Why you're stuck at band 5
Most students stuck at 5.0 or 5.5 in IELTS Writing lose marks in two places: they only partly answer the question (Task Response), and their vocabulary is limited or unnatural (Lexical Resource). Grammar matters too, but it is rarely the main problem, so weeks of grammar study often change nothing. You are not alone. Writing is the lowest skill for Thai test takers: the Thai Academic average in 2024 to 2025 was 5.81, compared with 6.24 in Listening and 6.54 in Reading. This guide covers all four marking criteria, shows where band 5 essays go wrong in each one, lets you practise the most important fix, and gives you a plan. If Writing is only one of your weak skills, the band 6 guide shows how to balance all four. To see how far your four scores are from your target, use the IELTS band scores guide, and if your exam is soon, how long to prepare for IELTS shows what you can fix in the time you have.
How IELTS Writing is marked
Your Writing band is the average of four criteria, each worth 25% of your score. If any one of them is low, it pulls everything down. How IELTS Writing is marked goes through each criterion with band 5, 6 and 7 examples, and the Task 2 structure guide gives you a paragraph plan for every question type.
- Task Achievement (Task 1) or Task Response (Task 2). Did you answer the exact question that was asked?
- Coherence and Cohesion. Is your essay easy to follow, with clear paragraphs and logical flow?
- Lexical Resource. Is your vocabulary range and accuracy strong enough?
- Grammatical Range and Accuracy. Do you use a variety of sentence structures correctly?
Key insight
Most band 5 essays are pulled down by Task Response and Lexical Resource, not grammar. Students spend weeks on grammar and see no improvement because grammar is not the real problem.
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Criterion 1: Task Response
This is the first thing an examiner checks. At band 5, the most common problem is answering the topic instead of the question.
- 1The problem
Writing about the topic, not the question
Most teachers group Task 2 questions into five types: opinion, discussion, advantages and disadvantages, problem and solution, and two part questions. Each one needs a different structure. If the question asks 'to what extent do you agree?' and you write a discussion essay that presents both sides equally with no clear position, you have only partly answered it. The band 5 descriptor for Task Response says the main parts of the prompt are 'incompletely addressed', and that is where this essay will land, however good the language is.
GoalBefore writing a single word, read the question twice. Identify the task type. Write your position or approach in one sentence. Only then start the essay.
- 2The fix
Plan for three minutes before writing
Three minutes of planning prevents most Task Response mistakes. Your plan does not need to be detailed: the question type, your main position, and one idea per body paragraph. That is it.
GoalNever skip the planning step. One sentence per paragraph in your plan, written before you start. This prevents you from drifting away from the question in the middle of the essay.
Band comparison
Band 5 and band 7: the same introduction
Question: 'Some people think technology has made our lives more complicated. To what extent do you agree?'
Technology has both advantages and disadvantages in modern life. On one hand, technology helps us communicate faster. On the other hand, some people think it creates problems. In conclusion, technology can be both helpful and harmful depending on how we use it.
- ✗No clear position. The question asks 'to what extent do you agree', not 'discuss both sides'
- ✗The conclusion avoids committing to any view
- ✗Task type misread. This is an opinion essay, not a discussion essay
I largely agree that technology has made daily life more complex, primarily because it has created new pressures around productivity and communication that did not exist a generation ago. While technology solves many practical problems, the expectation of constant connectivity has introduced a layer of cognitive load that outweighs those gains for many people.
- ✓Clear position stated in the first sentence
- ✓Answers 'to what extent' with a degree ('largely'), not just yes or no
- ✓Gives the main reason straight away, so the body paragraphs have one clear argument to develop
Practise: name the question type
Read each Task 2 question and choose its type. This is the first step of every plan.
Options
- AOpinion
- BDiscussion (both views)
- CAdvantages and disadvantages
- DProblem and solution
- ETwo part question
1Some people think that all young people should do a year of community service after leaving school. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
2Some people believe children should start school at the age of four, while others think seven is better. Discuss both views and give your own opinion.
3More and more people now shop online instead of in physical stores. Do the advantages of this outweigh the disadvantages?
4Traffic in many large cities is getting worse. What are the causes of this problem, and what solutions can you suggest?
5Many people now change jobs several times during their career. Why is this happening? Is this a positive or negative development?
Criterion 2: Coherence and Cohesion
This criterion is about how easy your essay is to follow. Band 5 essays are often difficult to read because the structure is unclear or the linking words are overused and mechanical.
- 1The problem
Listing ideas instead of developing them
A very common band 5 pattern: one short paragraph after another, each with a different idea but no development. 'Firstly... Secondly... Thirdly... In conclusion.' This looks structured but it isn't. Examiners want to see one idea per paragraph, explained fully with a reason and an example. Three underdeveloped ideas score lower than one well developed one.
GoalEach body paragraph should cover one idea only: make the point, explain why it's true, and give a specific example. Three sentences minimum per paragraph before moving on.
