The Four Areas Where You Will Be Assessed in Your IELTS General Writing Task 2

IELTS is a test that checks your ability to communicate in English if you are interested to study or take up a job in any country where English is a core. It is a test that is taken by lots of students and the competition is very high. If you are unable to score a higher band, then it is likely that you won’t be able to attain your career goals. The writing part of the test can be the most difficult part for a few people, but if you are thorough about the marking criteria and follow some general writing task 2 tips, then the path to success will be smooth for you.

In this article, we will focus on the main band score of 7 to 9 marking criteria that you should know.

Once you have completed your test, the examiner will assess the IELTS essay using the 4 major criteria that are mentioned below. Each criterion is worth 25% of the total marks for latest writing task 2.  Based on the percent that you score in each and the total for task 2 you will be given a band score.  The types of scoring include:

Task response:

The main task 2 marking criterion is all about how you answer the IELTS essay question, your core ideas and how you develop them. You will score higher if you:

• ·  Consider the specific issues and write about it instead of discussing the general topic
  
• · Give importance to ALL issues in the essay question
  
• · Carefully plan all the points supporting your answers, so that you don’t go off the topic
  
• · Answer the essay question with core relevant points
  
• · Write the essay over 250 words
  

Coherence and Cohesion:

The examiner will check the structure of your essay, the paragraphs and the use of linking devices. You will score higher if you:

• ·  Have either four to five paras and nothing less, which means you should have an intro, body and conclusion.
  
• ·  Organize all your ideas logically and place it effectively
  
• ·  Discuss only one central topic in a paragraph
  
• ·  Use a range of linking words and avoid any errors in them
  

Lexical resource:

Your vocabulary, spelling errors, your paraphrasing and other mistakes will be considered in this section. You will have a high score if you:

• ·  Pay attention to collocations
  
• · Carefully paraphrase to avoid any errors
  
• · Spell every word correctly
  
• · Use a wide range of words that are appropriate to the topic
  
• · Avoid any usage of informal or slang language
  

Grammatical accuracy and range:

In your latest writing task 2, the IELTS examiner will consider a higher score for your sentence structures, your control on grammar, the tenses that you use and also the number of mistakes that you make. You will score a higher band if you:

• ·  Use different grammar tenses like perfect tenses, passive voice, conditionals and etc.
  
• ·  Use a wide range of sentence structures
  
• ·  Pay attention to specific words in your sentences
  
• ·  Use punctuation correctly
  
• ·  Avoid any errors in grammar related to articles, uncountable nouns, plural nouns and etc.
  

 Summary

Since the main difference is the density of errors in your writing, it is important to take care that you make fewer mistakes and also have a clear understanding of the marking criteria of IELTS general writing task 2.