Scoring & Fairness

    Understanding how Speakonaut evaluates your practice attempts

    How Speakonaut Scores Your Practice

    Speakonaut uses advanced AI models trained on official exam criteria to evaluate your speaking and writing responses. Our scoring system analyzes multiple aspects of your performance—fluency, vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, and coherence—just like human examiners do.

    Why Score Ranges?

    Instead of a single number, we show you a score range (e.g., 6.0–7.0) because automated scoring—like human scoring—has inherent variability. The range reflects realistic uncertainty and helps you set appropriate expectations.

    Confidence Indicators

    Our confidence levels (low, medium, high) indicate how certain the AI is about its assessment. Higher confidence typically comes from clear, well-structured responses. Lower confidence may suggest inconsistent performance or edge cases.

    IELTSMarking Criteria

    Speaking

    What examiners look for in IELTS Speaking

    You are graded in real time across four equally weighted criteria. Examiners want natural, clear communication under pressure—not memorised speeches.

    • •Fluency & coherence – speak at a natural pace, avoid long pauses, and connect ideas logically with linking words.
    • •Lexical resource – use topic-appropriate vocabulary, paraphrase instead of repeating the same basic words, and choose collocations that sound natural.
    • •Grammatical range & accuracy – mix simple and complex sentences (conditionals, relative clauses, contrast clauses) with mostly accurate tenses and word forms.
    • •Pronunciation – produce clear sounds, word stress and sentence stress so that every sentence is easy to follow without strain.

    Writing

    What examiners look for in IELTS Writing

    Both tasks are graded using four criteria. Task 2 carries double weight, so essay quality strongly influences your final band.

    • •Task achievement (Task 1) / Task response (Task 2) – answer every part of the question clearly and fully, not just part of it.
    • •Coherence & cohesion – organise information into logical paragraphs with clear progression and appropriate linking devices.
    • •Lexical resource – use a wide but accurate range of vocabulary, including topic-specific words and natural collocations.
    • •Grammatical range & accuracy – demonstrate different sentence types and mostly accurate grammar, spelling and punctuation.

    Reading

    What examiners look for in IELTS Reading

    Reading is scored objectively. The challenge is understanding information quickly and accurately across multiple texts and question types.

    • •Locate and match information correctly, especially in matching headings, information, features and sentence endings.
    • •Distinguish carefully between facts, opinions and the writer's claims, especially in True/False/Not Given and Yes/No/Not Given questions.
    • •Use skimming to find the main idea of a paragraph and scanning to find specific details without reading every word slowly.
    • •Handle paraphrasing: recognise that different words or structures can express the same meaning in the text and the question.

    Listening

    What examiners look for in IELTS Listening

    Listening is also objectively scored. You are tested on accurate understanding while dealing with accents, pace and distractions.

    • •Pick out the exact information needed for each question while ignoring extra or confusing detail in the recording.
    • •Follow the context of conversations, monologues and lectures, including changes in topic, attitude and purpose.
    • •Recognise paraphrased language: the recording often uses different words from the question paper.
    • •Write answers in the correct format, spelling and number of words as specified in the instructions for each section.

    PTEMarking Criteria

    Speaking

    What PTE looks for in Speaking (Official 3-Trait System)

    PTE Speaking is scored by AI on ONLY 3 traits: Content, Pronunciation (0-5), and Oral Fluency (0-5). Grammar and Vocabulary are NOT scored separately.

    • •Content – include all key information from the prompt, text or image. If Content=0, the TOTAL SCORE IS 0.
    • •Pronunciation (0-5) – produce sounds and stress patterns that are easy for an international listener to understand.
    • •Oral Fluency (0-5) – speak smoothly at a steady pace with minimal hesitations, false starts or long pauses.
    • •GATING: If Content=0 (irrelevant/memorized), no points are awarded for Pronunciation or Oral Fluency.

    Writing

    What PTE looks for in Writing (Official Trait System)

    PTE Essay uses 7 traits. Summarize Written Text uses 4 traits. CRITICAL: If Content=0 OR Form=0, the TOTAL SCORE IS 0.

    • •Content – fully address the task with relevant, well-chosen ideas and examples. Off-topic = 0.
    • •Form – respect word limits exactly. Essay: 200-300 words optimal. SWT: ONE sentence, 5-75 words.
    • •Grammar & Vocabulary – use a range of structures and words accurately.
    • •GATING: If Content=0 OR Form=0 → Total score becomes 0 (no other traits scored).

    Reading

    What PTE looks for in Reading

    PTE Reading is automatically scored. Some tasks have NEGATIVE MARKING.

    • •Multiple Choice Multiple Answers: +1 correct, -1 incorrect, minimum score 0
    • •Reorder Paragraph: +1 per correctly ordered adjacent pair
    • •Fill in the Blanks: +1 per correct blank, no negative marking
    • •Accuracy – select correct options based on meaning, not just matching words

    Listening

    What PTE looks for in Listening

    PTE Listening includes integrated tasks. Some have NEGATIVE MARKING, others don't.

    • •Highlight Incorrect Words: +1 correct identification, -1 incorrect, minimum 0
    • •Write from Dictation: +1 per correct word spelled correctly, NO negative marking
    • •Multiple Choice Multiple Answers: +1 correct, -1 incorrect, minimum 0
    • •Summarize Spoken Text: Form gating applies (50-70 words optimal)

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