IELTS essay writing checklist

This checklist is designed to help you self-assess how well you have met the requirements of

the IELTS writing rubric. The four areas that examiners look at are; task response, coherence

and cohesion, lexical resource, grammatical range and accuracy.

Task response

Have I written enough?

Do I clearly identify the task in the introduction?

Do I state my position in the introduction and conclusion?

Coherence and cohesion

Have I structured my paragraphs well?

Is there a clear introduction, main argument and conclusion?

Have I used examples and reasons?

Do my sentences link together?

Lexical resource

Did I paraphrase the question?

Are there any words I repeat consistently?

Have I used some academic vocabulary?

Have I used vocabulary specific to the topic of the question?

Grammatical range and accuracy

Have I checked spelling and punctuation?

Have I checked my verb tenses?

Are my sentences between 15 and 25 words long?

Writing process

(This part is to do with how well you managed your time)

How long did I spend planning/writing/correcting my essay?