IELTS Band Descriptors Explained — Writing & Speaking Criteria — Opiliant

Writing and Speaking are scored on four equally-weighted criteria. Your overall band is the average. The single fastest way to improve is to identify which of the four is your lowest — and treat that as the bottleneck.

Writing — the four criteria

Every Task 1 and Task 2 response is scored on these four criteria, each from 0 to 9. The criteria carry equal weight; your overall Writing band is the average of the four, rounded to the nearest half band.

Task Achievement (TA) / Task Response (TR) — Did you answer the actual question? Did you cover every part of the prompt? Is your position clear?
Coherence & Cohesion (CC) — Does your essay flow logically? Are paragraphs structured around a central idea? Are linking words used accurately?
Lexical Resource (LR) — Is your vocabulary wide enough, precise enough, and used naturally? Examiners penalise both narrow vocabulary and obvious memorisation.
Grammatical Range & Accuracy (GRA) — Can you use complex sentences? How often do errors actually appear? Do they affect meaning?

Writing band table

Band	Task Achievement	Coherence & Cohesion	Lexical Resource	Grammar
9.0Expert	Fully addresses all parts. A clear, fully developed position throughout.	Cohesion is used skilfully — no errors. Paragraphing is logical and varied.	Wide range, with rare minor errors only as slips. Precise and natural.	Wide range of structures, full flexibility, accuracy. Rare slips only.
8.0Very good	Sufficiently addresses all parts. Position is clear and well-developed.	Information is logically sequenced. Cohesion is well-managed; paragraphing is sufficient.	Wide vocabulary used fluently. Rare errors in word choice or collocation.	Wide range used flexibly. Majority of sentences are error-free.
7.0Good	Addresses all parts, though some more than others. Clear position throughout.	Information is logically organised. Some over-/under-use of cohesive devices.	Sufficient range with some flexibility and precision. Occasional collocation errors.	Variety of complex structures. Frequent error-free sentences with some errors.
6.0Competent	Addresses the task, though some parts more fully than others. Position is relevant but conclusions may be unclear.	Coherent organisation. Cohesive devices are used effectively but mechanically.	Adequate range. Attempts less common vocabulary with some inaccuracy.	Mix of simple and complex structures. Errors occur but rarely impede communication.
5.0Modest	Addresses the task only partially. Position is unclear; conclusions may be repetitive.	Information is presented but lacks overall progression. Cohesion is inaccurate or mechanical.	Limited range, just adequate for the task. Noticeable errors in spelling and word formation.	Limited range. Complex sentences attempted but with frequent errors.

The half-band rule

A response that meets all band 7 criteria but exceeds two of them gets 7.5, not 7. To move from 7 to 8, you don't need a different essay — you need the same essay with sharper vocabulary and more error-free sentences.

Speaking — the four criteria

Speaking is scored on a different set of four, again equally weighted. The examiner makes the assessment in real time, listening for specific patterns across the eleven to fourteen minutes of the test.

Fluency & Coherence (FC) — Can you speak at length without noticeable strain? Do your ideas connect logically across sentences?
Lexical Resource (LR) — Same definition as Writing, but spoken: precise word choice, range of topics, natural idiomatic language.
Grammatical Range & Accuracy (GRA) — Variety of structures and accuracy under spoken pressure. Complex sentences and conditionals matter.
Pronunciation (PR) — Individual sounds, word and sentence stress, intonation, and overall intelligibility. Your accent is not penalised — being hard to understand is.

Speaking band table

Band	Fluency & Coherence	Lexical Resource	Grammar	Pronunciation
9.0Expert	Speaks fluently with rare repetition or self-correction. Topic development is fully coherent.	Full flexibility and precision in all topics. Idiomatic language is used naturally.	Uses a full range of structures naturally and appropriately. Rare slips only.	All features of pronunciation used with precision and subtlety. Effortlessly understood.
8.0Very good	Fluent with only occasional repetition or hesitation. Develops topics coherently.	Wide vocabulary used fluently to convey precise meaning. Skilful use of less common items.	Wide range of structures used flexibly. Most sentences are error-free.	Wide range of pronunciation features. Easy to understand throughout; L1 accent has minimal effect.
7.0Good	Speaks at length without noticeable effort. Some hesitation, mostly to find ideas.	Resource is flexible to discuss a variety of topics. Some less common and idiomatic items.	Range of complex structures with some flexibility. Frequent error-free sentences.	Range of features with mixed control. Generally understood, though L1 accent occasionally affects clarity.
6.0Competent	Willing to speak at length, though loses coherence at times. Hesitation when searching for grammar.	Wide enough range to discuss most topics, though with inaccuracy and circumlocution.	Mix of simple and complex structures with limited flexibility. Errors common but communication clear.	Range of features with mixed control. Can generally be understood, mispronunciations occasionally reduce clarity.
5.0Modest	Maintains flow with noticeable effort and repetition. Some breakdown in coherence.	Manages to talk about familiar and unfamiliar topics but with limited flexibility.	Basic sentence forms with reasonable accuracy. Limited use of complex structures, often with errors.	All four pronunciation features are present, but with mixed control. Mispronunciations frequently reduce clarity.

Listening & Reading — converting score to band

Listening and Reading are scored on raw correct answers out of 40. There are no descriptors — the conversion is fixed (with small adjustments for test difficulty). Approximate Academic Reading conversion:

Band	Listening (out of 40)	Academic Reading (out of 40)	General Reading (out of 40)
9.0	39 – 40	39 – 40	40
8.5	37 – 38	37 – 38	39
8.0	35 – 36	35 – 36	37 – 38
7.5	32 – 34	33 – 34	36
7.0	30 – 31	30 – 32	34 – 35
6.5	26 – 29	27 – 29	32 – 33
6.0	23 – 25	23 – 26	30 – 31
5.5	18 – 22	19 – 22	27 – 29
5.0	16 – 17	15 – 18	23 – 26

The conversion is the same for paper and computer tests. The General Training Reading conversion is stricter because the texts are easier — you need more correct answers for the same band.

How your final score is calculated

Each of the four skills (Listening, Reading, Writing, Speaking) gets its own band. The overall band is the simple average of the four, rounded as follows:

If the average ends in .25, round up to the next half band.
If it ends in .75, round up to the next whole band.
Anything below .25 rounds down; between .25 and .75 rounds to the half band.

Worked example

Listening 7.5, Reading 7.0, Writing 6.5, Speaking 7.0. Sum = 28.0. Average = 7.0. Overall band: 7.0.

Listening 8.0, Reading 7.5, Writing 6.5, Speaking 7.0. Sum = 29.0. Average = 7.25. Rounded up: 7.5.

Opiliant evaluates every Writing and Speaking attempt against the same four criteria above. The band you see is the band an examiner would give — broken down per criterion, with the exact sentence-level evidence behind each score.