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Disappointed with your IELTS Result?

If you are disappointed with your IELTS result, you have 2 options:

1. Take the IELTS test again or
2. Ask for re-marking.

Many people were asking me about option # 2 and here is an explanation of what’s involved.

If you believe that you deserve a better score than you were awarded, you can ask for re-marking of your results. You can ask to re-mark the whole test or any part of it (Listening, Reading, Writing, or Speaking). Of course there is a fee, which is roughly a half of the normal IELTS test fee. If your result is changed to a higher score, the fee is refunded.

If you decided to go for remarking, here is what you need to do. Within 6 weeks of your test date, get a form called “IELTS Enquiry on Results Form” from your test center, fill in your name, address, the tests you want to have remarked, sign and date it. Pay the fee and expect your answer back within 6 weeks from the day they receive it at Cambridge.

Here is what happens next: your test paper, your writing or your tape recorded during the Speaking test will be re-marked by a different examiner – not the one in your local test center, but by a trained clerical marker (for Reading and Listening answers) or a Cambridge ESOL-appointed Examiner, employed by the British Council or IDP.

In my opinion, unless you are very sure they’ve misread your answers, in the Reading and Listening there isn’t much of a chance to get a higher score. On the other hand, in the Writing and Speaking your chances are much better, because the score does depend on who marks the work, to some extent.

Let me tell you a true story of A from Romania. She took the IELTS test and was very confident and positive about her results, however… the results arrived and she got only 6.5 in Speaking. A immediately appealed, because she was confident that she deserved more (and her scores in the other sections were also much higher, Bands 8 – 7.5).

Later on she got really pessimistic, after talking to people who assured her that IELTS folks will never give her a higher score because of some kind of conspiracy, that by giving her a higher score, IELTS organization will admit to their guilt and they are never going to do that.

Two month later, a very happy A wrote me a letter about her score being raised from 6.5 to 7 and her money was refunded. Apparently the examiner at Cambridge disagreed with the local Romanian examiner and thought A was a Band 7 candidate.

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241 thoughts on “Disappointed with your IELTS Result?”

  1. Anjum

    I took IELTS general training via IDP
    My band scores are as under:
    L 7.5
    R 7.5
    S 7.0
    W 6.5
    I need 7 band in all the modules
    I am not happy with my W score & plan to go for EOR
    What do you suggest?

  2. Simone Braverman

    Hi Anjum, if you feel your writing is worth more, then there is a chance that EOR can help. Your other scores are 7 or above, so if your writing isn’t worse, you could get a 7 for it as well. If IDP changes your score as a result of remarking, they will refund the fee, too. If you decide to go for it, let us know of your result. Good luck, I hope it works out for you!

  5. Anjum

    18 days have passed by since i had applied for EOR on W module.
    This should have not taken that much time as only one module was asked for re-evaluation.
    Don’t know whether i should be concerned or hopeful 🤔

  10. Bhagyashree Murjani

    I am totally disappointed with my ielts result as i thought i would have got 7.5 i my each module and i got my marks as follows:-

    Listening -6
    Reading -5.5
    Writing -5.5
    Speaking -6

  11. Simone Braverman

    Hi Bhagyashree, sorry to hear you didn’t get the score you were aiming for. There must be a reason for it, and you can avoid that happening again in the future. In order to get Band 7.5 in the real test, you need to be scoring 7.5 reliably at home, when you are doing mock tests. That is a good indication of you being successful in IELTS. To improve your skills and to do simulated IELTS tests at home, I recommend these practice tests.

  14. Manpreet

    I also applied for remarking just a couple of days ago . My band scores were:
    Reading-6.5
    Speaking-6
    Listening-7.5
    Writing-5.5
    However i aimed to score atleast 6 each. Just hoping that rechecking of Writing module will help me as i did really well in it.

  15. Manpreet

    I got my result yesterday LRWS-7.5/6.5/5.5/6
    however i am not satisfied with writing as i aimed to get 6 in each module and i applied for remarking as i did really well in writing . Should remarking will help me??

  16. Simone Braverman

    Hi Manpreet, if you believe that your writing was marked unfairly, you did the right thing by applying to get it remarked. If your score changes, you will get thee remarking fee refunded. Let me know how it goes. Hope you get a higher score!

  17. Sourav

    I am very disappointed with my ielts result as i thought i would have got upto 6.5 in my each module but I am shocked because Idp repeat my same previous result.Please suggest me what can I do.I got my marks as follows:-
    L-5.5, R-6, W-5.5, S-5.5

  18. Simone Braverman

    If you received the same score in two consecutive exams, that means you need to really work on increasing it. You should analyse your typical mistakes and think how you can reduce, if not eliminate them. It will give you the biggest increase in the score, rather than simply practicing and repeating the same mistakes. Check out this strategy book as it can show you step by step how to raise your IELTS score.

  19. Gershon

    I took IELTS academic training via British Council
    My band scores are as under:
    Listening: 6
    Reading: 6.5
    Speaking: 6
    Writing: 6

    Overall: 6

    I need 6.5 band in overall

    What do you suggest with EOR?
    And, Is applying for EOR also has a chance to decrease my score?

