How the ieltswrites AI Scores IELTS Writing: Method, Feedback and Limits

The short answer

The ieltswrites AI assesses your essay on each of the four public IELTS Writing criteria one at a time, against summarised public band descriptors, and gives each a whole band from 0 to 9. The system then computes the overall band as the mean of the four criteria, rounded to the nearest half band using IELTS rounding.

The result is a practice estimate against the public descriptors. It is not an official IELTS result.

How the criteria and the overall band are scored

The four criteria are Task Achievement (Task 1) or Task Response (Task 2), Coherence and Cohesion, Lexical Resource, and Grammatical Range and Accuracy.

• One criterion at a time: each criterion is assessed separately against summarised anchors taken from the public band descriptors, and receives a whole band from 0 to 9.
• Testing the band above: before awarding a band, the AI tests whether the essay meets the descriptor for the band above. This is why each criterion comes with a "why not the next band" point.
• Uneven profiles are reported: if your criteria differ by one or two bands, the scores are reported as they are and not flattened into a single average impression.
• Under-length essays: a Task 1 under 150 words or a Task 2 under 250 words is penalised within the first criterion. Length alone is never rewarded.
• Overall band: calculated by the system, not guessed by the AI. It is the mean of the four criterion bands, rounded to the nearest half band following IELTS rounding. A mean ending in .25 rounds up to the next half band, and a mean ending in .75 rounds up to the next whole band.
• Worked examples: criteria of 6, 6, 7 and 7 have a mean of 6.5, so the overall band is 6.5. Criteria of 6, 6, 6 and 7 have a mean of 6.25, which rounds up to 6.5. Criteria of 6, 7, 7 and 7 have a mean of 6.75, which rounds up to 7.0.

Task types and the Task 1 figure check

Each task type has its own marking prompt, so a letter is not judged as if it were a report.

• Academic Task 1: marked as a description of a visual (chart, table, map or diagram).
• General Training Task 1: marked as a letter, looking at the bullet points, the purpose and the tone.
• Task 2: marked as an essay, for both Academic and General Training.
• Cambridge IELTS Academic Task 1 questions on the site: the AI receives a text transcript of the chart, table, map or diagram and checks every figure you report. Misreported data counts against Task Achievement, and the correct value is given in the feedback.
• Your own pasted Task 1 question: there is no transcript, so the AI cannot verify your figures and does not judge them. Check them against the original yourself.

What the feedback contains

The feedback is built to show you what to change, not just a number.

• A per-criterion summary with strengths, improvements and a "why not the next band" point.
• Six to fourteen line-by-line annotations that quote your essay word for word. Each is marked as good, suggestion or error, and comes with a fix.
• Near-synonyms for words you used.
• High-band vocabulary upgrades.
• Topic vocabulary for the question you answered.
• An overall evaluation with short-term, medium-term and long-term advice.

How to get the most useful feedback

The feedback is only as informative as the conditions of the essay you submit. Four habits make the biggest difference.

• Write under exam timing: about 20 minutes for Task 1 and 40 minutes for Task 2, or 60 minutes for both. An untimed essay shows you what you can do with unlimited time, not what you will do in the exam.
• Use the real question: practise on actual exam-style questions rather than inventing your own, and keep the full question text with the essay.
• Type with no spell check: the computer-delivered test has none, so your spelling errors need to be visible to be corrected.
• Compare criteria across essays: look at the four criteria separately over many essays, not only at the overall band, and watch for errors and weak points that repeat.

Limits and cost

The score is an estimate against public descriptors, not an official IELTS result. ieltswrites is not affiliated with IELTS, the British Council, IDP or Cambridge.

Scores for the same essay can vary slightly between runs. The tool is a practice aid. It works best for comparing your progress across many essays and for finding repeated error patterns, not for predicting an exact exam band from a single essay.

Feedback is written in your interface language, from a choice of 11 languages. Quotes, corrections and vocabulary stay in English. Practice on the simulator is free. AI scoring uses credits, and you receive one free credit after email verification.

Common questions

• Is the ieltswrites score an official IELTS result? No. It is an estimate against public band descriptors, and ieltswrites is not affiliated with IELTS, the British Council, IDP or Cambridge.
• Will the same essay always get the same score? Not always. Scores can vary slightly between runs, so compare trends across several essays instead of reacting to one result.
• Does it check the figures in my Task 1 report? For the Cambridge IELTS Academic Task 1 questions on the site, yes: every figure is checked against a text transcript. For a Task 1 question you paste yourself, no: there is no transcript, so figures are not judged.
• What language is the feedback in? Your interface language, from 11 available. The quotes from your essay, the corrections and the vocabulary stay in English.
• Does it cost anything? Practice on the simulator is free. AI scoring uses credits, and one free credit is given after you verify your email.

More guides

• IELTS Computer-Delivered Writing Test: Format, Screen and How to Practise
• IELTS Writing Band Descriptors Explained: The Four Criteria and How Your Band Is Calculated
• How to Write IELTS Academic Writing Task 1: Overview, Structure and Key Features
• IELTS Writing Task 2 Essay Types: How to Structure Opinion, Discussion, Advantages, Problem–Solution and Two-Part Essays
• IELTS General Training Writing Task 1: How to Write a Letter (Formal, Semi-formal and Informal)
• IELTS Writing Word Count: Minimum Words, Penalties and What Counts as a Word
• How to Get Band 7 in IELTS Writing: What Changes from Band 6 to 7
• Browse the question bank