Problem: candidates practise blind — speaking plenty, improving nothing — because they never learned what the four criteria actually reward. Answer in brief: study each criterion’s band descriptors (fluency and coherence, lexical resource, grammatical range and accuracy), diagnose your level per criterion, and drill the exact gaps descriptors name. Descriptors are the marking scheme made public — train to them directly. This guide decodes the big three, and IELTS Speaking — Course 16 trains them across 19 topic sections.
Criterion 1: fluency and coherence
Rewards sustained speech with natural hesitation, developed topics and connected ideas. Higher bands need longer runs without breakdown, logical sequencing and effective linking. Train with the 2-minute curve (same topic repeated with fewer pauses), pause-mapping and linker banking. Coherence is audible organisation — examiners should hear your structure.
Criterion 2: lexical resource
Rewards range, precision, collocation and natural idiom — sufficient vocabulary used flexibly, not rare words dropped randomly. Higher bands need topic-specific precision and skilful paraphrase. Train with cluster banking (ten items per family, collocations included) and paraphrase drills (same idea, three wordings). Precision beats obscurity at every band.
Decode criteria supervised? The full IELTS Speaking — Course 16 trains fluency-coherence, lexical resource and grammatical range across 19 topic sections with 44 lessons and quizzes. Explore the course →
Criterion 3: grammatical range and accuracy
Rewards varied sentence structures with frequent error-free stretches. Higher bands need complex sentences (subordination, conditionals, relative clauses, passives) produced accurately under pressure. Train with sentence-expansion drills (simple to complex aloud) and error logging (tense, article, agreement counts per recording). Range attempted then controlled — complexity with errors still beats simplicity, but controlled complexity wins.
Diagnose and drill per criterion
Record a full mock; score yourself 1–9 per criterion against public descriptors; weakest criterion takes half of practice time for a fortnight; re-diagnose. Criterion-led training converts vague “practise speaking” into targeted gap-closing — every minute justified by a descriptor line.
FAQs
What about pronunciation, the fourth criterion?
Equally weighted and trained alongside — stress, rhythm and intelligibility drills belong in every session. This course’s companion materials address it; never neglect a quarter of the score.
How are criteria combined?
Averaged equally with rounding rules — a weak criterion drags the mean directly. Balance beats spikes: four 7s outscore 8, 8, 8, 5.
What is in the course?
Nineteen topic sections on the three core criteria with full-length Band 9 samples, 44 lessons, quizzes and 5 complete mock tests.
The matching course
IELTS Speaking — Course 16 trains to the scheme: three criteria decoded, drilled, with Band 9 samples — 19 topic sections, 44 lessons, quizzes, 5 mock tests. If practice feels blind, see the scheme here.
Sources and note
- IELTS Speaking band descriptors per ielts.org — test information. Criterion summaries are general; consult official descriptors for exact wording. No scores guaranteed.
- Course details verified from its public staging page (read-only): 19 topic sections, 44 lessons, quizzes, 5 mock tests.
- Methods are general techniques; criterion descriptions summarise the course.
Put this into practice
Compare these course outlines and choose the practice that matches your next goal.
