How examiners assess Writing

Two tasks. Two separate sets of criteria.

Task 1 and Task 2 are each assessed against four official criteria, but the wording of those criteria is genuinely different between the two tasks — most notably, Task 1 is judged on Task Achievement, while Task 2 is judged on Task Response.

Both tables below are the public-version IELTS band descriptors, used directly in our teaching.

Before the tables

Four criteria, weighted equally, in both tasks

Criterion 1

Task Achievement / Response

Did you cover what the task required, with a clear position or clearly presented features?

Criterion 2

Coherence and Cohesion

Is your answer logically organised, with ideas connected clearly from sentence to sentence?

Criterion 3

Lexical Resource

How wide and how precise is your vocabulary, including your use of less common words?

Criterion 4

Grammatical Range and Accuracy

How varied are your sentence structures, and how accurate is your grammar and punctuation?

Why this matters

Task 2 counts for roughly twice as much.

These four criteria apply equally within each task, but Task 2 as a whole contributes more heavily to your overall Writing band than Task 1. See Writing Strategies for how that should shape your time management.

Task 1

IELTS Task 1 Writing band descriptors

Public version. Scroll sideways on smaller screens to see every column.

Band	Task Achievement	Coherence and Cohesion	Lexical Resource	Grammatical Range and Accuracy
9	fully satisfies all the requirements of the task clearly presents a fully developed response	uses cohesion in such a way that it attracts no attention skilfully manages paragraphing	uses a wide range of vocabulary with very natural and sophisticated control of lexical features; rare minor errors occur only as “slips”	uses a wide range of structures with full flexibility and accuracy; rare minor errors occur only as “slips”
8	covers all requirements of the task sufficiently presents, highlights and illustrates key features/bullet points clearly and appropriately	sequences information and ideas logically manages all aspects of cohesion well uses paragraphing sufficiently and appropriately	uses a wide range of vocabulary fluently and flexibly to convey precise meanings skilfully uses uncommon lexical items but there may be occasional inaccuracies in word choice and collocation produces rare errors in spelling and/or word formation	uses a wide range of structures the majority of sentences are error-free makes only very occasional errors or inappropriacies
7	covers the requirements of the task (Academic) presents a clear overview of main trends, differences or stages (General Training) presents a clear purpose, with the tone consistent and appropriate clearly presents and highlights key features/bullet points but could be more fully extended	logically organises information and ideas; there is clear progression throughout uses a range of cohesive devices appropriately although there may be some under-/over-use	uses a sufficient range of vocabulary to allow some flexibility and precision uses less common lexical items with some awareness of style and collocation may produce occasional errors in word choice, spelling and/or word formation	uses a variety of complex structures produces frequent error-free sentences has good control of grammar and punctuation but may make a few errors
6	addresses the requirements of the task (Academic) presents an overview with information appropriately selected (General Training) presents a purpose that is generally clear; there may be inconsistencies in tone presents and adequately highlights key features/bullet points but details may be irrelevant, inappropriate or inaccurate	arranges information and ideas coherently and there is a clear overall progression uses cohesive devices effectively, but cohesion within and/or between sentences may be faulty or mechanical may not always use referencing clearly or appropriately	uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task attempts to use less common vocabulary but with some inaccuracy makes some errors in spelling and/or word formation, but they do not impede communication	uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms makes some errors in grammar and punctuation but they rarely reduce communication
5	generally addresses the task; the format may be inappropriate in places (Academic) recounts detail mechanically with no clear overview; there may be no data to support the description (General Training) may present a purpose for the letter that is unclear at times; the tone may be variable and sometimes inappropriate presents, but inadequately covers, key features/bullet points; there may be a tendency to focus on detail	presents information with some organisation but there may be a lack of overall progression makes inadequate, inaccurate or over-use of cohesive devices may be repetitive because of lack of referencing and substitution	uses a limited range of vocabulary, but this is minimally adequate for the task may make noticeable errors in spelling and/or word formation that may cause some difficulty for the reader	uses only a limited range of structures attempts complex sentences but these tend to be less accurate than simple sentences may make frequent grammatical errors and punctuation may be faulty; errors can cause some difficulty for the reader
4	attempts to address the task but does not cover all key features/bullet points; the format may be inappropriate (General Training) fails to clearly explain the purpose of the letter; the tone may be inappropriate may confuse key features/bullet points with detail; parts may be unclear, irrelevant, repetitive or inaccurate	presents information and ideas but these are not arranged coherently and there is no clear progression in the response uses some basic cohesive devices but these may be inaccurate or repetitive	uses only basic vocabulary which may be used repetitively or which may be inappropriate for the task has limited control of word formation and/or spelling; errors may cause strain for the reader	uses only a very limited range of structures with only rare use of subordinate clauses some structures are accurate but errors predominate, and punctuation is often faulty
3	fails to address the task, which may have been completely misunderstood presents limited ideas which may be largely irrelevant/repetitive	does not organise ideas logically may use a very limited range of cohesive devices, and those used may not indicate a logical relationship between ideas	uses only a very limited range of words and expressions with very limited control of word formation and/or spelling errors may severely distort the message	attempts sentence forms but errors in grammar and punctuation predominate and distort the meaning
2	answer is barely related to the task	has very little control of organisational features	uses an extremely limited range of vocabulary; essentially no control of word formation and/or spelling	cannot use sentence forms except in memorised phrases
1	answer is completely unrelated to the task	fails to communicate any message	can only use a few isolated words	cannot use sentence forms at all
0	does not attend does not attempt the task in any way writes a totally memorised response

Task 2

IELTS Task 2 Writing band descriptors

Public version. Note that the first criterion is Task Response, not Task Achievement — the wording throughout this table is genuinely different from Task 1’s.

