Classifying Writing Samples by Assessment Criteria

Hello. In the previous lesson, you learned the four assessment lenses used for IELTS Writing Task 2: Task Response, Coherence and Cohesion, Lexical Resource, and Grammatical Range and Accuracy. You also saw that they assess different dimensions of the same response: an essay may contain strong ideas but weak organisation, or accurate grammar but an incomplete answer.

This session moves from definitions to diagnosis. You will practise identifying observable features in short samples and deciding which criterion they most directly demonstrate. The aim is not to estimate an overall band score from a sentence or two. Examiners assess patterns across a complete response. Instead, you will learn to make a precise first classification—an essential skill for giving useful feedback and revising efficiently.

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Classification means identifying the primary issue

A single sentence can contribute to more than one criterion. Consider this sentence:

Because mobile phones can distract learners, schools should limit their use during lessons.

It contains:

• a position relevant to the topic, which contributes to Task Response;
• a clear cause-and-effect relationship, which supports Coherence and Cohesion;
• appropriate vocabulary such as distract learners and limit their use, which supports Lexical Resource;
• an accurately controlled complex sentence, which supports Grammatical Range and Accuracy.

However, when you classify a feature, choose the criterion that best matches the main reason the feature matters.

For example, if a writer fails to answer one of two questions in a prompt, the central problem is Task Response. The grammar may be flawless, but correct grammar cannot repair missing content. If a writer repeats advertising five times in three sentences, that may involve both vocabulary and cohesion. If the repetition makes the text unnecessarily heavy because the writer has not used reference words such as this industry or such campaigns, classify it primarily as Coherence and Cohesion. If the writer chooses an inaccurate synonym such as commercial propaganda when they mean ordinary advertising, classify it primarily as Lexical Resource.

Use this diagnostic principle:

If the main repair requires…	The primary criterion is usually…
adding, removing, or developing an idea	Task Response
rearranging information or clarifying a connection	Coherence and Cohesion
replacing an inaccurate, vague, repetitive, or unnatural word choice	Lexical Resource
correcting a sentence structure, verb form, agreement, or punctuation mark	Grammatical Range and Accuracy

This is a practical classification tool, not a rigid rule. In real examiner feedback, categories can overlap. Your first responsibility is to identify the most useful label for the issue.

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The four criteria as observable evidence

When evaluating a short sample, avoid vague comments such as “the paragraph is weak” or “the vocabulary is not good.” Instead, point to evidence and name the relevant feature.

Task Response: content, coverage, and development

Look for whether the writer has answered what the prompt actually asks.

Suppose the question is:

More people are using social media as their main source of news. Why is this happening, and is this a positive or negative development?

Now consider this proposed introduction:

Social media allows people to receive news immediately. Overall, this is a positive development because information is available more quickly.

The writer has given an opinion, but the response has not yet answered why this trend is happening. The missing requirement is a Task Response issue.

Likewise, this claim needs development:

Governments should spend more money on public transport because it is beneficial.

The idea may be relevant, but beneficial does not explain how public transport helps or who benefits. A developed version might explain that reliable buses and trains reduce dependence on private cars, which can ease congestion and lower urban emissions. The difference is not merely length; it is reasoning.

Useful Task Response labels include:

• addresses all parts of the task;
• presents a clear position;
• maintains a consistent position;
• gives relevant main ideas;
• develops and supports a claim;
• includes irrelevant detail;
• leaves a required question unanswered.

Coherence and Cohesion: the route through the response

For this criterion, identify whether ideas are logically organised and whether connections are clear.

Public transport should be improved. Many people enjoy travelling abroad. Buses are often delayed. Therefore, cities need more green spaces.

Every sentence may be grammatical, but the paragraph has no clear progression. The ideas jump between transport, tourism, delays, and parks. This is primarily a coherence problem: the organisation does not guide the reader through one focused point.

Now compare a connection problem:

Many people work from home. However, they do not need to commute every day.

The connector however signals contrast, but the second sentence is a consequence of the first, not a contrast. The relationship would be clearer with therefore, as a result, or no separate connector at all. This is a cohesion issue because the linking language does not express the intended relationship accurately.

Look for these features:

• a logical order of ideas;
• a distinct focus within each paragraph;
• clear progression from claim to explanation to result or example;
• accurate connectors;
• effective reference, such as this measure, these workers, or such services;
• paragraphing that groups related material together;
• mechanical or excessive sequencing, such as beginning every sentence with Firstly, Secondly, or Moreover.

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Study a real examiner commentary

The official IELTS sample material is especially useful here because it pairs a candidate response with an examiner’s comments. As you read, do not focus on correcting every error. Instead, underline one example of evidence for each criterion and compare your labels with the examiner’s diagnosis.

The examiner’s comment is a model of efficient classification. Notice its wording:

• “A clear position is presented” identifies a Task Response strength.
• “Ideas … require further development” identifies a Task Response priority.
• “Paragraphing is not always logical” identifies a Coherence and Cohesion priority.
• “Lack of precision in word choice” identifies a Lexical Resource priority.
• “The level of error is too high” identifies a Grammatical Range and Accuracy priority.

