IELTS Writing Task 2: 5 Mistakes That Cap You at Band 6.5

Writing is the module where candidates most often plateau. A student scores 7.5 in Listening, 7.0 in Reading, 7.0 in Speaking, and 6.0 in Writing, which drags the overall down to 7.0 when they needed 7.5. Here is what our instructors correct most often.

Mistake 1: Answering the topic instead of the question

A prompt reads: "Some people believe that university education should be free for all students. To what extent do you agree or disagree?" The student writes four paragraphs about the general benefits of university education.

That essay is about the topic. It does not answer the question. Task Response is a full quarter of your Writing score, and an essay that does not directly address what was asked cannot exceed band 5 or 6 on that criterion no matter how good the English is.

The fix: before writing anything, underline the instruction words. "To what extent do you agree" requires a clear position stated in the introduction and maintained throughout. "Discuss both views and give your opinion" requires all three elements. "What are the causes and what solutions can you suggest" requires both halves given roughly equal space. Write your position in one sentence before you start, and check every paragraph against it.

Mistake 2: Memorised phrases that examiners recognise instantly

"In this modern era of globalisation and technological advancement, it is an undeniable fact that this issue has become a burning question in today's contemporary society."

That sentence contains forty words and zero content. Examiners see it hundreds of times. Memorised template language does not raise your Lexical Resource score; it lowers it, because the band descriptors specifically reward flexible and natural use of vocabulary, not rehearsed phrases inserted regardless of topic.

The fix: paraphrase the actual question in your own words and state your position. Two sentences. Then move on. Your introduction is worth very few marks and every word spent on decoration is a word not spent developing an argument.

Mistake 3: Examples that are not examples

"For example, many people in society believe this is true." That is not an example. It is a restatement with the words "for example" in front of it.

Band 7 requires ideas to be extended and supported. Support means something specific: a situation, a consequence, a comparison, a mechanism. It does not have to be a real statistic, and you should not invent fake research citations, but it must add information rather than repeat it.

The fix: after every claim, ask yourself "so what happens then?" and write the answer. If you claim free university education would increase social mobility, explain the mechanism: students from low-income families currently exclude themselves at application stage because of debt aversion, so removing the fee changes who applies before it changes who graduates. That is support.

Mistake 4: Linking words used as decoration

"Moreover, furthermore, in addition, additionally, besides this" appearing at the start of five consecutive sentences does not create cohesion. It creates a list that happens to have signposts on it.

Coherence and Cohesion assesses whether your ideas flow logically, whether paragraphing is appropriate, and whether referencing is handled well. Overusing connectors is explicitly noted in the band descriptors as a limitation, not a strength.

The fix: use pronouns and reference words to link sentences. "This approach", "such policies", "the resulting shortage" all carry the reader forward without a mechanical connector. Aim for one or two explicit connectors per paragraph, placed where the logical relationship genuinely needs signalling.

Mistake 5: Running out of time on Task 2

Task 2 carries twice the weight of Task 1. Candidates who spend twenty-five minutes on the chart and then rush the essay in thirty-five minutes are optimising the wrong half of the paper.

The fix: twenty minutes on Task 1, forty on Task 2, and start with Task 2 if you find yourself over-running on Task 1 regularly. Practise with a clock, not a rough sense of time. Five minutes of planning at the start of Task 2 saves ten minutes of restructuring in the middle.

A realistic paragraph structure

Four paragraphs, not five. Introduction of two sentences. Two body paragraphs of roughly 110 to 130 words each, one clear idea per paragraph, developed properly. Conclusion of two sentences restating your position with the reasoning compressed. Around 280 to 300 words total.

Longer is not better. An essay of 400 words with four half-developed ideas scores below an essay of 290 words with two fully developed ones.

How to practise so it actually improves

Writing twenty essays and marking none of them changes nothing. Write one essay, get it marked against the four official band descriptors, understand exactly which descriptor cost you the mark, then write the next one addressing that specific weakness. Five essays with detailed feedback beat thirty without.