How to Improve Your IELTS Speaking Score

Your Speaking score comes from four criteria. Each one carries equal weight, and their average gives your score for Speaking source: ielts.org.

Two rules decide which band you get in each criterion.

So one missing feature can keep a criterion at the lower band, even when the rest has moved up. And one weak answer does not set your band.

The band descriptors describe what each band contains. They do not explain how to move from one band to the next. No IELTS owner publishes a band-by-band route. Each step below compares two rows of the descriptors. Then it points to the guide that covers the detail.

Start here: find the criterion that holds you back

Record yourself, then check the recording against the descriptors, one criterion at a time.

A recording you check yourself is not a score. It shows you where to look first. Speak out loud every time, because planning an answer in your head does not show you how it sounds.

Which criteria mark Writing Task 1, Writing Task 2 and Speaking

Criterion	Writing		Speaking
	Task 1	Task 2
Task Achievement	assessed	not assessed	not assessed
Task Response	not assessed	assessed	not assessed
Coherence and Cohesion	assessed	assessed	not assessed
Fluency and Coherence	not assessed	not assessed	assessed
Lexical Resource	assessed	assessed	assessed
Grammatical Range and Accuracy	assessed	assessed	assessed
Pronunciation	not assessed	not assessed	assessed

Each task is marked on four criteria of equal weight. Lexical Resource and Grammatical Range and Accuracy mark all three.

Sources: ielts.org, Writing band descriptors; Speaking band descriptors; IELTS scoring in detail

Your Speaking band is then one of four section bands in your overall score. The band score calculator shows what a change in Speaking does to the overall band. Is your overall band stuck at 6.5? Then how to get band 7 from 6.5 helps you check which section to work on.

The Part 1 guide starts with an overview of all three parts. Each part guide links the criteria to that part.

Band 5 to band 6: keep going for longer

Band 6 adds longer turns, enough words for them, and complex sentences that rarely block your meaning.

At band 5, a speaker is "usually able to keep going". But they rely "on repetition and self-correction to do so and/or on slow speech". At band 6, a speaker "demonstrates a willingness to produce long turns" source: ielts.org.

So make your answers longer, and keep them going without starting again. Part 2 asks for the longest answer in the test. Fluency and coherence shows the full ladder.

At band 5, a speaker "attempts paraphrase but not always with success". At band 6, a speaker is "generally able to paraphrase successfully" source: ielts.org.

Paraphrase means saying a thing another way when the word does not come. Lexical resource shows how it is marked at each band.

At band 5, complex structures "nearly always contain errors and may lead to the need for reformulation". At band 6, errors still "frequently occur in complex structures", but "these rarely impede communication" source: ielts.org.

Reformulation means stopping a sentence and starting it again. So at this step, aim for complex sentences you can finish, not perfect ones. Grammatical range and accuracy explains how errors are counted.

Band 5 has no pronunciation wording of its own. It "displays all the positive features of band 4, and some, but not all, of the positive features of band 6". At band 6, a speaker "can generally be understood throughout without much effort" source: ielts.org.

So the band 6 row is your target in pronunciation. Pronunciation lists every band 6 feature, and where to start.

Band 6 to band 7: keep the answer easy to follow when you pause

Band 7 keeps what band 6 has. Your pauses no longer make the answer hard to follow, and more of your sentences are correct.

Each criterion guide has a section on this step, with an example. This step names each change and links the guide.

At band 6, coherence "may be lost at times" through hesitation, repetition and self-correction. At band 7, "these will not affect coherence" source: ielts.org.

So the aim is not to stop pausing. It is to keep the answer easy to follow when you pause. Fluency and coherence covers this step.

At band 7, "an awareness of style and collocation is evident though inappropriacies occur" source: ielts.org.

A collocation is a pair of words that go together, such as "heavy rain". Lexical resource covers this step.

At band 7, "error-free sentences are frequent", and "a few basic errors persist" source: ielts.org.

Both bands use complex sentences. What changes is how many of them are correct. Grammatical range and accuracy covers this step.

Band 7 has no pronunciation wording of its own either. It "displays all the positive features of band 6, and some, but not all, of the positive features of band 8" source: ielts.org.

At band 6, there is "some effective use of intonation and stress, but this is not sustained". At band 8, there is "flexible use of stress and intonation across long utterances, despite occasional lapses" source: ielts.org.

The descriptors do not say which band 8 features count towards band 7. The two rows differ on keeping stress and intonation going, so a long answer is one place to start. Pronunciation covers this step.

1. 9Expert user
2. 8Very good user
3. 7Good userThis guide
4. 6Competent user
5. 5Modest user
6. 4Limited user
7. 3Extremely limited user
8. 2Intermittent user
9. 1Non-user
10. 0Did not attempt the test

Half bands such as 6.5 sit on the short ticks between the rungs.

Source: ielts.org, IELTS scoring in detail

Band 6 vs 6.5 vs 7 puts this step beside the same step in the other three skills.

