IELTS EOR and jagged profiles explained
We were recently contacted by someone who had got L 8.5, S 7.5, R 7.5 and W 6 and they were asking about going for EOR (Enquiry of Results).
What is EOR?
This is where you think your score is too low and you can have your writing or speaking checked again. They were asking about getting their writing checked as they thought they had done much better than Band 6.0, and were asking for our advice.
In this case, we recommended going for it. Read on to find out why.
What is a jagged profile?
A jagged profile is when there is a big difference in the listening/reading score and speaking/writing score.
Something you need to keep in mind here is that if your writing and listening scores have a big difference, EOR is not worth it. EOR is about your productive skills (speaking and writing). You cannot have your listening/reading score rechecked as there is only a right/wrong answer.
With speaking and writing though, they are checked by humans and there is always 0.5 room for error.
When not to go for EOR.
Now for the important part. If there is a difference of 2 bands between your speaking and writing (for example Speaking Band 8 and Writing Band 6) then your speaking score will have already been checked. Going for EOR is a waste of money. In this case, you have probably done something wrong and not hit the writing criteria. There are lots of reasons that this may have happened and you need professional help from IELTS examiners. Do a writing with us and we will be able to show you exactly what the problem is.
Why we recommended to go for EOR.
However, in the case of the member of our Facebook group, there is only a 1.5 difference. In this case, it will not have been double-checked and this is why we have recommended that they go for EOR.
If you are not sure about anything when it comes to EOR, please get in touch. The last thing we want is for you to waste your money on something that will not benefit you. You can contact use here on upmyielts.com or on facebook on on Instagram
You can find out more about jagged profiles on the IELTS website here https://www.ielts.org/for-researchers/test-statistics/test-performance
If you want your IELTS writing assessed by IELTS examiners so we can show you what you need to do to get higher marks, then you can order everything you need here.
Comments (42)
I didn’t know. Thank you
I got
Listening -6.5
Reading -7.5
Writing -6.5
Speaking – 5.5
I got speaking band score 7 in the previous exam. Should I go to EOR for speaking? I want at least 6 in speaking.
Hello
Apologies for the late reply. It may be worth going for EOR here. Your writing is one full band higher than your speaking and it’s usually the other way round. If you got Band 7 in a previous exam that was within the last year, then 5.5 is a significant drop and so EOR is probably worth a go.
We hope you get what you need.
Best wishes
The upmyielts team
Hello, i recently got
Listening: 9
Reading: 9
Speaking: 8
Writing: 6.5
Should i go to EOR for writing? Thanks
Hello Paul (We replied to you via email but we though this might also help others)
L-8.5
R-8
W-8
S-6.5
Should I
Go for eor for speaking?
Hello Rupal
Well, with your scores here, EOR might be worth trying. Your writing is much higher and so this suggests that it’s not a problem of accuracy or range of vocabulary. A couple of things though. Why do you think you did better that 6.5 in the exam? Had you been scoring over 6.5 in previous practice tests?
Th upmyielts team
Hello!
I took my 2nd IELTS. The first try was General and recently I had academic.
Here are my latest result
L – 9, R – 8, W – 6.5 and S – 8
On my previous test
L – 7.5 R -6.5 W-7 and S – 7
I wanted to file and EOR in W because I need a 7. Although Im torn about it. Please help if an EOR is worth my money or just take another test.
Hello Faith
Thank you for your comment. That is a big jump from your first to second test so well done. It may be worth going for EOR here as your speaking is 1.5 higher than your writing. If it were 2 bands higher, it would have been checked and we wouldn’t recommend it. However, in this case, it might be worth going for it.
If you go for it and don’t get your score changed, please so a writing exam with us. We will be able to tell you exactly what the problem is and what you need to ensure you get 7+. With your speaking at band 8, Band 7.0 in writing shouldn’t be a problem from you.
Please let us know how you get on if you go for EOR and contact us if you need anything.
Best wishes
The upmyielts team
Thank you. I am filing an EOR because of your useful insight. As I am filing it, it asked about the reason why I would want my writing to be rechecked. I’m not entirely sure what to write, Should I say I believe I deserve better? or will that sound too arrogant? It also asked for a file to be uploaded for evidence and I don’t have any clue what to put there.
