2.3. How Writing Is Marked
Meet the four things an examiner scores your writing on.
The short version
4 criteria on each task, all worth the same.
Task Achievement or Task Response: did you answer it?
Coherence and Cohesion: can it be followed?
Lexical Resource and Grammar are the other two.
Four criteria on each task
Each task is marked on four criteria, each worth the same. The examiner gives a whole band from 0 to 9 on each one.
Where half bands come from
The four scores are averaged. Scores of 7, 7, 6 and 6 average out to 6.5.
Task 2 counts twice
Task 2 counts twice as much as Task 1 in your Writing band. That is why the essay is worth two thirds. IELTS does not publish the exact calculation.
Did you do the job the task asked for?
Are the ideas in a clear order, and joined up?
Your vocabulary: the right words, used correctly.
A mix of sentence forms, mostly controlled.
Quiz time3 questions
Check
Match each criterion with its meaning.
The criteria
Choose the number.
How many criteria is each task marked on?
Shared criteria
Choose the number shared by both tasks.
How many criteria are the same on both tasks?
Recap
Four criteria on each task, each worth the same.
Three of the four are shared between Task 1 and Task 2.
A weakness in one criterion cannot be hidden by the others.
Next: how to split the hour between the two tasks.