What the marker is looking at
Four things are judged
| What | What it means |
|---|---|
| Task completion | you did everything the prompt asked, and nothing it did not |
| Organisation | a reader can follow you without going back |
| Vocabulary | precise words, used correctly |
| Grammar | accurate sentences, with enough variety to be natural |
A memorised phrase is a risk, not a shortcut
- With the development of society, every coin has two sides, as far as I am concerned — a marker reads straight past them.
- They appear in thousands of scripts, add nothing, and the words you spent on them are gone.
- In a 23-minute section, a wasted opening sentence is a real cost, not just a stylistic one.
Why does 'With the development of society' cost you marks?
It is not an error; it is empty. In 23 minutes a wasted opening sentence is a real cost, and these phrases appear in thousands of scripts.
Precision beats decoration
- Cost fell sharply after 2015 says more, and scores better, than there was a considerable diminution in the pecuniary outlay.
- A common word used correctly beats a rare word used wrongly, every time.
- Vocabulary is judged on whether words fit each other, not on whether they are long.
Which sentence scores better on vocabulary?
Vocabulary is judged on whether words fit each other and fit the meaning, not on length. The second one is also information the first one lacks.
A short correct sentence outranks a long broken one
- Complexity only earns marks when it is accurate.
- Write the sentence you can control. Then, if you have the words, join two of them.
- Leave sixty seconds to read back: articles, plurals and verb endings account for most of what you can still fix.
A long complex sentence with two errors scores better than a short correct one.
Complexity only earns marks when it is accurate. Write the sentence you can control, then join two if you have the words.
You have sixty seconds left. What is the best use of them?
Those three account for most of the errors a Chinese candidate makes AND can still fix. One more sentence adds little; ten fixed errors move a criterion.
Two practical things
- Type in English every day. The whole section is on a keyboard, and slow typing costs marks directly.
- Write to a person. An email or a post with no sense of its reader is the commonest weak answer in this section.
- Format facts checked on the ETS website on 13 September 2026.