Two-Part (Direct) Questions

Answering only the first questionTask Response capped at 5

The second question is often shorter and easier to overlook under time pressure. An essay that answers one of two questions has addressed only part of the task, whatever its language quality.

Fix: Before planning, write both questions at the top of your answer sheet as two separate lines. Tick each when its paragraph is written.

Merging the two answers into one argumentCoherence 6 · Task Response 6

When both answers appear in both paragraphs, the examiner cannot see that each question has been addressed. Coverage becomes impossible to credit.

Fix: One paragraph per question, each opening with a topic sentence that echoes the question it answers.

Treating it as an opinion essayTask Response 6

Candidates recognise "do you think" and write a standard agree/disagree essay, ignoring the "why" half of the prompt entirely.

Fix: Count the question marks in the prompt. Two question marks means two obligations, and one of them is usually explanatory rather than evaluative.

Unequal paragraphsTask Response 6

A 140-word answer to question one and a 50-word answer to question two reads as one question fully answered and one acknowledged.

Fix: Plan two ideas for each question before you start writing, so neither paragraph runs out of material.

A conclusion that answers only one questionCoherence 7 at best

The conclusion is the examiner's last check that both questions were addressed. Summarising only one undermines an essay that actually did the work.

Fix: Write a two-clause conclusion — one clause per question — before adding any final thought.

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.

How do I know a question is a two-part question?

Count the question marks. Two separate questions after the statement means two obligations, each needing its own body paragraph. Candidates who see "do you think" and write a standard opinion essay lose marks for ignoring the other half.

Do both questions need equal length?

Roughly, yes. Aim for body paragraphs within about twenty words of each other. A long first answer and a short second one is read as one question fully addressed and one only mentioned.

Should I give my opinion?

Only if a question asks for it — "is this a positive development?", "do you think…". If neither question asks, an opinion is unnecessary and the words are better spent developing your answers.

Can I answer both questions in one paragraph?

It is possible but risky. Separate paragraphs make coverage obvious to the examiner and are far easier to control in 40 minutes. Use one paragraph per question unless you have a strong reason not to.