Students often come and ask me whether it's a good idea to ask for a re-mark of their tests. Here are a few tips:

• I don't recommend asking for your reading or listening paper to be re-marked. Reading and listening questions are either right or wrong, so it's unlikely that your scores will change.
• If there is a 2 band difference between your writing and speaking scores, they are usually double-checked automatically, so a re-mark probably won't help.
• A re-mark might be worth trying if you only need an extra half band in speaking or writing (e.g. if you have 6.5 and need 7).
• Remember that it can take up to 10 weeks to get your test re-marked. It might be faster to re-sit the test.