IELTS EOR – Should I apply?

Deciding whether to go for an IELTS EOR or not can be a big decision because it costs nearly as much money as doing the test again.

In this lesson, I’ll help you make an educated decision about whether you should or shouldn’t apply for one.

The only reason not to go for an IELTS EOR is if you're worried about wasting money.

Contents:

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What is an IELTS EOR?

An IELTS EOR, which stands for Enquiry on Results, is also referred to as an IELTS remark, an IELTS recheck, or an IELTS revaluation.

You can apply for an IELTS EOR for Reading, Writing, Listening and/or Speaking during the initial six weeks after receiving your scores.

An IELTS EOR is the application process where an IELTS candidate pays a fee for their test centre to check the test again.

This is a useful option if your IELTS scores are too low because they might increase after they have been rechecked.

If you get IELTS recheck your test, there is a chance that your score will increase.

Also, if your scores increase, the EOR fee will be refunded.

However, if your scores don’t increase, you’ll have lost the money.

Once you’ve applied for an IELTS EOR, you can expect to get the results within 4 weeks.

Should I apply for an IELTS EOR?

You should only apply for an IELTS EOR if you have a good reason to believe that your score should have been higher.

In the rest of this lesson, we will look at the various things you need to consider before making a final decision.

There are some special considerations to make before applying for an IELTS EOR.

Your Previous IELTS Scores

If you got a higher score on a previous IELTS test, that’s a good indication that you deserve a higher score this time.

For example, if you got a band score of 7.5 this time but got an 8.0 in your previous attempt, this shows that you have the ability to do better.

Your Practice IELTS Tests

You can also use your performance on practice tests to help you decide if an IELTS EOR is a good decision or not.

Practice Reading and Listening Tests

For IELTS Reading and Listening, if you were consistently getting a higher score in your practice tests, you could indicate that an IELTS EOR is advisable.

However, this only applies if you were using authentic practice tests published by Cambridge such as the one in this image.

As the EOR IELTS fee is quite high, you can only consider any reading and listening scores you got from tests published by IELTS.

Also, you need to have completed these practice tests under exam conditions.

Practice Speaking and Writing Tests

Firstly, keep in mind that the results of your practice Speaking and Writing tests are only reliable if an IELTS expert administered them.

If the IELTS expert indicated that you’re capable of higher scores, this is something to consider when deciding if you’ll submit in IELTS EOR.

You can join my free Live Feedback Lessons for my input on this.

Your Test Day Performance

Next, think about any difficulties you had on test day that might explain your low score.

If you can think of any logical reasons to explain your score, that means that you shouldn’t apply for an IELTS EOR.

Applying for an EOR in IELTS could mean that you don't need to do the test again.

For example, in Reading, maybe you didn’t understand parts of the text, or you might have run out of time before you finished all the questions.

In Listening, perhaps you lost your place in the audio or couldn’t understand one of the speakers.

For Speaking, common issues are the topic for parts 2 and 3 being unfamiliar, or your fluency might have suffered because you were nervous.

If you’re doing Academic IELTS, your Writing Task 1 answer might have had an inaccurate overview or inaccurate details.

If you’re doing General IELTS, your Writing Task 1 answer might have had the incorrect tone.

Don't apply for an IELTS EOR if you can think of some good reasons to indicate why you got a low score.

For Writing Task 2, maybe you didn’t understand the question clearly, or there was a problem with your ideas or development.

Obviously, you may have experienced different issues, so consider what happened on your test day to help decide if you should apply for IELTS EOR.

Also, Reading and Listening scores are less likely to increase than Writing and Speaking scores because the process of evaluating them is less complicated.

I have seen Reading and Listening scores increase, just not as often as Writing and Speaking scores.

What now?

If you think you should go for an EOR, log into the IELTS portal where you got your IELTS results and apply from there.

However, don’t go for an IELTS EOR because you wanted a higher score; only do it if you’re very confident that your score should have been higher.

If you’re not going to apply for an IELTS EOR, you’ll need to do the test again, and I’d recommend completing my Guide to Preparing for IELTS at Home next.