How to Get Band 7.0+ in IELTS Writing

Many IELTS test takers feel stuck at Band 6.0 or 6.5 in Writing.

So in this post, I will share practical tips that can actually help you raise your score.

This is useful for both IELTS Academic and IELTS General test takers.

I also made a video version of this content, so if you prefer listening over reading, or if you want extra English listening practice, please check it out.

Format Overview

First, let me explain the IELTS Writing format.

In Writing, you complete 2 tasks in 60 minutes.

You can choose your own timing, but this split is generally recommended:

Task 1 (20 minutes): minimum 150 words, worth one-third of your Writing score

Task 2 (40 minutes): minimum 250 words, worth two-thirds of your Writing score

In IELTS Academic, Task 1 asks you to describe visual information. It is often a bar chart, a map, or a process diagram.

In IELTS General, Task 1 is a letter-writing task.

It can be formal, semi-formal, or informal. For example, you may need to write about a return, a leave request, or an explanation of a situation.

For Task 2, both Academic and General require an essay.

In Academic, topics are often more academic, such as climate change, healthcare, or education.

In General, topics are usually more everyday themes, such as family life or television.

IELTS Writing is difficult and time-limited, but if you understand the right approach, you can improve.

Tip 1: Understand the Scoring Criteria

IELTS Writing is scored using these four criteria:

Task Achievement/Response Coherence and Cohesion Lexical Resource Grammatical Range and Accuracy

To get Band 7+, you need to write strategically.

Task Achievement / Task Response

This measures how accurately you answer the question.

Did you answer every part of the task?
Is your content relevant to the prompt?
Did you explain your ideas clearly with examples?
Did you meet the minimum word count?

If your response is too short, your score drops. But writing too much is not always better either, because it often leads to irrelevant content.

Coherence and Cohesion

This measures logical structure.

Are your paragraphs clearly organized?
Are your ideas logical and easy to follow?

Before you start writing, it is very important to make an essay plan.

Take a few minutes to brainstorm and choose the easiest idea to explain well.

Ask yourself:

Why? How exactly? What is the real result?

For example, a Band 6 sentence might look like this:

“Social media causes stress.”

A Band 7+ version would be:

“Social media can increase stress because users constantly compare their lives to carefully curated online images, which may create unrealistic expectations and feelings of inadequacy.”

It is also important to use a range of linking words.

If you use “however” once, try alternatives like “nevertheless” or “although” in other places.

Lexical Resource

Avoid repeating the same words over and over.

For example, instead of “manage,” you can use “handle,” “deal with,” “cope with,” or “take control of.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy

Common grammar mistakes among Japanese learners include articles and plural forms. Even learners with strong English often make these errors.

Find your own repeated grammar error patterns and focus your study on those areas.

Tip 2: Read a Lot

Many people think, “To improve writing, I just need to write more.” Writing practice is important, but reading is also extremely important. In fact, it is often more important than only doing writing drills.

Research shows that extensive reading improves vocabulary, grammar, and logical organization.

These are all directly scored in IELTS Writing, so reading alone can significantly improve your writing performance.

If you are taking IELTS Academic, it is a good idea to read academic-style texts like those used in IELTS Reading passages.

Task 2 often includes topics like education, technology, and environmental issues, so reading about these areas in advance makes it easier to generate essay ideas.

Of course, novels and casual articles are also very useful. What matters most is regular exposure to English.

That said, many people do not have a reading habit.

So I recommend turning reading into a habit.

For example, decide: “I will read an English book during my commute,” and make it part of your routine.

It might feel hard at first, but with consistency, it starts to feel strange not to do it.

Think about daily showers. They are not always convenient, but most people do them because it became a habit, and skipping it feels uncomfortable.

Once something becomes a habit, you do not need to rely on motivation.

This idea is explained in detail in the book Atomic Habits, which I highly recommend reading in English.

Another key point is to choose books at your level.

If you are around Band 6 or below, children or YA books like Harry Potter are often easier to handle. The worst mistake is choosing something too difficult and quitting.

Also, you do not need to understand every single word.

Even as a native speaker, I still encounter unfamiliar words.

So limit dictionary time.

If you check every word, reading becomes boring.

A practical approach is: first 20% -> check words if needed remaining 80% -> keep reading without stopping

Tip 3: Practice with Time Limits

Many people practice writing with no time limit.

But in the real test, you only have 60 minutes, and time is tight.

When you panic because of time pressure, you make mistakes you normally would not make, or suddenly cannot think of what to write.

So practice with a timer regularly to build exam-day comfort.

Tip 4: Spelling Mistakes

Spelling mistakes affect both Lexical Resource and Grammatical Range and Accuracy.

That means if you misspell common words, your score can drop significantly, so be careful.

Tip 5: Keep Going

Language learning takes a long time, and writing is one of the hardest areas.

When I was studying Japanese, I used to study 8 hours a day. Even then, I sometimes felt like I was not improving, or even getting worse.

But language learning is like strength training. You cannot see change by comparing day to day.

However, when you compare yourself to 1, 2, or 3 months ago, the growth is clear.

If you want confidence, look at an essay you wrote one year ago.

You will probably be surprised.

What matters most is to trust the process.

If you keep going, results will come.

Tip 6: Get Feedback

This sounds obvious, but many people still do not do it consistently.

In writing and speaking, if you do not get feedback, improvement is slow.

That is because you keep repeating the same mistakes.

But yes, paid correction can be expensive.

So here is a bonus tip.

Bonus Tip: Use AI Feedback

Not generic AI tools like ChatGPT.

I mean Nomad English, a tool we built specifically for IELTS learners.

You can get feedback on grammar, vocabulary, coherence, and more.

You can also get an estimated current band score.

And at this stage, you can use basically all features for free.

So if you are interested, please try it.

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