IELTS Writing Task 2 and Speaking: the band descriptors as a checklist, one essay of ours marked criterion by criterion, and the Speaking parts in plain words

IELTS Writing Task 2 is one essay of at least 250 words, written in about 40 minutes, and marked on four criteria: task response, coherence and cohesion, lexical resource, and grammatical range and accuracy. Each criterion has its own band, and your Task 2 band is built from the four. Most candidates practise by writing more essays. The band moves when you mark your own essay against the four criteria, one at a time. Here is one essay of ours marked that way, the question kinds, what band 7 asks for, and the Speaking test in plain words.

What IELTS Writing Task 2 is, in our words

The Writing paper has two tasks and lasts 60 minutes. Task 2 is the essay. It asks for at least 250 words. Plan about 40 minutes for it, because Task 2 counts twice as much as Task 1 in your Writing band.

Both IELTS Academic and General Training have a Task 2 essay. You get a short statement about a general topic and a question about it. This page reproduces no official question; every question here is ours.

This page goes deep on two papers, Writing Task 2 and Speaking. For the method across all four papers, with full practice tests and a twelve-question checklist, read the IELTS practice-test guide. The general idea behind both pages is the practice-test method.

The five question kinds, and the shape each wants

IELTS Writing Task 2 topics change, but the questions come in a few kinds. Here are five, in our words, with the task 2 essay structure each one wants.

Opinion. "To what extent do you agree or disagree?" Give your position in the first paragraph. Write two body paragraphs of reasons. Give your position again at the end.

Discussion. "Discuss both views and give your own opinion." One body paragraph for each view. Make your own view clear in the introduction, in the body and in the conclusion.

Advantages and disadvantages. One paragraph for each. Read the question carefully: if it asks whether the advantages outweigh the disadvantages, it wants a position too.

Problem and solution. One paragraph of causes or problems, one of solutions. Each solution should answer a problem you named.

Two-part question. Two separate questions about one topic. Answer both, in order, each in its own paragraph.

One rule for all five: answer every part of the question, and state your position in the introduction and again in the conclusion. The topics are general on purpose. The examiner marks your writing, not your opinion.

The four criteria as a checklist

The practice-test guide turns the four criteria into twelve yes-or-no questions. Here they are in one sentence each, with the thing that most often holds each one at band 6. This is our reading of the public band descriptors on the IELTS website. Read the descriptors there; this page does not copy them.

• Task response: did you answer the whole question with a clear position, and develop your ideas? It is often held back by a reason that is stated but not developed.
• Coherence and cohesion: is the essay organized, with one idea per paragraph and linking that helps the reader? It is often held back by linking words used for show.
• Lexical resource: do you use a range of words, precisely? It is often held back by repetition and by vague words like "good", "bad" and "thing".
• Grammatical range and accuracy: do you use a range of sentence types, with few errors? It is often held back by errors in simple sentences: articles, agreement, sentence joins.

What band 7 asks for, criterion by criterion

How to get band 7 in IELTS Writing? In our reading of the public descriptors, the step from 6 to 7 is about quality, not quantity.

• Task response: your position is clear all the way through, and your main ideas are developed with support, not only listed.
• Coherence and cohesion: each paragraph has one clear central idea, the ideas progress in order, and linking words are used naturally, mostly in the right places.
• Lexical resource: you use some less common words and phrases with a sense of style and of which words go together, with only a few mistakes.
• Grammatical range and accuracy: you use a variety of complex sentences, and many of your sentences have no errors at all.

The short version of the gap: band 7 is developed, natural and controlled. It is not longer, fancier or more. A candidate who adds more linking words and longer words to reach band 7 usually adds errors instead.

Worked example: one Task 2 essay of ours, marked criterion by criterion

The question is ours, not an IELTS item:

"Some people think that every secondary school student should do unpaid work in their local community. To what extent do you agree or disagree?"

Here is a first essay, written under time. We wrote it with some faults on purpose, so the marking has something to find.

Nowadays, many people believe that every secondary school student should do unpaid work in their community. I agree with this idea to a large extent, because it teaches responsibility and it connects young people with the society.

First, community work teaches responsibility. When students help at a food bank or an animal shelter, other people depend on them to arrive on time and finish the job. This is a good lesson that a classroom cannot easily give. Moreover, it is good for their future.

Second, community work connects students with people they would not normally meet. A teenager who reads to elderly residents learns how older people live, and the residents enjoy the company of someone young. In the same way, a student who helps at a community garden talks with neighbours of every age, and some of those conversations continue long after the work is done. Students who never leave their school and their phone can become isolated, which is bad for them and for their neighbourhood. In conclusion, these meetings build understanding between generations.

Some people argue that students are already too busy with a homework and exams, this is a fair point. However, a few hours a month is enough, and schools can count the hours as part of the timetable so that kids are not overloaded.

In conclusion, I believe that unpaid community work should be part of every secondary student's education. The benefits for the students and for the community are greater than the small cost in time. If schools organise it well, students will gain skills that last much longer than the hours they give.

Now the marking, one criterion at a time. Every band below is our reading against the public descriptors. The examiner's band is the examiner's.

Task response. The position is clear in the introduction and again in the conclusion. The first reason, responsibility, has an example. But the second point in that paragraph, "it is good for their future", is stated and never developed: no example, no result. Our reading: around band 6. One developed example would move it.

