Thomas from Kochi always re-read his essays, but he read them for ideas. The missing articles and wrong plurals sailed past every time.

Use the last couple of minutes of Task 1 and about five minutes of Task 2 to check for your own recurring errors, not to rewrite. A short, fixed checklist makes those minutes count.

How Much Time to Save for Checking

IELTS suggests about 20 minutes for Task 1 and about 40 for Task 2. Its FAQ says to allow time to check your writing after each task or at the end of the test. In our plan, the check is the last 2 of the 20 minutes and the last 5 of the 40.

The IELTS examiner videos explain why: it is the frequency of mistakes, and their effect on communication, that makes the difference, so leave time to read through your response and correct them.

The 2-minute and 5-minute checks are our advice, not IELTS rules. Our guide on how to divide your 60 minutes shows the full plan.

The 9-Point Proofreading Checklist

The order moves from the whole task down to small details. Use it in order:

  1. Task answered and position clear: have you covered each part of the question? Task 2 needs a clear position, Academic Task 1 an overview, and a letter a clear purpose and all three bullet points.
  2. Word count: check the minimums of 150 and 250 words. A shorter answer may not give enough evidence for higher bands.
  3. Paragraph breaks: in Task 2, IELTS expects paragraphs from Band 6 upwards, so check that each paragraph has one main topic.
  4. Articles: does each singular countable noun have “a”, “an”, “the” or another determiner?
  5. Subject-verb agreement: do verbs match their subjects, especially after long noun phrases?
  6. Plural endings: are countable nouns plural where you mean more than one, and uncountable nouns free of “-s”?
  7. Tense consistency: does the tense match the time you describe, such as past tense for past data in Task 1?
  8. Spelling of topic words: are the key words for your topic spelt correctly, including double letters and endings?
  9. Punctuation at sentence boundaries: does each sentence start with a capital letter and end with a full stop, with no comma splices?

For spelling, IDP IELTS says British and American English are both accepted, so check accuracy, not which variety you chose. For more on items 4 to 9, see our guides to common grammar errors and punctuation mistakes.

Maintain a Personal Error Log

Keep a notebook where you record the corrections from your practice essays. After a few essays, you will see which habits return, such as omitted articles or subject-verb disagreement.

Before you look at general phrasing, scan your text for your top three recorded errors. Reading once for each error keeps your attention on a single target.

Proofreading on Computer

On IELTS on computer, IDP IELTS describes an on-screen word count, so you can check the minimum quickly and spend your last minutes on accuracy.

As of October 2026, IDP IELTS India says the computer test has no spell-check, so check your topic words yourself. Also look for typing slips, such as a space before a comma or a missing capital letter after a full stop.

Incorrect: “I should rewrite this entire conclusion in the last two minutes.”

Correct: Fix small grammar and punctuation slips one at a time, starting with your top three errors; a big change can add new ones.

Tip

Copy the nine checklist items onto a card and keep it beside you in practice, until you can run through them from memory.

Key Takeaways

  • Our plan: about 2 minutes to check Task 1, and 5 for Task 2.
  • IELTS advises leaving time to check after each task or at the end.
  • Proofread to fix small errors, not to rewrite paragraphs.
  • Work through the checklist in order, from the task down to punctuation.
  • Check your own spelling; do not rely on software.

The bottom line: Thomas’s re-reading checked his meaning; the checklist checks his language, one question at a time.