IELTS Task Response: Band 6 vs Band 7 Examples
Compare the decisions that separate a generally relevant response from a clearly developed Band 7 direction.
Quick answer
The practical difference between Band 6 and Band 7 Task Response is usually control: a Band 7 direction addresses the main parts of the prompt, presents a clear position, and develops its main ideas with relevant support. A Band 6 response may still answer the question, but its conclusion can be unclear, one part of the task may receive less attention, or supporting ideas may remain general.
Coverage comes before sophisticated language
A two-part question creates two obligations. If you explain causes in detail but give only one sentence to solutions, strong vocabulary cannot repair the missing coverage. Before planning examples, underline every instruction in the prompt and assign paragraph space to each one.
Coverage does not mean giving equal word counts mechanically. It means that a reader can find a meaningful answer to every required part. Your thesis should also reveal the position that the body paragraphs will defend.
Relevant ideas still need extension and support
A relevant claim such as 'technology improves education' begins an answer but does not complete it. Development shows which learners benefit, what technology changes, and why that change matters. Support may be a concrete scenario, comparison, or consequence.
Do not confuse length with development. Repeating the same claim in different words adds sentences without adding reasoning. Each sentence should perform a new function in the argument.
Worked examples
Before-and-after IELTS Writing fixes
Weak direction
This essay will discuss both views before giving a conclusion.
Stronger direction
Although private companies can fund innovation efficiently, governments should remain responsible for essential medical research that has high social value but limited short-term profit.
Weak direction
People move to cities because there are more jobs. This causes many problems.
Stronger direction
People often move to cities for specialised employment and education. Governments can reduce the resulting pressure by moving public institutions to regional centres and improving transport between smaller towns.
Weak direction
School uniforms are useful because students are equal.
Stronger direction
School uniforms can reduce visible differences in family income because clothing brands no longer signal which pupils can afford expensive fashion. This may lower one source of social pressure, even though uniforms cannot remove inequality outside school.
Weak direction
For example, technology is everywhere nowadays.
Stronger direction
For example, recorded lectures allow students who miss class because of work or illness to review the same explanation later, reducing the academic cost of an unavoidable absence.
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Self-check before you submit
- Have I answered every instruction in the prompt?
- Is my position visible in the introduction and conclusion?
- Does each body paragraph contain one developed main idea?
- Does every example directly support the preceding claim?
- Have I avoided changing position midway through the essay?
Frequently asked questions
Can grammar lower Task Response?
Grammar is scored separately, but language errors can make your position or reasoning difficult to understand. The Task Response issue is the lost meaning, while the errors themselves affect grammar.
Does a balanced essay automatically receive Band 7?
No. Balance is useful only when the prompt requires it or it supports a clear position. The response still needs full task coverage, developed ideas, and relevant support.
Continue with a related fix
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