Reference

IELTS glossary

Plain definitions of the words you meet in IELTS instructions, score reports and study advice. Each term links to the guide that covers it.

• Academic

  One of the two IELTS tests, taken for university study and professional registration. Listening and Speaking match General Training, but Reading and Writing differ.

• Band descriptor

  The published wording that describes what performance at each band looks like for one marking criterion. Examiners award Writing and Speaking scores against them, one criterion at a time.

  WritingSpeaking

• Band score

  The score IELTS reports, from 1 to 9, in whole and half bands. You get one for each of the four sections and one overall. Each whole band has a published label, such as competent at band 6 or good at band 7.

• Canadian Language Benchmark

  The scale Canadian immigration uses to describe English ability. IRCC, the Canadian immigration department, converts IELTS General Training scores into CLB levels. That is why Express Entry requirements are written as CLB 7 rather than as a band.

• Coherence and Cohesion

  One of the four Writing criteria: how your ideas are organised and how clearly they connect. It is marked on both Writing tasks.

  Writing

• Complex sentence

  A sentence with one independent clause and at least one dependent clause. A dependent clause has a subject and a verb but does not make sense on its own. Grammatical Range and Accuracy, marked in both Writing and Speaking, includes using complex sentences.

  WritingSpeaking

• Cue card

  The card you get in Part 2 of the Speaking test, with a topic and a few points to cover. IELTS calls it a task card. You get one minute to prepare, then speak for up to two minutes.

  Speaking

• Fluency and Coherence

  One of the four Speaking criteria. It marks whether you can keep going at a normal pace and develop an idea so a listener can follow it. Speed on its own is not what is being marked.

  Speaking

• General Training

  One of the two IELTS tests. It is taken for migration to Australia, Canada, New Zealand or the UK, and for training below degree level. Reading and Writing differ from Academic, but Listening and Speaking are the same.

• Grammatical Range and Accuracy

  The grammar criterion, marked in both Writing and Speaking. It covers the range of sentence structures you use as well as how accurate they are.

  WritingSpeaking

• Half band

  A score ending in .5, such as 6.5. Section scores and the overall band both use them, and the overall is rounded to the nearest half band.

• IELTS for UKVI

  The version of IELTS approved as a Secure English Language Test for UK visa and citizenship applications. You must take it at an approved centre. It is available in the fully digital format only.

• IELTS Life Skills

  A UK government approved test that assesses speaking and listening only. It is the IELTS test for UK routes such as citizenship, settlement and a partner visa. Those routes do not require reading and writing.

• IELTS on computer

  IELTS taken on a computer at a test centre. IELTS announced that from mid-2026 it would stop offering the paper based test. Every test would then be on computer, with timelines varying by country.

• IELTS Online

  IELTS taken remotely rather than at a test centre. It is offered for the Academic test only. The Test Report Form marks the result as online, and the organisation you are applying to decides whether to accept it.

  Academic only

• Lexical Resource

  The vocabulary criterion, marked in both Writing and Speaking. It covers the range of words you can use and how accurately and appropriately you use them.

  WritingSpeaking

• One Skill Retake

  Retaking one of the four sections instead of the whole test. Your original test must have been taken on computer at a centre that offers it. You have 60 days from that test to sit the retake.

• Overall band score

  The average of your four section scores, rounded to the nearest half band. An average ending in .25 rounds up to the next half band. One ending in .75 rounds up to the next whole band.

• Pronunciation

  One of the four Speaking criteria, assessed through how easy you are to understand. It covers features such as stress, rhythm and intonation rather than whether you have an accent.

  Speaking

• Raw score

  The number of questions you answered correctly in Listening or Reading, out of 40, before it is converted into a band. Each correct answer is worth one mark.

  ListeningReading

• Secure English Language Test

  A UK government approved test used to prove English for a visa or citizenship application. IELTS for UKVI and IELTS Life Skills are the two IELTS tests approved for it.

• Task Achievement

  The criterion used to mark Writing Task 1: whether you have done what the task asked of you. Task 2 is marked on Task Response instead. The other three criteria are shared by both tasks.

  Writing

• Task Response

  The criterion used to mark Writing Task 2: whether you answer the question that was actually asked. It also marks whether you support the position you take. Task 1 is marked on Task Achievement instead.

  Writing

• Test Report Form

  The document that reports your results: a band for each of the four sections and your overall band. IELTS recommends treating a result as valid for two years. An organisation can choose to accept an older one.

• True, False, Not Given

  A Reading question type asking whether statements agree with the information in a text. False means the text contradicts the statement. Not Given means the text neither agrees with it nor contradicts it.

  Reading

• Writing on Paper

  An option that lets you handwrite the Writing section while the rest of the test is on computer. IELTS said it would be available in selected countries from mid-2026. It is not available for the UK visa version of IELTS.

  Writing

• Writing Task 1

  The first of the two Writing tasks, with a minimum of 150 words. On Academic you describe a chart, table, diagram or map. On General Training you write a letter.

  Writing

• Writing Task 2

  The second Writing task, an essay with a minimum of 250 words. It is the same task type on Academic and General Training. It carries twice the weight of Task 1 in your Writing band.

  Writing