- 2The problem
Overusing linking words
Starting every sentence with 'Furthermore,' 'Moreover,' 'In addition,' or 'Additionally,' is a band 5 signal. Examiners know what this looks like and it doesn't impress them. These words are supposed to connect ideas. However, when every sentence starts with one, they stop doing that job. Natural academic writing uses linking words selectively, not as sentence starters on autopilot.
GoalUse only a few linking words per paragraph. If you're starting every sentence with 'Moreover' or 'Furthermore', replace most of them with natural connections: 'This means that...', 'As a result...', 'For example...'. The connecting words drill lets you practise this under time pressure.
Criterion 3: Lexical Resource
This is where many band 5 students leave the most marks behind. Lexical Resource is not just how many words you know. It is also whether you use them accurately and naturally together. Collocations, words that go together the way native speakers use them, are a big part of this.
- 1The problem
Translating ideas word by word from your own language
For example, Thai and English combine words very differently. In Thai, word pairings are flexible. In English, they're fixed. You can't 'make a decision' and 'do a decision' interchangeably. One is correct, and one isn't. When students translate ideas directly from Thai, they produce sentences that are technically understandable but unnatural. The band descriptors describe this as errors in word choice and collocation, and frequent errors like this are a clear sign of a band 5 Lexical Resource score.
GoalLearn vocabulary in phrases, not in single words. 'Environment' is not a vocabulary item, 'address environmental concerns', 'pose a serious threat to the environment', and 'place a strain on natural resources' are. Always learn how a word is used, not just what it means.
- 2The problem
Using the same words repeatedly
Band 5 essays often repeat the same five or six words throughout. 'Important' appears in every other sentence. 'Society' and 'people' are used interchangeably without variation. This signals a limited vocabulary range, which is exactly what Lexical Resource measures. The fix is building topic specific vocabulary so you have real alternatives when you're writing under pressure.
GoalFor every IELTS essay topic, know at least three ways to express the central idea. If the topic is education, you should be able to vary between 'academic institutions', 'educational systems', 'schooling', 'formal education' and know when each one fits. The vocabulary drill practises this with a timer.
Band comparison
Topic: 'The environment is under threat. Who is responsible for protecting it?'
The environment is very important. People should protect the environment. The government is also important for protecting the environment. Everyone should try to help the environment because it is important for the future of society.
- ✗'Important' used three times. No vocabulary range shown
- ✗'Environment' repeated six times with no variation
- ✗No collocations. No evidence of topic specific vocabulary
Responsibility for protecting natural ecosystems should be shared rather than assigned to a single actor. Governments are best placed to enforce environmental legislation and fund conservation efforts at scale, while individuals can reduce their personal impact through consumption choices. Neither group can address ecological decline effectively without the other.
- ✓Topic vocabulary varied: 'natural ecosystems', 'environmental legislation', 'conservation efforts', 'ecological decline'
- ✓Collocations are natural: 'enforce legislation', 'fund conservation efforts', 'address decline'
- ✓No repetition of 'environment'. The meaning is carried by varied terms
Criterion 4: Grammatical Range and Accuracy
This is the criterion most students focus on, and for most band 5 essays it's not the main problem. That said, there are a few specific grammar patterns that pull scores down and are worth fixing.
- 1The problem
Writing only simple sentences
The band 5 descriptor says the range of structures is 'limited and rather repetitive', and that complex sentences are attempted but 'tend to be faulty'. Band 6 uses 'a mix of simple and complex sentence forms'. If your essay is mostly short simple sentences, it shows a band 5 range even if every sentence is correct. You need relative clauses, conditional sentences and the passive, used accurately.
GoalIn every paragraph, write at least one complex sentence using a relative clause ('which', 'that', 'who') or a conditional ('if... then'). The grammar drill gives timed practice.
- 2The problem
Article and preposition errors
Languages like Thai don't use articles (a, an, the) or prepositions in the same way English does. This creates consistent errors that examiners notice immediately: 'the government should invest in the education' instead of 'in education', or 'people depend in technology' instead of 'on technology'. These errors are common, they're fixable, and they're worth targeting specifically because they appear in almost every sentence.
GoalAfter every writing session, go back through your essay and check every 'the' and every preposition. Ask yourself: is 'the' needed here? Is this the right preposition? This review takes two minutes and catches most of these errors.
A student writes this essay introduction: 'Nowadays, technology is developing very fast in the world. Technology has many advantages and disadvantages. This essay will discuss both sides of technology and give my opinion at the end.' The essay question was: 'Technology has created more problems than it has solved. Do you agree or disagree?' What is the main problem with this introduction?
Your turn: rewrite the introduction
Rewrite the introduction from the question above so that it answers 'Do you agree or disagree?' with a clear position. Write two or three sentences. You have 5 minutes.
What to actually do about it
Each criterion has a different fix, and trying to improve all four at once usually means improving none of them. Work through these in order.
