Guide · IELTS writing · 4 min read
The IELTS writing mistakes that keep Nepali students at 5.5, and how to fix each one.
Writing is the band that holds most of our IELTS students back, and the reason is rarely grammar. The most common mistake we mark is an essay that answers a different question from the one asked; the second is a task 1 report with no overview. Both cap your Task Response score, whatever your vocabulary. Task 2 counts for twice as much as task 1, and since June 2026 you type both on a computer in Nepal.
The short version
- The biggest mistake: answering a different question. Underline every part of the task 2 question and answer all of them.
- Task 1 needs an overview: two or three sentences on the main trends. Without one, Task Achievement rarely passes 5.
- Task 2 counts twice as much as task 1. Spend 40 minutes on it, 20 on task 1.
- Memorised phrases and long words don't raise your band; clear paragraphs and accurate simple sentences do.
- In Nepal IELTS is now typed. Practise at exam pace on a keyboard, and check your word count before time ends.
How writing is marked
| Criterion | What the examiner asks | Share of the task score |
|---|---|---|
| Task Achievement or Task Response | Did you answer all of it, with a clear position? | 25% |
| Coherence and Cohesion | Can I follow it, paragraph by paragraph? | 25% |
| Lexical Resource | Is the vocabulary accurate and varied enough? | 25% |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | Are sentences correct, with some variety? | 25% |
Task 2 counts for twice as much as task 1 in your writing band. A weak task 1 hurts; a weak task 2 hurts twice as much.
The eight mistakes we mark most
1. Answering a different question
The question asks “Do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages?” and the essay lists advantages and disadvantages without ever saying which outweighs. The question asks about “young people in cities” and the essay is about everyone. Task Response caps at 5 when part of the question is missing.
Fix: underline every part of the question. Write one sentence in your introduction that answers all of it. Check each body paragraph against it.
2. No overview in task 1
A report that describes every number in the chart, in order, with no summary of the main trends.
Fix: after the introduction, write two or three sentences on the biggest changes or comparisons, with no numbers. Then give the details.
3. A position that changes, or never appears
Agreeing in the introduction, disagreeing in the conclusion, or “it depends” with no view.
Fix: decide your view before you write a word, and state it in the introduction and the conclusion in the same terms.
4. Paragraphs with three ideas each
Fix: one main idea per body paragraph, stated in the first sentence, then explained and supported with an example.
5. Memorised phrases
“In this contemporary era of globalisation”, “It is a burning question of today’s world”. Examiners see these daily and they don’t earn vocabulary marks.
Fix: plain, precise words. “Today, many people…” is fine.
6. Long sentences that break
Students reach for complex sentences to show range and lose accuracy marks for every error.
Fix: mostly accurate simple and compound sentences, with a few complex ones you’re sure of.
7. Under the word count, or far over it
Fix: aim for 170 to 190 words in task 1 and 270 to 300 in task 2. The computer shows the count; look at it before time ends.
8. Slow typing
Since 27 June 2026, IELTS in Nepal is typed. Students who type with two fingers run out of time on task 2.
Fix: practise every essay on a keyboard, timed. If you type under 25 words a minute, practise typing too.
A 40-minute task 2 plan
| Minutes | Do |
|---|---|
| 0 to 5 | Underline the question. Decide your view. Note two main ideas |
| 5 to 10 | Introduction: paraphrase the question, give your view |
| 10 to 30 | Two body paragraphs, one idea each, with an example |
| 30 to 35 | Conclusion: your view again, in new words |
| 35 to 40 | Check the question is answered, then grammar and word count |
Before and after: one introduction
Before (band 5 Task Response):
“Nowadays technology is very important in everyone’s life. There are many advantages and disadvantages of technology. In this essay I will discuss both sides.”
After:
“Some people argue that young people now spend too much time on phones. While phones can distract students from study, I believe the advantages, mainly easy access to learning and to family abroad, outweigh this disadvantage.”
The second answers the question asked, which asked about young people and which side outweighs.
From our files. Anjali Karki from Lalitpur came to the level test with writing 5.0 and needed 6.5 overall for her master’s in Sydney. In a class of 10, every writing task she handed in came back marked against the band descriptors by the next day. Four mocks later, two under exam timing, she scored writing 6.5 and 6.5 overall in June 2026.
Practise like this, every week
- One task type a week: opinion, discussion, advantages and disadvantages, problem and solution, two-part questions.
- Write it timed, on a keyboard.
- Get it marked against the four criteria, not just “good” or “bad”.
- Rewrite it, fixing only the top two problems.
- Keep a list of your own repeated mistakes and check it before every essay.
Our view
Writing improves with marked practice, not more reading about writing. Our IELTS classes have up to 12 students so every essay gets marked, and last year our students gained +1.0 band on average in 6 weeks.
