IELTS OVERALL BAND SCALE LEVELS

Over the course of my experience as an IELTS instructor(CELTA certified) in Nepal, I have come across lots of students who fear that they will fail the IELTS exam. 

IELTS is meant to test your English skills. The listening and Reading components of the IELTS are meant to test your receptive skills, whereas the Writing and the Speaking components are targeted to test your ‘productive skills’. You should clearly understand: you cannot fail the IELTS exams. 

Although there is no pass or fail in the IELTS, your skills will be evaluated on a scale of 0 through 9. 

9   Expert User:  Has fully operational command of the language: appropriate, accurate and fluent with complete understanding.

8   Very Good User: Has fully operational command of the language with only occasional unsystematic inaccuracies and inappropriacies. Misunderstanding may occur in unfamiliar situations. Handles complex detailed argumentation well.    

7  Good User: Has operational command of the language, through with occasional inaccuracies, inappropriacies, and misunderstandings in some situations. Generally handles complex language well and understands detailed reasoning. 

6  Competent User: Has generally effective command of the language despite some inaccuracies, inappropriacies, and misunderstandings. Can use and understand fairly complex language, particularly in familiar situations. 

5    Modest User: Has partial command of the language, coping with overall meaning in most situations, though is likely to make many mistakes. Should be able to handle basic communication in own field. 

4   Limited User: Basic competence is limited to familiar situations. Has frequent problems in understanding and expression. Is not able to use complex language. 

3   Extremely Limited User: Conveys and understands only general meaning in very familiar situations. Frequent breakdowns in communication occur. 

2   Intermittent User: No real communication is possible except for the most basic information using isolated words or short formulae in familiar situations and to meet immediate needs. Has great difficulty understanding spoken and written English.

1   Non User: Essentially has no ability to use the language beyond possibly a few isolated words.