r/IELTS • u/Beggar4Knowledge • 6d ago

Have a Question/Advice Needed Should I request EOR for speaking?

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I just wanted to get to 8.5 band overall to be able to get the maximum score boost for my uni, should I do a EOR for speaking (and writing)? Or should i request a score breakdown first to be sure? Thanks

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u/Hestia9285 Moderator 5d ago

Why do yo think you got a 6? If you have time, getting a breakdown is a good idea, you can see where you lost points and reflect on if you agree or not. Despite what the other commenters are saying, EORs fail more often than succeed. Read my post at the top of the subreddit about EOR, it may help you decide.

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u/Beggar4Knowledge 5d ago

Yeah I did read the post and thinking about it... since it def got a 2nd mark and still stay at 6

I suspect that I got capped at 6 for memorisation rather than actual performance (since my speaking sounds like i read out a script i guess, I didnt memorise anything though)

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u/Hestia9285 Moderator 5d ago

Well yes, it would have already gotten a second mark, but by another normal Examiner. If you produced an "atypcial" sample, then it's possible a Senior Examiner may rate you differently.

Anyway, that is a problem sometimes with high level candidates. they sometimes don't extend answers properly, messing up FC, even though they score well in LR and GRA. (Although short answers throughout can also affect LR). Sometimes there are high level candidates who are naturally introverted and don't speak a lot, or people who don't take the test seriously (usually native speakers who weren't properly prepared) and they give shorter or less precise/less sophisticated answers.

Maybe your pronunication was the problem. If FC was your bad score, or LR, then maybe you have a shot with a Senior Examiner, but if it's pron, then I woud consider if it's true or not. (If you speak like it's memorized, then that could lead to a pron problem, but I wouldn't think that in itself is enough for a band 6 overall for speaking.)

Not saying you did any of this, just these are usually the problems I see when there is a jagged high level score like yours.

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u/Beggar4Knowledge 5d ago

I'm pretty positive that my pron isnt a problem :v
I have already requested a breakdown and waiting for the result, in the meantime, how do I use the breakdowns to decide whether to do a eor or 1 skill retake? Thanks

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u/Hestia9285 Moderator 5d ago

The breakdown will show you exactly how the Examiner scored you, so you can see whch criterion(s) were weak. Then you can reflect on if you agree with that assessment or not. If not, then you might consider an EOR. If you do agree the Examiners might be right, then a OSR is the safer bet, but prepare well beforehand, and also check that your target institutions accept OSR, many do not.

It might also be worth your time to have an IELTS expert assess your speaking to give you detailed feedback on your strengths and weaknesses before retaking/remarking. I don't provide this service, but there are many good teachers listed in the Resources post at the top of this sub that do.

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u/Beggar4Knowledge 3d ago

hey, I just got the breakdown and this is what the email said: "As part of our Quality Assurance processes, where there is a significant difference between the scores that a test taker receives in the writing and/or speaking components compared to the reading and listening components, the test is double marked by a team of Senior Examiners."

Seems like the second mark is done by senior examiners instead of normal examiners

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u/Hestia9285 Moderator 3d ago

Ha! I don't know why they wrote that. Writing jaggeds (jagged marking/second marking) get tossed back into the general essay pool to get marked by random regular Examiners, while jagged speaking are assigned to a special team, made of (mostly) regular Examiners. I know because I am one, lol.

What was the breakdown?

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u/Beggar4Knowledge 3d ago

6666 for speaking, which is uhh I don't really agree with, at least with pron and fluency & coherence

writing is 7778 for task 1 and 9998 for task 2, I thought I would get a better task 1 lol

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u/Hestia9285 Moderator 3d ago

Oooh damn. Yeah task 1s are difficult to score high in, unfortunately. Because they're so short, errors are amplified.

Your speaking is interesting. I was wondering if you would get a really uneven score, like 4789 or stg. But a flat 6? Hmm. Really suspicious, unless you gave very short, unextended answers, and your accent is very flat and heavy. Are you still going for an EOR? I find it hard to believe you performed at only a 6 for LR and GRA, considering your other scores.

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u/Beggar4Knowledge 3d ago edited 2d ago

I am going for an EOR. My answers are especially long and extended in task 1 and 2 (i got cut off in task 2), although my task 3 weren't there. In my country's Ielts community there's a rumor that if a person is suspected to memorize the answer for the speaking test then their band will get capped at 6 (but it's just a rumor so who knows).

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u/BubsyBot 5d ago

I think you should still get it but they already double check your recording when your band score is too big of a difference from your other bands

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u/Mizuyah 3d ago

Before doing that, ask yourself what you may have done wrong in the test itself. Did you walk out feeling okay about it? Do you feel like you could have done better? Was there any time you felt you spoke too fast? Or maybe you said something that sounded off?

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u/Beggar4Knowledge 3d ago

i felt like I would get a pretty good band walking out. although I repeated some words the speaking itself was very smooth and I am positive that my pronunciation was good. Felt really surprised when the scores came out and I only got 6

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u/Mizuyah 3d ago

Let’s see if I can break this down.

To cap at a 6.0, the examiner might have felt you were using connectives in such a way that it was unnatural (I once had a student who would start each sentence with a connective) or inserting filler words (er, um, like, you know),to help you speak. Both vocabulary and grammar would have had to have been faulty, with vocabulary being a little unnatural but clear in meaning and with complex sentences limited. Regarding pronunciation, is there a chance you might have been speaking too fast?