Hello Faith. You can say something like “I feel my writing score should be higher”. That will suffice. It’s strange that they ask you why. For evidence, you could just upload a file showing your results.
Oh my God I can’t thank you enough. My Score was increased in writing from 6.5 to 7. This is my target score and thank you for encouraging me to apply for EOR. MAY GOD BLESS YOUR TEAM!
That is great news Faith. We are so happy that you have got what you need. You can now move on with an IELTS-Free life!!
Thank you for letting us know.
The upmyielts team
L-8.5
R-8.5
S-7.5
W-6.5
Overall – 8
Should I apply for EOR for the Writing Section ? Thanks !
We wouldn’t advise it based on these scores. Your writing is 1 band below your speaking and that is very common. Had you been scoring higher than that in your practice tests? If so, then maybe, but otherwise, probably not.
Please let us know how you get on if you go for EOR. If not, you know where we are if you need help with your IELTS writing.
Best wishes
The upmyielts team
Hello, my scores are:
L-8.5
R-8
S-8
W-6.5
I don’t know what happened. I was getting 7 or higher on my practice tests. Although I did get a bit nervous on the test day, I checked my essay at least 2 times thoroughly. Should I go for it?
Hello Anu
Thank you for your comment. That is quite a difference. The key to this is who told you you were getting 7 in your writing practice tests? If you can let us know, then we can advise you. Your speaking score is very high so that would assume your writing is of a similar level. Who was guiding you through your writing?
The upmyielts team
Hello my results are L=8.0, R= 8.5, S=8.0, W= 6.5
Overall= 8.0 . I need 7.0 in all parts should I go for a remark?
Hello Zed
Based on these scores, yes, EOR is an option. A 1.5 difference between your writing and speaking is very wide. What had you been getting in your writing practice beforehand? This is key to whether you should go for EOR.
However, it might be worth it here.
Please let us know how you get on.
Best wishes
The upmyielts team
My scores are Listening 8,Reading 7,Speaking 7 and Writing 6.Should I go for an EOR?
Hello Shiraz
Thank you for your comment. It depends really. What were you scoring before you did the exam? Did you have someone to assess your writing or did you prepare by yourself? The more information we have, the better we can advise you.
Best wishes
The upmyielts team
L=8.5,R=8.5,W=6.5,S=8.0,OverAll=8.0
I need 7 in all the criteria and overall of 7.5…
.. is EOR worth it?
Have to upload ielts results on the website by dec1 to get a plab date for next year…
What do I do?
Hello Shrey.
Based on these scores it is worth a shot. You don’t have time to do another exam if you need the results by 1st Dec.
As your speaking is considerably higher, you may be successful here. How did you prepare though? Were you scoring higher with your teacher in writing?
Please let us know how you get on.
The upmyielts team
Hello,
I checked my provisional IELTS test and my
Speaking score is 8.5 while writing is 6. I’m shocked by the difference as I was pretty confident my writing module went well. Should I for EOR?
Hello Amna
Apologies for the delay in replying to you. We wouldn’t recommend that you go for EOR here because your scores will almost certainly have been checked already. There is a 2.5 difference between your speaking and writing score and this is called a jagged profile. When there is a jagged profile, your scores are rechecked.
EOR will just be a waste of money. We really recommend that you do a full writing test with us so we can tell you exactly what the problem is.
You can purchase this service in the shop or send us a message at [email protected].
Best wishes
The upmyielts team
Hello dear admin,
I took my exam on 11th Feb, but they withheld my result and sent me an email asked for a written statement.
I’ve taken another exam a week before my 11th Feb exam, may it be the reason for not issuing my result yet? Or it is may because of jagged profile?
I did not send them any email as I do not know what was the reason.
Hello
Thank you for your comment. There are many reasons that results get withheld. It may be that they are checking yours because you have a jagged profile, although the process is generally quick. Another reason may be that there ahs been a security breach. Unfortunately, there are certain people that try and cheat in the exam.
What was the written statement asking for? And why haven’t you replied to their request?
