Sell IELTS & TOEFL Writing Feedback From Your Bio

Language teachers sell IELTS and TOEFL writing feedback by taking a student's practice response as a prepaid async request and returning notes marked against the official published rubric — the IELTS Writing Band Descriptors or the ETS TOEFL Writing Scoring Guide. Intake, payment, and delivery sit in one flow, with no booking calendar and no live tutoring call.

No monthly fee — card-processing fees are deducted separately from creator earnings (Brillay — Pricing).

Both exam rubrics are published in full and free to download, so a paid feedback offer can name the exact document it scores against. The IELTS Writing Band Descriptors, updated May 2023, set out nine bands across four criteria for both Task 1 and Task 2 (IELTS — "Writing Band Descriptors" PDF). The ETS TOEFL Writing Scoring Guide scores Write an Email and Write for an Academic Discussion on a 0-5 scale with a written description at every score point (ETS — "Writing Scoring Guide" PDF).

A common message is: "Can you check my IELTS Task 2 essay before test day?" or "Is my TOEFL response too short?" Instead of doing that for free between paid lessons, a teacher can turn it into a scoped, priced request that lives on the same link already in their bio. The same free-DM pattern shows up outside test prep too, in requests for scholarship essay feedback, which benefits from the same paid, scoped structure.

IELTS Writing Task 2 requires test takers to write at least 250 words in about 40 minutes, and Task 1 requires at least 150 words in about 20 minutes, within a 60-minute Writing test (IELTS — "IELTS Academic: Writing test format"). Fixed word counts and a fixed time limit are what make async, text-based feedback workable: a teacher does not need to watch someone write in real time, only the submitted response and enough time to mark it against the published rubric.

What is the fastest way to sell an IELTS or TOEFL writing check?

The fastest option is a single priced question rather than a full mark-up: the student pastes one paragraph, thesis sentence, or grammar pattern, and the teacher replies privately in text. On Brillay, that is the Paid Questions offer: one typed question, one written reply, and followers pay upfront (Brillay — How It Works). A live tutoring call has to find a slot on both calendars; one written IELTS or TOEFL check can be answered between lessons, inside the delivery window the teacher set.

Paid Questions suit narrow, self-contained asks such as:

• "Is this introduction sentence a strong thesis for Task 2, or too vague?"
• "Does this sentence count as a run-on under Grammatical Range and Accuracy?"
• "My Academic Discussion response feels short — is 80 words enough to score well?"
• "Which of these two conclusions sounds more natural for a Task 1 report?"

Set a price that reflects the time and judgment required while keeping the scope explicit. "One question about one sentence" is clearer than a general promise to "help with my writing."

Any price example on this page is illustrative, not an earnings guarantee. Results depend on the audience, demand, positioning, price, and quality of the offer.

Should IELTS/TOEFL writing feedback be a question or a full service?

Use a question when the answer fits in plain text, and a service when the student must submit a document. Custom Work lets you offer clearly scoped commissions and services: you set the price, the scope and the delivery time, and followers submit a brief and pay before you start. A full IELTS Task 2 essay of at least 250 words needs an attachment, inline comments, and a criterion-by-criterion breakdown, which is a job for Custom Work rather than a single question. The same attach-a-document setup underlies a broader general writing correction service for teachers whose students need edits outside a specific exam rubric.

Custom Work lets a follower attach up to 5 files when ordering, and you deliver a written note, files, or links once. You set the price and a delivery time of up to 5 days, and each order has one delivery.

How much should you charge? As a starting test, try $25 for one short task and $50 for a full essay review, then adjust for the time and judgment each review takes. Followers pay upfront; you can decline a request.

Which listing tiers, word limits, and rubrics fit exam writing feedback?

Five tiers cover almost every request a test-prep teacher receives: IELTS Task 2, IELTS Task 1, both IELTS tasks together, TOEFL Write for an Academic Discussion, and TOEFL Write an Email. Each tier should state a word or task limit, the official rubric it is marked against, and a delivery time inside Brillay's 5-day per-order cap.

The word caps in the table are suggested boundaries, not exam rules or Brillay defaults. For Custom Work, you set the price, scope, and delivery time of up to 5 days; each order has one delivery.

How is IELTS writing actually scored?

