One of many worst issues about IELTS is the frustration and frustration you are feeling once you don’t get the scores you want. Possibly you’ve missed your required general band rating by simply 0.5 or, regardless of general band rating, you didn’t get the rating you wanted in a single a part of the check (in all probability writing!) This can be a quite common expertise for a lot of of you, however luckily, IELTS gives you a second probability: the IELTS comment. This can be a course of supplied by each The British Council and IDP, and permits you to ask to your IELTS check to be marked once more.
The re-marking course of is a method of guaranteeing that the check is truthful. It’s true that generally, examiners disagree over the proper band rating, so it’s a method of guaranteeing that check takers might be assured concerning the evaluation system.
“Ought to I apply for a re-mark of my IELTS Take a look at?” is without doubt one of the commonest questions I get requested by IELTS check takers. The reply, although could be a bit difficult, so I’ve written some questions it’s best to ask your self earlier than deciding.
- IELTS calls the re-mark course of an “Enquiry on Outcomes” (EOR).
- A re-mark is when your IELTS scores are checked by one other examiner within the UK or Australia (i.e. not in your native IELTS check centre).
- Your new examiner will not be informed your unique IELTS scores.
- You’ll be able to request a re-mark of the entire check, or any a part of it (Listening, Studying, Writing or Talking). The re-mark price is identical. The extra elements you want re-marked, the longer the re-marking course of will take.
- IELTS Talking Comment: the examiner will re-mark your talking check by listening to the recording of your talking check (that is why your talking check is recorded!).
- IELTS Writing Comment: the examiner will examine each your Process 1 report and your Process 2 essay.
- You could apply for an Enquiry on Outcomes (EOR) inside 6 weeks of the date of your listening, studying and writing check.
- The re-marking course of can take as much as 6 weeks, though it could actually take just some days
- Through the re-marking course of, you can’t use your IELTS scores for college or immigration purposes.
- The price for a re-mark varies between IELTS check centres, nevertheless it in most international locations the IELTS comment price is between US$90 and US$130
- Your price will probably be refunded in case your scores change
So must you request a re-mark of your IELTS rating? Listed here are 10 questions it’s best to ask your self:
1. Would you like your listening or studying scores re-marked?
Listening and studying are assessed in opposition to an inventory of solutions, and these solutions are both proper or fallacious. The one method a re-mark will change these scores is that if there was a primary marking or clerical error. That is most unlikely, so a listening or studying re-mark would haven’t any impact.
2. Did you miss your required band rating in writing or talking?
Writing and Talking are a lot tougher to evaluate than Listening and Studying. Examiners need to do some interpretation to match your writing or chatting with the IELTS evaluation standards, and it’s a indisputable fact that examiners could disagree over the band rating it’s best to get in these 2 elements of the check. Nonetheless. examiners not often disagree by greater than 0.5 in your writing or talking rating.
Which means that for those who missed your required band rating in both writing or talking by simply 0.5 (e.g. you bought 6.5 in writing however you want a 7.0) then a re-mark could be a good suggestion.
However learn questions 5 to 10 as effectively!
If you happen to want a rise in a complete band (e.g. you bought 6.0 in writing however you want a 7.0), then a re-mark is much less more likely to be helpful. Will increase of greater than 0.5 are uncommon, however they don’t seem to be unknown. Examiners do make errors…generally!
3. Do you want a rise of 1.0 (or extra) in your general band rating?
For instance, you bought a band rating of 6.5 general, however you want 7.5.
On this state of affairs, an IELTS comment may be very unlikely to be helpful to you. Re-marks not often change the general band rating by greater than 0.5.
4. Do you solely want a rise of 0.5 in your general band rating?
For instance, you bought a band rating of seven.0 general, however you want 7.5.
