How IELTS Writing Task 1 is Assessed

In Task 1, examiners give you four separate band scores (0–9):

• Task Achievement (TA)
• Coherence and Cohesion (CC)
• Lexical Resource (LR)
• Grammatical Range and Accuracy (GRA)

These four are averaged to give your Task 1 band. That Task 1 band is then combined with Task 2 (which has double weight) to produce your overall Writing score.

For example, if you get:

• Task 1: 6.5
• Task 2: 7.5

Overall Writing = (6.5 + 7.5 x 2) ÷ 3 = 7.17, which is rounded to 7.0.

Also read:

Everything You Need to Know about IELTS Academic Writing Test

An Overview of IELTS Writing Task 1

TA is the criterion most students misunderstand in Task 1. It asks: “Did you do the right job with this visual?” not “Did you write a lot of sentences?”

Examiners expect you to:

• Summarise key features, not everything.
• Give a clear overview of the main trends / differences / stages.
• Support the overview with relevant data or details.
• Write at least 150 words.

What Bands 6–8 essays read like in TA:

Band 6 – Basically correct, but limited

• Describes the main features, but miss one or two important trends or comparisons
• Gives a vague or incomplete overview
• Lists data rather than clearly select and group key points
• Includes minor irrelevant comments or opinions
• Uses accurate data mostly but has a few small misreads

Band 7 – Clear, relevant, well‑selected

• Has a clear overview with well‑chosen key features
• Gives an overview that summarizing the big picture
• Selects important data and groups it logically
• Gives no opinions
• Supports statements with appropriate figures

Band 8 – Thorough, insightful

• Clearly identifies all key trends or features
• Gives a precise overview while noting exceptions or changes
• Selects data precisely
• Describes relationships between data clearly
• Gives accurate and concise descriptions with no invented information

Practical tips to reach a higher band in TA:

• Paraphrases the question once in the introduction (no copying).
• Includes one overview sentence/paragraph that clearly states the main trends or overall picture (e.g. “Overall, car ownership increased in all countries, while bicycle use fell.”).
• Chooses and groups important details (e.g. highest/lowest values, big changes, interesting contrasts). Do not list every small number in order.
• Uses data or stage descriptions to support those main points clearly and accurately.

Also read:

An Overview of IELTS Writing Task 1

What is Task Achievement in IELTS Writing Task 1 and how to reach Band 7+?

CC is about logical organization and linking, not about showing off many linking phrases.

Examiners look for:

• A clear overall structure (usually 4 short paragraphs).
• Logical grouping and ordering of information.
• Effective use of cohesive devices (linkers, pronouns, reference words) without overuse.

A high‑band structure:

• Introduction – paraphrase the task.
• Overview – 1–2 sentences with the “big picture” (main trends / stages / differences).
• Body 1 – important details for one group/time period/side.
• Body 2 – important details for the remaining data or comparisons.

Inside the body paragraphs, sentences should move from general to specific (main pattern → supporting figures).

What Bands 6–8 essays read like in CC:

Band 6 – Understandable but not well-shaped

• Has uneven paragraphs
• Presents mostly logical information but with jumps
• Uses linkers but sometimes too often or inappropriately
• Uses referencing but creates confusions sometimes

Band 7 – Clear, logical structure

• Uses a standard, effective structure
• Serves a clear purpose with each paragraph, grouping related information together (e.g. early vs later years, or Europe vs Asia)
• Presents ideas progressively within paragraphs (general statement → supporting detail → example figure)
• Uses cohesive devices and referencing naturally

Band 8 – Easy to follow, well‑controlled

• Has a smooth organization with balanced paragraphs
• Organizes data for an easy understanding of comparisons and trends
• Uses logical linking with a subtle range of cohesive devices
• Has no confusing jumps or repetitions

Practical tips to reach a higher band in CC:

• Use a mix of linking devices: “overall”, “in contrast”, “by comparison”, “meanwhile”, “as can be seen”, “in terms of”.
• Use reference words to avoid repetition: “this figure”, “these numbers”, “the proportion”, “this trend”.
• Avoid starting almost every sentence with “Moreover,” “Furthermore,” In addition” just to sound “formal”.

Also read:

An Overview of IELTS Writing Task 1

What is Coherence and Cohesion in IELTS Writing Task 1 and how to reach Band 7+?

LR is not about writing rare words; it’s about using the right words accurately to describe what you see.

Examiners look for:

• Enough range to describe change, comparison, and process clearly.
• Accurate use of data language and collocations.
• Appropriate level of formality.
• Limited spelling and word‑form errors.

What Bands 6–8 essays read like in LR:

Band 6 – Enough words but repetitive or imprecise

• Uses basic description words correctly but repeatedly
• Attempts more advanced words but they sometimes sound unnatural
• Has a limited range for comparisons and trends
• Has some spelling or word-form errors

Band 7 – Good range, mostly accurate

• Uses a range of vocabulary to describe trends and comparisons
• Uses more precise nouns and phrases
• Can paraphrase the task and key items accurately
• Makes lexical mistakes occasionally

Band 8 – Wide, precise, and natural

• Uses varied and precise vocabulary
• Uses collocations and set phrases naturally
• Can restate ideas in different ways
• Makes very few mistakes in word choice or form

Key language areas for high bands in LR:

1. Describing change (line graphs, bar charts over time)

• increase / rise / grow / climb / go up
• decrease / fall / drop / decline / go down
• fluctuate, remain stable, plateau, peak at, hit a low of
• “There was a sharp rise in…”, “X increased gradually from A to B.”

