Understanding an IELTS 4.0 band score: Grammatical Range and Accuracy

This article will describe the features and common mistakes of a band 4 performance and will give you tips advice if you need to increase your score to a band 5.

Your grammar score is very important in the IELTS test, as it can impact your overall band score for the IELTS Speaking and Writing tests. Remember that there are four assessment criteria and each one is worth 25% of your overall marks.

When an examiner assesses your Speaking and Writing tests they look for what you can do, and also what you cannot do. These are the positive and negative features of your performance.

When assessing Grammatical Range and Accuracy, a band 4 test taker has the following features:

• they can use basic sentence structures

• they use a very limited range of sentence structures

• they rarely use complex structures

• they make frequent errors

• some errors may lead to misunderstanding

A band 4 user can use basic sentence structures. These are basic sentence forms with a subject, verb and object.

You can also use adjectives and adverbs to add meaning to the other words.

For example:

• "I live in Australia. I come from Nigeria."

• "I like reading crime novels. I like running, but I am a slow runner."

A basic sentence is usually a short sentence with a single idea. It has a complete idea and can stand alone independently.

We can join these basic sentences with simple linkers to form a compound sentence.

• The most common simple linkers are: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so.

• Remember FANBOYS, and you will easily remember the different linkers that join two simple sentences.

• Notice that we add a comma (,) before the linker.

For example:

• "I live in Australia, but I come from Nigeria."

A complex sentence contains a subordinate clause.

This is a dependent clause that refers to the subject (who, which), or the time (since), or the reason (because), of the independent clause.

A complex sentence is usually longer than a basic simple sentence as it has two or more ideas.

When we use a complex sentence, we usually use a subordinate conjunction to link the sentences, for example: when, where, if, because, before.

1. "I left my country because I wanted to live with my family in Australia."

2. "My mother, who lives in Australia, asked me to visit her."

3. "If I complete my course, I will look for a new job."

From the examples above, we have used three different types of complex sentence structures.

• The first one is an adverb clause, describing the reason why you left your country.

• The second one is a relative clause, which gives more information about where your mother lives.

• The third example is a conditional clause, describing what you might do if you complete your course.

Band 4 users relies usually use simple structures and rarely use complex structures.

A band 4 user makes a lot of grammatical errors and this sometimes makes it difficult for the examiner to understand what is said. If you have experienced talking to native speakers and they ask you to repeat what you are saying, this may be because they don't understand what you are trying to say. Grammatical errors can change the meaning of your sentence and can cause confusion.

The most common grammatical mistakes are:

Subject/verb agreement – I am, you are, he/she is, they are

• Right: I want to live in Australia.

• Wrong: I wants to live in Australia.

Tense choice – Present tense, past tense, present perfect

• Right: I went to a movie yesterday.

• Wrong: I go to a movie yesterday.

Article use – a/an/the or the zero article

• Right: I like living in Australia.

• Wrong: I like living in the Australia.

Prepositions – on/at/to/under/over/for

• Right: I need to go to the bank

• Wrong: I need to go at the bank

If the examiner misunderstands what you say and write because of these mistakes, it will affect how you will be assessed.

If you need to move from a band 4 to a band 5, here are some simple tips you can work on to increase your band score.

A band 5 user will attempt to use a wider range of grammatical structures using both simple and complex structures. There are still errors made, but the examiner can generally understand what is said.

Follow these tips to show the examiner you can use a range of structures and can communicate your ideas more clearly:

1. Make sure your simple sentences are correct.

2. Link simple sentences with coordinating conjunctions.

3. Use complex sentences linked with subordinating conjunctions.

4. Attempt a variety of structures (simple tenses, perfect tenses, conditionals, relative clauses.)

5. Be aware of your errors and learn how to correct them.

6. Practise speaking about yourself, where you come from, and what you do.

7. Practise writing sentences using commas and full stops correctly.

8. Practise using longer sentences by adding reasons why you like something, or adding adjectives and adverbs to make your description more interesting.

9. Learn how to use the subordinating conjunctions in this table.

In this video, we will discuss the difference between a Band 4 and a Band 5 performance with a focus on Grammatical Range and Accuracy, one of the assessment criteria. ⁣

If you're aiming for a band 4, remember to practice your basic sentence structures to be more confident on test day.

But if you're aiming to increase your IELTS score from a band 4 to a band 5, you can show the examiner that you can use simple and complex structures and be aware of the usual grammar mistakes you make. It is possible to improve your grammatical score by following the tips in this article and by accessing other IELTS Preparation Materials.

Ready to book your IELTS test? Find a test centre near you.

Book your IELTS test now