Hello, I’m Sarah Thompson, an IELTS tutor with two decades of experience helping students transform their writing from Band 6 to Band 8 and beyond.
In this guide, we’ll focus on one of the most vital, yet often overlooked, areas of the exam: Understanding Band Descriptors. These are the official scoring criteria examiners use to evaluate your Writing performance in both Task 1 and Task 2.
Knowing what the examiners look for can completely change how you prepare. Let’s explore how each descriptor works and how you can meet them confidently in your own writing.
Band descriptors are the official marking rubrics used by certified IELTS examiners to score your writing on a scale from 0 to 9.
There are four equal categories:
Each category carries 25% of your total Writing score.
For Task 1, examiners focus on how well you describe data (Academic) or address the situation (General Training).
For Task 2, they focus on how logically and fully you develop your argument.
Understanding these four areas helps you write strategically, not just fluently.
This criterion checks how well you answer the question.
Common mistake: Students often rewrite the question without developing ideas, which examiners label as limited development.
Band 8 Tip: Always plan 2–3 main ideas before writing and support each with specific examples or reasoning.
This measures how well-organised and logically connected your ideas are.
Coherence means the overall clarity of your argument; cohesion refers to how smoothly your sentences link together using connectors and reference words.
High Band Features | Low Band Issues |
Clear paragraphing (Intro → Body 1 → Body 2 → Conclusion) | One long block of text |
Logical progression of ideas | Random jumps or repetition |
Natural use of linking words (“however”, “therefore”, “as a result”) | Overuse of connectors or mechanical linking |
Consistent referencing (“this trend”, “these figures”) | Ambiguous pronouns and unclear links |
Band 8 Tip: Limit linking words to 2–3 per paragraph and use punctuation — especially commas and full stops — effectively to create flow.
This refers to your range and accuracy of vocabulary. It’s not about using fancy words — it’s about choosing the right words naturally.
Examiners look for:
Band 8 Tip: Build vocabulary by studying topic-specific lists for common IELTS themes such as environment, technology, health, and education. Keep a personal word bank with examples of how each term is used in context.
This criterion evaluates both the variety of sentence structures and the correctness of your grammar.
Band 9 Performance | Band 6 Performance |
Wide range of structures with almost no errors | Frequent grammatical mistakes |
Accurate complex sentences | Simple repetitive patterns |
Clear punctuation and control | Fragments and run-on sentences |
Band 8 Tip: After finishing your essay, spend three minutes proofreading only for grammar and punctuation. Those final corrections can make the difference between Band 6.5 and 7.5.
Each task is marked separately by a trained examiner.
They assign a band score (0–9) for each of the four criteria, then calculate the average for that task.
Finally, the two task scores are combined, with Task 2 weighted twice as heavily as Task 1.
For example:
Criterion | Task 1 Band | Task 2 Band | Weighted Average |
Task Achievement / Response | 7.0 | 7.5 | 7.33 |
Coherence & Cohesion | 7.0 | 8.0 | 7.67 |
Lexical Resource | 7.5 | 7.5 | 7.50 |
Grammar | 7.0 | 7.5 | 7.33 |
Final Writing Band | – | – | 7.5 (rounded) |
This shows why it’s critical to perform strongly in Task 2 — it influences your final score much more.
Read this short Academic sentence:
The graph shows that the population in urban areas was increasing rapidly while rural population was decreasing steadily.
Ask yourself:
By applying the descriptors, you can instantly identify why this sentence would score well in both Task Achievement and Grammar.
To write at a high band level, you must think like an examiner.
When planning your essays, constantly check: Have I met all four descriptors?
If you fully understand Task Achievement, Coherence, Vocabulary, and Grammar, you’re already halfway to your target score.
Next, read the guide on Essay Planning & Organisation — it shows how to structure ideas clearly to meet every criterion.
You can also explore the IELTS Writing Overview: Format, Scoring & Key Skills mother page or visit the British Council for official public band descriptors.
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