- You are here:
- Home »
- Blog »
- Prepare for your IELTS Exam »
- The 7 Glorious Virtues
The 7 Glorious Virtues
Here are 7 things that you absolutely must do when taking the writing part of the IELTS.
In my blogs and in my lessons, I talk a lot about planning, and I feel very strongly that this is key to good writing. Checking comes next; you don’t want to throw away marks, or make yourself look stupid with silly errors. Of course, practise is always key and the more you practise the better you will become-at anything that you do and IELTS is no exception.
Here are my 7 glorious virtues to help achieve a good, low error, written style.
- Less is more –This maxim can refer to several areas of writing.
- Don’t make your sentences too long –Long sentences give more room for mistakes and for grammatical missteps. If they are going on to 3 lines check them carefully.
- Word limits are a guide– The guide is 250 don’t get nervous. If you have concluded your argument and feel satisfied with the piece you have written, leave it. 30 extra words will not gain you marks simply because they are more words. In fact, if they are not relevant they could destroy your essay altogether! Remember too that the more you write the more the potential for errors! So 250 to 280 is optimum (150 to 180 in Task 1)
- Don’t write more than 1 essay at a time – If you produce 3 essays at the same time it is likely that they will all have the same mistakes. Have your first piece of writing marked or looked at before you begin a second.
- Analyse your mistakes – Learn from your mistakes, and make sure you understand how to improve on any errors and add them to your mental check list for next time.
- This may seem like common sense, but I was horrified once to find that an IELTS class of mine was putting marked essays in their folders and not looking at my comments or suggestions! As a consequence, their scores were not improving and they produced the same type of writing each week.
- Understanding where you went wrong is key – Unless you do this you will simply repeat the same mistakes over and over, and they say that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Don’t be like a crazy person! We practise so we can learn from our mistakes and get better!
- Make synonym lists – Look at words you use a lot in your writing. Are there a few that keep showing up that could be substituted with a different word that means the same thing, or perhaps there is a word that has a nuance of meaning that is more appropriate to what you are saying that you don’t know about. The point is – find synonyms. Break open a thesaurus and get to know it better. A rich vocabulary demonstrates your language ability and gives your writing sophistication.
Add spice to your writing by changing up the vocabulary on things like:
- opening phrases (some people, on the one hand, although, etc.)
- closing phrases (finally, in conclusion, in my opinion, etc.)
- linking words (in spite of, moreover, nevertheless, etc.)
- descriptive words (beautiful, pretty, glorious, etc.)
- Make a list of knock-out words and phrases – Pick out a few words that will enhance your writing and use them – once! Sometimes a beautiful sentence or word is used in an essay and it has an amazing effect. Then it is used again and sometimes a third time and that initial effect is destroyed. So, use that fantastic word, but only use it once!
Some examples might be:
- starting sentences with present participles (…ing) (Having weighed all the pros and cons, it is vital that, etc.) Just make sure you don’t lose sight of your subject in these sentences.
- passive voice (All the fruit in the pantry is covered by mold. Country music is sometimes hated.) Be careful with passive voice. Typically, sentences structured in active voice are the better choice, but sometimes passive voice can be more appropriate or can make your sentence stand out. Read more on passive and active voice here.
- cleft sentences (What helped us was the support of family and friends. It was the fact that we’d spoken on the phone that made meeting easier.) A cleft sentence changes the emphasis in a sentence by using who, what, when, and it. There is much more to cleft sentences, to read more check out one of my blog pages.
- inversion (What a beautiful picture it is! Where in the world were you?) Inversion is where you change the typical sentence structure for emphasis. Look here for more on inversion techniques.
Of course, it depends on the type of writing you are producing as to which of these is appropriate, but you need one or two in your armoury. Use them deliberately for effect (making sure, of course, that you can use them correctly).
- Look at models – Unless you are planning to break the mould with your writing (which would be dangerous in an exam or with a job-related report!) use models as examples. You can find these easily on the internet. Look at the online newspaper versions of data reports (the business sections have lots of these). Type in your essay title and see what comes up. DO NOT COPY THESE, use them to analyse how things are expressed and what words are appropriate for the topic. Make notes and then use these phrases and words in your own writing.
- Be bold – (This may seem to contradict #5 above, but I am talking on a small scale here, not the entire piece.) Try new things. This is best done before the exam or final draft. Some new phrases or grammar items will help to give your writing more variety. Even if it isn’t completely perfect you’ll get some credit for trying.
- Read more and read widely – Your reading acts as a model for your writing. By reading widely you are exposing yourself to different styles and models. You will become familiar with a wider range of phrases and vocabulary as well as good grammatical usage.
So, as with many things, writing is 80% preparation and 20% execution!!
For more tips, classes, and to work with me one-on-one to improve your IELTS score, check out my website.
Popular posts
Translate »