IELTS - Writing Assessment Criteria for Task 12023

Task 1 is about presenting the visual information given in the form of an essay in 150 words. The visual information can be in the form of a graph or a chart giving information about people or things.
Completing the Task 1 can be tricky or difficult, if you are not prepared for it.
To give an appropriate answer for the Task 1, follow the below steps.
Introduce the graph/chart.Through this 1st criterion, the examiner will understand how far you have comprehended the given information and your ability to transform the information into a neat and descriptive essay.
Coherence directly implies the regularity in your sentence structure and the sentences that come after it. Cohesion is nothing but the whole meaningful information that should be presented through your essay.
The Band and its meaning for each criterion are given below for students’ reference.
Band |
Task Achievement |
Coherence and Cohesion |
Lexical Resource |
Grammatical Range and Accuracy |
9 |
Satisfies all the requirements of the task and presents a fully developed response |
Skillful in paraphrasing and using cohesion |
Ability to use a wide range of vocabulary in a natural and sophisticated way. |
Perfect grammatical usage with complete flexibility and accuracy. |
8 |
Sufficient in fulfilling the task requirements and properly highlighting and illustrating the key features. |
Presents information with coherence and logic. |
Have the ability to use a wide range of vocabulary fluently and flexibly. |
Accuracy in the usage of grammar. |
7 |
Presents a precise overview of the central theme but could be more descriptive. |
Clear presentation of information and cohesive ideas still over/under usage |
Ability to use a sufficient range of vocabulary with occasional errors in spelling and word formation control. |
Has good grammar and punctuation. |
6 |
Can present the information in a clear way, but inconsistencies and irrelevancy in tone exist. |
There is an overall progression with the presentation of information and ideas coherently. |
Adequate vocabulary usage with occasional errors in word choice, spelling and word formation. |
Can use simple and complex sentences with some errors in grammar and punctuation. |
5 |
Can address the task purpose but need to describe the given information clearly. Need more time to focus on details. |
Can present information with some organisation but needs more progression and accuracy. |
Uses vocabulary, which is adequate for the task but makes spelling and word formation errors. |
Only fair usage of grammar with frequent errors. |
4 |
Tried to attempt the task but didn’t touch key features. Also, there is inaccuracy and irrelevancy in the presentation. |
Presented information is not cohesive. |
Usage of only basic vocabulary and limited control of word formation. |
Only limited usage of proper grammar and also frequent grammatical errors. |
3 |
Unable to address the task's purpose and presents information inaccurately. |
No proper organisation of ideas and very limited coherency. |
Only limited usage of vocabulary with too many errors altering the message. |
Attempted sentence formation but frequent errors in grammar and punctuation, changing the meaning of the information. |
2 |
Answer is barely related to the task given. |
Little to no control over presenting the information in a coherent way. |
Extremely limited usage of vocabulary with too many errors spoiling the message. |
Tried to attempt sentence formation, but frequent grammar errors distort the message. |
1 |
Answer doesn’t completely match the task given. |
The answer doesn’t deliver any message. |
Usage of only a few isolated words. |
Cannot use grammar. |
0 |
Did not attend the exam/ did not attend the task/ written a memorised response. |
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Task Achievement, Coherence and Cohesion, Lexical Resource and Grammatical Range and Accuracy are the four criteria for scoring the IELTS Writing Task 1.