Tips

Scoring IELTS

The following scoring guidelines relate to the IELTS Writing Task 2.

Band 9

Task Achievement

  • fully addresses all parts of the task
  • presents a fully developed position in answer to the question with relevant, fully extended and well supported ideas

Coherence and Cohesion

  • uses cohesion in such a way that it attracts no attention
  • skilfully manages paragraphing

Lexical Resource

  • uses a wide range of vocabulary with very natural and sophisticated control of lexical features; rare minor errors occur only as ‘slips’

Grammatical Range and Accuracy

  • uses a wide range of structures with full flexibility and accuracy; rare minor errors occur only as ‘slips’

Band 8

Task Achievement

  • sufficiently addresses all parts of the task
  • presents a well-developed response to the question with relevant, extended and supported ideas

Coherence and Cohesion

  • sequences information and ideas
  • logically
  • manages all aspects of cohesion well
  • uses paragraphing sufficiently and appropriately

Lexical Resource

  • 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

Grammatical Range and Accuracy

  • uses a wide range of structures
  • the majority of sentences are error-free
  • makes only very occasional errors or inappropriacies

Band 7

Task Achievement

  • 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

Coherence and Cohesion

  • 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

Lexical Resource

  • 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

Grammatical Range and Accuracy

  • uses a variety of complex structures
  • produces frequent error-free sentences
  • has good control of grammar and punctuation but may make a few errors

Band 6

Task Achievement

  • 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

Coherence and Cohesion

  • 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

Lexical Resource

  • 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

Grammatical Range and Accuracy

  • uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms
  • makes some errors in grammar and punctuation but they rarely reduce communication

Band 5

Task Achievement

  • 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

Coherence and Cohesion

  • 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

Lexical Resource

  • 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

Grammatical Range and Accuracy

  • 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

Band 4

Task Achievement

  • 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

Coherence and Cohesion

  • 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

Lexical Resource

  • 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

Grammatical Range and Accuracy

  • 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

Band 3

Task Achievement

  • does not adequately address any part of the task
  • does not express a clear position
  • presents few ideas, which are largely undeveloped or irrelevant

Coherence and Cohesion

  • 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

Lexical Resource

  • 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

Grammatical Range and Accuracy

  • attempts sentence forms but errors in grammar and punctuation predominate and distort the meaning

Band 2

Task Achievement

  • barely responds to the task
  • does not express a position
  • may attempt to present one or two ideas but there is no development

Coherence and Cohesion

  • has very little control of organisational features

Lexical Resource

  • uses an extremely limited range of vocabulary; essentially no control of word formation and/or

Grammatical Range and Accuracy

  • cannot use sentence forms except in memorised phrases

Band 1

Task Achievement

  • answer is completely unrelated to the task

Coherence and Cohesion

  • fails to communicate any message

Lexical Resource

  • can only use a few isolated words

Grammatical Range and Accuracy

  • cannot use sentence forms at all

Band 0

  • does not attend
  • does not attempt the task in any way
  • writes a totally memorised response