IELTS Essay Sample—Band 6 to Band 7 to Band 9 @WritetotheTop
IELTS Essay Sample—Band 6 to Band 7 to Band 9  @WritetotheTop
Uploaded December 2019 | Updated September 2026, 6 days ago
Students often ask how to improve an IELTS essay from a band 6 to a band 7 (and similarly for the TOEFL essay). The answer is not simple, especially since the difference between a full band score is quite large and depends on several factors, namely the four scoring criteria for the IELTS writing section:
✔ Task Response/Task Achievement
✔ Cohesion & Coherence
✔ Lexical Resource
✔ Grammatical Range and Accuracy

Improving in one criterion will not make a big difference. In order to move up a full band score, you will need to make changes in all 4 criteria.

In this video, we look at a student sample essay that scored a band 6 and discuss how to get it to a 7. We look at the edits made and areas where points were lost.

There is also a rewrite of the essay to demonstrate what a band 9 might look like. It is important to remember, though, that there is no such thing as a “correct” answer—there is only a well-developed, well-presented, and well-structured one.

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IELTS Essay Sample—Band 6 to Band 7 to Band 9English Vocabulary (good for IELTS): Collocations: Main People: FACE OF THE PARTYEnglish Vocab: HOLD UP (1)Idioms with opposite prepositions: behind the scenes & (be) up front/upfrontIdioms with opposite prepositions: under the weather & above the frayIELTS Academic Task 2 Essay (band 9): Positive or Negative Development?English vocabulary: multiple-preposition idioms: OUT-AND-OUT6 Ways to Use AGREE + Preposition: agree onPhrasal adjectives: Taken abackWhat’s the difference? Regular collocation vs. phrasal verb: TIE UP1 Word Can Change Your Entire Text: The Impact of Word Choice in Writing (Writing Course)English Vocabulary: Small change, big difference: IN LINE
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IELTS Essay Sample—Band 6 to Band 7 to Band 9

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