IELTS: Writing

Yesterday I was grading some IELTS writing (academic module second task, 250 words). Here are some tips to help you with this question in the exam.

Before you start writing

• Make sure you read the question at least 3 times. Many students start writing before they are clear about what the question means and what they think about it.
• Think about the vocabulary you can use to give your opinion.
• Can you include examples from your experiences? You should!
• Do you plan to use a suitable number of paragraphs? In most cases this will be 4 or 5 (it depends on the question and what you can write) e.g.
  • 1 for the introduction
  • 2 or 3 for your reasons
  • 1 for the conclusion

During and after your writing

• Does your introduction discuss the question and show your position?
• Does each paragraph have its own summary sentence? This will help you organise your ideas and the whole piece of writing.
• Do not write too much. The word limit is 250!
• Does your vocabulary have the right formality and sufficient variety?
• Have you checked your sentences for grammar, spelling and punctuation (you need to have some time for checking)?
• Most good English does not have very long sentences! If you have a sentence over 20 or 25 words, think about making it shorter (good very long sentences are difficult to write even for native writers!!).

Remember, you do not have to have perfect English to get a good score but your writing does need to be clear and well organised.