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What criteria do IELTS examiners use to evaluate writing responses?

IELTS.WORK IELTS FAQ # 1711681254

According to Cambridge Assessment English, an IELTS writing examiner uses the following four criteria to evaluate a candidate's response in the IELTS writing test:

1. Task Response: This criterion assesses whether the candidate has responded appropriately to the given task and met all the requirements. The examiner checks if the candidate has written an essay, report, or letter as required by the task, and if they have provided relevant and sufficient information in response to the prompt.
2. Coherence and Cohesion: This criterion evaluates the logical progression of ideas within the writing and the connections between different parts of the response. The examiner checks if the candidate's ideas are organized in a clear and logical manner, with appropriate transitions and cohesive devices such as conjunctions, pronouns, and repetition to link ideas and maintain a smooth flow of information.
3. Lexical Resource: This criterion assesses the range and accuracy of vocabulary used by the candidate. The examiner checks if the candidate has demonstrated a wide range of vocabulary and idiomatic expressions appropriate for the task, as well as the accurate use of lexical items in terms of word forms, spelling, and grammar.
4. Grammatical Range and Accuracy: This criterion evaluates the candidate's ability to construct complex sentences and demonstrate control over a range of grammatical structures. The examiner checks if the candidate has used an appropriate mix of simple, compound, and complex sentences, as well as the correct use of tenses, verb forms, word forms, articles, prepositions, and punctuation.

These four criteria are then combined to form a single overall band score for each writing task, ranging from Band 1 (Non-user) to Band 9 (Expert User).

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