IELTS Writing checker with band scores by criterion

We measure it. On essays scored by human examiners, its ranking agrees with theirs at a Pearson correlation of about 0.8 — the level of the best AI scorers. On weaker essays, where examiner scores are the most reliable, it is on average within half a band of the examiner. It is still a practice estimate: allow up to one band either way.

No. It is a practice estimate for preparation. Only a certified IELTS examiner awards an official band; allow up to one band of difference.

Many services are trained on downloaded essays whose labels run one or two bands high, so they overrate. This tool is calibrated to the live examiner standard and shows the quote behind each criterion, so you can see why the band is what it is.

It counts words the way the exam does, checks paragraphing, repeated or mechanical linking words, contractions and informal words, memorised phrases, spelling against a 74,000-word list, and task essentials: an overview in Academic Task 1, a clear position in Task 2, a matching greeting and sign-off in a letter. It does not judge your ideas or grammar beyond these surface checks and never shows a band — that is what the examiner grade does.

Like the counter in the computer-delivered test: every space-separated word counts, including a, the and numbers, so a hyphenated word or a contraction such as don’t counts as one. Task 2 needs at least 250 words and Task 1 at least 150; an answer under the minimum loses marks for Task Response or Task Achievement.

Questions from the practice bank come with their chart and its data, so every figure you quote can be compared with the source. For your own question, attach the chart image so the examiner model can read it, or type the key figures into the question.

It counts down 40 minutes for Task 2 or 20 for Task 1 and switches off your browser’s spell check while it runs — the computer-delivered test has none. Typing does not stop when time is up; the timer shows how far over you went.

A band for each criterion with a quote from your text, mistakes marked in your answer with fixes, a step-by-step plan for the next half-band, drills for your two weakest criteria and your own essay rewritten to Band 9 with every change shown. It can be saved as a PDF and stays in your account.