Coherence and cohesion. Each body paragraph has one main idea, and the order is easy to follow. Two linking words are used for show. "Moreover" adds a point that goes nowhere. "In conclusion" appears in the middle of the essay, before a sentence that is not a conclusion. Our reading: between band 6 and 7. Cutting or replacing the two words fixes most of it.

Lexical resource. "Good" appears twice and "bad" once, where precise words were available. "Kids" is too informal for an essay. Our reading: around band 6. Four replacements would move it.

Grammatical range and accuracy. Two article errors: "the society" (here, "society" needs no article) and "a homework" ("homework" is uncountable). One comma splice: "…exams, this is a fair point" joins two sentences with only a comma. Comma splices and run-on sentences explains the fault and its three fixes. Several complex sentences work well, such as "When students help at a food bank…, other people depend on them…". Our reading: around band 6. Three fixes would move it.

The rewrite

Here is the same essay with the faults fixed. The ideas are the same. Only the marked problems changed.

Nowadays, many people believe that every secondary school student should do unpaid work in their community. I agree with this idea to a large extent, because it teaches responsibility and it connects young people with society.

First, community work teaches responsibility. When students help at a food bank or an animal shelter, other people depend on them to arrive on time and finish the job. This is a lesson in reliability that a classroom cannot easily give. It also prepares them for later life: a student who has kept a weekly shift at a shelter for a year can describe that commitment in a job or university application, and a supervisor can confirm it.

Second, community work connects students with people they would not normally meet. A teenager who reads to elderly residents learns how older people live, and the residents enjoy the company of someone young. In the same way, a student who helps at a community garden talks with neighbours of every age, and some of those conversations continue long after the work is done. Students who never leave their school and their phone can become isolated, which is harmful for them and for their neighbourhood. These meetings build understanding between generations.

Some people argue that students are already too busy with homework and exams. This is a fair point. However, a few hours a month is enough, and schools can count the hours as part of the timetable so that students are not overloaded.

In conclusion, I believe that unpaid community work should be part of every secondary student's education. The benefits for the students and for the community are greater than the small cost in time. If schools organise it well, students will gain skills that last much longer than the hours they give.

What changed: the undeveloped reason now has an example and a result; "Moreover" and the misplaced "In conclusion" are gone; "good", "bad" and "kids" are replaced; the two article errors are fixed; the comma splice is now two sentences. The second essay says the same things, and in our reading it sits about a band higher. That is our reading, not a promise of an examiner's band.

A position a reader can state in one sentence and linking words that do a job are the two habits most of these fixes come from.

The 40-minute plan

The rewrite came from this plan:

1. 4 minutes: read the question twice. Write your position and two reasons, each with one example.
2. 30 minutes: write.
3. 6 minutes: check, one criterion at a time: grammar first (articles, sentence joins), then linking words, then vague words, then whether every part of the question is answered.

Why check one criterion at a time? Metcalfe (2017) reviewed the research on learning from errors: an error that gets specific, corrective feedback is learned from. Looking for one kind of error at a time makes the feedback specific.

The IELTS Speaking test in plain words

The Speaking test is a face-to-face conversation with an examiner. It lasts 11 to 14 minutes and is recorded. It has three parts.

• Part 1: short questions about you, such as your home, your work or studies, and your interests. A few minutes.
• Part 2: the long turn. You get a card with a topic and some prompts, one minute to prepare, and then you speak for up to two minutes.
• Part 3: a discussion of more general ideas connected to the Part 2 topic. A few minutes.

It is marked on four criteria, in our words:

• Fluency and coherence: do you keep going, and are your ideas connected?
• Lexical resource: do you have the words you need, used precisely?
• Grammatical range and accuracy: do you use a range of sentences with few errors?
• Pronunciation: can the examiner understand you easily, with stress in the right places?

IELTS Speaking Part 2: the one-minute planning card

The practice-test guide has the daily two-minute recording habit. This section is about the one minute of planning before you speak.

1. Write one or two words for each prompt on the card. Not sentences. There is no time for sentences.
2. Add one example for the last prompt. The last prompt usually asks why or how, and an example gives you something to say.
3. Speak in the card's order. Your notes are your path. Follow them from top to bottom.
4. When a word goes missing, repair and go on. Say "what I mean is…" and describe the idea in other words. Stopping is what hurts fluency; a repair shows control.

For Part 3, use a simple shape for each answer: an idea, a reason, an example, and the other side in one sentence. Explaining an idea in plain words is the skill underneath it.

Roediger and Karpicke (2006) found that practising recall beat rereading on a test a week later. A recorded Part 2, done every day and listened back to, is recall practice for speaking.

IELTS Writing Task 2 and Speaking, on one screen

• Task 2: one essay, at least 250 words, about 40 minutes, worth twice Task 1.
• The five question kinds: opinion, discussion, advantages and disadvantages, problem and solution, two-part. Answer every part.
• The four criteria: task response, coherence and cohesion, lexical resource, grammatical range and accuracy.
• The band 7 gap: developed, natural, controlled. Not longer, fancier, more.
• The 40-minute plan: 4 to plan, 30 to write, 6 to check one criterion at a time.
• Speaking: 11 to 14 minutes, three parts, recorded.
• The Part 2 card: a word or two per prompt, an example for the last, speak in order, repair and continue.

For the final week before the test, follow chapter 9 of the free playbook, the seven-day exam plan.