IELTS Band 7 Writing: 7 tips that actually move your score

Writing is the part of IELTS where most students get stuck. You can read well, listen well and speak with confidence, and still see 6.0 or 6.5 next to Writing. The good news is that Writing is also the most coachable skill, because examiners mark it against four published criteria. Once you know what they reward, you can practise exactly that.

How Writing is marked

Each task is scored on four criteria that count equally: Task Achievement (Task 1) or Task Response (Task 2), Coherence and Cohesion, Lexical Resource (vocabulary), and Grammatical Range and Accuracy. Task 2 counts for more of your Writing score than Task 1, so it deserves most of your practice time.

7 tips for Band 7

• Answer the exact question. Many 6.0 essays are good essays about a slightly different question. Underline every part of the prompt and make sure each part gets a clear answer.
• State your position early and keep it. In opinion essays, say what you think in the introduction and make every body paragraph support it. Changing your mind halfway costs marks.
• One main idea per paragraph. Start with a clear topic sentence, explain it, then give a specific example. Two developed paragraphs beat four thin ones.
• Use linking words naturally, not mechanically. "Furthermore" at the start of every sentence reads as memorised. Vary how you connect ideas, and use referencing words like "this", "such", "these measures".
• Choose precise words over fancy ones. "Reduce traffic congestion" is better than "decrease the amount of cars". Accuracy matters more than rare vocabulary.
• Mix sentence types, and keep them correct. Band 7 needs a range of complex sentences, but frequent errors pull you down. Write sentences you can control.
• Plan for 5 minutes, check for 3. Spend about 40 minutes on Task 2 and 20 on Task 1. A short plan stops you wandering, and a final check catches the small errors that cost a band.

Don't forget the word counts

Task 1 needs at least 150 words and Task 2 at least 250. Writing far more doesn't earn extra marks, and it usually adds mistakes. Aim slightly above the minimum and spend the spare time checking.

The fastest way to improve

Practice alone helps, but feedback is what moves the score. Most students repeat the same three or four errors in every essay without noticing. A teacher who marks your writing against the four criteria can show you exactly which ones are holding you below 7, and that is usually where the quickest progress comes from.