After reviewing thousands of IELTS essays, a clear pattern emerges: most Band 6 writers make the same ten mistakes. These are not errors of knowledge — most Band 6 writers understand English well. They are errors of habit, and they are all fixable. Correct these ten mistakes and you will see an immediate improvement in your writing score.
#Mistake 1: Not Answering All Parts of the Question
This is the most costly mistake. Many questions have two or three parts, and ignoring even one will cap your Task Achievement at Band 5.
Question: "What are the causes of this trend, and what measures can be taken to address it?"
Band 6 writer: Writes only about causes, forgets to discuss measures.
Fix: Underline every part of the question. Count them. Make sure each part has at least one full paragraph devoted to it.
#Mistake 2: Using Memorised Phrases That Do Not Fit
Examiners are trained to spot memorised templates. Phrases like "In today's modern world" or "This essay will discuss both sides and give my opinion" are red flags.
Bad: "In today's modern world, technology is developing at a breakneck pace and affecting every aspect of our lives."
Better: "The rapid development of artificial intelligence has raised questions about its impact on employment in manufacturing sectors."
Fix: Write introductions that are specific to the question. Paraphrase the question in your own words rather than using generic openings.
#Mistake 3: Repeating the Same Vocabulary
Using the word "important" five times in one essay signals limited lexical resource.
Bad: "Education is important. It is important because it gives people important skills for important jobs."
Better: "Education is essential. It equips individuals with the critical skills demanded by competitive job markets."
Fix: For every key concept in your essay, prepare at least three ways to express it. Important → essential, crucial, vital, indispensable.
#Mistake 4: Writing Overly Long Sentences
Band 6 writers often try to cram too many ideas into one sentence, creating run-on sentences that confuse the reader.
Bad: "The government should invest in education because it is important for the economy and also it helps people get better jobs and this will reduce poverty which is a major problem in many countries today."
Better: "Government investment in education strengthens the economy by producing a more skilled workforce. This, in turn, reduces poverty by enabling individuals to secure better-paying employment."
Fix: If your sentence has more than 25 words, consider splitting it into two. Aim for a mix of short (10-15 words) and longer (20-25 words) sentences.
#Mistake 5: Overusing "Firstly, Secondly, Thirdly"
Sequential connectors are useful, but relying exclusively on them creates a rigid, mechanical essay that lacks natural flow.
Bad: "Firstly, pollution is increasing. Secondly, deforestation is a problem. Thirdly, water supplies are running low."
Better: "The most pressing environmental challenge is the rise in air pollution. Compounding this issue, deforestation continues to accelerate in tropical regions. Perhaps most alarmingly, freshwater supplies are diminishing at an unsustainable rate."
Fix: Use a variety of cohesive devices: moreover, in addition, furthermore, another key consideration, equally significant, compounding this issue.
#Mistake 6: Vague Examples
Band 6 essays often include examples that are too general to be convincing.
Bad: "For example, many countries have this problem."
Better: "For instance, a 2023 study by the World Health Organisation found that air pollution contributes to approximately seven million premature deaths annually."
Fix: You do not need to cite real statistics. But your examples should be specific enough to be believable. Mention a type of country, a plausible statistic, or a concrete scenario.
#Mistake 7: Unclear Pronoun References
Using "it," "this," or "they" without a clear antecedent confuses the reader and costs Coherence marks.
Bad: "The government should invest in technology. They also need to improve education. This will help them."
Better: "Governments should invest in both technology and education. This dual approach would equip citizens with the skills necessary to thrive in a rapidly evolving economy."
Fix: After writing "this" or "it," check that the reader can identify exactly what you are referring to. When in doubt, name the thing: "This approach," "This trend," "This policy."
#Mistake 8: No Clear Position in Opinion Essays
In "agree or disagree" or "to what extent" questions, Band 6 writers often sit on the fence or contradict themselves.
Bad: "I agree with this statement. However, I also think the opposite is true."
Better: "While there are valid arguments on both sides, I firmly believe that the benefits of this approach outweigh its drawbacks."
Fix: Decide your position before you start writing and maintain it consistently. You can acknowledge the other side without agreeing with it.
#Mistake 9: Informal Language
IELTS Writing Task 2 requires a formal or semi-formal register. Band 6 writers often slip into conversational language.
Bad: "Lots of people think this is a really bad idea and I totally agree."
Better: "A considerable number of people regard this as a fundamentally flawed approach, a view with which I concur."
Fix: Avoid contractions (don't → do not), slang (kids → children), and overly casual phrases (a lot of → a significant number of). Use formal alternatives consistently.
#Mistake 10: No Proofreading
The final 3-4 minutes of your writing time are the most valuable minutes of the entire test. Small errors — missing articles, subject-verb disagreement, wrong prepositions — accumulate and drag your Grammatical Range and Accuracy score down.
Unproofread: "The government have invested in the education system but they has not see any improve."
Proofread: "The government has invested in the education system but has not seen any improvement."
Fix: Always leave time to read your essay once from start to finish. Focus on: articles (a/an/the), subject-verb agreement, verb tenses, and prepositions. These four categories account for the majority of grammatical errors at Band 6.
#The Path Forward
None of these mistakes require advanced English to fix. They require awareness and practice. Write one essay, check it against this list, and you will likely find 3-5 of these errors. Fix them, write another, and check again. Within 10 essays, most of these habits will be broken.
If you want detailed, criterion-by-criterion feedback on your writing, BandNine.ai analyses your essays against the official IELTS descriptors and highlights exactly which of these mistakes are costing you marks.