The comments do not simply state that the response is “good” or “bad.” They identify the relevant evidence.

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A reliable four-step classification routine

When you encounter a sentence or short paragraph, use this sequence.

1. Describe the feature before judging it.
   State exactly what you can see: “The writer gives two reasons but does not answer the second question,” or “The writer uses however to introduce a result.”

2. Ask what needs to change.
   Would you need to add content, reorder ideas, replace vocabulary, or repair grammar?

3. Choose the primary criterion.
   Use the repair table from earlier. Do not choose a category merely because a sentence contains an error.

4. Write a specific label.
   Prefer “unclear reference” to “CC problem,” or “inaccurate collocation” to “LR problem.”

Here are several feature cards. Read each one as a feedback classifier would.

Feature card	Primary criterion	Why
The prompt asks for causes and solutions, but the writer discusses only the causes.	Task Response	One required part of the task is missing.
A paragraph begins with a benefit of online learning, moves to a personal anecdote about travel, and ends with a point about tuition fees.	Coherence and Cohesion	The paragraph lacks one clear controlling focus and logical progression.
The writer uses do a decision instead of make a decision.	Lexical Resource	The intended meaning is understandable, but the collocation is inaccurate.
The writer writes: “Many employees works remotely, which reduce commuting.”	Grammatical Range and Accuracy	Subject–verb agreement is inaccurate in two places.
The writer repeats the government in every sentence instead of using appropriate reference or substitution.	Coherence and Cohesion	Repetition makes the connections between sentences heavy; reference could improve flow.
The writer claims that a policy is beneficial but provides no explanation, effect, or illustration.	Task Response	The idea is insufficiently extended and supported.

Two distinctions are particularly important.

Repetition: cohesion or vocabulary?

Classify unnecessary repetition as Coherence and Cohesion when the main issue is the absence of clear referencing or substitution.

Advertising is everywhere. Advertising influences consumers. Advertising can also fund media companies.

A more cohesive revision could use this industry or such campaigns where the meaning remains clear.

Classify it as Lexical Resource when the main issue is that the writer lacks appropriate vocabulary to express distinctions.

The city has a bad transport problem. This bad problem affects workers badly.

Here, the writer needs more precise choices: perhaps congestion, unreliable services, commuting difficulties, or a serious impact. The problem is not only repetition; it is limited precision.

A faulty connector: cohesion or grammar?

Classify a connector primarily as Coherence and Cohesion when its logical meaning is wrong.

The city expanded its metro network. However, commuting times fell.

The second sentence is an expected result, so however is not the right relationship marker.

Classify it primarily as Grammatical Range and Accuracy when the writer builds the connector structure incorrectly.

Although the metro network expanded, but commuting times did not fall.

The writer has combined two contrast structures, although and but, inaccurately. The sentence needs grammatical repair.

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Watch an assessment in action

The following clip applies the criteria to a sample response. It is useful because the instructor moves from an observable problem to the relevant assessment category rather than treating all weaknesses as “grammar mistakes.”

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Build an evidence-based feedback note

A useful feedback note has three parts:

Feature: The writer states that social media is beneficial but does not explain why people increasingly use it for news.
Classification: Task Response.
Revision direction: Add one or two causes of the trend, such as speed of access and personalised news feeds.

This format keeps the category, evidence, and action separate. It also prevents an unhelpful habit: giving broad advice such as “improve coherence” without showing the writer what is unclear.

Use the same pattern with the other criteria:

Criterion	Evidence-based feedback note
TR	“The second question is not addressed, so the response is incomplete.”
CC	“The paragraph shifts from health costs to environmental damage without explaining the connection.”
LR	“The phrase heavy pollution is understandable, but severe air pollution is more natural and precise here.”
GRA	“The complex sentence attempts to show contrast, but although and but should not be used together in this structure.”

At this stage, do not try to attach a full band score to every feature. A response may show a strong example of one criterion and a weak example of another. Accurate classification comes first; score interpretation can come later.

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Homework: create a four-criterion evidence log

Do not write a full essay.

Choose a short Task 2 paragraph from a practice source, class material, or a previous piece of your own writing. Create a four-row table with the headings TR, CC, LR, and GRA.

For each row:

1. Copy one short quotation or describe one specific feature.
2. Classify it as a strength or an improvement priority.
3. Write one precise feedback sentence using the language from this lesson.

Aim to identify at least two strengths and two priorities across the four categories. Bring the evidence log to the next session; it will become the basis for using band-descriptor language accurately and selectively.

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The key skill in this lesson is to classify the primary function of an observable feature. Missing task coverage and undeveloped ideas belong mainly to Task Response. Organisation, paragraph focus, references, and logical connectors belong mainly to Coherence and Cohesion. Word precision, natural collocation, register, spelling, and word formation belong mainly to Lexical Resource. Sentence structures, grammatical forms, agreement, and punctuation belong mainly to Grammatical Range and Accuracy.

Next, you will use relevant band-descriptor language to identify one clear strength and one high-priority improvement area in a short Task 2 sample.