Inside a CELTA Specialist Script Audit
See how a Task 2 essay is evaluated sentence by sentence against official examiner criteria, moving a candidate from a plateaued Band 6.0 to a reliable Band 7.5+.
Submit Essay for Free DiagnosticTask Prompt & Student Draft
A typical Band 6.0 body paragraph — relevant ideas, limited precision.
Task 2 Prompt
“Some people believe that unpaid community service should be a compulsory part of high school programmes. To what extent do you agree or disagree?”
Original Student Draft — Body Paragraph 1
“First of all, doing community service makes students learn important things about society. For example, when they work in nursing homes, they see the problems of old people and this makes them more kind. However, some parents say this wastes study time, which is paramount for their future.”
Line-by-Line Examiner Diagnostic
Each sentence is rewritten and justified against official IELTS Writing criteria.
Sentence 1 Analysis
Original
“First of all, doing community service makes students learn important things about society.”
Specialist Line Edit
“Firstly, mandatory voluntary work exposes adolescents to diverse societal challenges beyond the academic curriculum.”
Examiner Rationale
"First of all" is conversational rather than formal academic register. "Important things about society" is vague. The revision specifies what is learned (diverse societal challenges) and shifts the vocabulary to appropriate academic collocations.
Sentence 2 Analysis
Original
“For example, when they work in nursing homes, they see the problems of old people and this makes them more kind.”
Specialist Line Edit
“Assisting in elderly care facilities, for instance, fosters genuine empathy and civic responsibility by directly confronting generational isolation.”
Examiner Rationale
The original is grammatically acceptable but structurally basic. The edit replaces repetitive subject-verb clauses ("when they work… they see… this makes them") with a fronted gerund clause ("Assisting in elderly care facilities…"), demonstrating Band 8 complex sentence structure while strengthening Task Achievement.
Sentence 3 Analysis
Original
“However, some parents say this wastes study time, which is paramount for their future.”
Specialist Line Edit
“While critics contend that such commitments distract from academic preparation, developing social consciousness ultimately yields broader long-term benefits.”
Examiner Rationale
The candidate abruptly introduced a counter-argument with "However" inside a paragraph supporting the benefits, muddling internal progression. Additionally, "paramount" was forced unnaturally. The revision frames this as a clean concession clause, preserving paragraph unity.
Examiner Rubric Score Breakdown
Current band estimates versus the target profile after applying the audit revisions.
Task Response
Ideas are relevant but need concrete, nuanced development rather than broad assertions.
Coherence & Cohesion
Mechanical connectors replaced with natural progression and clear paragraph boundaries.
Lexical Resource
Elimination of vague vocabulary and forced buzzwords in favour of natural, topic-specific collocations.
Grammatical Range & Accuracy
Progression from simple compound patterns to complex subordinate and non-finite clauses.
Every full script audit includes detailed written margin notes, official criteria scoring, and a private 5-minute audio commentary breaking down your error patterns. Returned within 48 hours.