- 1Fix 1. Weeks 1 and 2
Diagnose your task type problem first
Before anything else, you need to know which task types you're getting wrong. Write one essay for each of the five Task 2 types: opinion, discussion, problem-solution, two-part question, and advantage-disadvantage. Compare each one against a model answer. For every essay where your structure doesn't match the model, you know which task type to fix. Most band 5 students have one or two types they consistently misread.
GoalBy the end of week 2: you can identify any Task 2 question type on sight and write the correct opening paragraph for it.
- 2Fix 2. Weeks 3 and 4
Build topic vocabulary as phrases, not words
Pick the six main IELTS topics: environment, education, technology, health, crime, globalisation. For each topic, learn ten collocations, for example 'tackle climate change', 'bridge the educational gap', 'pose a cybersecurity risk'. Write one original sentence using each phrase on the same day you learn it. This turns words you recognise into words you can use, which is what helps you in an exam. IELTS flashcards with spaced repetition make this easier to keep up, and the vocabulary guide explains the method.
Goal10 new topic phrases per day, one sentence each. After two weeks you'll have around 140 usable collocations, and the habit continues after that.
- 3Fix 3. Weeks 5 and 6
Rewrite your paragraph structure
Stop writing lists of ideas. For every body paragraph, use this structure: make one point, explain why it's true, give one specific example. That's it. Three to five sentences per paragraph, all building on the same idea. If you find yourself starting a new sentence with 'Also,' or 'Another point is...', you've started a new paragraph idea in the middle of the old one. Stop and finish the first idea properly.
GoalOne timed essay per week, 40 minutes, no dictionary. After writing, check that every body paragraph has exactly one central idea, a reason, and an example.
- 4Fix 4. Ongoing
Get your writing checked by someone who knows the criteria
Self-assessment of Writing is unreliable at band 5. You don't yet have a clear picture of what band 6 looks like at the criterion level, which means you can't accurately identify your own errors. Reading model answers helps, but comparing your own essay against the four marking criteria with a qualified teacher is much faster. Even two or three sessions of proper feedback can show which criterion is holding your score back. Our free IELTS resources list includes free places to get feedback.
GoalSubmit at least one Task 2 essay to a qualified IELTS teacher for criterion-level feedback before your next exam attempt.
Create your personalised plan to move past band 5
A day-by-day plan built around your scores and exam date, with the exact lessons, drills and mock tests to do, and which skills to focus on first.
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What band do you need?
Your overall IELTS target.
This student has been at band 5 for two attempts. Read their plan and identify what's wrong with it. 'I failed band 6 twice. Both times my Writing was 5.5. My plan for the next attempt: I'm going to study grammar every day for 6 weeks using an advanced grammar book. I'll focus on complex sentences and passive voice. I'll also memorise a list of 200 advanced IELTS words. On weekends I'll read model band 7 essays to understand the style.'
Why vocabulary is usually the fastest way out of band 5
Once you are answering the question properly, vocabulary is often the criterion that moves next. Task Response takes time to master across all question types. Coherence means changing how you build paragraphs. Grammar is slow to shift. Vocabulary can improve noticeably within a few weeks if you study the right things in the right way. The reason most students don't see that improvement is that they study vocabulary passively. They read word lists. They watch YouTube videos. They highlight model answers. None of that builds the ability to produce vocabulary under exam pressure. The only thing that does is active recall: trying to produce the word before you see it.
Key insight
The gap between band 5 and band 6 vocabulary is not about knowing more words. It's about having words available when you need them, under timed conditions, without a dictionary.
Get a plan built around your Writing score
A day-by-day plan that shows how much time Writing needs, which other skills need attention, and the exact lessons and drills to do.
IELTS Writing band 5: frequently asked questions
Why is my IELTS Writing always 5.5?
Usually because at least one criterion is stuck at 5. The most common ones are Task Response (the question is only partly answered, often because the question type was misread) and Lexical Resource (limited or unnatural word combinations). Find which criterion is lowest before changing how you study.
Is grammar or vocabulary more important for IELTS Writing?
Each of the four criteria is worth 25%, so neither alone decides your band. At band 5, Task Response and vocabulary usually hold the score back more than grammar does.
How many words should I write for Task 2?
At least 250. An essay that is much too short cannot fully answer the question, and the band descriptors penalise responses that are significantly under length. Most students aim for 260 to 300 words.
How long does it take to go from 5.5 to 6 in Writing?
In one IELTS study, learners who prepared for 12 weeks improved by about 0.46 of a band in Writing on average, more than in any other skill. Plan for at least two to three months of weekly timed essays with feedback.
Sources
- IELTS Writing band descriptors. Wording for bands 5 and 6 in each criterion
- IELTS: Understanding IELTS scoring. The four Writing criteria and Task 2 weighting
- IELTS: Test statistics 2024 to 2025. Average scores for Thai test takers
- Kang et al. (2021), IELTS Research Report: learner background, linguistic progression and score gain. Writing gains over 12 weeks of preparation
