourse markers with some flexibility |
Grammatical range and accuracy | Uses a range of complex structures with some flexibility Frequently produces error-free sentences, though some grammatical mistakes persist |
Learn more about the assessment criteria IELTS examiners use and how the Speaking test is scored. You can also download the IELTS Speaking test assessment criteria as a PDF.
If you want to increase your Speaking band score from a Band 6 to a Band 7, or improve your Speaking scores in general, you can access our wide range of IELTS Preparation Materials and Practice Tests.
You can also get premium preparation with IELTS Speaking Coaching -- an official IELTS mock Speaking test for test takers who need to boost their Speaking score. This is a 45-minute coaching session with an experienced IELTS teacher.