The Bandly blog
Guides written from the official band descriptors and from what we see in real graded essays — for people who would rather practise than read theory.
A 6.5 is rarely general weakness. It is usually one or two criteria scoring 6 while the rest sit at 7 — here are the four patterns, and how to tell which is yours.
A writing band below your speaking band is the normal pattern. The two modules are marked on different criteria — here is which ones, and what to fix.
A band 5.5 essay scored 5/6/5/6, plus the exact sentence holding each criterion down and the minimum fix that clears the band 6 line.
The same IELTS Task 2 essay at band 6 and band 7, with every edit tagged to the criterion it moved — and the averaging trap that keeps you at 6.5.
A discuss-both-views essay scored TR 7, CC 8, LR 7, GRA 8 — band 7.5 — plus the four sentences where the writer's opinion is visible and how to lose them.
A band 7 GT request letter marked against the published descriptors: how over-polite hedging blurs the clear purpose band 7 asks for, and how to fix it.
Band 6 penalises overuse of linking words. See what band 7 cohesion needs instead — reference and substitution — in one paragraph scored three ways.
A 274-word environment problem-solution essay scored 7/7/7/7, plus the same essay rewritten to answer causes instead of problems — and what that costs.
A 182-word band 8 line graph answer, tagged sentence by sentence against the public band descriptors, plus the three edits that drop it to band 6.
A full band 7 answer to a two-map IELTS Task 1 question, scored sentence by sentence against the published descriptors, plus the 3 edits that make it an 8.
Ten overview sentences for one bar chart, each judged against the band 6, 7 and 8 Task Achievement lines, plus the four patterns that cap an overview at 6.
A full IELTS Task 1 pie chart answer scored 6/7/6/7, showing why band 6.5 is arithmetic rather than a descriptor — and the three edits that make it a 7.
A full band 7 IELTS Task 1 table answer, written out and marked on all four criteria — including the two choices that kept it at 7 rather than 8.
Six IELTS Task 2 conclusions written to one prompt and judged against the band 7 descriptor — three that reach it, three that hit the band 6 line.
Writing complex sentences is already inside band 6. Band 7 asks you to write them accurately — here are the four structures and the errors that stop each one.
Five IELTS Task 2 introductions to the same two-part prompt, judged against the published Task Response wording — and the paraphrase habit that costs marks.
A full band 7 IELTS health essay on government spending, written for this article, with the four criterion scores explained — and not one statistic in it.
A band 7.5 GT semi-formal letter, written for this article, with the task, the four criterion scores behind the 7.5, and exactly where the tone line sits.
A full band 8 agree/disagree essay on rehabilitation versus prison, scored criterion by criterion, plus the three places a band 7 version would differ.
A band 7.0 essay and a band 7.5 essay on the same prompt. The half band is two criterion boxes, Coherence and Grammar — not a better essay overall.
A 179-word process diagram answer scored 7 on all four criteria, with the diagram written out in text so you can compare your own attempt line by line.
A band 7 answer to an "outweigh" globalisation prompt, written for this article, with an integer score and a one-line reason for each of the four criteria.
A two-part IELTS Task 2 question on work and careers, with an original band 7 answer, whole-number criterion scores, and the word count for each part.
A full IELTS General Training informal letter at band 7, scored against the official descriptors — and why writing it formally would have cost marks, not earned them.
The tense in IELTS Task 1 is set by the dates on the chart, not by a rule. A decision tree, six chart types, and why consistency costs more marks.
A full IELTS GT Task 1 band 7 complaint letter, scored against the official descriptors — plus the three faults that keep it from a band 8.
A real band 7 bar chart answer — not a band 9 with a band 7 label. 165 words, scored sentence by sentence, with the source data printed so you can check it.
Two Task 2 essays, same prompt, almost the same length — one band 7, one band 8. Every difference traced to a line in the official band descriptors.
A band 7 IELTS Task 2 sample answer on technology, with the examiner breakdown for all four criteria and what would move it to 8 or drop it to 6.5.
Two answers to one Task 2 question, one scored band 6.5 and one band 7, marked on all four criteria so you can see exactly where the half band goes.
Task Achievement marks Task 1; Task Response marks Task 2. The official band 6-8 wording for both, side by side, and what each one is actually asking for.
Band 7 in IELTS Writing is four conditions, not a study plan. Eight things that must be true of your essay, each tied to the official band descriptors.
The official IELTS Writing band descriptors, quoted from the May 2023 public version, with what each line looks like inside a real essay.
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