How to get band 5 in IELTS

Find your level: All target scores · Band 5 · Band 6 · Band 7 · Band 8

Who needs band 5?

Band 5 is a common requirement for vocational courses, some jobs and some pathway or foundation programmes. Some organisations ask for 5 overall; others want at least 5 in every skill. For Australian visas, Vocational English means at least 5 in each skill.

Band 5 is also a good first goal if your final target is higher. A steady 5 in every skill shows you which skill needs the most work before you aim for 6.

What band 5 means

IELTS describes a band 5 user as a modest user, with "partial command of the language". They can understand the overall meaning in most situations, although they are "likely to make many mistakes", and they can handle basic communication in their own field.

Compare that with band 4, a limited user, whose English works mainly in familiar situations, with frequent problems in understanding and expressing ideas. So the step from 4.5 to 5 is about getting the main meaning across: in new situations as well as familiar ones, and even with mistakes.

That's good news. You don't need perfect English for band 5. You need clear, simple English, and good test habits.

How the overall band is worked out

Your overall band is the average of the four skills, rounded to the nearest half band. An average ending in .25 rounds up to the next half band, and one ending in .75 rounds up to the next whole band. For example:

The last two rows are the trap: the overall is 5, but one or two skills are 4.5. If you need 5 in each skill, those results aren't enough.

Is band 5 the right target?

• Scoring around 4 to 4.5 now? Band 5 is a realistic next step. Start with this page.
• Already scoring 5 or 5.5? Go to how to get band 6.
• Not sure of your level? Take our free English level test first. If it shows A1 or A2, our free English course builds the basics that IELTS needs.

Listening: get the easy marks

For band 5 you need about 16 correct answers out of 40. (The exact number can change a little from test to test.) Part 1 is usually the easiest part: a conversation about something everyday, with answers like names, numbers and days.

• Read the questions first. Before each part, decide what type of answer you need: a number, a name, a day.
• Wait for corrections. "It's on Tuesday... sorry, no, Thursday." The answer comes after sorry or actually.
• Listen to number stress. four-TEEN (14) and FOR-ty (40) sound different.
• Spell carefully. A wrong spelling is a wrong answer.
• Keep going. If you miss one answer, leave it and listen for the next.

Practise with a listening practice test, and for gentler practice, the everyday conversations in our English listening practice, which you can play slowly with a transcript.

Reading: find the answer, don't read every word

For band 5 you need about 15 out of 40 in Academic Reading, or about 23 out of 40 in General Training Reading.

• Skim first. Read the title and the first sentence of each paragraph.
• Then scan. Look quickly for a name, a number or a key word from the question.
• Look for the same idea, not the same word. A fee in the text may be money in the question.
• Know True, False and Not Given. False means the text says the opposite. Not Given means the text doesn't say.
• Never leave a blank. There's no penalty for a wrong answer, so always guess.

Practise with our True/False/Not Given guide and a reading practice test. If you take General Training, try the General Training reading practice.

Writing: answer the question in clear, simple sentences

Band 5 writing usually answers the question only partly, with ideas that aren't fully explained, a small range of words and a lot of grammar mistakes. To reach 5 from 4.5, focus on the basics:

1. Answer every part of the question. If it asks for advantages and disadvantages, write about both.
2. Reach the word count. At least 150 words for Task 1 and 250 for Task 2. Short answers lose marks.
3. Use paragraphs. Four paragraphs for Task 2: introduction, two body paragraphs, conclusion.
4. One idea, one reason, one example in each body paragraph.
5. Write simple sentences you can control. A clear short sentence is better than a long sentence with many mistakes.
6. Check the basics: he works, went, a/an, plurals, and full stops.
7. Task 1: in Academic, write one overview sentence about the main changes. In General Training, write about all three bullet points.

Write one essay a week, check it with our IELTS writing checker, and fix your most common mistake. More tasks: IELTS writing practice.

Speaking: keep talking, and say why

• Don't give one-word answers. Answer, then add a reason with because and an example with for example.
• Use the right tense. What do you usually do? → present. What did you do? → past.
• Ask if you don't understand. "Sorry, could you say that again, please?" is fine in Part 1.
• If you forget a word, explain it. "It's a thing you use to..." is better than stopping.
• Speak clearly, not fast. Your accent is fine. Being easy to understand matters.

Try our IELTS speaking practice and the speaking mock test.

Common mistakes at this level

• Writing fewer than 150 or 250 words.
• Answering only one part of a two-part question.
• One-word answers in Speaking.
• Leaving blanks in Listening and Reading instead of guessing.
• Missing -s endings (she work), past tense (yesterday I go) and plurals.
• Learning long memorised sentences that don't fit the question.

A simple plan to reach band 5

For a version with daily sessions, practice sets and weekly checks, follow the IELTS band 5 study plan.

Try 6 questions at this level

Next step: when you're scoring a steady 5 in every skill and you want a higher band, move on to how to get band 6. For full tests, see our free IELTS practice tests, and for how scores work, IELTS band scores explained.

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