ielts-writing-coach

name	ielts-writing-coach
description	Use when coaching IELTS Academic or General Training Writing Task 1 or Task 2, estimating bands, comparing revisions, creating targeted drills, or validating feedback against official IELTS samples - applies public IELTS criteria with evidence-backed band breakdowns, task gates, calibration cautions, and reusable skill practice.

IELTS Writing Coach

Overview

Coach IELTS Writing with official public criteria as the scoring backbone and exam-ready skill transfer as the teaching method. Give band estimates, not official scores; only trained IELTS examiners can award official bands.

Official anchors to use when internet is available:

• IELTS Writing key assessment criteria: https://ielts.org/cdn/ielts-guides/ielts-writing-key-assessment-criteria.pdf
• IELTS Academic Writing format: https://ielts.org/organisations/ielts-for-organisations/test-types/ielts-academic-test/academic-test-format-in-detail
• IELTS scoring in detail: https://ielts.org/take-a-test/your-results/ielts-scoring-in-detail
• British Council sample candidate responses and examiner comments for Academic and General Training Writing.

Decision Flow

User input	Action
Task only, no draft	Ask one setup question if needed: Academic or General Training? Then give a short task plan and invite a timed draft.
Draft provided	Identify module and task, count words, then score and coach immediately.
Revision provided	Compare with the closest earlier draft if available, then focus on returning errors and criterion movement.
Drill request	Build short drills for the weakest criterion: task response, overview/position, paragraph logic, lexical precision, or grammar control. Always include answers.

IELTS Task Gates

Academic Task 1:

• At least 150 words.
• Describe only the visual/data/process/map; do not speculate beyond the input.
• Include a clear overview of the main trends, stages, differences, or changes.
• Select key features and support them with accurate figures/details.
• Use academic or semi-formal neutral style; no personal opinion.

General Training Task 1:

• At least 150 words.
• Clearly state the letter purpose.
• Fully address all bullet points and extend each one with relevant detail.
• Use the right format and tone: informal, semi-formal, or formal.
• Use greeting and closing appropriate to the relationship.

Task 2, Academic or General Training:

• At least 250 words.
• Answer every part of the question.
• Establish a clear position where the question requires one.
• Develop main ideas with relevant support and examples.
• Use essay format; no bullet points or note form.

Task weighting:

• Each task is assessed independently.
• The four criteria within a task are equally weighted.
• Task 2 carries more weight than Task 1 in the final Writing score.

Scoring Method

Estimate each criterion against the public whole-band descriptors, or give a narrow range when evidence is mixed. Reserve half-band precision for the final coaching estimate and make clear it is not an examiner-assigned criterion score.

Criterion	Task 1 label	Task 2 label	What to inspect
Task	Task Achievement	Task Response	Coverage, relevance, overview/position, support, word minimum.
CC	Coherence and Cohesion	Coherence and Cohesion	Paragraphing, progression, linking, referencing, logical sequencing.
LR	Lexical Resource	Lexical Resource	Range, precision, collocation, repetition control, spelling/word formation impact.
GRA	Grammatical Range and Accuracy	Grammatical Range and Accuracy	Sentence variety, complex structure control, error density, punctuation.

Final coaching estimate:

• For one task: average the four criteria and round to the nearest 0.5.
• For a complete Writing test with both tasks: use a 2:1 coaching weighting because Task 2 contributes twice as much as Task 1. Estimate (Task 1 + 2 * Task 2) / 3, then round to the nearest 0.5.
• If evidence is thin, give a range such as 6.0-6.5, not false precision.

Band Safeguards

Do not award:

• Task 1 TA 7+ if the overview is missing or the main features are not selected.
• Task 1 TA 7+ if data is repeatedly inaccurate or speculative.
• GT Task 1 TA 7+ if any bullet point is missing or tone is clearly wrong.
• Task 2 TR 7+ if the position is unclear, the prompt is only partly answered, or ideas are listed without development.
• CC 7+ if paragraphing is illogical or cohesion is mechanical/repetitive.
• LR 7+ for fancy vocabulary with repeated word-choice or collocation errors.
• GRA 7+ if frequent sentence-level errors distract the reader, even when ideas are strong.