  20. Simone Braverman

    Hi Gershon, in order to get Band 6.5 overall, your Speaking and Writing both would have to increase to 6.5. There is no point in asking to remark Listening or Speaking, as there is no room for human judgement in these two skills. If you believe that you can get an increase in Speaking and Writing, that you were unfairly marked in both, then yes, EOR might help. Your scores cannot decrease as a result of EOR.

  21. Asmyy

    I got my result. But I am little disappointed. Want to go for re-evaluation. But confused. I got 6.5 in speaking which I expected to be 7. Although I have got 8.5, 8, 7 in other modules. What should I do???

  22. Simone Braverman

    Hi Asmyy, if you think your Speaking was unfairly marked, re-evaluation can help increase your score. There are no guarantees, of course, and the score can go up or stay the same. If they change your score, the fee you will pay for EOR will be refunded. You can ask to get only your Speaking remarked, to preserve your other, good scores.

  24. Simone Braverman

    Your score can go up if your performance in the test was better than 5.5 – if you think you were marked unfairly, if your IELTS tutor assessed you and said you’re better than 5.5, for example, that would be a valid reason to apply for EOR. When you do that, a different IELTS examiner will listen to your recorded test and mark it.

  25. Ammy

    Hi
    I got L7.5R6W6.5S7.6..
    It’s quite disappointing as I need 7 in Reading.
    I applied for remark for Reading. Is there chance of my reading increasing.

  26. Abena

    Hi..just received my IELTS results last Saturday and had 8.5,8.5,6.0,7,5 respectively in the modules..was aiming for at least a 6.5 in writing but still ended up
    With a 6.0 ..please I’m thinking of EOR do you suggest I do?

  27. Simone Braverman

    Hi Ammy, I’d love to say yes but in reality a Reading score isn’t likely to change following a remark, unless the first marker made a mistake comparing your answers to the correct ones. Usually the modules where you have a better chance of getting a change in score is Writing and Speaking, because a different examiner might have a different opinion of what your skills are worth.

  28. Simone Braverman

    Hi Abena, so sorry to hear about that 6.5 in Writing! This is unfortunate. What happened, did you run out of time and left one of the tasks unfinished? Or did you get a hard topic and couldn’t come up with ideas? You can actually judge the situation better, if you think that 6.0 is unfair and your writing deserves more, then go for EOR. The large difference between your other scores and writing suggests that you write better than a Band 6, but without seeing your work I can’t estimate your score, I hope you understand. Whatever you decide, let me know what happens, keep in touch.

  29. Punit

    Hii, I scored overview 6 bands in academic IELTS. 6 in R and L, 6.5 in W, 5 in speaking. It’s my second trial and I had improved my speaking, still I scored same as first trial(5 bands).
    Should I apply EOR?
    Please reply.

  30. Simone Braverman

    Hi Punit, if you are satisfied with your other scores in Listening, Reading and Writing, and you really believe you did a lot better in Speaking than the first time, you can take a chance and apply for EOR. If they change your score, you will get the EOR fee back. Keep in mind that it might take several weeks before you get the result of EOR.

  32. Simone Braverman

    Hi Diana, from your other scores it seems that your English is close to a native speaker level. What do you think happened in writing that caused the 6.5 score? Was there any kind of issue with your writing task 1 or 2? Did you not have enough words (150 for writing 1 or 250 for writing 2)? Did you go off-topic or forgot to address part of the task prompt? Let me know, any info will help.

  33. Nafii

    I got my ielts result i was expecting over all 6 band but i got 6 in listening , 5.5 in reading , 5.5 in writing and also 5.5 in speaking kindly tell me can i go for EOR or not??

  34. Simone Braverman

    Hi Nafii, EOR could result in a higher score for Writing and Speaking, it’s not very likely that your score in Listening or Reading will change. If you manage to get 6 in Writing and Speaking, your overall score will go up to 6 as well.

  35. Akanksha

    Hi! I just got my results.
    L- 8.5
    R- 8
    W-7
    S-6.5
    If I go for revaluation for my speaking test, can the score decrease?

  38. Wang

    Hi Simone,

    I got
    S 8
    L 7.5
    R 7.5
    But Writing is 5.5

    I am confident i did the writing good. How exactly should i write my reason for revaluation for writing? Should be like a letter, Dear sir/madam? Or just a normal opening statement such as ‘I am confident that…/ I strongly believe that..?

    Please advise

  39. Simone Braverman

    Hi Wang, sorry to hear you didn’t get a good score in Writing. If you are filling out a form and there is a field to state your reason, there is no need to write a full formal letter, just a brief explanation why you feel your writing score is unfair should be enough.

  40. Y

    Hey
    I did Ielts general twice and got W – 6.5 and rest I got L-8, R-8, S-7. I don’t know should I opt for rechecking for writing module or should I give it again? Please guide me on this.

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Author

Simone Braverman is the founder of IELTS-Blog.com and author of several popular IELTS preparation books, including Ace the IELTS, Target Band 7, the High Scorer's Choice practice test series, and IELTS Success Formula. Since 2005 her work has helped 100,000's of students worldwide achieve their target IELTS scores and live their dream lives. When Simone isn't working on her next IELTS book, video lesson, or coaching, she enjoys playing the guitar or rollerblading.