The IELTS reading exam tests a candidate’s reading comprehension skills. During the reading test, students must answer 40 questions based on different reading passages. There are 3 sections and each section is allocated a time of 20 minutes. In this article, you will learn about the IELTS Reading Score table. It is important to note that the scoring for the IELTS exam is the same regardless of whether you take the exam in Singapore or other parts of the world.
How Are Points Awarded In The Reading test?
In the IELTS reading test, you will be awarded by one mark for each correct answer. Points are not taken away for incorrect answers and you are scored based solely on the number of correct answers that you provide. There is no difference in the marking methods of the British council or the IDP. All IELTS tests are marked using the exact same criteria and guidelines.
What Are The IELTS Band Scores?
The IELTS test results are graded from 1 – 9,  with 1 being the lowest IELTS score you can get and 9 the highest. Each component of the test – Writing, Speaking, Reading and Listening – is given an individual score, so your overall exam result will be made up of a score for each component and an overall band score. The overall band score is the average of the four individual scores.
Once your reading test raw scores have been determined, you will be graded according to the IELTS band scores ranging from 0 to 9. With each raw score corresponding to a particular IELTS band score. Your original score out of 40 will be converted using the following conversion table.
Here is what the IELTS reading score table looks like:
For example, if you have answered 33 to 34 correctly questions out of 40 then your reading band score would be 7.5 or if your original score is between 35 to 36 then that would correlate to a band score of 8.0.
What Do The Band Scores Mean?
The IELTS results are designed to be easily understandable and fairly simple. Each band score corresponds to a particular level of English proficiency.
Since the academic test is more difficult than the general training one, someone scoring 30 in the general training reading test would be a band 6 level, but if a student got 30 in the more difficult Academic reading test they would be a band 7.
How Is The IELTS Reading Test Is Marked?
As mentioned before, each correct answer corresponds to one point. Answers are deemed correct based on a number of factors. One of the most important of these includes correct spelling. Many students are marked down simply due to the incorrect spelling of a word. You should also avoid the use of abbreviations, as they are not always accepted as correct.
Another factor to consider is whether or not students have followed instructions correctly. Different types of Reading Task questions require different types of answers. For example, for multiple-choice questions, many students incorrectly write out an entire option instead of just filling in the required letter.
It is crucial to read the instructions of all reading test questions very carefully. Especially for those questions that have a word limit. For example, some questions require answers that are no more than three words. Meaning that your answer can be one word, two words or three words but not more than that. In this case, you would not only have to answer with three words.
And finally, ensure that your handwriting is legible. It would be highly unfortunate to miss out on valuable marks due to untidy handwriting.
Hopefully, this article has provided you with some valuable information and tips about the IELTS reading band scores. Now that you are familiar with the raw score requirements that you need in order to get the band score you need, you can move on to the next steps in your IELTS preparation journey.
