How can I get 8.5 in IELTS Writing?

There is no 8.5 in the public Writing descriptors. They describe whole bands, and a half band is reported when a candidate’s writing falls between two of them. So the useful question is what separates the band 8 wording from the band 9 wording, and what an 8.5 script would have to show on both sides of that line. The wording below is the Task 2 version, updated May 2023.

What is published, and what is not

IELTS.org states that Writing is marked on four criteria: Task Achievement (Task 1) or Task Response (Task 2), Coherence and Cohesion, Lexical Resource, and Grammatical Range and Accuracy. Each task is assessed independently, the criteria are weighted equally, and the score on the task is the average. The assessment of Task 2 carries more weight than Task 1.

IELTS does not publish how much more, nor how the two task scores are combined into a whole or half band. Any rule you read that gives exact weights, or says an 8.5 needs a particular pair of task scores, is not from IELTS.

Band 8 and band 9, criterion by criterion

Task Response. At band 8 the prompt is “appropriately and sufficiently addressed” and a “clear and well-developed position” is presented, with occasional omissions or lapses in content allowed. At band 9 the prompt is “explored in depth”, the position is “clear and fully developed”, and lapses in content or support are “extremely rare”.

Coherence and Cohesion. At band 8 the message “can be followed with ease” and occasional lapses may occur. At band 9 it is followed “effortlessly”, cohesion “very rarely attracts attention”, and paragraphing is “skilfully managed”.

Lexical Resource. At band 8 there is “skilful use of uncommon and/or idiomatic items when appropriate”, despite occasional inaccuracies in word choice and collocation. At band 9 the control is “very natural and sophisticated”, and spelling and word-formation errors are extremely rare.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy. At band 8 “the majority of sentences are error-free”, with occasional, non-systematic errors. At band 9 a wide range of structures is used with full flexibility and control, and minor errors are “extremely rare”.

What the gap between 8 and 9 comes down to

Read in sequence, the step from 8 to 9 is not a new skill. It is the removal of the lapses that band 8 still allows: an idea that is well developed but not fully explored, a linking device the reader notices, a collocation that is slightly off. An 8.5 script is one where those lapses are few enough to be hard to find, but not absent.

The descriptors also state that a script must fully fit the positive features of a band to receive it, and that negative features limit a rating. One weak criterion therefore matters as much as a strong one.

Where to go next

If your scripts are not yet at band 7, start lower: how to get band 7 in IELTS Writing and the guide IELTS Writing band 6 to 7 cover the earlier steps. For the speaking equivalent of this question, see how to get band 8 in IELTS Speaking. To read the wording side by side, the Writing band descriptors explorer lays out every band.