IELTS Speaking, Fluency and Coherence: what band 7 sounds like
The first Speaking criterion is misread as speaking fast. Two Part 3 answers to one question, hesitations marked, show the difference between a 6 and a 7.
Band descriptorsSpeakingUpdated 7 min read
Fluency and Coherence is the first of the four Speaking criteria and the one candidates most often misunderstand, because the word "fluency" suggests speed. The descriptors do not mention speed once. They are about whether you keep going, whether the examiner can follow you, and, crucially, why you pause. Two candidates who pause for the same number of seconds can be a band apart, depending on what the pause is for.
The other three criteria (Lexical Resource, Grammatical Range and Accuracy, Pronunciation) are graded on their own scales and averaged with this one; a worked Part 2 answer graded on all four is in describe a person, band 6 against 7.5. This article takes one criterion and goes deep.
What the descriptors say, in plain words
The public band descriptors set out the criterion at every band. Here is what the bands that matter to most candidates ask for, paraphrased:
| Band | Fluency and Coherence, in plain words |
|---|---|
| 5 | You keep the speech going, but by repeating yourself, correcting yourself and slowing down. Simple things come out fluently; anything complex causes the fluency to break. You lean on a few connectives and overuse them. |
| 6 | You are willing to speak at length, but coherence is lost at times through repetition, self-correction or hesitation. You use a range of connectives and discourse markers, not always appropriately. |
| 7 | You speak at length without noticeable effort or loss of coherence. There may be some hesitation to search for language, and some repetition or self-correction. You use a range of connectives and discourse markers with some flexibility. |
| 8 | You speak fluently with only occasional repetition or self-correction. Hesitation is usually to think about content, and only rarely to search for language. Topics are developed coherently and appropriately. |
Read 7 and 8 again and notice what moves between them: not the number of pauses, but their cause. At 7 the examiner accepts "some language-related hesitation". At 8 the hesitation is "content-related". The examiner is listening to your pauses and classifying them.
Two answers to one Part 3 question
The question, from a Part 3 discussion about work:
Do you think people will work fewer hours in the future?
Both answers are transcribed with pauses marked. A short pause is shown as (.) and a longer one as (..). Restarts and repetitions are left in, because they are what the examiner hears.
Candidate one
Yes, I think so. Because (.) nowadays, many people, they work (..) they are working very long hours, and (.) it's not good for their health. So in the future, I think the (..) the government will make (.) will make some rules, some laws, to (..) to reduce the working hours. And also, technology (.) technology can help people to work less, because many jobs (.) the computer can do it. So, yes, I think people will work (.) fewer hours in the future. But (..) maybe some people, they want to work more, because they want to (..) to earn more money. So it depends on the person.
Candidate two
Probably, though not for everyone. (.) In jobs where output can be measured, I'd expect hours to fall, because employers are already finding that a four-day week doesn't reduce what gets done, and once that's established it's hard to argue for the fifth day. (..) Where I'm less sure is in work that's paid by the hour, care work, hospitality, that sort of thing. Nobody's going to automate a care home, and the people doing those jobs often need the hours rather than wanting fewer of them. So I think the average will come down, (.) but it'll come down unevenly, and the people who get the shorter week first will be the ones who were already best off.
The grades on this criterion
| Candidate one | Candidate two | |
|---|---|---|
| Speaks at length | yes, willingly | yes |
| Pauses | eleven, most of them mid-phrase, several followed by a restart ("they work (..) they are working"; "will make (.) will make") | three, all at the boundary between ideas |
| Cause of the pauses | language: searching for the verb form, the noun ("some rules, some laws") | content: choosing the next point ("Where I'm less sure is...") |
| Repetition and self-correction | frequent; the answer is restarted four times | none |
| Connectives | "because", "so", "and also", "but", "so" again; correct but the same few, and "So" opens three sentences | "though", "because", "once that's established", "where I'm less sure", "so", "but": varied and placed where the argument turns |
| Coherence | the position is stated, then restated, then qualified; the two halves ("fewer hours" and "some people want more") are not connected | one position ("fewer, but unevenly") is stated, developed with a mechanism, qualified, and returned to |
| Fluency and Coherence | 6 | 7 to 8 |
Candidate one is not a 5. They are willing to speak at length, they do not run out, and the connectives are correct. The pauses are what cost the band: they come mid-phrase, they are followed by restarts, and the examiner can hear that each one is a search for language. That is the descriptor for 6, almost word for word: coherence lost at times through repetition, self-correction and hesitation.
Candidate two has three pauses, and a candidate who counted pauses would call that close to candidate one's rate per idea. The difference is that all three sit between ideas, and the speech either side of them runs without effort. There is no restart anywhere. The connectives are not more numerous; they are placed at the turns in the argument, which is what "flexibility" means. The reason this answer sits at the top of 7 rather than clearly at 8 is length: one more developed point, with the same control, would remove the doubt.
What candidate one should practise
Not speaking faster. Faster speech with the same restarts is a louder 6.
- Finish the phrase before you improve it. "Many people work long hours" is complete and correct. "Many people, they work (..) they are working" is the same sentence broken by an attempt to upgrade the tense mid-flight. Say the simple version to the end; upgrade it in the next sentence if you must.
- Move the pause to the idea boundary. Deciding what to say next is allowed to take a second. Do it at the end of a point, with the previous sentence finished, not in the middle of a noun phrase.
- Replace the second "so" with a turn. "Though", "where I'm less sure is", "the exception is": each announces a change of direction. "So" announces nothing except that you are still speaking.
- Connect the two halves of your position. Candidate one had a good qualification ("some people want to work more") and left it as an afterthought. Candidate two made the same qualification the point of the answer.
Record a Part 3 answer, mark every pause, and write next to each one whether it was for content or for language. The ratio is your band on this criterion, and it moves with practice that targets the language pauses specifically: shadowing, timed answers on the same question three times, and a graded transcript of your own recording, which tells you which pauses the examiner would have counted. The content side — always having a next point ready, so the pause stays a thinking pause — is covered in how to extend Part 3 answers without rambling.