IELTS Speaking band descriptors (public version)

Band Fluency and coherence Lexical resource Grammatical range and accuracy Pronunciation
9  speaks fluently with only rare repetition or  uses vocabulary with full flexibility and  uses a full range of structures  uses a full range of pronunciation
self- correction; any hesitation is content- precision in all topics naturally and appropriately features with precision and subtlety
related rather than to find words or  uses idiomatic language naturally and  produces consistently accurate structures  sustains flexible use of features throughout
grammar accurately apart from ‘slips’ characteristic of native  is effortless to understand
 speaks coherently with fully appropriate speaker speech
cohesive features
 develops topics fully and appropriately
8  speaks fluently with only occasional  uses a wide vocabulary resource  uses a wide range of structures flexibly  uses a wide range of pronunciation features
repetition or self-correction; hesitation is readily and flexibly to convey precise  produces a majority of error-free sentences  sustains flexible use of features,
usually content-related and only rarely to meaning with only very occasional inappropriacies or with only occasional lapses
search for language  uses less common and idiomatic basic/non- systematic errors  is easy to understand throughout; L1
 develops topics coherently and appropriately vocabulary skilfully, with occasional accent has minimal effect on intelligibility
inaccuracies
 uses paraphrase effectively as required
7  speaks at length without noticeable effort or  uses vocabulary resource flexibly to  uses a range of complex structures with  shows all the positive features of Band 6
loss of coherence discuss a variety of topics some flexibility and some, but not all, of the positive
 may demonstrate language-related  uses some less common and idiomatic  frequently produces error-free sentences, features of Band 8
hesitation at times, or some repetition vocabulary and shows some awareness of though some grammatical mistakes
and/or self-correction style and collocation, with some persist
 uses a range of connectives and inappropriate choices
discourse markers with some  uses paraphrase effectively
flexibility
6  is willing to speak at length, though may  has a wide enough vocabulary to discuss  uses a mix of simple and complex  uses a range of pronunciation features with
lose coherence at times due to occasional topics at length and make meaning clear in structures, but with limited flexibility mixed control
repetition, self-correction or hesitation spite of inappropriacies  may make frequent mistakes with  shows some effective use of features but
 uses a range of connectives and  generally paraphrases successfully complex structures, though these this is not sustained
discourse markers but not always rarely cause comprehension  can generally be understood throughout,
appropriately problems though mispronunciation of individual
words or sounds reduces clarity at times
5  usually maintains flow of speech but uses  manages to talk about familiar and  produces basic sentence forms with  shows all the positive features of Band 4
repetition, self-correction and/or slow unfamiliar topics but uses vocabulary reasonable accuracy and some, but not all, of the positive
speech to keep going with limited flexibility  uses a limited range of more complex features of Band 6
 may over-use certain connectives and  attempts to use paraphrase but with structures, but these usually contain
discourse markers mixed success errors and may cause some
 produces simple speech fluently, but more comprehension problems
complex communication causes fluency
problems
4  cannot respond without noticeable  is able to talk about familiar topics but  produces basic sentence forms and some  uses a limited range of pronunciation features
pauses and may speak slowly, with can only convey basic meaning on correct simple sentences but subordinate  attempts to control features but
frequent repetition and self-correction unfamiliar topics and makes frequent structures are rare lapses are frequent
 links basic sentences but with repetitious errors in word choice  errors are frequent and may  mispronunciations are frequent and cause
use of simple connectives and some  rarely attempts paraphrase lead to misunderstanding some difficulty for the listener
breakdowns in coherence
3  speaks with long pauses  uses simple vocabulary to convey  attempts basic sentence forms but with  shows some of the features of Band 2 and
 has limited ability to link simple sentences personal information limited success, or relies on apparently some, but not all, of the positive features
 has insufficient vocabulary for less familiar memorised utterances of Band 4
 gives only simple responses and is
frequently unable to convey basic topics  makes numerous errors except in
message memorised expressions

2  pauses lengthily before most words  only produces isolated words or  cannot produce basic sentence forms  speech is often unintelligible
 little communication possible memorised utterances

1  no communication possible
 no rateable language
0  does not attend