Skill hub
IELTS Listening
Four recordings, forty questions, and you hear each recording once. The band comes straight from how many answers you get right, so the mechanics matter as much as your ear.
Identical on Academic and General Training: the same recordings, the same questions and the same conversion table.
- 30 min
- Four parts, ten questions each
- 40
- Questions, one mark each
- Once
- Each recording is played one time only
What the test asks for
Four recordings, ten questions each, in about 30 minutes. Part 1 is a conversation between two people in an everyday situation. Part 2 is one speaker on a social topic. Part 3 is a conversation in an education or training setting, and Part 4 is one speaker on an academic subject. The accents are British, Australian, New Zealand and North American, and you hear each recording once.
See how each question type works
How it is scored
One mark per correct answer, so a raw score out of 40, converted to a band. IELTS publishes the average marks behind each band: 16 for band 5, 23 for band 6, 30 for band 7 and 35 for band 8. The real cut-off moves a mark or two between test versions, which is why the converter below reports a range rather than a promise.
Start with the raw score to band guide
Where marks go missing
- Spelling and word limits. An answer that is right in meaning but misspelt, or one word over the limit, scores nothing.
- The correction. Speakers change their minds mid-sentence, and the first thing you hear is often the wrong answer.
- Losing your place. One missed answer costs one mark. Chasing it costs the next three.
- The final minutes. On computer you check answers on screen as you go, so use the pause between parts rather than the end of the test.
Turn a raw score into a band
Based on the averages IELTS publishes.
Drag to your number of correct answers out of 40. The band updates as you go.
Listening band
7.0
30 out of 40 is the average IELTS publishes for band 7 in Listening. 5 more marks reach the band 8 average.
- Correct answers
- 30 / 40
- Next published average
- Band 8 at 35
- Marks to reach it
- 5
Open the IELTS Listening Band Score Converter on its own page
Listening guides
All 11 in the guides indexListening
IELTS Listening Multiple Choice
Each question has three options and one answer, or a longer list where you choose more than one. You hear the recording once, and the wrong options are often mentioned too. Listen for the option the speaker settles on, not the first one you hear.
Published
Listening
IELTS Listening Form Completion: Forms, Notes, Tables and Flow Charts
You fill gaps in a form, notes, a table or a flow chart as the recording plays. You can hear the answer and still lose the mark. The word limit, spelling and plurals all count, so check every word you write.
Published
Listening
IELTS Listening Matching Questions
You match each item you hear about to an option in a list, and your answer is a letter. The items follow the order of the recording, but the options may not. Read the instructions and the whole list before you listen.
Published
Listening
IELTS Listening Sentence Completion
Each question is a sentence with a gap, and you fill it with words you hear. Stay inside the word limit. An extra word, a missing plural or a spelling error can cost the mark even when you heard the answer.
Published
Listening
IELTS Listening Short Answer Questions
You read a question and write a short answer using what you hear. Stay inside the word limit and spell every word correctly. Some questions ask for two or three answers, so count them.
Published
Improvement planListening
How to Improve Your IELTS Listening Score
Listening has one band scale for everyone, on Academic and General Training. This plan gives the extra correct answers each step up takes. It also shows what to change when you hear each recording only once.
Published
Listening
IELTS Listening Question Types, and How Each One Works
IELTS Listening has six question types. In some you choose a letter, and in others you write words you hear. Learn what each one asks, then work on the type that costs you the most marks.
Published
Listening
IELTS Listening Map Labelling: Plans, Maps and Diagrams
You hear someone describe a place and match it to a plan, map or diagram. Find the layout and the starting point before the recording begins. Then follow the speaker one place at a time.
Published
Listening
IELTS Listening Test Format: Length, Questions and Scoring
Four parts, ten questions each, forty marks, about thirty minutes. The recording plays once, and the questions follow its order. Academic and General Training use the same Listening test, and your score out of 40 converts to a band.
Published
Listening
How to Write Numbers, Dates and Times in IELTS Listening
The recording says the number, but your mark depends on what you write. Digits are safer than words. Going over the word limit loses the mark, and so does a spelling error.
Published
Listening
IELTS Listening Raw Score to Band Score
How your IELTS Listening mark out of 40 becomes a band score. This guide gives the published marks for each band. It shows how to work out your own band, and which small errors cost marks.
Published
Format facts checked against ielts.org's Listening format pages for Academic and General Training on 6 September 2026. Conversion figures are the average marks IELTS publishes for each band, not a guarantee for any single test.
More hubs
Practise Listening on a test that is scored like the real one
The Compass IELTS app plays each recording once, marks your answers to the official rules, and shows which part is costing you marks.