• higher than / lower than, the highest / the lowest
• slightly / significantly / dramatically / marginally
• “X was slightly higher than Y”, “A was by far the largest category.”

• proportion, percentage, share, majority, minority
• “made up”, “accounted for”, “comprised”

• verbs: enter, pass through, flow into, be heated, be processed, be converted
• connectors: initially, subsequently, next, after that, finally
• spatial language for maps: to the north of, adjacent to, in the centre, along the main road

Also read:

An Overview of IELTS Writing Task 1

What is Lexical Resource in IELTS Writing Task 1 and how to reach Band 7+?

GRA focuses on:

• Variety of sentence structures.
• Correct use of tenses and passive forms.
• Basic accuracy with articles, plurals, agreements, and punctuation.

What examiners like to see:

• A mix of simple and complex sentences:
  • “While car ownership rose steadily, bicycle use declined gradually.”
  • “The number of X, which had been stable in 1990, increased sharply in 2000.”
• Correct tense and aspect:
  • Past data → past tense (“rose”, “was”, “increased”).
  • Future projections → future forms (“is expected to rise”, “will likely fall”).
• Accurate comparatives and superlatives:
  • “higher”, “the highest”, “more significant”, “the least popular”.

What Bands 6–8 essays read like in GRA:

Band 6 – Frequent small errors, some complexity

• Mixes simple and complex sentences, but the latter contain mistakes
• Has regular issues with articles, plurals, prepositions, and subject–verb agreement
• Uses tense correctly but inconsistently in more complex descriptions
• Uses punctuation that is not always accurate

Band 7 – Accurate with good variety

• Uses a variety of sentence structures confidently
• Has error-free sentences
• Has a good control of verb tenses and passive forms
• Uses punctuation for clarity in complex sentences

Band 8 – High control and flexibility

• Uses a wide range of complex structures naturally and accurately
• Creates sentences that are mostly error-free
• Uses grammar to highlight relationships clearly
• Uses punctuation consistently and accurately

Practical tips to reach a higher band in GRA:

Band‑7+ writing usually has many error‑free sentences and errors that don’t affect meaning. It’s better to have short, clear, mostly correct complex sentences than very long sentences that try to do everything and break.

Also read:

An Overview of IELTS Writing Task 1

What is Grammatical Range and Accuracy in IELTS Writing Task 1 and how to reach Band 7+?

You don’t need to be perfect in every area to get a good score, but weaknesses in one criterion drag the whole Task 1 band down. For example:

• A student who describes all data but has no overview will be blocked in TA.
• Someone with excellent vocabulary but poor paragraphing will be limited by CC.
• A report with very strong data selection but constant small grammar mistakes will likely stay at Band 6 in GRA.

• TA: Did I give a clear overview and focus on key features, not all numbers?
• CC: Do I have 4 short, logical paragraphs with grouped information?
• LR: Did I use a range of data/trend vocabulary instead of repeating “increase/decrease” and “a lot”?
• GRA: Do I have a good mix of sentence types with few errors that affect clarity?

Also read:

An Overview of IELTS Writing Task 1

What is Task Achievement in IELTS Writing Task 1 and how to reach Band 7+?

What is Coherence and Cohesion in IELTS Writing Task 1 and how to reach Band 7+?

What is Lexical Resource in IELTS Writing Task 1 and how to reach Band 7+?

What is Grammatical Range and Accuracy in IELTS Writing Task 1 and how to reach Band 7+?

IELTS Writing Task 1 examiners look for four things: whether you have selected and summarised the key features of the visual (Task Achievement), whether your information is grouped and organised logically (Coherence and Cohesion), whether you use precise, appropriate data‑description vocabulary (Lexical Resource), and whether your sentences are varied and accurate (Grammatical Range and Accuracy). Once students understand these four lenses, they can stop guessing what markers want and instead shape every report—its overview, paragraphing, language, and grammar—deliberately towards the bands they need.

An Introduction to IELTS Academic Test

Everything You Need to Know about IELTS Academic Writing Test

An Overview of IELTS Writing Task 1

What is Task Achievement in IELTS Writing Task 1 and how to reach Band 7+?

What is Coherence and Cohesion in IELTS Writing Task 1 and how to reach Band 7+?

What is Lexical Resource in IELTS Writing Task 1 and how to reach Band 7+?

What is Grammatical Range and Accuracy in IELTS Writing Task 1 and how to reach Band 7+?

An Introduction to the Visuals in IELTS Writing Task 1

How to Deal with Dynamic Visuals in IELTS Writing Task 1

How to Deal with Static Visuals in IELTS Writing Task 1

How to Deal with Mixed Visuals in IELTS Writing Task 1

Three Ways to Structure Mixed-Visual Reports in IELTS Writing Task 1

General Test Skills for IELTS Writing Task 1

Time Management Skills for IELTS Writing Task 1

Proofreading Skills for IELTS Writing Task 1

Common Mistakes to Avoid in IELTS Writing Task 1

An Overview of IELTS Writing Task 2

How IELTS Writing Task 2 is Assessed