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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.

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Band 9 Task Response fully addresses all parts of the task 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 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 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 presents a relevant position although the conclusions many become unclear or repetitive presents relevant main ideas but some may be inadequately developed/unclear

Public Band Descriptors: Task Response

2. From Band 6 to Band 7

No doubt you would like to get band 8 or band 9, but lets work our way up. First of all, lets 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 students 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?

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(1) address all parts of the task (2) present a clear position throughout the response (3) present, extend, and support main ideas, but (4) there may be a tendency to over-generalise and/or (5) supporting ideas may lack focus

If your IELTS examiner can answer yes to all of the above questions, then you can get a bandscore of 6 in Task Response (TR). But wait! If they can answer yes to all of the above, then maybe you can move up to a level 7! The examiner will check the level above to see if you can be awarded that one. Lets take a look at what you need to achieve in order to get a bandscore of 7 in Task Response:

In other words: (1) Did the student identify the question and answer all parts of the question with equal attention? (2) Does their position remain clear throughout the whole essay? Is their conclusion clear and succinct? (3) Are their main ideas usually supported with relevant examples and/or evidence? (4) Do they sometimes make general statements without any evidence or examples? (5) Are their supporting ideas sometimes not relevant to the question? So, what are the main differences between band 6 & band 7 in Task Response? They are outlined below: Band 6 Identifies and answers the question, but not with equal attention. Presents a relevant position but it may not be throughout the whole essay Band 7 Identifies the question and answers all parts with equal attention. Presents a clear position which is maintained throughout the whole essay.

Presents main ideas, but these may not be Presents main ideas which are extended and extended nor supported with evidence/examples. supported with evidence/examples. You should note that half-marks cannot be awarded when the examiner is selecting the bandscore in each of the four separate criteria.

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(1) sufficiently address all parts of the task (2) present a well-developed response to the question with (3) relevant, extended and supported ideas

3. From Band 7 to Band 8

Now, if the examiner can confidently say yes to all the bullet points in Band 7, then perhaps they can also say yes to some or all the bullet points you must achieve to be given a bandscore of 8:

While reading this, the examiner is thinking: (1) Has the student identified the question and answered all parts of the question with equal attention and sufficiently? (2) Does their position remain clear throughout the whole essay? Is the conclusion clear and succinct? (3) Are the students main ideas supported with examples and/or evidence? Are their supporting ideas, evidence and/or examples relevant to the question? Are their supporting ideas long yet concise enough to be persuasive? The main differences between band 7 & band 8 in TR are noted below: Band 7 Identifies the question and answers all parts with equal attention. Presents a clear position which is maintained throughout the whole essay. Presents main ideas which are extended and supported with evidence/examples. Some ideas may not be relevant to the question. Band 8 Identifies the question and answers all parts sufficiently. Presents a clear and well-developed position which is maintained throughout the whole essay. Presents main ideas which are relevant to the question, extended and supported with evidence/examples.

Remember, you need to achieve all bullet points in order to be awarded that bandscore. If you are lacking in one, you will be awarded the bandscore below. If you are lacking in that one, you will be awarded below again, and so on.

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(1) fully address all parts of the task

4. From Band 8 to Band 9

What about bandscore of 9? To get a band 9, you must accomplish the following: present a (2) fully developed position in answer to the question with (3) relevant, fully extended and well supported ideas Which can translate to: (1) Has the student identified the question and answered all parts of the question to full capacity? (2) Does their position remain clear throughout the whole essay? Is their conclusion clear and succinct? (3) Are the students main ideas fully developed and always supported with relevant examples and/or evidence? Are their supporting ideas relevant to the question? Are their supporting ideas succinct yet detailed enough to be persuasive? The main differences between band 8 & band 9 can be seen below: Band 8 Identifies the question and answers all parts sufficiently. Presents a clear and well-developed position which is maintained throughout the whole essay. Presents main ideas which are relevant to the question, extended and supported with evidence/examples. Band 9 Identifies the question and answers all parts of it fully. Presents a clear and fully-developed position which is maintained throughout the whole essay. Presents main ideas which are relevant to the question, fully extended, and well supported with solid evidence/examples.

Bear in mind that the examiner is not working against you; they want you to get the bandscore that accurately describes your ability. They will always check the bandscore descriptors, not only for the level below but also for the level above in the hope that you can reach that level.

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5. Getting Professional Help

When you are sitting the Writing part of the IELTS test, it is vital you spend time thinking about your response before you start writing. Take time to analyse the question and brainstorm your ideas. By taking these two initial steps, you can achieve well in Task Response. Further detailed information and step-by-step practice (with assistance from a tutor) is presented in the YES-IELTS e-Course: Academic Writing Task 2 and YES-IELTS e-Course: General Writing Task 2, which can be found at www.yes-ielts.com. Good luck!

Tish

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