Four criteria decide your Writing band. Start with the free Band Check: the 4 criteria in plain English, a timed Task 2 and a self-check that shows which one is pulling your band down.
Then, when enrolment opens: the Band Check Pack, founding price $19. One price, no renewal.
Sound familiar?
These are the problems candidates describe most often in public reviews of IELTS courses and apps (our reading, October 2026).
Task 2 · on the clock
BandCheckup starts from one question: if the test were tomorrow, what would you get?
The Free Band Check
A free guide plus a practice you do on the clock. You write one Task 2, then you check it criterion by criterion, so you know what to work on first.
Each criterion explained in our own words, with examples you can compare with your essay.
A question and a timer sheet: 250 words, about 40 minutes.
Yes/no questions for each criterion. Your answers show the one criterion to practise first.
Tell us your date and the band you need: a few emails help you use the days you have left.
How your band is made
No tricks and no secrets: this is how IELTS describes its own scoring and format. Our practice is built on it.
Task response, coherence and cohesion, lexical resource, grammatical range and accuracy.
Task 2 carries more weight than Task 1 in your Writing band, so it deserves more of your practice.
Task 1: 150 words in about 20 minutes. The Writing test lasts 60 minutes.
In Part 2 you get 1 minute to prepare and up to 2 minutes to talk.
Sources: ielts.org, IELTS scoring in detail, Writing format and Speaking format (read on 20 October 2026).
The B.A.N.D. method
The method of our 4-week IELTS Programme, coming in 2027. The Free Band Check is the first step.
A full timed mock in the test format, and your band on each criterion.
Criterion by criterion: the sentence that pulls each one down.
Practice on your weakest criterion, with the days you have left.
A full timed run before your test date.
Plans
Enrolment is not open yet: no payment today. People on the waitlist get the founding price.
$0
$19one price, no renewal
14-day right of withdrawal and refund.
4 weeks
Who it is for
How it works
Leave your email and open it straight away. We also send it to your inbox.
Write the Task 2 with a 40-minute timer, then answer the self-check questions.
A few short emails, one criterion at a time, tuned to your test date if you share it.
Who is behind it
BandCheckup prepares candidates for IELTS Writing and Speaking, with TOEFL to follow. We write and review every guide. Our lessons and feedback use AI tools, working from marking guidance written by our course author, and we say so every time. The people in our photos are made with AI too: they are not real students.
Independent course. BandCheckup is an independent preparation course. It is not affiliated with, endorsed or approved by the IELTS partners (British Council, IDP: IELTS Australia, Cambridge University Press & Assessment) or by ETS. IELTS and TOEFL are trademarks of their respective owners.
The tasks, criteria and timing of the exam, not English in general.
Whenever AI writes feedback or voices a lesson, we tell you.
No reviews or results we cannot prove. Facts about the test come with their source.
Your email is used for the guide and our tips only. Unsubscribe whenever you like.
Questions
Yes. Leave your email, open the guide straight away and get it in your inbox too. No payment, no card.
No. BandCheckup is an independent preparation course, not affiliated with the IELTS partners or with ETS. Our feedback is practice feedback, not an official score.
In the Free Band Check you check your own essay with yes/no questions. In our paid courses, when they open, feedback is written by AI, using marking guidance written by our course author, and it is always labelled.
Writing Task 2 and Speaking are in both versions, so the Free Band Check works for both. Writing Task 1 is different in the two versions.
We start with IELTS. A TOEFL module will follow; join the list and you will hear about it first.
The guide, then a few short emails with one criterion at a time, and the news when enrolment opens. Every email has an unsubscribe link.
Sign-ups from the United Kingdom are not open yet. We will open them when we meet the UK data protection requirements.
Start free: the 4 Writing criteria in plain English, a timed Task 2 and a self-check. Then a plan from your test date.
Get the Free Band Check
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