Hello admin,
I recently did two IELTS tests in 9 days. The results are as following:
Test 1:
L – 8.5
R – 8
W- 6.5
S – 8.5
Test 2:
L – 8.5
R – 8
W – 7
S – 7
In the first test, I needed a 7 on writing (so I’m 0.5 points short). In the second test, I have my required scores for L,R,W, but because my speaking dropped with 1.5 points, I now lack the desired results on speaking by 1 point. A bit frustrating. Especially because I felt confident during my speaking exercise in both situations and the score dropped 1.5 points in 2 tests done in 9 days time. I feel a bit reluctant to go for a third time, as in my opinion there is some subjectivity here. My question is: Should I get an EOR. If so, should I get it for writing in the first test (where I need an increase of 0.5), Or for the second test in speaking (where I need an increase of 1 full point).
Hope you can give me some advice!
Kind regards,
M
Hello
Gosh, you are having a tough time there. So, with the first results, because there is a 2-band difference between your speaking and writing, this will already have been checked, so don-t go for EOR on these results.
Instead of EOR, why not ask for a breakdown of your scores? Because of EU legislation, both LDP and the British Council have to show you the actual scores you got. So, if you ask for a breakdown, you will know what you go in the writing exam for each of the criteria, and for the speaking too. This will give you a better idea whether EOR is a good idea or not, and will save you some money. It may take a couple of weeks though so if you are in a hurry, we’d recommend doing the exam again.
As for subjectivity, IELTS examiners are allowed to be 0.5 overall out. If they are monitored by a senior examiner and scored a candidate 7.0 overall but the senior examiner scored them as a Band 7.5 candidate, then that is fine in the eyes of IELTS. However, to go from native-like (8.5) to pretty good (7.0) is quite extreme. Did you feel that your performance was different?
There will be some subjectivity, we are human after all, but there is no exam that will be able to grade someone’s language accurately 100% of the time (AI is still awful for this). IELTS is about as good as it gets in terms of language tests. It’s a not a defence of what you have had to go through.
Please let us know how you get on.
Best wishes
The upmyielts team
Dear admin,
I am reaching you in regard to the situation which many of Ielts takers are facing with – how lucky we are in front of the re-mark. Until 13/12 I had been hoping for the best and it finally ended up.
The general computer-based exam via IDP which I had taken on November 17th was marked as:
L 8
R 8
S 7.5
W 6.5
Approximately 21/11 I discovered this blog and especially a jagged profile phenomenon; considering the re-mark, the main argument of mine was that the S part is just 1.0 point bigger than the W part – as explained, it might not be double-checked initially. Another reason for the EOR was my hope to get just a 0.5 point plus in the W part – I expected it would be within likelihood. As for me, it would really make sense.
When filling the EOR, I decided to tick not only the W part, but the S part as well – I was interested to estimate my chances. The EOR payment was done on November 23th and Ielts confirmed they started rechecking on November 27th.
Now we are approaching the most exhausting part of me waiting: even if Ielts promise to check works within 21 days after the relevant letter, I received the letter of completion just 3 days past! It was confusing to get it so quickly, however it has not been technically possible for me to log in to “bx.prod.ielts.com” until yesterday. And – a drumroll – the results have not been changed.
By the way, the re-mark published on “bx.prod.ielts.com” has a completion date on 13/12, so what was that IDP letter of the re-mark completion from 30/11 – I do not know.
Another defective thing in relation to my profile and IDP is that ”ielts.idp.com” is still showing two lines for November 17th as my exam – bottom line is for initial results and top line is malfunctioned:
We are not able to display your results at the moment.
This could be because:
• You were absent for one or more sections of the test
• You applied for a cancellation, transfer or refund for this test
If you believe one of the above points is incorrect, please contact your test centre team who can help you with your query.
Kind regards,
IDP IELTS
I am still thinking of what to do next – another try for the exam or “one skill” try somewhere within 60 days (from 17/11? from 13/12? Not sure). Similar cases are extremely upsetting and really demotivate.
Nevertheless, as a continuation for other Ielts takers: I consider this article as a precious and unique material to operate before the re-mark payment.
I thank admin for publishing this. Unfortunately, it did not succeed for my case, nevertheless, I believe it might work out for some cases and people reading would have more luck or knowledge not to get into such situation.
