HOW IT WORKS

A coursebook that people keep improving

Q: Does AI mark my writing?

No. A teacher finds the mistakes, writes the corrections and flashcards, and gives every band. AI only labels the type of each mistake after the teacher has corrected it, and it never gives a score.

Q: How does the coursebook improve?

We look at patterns across coded mistakes and teacher-given bands, in aggregate and without identifying anyone, to see which lessons and materials help. The team then revises the Writing lessons and Speaking modules. We don’t promise any particular band score.

IELTS Laboratory is a dynamic online coursebook for IELTS Writing and Speaking, created by education experts and former IELTS examiners. It uses flipped learning: you study the coursebook between lessons, your tutor marks your writing and speaking recordings, and you discuss them in class, so no lesson time is wasted. Our AI only files each correction under an error code, so we can track whether mistakes go down after a lesson, and our team rewrites the lessons that aren’t working.

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Marked by people, always

Tutors find every mistake

A tutor reads each piece of work and picks out the mistakes that matter, with a correction for each one.

Tutors write the flashcards

Each correction becomes a flashcard the tutor writes. It goes into the learner’s own deck, and missed cards come back sooner.

Tutors give the bands

Every band a learner sees was given by a tutor. AI never marks or scores work.

AI is used in two supporting ways only: to turn Speaking recordings into text, and to label the type of each mistake after a tutor has corrected it.

How the error coding works

A tutor saves a correction

The tutor writes the correction and the flashcard. That is the marking, and the AI label that follows does not change it.

AI adds a label in the background

AI files the correction under one code and pattern from a closed list. If its answer is not on the list, the label is dropped rather than guessed.

62 codes in five groups

Writing codes are grouped by the IELTS criterion they affect: TA (Task Achievement), TR (Task Response), CC (Coherence and Cohesion), LR (Lexical Resource) and GRA (Grammatical Range and Accuracy).

Because the list is fixed, the same mistake in October and in December counts as the same mistake. The labels are used to count mistake types, not to train an AI model.

Before and after the lesson

First and Second Drafts of a Writing task sit under one report, with the lesson in between.

First Draft: the learner writes the task, and the tutor marks it and writes the flashcards.

The lesson: the tutor teaches from the mistakes that came up most, with lesson packs built from those flashcards.

Second Draft: the learner writes again, and the tutor marks it the same way.

Compare: the report shows which mistakes held after teaching. The Mistakes tab and the “who struggles with what” grid show which types are rising across a group.

One essay can’t prove a lesson worked, so look across several drafts before deciding what to change. See the teacher tools →

We track progress and improve the lessons

Patterns, not people

We look at coded mistakes and tutor-given band movement in aggregate, without identifying any learner.

What helps, and what doesn’t

Those patterns show which mistakes keep coming back after a lesson, and which lessons and materials seem to help.

Revised materials

The IELTS Laboratory team uses what it learns to revise the Writing lessons and Speaking modules, so the coursebook is not fixed at publication.

Results depend on the learner and the teaching. We don’t promise any band score or improvement.

For tutors and teachers

Use the same cycle with your own students: mark their work, see what holds after each lesson, and teach from their real mistakes.

Get listed free in the tutor directory, with 0% commission. Bookings and online lessons are free too.

Your teacher account and every teaching tool are free to use, for unlimited students: Writing marking, the Mistakes tab, drafts, flashcards and lesson packs.

Mark the First and Second Drafts, then plan each lesson from the mistakes that keep coming back.

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Questions about how it works

Does AI mark my writing?

No. Your tutor finds the mistakes, writes the corrections and flashcards, and gives every band. AI only labels the type of each mistake after the tutor has corrected it, and it never gives a score.

What is an error code?

A short label for one kind of mistake, such as GRA4a (wrong tense after a time marker). IELTS Laboratory uses 62 Writing codes in five groups, sorted by the IELTS criterion they affect: TA, TR, CC, LR and GRA.

How does the coursebook improve?

We look at patterns across coded mistakes and tutor-given bands, in aggregate and without identifying anyone, to see which lessons and materials help. The team then revises the Writing lessons and Speaking modules. We don’t promise any particular band score.

For learners: find your IELTS tutor

Work with a tutor who marks your work by hand.

It’s free to find and book a tutor with a free learner account: compare approved tutors’ qualifications and prices, message them, then book online lessons. Want more practice between lessons? Everything is free during beta testing, which is expected to run until about 15 November. After the beta, IELTS Laboratory’s study tools are $29 a month. Finding and booking a tutor is always free, and teachers stay free.

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