Advantages & Disadvantages

Missing the word "outweigh"Task Response capped at 5–6

The most expensive misreading in Task 2. If the question asks whether advantages outweigh disadvantages and you simply describe both, one third of the task is unanswered.

Fix: Underline the instruction before planning. If you see "outweigh", write your verdict at the top of your plan and check every paragraph serves it.

Forcing a verdict when balance was asked forTask Response 6

A "discuss the advantages and disadvantages" question wants an even account. Turning it into an argument for one side means one side is under-covered.

Fix: Match the instruction exactly. Balance question → equal paragraphs, neutral conclusion that summarises both.

Listing three advantages and three disadvantagesTask Response 6 · Coherence 6

Six shallow points in 270 words means none is developed. The descriptors reward extended, supported ideas — not coverage.

Fix: Two advantages and two disadvantages at most; one of each, fully developed, often scores higher than three of each.

Advantages and disadvantages that do not correspondCoherence 6

If the advantages are economic and the disadvantages are cultural, the essay reads as two unconnected lists rather than a weighed comparison.

Fix: Where possible, put the strongest advantage and the disadvantage that most directly challenges it side by side, and use comparative language to connect them.

A verdict with no weighingTask Response 7 at best

"In conclusion, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages" without explaining WHY one side is heavier is a statement, not an argument.

Fix: Name the criterion you are weighing by — scale, permanence, reversibility, number of people affected — and judge against it.

Only simple sentences, accurately writtenGrammatical Range & Accuracy capped at 6

Range is assessed alongside accuracy, so an essay with no errors and no subordination cannot reach Band 7 on this criterion. It is the most demoralising cap in the paper because the writing looks clean — and it is invisible to a learner who only ever checks for mistakes.

Fix: Put one complex structure in every paragraph deliberately: a cause clause in body 1, a concessive in body 2, a relative clause somewhere in each. Range is a choice you make before you write, not something you notice afterwards.

Comma splices joining full sentencesGrammatical Range & Accuracy 6.5

Two independent clauses joined by a comma — "fees are high, students cannot afford them" — is the commonest punctuation error in Task 2, and because it usually happens at exactly the point an idea is being developed, it recurs throughout the essay rather than once.

Fix: Join with a conjunction, a semicolon or a full stop — or, better, subordinate one clause, which fixes the punctuation and adds range in the same edit.

Ambitious words used inaccuratelyLexical Resource capped at 6.5

The descriptors are explicit that an ambitious word used wrongly scores lower than a simple word used correctly. "Detrimental impact for the society", "make a benefit", "in the nutshell" all signal vocabulary learned as a list rather than in use, and they cost more than the plain words they replaced would have.

Fix: Use a word only if you know the grammar that goes with it: what preposition it takes, what part of speech it is, what it collocates with. If you are unsure, the precise simple word wins.

Collocation errors inside good sentencesLexical Resource capped at 7

This is the clearest single thing separating Band 7 from Band 8, and it is almost never drilled. "Make a research", "do a mistake", "solve an issue", "a big impact for society" are all grammatically correct and all wrong, and because they appear inside otherwise ambitious sentences they tell the examiner the vocabulary was learned from a list rather than from use. The descriptors put precision and natural word partnership at the top of this criterion — not rarity.

Fix: Learn words in partnerships, never alone. The make/do split covers most of it: MAKE an effort, a mistake, progress, a decision; DO research, work, damage. Then the Task 2 core: conduct research, implement a policy, address an issue, play a role in, pose a threat to, have an impact ON.

Memorised phrases and mechanical linkersLexical Resource 6 · Coherence 6

"Nowadays, in this modern era, it is a controversial topic" and a stack of "Firstly / Moreover / Furthermore / Last but not least" are both flagged by examiners as memorised. They cost twice: Lexical Resource for the phrasing, Coherence for cohesion used mechanically rather than meaningfully.

Fix: Delete every opener that would fit any essay on any topic, and replace stacked connectors with reference cohesion — "this pressure", "such a system", "that assumption".

Articles and agreement, everywhere and alwaysGrammatical Range & Accuracy 6.5

Article and subject–verb agreement errors are individually trivial and collectively decisive. Appearing in almost every paragraph, they read as a systematic failure of control rather than as slips, and that is the difference between a 7 and a 6.5 on this criterion.

Fix: Learn the three rules that cover most cases: generic plurals take no article; a singular countable always takes one; the verb agrees with the head of the subject, not the nearest noun. Then spend your last two minutes checking only for these.

What is the difference between "discuss the advantages and disadvantages" and "do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages"?

The first asks for balance — cover both sides evenly, no verdict required. The second asks for a judgement — you must say which side is heavier, state it in the introduction, defend it, and restate it in the conclusion. Misreading this is one of the most costly errors in Task 2.

How many advantages should I include?

One or two, fully developed. Three or more forces every point to stay shallow, and Task Response rewards extension rather than coverage.

Can I give my opinion in a balance question?

A brief closing observation is acceptable, but do not turn the essay into an argument. If the prompt does not ask for an opinion, coverage and development are what is being marked.

How do I make my verdict sound convincing?

Name the criterion you are weighing by — how many people are affected, how permanent the effect is, whether it can be mitigated. A verdict with a stated criterion reads as reasoned; a verdict without one reads as a preference.