Strategy

How IELTS band scores are calculated (and how to use that to your advantage)

Raw scores, conversion tables, the four writing and speaking criteria and the rounding rule – everything you need to know to plan your target band.

Band.pk team12 October 2026 2 min read 0

Every IELTS skill is reported on a band scale from 0 to 9, in whole and half bands. Your overall band is the average of the four skills. Understanding exactly how each number is produced helps you decide where your study time will pay off fastest.

Listening and Reading: raw score → band

Listening and Reading each have 40 questions, worth one mark each. Your raw score out of 40 is converted to a band using a conversion table. Roughly:

Band	Listening (raw /40)	Academic Reading (raw /40)
9	39–40	39–40
8	35–36	35–36
7	30–31	30–32
6	23–25	23–26
5	16–17	15–18

General Training Reading uses a stricter table because its texts are less complex – you need about 34 correct answers for band 7.

On band.pk, short practice sets are scaled to the 40-question scale so your band is always comparable.

Writing and Speaking: four criteria

Examiners mark Writing and Speaking against four criteria, each worth 25%:

Writing: Task Achievement (Task 1) or Task Response (Task 2), Coherence & Cohesion, Lexical Resource, Grammatical Range & Accuracy.
Speaking: Fluency & Coherence, Lexical Resource, Grammatical Range & Accuracy, Pronunciation.

In Writing, Task 2 counts twice as much as Task 1, so never sacrifice Task 2 time to polish Task 1.

The overall band and the rounding rule

Add your four skill bands and divide by four. Then round:

an average ending in .25 rounds up to the next half band (6.25 → 6.5)
an average ending in .75 rounds up to the next whole band (6.75 → 7)
anything below those points rounds down (6.1 → 6)

For example, L 7.5 + R 7 + W 6 + S 6.5 = 27 ÷ 4 = 6.75 → overall 7.

What this means for your preparation

Listening and Reading are the fastest to improve. Every extra correct answer is visible in your score, and question types repeat.
Half a band in Writing is often worth more than it looks – because of the rounding rule, it can lift your overall band by a full half band.
Track all four skills. Your band.pk dashboard estimates your overall band from your latest score in each skill, so you can see which one is holding you back.

#band scores#strategy

Put it into practice

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Listening and Reading: raw score → band

Listening and Reading each have 40 questions, worth one mark each. Your raw score out of 40 is converted to a band using a conversion table. Roughly:

Band

Listening (raw /40)

Academic Reading (raw /40)

39–40

35–36

30–31

30–32

23–25

23–26

16–17

15–18

General Training Reading uses a stricter table because its texts are less complex – you need about 34 correct answers for band 7.

On band.pk, short practice sets are scaled to the 40-question scale so your band is always comparable.

Writing and Speaking: four criteria

Examiners mark Writing and Speaking against four criteria, each worth 25%:

Writing: Task Achievement (Task 1) or Task Response (Task 2), Coherence & Cohesion, Lexical Resource, Grammatical Range & Accuracy.

Speaking: Fluency & Coherence, Lexical Resource, Grammatical Range & Accuracy, Pronunciation.

In Writing, Task 2 counts twice as much as Task 1, so never sacrifice Task 2 time to polish Task 1.

The overall band and the rounding rule

Add your four skill bands and divide by four. Then round:

an average ending in .25 rounds up to the next half band (6.25 → 6.5)

an average ending in .75 rounds up to the next whole band (6.75 → 7)

anything below those points rounds down (6.1 → 6)

For example, L 7.5 + R 7 + W 6 + S 6.5 = 27 ÷ 4 = 6.75 → overall 7.

What this means for your preparation

Listening and Reading are the fastest to improve. Every extra correct answer is visible in your score, and question types repeat.

Half a band in Writing is often worth more than it looks – because of the rounding rule, it can lift your overall band by a full half band.

Track all four skills. Your band.pk dashboard estimates your overall band from your latest score in each skill, so you can see which one is holding you back.