This is a little more difficult! You have to do some calculations:
To get a Band 7 general, the scores of your 4 checks should add as much as not less than 27 factors. For instance:
- Listening 7.0
- Studying 7.0
- Writing 7.0
- Talking 6.0
If you happen to add the 4 scores, you get 27: 7.0 + 7.0 + 7.0 + 6.0 = 27.0
This implies the typical rating is 6.75 (27 ÷ 4 = 6.75). To get your general rating, IELTS rounds the quantity UP to 7.0.
To get a Band 7.5 general, the scores of your 4 checks should add as much as not less than 29 factors. For instance:
- Listening 8.0
- Studying 7.0
- Writing 7.0
- Talking 7.0
If you happen to add the 4 scores, you get 29: 8.0 + 7.0 + 7.0 + 7.0 = 29.0
This implies the typical rating is 7.25 (29 ÷ 4 = 7.25). To get your general rating, IELTS rounds the quantity UP to 7.5.
Okay to date?!
So, to know if a re-mark will probably be helpful, it’s essential to add up your 4 scores. What do they add as much as?
Instance 1
Let’s say your scores for the 4 checks are like this:
- Listening 7.5
- Studying 7.0
- Writing 6.0
- Talking 6.0
Add the 4 scores up: 7.5 + 7 + 6 + 6 = 26.5
Bear in mind, you want 27 factors to get a Band 7. Which means that you solely want a rise of 0.5 to get a Band 7. So on this instance, an IELTS comment is extra more likely to be helpful, since you solely want a rise of 0.5 in both writing or talking (bear in mind, listening and studying will virtually definitely not change).
Instance 2
Let’s say your scores for the 4 checks are like this:
- Listening 7.5
- Studying 6.0
- Writing 6.0
- Talking 6.0
Add the 4 scores up: 7.5 + 6 + 6 + 6 = 25.5
Bear in mind, you want 27 factors to get a Band 7. Which means that you want a rise of 1.5 to get a Band 7. So on this instance, an IELTS comment may be very unlikely to be helpful, since you want a rise of 1.0 in a single a part of the check (e.g. writing), and a rise of 0.5 in one other a part of the check (e.g. talking).
Right here’s a desk with the minimal variety of factors it’s essential to get every band rating general:
| To get 9.0 general, you want not less than 35 factors |
| To get 8.5 general, you want not less than 33 factors |
| To get 8.0 general, you want not less than 31 factors |
| To get 7.5 general, you want not less than 29 factors |
| To get 7.0 general, you want not less than 27 factors |
| To get 6.5 general, you want not less than 25 factors |
| To get 6.0 general, you want not less than 23 factors |
| To get 5.5 general, you want not less than 21 factors |
So add up your 4 scores and see how a lot your complete wants to extend. The smaller the rise wanted, the larger the prospect {that a} re-mark will probably be helpful.
5. When do you want your scores?
If it’s essential to submit your IELTS rating to a college or immigration division quickly after your check, re-marking may cause issues.
Firstly, getting your check re-marked can take time, particularly if you wish to get a couple of a part of the check checked. It might probably take as much as 6 weeks to get your check re-marked. Which means that you may not get your re-marked scores till after your submission deadline. (However ask your native IELTS check centre about how lengthy it’d take to do a re-mark – IDP and the British Council can usually do it in a number of days to some weeks).
Secondly, in the course of the re-marking course of, your unique scores are ‘locked’ and you can’t use them in an utility to a college or immigration division. So that you received’t be capable of submit your unique scores, and also you received’t have your Take a look at Report Kind, as you will need to return this to your check centre.
The IELTS comment just isn’t low cost. The re-marking price varies between check centres, however it’s usually round $90 to $130. In some international locations it’s much more costly, so examine together with your native check centre. You’ll lose the price if the re-mark doesn’t change your rating, so if you’re not assured {that a} re-mark will probably be helpful to you, you’d be higher off placing the cash in direction of a re-sit moderately than an IELTS comment.
