Among the 4 marking criteria for IELTS Writing Task 2, surprisingly, Task Response is where candidates are most likely to lose marks without being aware of it. The reason is they often focus on producing high quality language but in the end fail to FULLY ADDRESS the topic question.

Let’s look at some examples of rather “tricky” topic questions where candidates would easily fall into this Task Response trap.

Topic question 1:

Anybody can use a mobile phone to answer work and personal calls at any time for 7 days a week. Does this development have more positive or negative effects on both individual and society?

• For this topic, candidates who simply discuss the effects of “having a mobile phone” in general without limiting their discussion to its calling unction would be penalized. Mentioning details like “playing games” or “checking emails” would be considered off-topic and result in a lower score.

Topic question 2:

In today’s world of advanced science and technology, we still greatly value our artists such as musicians, painters, and writers. What can art tells us about life that science and technology cannot?

• If candidates only praise art but do not compare it with science and technology, they have not successfully covered all parts of the topic questions and of course would not receive good marks fort this criterion.

So, always read the topic question extremely carefully and make sure you understand what you are required to do!