Fluency and Coherence: What Counts as Fluent, and What Does Not

Fluency is the ability to talk "with normal levels of continuity, rate and effort". Coherence is the ability to "link ideas and language together to form coherent, connected speech" source: ielts.org.

So you can speak quickly and still lose marks here, if the listener cannot follow how your ideas connect.

This guide is part of our series on the four Speaking criteria. The hub is How IELTS Speaking Is Marked.

What fluency and coherence measures

For fluency, the criterion looks at your speech rate, which ideally is "not too slow". It also looks at continuity. Your speech should not be "excessively interrupted" by false starts, backtracking, repeated words that add nothing, or pauses to search for words source: ielts.org.

For coherence, it looks at the logical order of what you say. It looks at how clearly you mark the stages of a discussion, a story or an argument. It checks that each sentence is relevant to the purpose of your turn. And it looks at cohesive devices such as connectors, pronouns and conjunctions source: ielts.org.

A discourse marker is a linking word or phrase, such as "so", "on the other hand" or "anyway". It is one of the ways a speaker marks those stages.

Why you pause matters more than how often

At band 9, any hesitation "is used only to prepare the content of the next utterance and not to find words or grammar". At band 5, hesitations are "often associated with mid-sentence searches for fairly basic lexis and grammar" source: ielts.org.

So the band descriptors separate two kinds of hesitation. The examiner listens for the reason for each pause, not only the number of pauses. A pause to decide what you think is normal, even at the top of the scale. A pause to find a basic word pulls the score down.

The ladder from band 5 to band 9

source: ielts.org

What changes from band 6 to band 7

Hesitation, repetition and self-correction appear at both bands. At band 6, "coherence may be lost at times" because of them. At band 7, they "will not affect coherence" source: ielts.org.

So the step from 6 to 7 is not mainly about hesitating less. It is about keeping your answer easy to follow when you do hesitate.

Two more things change. At band 6, a speaker "demonstrates a willingness to produce long turns". At band 7, they "readily produce long turns without noticeable effort". At band 6, discourse markers are used "though not always appropriately". At band 7, their use is flexible source: ielts.org.

To be given band 7, you must show all of its positive features. You are also rated on your average performance across all parts of the test source: ielts.org. So one weak answer does not decide your band.

Here is one answer given two ways, written for this page. The question was whether people read less than they used to.

Yes, I think, er, people read less. Because the phones, they, er, the phones, they take^{note 1} our time. Moreover, books are expensive. Furthermore^{note 2}, reading is good for you.

I think people read differently now, not less. Most of what I read is, er, on my phone^{note 3}, mainly news and messages. So the real change^{note 4} is what we read, not how much.

1. At band 6, "coherence may be lost at times as a result of hesitation, repetition and/or self-correction" source: ielts.org. Here the speaker starts the same phrase twice, so the listener has to wait for the reason.
2. At band 6, discourse markers are used "though not always appropriately" source: ielts.org. "Furthermore" adds a point, but the point does not answer the question.
3. Band 7 allows some hesitation, but it "will not affect coherence" source: ielts.org. The "er" is a short pause, and the sentence still reaches its point.
4. Band 7 describes "flexible use of spoken discourse markers" source: ielts.org. "So" does something here. It tells the listener that the conclusion is coming.

How to improve fluency and coherence

Build words for familiar topics

Part 1 asks about familiar topics such as home, family, work, studies or interests source: ielts.org.

For each familiar topic, practise a few sentences until the words come without effort. Speaking faster does not fill a gap in your vocabulary, and rushing can add false starts. Our Part 1 guide covers this part of the test.

Practise the long turn

In Part 2, the examiner gives you a task card. You have a minute to prepare, then you talk for 2 minutes, and the examiner stops you when the time is up source: ielts.org.

Practise with a timer, on topics you choose yourself. Aim for one connected answer across the 2 minutes, not a list of separate points. Our Part 2 guide explains the long turn.

Use discourse markers that do something

At band 5, "certain discourse markers" are overused source: ielts.org.

A memorised list of discourse markers, dropped in every few sentences, leads to exactly that. Before you say "moreover" or "on the other hand", check that your next idea really adds to or contrasts with the last one.

Listen to your own pauses

Record yourself answering a question, then listen back. For each pause, ask what it was for. Were you deciding what to say, or looking for a word? The second kind shows you which words to learn next.

How much it counts

The four Speaking criteria carry equal weight, and their average gives your Speaking score source: ielts.org.

How IELTS Speaking Is Marked shows how the four combine, and the band score calculator shows the effect on your overall score.

Writing has a criterion with a similar name, coherence and cohesion. It is about paragraphs and discourse markers on the page. This one is about keeping your answer easy to follow while you speak.

Next in the series: lexical resource, and why paraphrase is a scored skill. For a plan across all four criteria, see our Speaking improvement plan.

The criterion's definition and indicators come from the Speaking key assessment criteria, and the band-level wording from the public Speaking band descriptors, both on ielts.org. Neither document carries a revision date. The Part 1 topics and the Part 2 timing come from the Speaking format page, and the equal weighting from IELTS scoring in detail. Last checked on 28 September 2026. The example answer was written for this page and is not from any test.