ChatGPT can support practice, but IELTS Writing Checker was closer to the official score
We gave ChatGPT 73 responses with verified official scores, along with each writing task and any image needed to answer it. ChatGPT did not see the official score. Its estimate was 0.86 bands away from the official result on average.
Neither tool can issue an official IELTS result, and no automated estimate should be treated as a test-score prediction. The relevant difference is accuracy on the same evidence: IELTS Writing Checker was 0.49 bands away from the official score on average, compared with 0.86 for ChatGPT, and 78.1% of its estimates were within 0.5 bands, compared with 47.9% for ChatGPT.
How much more accurate was IELTS Writing Checker than ChatGPT?
On the same 73 official responses, IELTS Writing Checker stayed closer to the official score and landed inside both practical error ranges more often.
What does an average error of 0.86 mean for your essay?
It means the ChatGPT estimate and the official score were separated by 0.86 bands per response on average. It does not mean every new essay will be within 0.86 bands: some matched exactly, while others were farther away.
A useful way to read the result is by range. In this test, 35 of 73 estimates were no more than 0.5 bands away, and 56 of 73 were no more than one band away. If your target score matters for an application or test booking, one ChatGPT estimate should not be your only evidence.
Which was closer on Task 1 and Task 2?
IELTS Writing Checker had the lower average error in Academic Task 1, General Training Task 1, and Task 2. The chart uses one shared zero-based scale so the difference is directly comparable.
The gap remained across all three official source collections
IELTS Writing Checker was closer to the official score for the IELTS website samples, Official IELTS Practice Materials, and Cambridge IELTS 18–20. Results still varied by source, so neither average is a fixed error for every essay.
Does ChatGPT score IELTS Writing too high or too low?
In this dataset, ChatGPT usually scored lower. It gave a lower score than the official result on 61 of 73 responses, matched exactly on 9, and scored higher on only 3. Its average signed bias was −0.82 bands, compared with −0.10 for IELTS Writing Checker.
That is a pattern from this July test, not a permanent rule. ChatGPT can change, and a different prompt or future product update may produce different results. Still, it means you should not assume that ChatGPT always flatters a weak essay or always predicts a higher test score.
How we asked ChatGPT to score each response
For every test, we supplied the complete task and response and asked for an estimated overall score with a brief explanation.
Request format
Can you grade this IELTS [Academic or General Training] Writing [Task 1 or Task 2] response? Please give an estimated overall band score from 0 to 9 in 0.5 increments and briefly explain your assessment.
The full task and response followed this request. For a chart-based Academic Task 1, the task image was attached and the first sentence said to use it.
A more reliable way to check your IELTS Writing
On the same 73 official responses, IELTS Writing Checker had a lower average error and stayed within 0.5 bands more often. Use it to turn one writing attempt into a focused revision cycle.
Practice workflow
- Paste the complete question and response into IELTS Writing Checker. Attach the chart, map, process, or diagram for Academic Task 1.
- Review the estimated overall score and feedback for all four IELTS Writing criteria to identify what is holding the response back.
- Use the sentence-level corrections and next steps to improve the two or three issues with the greatest effect on clarity and score.
- Revise the response and check it again so you can compare the two versions and see whether the important problems were resolved.
How the 73-response test worked
Test method
- We used all 73 public official responses we could fully verify against the current IELTS Writing criteria, not a hand-picked subset.
- Each complete task and response was submitted without the official score. Academic Task 1 images were included where the task depended on a visual.
- We recorded the overall score shown by ChatGPT, then compared it with the verified official score using the same rules as our four-product accuracy study.
Questions people ask about ChatGPT and IELTS Writing
Is ChatGPT accurate in marking IELTS Writing?
It can provide a useful rough estimate, but it was 0.86 bands away from the official score on average in our 73-response test. Only 47.9% of its estimates were within 0.5 bands, so one score should not be treated as an official prediction.
How do I use ChatGPT to check IELTS Writing?
ChatGPT can review a complete task and response, but its score was 0.86 bands away from the official result on average in this test. For a more consistent practice workflow, IELTS Writing Checker combines an estimated score with four-criterion feedback and sentence-level corrections.
Does ChatGPT score IELTS Writing too high or too low?
It scored low in this test: 61 of 73 estimates were below the official score, and the average signed bias was −0.82 bands. That pattern may change with a different prompt or product update.
Can ChatGPT replace an IELTS examiner?
No. ChatGPT can support practice, but it cannot issue an official result and its estimate may differ materially from official scoring. Use official descriptors and additional expert or purpose-built feedback when the decision is important.
See the full evidence and official references
The complete four-product comparison explains the shared dataset and calculations. You can also browse the official responses and the criteria used to judge them.