In this post, we will be looking at how you can understand the IELTS Reading Test Band Scores for both the Academic Test and The General Training Test.
The IELTS Reading Test has 40 questions with each correct answer given one mark. The score you get out of 40 is then converted into a band score. The scores are reported in both whole and half bands.
IELTS Reading Band Score Calculator.
The main difference between the Academic and General Training Reading tests are the type of reading texts the students are given.
General Training
IELTS General Reading Band Score
The General Training texts are generally a bit easier to comprehend, with information from flyers, job descriptions, train timetables, travel brochures, an extract from a novel or job application instructions.
Number of correct answers | IELTS General Training Reading Band Score |
40 | 9 |
39 | 8.5 |
37-38 | 8 |
36 | 7.5 |
34-35 | 7 |
32-33 | 6.5 |
30-31 | 6 |
27-29 | 5.5 |
23-26 | 5 |
19-22 | 4.5 |
15-18 | 4 |
12-14 | 3.5 |
9-11 | 3 |
Academic
IELTS Academic Reading Band Score
The Academic texts are more difficult, usually taken from magazines, newspapers, journals and research. These feature more complex ideas and vocabulary.
The tables below show the average number of marks required to attain a certain band score in Academic Reading and General Training Reading.
Number of correct answers | IELTS Academic Reading Band Score |
40-39 | 9 |
38-37 | 8.5 |
36-35 | 8 |
34-33 | 7.5 |
32-30 | 7 |
29-27 | 6.5 |
26-23 | 6 |
22-19 | 5.5 |
18-15 | 5 |
14-13 | 4.5 |
12-10 | 4 |
9-8 | 3.5 |
7-6 | 3 |
5-4 | 2.5 |
We hope you found this post useful in helping you to study for the IELTS Test. If you have any questions please let us know in the comments below or on the Facebook page.
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