Team Wizius · · 1 min read
IELTS reports a band from 0 to 9 for each of Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking, plus an overall band. Knowing how the overall band is worked out helps you decide where extra practice will pay off most.
The rule
Add the four section bands, divide by four, and round to the nearest half band. Averages that end in .25 round up to the next half band, and averages that end in .75 round up to the next whole band.
Examples
| L | R | W | S | 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 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.25 | 6.5 |
| 7.0 | 7.5 | 6.5 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 |
| 7.5 | 7.5 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.25 | 7.5 |
What this means for your preparation
Because of rounding, raising just one section by half a band can lift your overall score. Writing is usually the lowest band for Indian test takers, so it is often the fastest route to a higher overall — but many universities also set a minimum for each section, so check those first.
Try our IELTS band score calculator to test different combinations.