Bands
The right target is the one your application actually requires. How to find it, and how to read the small print.
Most candidates aim at a number they heard rather than the number they need. That costs money in two directions: preparing far beyond the requirement, or booking a test you cannot pass yet.
There is no single answer to what score you need. There is an answer for your course, your employer or your visa route, and it is usually published.
The requirement
Read all five parts, not just the headline number.
The headline figure, and the one everyone quotes. It is an average of the four skills, rounded to the nearest half band.
Almost every requirement also sets a floor per skill. Overall 6.5 with no band below 6.0 is a different target from overall 6.5, and it is the one that catches people out.
Academic or General Training. A result in the wrong module does not satisfy the requirement, whatever the number.
Some visa routes require a version taken at an approved centre for that purpose. A standard result is not accepted in its place.
Results are valid for two years, but some organisations set a shorter window of their own. Check the date they will accept from.
Method
Six steps that take an afternoon and save months.
Not a forum, not an agent, not a listicle. The published requirement on their admissions or visa page is the only version that counts.
Note the overall and the per skill floor together. Preparing for the overall alone is how candidates end up half a band short in writing and failing on a technicality.
If they do, a single weak skill is a much smaller problem, and it changes how you prepare.
Aim half a band above the requirement. Test day performance varies, and a target set exactly at the requirement leaves no room for a bad morning.
The per skill minimum is usually decided by writing. That is where preparation time earns most for most candidates.
Requirements change between intakes. Confirm the number close to your application date rather than relying on notes you took months ago.
There is no general answer. A good score is one that meets the requirement of the organisation you are applying to, in the right module, with the per skill minimums met.
Not usually. Most requirements set both, and failing a single per skill minimum can invalidate an otherwise sufficient overall band.
It is the average of the four skill scores, rounded to the nearest whole or half band.
Half a band above is sensible. It absorbs a weaker paper on the day without costing you the application.
On the university, regulator or immigration website itself. Requirements differ by course and by visa route, so use the exact page for your application.
Full membership
Everything on this site is free, and it will take you a long way. What it cannot do is tell you whether your writing and speaking are where they need to be.
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