7. Do you often get greater band scores for writing and/or talking when practising?
Has a trainer assessed your writing and talking abilities? Do they constantly provide you with greater scores than those you achieved within the precise IELTS Take a look at? In that case, then it could be price making use of for a re-mark.
Nonetheless, this will depend on the standard of your trainer’s evaluation. Deciphering the IELTS evaluation standards for writing and talking just isn’t straightforward, and so it’s attainable that your trainer is supplying you with scores which can be too excessive. So that you additionally need to ask your self whether or not you belief your trainer’s evaluation abilities.
8. Have you ever achieved the IELTS Take a look at earlier than? Did you get greater scores for writing and talking?
If you happen to bought greater scores for talking in a earlier check, then it’s attainable that your scores in your most up-to-date check have been marked too low. IELTS examiners use a wide range of questions to find out your IELTS talking band rating, and so they assess in opposition to standards which focus extra on talking abilities moderately than the content material of your speech, so assessments shouldn’t usually fluctuate an excessive amount of from check to check. So in case your talking band rating is quite a bit decrease than a earlier talking check (e.g. 1.0 or extra), then a comment of your talking check could be a good suggestion…
…however provided that your earlier check was fairly latest. If it has been a 12 months or extra since your earlier IELTS talking check, and also you haven’t been utilizing English a lot within the intervening interval, then it’s possible that your English language abilities could have weakened slightly. That is regular. This may increasingly clarify your decrease rating. On this occasion, I might not suggest a re-mark.
Writing, nevertheless, is completely different. Take a look at takers usually get completely different scores for writing in several checks. This can be as a result of they misunderstood the writing process, or wrote a Process 2 that was ‘off-topic’, or that one (or each) duties have been too brief, or the essay query was merely ‘too tough’. So I wouldn’t suggest a re-mark except your band rating is considerably decrease (1 band or extra) than a earlier check.
Once more, in case your earlier check was a 12 months was a while in the past, and also you haven’t achieved a lot essay writing in English since, then your decrease rating could just because your writing abilities have weakened.
9. Is one in every of your scores considerably decrease than the opposite three scores?
For instance:
- Listening 8.0
- Studying 8.0
- Writing 6.5
- Talking 8.5
On this rating profile, there’s a vital distinction between the Writing rating and the opposite three scores. This type of rating is named a “jagged profile” and the IELTS Administrator at your native check centre will ask a second examiner to re-assess the writing check. That is fairly a typical prevalence.
Nonetheless, if the second examiner’s evaluation is just 0.5 bands completely different to the primary examiner’s evaluation, the primary evaluation is not going to change. A change in your rating solely happens in response to a proper EOR (Enquiry On Outcomes).
Which means that for those who apply for an IELTS comment, there may be nonetheless an opportunity that your weak rating would possibly change, however in all probability solely by 0.5.
How massive does the distinction have to be to get a comment in your native check centre? IELTS Examiners have no idea the precise guidelines as it’s a determination made by the IELTS Administrator in your native check centre. Nonetheless, it’s more likely to be a distinction of two bands between writing and talking, or between one in every of these and one other ability.
10. Do you are feeling “assured” about your outcomes?
I’ve heard many college students apply for an IELTS comment just because they’re “assured” they did higher in writing and / or talking than their IELTS scores counsel.
If that is you, ask a second query: what’s your confidence primarily based on?
Have you learnt, from doing observe checks and by getting suggestions from skilled lecturers, that you may get the scores you need?
Are you positive you answered the writing duties accurately? (I do know many college students who assume they answered the query accurately, who merely didn’t).
Is your confidence primarily based on a information of the IELTS evaluation standards? Do you totally perceive how IELTS is assessed? Have you learnt what examiners are in search of after they assess your writing and talking? Getting a excessive band rating in writing, for instance, is NOT about utilizing fancy vocabulary and lengthy sentences; it’s about presenting and supporting your concepts in a transparent, logical method.
