Exam
You can ask for your test to be remarked. How it works, what it costs you, and when it is worth doing.
An Enquiry on Results, usually shortened to EOR, is a remark. A senior examiner marks the paper again, independently of the original marking. You can request it for one skill or for all four.
It is not an appeal and there is no arguing your case. Nobody reads an explanation of why you deserved more. The script is simply marked again by someone else.
The rules
Five things to know before you pay.
The request has to be made within six weeks of your test date. After that the option closes.
There is a fee up front. If any band score changes as a result of the remark, the fee is refunded in full. If nothing changes, you keep the result and lose the fee.
A remark is a fresh mark, not a search for extra marks. It can go up, stay the same, or go down, and the new score stands.
Remarking is done by senior examiners and is not fast. If you have a deadline in a fortnight, this is usually the wrong tool.
You can enquire on one skill or all four. Enquiring on all four when only writing is in doubt exposes three solid scores to a fresh judgement for no reason.
Method
Which one fits your situation.
This is where an EOR is most often worth it. Writing and speaking involve examiner judgement, so a second opinion can genuinely differ.
Rarely worth it. Those papers are marked against an answer key, so there is very little room for a different view.
A remark will not move you a full band. Prepare and sit again.
One Skill Retake gives you a new result in days rather than weeks, if your skill and timing qualify.
A result well below a stable pattern of practice scores is the strongest case for a remark, particularly in writing.
Look at how the score was reached rather than the number. If you finished the essay in a rush and left it underlength, a remark will confirm what you already know.
Yes. The remark replaces the original result, whether it is higher, lower or the same.
Weeks rather than days. If you are close to a deadline, plan on the assumption that it will not arrive in time.
Yes, in full, if any band score changes. If no score changes, the fee is not refunded.
No. There is no submission to write. A senior examiner simply marks the script again.
A remark suits a writing or speaking score that looks out of line with your usual standard. A retake suits a skill you can genuinely improve, and it is faster.
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