Writing guides
How the score actually works, what each band demands, and the specific fixes that take you up half a band at a time.
Your band is not a black box. It is four named criteria, each worth a quarter of the score, averaged into a band. Here is what each rewards, how they combine, and a sentence shown at Band 6 and Band 7.
Task 2 topics are not random. Twelve themes repeat across almost every test date, and knowing what each topic expects gives you an edge before you even read the question. Here are the topic categories, the angles examiners test most, and the vocabulary that carries across each.
Coherence and Cohesion is the criterion candidates can name least but feel most. It is a quarter of your band, and the descriptor rewards logical flow and paragraph control, not a count of linking words. Here is what it actually means and how to get it right.
A Task 2 introduction that does two things cleanly (paraphrase the question and state a position) sets up your Task Response score before the examiner reaches your body paragraphs. Here is the formula, worked across three question types, and the mistakes that hold introductions back.
Your conclusion is not a third body paragraph and it is not a copy of your introduction. It restates your position in fresh words, sums up your reasons, and stops. Here is how to write one that lifts your Task Response score instead of dragging it down.
Paraphrasing is a core skill in both Task 1 and Task 2, marked under Lexical Resource and Task Response. But most candidates either copy the question or twist it into unnatural synonyms. Here is how to paraphrase cleanly under time pressure.
Lexical Resource rewards precision, range, and naturalness, not the size of your vocabulary. Most candidates chase rare words when they should be tightening their collocations and replacing weak everyday verbs. Here is what moves the band.
The overview is the sentence examiners look for first in Academic Task 1. Without a clear one, your Task Achievement band is capped at 5. Here is what makes a strong overview, worked across every Task 1 visual type.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy is two criteria in one. Range means complex structures. Accuracy means they do not break. Here are four complex sentence patterns you can use reliably, and the one habit that makes ambitious sentences collapse.
General Training Task 1 asks for a letter, and the single biggest scoring factor is whether your tone matches the recipient. Here is how formal, semi-formal, and informal letters differ, the structure that works for all of them, and a worked Band 7 example.
Opinion essays are the most common Task 2 type, and the most common mistake is sitting on the fence. Band 7 and above reward a clear, consistent position defended across the whole essay. Here is how to pick a side, structure both body paragraphs for one argument, and avoid the middle-ground trap.
Grammar is worth exactly a quarter of your IELTS Writing band, but it is the criterion candidates neglect most while they chase vocabulary. Here are the six errors examiners see thousands of times, why each one drags your score down, and one change that fixes each.
Academic Task 1 asks you to report what a chart shows in about 150 words. The skill is selection: a clear overview, then the key features grouped logically, in the right tense. Here is the structure, the trend language, and a worked example.
Linking words help your reader follow your argument, which is what Coherence and Cohesion rewards. But cramming them in backfires. Here is a function-grouped list of connectors that work, and the habit to drop.
A Task 2 essay is not a template to memorise, it is a predictable shape that makes your argument easy to follow and easy to mark. Here is the four-paragraph plan, the engine inside each body paragraph, and how it flexes across the five question types.
The jump from 6.5 to 7 is rarely about harder words. It is about control and consistency. Here is what the descriptors ask for, a paragraph shown at both bands, and the maths that makes fixing your weakest criterion the fastest route up.
Apply one guide to one essay, grade it, and see the criterion move. That loop is the whole method.