Reading

In the IELTS reading exam, there are 40 questions. In order to get a band 7, you need to answer 30-32 questions correctly. That means making no more than 10 incorrectly!The best way to ensure this is to work on your reading skills prior to the exam. Practice reading quickly, because time is the biggest difficulty. Also, work on familiarizing yourself with different reading question types and learning lots of different synonyms so you can more easily locate information in the text.Here is how the academic reading test is marked:Knowing this marking scheme is very useful in guiding your exam preparation. If you got band 5 in your previous exam, you may have scored just 15/40 and therefore would need twice as many correct answers to get a band 7! That is a huge difference.You should practice reading often under exam conditions and you will find that your reading skills increase, allowing you to move slowly but steadily towards your band 7 goal.

Listening

The IELTS listening is marked pretty similarly to the reading exam, in that there are 40 questions to answer. To get a band 7 or higher requires scoring at least 30/40, meaning you can make no more than ten mistakes.The marking is done like this:Again, it is useful to do some practice listening activities such as past exam papers. You can check your score and then convert it into a band using the table above.It is important to study in this way so you can make a plan. For example, if you have a band 6 and need to get a band 7, you know that you need to answer an extra 5 to 7 questions correctly. You can then work out an appropriate training regime and do enough listening practice to get your score up to the desired level.

Writing

The writing exam is harder for students to understand because it is somewhat subjective. You don’t get a score like 30/40 and convert it into a band. Instead, you have certain criteria that need to be met, and these correspond to the bands.This can be a little complicated, which is why it requires trained, professional IELTS examiners to give the correct scores. Most students can figure out their own listening and reading scores, but they can almost never guess their own writing level.The writing exam is marked in four areas:You will be given a score (0-9) in each of these, and the average will make your total writing band score. Keep in mind, however, that there are different requirements for task 1 and task 2, which we will look at next.

Task 1

To get a band 7 in IELTS writing task 1, the following are required:So what does this mean, in simple English? It means that essentially you have answered the question in a basic way, covering the main details of the line graph or bar chart or process diagram. Your essay is logical and not too repetitive, with some errors but not too many.

Task 2

The marking rubric for IELTS writing task 2, band 7, looks like this:As you can see, it is very similar but with the requirements tailored to task 2 instead of task 1. Generally speaking, you also have to be able to write with few errors, use some good language, and organise your essays clearly and logically. The ability to paragraph correctly is essential here. That means writing a good introduction and conclusion, with two or three body paragraphs that logically group your ideas.

Some IELTS Writing Tips for Band 7

There is a lot of nonsense out there about getting band 7 in IELTS. On YouTube and in all the IELTS training schools, people tell students “Do this one thing and get a BAND 7!!!” but in my opinion you cannot trust this. As we saw above, getting a band 7 ...

Speaking

Getting a band 7 in IELTS speaking is another area of worry for many students. Although some naturally feel that speaking is their greatest strength, others tend to worry about it. For one thing, it is really hard to get good feedback on your speaking skills.As always, it is important to know your target. The IELTS speaking exam is marked in four areas:We will now look at what you should do to get a band 7 in each of these four areas:So what does this actually mean, in plain and simple English? Essentially, a band 7 candidate can speak without too much hesitation, using some basic language to connect ideas and some uncommon language to develop ideas. Grammar is not perfect, but not bad.The last column, pronunciation, just states that the candidate is between band 6 and band 8.Here is band 6:And band 8:To get a band 7, then, means have all those features included in band 6 and just some from band 8. So perhaps you have a strong accent that somewhat affects the examiner’s understanding… Well, you could still get a band 7.This video gives you actionable tips for scoring band 7+ in the speaking test:

Getting an Overall Band 7

Ok, so today we have looked at getting a band 7 in each section of the IELTS exam. This is important to know because, if you really want a band 7, then you should aim for 7/7/7/7 - in other words, a band 7 in each section.Of course, we all have our strengths and weaknesses. Some people just can’t seem to improve their writing skills enough, and always get a 6 or 6.5. Others panic badly in the speaking exam and also fail to reach the required band 7.If that is the case, and you just need an overall band 7, you needn’t worry too much. Your overall score is calculated by averaging your four individual scores like this:I would strongly recommend working on each area of your IELTS skills; however, if you do have one area in which you are particularly strong, remember that it will positively affect your overall score, bringing your grade up hopefully to the desired level.Good luck!