IELTS Writing is marked on four criteria per task — task achievement or task response, coherence and cohesion, lexical resource, and grammatical range and accuracy — reported on the nine-band scale in whole and half bands. The four criteria carry equal weight inside a task, and Task 2 contributes twice as much as Task 1 to the Writing score.

IELTS states that Task 2 contributes twice as much as Task 1 to the Writing score, on a Writing paper of 60 minutes and two tasks. On the criteria themselves, IELTS is explicit:

"The criteria are weighted equally and the score on the task is the average. The assessment of Task 2 carries more weight in marking than Task 1." — IELTS, "IELTS scoring in detail"

A listing that reviews only Task 2, or that prices Task 2 above Task 1, therefore mirrors the exam's own 2:1 weighting rather than an arbitrary split. A teacher can put that in the listing text directly: "Task 2 review priced higher because Task 2 counts for twice as much of your Writing score."

Demand for this kind of marking is not niche. IELTS reports that its English language tests "have been taken over 30 million times" since the test was founded in the 1980s, and that 60,000 people choose IELTS every week.

One boundary belongs in every listing: an estimate against the public band descriptors is not an official band score. Official IELTS Writing bands are reported on the nine-band scale from the real test, where the overall band score is the average of the four section scores rounded to the nearest half band.

How is the TOEFL writing section different from IELTS?

TOEFL iBT Writing uses three short task types rather than two long essays, and it is not marked on the IELTS four-criteria band scale. ETS updated the test and its score reporting on January 21, 2026, so a listing written for IELTS cannot be copy-pasted for TOEFL. Teachers who mark both exams need two separate, exam-specific listings.

ETS dates the change precisely: "As of January 21, 2026, TOEFL iBT score reports feature a new 1 – 6 scale, in half point increments," aligned to the CEFR (ETS — "TOEFL iBT Score Breakdown: What Your Scores Mean"). ETS also states that for a two-year transition period after January 2026, test takers will still receive a comparable overall score on the older 0-120 scale (ETS — "TOEFL iBT Test Content").

The updated Writing section contains 12 items with an approximate base time of 23 minutes, across three task types: Build a Sentence, Write an Email, and Write for an Academic Discussion (ETS — "TOEFL iBT Test Content"). ETS describes what its raters reward:

"Scoring focuses on how clearly and effectively you communicate your ideas, not on writing a perfect first draft." — ETS, "TOEFL iBT Test Writing Section"

The published rubrics match that description: the ETS Writing Scoring Guide scores both Write an Email and Write for an Academic Discussion from 5 down to 0, where 5 is "a fully successful response" and 0 covers a blank, off-topic, or copied response (ETS — "Writing Scoring Guide" PDF). Because a 23-minute Writing section of 12 short items is far more discrete than IELTS's two long-form tasks, a TOEFL listing can be priced per task type — a flat-rate check on one Academic Discussion response, for example — rather than bundled as one long essay review.

Audience size is documented on the TOEFL side too: ETS states TOEFL scores are "accepted by over 13,000 institutions in more than 160 countries" (ETS — "TOEFL iBT Score Breakdown: What Your Scores Mean").

What should an IELTS/TOEFL writing listing include?

A listing should name eight things before payment: the exam and task, the accepted input, the word or task limit, the rubric it is scored against, the deliverable, the no-revision rule, the delivery time, and the exclusions. Each item maps to a published exam figure or a Brillay product field, so a follower never has to guess what is included.

• Exam and task: Name one of IELTS Academic Task 1, IELTS Task 2, or one of the three TOEFL writing tasks — Build a Sentence, Write an Email, or Write for an Academic Discussion (ETS — "TOEFL iBT Test Content"). "Writing feedback" in general invites out-of-scope submissions.
• Input: Require the submitted response plus the prompt it answers, since the IELTS criteria include task achievement or task response, which cannot be judged without the prompt.
• Word limit: State a hard cap. IELTS Task 2 has a 250-word minimum and Task 1 a 150-word minimum, so a cap such as "one Task 2 essay up to 350 words" leaves headroom without opening the door to a dissertation.
• Rubric: Say which document you mark against and link it — the IELTS Writing Band Descriptors, nine bands across four criteria, updated May 2023, or the ETS Writing Scoring Guide, scored 0-5 per task (ETS PDF).
• Deliverable: Choose inline comments, a criterion-by-criterion breakdown, an estimated band or score range, or a combination. A Brillay delivery can carry a written note plus up to 5 files or a private link for anything larger.
• Revision limit: State that the purchase includes one response or one-time delivery.
• Delivery time: Pick a window you reliably meet inside Brillay's 5-day per-order cap.
• Exclusions and outcome boundary: Name what is not included — a full rewrite, a live call — and state that an estimate against the public descriptors is not an official IELTS band or TOEFL score, which are reported only from the real test.

