Ielts Writing Band Descriptors Private Version -

The private rule: If you use two or more of these leeches in one essay, your Lexical Resource score cannot exceed Band 6.0, regardless of other sophisticated vocabulary. Examiners call this the “phrasebook penalty.”

The "private" or "confidential" version of the IELTS Writing Band Descriptors was once the examiner's secret playbook, offering a more granular look at how essays are scored than the simplified "public" version.

For Task 2, if you write fewer than 250 words, the private version instructs examiners to stop marking at Band 5 for Task Achievement, which drags everything else down. Conversely, writing 350+ words does not help unless every extra word is relevant. The private cap for memorized templates is severe: If your introduction is purely formulaic (“In the contemporary epoch, the contentious issue of whether… has sparked a heated debate”), examiners are trained to lower Lexical Resource by one full band because you are displaying “memorized language,” not natural vocabulary. ielts writing band descriptors private version

So why do so many of these well-prepared students walk out of the test room confident they scored a 7, only to receive a 5.5 or a 6.0?

Always compare: “In contrast to X, Y remained stable,” or “Although both rose, A increased more sharply than B.” The private rule: If you use two or

Not all errors are equal. Examiners use an internal Error Gravity Hierarchy . Minor errors are ignored at Band 6-7. Major errors are fatal.

This measures the variety of sentence structures you use (simple vs. complex) and the frequency of "error-free" sentences. Evolution of the "Private" Version Conversely, writing 350+ words does not help unless

Addresses the task only partially; position is unclear or underdeveloped. Uses limited vocabulary and repetitive sentence structures; frequent errors may cause some difficulty.

The public descriptors mention “logical sequencing” and “paragraphing” for Band 6 and above.