IELTS Academic Reading Scoring and Band Conversion

Forty questions, one mark each, and a conversion table that is noticeably harsher than Listening in the middle bands. Academic and General Training use different tables — the figures below are for Academic.

Raw Score to Band Score

The Reading paper has 40 questions and each correct answer is worth one mark. Your raw score out of 40 is converted to a band using a fixed table:

Raw score out of 40	Band score
39–40	9.0
37–38	8.5
35–36	8.0
33–34	7.5
30–32	7.0
27–29	6.5
23–26	6.0
19–22	5.5
15–18	5.0
13–14	4.5
10–12	4.0

Every version of the test is individually equated for difficulty, so the exact raw score needed for a band can shift by about a mark from one test date to another. Treat the table as a reliable guide, not a guarantee.

Marking Rules That Cost Marks

Spelling counts. A misspelt answer scores zero even when you clearly heard or read it correctly. Both British and American spellings are accepted.
Grammar counts. A singular where the gap needs a plural is marked wrong.
Word limits are absolute. "No more than three words" means three. A four-word answer scores zero regardless of meaning.
Hyphenated words count as one word. Contractions such as don’t also count as one.
There is no penalty for guessing. Never leave a blank.

General Training Reading requires more correct answers for the same band — roughly 30 out of 40 for a band 6, against 23 for Academic. Do not judge your Academic readiness against General Training results.

How the Overall Band Score Works

You receive a band for each of the four skills, and the overall band is the average of those four, rounded to the nearest whole or half band.

Rounding works in your favour more often than people expect. An average ending in .25 rounds up to the next half band; one ending in .75 rounds up to the next whole band.

Listening	Reading	Writing	Speaking	Average	Overall
6.5	6.5	5.0	7.0	6.25	6.5
4.0	3.5	4.0	4.0	3.875	4.0
6.5	6.5	5.5	6.0	6.125	6.0

The 9-Band Scale

Band	Descriptor	What it means
9	Expert user	Full operational command. Accurate, fluent and complete understanding.
8	Very good user	Fully operational command with only occasional unsystematic inaccuracies.
7	Good user	Operational command, though with occasional inaccuracies and misunderstandings.
6	Competent user	Generally effective command despite some inaccuracies and misunderstandings.
5	Modest user	Partial command, coping with overall meaning in most situations.
4	Limited user	Basic competence limited to familiar situations.
3	Extremely limited user	Conveys and understands only general meaning in very familiar situations.
2	Intermittent user	Great difficulty understanding spoken and written English.
1	Non-user	No real ability beyond a few isolated words.
0	Did not attempt	No assessable information provided.

Written by Kirill O'Nayd

IELTS expert and educator at TestSucceed, with over a decade of experience preparing candidates for the Academic and General Training modules. Author of the Complete IELTS Preparation Course on Udemy ★★★★★★4.7