7 mistakes that keep you at band 6.5 in Speaking

Most candidates at band 6.5 do not lack vocabulary or grammar. They lose marks because of a small set of habits that examiners hear again and again: memorised answers, short replies, repeated fillers, a single tense, flat delivery, answers that avoid the question and idioms used without care. Each habit is easy to fix once you can hear it in your own recordings. Below are seven of them, with what they sound like, why they cost marks and what to do instead.

Before you start, listen to a complete answer at the level you are aiming for. Our band 8 speaking test on hometown and travel is a useful place to hear how a fuller answer develops.

1. Memorised answers

What it sounds like: The candidate starts with a polished paragraph that has little to do with the question. Asked "Do you prefer reading books or watching films?", the answer is a speech about the value of education, prepared for a different question.

Why it costs marks: The examiner is listening for whether you answer the question you were asked. A memorised speech often contains language you cannot use flexibly, so it breaks down when the examiner asks a follow-up. Part 3 questions go deeper and cannot be prepared word for word.

The fix: Prepare ideas, not sentences. For each common topic, note three points, one example for each and one useful phrase. Then answer new questions aloud, using the same ideas in a different order each time.

2. Answers that stop too early

What it sounds like: "Do you like cooking?" "Yes, I do." Or "I like football." Then silence.

Why it costs marks: A short answer gives the examiner very little to assess, and you lose the chance to show range in vocabulary and grammar. In Part 1, the examiner usually expects a reason or an example after the answer.

The fix: Use a three-step pattern: answer, reason, example. "Yes, I do. I cook most evenings because it helps me relax after work. Last week I made a vegetable curry for my whole family."

3. Overusing fillers

What it sounds like: "Well, um, I think, like, it's basically, you know, a good place to live."

Why it costs marks: Fluency and Coherence is about how easily and naturally you speak. A short pause to think is normal and does not count against you. Repeating the same filler in every sentence makes speech sound hesitant and interrupts the flow.

The fix: Replace fillers with a silent pause. If you need time, use one thinking phrase, such as "That is an interesting question", and then answer. Record a two-minute answer and count how often you say "um", "like" or "you know".

4. Using only one tense

What it sounds like: Asked about a holiday, the candidate says: "I go to Thailand last year. It is very beautiful. I stay in a hotel near the beach and I swim every day."

Why it costs marks: Grammatical Range and Accuracy rewards accurate use of a range of structures and tenses. A candidate who uses only the present simple cannot reach the higher bands, and mixing up past forms creates errors in the same answer.

The fix: Practise three time frames. Use the present for habits and facts, the past simple and past continuous for stories, and the future or conditional for plans and opinions about change. The corrected version: "I went to Thailand last year. We had been planning the trip for months, so when we finally arrived, I was amazed by the beaches. I stayed in a small hotel and swam every morning."

5. Flat intonation

What it sounds like: Every word has the same stress and pitch. The answer sounds like someone reading a list aloud, even when the content is interesting.

Why it costs marks: Pronunciation covers stress, rhythm and intonation, not only individual sounds. Flat delivery makes it harder for the examiner to follow the main points, and it also gives the impression of a memorised answer.

The fix: Stress the content words: nouns, main verbs, adjectives and adverbs. Keep small words such as "the", "of" and "to" lighter. Compare "I really enjoy cooking with fresh ingredients" with a version where every word has equal weight. Record yourself and check that your pitch moves, especially on the last word of a sentence.

6. Avoiding the question

What it sounds like: Asked "Do you think children should learn a foreign language at school?", the candidate says: "My nephew is learning English at a very good school in my city. He is seven and he loves it."

Why it costs marks: Coherence depends on the answer addressing the question. In Part 3, the examiner wants to hear your reasoning and your view. A story about someone else does not show that.

The fix: Answer in the first sentence: "Yes, I think they should, mainly because language learning is easier at a young age." Then give one reason and one example. If you are not sure, a clear view with a simple reason is better than an unrelated story.

7. Misusing idioms

What it sounds like: "My brother is very cheap. He spends money like water." The idiom means spending a lot, so it contradicts the first sentence.

Why it costs marks: Lexical Resource rewards precise and natural vocabulary. An idiom used with the wrong meaning or in the wrong context suggests the candidate has learned phrases without understanding them. Two or three idioms in one answer also sound forced.

The fix: Use at most one idiom in an answer, and only when you know its meaning, its register and a typical example. "Under the weather" means slightly ill, for example. For a band 7 target, precise everyday vocabulary used accurately scores better than idioms used imperfectly.

Check your own habits

Record three answers this week: one Part 1, one Part 2 and one Part 3. Listen to them with the questions below.

Fix one habit per week rather than all seven at once, and check your progress with a fresh recording. For a plain-language version of what each band requires, read the speaking band descriptors. For Part 2 structure, see how to speak for two minutes. The band 7 speaking tips show how to build on these fixes once the basic habits are under control.

Timed practice matters as much as knowing the fixes. IELTS A offers practice tests for all four skills and a live AI examiner for speaking, so you can work on these habits under test conditions.