How is IELTS Writing Task 2 evaluated?

The IELTS Writing Task 2 (Essay) is assessed based on the 4 factors as following:

Let us understand the meaning of each factor:

Task Response – In an IELTS essay, the candidate is expected to understand the question well and write their answer accordingly. In order to score good band score:

• Try to figure out the category of the essay question.
• IELTS essays can be divided into a few categories such as Advantage/Disadvantage essay, Agree/Disagree essay etc., and all these categories are required to be answered in certain ways.
• Proper understanding of the question can ensure that all parts of the question are answered well.
• Read the question, identify the sub-questions asked and plan the structure of your assay.
• Click here to see an example.

Cohesion and Coherence – The writer should have a clear flow of ideas in the essay, in order to increase the readability and understandability of the essay. This can be attained by having clear connection of ideas at paragraph level and sentence level. The following points should be taken care of:

• Divide the essay into logical paragraphs. For simplicity, make four/five paragraphs including one for introduction, two or three for writing the body of the essay and one for conclusion.
• The first line of each paragraph should provide the information about the contents of the paragraph.
• Include important arguments for justification, according to the intent of the paragraph.
• Give a good conclusion to end each paragraph.
• Use connectors (for example- and, so, although, hence etc.) to connect ideas logically.
• Click here to see an example.

Lexical resource – This refers to the type of words/phrases used in the essay. The following points should be considered:

• Use a variety of words relevant to the topic of the essay.
• Use some uncommon words effectively.
• Recheck the essay for any spelling mistakes or incorrect word formations.
• Click here to see an example.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy – This factor checks the knowledge of grammar and punctuation. So, take care of the following points:

• Use a variety of sentence structures to exhibit your knowledge of grammar.
• Maximize the usage of complex sentence by using connecting devices.
• Use punctuation marks wherever required.
• Click here to see an example.