How is Academic Task 1 Scored?

This lesson will discuss the elements you need to score band 9 in IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 in 20 minutes. To understand this let’s see how academic task 1 is scored.

Each of the following mentioned points carries 25% of the scoring load.

1. Task Achievement:

This is where you can really make a difference through careful preparation. This mark grades you on basically “have you answered the question?”. It marks whether you have covered all requirements of the task sufficiently and whether you presented, highlighted and illustrate the key points appropriately.

This criterion assesses how appropriately, accurately and relevantly the response fulfils the requirements set out in the task, using the minimum of 150 words. The examiner has the following questions in mind when assessing this aspect of your report:

1. Have you summarised the information appropriately by selecting and properly reporting the main features?
2. Have you made comparisons properly and sufficiently?
3. Have you provided overviews of the main trends/comparisons/stages?
4. Have you written a clear overview or summary for the report?

2. Coherence and Cohesion:

This criterion is concerned with the overall clarity and fluency of the message: how the response organises and links information, ideas and language. Coherence refers to the linking of ideas through logical sequencing. Cohesion refers to the varied and appropriate use of cohesive devices (for example, logical connectors, pronouns and conjunctions) to assist in making the conceptual and referential relationships between and within sentences clear.

The examiner has the following questions in mind when assessing this aspect of your report:

5. Have you organised your information logically?
6. Is there an overall flow or progression in your report?
7. Have you used linkers correctly, properly and sufficiently?
8. Have pronouns been used correctly and do they have clear references?
9. Have you organised the text in paragraphs logically and sufficiently?

Cohesion and Cohesion are interrelated which is why they are done together. Cohesion is how your writing fits together. Does your writing with its ideas and content flow logically? Coherence is how you are making yourself understood and whether the reader of your writing understands what you are saying.

3. Lexical Resource:

This area looks at the your choice of words. The marker will look at whether the right words are used and whether they are used at the right time in the right place and in the right way. To get a good mark here, the word choice should not only be accurate but wide ranging, natural and sophisticated.

The examiner takes the following points into account when assessing this aspect of your report:

Words

• Range and flexibility
• Level
• Precision
• Style
• Collocation

Vocabulary mistakes

• Spelling
• Word choice
• Word formation

4. Grammatical Range and Accuracy:

This criterion refers to the range and accurate use of the candidate’s grammatical resource as manifested in the candidate’s writing at the sentence level.

Here the examiner will mark your appropriate, flexible and accurate use of grammatical structures. Many people are worried about their grammar but, as you can see, grammar is only one section of four used to grade your writing. IELTS is much more interested in communication rather than grammatical accuracy. It is, of course, still part of the marking scheme and important as such.

The examiner has the following questions in mind when assessing this aspect of your report:

1. Have you used a variety of sentence structures?
2. How often have you used compound structures?
3. Mistakes
4. Grammar
5. Punctuation

By staying on topic, developing your grammar skills, using a broad and precise vocabulary, and building coherence and cohesion, you’ll boost your IETLS Task 1 (graph writing) band score—and your English skills as well.