In case your confidence is just “bravado” or “wishful pondering”, I might not suggest a re-mark. In case your confidence is predicated on information about your talents, about your efficiency within the check, and concerning the IELTS check, I might be extra more likely to suggest a re-mark.
A re-mark could be helpful if you’re positive you answered the writing duties accurately AND you constantly get greater scores for writing and talking in observe AND…
…you solely want a rise of 0.5 in both writing or talking
OR
…you want a rise of 0.5 in your general band rating AND the entire factors of your 4 checks added collectively is just one level under what you want (e.g. in case your complete factors are 26, and also you want Band 7).
A re-mark is not going to be helpful for those who want greater scores for listening or studying, and it’s unlikely to be helpful for those who want a rise of 1.0 or extra in both writing or talking. In these circumstances, you’d be higher off re-sitting the examination moderately than getting a re-mark. (You would possibly even get your required scores extra shortly this manner!)
Precise Examples
Listed here are some messages I’ve acquired from college students, with my recommendation:
Hussain
I bought 7.0 in listening, however I would like 7.5. Ought to I am going for re-mark?
My recommendation: No. Your band rating for listening is not going to change.
Sergey
My scores are:
- Listening 7.5
- Studying 7.5
- Writing 6.5
- Talking 7.0
- Total 7.0
I would like 7.5 general, and minimal 7.0 in every half. Ought to I apply for a re-mark?
You solely want a rise of 0.5 in writing to get a minimal of seven.0 in every half. This enhance may also push your general band rating to 7.5 (your complete factors will probably be 29, which is a median of seven.25, which is rounded as much as 7.5). I might suggest a re-mark if you’re positive you answered the writing duties accurately.
Nguyen Thy
I bought my IELTS outcomes however I’m disillusioned with writing. I would like 7.0.
- Listening 7.0
- Studying 8.0
- Writing 6.0
- Talking 7.0
- Total 7.0
It is extremely unlikely that your writing rating will enhance by a complete band rating (from 6.0 to 7.0). Additionally, it’s attainable that your check would have been re-marked in your native check centre anyway, as a result of there’s a distinction of two.0 between your lowest rating (writing) and your highest rating (studying). Don’t ask for a re-mark.
Kristina
Listed here are my outcomes. However I would like 7.5 general. Is a re-mark price doing?
- Listening 7.5
- Studying 7.0
- Writing 6.5
- Talking 6.5
- Total 7.0
You solely simply bought a Band 7. Your common mark is definitely 6.875 (27.5 ÷ 4 = 6.875), which is rounded as much as 7.0. To get a Band 7.5 general, you want your complete factors to extend from 27.5 to 29. That is most unlikely to occur. Don’t ask for a re-mark.
Davide
I didn’t get the outcomes I would like! I bought my general general rating, however I would like 7.0 in writing and talking. Ought to I am going for comment?
- Listening 7.5
- Studying 8.0
- Writing 6.5
- Talking 6.5
- Total 7.0
Must you go for an IELTS Comment? My Recommendation:
It’s unlikely that you simply’ll get a rise in BOTH writing AND talking. It’s attainable, however solely go for an IELTS comment for those who’re positive you didn’t make any clear errors on the writing check (e.g. writing too few phrases or writing an off-topic essay).
I hope these questions have been helpful in serving to you determine whether or not to use for a re-mark.
IELTS evaluation of writing and talking just isn’t a precise science – certainly, examiners see it’s extra of an artwork – and examiners do make errors. Some check takers do discover that their scores change after re-marking, however word that IELTS don’t say what number of re-marks are profitable.
My greatest recommendation is to be sure you are totally ready earlier than you are taking the IELTS check.
Have YOU utilized for a comment of your IELTS scores previously, or are you doing it now (and even fascinated by it)? I might be very intersted to learn the way it’s going or the way it went. Did your scores change – and if that’s the case, how? How lengthy did the re-marking course of take? Please share your experiences within the feedback under. Thanks!
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