What is 33 out of 40 in IELTS Reading?
Quick answer
IELTS.org lists 30 marks for Academic Reading band 7 and 35 for band 8, so 33 and 34 out of 40 fall between them. The indicative table the site's band calculator uses reads both as an estimated 7.5 in Academic. In General Training it reads 33 as 6.5 and 34 as 7.0.
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Part of The IELTS test, answered
Thirty-three and 34 sit in the middle of IELTS.org’s listed points for the top end of Reading, not on either of them, and General Training has an awkward edge here.
Between 30 and 35
For Academic, IELTS.org lists band 7 at 30 marks and band 8 at 35. A 33 is three above the first and two below the second, and a 34 is four above and one below. Nothing is published for a 7.5, so the official reading is “between band 7 and band 8”. In General Training the listed points are 30 for band 6 and 35 for band 7, so the same two scores are between those bands instead.
The estimate, and the edge at 34
The indicative table the site’s band score calculator uses gives 7.5 for both scores in Academic. For General Training it reads 33 as 6.5 and 34 as 7.0. Here the table and IELTS.org’s average disagree slightly: the published General Training average for band 7 is 35, yet the table calls 34 a 7.0. At the edge of a row, the band can land on the neighbour on a given test version. IELTS.org says: “The precise number of marks needed to achieve these band scores will vary slightly from test version to test version.” A General Training candidate on 34 should not plan around 7.0 as certain. For how people regard a 7.5, see is a 7.5 IELTS score easy.
The overall
One section of four, averaged and rounded to the nearest half band. A 7.5 in Reading is a strong contributor, and the calculator will show whether your overall reaches 7.5 or only 7.0.
What is left above
The next estimated row starts at 35, one mark above 34 and two above 33, and is the 35 to 36 page. The row beneath is 30 to 32.
Practising
The site’s Reading practice test is marked in the browser, with an indicative band from the same table.
What this means for your score
A candidate scores 34 of 40 in a timed Reading test. In Academic that is four marks above the band 7 point of 30 and one short of the band 8 point of 35, estimated at 7.5. In General Training the table reads 34 as 7.0, although IELTS.org's average for General Training band 7 is 35, so the result could land on 6.5 on a given test.
Frequently asked questions
Is 33 out of 40 a good Reading score?
As an estimate it is 7.5 in Academic, which is high. Whether it is enough depends on the requirement you are aiming at, which the university or authority sets.
Which table is the official one?
Only the points IELTS.org publishes, which are averages and vary slightly from one test version to another. A band for a single mark such as 33 or 34 comes from an indicative table and is an estimate.
How many marks for the next band?
The next indicative row, 35 to 36, reads as 8.0 in Academic, so 2 more than 33 or 1 more than 34. IELTS.org lists band 8 at 35 marks.
What is 33 to 34 out of 40 in General Training?
The indicative table reads 33 as 6.5 and 34 as 7.0. IELTS.org lists band 6 at 30 and band 7 at 35 for General Training, so 34 is the edge case: the table says 7.0 but the published average for band 7 is one mark higher.
Sources
- IELTS scoring in detail: band scores explained — IELTS.org
- IELTS Academic: Reading test format — IELTS.org
- IELTS General Training: Reading test format — IELTS.org
Last verified 11 Nov 2026
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