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Remember the 50% rule of thumb – if 50% of the sentences in your writing contain at least one
error in grammar and/or lexical resource, the writing will likely be around 5.0. This is because
the cumulative errors in grammar and lexical resource also negatively impact the
cohesion/coherence. Regarding the range and accuracy in the above example essay, although
the range of the grammar and lexical resource is high, the inaccuracies have lowered the band
score of grammar, lexical resource, and cohesion/coherence. The task response of this essay,
however, is strong enough to bring the overall band score up to about 5.5 – 6.0
Annotated list of mistakes
Let’s look at the cohesion/coherence of this body paragraph –

On the one hand, it is often claimed that food preparation methods and
food science learning could provide great benefits for students. The key
rationale behind this is that students can make dishes that do wonders
for their health. For examples, studies have shown that many
restaurants have served their customers with harmful foods such as fried
chicken, which is one of the culprits behind obesity. As a result, if
students can judge what ingredients are beneficial to their health and know
how to prepare food, this will lower the chances of dangerous diseases.
Moreover, students with healthy lifestyles with improved study habits.

Adjusted for better cohesion, which improves C/C –

On the one hand, it is often claimed that food preparation methods and
food science learning can provide great benefits for students. The key
rationale behind this is that students can then make dishes that improve
their health. For example, studies have shown that if students can
determine what ingredients are beneficial to their health and know how to
prepare healthy food, they will possibly avoid dangerous diseases. In fact,
the same studies have connected students with healthy lifestyles with
improved study habits. Moreover, many restaurants have served their
customers with harmful foods such as fried chickens, which is one of the
culprits behind obesity.
Common Errors

Simple vs Complex Sentences

Articles

Nouns

Subject / Verb Agreement

Verb Forms: -ing or + (to) infinitive

Punctuation

Verb Tenses

Prepositions

Conditionals

Relative Clauses

Passive vs. Active

Possible Reasons Why You Are Making These Errors:

• Interference from your mother tongue.

• Translation from your mother tongue.

• Focus only on content words, instead of focusing on grammar.

• Focus on content words and grammar, instead of cohesion/coherence.

• Writing words individually instead of learning how they function in a full sentence (i.e., collocations).

• Not paying attention to grammar when writing.

• Not proofreading.

• Not being aware of common errors.

• Unaware of specific rule(s) related the error.

• Attempting to write overly ‘complex’ sentences or structures or overly wordy phrases.

When looking at your mistakes, you should think about the possible reasons above and this will help you tackle
each problem. For example, if this is a problem with translation from your native language, awareness of this
can help you avoid this problem in the future.
 Focus points of Task 2
what / where / when / who / how / how long / why

Introduction –

Focus on L/R in paraphrasing and focus on accuracy of language (L/R and

Grammar)

Body Paragraphs –

Focus on cohesion of supporting sentences (cohesion of C/C)

Focus on accuracy of language choices (coherence of C/C, Grammar and L/R)

• The 50% rule = band score of about 5.0

Focus on diversity and accuracy of grammar structure and development (T/R and
Grammar)

• Diversity = reasons, explanations, examples/results

o Reasons = WHY
o Explanations = WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, WHO, HOW, HOW LONG
o Examples / Results = specific support
▪ examples are similar to Task 1 specific statements
▪ results connect the development back to the topic sentence

Conclusion –

Focus on L/R in paraphrasing and focus on accuracy of language (L/R and

grammar)