Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

This lesson identifies the most frequent mistakes that prevent candidates from achieving Band 7+ in Task 2 and provides specific, actionable strategies to avoid each one. These are the errors that examiners see repeatedly — and the ones that make the difference between Band 6.5 and Band 7.

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Mistake 1: Not Answering the Question

This is the single most common reason for a low Task Response score, and it takes several forms.

Answering a Related but Different Question

The question asks: "Do the advantages of studying abroad outweigh the disadvantages?"

The candidate writes about: The benefits of learning English.

These are related topics, but the essay does not answer the specific question.

Missing Part of the Question

The question asks: "What problems does this cause and what solutions can you suggest?"

The candidate writes: 200 words about problems and 20 words about solutions. Both parts must receive substantial treatment.

How to Avoid This

The 3-Read Method
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Read 1: Understand the general topic
Read 2: Identify the specific task (agree? discuss? solve?)
Read 3: Count the parts of the question