By English Test Coach · Updated
Optional step up from the free check
Human IELTS writing marking: a teacher reads your essay
Start with the free AI check. When you want a person's opinion too, an experienced IELTS teacher can read the same essay and write feedback on it, with their own band estimate for each criterion. It costs £25 an essay, comes back within 5 days, and you get your money back if it doesn't.
What human marking is
It is a written review of one of your saved essays by a person, ordered from that essay's report. It sits beside the AI check rather than replacing it: use the AI check for every practice draft, and a human opinion when one essay matters, such as your best recent full response before your test.
For a comparison of AI and human feedback, see AI checker or human correction.
Who marks your essay
An experienced IELTS teacher. They are an independent marker we hire through Upwork, a freelance marketplace, under a confidentiality agreement. They are not an AI and not an employee of English Test Coach, and they do not act for IELTS, the British Council, IDP or Cambridge. English Test Coach is independent and not affiliated with any of them.
What you get
- Written feedback on your essay from the marker.
- The marker's overall band estimate, and where they give them, a band estimate for each of the four criteria.
- Everything on the same saved report as your AI result, so you can compare the two side by side.
The bands are the marker's estimates, not an IELTS result, and we make no promise about your real score.
Price and turnaround
£25 for one essay, paid once. Your feedback appears on your saved report within 5 days of paying. Payment is taken by card on Stripe's secure checkout page, so English Test Coach never sees your card number. Prices are in pounds; see pricing for the plans.
The refund
Full refund if you ask before your essay is sent to the marker, or if your feedback is not ready within 5 days of paying. Once the marker has your essay, the order can't be cancelled for a change of mind.
The same rule is shown on the order box, at checkout and in the terms.
How to order
- Write your essay. Write or paste your response in the writing workspace, with the question it answers.
- Run the free check. Check it. A signed-in account saves the essay and its report.
- Open the saved report. Find the human marker box on the report (it is not offered for Academic Task 1 yet).
- Order and pay once. Tick the box to agree that the essay and question go to the marker, then pay £25 on Stripe's secure checkout page.
- Read the feedback on your report. It appears on the same saved report within 5 days.
Academic Task 1 answers are not offered yet. General Training letters and Task 2 essays are.
Privacy
We send only the task type, the question and your essay to the marker, never your name or email. You agree to this when you order. The marker may use the essay only to mark it and must delete it afterwards. Read the full text in the privacy notice.
Questions about human marking
Who marks my essay?
An experienced IELTS teacher. They are an independent marker we hire, not an AI and not an employee of English Test Coach, and they do not act for IELTS, the British Council, IDP or Cambridge.
How much does human marking cost?
£25 for one essay, paid once by card through Stripe. There is no subscription and nothing renews.
How long does it take?
Your feedback appears on your saved report within 5 days of paying.
What if my feedback is late?
Full refund if you ask before your essay is sent to the marker, or if your feedback is not ready within 5 days of paying. Once the marker has your essay, the order can't be cancelled for a change of mind.
Is the marker's band an IELTS result?
No. The marker's bands are estimates, not an IELTS result, and they do not predict your real result. They are one more informed opinion to set beside the free AI check.
Can I order human marking for any essay?
For any essay saved to your account from a completed check, except Academic Task 1 answers, which are not offered yet. You order from that essay's saved report.
Does the marker see my name or email?
No. We send only the task type, the question and the essay. You agree to this with a tick box when you order, and the marker must not publish, reuse or train AI on your essay, and must delete it after returning the feedback.
Do I need to run the free check first?
Yes, in practice: human marking is ordered from a saved essay's report, and that report is made when you check the essay. The free check also gives you an AI estimate to compare with the marker's.
Start with the free check
Run your essay through the free check first. If you then want a person to read it too, you can order human marking from the saved report.
English Test Coach is not affiliated with IELTS, the British Council, IDP or Cambridge.