Sample IELTS writing feedback
This is the report you get for every Writing task you check: an estimated band, a band and comment for each of the four IELTS criteria, what you did well, the steps to your next band, and corrections taken from your own sentences.
This is an example. We wrote the essay below for this page, with the mistakes that are typical of a Band 6.5 answer, so you can see every part of a report before you pay for one.
Writing Task 2 (essay)
Estimated band
6.5
251 words
This is a clear, well-organised answer that covers both causes and solutions with relevant examples. What holds it back is language accuracy: verb agreement, prepositions and a narrow range of vocabulary.
Check my own writingBand by criterion
- Task Response7.0
- You answer both parts of the question: two causes and three solutions, each explained. The example from your city and the London charge support your points well. Your conclusion repeats the main ideas without adding a new one, and the second cause could be developed further.
- Coherence and Cohesion7.0
- Your four paragraphs follow a clear plan, with causes and solutions kept apart. Linking words such as 'Firstly', 'Secondly' and 'Finally' guide the reader, although they are a little mechanical. The third paragraph covers three solutions quickly, so each one gets only a sentence or two.
- Lexical Resource6.0
- Your vocabulary is clear and fits the topic ('private cars', 'reliable', 'traffic congestion'), but it is mostly common words, and 'public transport' appears five times. There are a few word choice slips, such as 'less people' and 'enter to the city centre'.
- Grammatical Range and Accuracy6.0
- You use some complex sentences correctly, for example 'If trains and buses are fast, cheap and clean, more people will leave their cars at home'. However, there are repeated subject and verb agreement errors ('give them', 'the number of cars have doubled') and several preposition errors.
What you did well
- You answer both parts of the question and keep causes and solutions in separate paragraphs.
- You support your ideas with real examples: the number of cars in your city and the charge in London.
- Your conditional sentence 'If trains and buses are fast, cheap and clean, more people will leave their cars at home' is accurate and natural.
- Your conclusion gives a clear final opinion.
How to reach the next band
- Check every verb against its subject. 'The number of cars' is singular, so it needs 'has', and 'it is more comfortable and gives'.
- Learn the prepositions that go with common verbs: 'invest in', 'enter the city centre' (no preposition), 'at the same time'.
- Avoid repeating 'public transport'. Use 'buses and trains', 'the transport network' or 'these services' for some of them.
- Develop two solutions fully instead of listing three. Explain how the measure works and what result it would have.
- Replace 'This essay will discuss' with your own view of the problem, so the introduction says something about the topic.
Corrections from your writing
Original:
it is more comfortable and give them more freedomImproved: it is more comfortable and gives them more freedom
The subject is 'it', so the verb needs -s.
Original:
the number of cars have doubledImproved: the number of cars has doubled
'The number' is singular.
Original:
invest more money on public transportImproved: invest more money in public transport
The verb 'invest' takes 'in'.
Original:
drivers who enter to the city centre in busy hoursImproved: drivers who enter the city centre at busy times
'Enter' takes no preposition, and we say 'at busy times'.
Original:
some days in the weekImproved: a few days a week
This is the natural phrase.
Original:
so less people need to travel in the same timeImproved: so fewer people need to travel at the same time
Use 'fewer' with things you can count, and 'at the same time'.
Original:
improve the public transportImproved: improve public transport
No article is needed when you mean public transport in general.
The question and the answer that was marked
Traffic congestion is becoming a serious problem in many large cities. What are the causes of this problem, and what measures could be taken to solve it? Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience. Write at least 250 words.
Nowadays, traffic jams have become a daily problem in most big cities around the world. This essay will discuss the main causes of this issue and suggest some solutions for it. The first cause is the increasing number of private cars. As people earn more money, they prefer to buy their own car instead of using public transport, because it is more comfortable and give them more freedom. In my city, for example, the number of cars have doubled in the last ten years, but the roads are still the same. Another reason is that public transport is often not reliable. Buses often come late and they are usually very crowded, so many people think that driving is the only choice for going to work. There are several measures which can solve this problem. Firstly, governments should invest more money on public transport. If trains and buses are fast, cheap and clean, more people will leave their cars at home. Secondly, cities can charge drivers who enter to the city centre in busy hours. London did this many years ago and the traffic in the centre was reduced. Finally, companies could allow their employees to work from home some days in the week, so less people need to travel in the same time. In conclusion, traffic congestion is caused mainly by too many cars and poor public transport. I believe that if governments improve the public transport and control the use of cars, the situation will be better in the future.
How to use a report like this
- Look at the lowest criterion first. Here it is vocabulary and grammar, so that is where the next half band is.
- Read each correction and find the pattern. Four of the seven above are prepositions or verb agreement.
- Rewrite the answer using the steps under "How to reach the next band", then check it again to see what changed.
How your own writing is marked
Two independent AI markers score your answer against the four public IELTS criteria. If they disagree by more than one band, a third marker decides. It takes about 30 seconds, and the report is saved in your dashboard. Bands are estimates to guide your practice, not official IELTS results.
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