IELTS writing guide
How IELTS writing is marked
Coach Pen marks Task 1 and Task 2 against all four band criteria, 0–9, and shows you the specific moves that lift each one.
- Scored
- Bands 0–9
- Criteria
- All four, per task
- Tasks
- Task 1 & Task 2
What the markers look for
IELTS writing is judged on 4 things. Here's what each one is really asking for — and how Coach Pen trains it.
Task response
Fully addressing the task with developed, relevant ideas.
In Coach Pen: when this criterion is holding your band back, it links straight to short, stepped lessons that drill exactly this — on your own writing.
Coherence & cohesion
Logical flow, paragraphing, and linking.
In Coach Pen: when this criterion is holding your band back, it links straight to short, stepped lessons that drill exactly this — on your own writing.
Lexical resource
Range and precision of vocabulary.
In Coach Pen: when this criterion is holding your band back, it links straight to short, stepped lessons that drill exactly this — on your own writing.
Grammatical range & accuracy
Varied, accurate sentence structures.
In Coach Pen: when this criterion is holding your band back, it links straight to short, stepped lessons that drill exactly this — on your own writing.
The fastest way to use this guide
Reading the rubric tells you what counts. Seeing it applied to your writing tells you what to fix. Paste a IELTS response into Coach Pen and get it marked against every criterion above — then drill the weakest one.
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