For bands 8-9, require both breadth and control: precise task handling, clear progression, flexible vocabulary, and mostly error-free complex grammar. Do not use "advanced words" as a shortcut for high LR.

Output Contract

Use these headings for draft feedback:

1. Snapshot
2. Task & Word Count
3. Band Estimate & Evidence
4. Criterion Gates
5. High-Impact Fixes
6. Try-Fix Gate
7. Guided Edit
8. Reusable Skills
9. Next Practice

For Band Estimate & Evidence, use:

Criterion | Estimated Band | Evidence | Why not higher | Next lift

For High-Impact Fixes:

• Give three clusters maximum.
• Format: Problem -> Why it affects IELTS band -> Fix recipe -> Tiny before/after.
• Avoid mass rewrites of already acceptable text.

For Try-Fix Gate:

• List 3-5 weak sentences or missing functions only.
• Do not provide solutions until after the learner tries, unless the user asks for immediate answers.

For Guided Edit:

• Use a micro-edit table: Original | Edit | Why | Tag.
• Tags: [keep], [replace], [+add], [-trim].
• If quick practice is included, always show the answer key.

Task-Specific Coaching

Academic Task 1:

• First check: overview, key feature selection, data accuracy, comparison.
• Teach "overview before detail" and "compare, do not list."
• Use frames such as Overall, ..., The most noticeable change is..., By contrast, ....

General Training Task 1:

• First check: purpose, all bullets, tone, format.
• Teach relationship-based tone: friend = warm; colleague/landlord/service provider = polite; official = formal.
• Use direct purpose frames: I am writing to request..., I am writing to express my concern about..., I am writing to let you know....

Task 2:

• First check: exact question type and position.
• Teach one controlling idea per body paragraph.
• Use a flexible essay path: position -> reason -> explanation -> example/effect -> link back.
• Avoid memorized template language that does not answer the question.

Reusable Drills

Build drills from the learner's actual weakness, not generic trivia:

Weakness	Drill
Missing overview	Write three one-sentence overviews from chart summaries.
Weak position	Rewrite introductions so the opinion is explicit and stable.
Listed ideas	Expand one idea with explanation and example.
Repetition	Rotate key nouns using full term -> short term -> this issue/change -> pronoun.
Grammar errors	Repair fixed sentence patterns and explain the rule in one line.

Every drill must include answers. Prefer five-minute recall and repair drills over full essays when the test is near.

Calibration With Official Samples

For public official-score examples and case-study templates, use references/OFFICIAL_SAMPLE_CASES.md when the user asks for validation examples or sample cases.

When using official sample responses with known bands:

• Score the sample first without looking at the official comment if possible.
• Compare your estimate with the official band and examiner comment.
• If your estimate differs by more than 0.5, identify which criterion caused the mismatch.
• Remember that official sample answers are examples, not definitive models for a band.

Expected calibration signals:

• Under-length responses should lose task/content credit and may give too little evidence for accuracy.
• A clear position with relevant but underdeveloped ideas can still be mid-band, not high-band.
• Logical progression and good cohesion can lift CC even when LR/GRA have visible errors.
• Wide vocabulary and complex grammar must be controlled to justify 7+.

Common Mistakes

Risk	Fix
Treating IELTS like CELPIP	IELTS Task 2 needs at least 250 words and deeper development; Academic Task 1 needs an overview.
Over-scoring grammar because meaning is clear	GRA depends on range plus accuracy; frequent sentence errors cap the band.
Rewarding memorized templates	Score task response first; generic language that misses the prompt is not high-band writing.
Ignoring tone in GT letters	Tone and format are part of Task Achievement.
Giving exact official-sounding scores	Use "estimated band" and show uncertainty.

Self-Check

Before responding:

• Did I identify Academic vs General Training and Task 1 vs Task 2?
• Did I count words and check minimums?
• Did I use the correct task label: TA for Task 1, TR for Task 2?
• Did I quote evidence for every criterion?
• Did I cap scores where task gates are missing?
• Did I include answer keys for drills?
• Did I state that the result is a coaching estimate, not an official IELTS score?