A listing that follows the eight points above reads like this: "One round of written comments on one IELTS Task 2 essay up to 350 words, scored against all four official criteria with an estimated band range, delivered in 48 hours. Does not include a full rewrite or a live call."

What else can a language teacher sell alongside exam feedback?

Exam writing feedback rarely fills a whole page on its own. Personalized Videos, Tips, Goals, and Brand Collaboration Inquiries can sit beside your writing-feedback offer on the same Brillay link. Personalized Videos have a set price and delivery time; Tips and Goals accept one-time support; Brand Collaboration Inquiries collect a brand’s budget, timeline, and deliverables. Teachers who also coach speaking skills often round out the page with ongoing conversation practice feedback and a dedicated pronunciation feedback offer, priced and delivered the same async way.

• Personalized Video: A pep talk before test day or a congratulations video after results.
• Tips: A way for someone who benefited from free study content to contribute without buying a specific deliverable.
• Goals: Funding for a free practice-prompt bank or an exam-prep video series.
• Brand Collaboration Inquiries: A “Work with Me” form for test-prep companies or publishers to share their budget, timeline, and requested deliverables.

Related reading: sell IELTS and TOEFL speaking feedback covers the companion offer for scoring spoken practice responses, and how language teachers make money online covers the wider set of paid formats beyond exam prep.

How do you get an IELTS/TOEFL writing offer live?

Decide whether the offer is a narrow text question or a full essay mark-up, then set the exam, task, word cap, rubric, price, no-revision scope, and delivery time before publishing.

Brillay sets no follower minimum and asks for no application before the offer goes live, but a platform requirement is not the same as a local one: advertising, tutoring-business, and consumer-protection rules vary by jurisdiction and by how a service is described. Describe test-prep experience accurately and avoid implying an official IELTS or TOEFL examiner credential unless it is genuinely held.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to be a certified IELTS or TOEFL examiner to sell writing feedback?

Not on Brillay's side — there is no application or eligibility review before a writing-feedback offer goes live. The limit is how you describe yourself, because local advertising rules vary by jurisdiction: represent teaching experience accurately, avoid implying an official examiner certification unless it is genuinely held, and make clear that an estimated band is not an official score.

Should I price IELTS Task 1 and Task 2 the same?

Not necessarily. IELTS states that Task 2 contributes twice as much as Task 1 to the Writing score, so a listing that prices a Task 2 review higher, or bundles both tasks at a combined rate, mirrors the exam's own 2:1 weighting.

Can I use one listing for both IELTS and TOEFL writing feedback?

Two separate listings work better. IELTS Writing uses two long-form tasks scored on four criteria across nine bands, while the updated TOEFL iBT Writing section runs 12 items in about 23 minutes across Build a Sentence, Write an Email, and Write for an Academic Discussion, with score reports on a 1-6 scale as of January 21, 2026 (ETS — "TOEFL iBT Test Content"; ETS — "TOEFL iBT Score Breakdown").

What if a student submits more than the listing covers?

You can decline it and point them to a larger Custom Work offer. A stated boundary such as "one Task 2 essay up to 350 words" prevents the ambiguity in the first place.

What does Brillay charge?

No monthly fee, you only pay a small platform fee when you get paid. 8% platform fee when a follower pays for work, 5% platform fee on tips and goals. Card processing is separate. Students need no account, there is no follower minimum, and teachers can connect a bank through Stripe in 41 payout countries.

Stripe's published typical US online-card rate is 2.9% + $0.30 per successful charge (Stripe — Pricing), so on a $25 essay mark-up the 8% platform fee for paid work is $2.00 and typical US card processing is about $1.03.

Create your free Brillay page and turn the next "can you check my essay?" DM into a clearly scoped, priced offer.