TeflToday is a teacher-built AI platform offering 10 tools (8 premium + 2 free) for TEFL, TESOL, and ESL educators. It generates CEFR-aligned lesson plans, grades student writing with diagnostic feedback, and produces Cambridge exam practice materials. Created by Ian L. Evans, a British TEFL teacher with 20+ years of classroom experience.

How accurate is the AI Writing CEFR Grader compared with a human teacher?

The grader assesses writing against four rubric dimensions used by Cambridge examiners: Content, Organisation, Language control, and Task Achievement. It provides a CEFR level estimate with detailed error categorisation. However, it is a teaching support tool — not an official Cambridge or IELTS score. Teachers should use it alongside their own professional judgement, especially for borderline cases or high-stakes assessment.

What rubric categories does the CEFR Writing Grader use?

The CEFR Writing Grader evaluates four dimensions: (1) Content — how fully the writing addresses the task; (2) Organisation — paragraph structure, coherence, and linking devices; (3) Language — grammar range and accuracy, vocabulary precision, and collocation usage; (4) Task Achievement — appropriacy and register for the task type (essay, email, report, review). Each dimension receives specific feedback with examples from the student's text.

Do you store student writing? Is it used to train AI models?

Student writing submissions are processed in real time for grading and feedback only. They are not stored permanently, not used to train AI models, and not shared with third parties. TeflToday serves EU-based teachers and handles data in accordance with GDPR principles.

Which Cambridge exams and parts are supported?

TeflToday supports PET (B1 Preliminary), FCE (B2 First), CAE (C1 Advanced), and CPE (C2 Proficiency). Covered paper types include Use of English (Parts 1–4: multiple choice cloze, open cloze, word formation, key word transformations), Speaking prompts with structured assessment criteria, and Writing tasks with CEFR-graded feedback.

How much does TeflToday cost?

€6 for 30 days of full access to all 8 premium tools. No subscription, no auto-renewal, no credit card required to sign up. The English Level Test and C.I.P.R.E.S. C1 Grammar Tool are always free with no account needed.

What are the limitations of AI CEFR writing graders?

AI graders work best for identifying grammar errors, vocabulary range, and structural issues. They are less reliable for assessing creativity, cultural nuance, humour, and highly idiomatic expression. The CEFR level returned is an estimate based on rubric criteria, not an official certification. Teachers should treat AI feedback as a first pass and apply their own judgement for final grading decisions.

Can I export lesson plans and worksheets?

Lesson plans and grading feedback are generated as formatted text that can be copied, printed, or pasted into documents (Google Docs, Word, PDF). The platform is web-based and works on any device with a browser — no software installation required.

IELTS Band Descriptors: Writing & Speaking Criteria (Bands 5.0

Official IELTS Band Descriptors Explained: Writing & Speaking Evaluation Criteria

Quick answer

IELTS reports proficiency on a nine-band scale. Writing and Speaking are each rated on four equally weighted criteria by trained examiners. The overall band is the average of the four skills. IELTS bands relate to CEFR levels only approximately — they are not officially one-to-one equivalent.

Scope of this guide

This page explains how examiners assess IELTS Writing and Speaking using four criteria each, and how the overall nine-band score is produced. It is a teaching reference; the official public band descriptors published by the IELTS partners remain the authoritative wording.

The four Writing criteria

IELTS Writing assessment criteria (each contributes 25%)

Criterion	What it assesses
Task Achievement (Task 1) / Task Response (Task 2)	How fully and appropriately the response addresses the task, covers requirements and develops a position
Coherence and Cohesion	Logical organisation, paragraphing, and the use of cohesive devices and referencing
Lexical Resource	Range, precision and appropriacy of vocabulary, including collocation and error density
Grammatical Range and Accuracy	Range of structures and the accuracy and appropriacy with which they are used

The four criteria are weighted equally (25% each) in both Writing Task 1 and Task 2.

The four Speaking criteria

IELTS Speaking assessment criteria (each contributes 25%)

Criterion	What it assesses
Fluency and Coherence	Speech rate and continuity, and the logical sequencing and connection of ideas
Lexical Resource	Range and precision of vocabulary and ability to paraphrase
Grammatical Range and Accuracy	Range and accuracy of sentence structures
Pronunciation	Use of pronunciation features and overall intelligibility

How the overall band is calculated

Candidates receive a band for each of the four skills (Listening, Reading, Writing, Speaking). The overall band score is the average of the four skill scores, rounded to the nearest whole or half band. If the average ends in .25 it is rounded up to the next half band; if it ends in .75 it is rounded up to the next whole band.

Example of overall-band rounding

Listening	Reading	Writing	Speaking	Average	Overall band
6.5	6.5	5.0	7.0	6.25	6.5 (rounded up)
4.0	3.5	4.0	4.0	3.875	4.0 (rounded up)
6.5	6.5	6.5	6.0	6.375	6.5

What changes across Bands 5.0–8.5

Broadly, as bands rise, control increases and the burden on the reader/listener falls. At Band 5 meaning comes through but errors are frequent and limit precision; at Band 6 communication is generally effective despite some inaccuracy; at Band 7 the candidate operates with good flexibility and only occasional lapses; at Band 8 language is wide-ranging and accurate with rare, systematic-only slips.

IELTS and CEFR: approximate, not equivalent

IELTS bands and CEFR levels are NOT officially one-to-one equivalent. Any mapping is indicative only. A single IELTS band can span parts of two CEFR levels, and institutions set their own entry requirements. Never tell a student that, for example, “Band 7 equals C1” as a guaranteed equivalence.

Indicative (non-equivalent) relationship between IELTS and CEFR

CEFR level	Indicative IELTS range
B1	approx. 4.0 – 5.0
B2	approx. 5.5 – 6.5
C1	approx. 7.0 – 8.0
C2	approx. 8.5 – 9.0

Indicative only. These ranges are widely referenced but are not an official equivalence; treat cut-offs as approximate and defer to the receiving institution.

Frequently asked questions

How are the four criteria weighted in the IELTS Writing test?

In both IELTS Writing tasks the four criteria — Task Achievement/Task Response, Coherence and Cohesion, Lexical Resource, and Grammatical Range and Accuracy — each contribute 25% of the score for that task. Task 2 carries more weight than Task 1 toward the overall Writing band, but within each task the four criteria are weighted equally.

Is an IELTS Band 7.0 directly equivalent to CEFR Level C1?

No. IELTS bands and CEFR levels are not officially one-to-one equivalent. Band 7.0 is often associated indicatively with the lower part of C1, but a single band can span parts of two CEFR levels and the mapping is approximate. Institutions set their own requirements, so any equivalence claim should be hedged and checked against the receiving body.

How is the overall IELTS band score calculated and rounded?

The overall band is the average of the four skill scores (Listening, Reading, Writing, Speaking). It is rounded to the nearest half or whole band: an average ending in .25 is rounded up to the next half band, and one ending in .75 is rounded up to the next whole band. For example, an average of 6.25 becomes 6.5.