Hi everyone. I’m wondering whether there might be some inconsistency in Writing scores between IELTS on computer and IELTS on paper.
Here is my experience:
I took IELTS three times: in February 2025, July 2025, and April 2026. My Writing score was 6.5 every time. The first test was on computer (I was actually surprised by that 6.5, I think my essays were overestimated at that time). The next two tests were both on paper.
I am quite sure that my understanding of IELTS Writing and my actual writing ability have been improving steadily. For my most recent test, I spent half a month focusing almost entirely on Writing (because this is the only subtest I need to meet the condition of my offer). I also wrote dozens of essays on the mock scoring website ielts9me, and it almost always gave me 7.0 for both Task 1 and Task 2. Also, on Chinese social media, I could barely find anyone who took the same Writing test as me and got above 6.5, even though some of them had very high overall scores.
For some reason I'm not able to take the computer-based test. Otherwise, I might not be able to meet my Listening and Reading requirements. So I wanted to ask if anyone has noticed any difference or inconsistency in Writing scoring between computer-based and paper-based IELTS. If that is really the case, I guess I may have to start practising Listening and Reading on computer as well but it would really be unnecessarily disappointing.
Some additional information:
My English proficiency: overall 7.5
Region (idk if it matters): Mainland China
My handwriting is definitely recognisable
Thank you so much!