Make sure you’re aware of the 4 assessment criteria and when you’re checking your answer, ask yourself the following questions:

1. Task response - have I answered the question fully by presenting my opinion, developing my ideas and supporting them with relevant reasons and examples?
2. Cohesion and coherence - have I structured my answer clearly using separate paragraphs and a range of appropriate linking words?
3. Lexical resource - have I used a sufficient range of vocabulary, including collocations and less common words and expressions?
4. Grammatical range and accuracy - have I used a variety of structures and correct spelling and punctuation?

You’ll need to answer YES to all of these questions in order to get a Band 7!