IELTS Listening band score

How IELTS Listening is marked

The test has four parts with ten questions each, and every question is worth one mark. Your total out of 40 is then turned into a band using a conversion table. There are no half marks and no marks taken off for wrong answers.

The parts get harder as the test goes on. Part 1 is an everyday conversation, often a booking or an enquiry, where most marks are names, numbers and dates. Part 2 is one speaker giving information, such as a tour or a talk about local services. Part 3 is a discussion between students and a tutor, and Part 4 is a short lecture with no break in the middle.

That shape matters for your target. Band 6 needs about 23 correct, so you can still miss 17 questions, mostly in the harder Parts 3 and 4. Band 7 needs about 30 correct, which means losing no more than 10 marks across the whole test, so careless losses in Parts 1 and 2 are expensive. Band 8 leaves room for only 5 mistakes.

Where most Listening marks are lost

• Spelling and plurals. "Accomodation" or "ticket" for "tickets" is marked wrong even when you understood the recording.
• Word limits. If the instruction says "no more than two words", a three-word answer scores zero.
• Distractors. Speakers often give one answer and then correct it ("the 14th… no, sorry, the 15th"). The second one counts.
• Losing your place. Missing one answer and then listening for it means missing the next three. Leave it, move on and guess at the end.
• Copying answers on paper. Mistakes made while transferring answers in the last 10 minutes cost real marks. On computer there is no transfer time, so type carefully as you go.