Best wishes,
Anton
I thank Admin for publishing this; it did not succeed for my case, unfortunately, nevertheless, I believe it might work out for some cases and people reading would have more luck or knowledge not to get into such conditions.
Thank you for sharing Anton. It is a very good idea to find out what is going on with your writing as it is a full band higher than your speaking. This suggetss that it is something that can be fixed, so get in touch and we can get an IELTS examiner to check your writing and show you exactly what you need to do.
https://upmyielts.com/contact/
Best wishes
The upmyielts team
Hello admin, I recently got
L: 8
R: 8.5
W: 6.5
S: 5.5
I used to get 6 in Speaking but it was 3 years ago. This is my second test and I think I did better this time than my first one.
Should I apply for EOR for the Speaking section?
Thanks!
Hello Anh
Thank you for your comment. So, judging from these results, probably not. Your writing score is also quite low and these scores are very common for people who self-study for IELTS. Have you continued studying in the 3 years since you got Band 6.0?
We would recommend that you do an IELTS speaking test to find out exactly what is going wrong here. You can book one here
https://upmyielts.com/product/ielts-speaking-test-online-examiner/
They will be able to tell you what you need to work on to get higher marks and explain why you are getting 5.5.
Good luck if you go for EOR.
The upmyielts team
Hello!
I have got overall 6.5 with L-8, R-6.5, W-6.5 and S-5.5, So should I go for the EOR? because an increase of 0.5 band in speaking can make my overall score to 7 which all I need.
Hello Imad
Sorry for the delay in replying to you. Looking at your scores there, we wouldn’t recommend EOR. What going for the one skill retake instead? You can then work on your speaking, for example, and then you should be able to get a higher score. If you want, you can do an IELTS speaking test with an IELTS examiner here and they will show you exactly what you need to do to get higher marks. It’s probably the easiest and quickest way.
We hope you get what you need whatever you decide to do.
Best wishes
The upmyielts team
Hi
I recently got IELTS score
Listening- 8.5
Reading-7.0
Speaking-8.0
Writing-6.5
I want 7 in each, should I go for EOR for writing only and how long does it take to get the results back?
PLEASE LET ME KNOW ASAP.
Hello Chia
That is a big gap between your speaking and writing. It might be worth going for EOR here as the gap is so big. Before we can recommend you to go for EOR, a couple of questions.
How did you prepare? Did you do any speaking practice beforehand? Were you getting higher scores in your practice speaking tests? Do you use spoken English regularly?
One way to find out for sure is to book a speaking test with an IELTS examiner here so they can see whether your speaking is a higher band.
We look forward to your reply
Best wishes
The upmyielts team
R: 9
L: 8.5
W: 7
S: 6.5
Should I go for EOR? I feel like I should get 7 in S as I’m currently working in an international office and dealing with expat on a daily basis. I also need 7 in S to pass the english skill requirements on several grads program. Some have said that my scores are kinda jagged, but the place I took the test is notoriously “cruel” in giving the S score.
TIA
Hello
Thank you for the comment. So, based on these scores, we wouldn’t recommend EOR. Your production skills (Your speaking and writing scores) are almost identical. This is not jagged, although usually the scores are the other way round.
How did you practice for the speaking exam? Did you have a teacher? If so, did they tell you that you were ready? The place that you took the test should be scoring in exactly the same way as everywhere else in the world so it is a bit worrying to hear that it has a reputation.
If you want to do a speaking test with an IELTS speaking examiner who will give you your scores and explain exactly what you need to do to get higher marks, then get in touch.
Best wishes
The upmyielts team
L-9
R-6
W-7
S-6.5
i need a 7 on S to meet my required score. do i have a good chance?
Hello Kibby
Based on these scores, probably not. Your speaking and writing are very similar. If your writing were Band 8.0 and your speaking Band 6,5, then it would be worth going for EOR. How did you prepare? Did you have a teacher? If so, did they tell you that you were ready and regularly scoring Band 7? It also depends on how you prepared for the test.
We hope you get what you need if you decide to go for EOR and if you want to do a speaking test with an IELTS speaking examiner, you can get in touch and we can organise one.
Best wishes
The upmyielts team