Struggling to know why your IELTS writing score isn't higher? Here's how our new feedback works.
- Francis Carlisle
- Jul 21
- 3 min read
If you've ever finished an IELTS writing task and thought "was that good?", you're not alone. It's one of the hardest parts of the test to judge for yourself.
You can feel like you've written something really good and still come away with a band score that doesn't match how you felt about it - and the worst part is not knowing why.
That's the problem we set out to fix. I've spent fifteen years marking IELTS writing as a teacher and examiner, and the one thing every student wants - but rarely gets - is to actually understand what an examiner is looking for when they read an answer.
Not vague advice like "use better grammar." The real, specific reasons behind a score.
So we rebuilt our writing feedback from scratch, based on how a real examiner actually marks.
Here's what it does for you now.
Feedback that shows you how the examiner’s mind works
When an examiner marks your writing, they're not giving you one overall impression - they're scoring four separate things: how well you answered the question, how well your essay is organised, how good your vocabulary is, and how accurate your grammar is.
Our feedback works the same way. Instead of one general comment, you get a clear breakdown across all four areas, so you know exactly which part of your writing needs the most work - and which parts are already strong.
Did you actually answer the question?
This is the one that catches people out most. You can write fluently, use great vocabulary, and structure your essay perfectly - and still lose marks if you didn't fully answer what was asked.
Our feedback checks this directly and tells you clearly if you've missed part of the question. It's an easy thing to fix once you know it's happening, and a hard thing to spot on your own.
Is your essay structured the way examiners expect?
Small structural things make a real difference to your score - like whether you included a proper introduction, or an overview sentence at the start of a Task 1 answer. These are easy to forget if nobody's ever told you they matter.
If something's missing from your structure, we'll tell you exactly what it is and why it counts, so you can fix it next time, not just this time.
Vocabulary help that actually teaches you something
A lot of tools will just tell you a word is overused and hand you a list of alternatives. That's not very useful on its own - you're left guessing whether the new word actually fits.
So when we flag a word you've overused, we don't just suggest a replacement. We rewrite your sentence using the better word, so you can see exactly how it should be used in context - not just what to swap in, but how a stronger writer would phrase the same idea.
We tell you what you're doing well, too
A good teacher doesn't only point out mistakes. They tell you what you're already doing right, so you know to keep doing it. Our feedback works the same way - wherever you've done what the examiner is looking for, we tell you specifically. That way, you build confidence in the things that are already working, not just a list of what's wrong.
A full grammar breakdown, line by line
Instead of a general note like "check your grammar," every single line of your answer is checked individually. You'll see exactly where each mistake is and why it's a mistake, so you can actually learn from it - rather than getting one vague impression of how accurate your grammar was overall.
Why it's different
There are plenty of tools out there that will read your essay and give you feedback. Very few of them are actually built around how IELTS is marked. Ours is - designed and checked, line by line, against how a real examiner thinks, so the feedback you get is the same kind of feedback you'd get sitting across from a teacher, not a generic AI response.
For teachers: this means your students arrive at their next lesson already understanding their strengths and gaps in detail - so you can spend your time teaching, not re-explaining what a band score means.
Find out your IELTS writing score
Get an accurate score (100% of scores are within 1 band of a certified examiner), and see your feedback
We hope this helps you get your IELTS score - good luck with your IELTS prep!
— Francis
