IELTS Writing Academic Task 1 Checklist

Use this comprehensive checklist to effectively self-prepare for the IELTS Writing Exam, Academic Task 1 and attain a band from 6.0 to 9.0.

Tick the items below in your self-practice for IELTS Writitng. It’s not a must to have all of them, but the more structures you use correctly, the higher your score will be.

Time

✔️ It took 20 min or less

Task Achievement

✔️ 150+ words
✔️ Key features are highlighted (and supported by data)
✔️ Overview of main trends/differences/stages is presented
✔️ Comparisons are made where relevant

Coherence and Cohesion

✔️ 3+ paragraphs
✔️ Logical structure
✔️ Clear progression
✔️ Linkers (at least 3-5)

Lexical Resource

✔️ Topic-specific vocabulary
✔️ Collocations
✔️ Phrasal verbs
✔️ B2-C2 vocabulary
✔️ No spelling mistakes
✔️ No excessive repetition
✔️ Academic (formal) style

Grammatical Range and Accuracy

✔️ Variety of tenses (at least 2)
✔️ Passive voice
✔️ Comparatives & superlatives
✔️ Quantifiers (much/many, few/little, some/any, etc. )
✔️ Gerund/infinitive
✔️ Relative clauses (...who/ which/ that...)
✔️ Time clauses (...when/after/until...)
✔️ No mistakes in grammar (articles, prepositions, tenses, etc.)
✔️ No mistakes in punctuation

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