Band	Task Response	Coherence and Cohesion	Lexical Resource	Grammatical Range and Accuracy
9	fully addresses all parts of the task presents a fully developed position with relevant, fully extended and well supported ideas	uses cohesion in such a way that it attracts no attention skilfully manages paragraphing	uses a wide range of vocabulary with very natural and sophisticated control of lexical features; rare minor errors occur only as “slips”	uses a wide range of structures with full flexibility and accuracy; rare minor errors occur only as “slips”
8	sufficiently addresses all parts of the task presents a well-developed response with relevant, extended and supported ideas	sequences information and ideas logically manages all aspects of cohesion well uses paragraphing sufficiently and appropriately	uses a wide range of vocabulary fluently and flexibly to convey precise meanings skilfully uses uncommon lexical items but there may be occasional inaccuracies in word choice and collocation produces rare errors in spelling and/or word formation	uses a wide range of structures the majority of sentences are error-free makes only very occasional errors or inappropriacies
7	addresses all parts of the task presents a clear position throughout the response presents, extends and supports main ideas, but there may be a tendency to overgeneralise and/or supporting ideas may lack focus	logically organises information and ideas; there is clear progression throughout uses a range of cohesive devices appropriately although there may be some under-/over-use presents a clear central topic within each paragraph	uses a sufficient range of vocabulary to allow some flexibility and precision uses less common lexical items with some awareness of style and collocation may produce occasional errors in word choice, spelling and/or word formation	uses a variety of complex structures produces frequent error-free sentences has good control of grammar and punctuation but may make a few errors
6	addresses all parts of the task although some parts may be more fully covered than others presents a relevant position although the conclusions may become unclear or repetitive presents relevant main ideas but some may be inadequately developed/unclear	arranges information and ideas coherently and there is a clear overall progression uses cohesive devices effectively, but cohesion within and/or between sentences may be faulty or mechanical may not always use referencing clearly or appropriately uses paragraphing, but not always logically	uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task attempts to use less common vocabulary but with some inaccuracy makes some errors in spelling and/or word formation, but they do not impede communication	uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms makes some errors in grammar and punctuation but they rarely reduce communication
5	addresses the task only partially; the format may be inappropriate in places expresses a position but the development is not always clear and there may be no conclusions drawn presents some main ideas but these are limited and not sufficiently developed; there may be irrelevant detail	presents information with some organisation but there may be a lack of overall progression makes inadequate, inaccurate or over-use of cohesive devices may be repetitive because of lack of referencing and substitution may not write in paragraphs, or paragraphing may be inadequate	uses a limited range of vocabulary, but this is minimally adequate for the task may make noticeable errors in spelling and/or word formation that may cause some difficulty for the reader	uses only a limited range of structures attempts complex sentences but these tend to be less accurate than simple sentences may make frequent grammatical errors and punctuation may be faulty; errors can cause some difficulty for the reader
4	responds to the task only in a minimal way or the answer is tangential; the format may be inappropriate presents a position but this is unclear presents some main ideas but these are difficult to identify and may be repetitive, irrelevant or not well supported	presents information and ideas but these are not arranged coherently and there is no clear progression in the response uses some basic cohesive devices but these may be inaccurate or repetitive may not write in paragraphs or their use may be confusing	uses only basic vocabulary which may be used repetitively or which may be inappropriate for the task has limited control of word formation and/or spelling; errors may cause strain for the reader	uses only a very limited range of structures with only rare use of subordinate clauses some structures are accurate but errors predominate, and punctuation is often faulty
3	does not adequately address any part of the task does not express a clear position presents few ideas, which are largely undeveloped or irrelevant	does not organise ideas logically may use a very limited range of cohesive devices, and those used may not indicate a logical relationship between ideas	uses only a very limited range of words and expressions with very limited control of word formation and/or spelling errors may severely distort the message	attempts sentence forms but errors in grammar and punctuation predominate and distort the meaning
2	barely responds to the task does not express a position may attempt to present one or two ideas but there is no development	has very little control of organisational features	uses an extremely limited range of vocabulary; essentially no control of word formation and/or spelling	cannot use sentence forms except in memorised phrases
1	answer is completely unrelated to the task	fails to communicate any message	can only use a few isolated words	cannot use sentence forms at all
0	does not attend does not attempt the task in any way writes a totally memorised response

How to use these tables

Find your current band, then look one row up.

Rather than reading either table all at once, find the band closest to your current writing in the relevant task, and compare it directly with the band above it. That comparison shows you exactly what needs to change to move up.

Review Writing Strategies