How IELTS Writing is Scored: The 4 Criteria Explained
IELTS Writing is marked on four equally-weighted criteria, each worth 25% of your score. Understanding them is the first step to improving your band.
The four criteria, briefly
Your IELTS Writing score is the average of four separate marks, each on the 0–9 band scale, each worth exactly 25%: Task Response (did you answer the question?), Coherence & Cohesion (is it organised and easy to follow?), Lexical Resource (how good is your vocabulary?), and Grammatical Range & Accuracy (how good is your grammar?). They're averaged, then rounded to the nearest half band.
Task Response (25%)
Task Response measures how well you answer the question. At band 5, you address the task only partially. At band 6, you address all parts but some ideas are under-developed. At band 7, you address all parts, present a clear position, and extend and support your main ideas. At band 8, everything is fully developed, well-supported, and nothing is irrelevant. The most common way to lose marks here: not answering all parts of the question, or having a position that's unclear or inconsistent.
Coherence & Cohesion (25%)
Coherence is about organisation and flow — can the reader follow your argument? Cohesion is about the words and phrases that connect ideas — linking words, pronouns, substitution. Band 5: some organisation but weak linking. Band 6: adequate linking but mechanical or repetitive. Band 7: logical organisation, good use of linking devices, clear paragraphing. Band 8: effortless cohesion, skilful paragraphing. This is often the fastest criterion to improve because it's structural, not linguistic.
Lexical Resource (25%)
Lexical Resource is about vocabulary range, accuracy, and style. Band 5: limited range, frequent errors. Band 6: adequate range for the task, some errors but meaning is clear. Band 7: sufficient range, flexibility, some less common vocabulary, occasional errors. Band 8: wide range, natural and sophisticated use, rare errors. The key word at band 7 is 'collocation' — words that naturally go together ('make a decision' not 'do a decision'). Good collocation is the biggest difference between band 6 and band 7 vocabulary.
Grammatical Range & Accuracy (25%)
This criterion has two parts: range (how many different structures can you use?) and accuracy (how often are they correct?). Both matter equally. Band 5: limited range, frequent errors that sometimes cause confusion. Band 6: mix of simple and complex structures, errors rarely impede meaning. Band 7: variety of complex structures, good control, occasional errors. Band 8: wide range of structures, high accuracy, rare minor errors. The key at band 7: you don't need perfect grammar, but you need different kinds of complex sentences — relative clauses, conditionals, passives, inversion, participial phrases.
How the overall band is calculated
Each of the four criteria gets a band score (0–9, half bands allowed). The four are averaged, then rounded to the nearest half band. For example: Task Response 7.0 + Coherence 6.5 + Lexical 6.5 + Grammar 7.0 = 27.0 ÷ 4 = 6.75 → rounds to 7.0. If the average ends in .25, it rounds up to the next half band. If it ends in .125, it rounds down. This means one strong criterion can compensate for a weaker one — up to a point.
What this means for your study plan
Because all four criteria are equally weighted, focusing on your weakest one gives you the fastest gains. If you're at TR 7.0, CC 6.0, LR 6.5, GRA 6.5, then improving Coherence & Cohesion from 6.0 to 7.0 would raise your overall score by 0.25 — which rounds up to a full 0.5 band improvement. That's a lot of progress for one criterion. Always diagnose first, then target your weakest area.
Frequently asked questions
Are all four criteria really equal?+
Yes, exactly 25% each. Many candidates spend 90% of their time on grammar and vocabulary and ignore Task Response and Coherence & Cohesion — which is a mistake, since those two make up half your score.
Can I still get band 7 if my grammar is weak?+
It depends. If Grammatical Range is your only 6.0 and everything else is 7.0 or higher, your average will be 6.75, which rounds up to 7.0. But if two criteria are 6.0, you'll need two 7.5s to average out to 7.0 — which is harder.
Do examiners really use the band descriptors?+
Yes — every examiner is trained on the same public band descriptors and calibrated regularly. Two examiners independently mark every writing test, and a third is called in if they disagree by more than one band.
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