When examiners mark your Writing Task 1, they use four official band descriptors. To hit Band 9, you must master all four.

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Task Achievement (25%)

What examiners want:

• Fully address the task (summarise key features, make comparisons, highlight trends).
• Give an overview that identifies the most significant patterns (not just list everything).
• Support statements with accurate data (figures, percentages, years, etc.).
• No irrelevant details, no opinions, no explanations of why trends happen.

Band 9 Performance:
✔ Clear overview (trends, peaks, contrasts).
✔ Accurate data selection (no missed main points).
✔ Concise, logical description without unnecessary repetition.

Band 9 Example (Overview):

“Overall, while the production of electricity from coal and gas remained the highest throughout the period, renewable sources such as wind and solar showed a steady upward trend.”

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Coherence and Cohesion (25%)

What examiners want:

• Clear logical organisation.
• Smooth progression of ideas.
• Correct and varied use of cohesive devices (while, whereas, in contrast, similarly, as a result).
• Paragraphing that makes sense (intro + overview + details).

Band 9 Performance:
✔ Logical flow (introduction → overview → body paragraphs).
✔ Cohesive devices used naturally (not overused).
✔ No mechanical linking (e.g., repeating on the other hand, on the other hand).

Band 9 Example (Coherence):

“Between 2000 and 2010, the consumption of oil declined gradually, whereas the use of natural gas remained relatively stable. In contrast, renewable energy sources experienced consistent growth over the same period.”

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Lexical Resource (25%)

What examiners want:

• Wide range of academic vocabulary.
• Accurate collocations (a sharp increase, remained stable, accounted for).
• Precise word choice (knowing the difference between rose by 10% and rose to 10%).
• No informal words (big rise → significant increase).

Band 9 Performance:
✔ Variety: rose sharply, experienced a decline, remained constant, levelled off.
✔ Precision: “The number rose to 200,000” (final figure) vs. “rose by 200,000” (difference).
✔ No spelling or word formation errors.

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Grammatical Range and Accuracy (25%)

What examiners want:

• Variety of sentence structures (simple, compound, complex, passive).
• Accurate use of tenses (usually past simple or present simple, depending on the chart).
• Comparative and superlative structures (higher than, the highest, less than).
• No grammar errors.

Band 9 Performance:
✔ Flexible sentence structures.
✔ Accurate use of clauses (Although the figure for men declined, the number for women remained steady.).
✔ Accurate articles, plurals, prepositions.

Band 9 Example (Grammar):

“Although the proportion of men in higher education fell slightly, women accounted for the majority of enrolments by the end of the period.”

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Structure for Band 9 Task 1

1. Introduction – Paraphrase the question.
2. Overview – Identify key trends (no numbers here).
3. Body 1 – Describe first main trend(s) with data.
4. Body 2 – Describe second main trend(s) with data.

✅ Always: group information logically, highlight extremes, and make comparisons.
❌ Never: list every single number in the chart.

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What You Need to Do for Band 9

• ✔ Paraphrase smartly (don’t copy the task statement).
• ✔ Always write a clear overview (trends, not details).
• ✔ Use precise vocabulary for change and comparison.
• ✔ Group data logically instead of describing year by year.
• ✔ Show flexibility in grammar (complex sentences, comparisons, passives).
• ✔ Avoid opinion, reasons, or predictions (that’s Task 2).