IELTS Writing is not scored by counting correct answers. An examiner assesses the quality of each response against published criteria. That means improving from Band 6 or 6.5 to Band 7 is usually less about writing more and more essays, and more about identifying which criterion is holding the score down.
The four IELTS Writing scoring criteria
Official IELTS guidance uses four criteria for both Writing tasks. Within each task, the criteria are equally weighted.
Task Achievement / Task Response
Did you answer every part of the question, present a clear position where required, and develop the key information or ideas?
Coherence and Cohesion
Are ideas logically organised with clear progression, sensible paragraphing and cohesive devices that help rather than distract?
Lexical Resource
Do you use an appropriate range of vocabulary accurately, with enough precision to express your meaning without forced or memorised wording?
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Do you use a useful range of sentence structures while keeping grammar and punctuation accurate enough for effortless understanding?
Task 2 counts twice as much as Task 1
IELTS states that Writing Task 2 contributes twice as much as Task 1 to the Writing score. This applies to both Academic and General Training Writing. A useful preparation consequence is simple: do not spend so long perfecting Task 1 that Task 2 becomes rushed or underdeveloped.
For the 60-minute Writing test, IELTS recommends about 20 minutes for Task 1 and about 40 minutes for Task 2. Academic Task 1 requires at least 150 words; Task 2 requires at least 250 words.
What does Band 7 Writing look like?
At Band 7, the response generally addresses the task appropriately, presents relevant and sufficiently developed ideas, follows a clear logical progression, uses vocabulary with some flexibility and precision, and demonstrates a range of grammatical structures with generally good control. Some errors or lapses can still occur; Band 7 does not require perfect English.
The most important lesson is that one impressive feature cannot compensate for everything else. Advanced vocabulary does not rescue an essay that only partly answers the question, just as accurate grammar does not rescue ideas that are poorly organised or insufficiently developed.
A fast self-check after every Writing practice
- Task: underline every instruction in the prompt and check that your answer deals with all of them.
- Position and ideas: can a reader state your main position and the purpose of each paragraph in one sentence?
- Development: does each main idea have a reason, explanation, consequence or relevant example?
- Coherence: remove unnecessary linking phrases and check whether the logic is still obvious.
- Vocabulary: replace vague or repeated words only where a more precise expression is natural.
- Grammar: find recurring errors rather than simply counting all errors. Repeated article, agreement, tense or sentence-boundary mistakes should become the next practice target.
Why candidates get stuck at Band 6 or 6.5
A common plateau happens when candidates practise complete essays but do not isolate the weak criterion. For example, writing five more essays will not automatically fix underdeveloped body paragraphs. A better drill is to write five strong topic-sentence-and-support combinations, review them, then return to a full timed essay.
The same applies to grammar. If sentence boundaries are the repeated problem, spend a short session correcting and rewriting those structures before doing another 40-minute Task 2.
Academic and General Training: what changes?
Task 2 is an essay in both versions and uses Task Response. Task 1 is different: Academic candidates describe visual information such as graphs, tables, maps or processes, while General Training candidates write a letter based on a situation. Both versions still assess organisation, vocabulary and grammar.
Turn the score criteria into practice
Complete a timed Writing task, then review your response criterion by criterion instead of asking only, “What band is this?” Track one recurring weakness and make it the focus of the next attempt.
Frequently asked questions
How is IELTS Writing scored?
Each Writing task is assessed using four equally weighted criteria: Task Achievement for Task 1 or Task Response for Task 2, Coherence and Cohesion, Lexical Resource, and Grammatical Range and Accuracy. Task 2 contributes twice as much as Task 1 to the Writing score.
Does Task 2 count more than Task 1 in IELTS Writing?
Yes. Official IELTS guidance states that Task 2 contributes twice as much as Task 1 to the Writing score, so weak Task 2 performance can have a large effect on the final Writing band.
What are the four IELTS Writing criteria?
They are Task Achievement or Task Response, Coherence and Cohesion, Lexical Resource, and Grammatical Range and Accuracy.
Can vocabulary alone raise my IELTS Writing band?
No. Vocabulary is only one of four equally weighted criteria within each task. A strong response also needs to answer the task fully, organise ideas clearly, and use grammar accurately and flexibly.
Is a CBI Prep Writing score an official IELTS result?
No. Practice feedback and estimated bands are preparation tools. Only an authorised IELTS test produces an official IELTS band score.
Official references
Scoring and format information on this page was checked against current IELTS and IDP guidance. CBI Prep is an independent preparation platform and is not the official IELTS website.