This is a well-known saying in English and it means that we get things the wrong way round, our priorities are not right. It happens a lot, I feel, when you tackle the writing part of the IELTS test. There are a few reasons for this but all of them maintain this practice of having things the wrong way around.
First and foremost, there is a lot of worry about the time and there is a tendency to ‘clock-watch’ – keeping your eye on the time rather than on what you are writing. In the exam this is important, although if you don’t do it in your practice then you really won’t need to do it in the exam. In fact, there is plenty of time!
A second problem is the focus on ‘ideas’ and how your ideas can impress the examiner. The truth is that they won’t – not unless they are well-written and provide a fantastic answer to the question in terms of the language you use. Putting the cart before the horse again. What you say is not really that important, how you say it is!
Finally jumping into the topic and writing furiously without some careful planning can also lead to writing that is not coherent and doesn’t follow the question. This can happen without you even realising it. Careful planning before you start is therefore crucial to good error-free writing. In an ideal world you would draft your work and come back to it several times before reaching your finished piece but here you are preparing for an exam, in another language so the very best way to make sure that you write well and with minimal errors is to control the process carefully. The writing for IELTS is rather mechanical and using this kind of process with a careful plan should deliver the kind of writing that matches the band descriptors and give the examiner what is required for them to award a band 7 or above.
How do you get from the question to an acceptable task?
Start at the beginning.
Begin with the question – what is it asking you to do? How many parts are there to answer?
What is the topic and what aspect of this topic do I need to consider?
(Notice I don’t address the topic until after I have considered the task given)
Consider the following question:
Cheaper and more frequent international transport has meant that people from some countries regularly travel abroad and it is claimed that this is improving understanding among the world’s population. However, others feel that this is just another form of consumerism, and that nothing meaningful is learnt. They say it would be better to use mass media to find out about more about the world. Discuss both these views and give your opinion.
This is quite an easy task to plan.
We are asked to do the following things:
- Discuss both views
- Give our opinion
The topic relates to more frequent world travel and there are 2 views outlined:
- It’s a good thing as it increases cultural understanding and ties
- It’s a bad thing because it simply persuades people to spend money. There is also a suggestion that cultural understanding can be better achieved via the media
When asked to discuss both views it makes sense to explore each in its own paragraph so now all we need to do is decide on the reasons to support these two views and then decide when to add in the opinion.
The introduction needs to do 3 things:
- Introduce topic (reword the question)
- Introduce two sides to the argument (again use the question as a guide)
- Introduce your own opinion (just agree with one or the other or stay in-between)
Paragraph 1 will discuss opinion 1
- People feel that travel broadens the mind – being in touch with other cultures and countries can teach us tolerance, understanding, languages, different ideas etc.
- Moreover it can help us look at our own culture in a different way – change things and become more open
- Cheap travel allows this for many people from lots of countries where before only the rich could do it – this gives greater democracy
- True there are some consequences but in time these may be overcome
Paragraph 2 will discuss opinion 2
- Such travel is merely an indulgence in which companies make huge profits
- In addition most journeys are for holidays where people will relax rather than learn about another country or its culture. On the contrary, the internet is a far more powerful way of learning about the world and its cultures
- For example – look at how many holiday packages spend just a few hours in any one place where people are together all the time, take photos often of each other and then move on
- Cheap air travel is simple big business and has little to do with learning about the world.
Conclusion – will summarise and state your opinion again
Both sides of the argument have merit
Nevertheless in my opinion, I feel that…….
See how this plan, which needn’t take more than 10 minutes to prepare has already provided you with an outline of your task and all you now need to do is to expand the ideas with good vocabulary, more linking words and other linguistic devices to make sure you have complex sentences and a well-balanced and well-organised response to the question.
The other important aspect of such planning is that while you write you will be focusing on the language you want to use and this means that you can control your sentence to eliminate errors and make sure you use fantastic English. It will, in addition, be faster and leave you time for checking – all in all it’s certainly a win-win!
So, don’t put the cart before the horse, think – brainstorm and plan and then the task will almost write itself.