www. YES-IELTS .com
Decoding
the
IELTS
Band
Descriptors:
IELTS
Writing
Task
2
Task
Response
by
Tish
Kirkland,
www.yes-‐ielts.com
This
booklet
describes
how
to
understand
the
differences
between
the
criteria
described
in
the
IELTS
public
band
descriptors
for
Task
Response
(TR)
band
levels
6,
7,
8,
and
9.
Contents
1.
About
the
Band
Descriptors
2.
From
Band
6
to
Band
7
3.
From
Band
7
to
Band
8
4.
From
Band
8
to
Band
9
5.
Getting
Professional
Help
1.
About
the
Band
Descriptors
The
band
descriptors
are
the
tools
the
examiner
uses
in
order
to
grade
your
essay.
In
Writing
Task
2,
there
are
four
criteria:
Task
Response
(TR),
Coherence
and
Cohesion
(CC),
Lexical
Resource
(LR),
and
Grammatical
Range
and
Accuracy
(GRA).
In
IELTS
there
are
9
levels,
or
bands:
0
to
9.
Zero
is
the
lowest
and
nine
is
the
highest.
The
public
band
descriptors
for
TR
from
level
6
to
level
9
are
shown
on
the
next
page.
The
highest
grade
which
you
can
be
awarded
is
9.
Tish
Kirkland
www.yes.ielts.com
1
, www. YES-IELTS .com
Public
Band
Descriptors:
Task
Response
Band Task Response
• fully addresses all parts of the task
9 • presents a fully developed position in answer to the question with relevant, fully
extended and well supported ideas
• sufficiently addresses all parts of the task
8 • presents a well-developed response to the question with relevant, extended and
supported ideas
• addresses all parts of the task
• presents a clear position throughout the response
7
• presents, extends, and supports main ideas, but there may be a tendency to
over-generalise and/or supporting ideas may lack focus
• addresses all parts of the task although some parts may be more fully covered
than others
6 • presents a relevant position although the conclusions many become unclear or
repetitive
• presents relevant main ideas but some may be inadequately developed/unclear
2.
From
Band
6
to
Band
7
No
doubt
you
would
like
to
get
band
8
or
band
9,
but
let’s
work
our
way
up.
First
of
all,
let’s
look
at
what
you
need
to
achieve
to
get
a
bandscore
of
6:
•
(1)
address
all
parts
of
the
task
although
(2)
some
parts
may
be
more
fully
covered
than
others
• (3)
present
a
relevant
position
although
(4)
the
conclusions
many
become
unclear
or
repetitive
• (5)
present
relevant
main
ideas
but
(6)
some
may
be
inadequately
developed/unclear
These
can
be
loosely
translated
into
yes-‐no
questions,
below:
(1) Did
the
student
identify
and
answer
the
question?
(2) Did
the
student
answer
all
parts
of
the
question
with
equal
attention?
(3) Is
the
student’s
position
relevant?
For
example,
is
it
clear
that
they
agree
or
disagree?
(4) Is
their
conclusion
clear
and
succinct?
(5) Are
their
main
ideas
relevant
to
the
question?
(6) Are
their
main
ideas
supported
with
evidence
and/or
examples?
Tish
Kirkland
www.yes.ielts.com
2
Decoding
the
IELTS
Band
Descriptors:
IELTS
Writing
Task
2
Task
Response
by
Tish
Kirkland,
www.yes-‐ielts.com
This
booklet
describes
how
to
understand
the
differences
between
the
criteria
described
in
the
IELTS
public
band
descriptors
for
Task
Response
(TR)
band
levels
6,
7,
8,
and
9.
Contents
1.
About
the
Band
Descriptors
2.
From
Band
6
to
Band
7
3.
From
Band
7
to
Band
8
4.
From
Band
8
to
Band
9
5.
Getting
Professional
Help
1.
About
the
Band
Descriptors
The
band
descriptors
are
the
tools
the
examiner
uses
in
order
to
grade
your
essay.
In
Writing
Task
2,
there
are
four
criteria:
Task
Response
(TR),
Coherence
and
Cohesion
(CC),
Lexical
Resource
(LR),
and
Grammatical
Range
and
Accuracy
(GRA).
In
IELTS
there
are
9
levels,
or
bands:
0
to
9.
Zero
is
the
lowest
and
nine
is
the
highest.
The
public
band
descriptors
for
TR
from
level
6
to
level
9
are
shown
on
the
next
page.
The
highest
grade
which
you
can
be
awarded
is
9.
Tish
Kirkland
www.yes.ielts.com
1
, www. YES-IELTS .com
Public
Band
Descriptors:
Task
Response
Band Task Response
• fully addresses all parts of the task
9 • presents a fully developed position in answer to the question with relevant, fully
extended and well supported ideas
• sufficiently addresses all parts of the task
8 • presents a well-developed response to the question with relevant, extended and
supported ideas
• addresses all parts of the task
• presents a clear position throughout the response
7
• presents, extends, and supports main ideas, but there may be a tendency to
over-generalise and/or supporting ideas may lack focus
• addresses all parts of the task although some parts may be more fully covered
than others
6 • presents a relevant position although the conclusions many become unclear or
repetitive
• presents relevant main ideas but some may be inadequately developed/unclear
2.
From
Band
6
to
Band
7
No
doubt
you
would
like
to
get
band
8
or
band
9,
but
let’s
work
our
way
up.
First
of
all,
let’s
look
at
what
you
need
to
achieve
to
get
a
bandscore
of
6:
•
(1)
address
all
parts
of
the
task
although
(2)
some
parts
may
be
more
fully
covered
than
others
• (3)
present
a
relevant
position
although
(4)
the
conclusions
many
become
unclear
or
repetitive
• (5)
present
relevant
main
ideas
but
(6)
some
may
be
inadequately
developed/unclear
These
can
be
loosely
translated
into
yes-‐no
questions,
below:
(1) Did
the
student
identify
and
answer
the
question?
(2) Did
the
student
answer
all
parts
of
the
question
with
equal
attention?
(3) Is
the
student’s
position
relevant?
For
example,
is
it
clear
that
they
agree
or
disagree?
(4) Is
their
conclusion
clear
and
succinct?
(5) Are
their
main
ideas
relevant
to
the
question?
(6) Are
their
main
ideas
supported
with
evidence
and/or
examples?
Tish
Kirkland
www.yes.ielts.com
2
