Understand your result
Four scores become one.
Your IELTS Overall Band Score is not a separate test — it’s calculated directly from your four individual section bands: Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking. Each section is scored on its own, and those four results are then combined into one final number.
This page explains exactly how that combination works. For details on how each individual section is scored, visit that section’s own scoring or band descriptors page, linked below.
The calculation
Average the four sections, then round
Your Overall Band Score is the average of your four section bands, rounded to the nearest whole or half band. Each section contributes equally — there is no weighting toward any one skill.
Four Equal Sections
Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking each contribute exactly one quarter of your Overall Band Score.
Simple Average
Add the four section bands together and divide by four to find the average.
Rounded Result
The average is rounded to the nearest whole or half band, following a specific rounding rule.
Worked Example
6.5, 7.0, 6.0 and 7.5 becomes an Overall Band of 7.0.
Adding these four section bands gives 27.0. Dividing by four gives an average of 6.75. Since .75 rounds up to the next half band, the Overall Band Score becomes 7.0.
Worth understanding precisely
How the rounding actually works
IELTS rounds the average of your four section bands using a consistent rule, rather than standard mathematical rounding. It’s worth knowing this rule directly, since it can occasionally produce a result that feels surprising at first glance.
Rounds up
.25 and Above
An average ending in .25 rounds up to the next half band. For example, 6.25 becomes 6.5.
Rounds down
Below .25
An average below .25, such as 6.124, rounds down to the nearest whole or half band — in this case, 6.0.
Understand each section individually
How each of the four sections is scored
Listening and Reading are scored by converting a raw score out of 40 into a band, using an official conversion table. Writing and Speaking are scored by trained examiners against official band descriptors.
Raw score conversion
Listening
Raw score conversion
Reading
Examiner assessed
Writing
Examiner assessed
Speaking
What this means for you
A weak section can pull your Overall Band down significantly.
Because all four sections count equally, a noticeably weaker skill can hold back an otherwise strong Overall Band Score. Balanced preparation across all four skills tends to produce a better result than focusing heavily on just one or two.