Band 7 to band 8: say exactly what you mean

Band 8 asks for precision. Your words say exactly what you mean, your pauses are about ideas, and your errors are rare.

At band 7, hesitation, repetition and self-correction "may occur, often mid-sentence". At band 8, a speaker is "fluent with only very occasional repetition or self-correction". "Hesitation may occasionally be used to find words or grammar, but most will be content related" source: ielts.org.

A pause about content is a pause to decide what to say, not to find a word.

Part 3 discusses the Part 2 topic "in a more general and abstract way" source: ielts.org. So content pauses are most likely there, and the Part 3 guide covers pausing to think.

At band 7, vocabulary is "flexibly used to discuss a variety of topics". At band 8, it is "readily and flexibly used to discuss all topics and convey precise meaning" source: ielts.org.

"All topics" includes the abstract questions in Part 3. Precise meaning comes from the word that fits, not the longest word. Lexical resource shows the band 8 row.

At band 7, "error-free sentences are frequent". At band 8, "the majority of sentences are error free". At band 8, "a few basic errors may persist", and "non-systematic errors occur" source: ielts.org.

A non-systematic error is one you make once, not again and again. So at this step, find the errors you repeat. Grammatical range and accuracy explains how.

At band 8, a speaker "can be easily understood throughout", and "accent has minimal effect on intelligibility" source: ielts.org.

So this step is about how easily you are understood, not about sounding like someone else. Pronunciation shows the band 8 row. Part 2 is the longest stretch of speech. It shows whether your stress and intonation last across a long answer.

One answer, read against the band 7 and band 8 rows

Here is one answer to one question, given at two levels and written for this page. The question was whether people will still use cash in twenty years. Read the first version against the band 7 row, and the second against the band 8 row. Each version is only the start of an answer.

I think, um, cash will be less, less common^{note 1}, because the people pays^{note 2} with their phones now. It's very convenient.^{note 3} But some older people still prefer it.

Hmm, I think^{note 4} cash will be much less common, because most people pay^{note 5} with their phones now. It's quicker for small, everyday things^{note 6}, like a coffee or a bus fare. But some older people still prefer cash, because they can see exactly what they spend.

1. At band 7, hesitation and repetition "may occur, often mid-sentence", but "these will not affect coherence" source: ielts.org. Here the speaker says "um" and repeats "less" in the middle of a sentence. The listener still gets the point, which fits the band 7 wording.
2. At band 7, "a few basic errors persist" source: ielts.org. "The people pays" should be "people pay". The meaning stays clear, so this is the kind of basic error that wording means.
3. At band 7, vocabulary is "flexibly used to discuss a variety of topics" source: ielts.org. The band 7 wording does not yet ask for precise meaning. "Very convenient" is clear, but it does not say for whom or why. Note 6 gives the band 8 side.
4. At band 8, most hesitation "will be content related" source: ielts.org. The "hmm" comes before the answer starts. It is a pause to decide what to say, not a search for a word in the middle of a sentence.
5. At band 8, "the majority of sentences are error free" source: ielts.org. The basic error from the first version has gone.
6. At band 8, vocabulary is used to "convey precise meaning" source: ielts.org. "Quicker for small, everyday things" takes the place of "very convenient". It says exactly why people use their phones, and the example makes it clear.

Neither version gets a band here. A band rates your whole test on four criteria, across all three parts.

Where to go next

How IELTS Speaking is marked explains how the four criteria work together. The Speaking hub lists every Speaking guide. The band score calculator shows how your Speaking band moves your overall score.

The band wording and the two rating rules come from the public Speaking band descriptors on ielts.org, and the point on fillers from its Speaking key assessment criteria. Neither document carries a revision date. The equal weighting comes from ielts.org's IELTS scoring in detail page, the Part 3 wording from its Academic Speaking format page, and the same-test point from its Academic sample questions page. The points on rehearsed answers and pausing come from the British Council's Speaking preparation page, and the accent point from IDP's IELTS Speaking page. All were last checked on 3 October 2026. The example answer was written for this page and is not from any test.

Frequently asked questions

How long does it take to move up one band?

No plan can give one time for everyone. It depends on your starting point and how you practise. How long to prepare for IELTS sets out the time figures the IELTS owners publish.

In Speaking, it also depends on which criterion holds you back, and how far it is from the next band.

Should I learn some answers by heart?

No. Examiners are trained to recognise rehearsed responses, and these can limit your score source: British Council.

Do I need to change my accent?

No. Everyone speaks with an accent, and you are not expected to change your accent for the test source: IDP.

Do words like "well" or "let me think" cost marks?

Not when they do a job.

Coherence includes "clear marking" of the stages in a discussion, with pausing and "spoken discourse markers and fillers" source: ielts.org. If you need time to think, you can pause briefly or use a natural filler source: British Council.

Is this plan the same for Academic and General Training?

Yes. The Listening and Speaking tests are the same for IELTS Academic and IELTS General Training source: ielts.org.