How can I get a band 7?
We hear this question all the time – IELTS candidates who are repeatedly getting 6 or 6.5 in their writing. Often they are candidates who achieve much higher scores in reading, listening and even speaking. So what is going wrong? How can you get a band 7+ in IELTS writing?
There are some common fundamental errors that we see day in, day out here at MarkMyIELTS – and many of them are very easy to fix. The biggest problem though, is that unlike with the overall scoring, in writing the examiners round down
What does that mean?
Well, there are 4 marking criteria in the IELTS exam – Task Response/Achievement, Coherence and Cohesion, Lexical Resource and Grammatical Range and Accuracy. To achieve a band 7 overall, you have to get a band 7 in EVERY criteria – a 6 in just one of them will bring your score down to 6.5
Most Common Mistakes That Stop You Getting a 7
These are some errors that candidates make over and over again – until they get help from a professional teacher, or a correction service like MarkMyIELTS. Here are some of the most common –
Task Response
- Not answering all parts of the task – Do you have to give your opinion? Do you need to address both sides? Two questions? If you don’t answer all parts fully, you will get a 6 in this section and if you miss a part entirely, you will get a 5
- Lack of development – If your ideas are not extended and supported, with explanation and examples, then you will be limited to a 6
Coherence and Cohesion
- Limited Range of Connectors – Relying on “Firstly, Secondly and Lastly” or overuse of “and” “but” and “also” will limit you to a 6 or below. Mix it up! A further… In addition… Moreover… However… In contrast… Contrastingly… Another consideration… Therefore… What this means is… The list is endless!
- Referencing Errors – Make sure you are comfortable using ‘the’, ‘it’, ‘this’ and ‘that’ accurately. Over-use of ‘the’ is one of the biggest mistakes we see in this area.
Lexical Resource
- Using *ahem* “Advanced” vocabulary inaccurately – don’t be tempted by terrible advice on the internet giving you so-called ‘advanced’ words. Words learnt from lists like this are nearly always used inaccurately (delighted is not the same as happy…) and this brings your score in this area down to a 6 or below
- Spelling – take a little time to proof your writing carefully; basic spelling errors will stop you getting a 7
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
- Simple mistakes – you can use all the 3rd conditionals and inversions you like but if you keep writing “…people are…” then you will be limited to a 6. Check your verb tenses, a/an or the, and punctuation.
- Repetitive Structures – try to avoid using the same structures over and over again. This is especially common in the same place in each paragraph.