Can You Trust Free Online IELTS Writing Checkers?

More and more websites offer free checks for your IELTS Writing tasks. They promise a quick score and feedback in just seconds. This sounds great, right? Saving time and getting results instantly seems very helpful.

I use these AI checkers myself sometimes. They can be useful for spotting simple errors quickly. But I have found they often make big mistakes. These mistakes can leave you confused, stressed, and unsure how to improve.

In this post, I want to share what I found when I tested some of these free tools. I used a straightforward Task 2 essay that I believe could score a Band 9. I wanted to see how the checkers handled a good, realistic response written under exam-like conditions.

What Many Checkers Get Wrong

Sadly, most of the checkers I tried gave the wrong overall score. Sometimes the scores were very different from tool to tool for the same essay. That's not very reliable!

The feedback was often strange or just plain wrong. For example:

• Some tools suggested using overly complicated words like "plethora" instead of simple, good words like "many". This is bad advice for IELTS.
• They sometimes offered terrible synonyms. One checker suggested replacing "mobile phone" with "dial" or "contact," which makes no sense in the essay context.
• Grammar advice could also be faulty. A common mistake I see is tools suggesting "on the contrary" when "but" or "however" is correct.
• Some checkers even told me my essay was missing an introduction or conclusion when they were clearly there!
• They might focus on things that don't matter much, like counting how many adverbs you used, instead of giving useful advice.
• Many AI tools, including popular ones like ChatGPT, dislike passive voice sentences. They suggest changing them to active voice. But passive voice is perfectly fine and often necessary for formal writing like IELTS. This is bad advice.
• Some tools used the wrong names for the marking criteria (like 'Task Achievement' for Task 2 instead of 'Task Response'). They also sometimes used half-band scores for individual criteria, which the real IELTS test does not do.

Getting this kind of feedback can be worse than getting no feedback at all. It might lead you to change things that are already good or make your writing worse.

So, What Should You Do?

If you are serious about getting a good IELTS score, the best option is always to get feedback from an experienced human teacher who understands the IELTS requirements deeply. They can give you advice tailored to your specific needs.

However, I know that's not always possible or affordable. Many students rely on free online tools.

My Recommendation: A Free Checker That Stands Out

While many free checkers have issues, I recently came across one that impressed me: Balang (you can find it at www.balangapp.com).

Based on my tests, Balang seems to give a more accurate score compared to many others I've tried. But the best part is the feedback. It feels much more complete and useful. It points out:

• Specific mistakes in your writing.
• Grammar errors with clear explanations.
• Vocabulary issues, including repetition.
• It even suggests topic-specific vocabulary you could use to improve your Lexical Resource score.

What makes Balang really stand out for me is that it provides all this detailed feedback completely free, and you can use it as many times as you need (it's unlimited). This is fantastic for students who need regular practice and feedback without worrying about costs.

Final Thoughts

Free online IELTS checkers can seem like a quick fix. They *can* sometimes help you spot basic grammar or spelling mistakes. Think of them as a first check, perhaps.

But please be very careful. Do not rely on them completely for your score or for detailed writing advice, as many give inaccurate or misleading information. They might cause more harm than good if you follow their bad suggestions.

If you need a free tool to support your studies, I strongly suggest trying Balang. It is a combination of more accurate scoring, comprehensive feedback, topic-specific vocabulary suggestions, and being totally free and unlimited makes it the best free AI option I have seen so far for IELTS writers.

Remember, tools can help, but understanding the IELTS criteria and getting reliable feedback are key to improving your score.