You know you received a 6.5 for writing, but you don’t know why. Was it a matter of lexis? Did you stray from the topic? Or was Task 1 the cause of your failure? Now, you take advantage of the new European data protection laws (GDPR to determine the exact breakdown of your IELTS scores. You can view Task Response, Coherence and Cohesion, Lexical Resource, and Grammatical Range and Accuracy scores for Writing Task 1 and Writing Task 2, and Fluency, Lexis, Grammar, and Pronunciation scores for listening.
What is GDPR, and why is it important?
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is Europe’s new data privacy that became effective on May 25, 2018, and fundamentally impacts how corporations can acquire and store your personal information. In the past, companies were almost unrestricted in their ability to track your activities with their website and store all of this information without your knowledge. Now, everything must be visible, and you have the right to ask any corporation what information they have kept about you by writing to them.
You can find all of the information about Data Protection in the British Council here: https://www.britishcouncil.org/privacy-cookies/data-protection and in the IELTS Australia Pty Ltd here: https://ielts.idp.com/legal-notices#ielts-australia-privacy-policy
As a European firm, the British Council must comply with the severe GDPR and provide the information they hold about you, including the breakdown of your exam scores. Simply put, if you write to the British Council and request access to the information they have saved about you, they are required by law to comply.
How to apply for a breakdown of IELTS results?
Applications should take about 4 weeks to be processed, but my student got her breakdown within 7 days, so they seem very responsive (although this may change in the future if more people apply). However, the language is entirely legal and might be confusing for many students, so let’s follow the following guide.
You will need to send an email to British Council or IDP. In the email, you will need to include the following:
- Your name and proof of your identity (i.e. you can attach a copy of a passport)
- Your test date
- The name and address of the centre where you took the test (and the test centre number if you know it)
- The areas of the test that you would like to be broken down.
Here is a template of the email that you will need to send. All you need to do is copy and paste it and add your details:
Apply for IELTS Score Breakdown from British Council
Email Title: Requesting Breakdown of IELTS Scores – YOUR NAME
Send to: [email protected]
Dear British Council,
My name is ________________. In accordance with the GDPR, I am writing to ask for a breakdown of my IELTS scores for the following exam:
- Test Date: _________________
- Test Centre Name and Number: _________________
- Test Centre Address: _________________
- Test module: IELTS Academic OR IELTS General
- Test type: Paper OR Computer-delivered
- Areas of the test I would like all stored information about: Writing, Speaking, Reading and Listening
I have also attached a copy of my ID card so that you can confirm my identification, but please do not hesitate to contact me if you need any other information to process my request.
Many thanks,
Note: There is a Breakdown – INFORMATION REQUEST FORM – IELTS SCORES form said to have been created by British Council. However, we recommend that you send your request email directly to British Council at [email protected]
Apply for IELTS Score Breakdown from IDP
Email Title: Requesting Breakdown of IELTS Scores – YOUR NAME
Send to: [email protected]
Dear IDP,
My name is _____________. In accordance with the GDPR, I am writing to ask for the breakdown of my IELTS score for the following exam:
- Test date: _________________
- Candidate number: _________________
- Test centre name & number: _________________
- Test centre address: _________________
- Test module: IELTS Academic OR IELTS General
- Test type: Paper OR Computer-delivered
- Areas of the test I would like all stored information about: Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking.
I have also attached a copy of my passport / ID card so that you can confirm my identification, but please do not hesitate to contact me if you need any further information to process my request.
Your sincerely,