In my experience, IELTS writing is generally the part of the test that takes the longest to reach Band 7. There are several reasons for this. The level of writing you need is quite high and requires fairly sophisticated language (especially if you are looking for Band 8) which is close to that of a native speaker. Writing, for native speakers of all languages is generally the last thing to learn and it takes most of your school career to write at university level which is the level that IELTS is looking for at these high bands.
My advice is therefore to be patient with your writing progress. Keep practising and above all get your writing checked so you know exactly where you are making errors.
Here are some common questions that I get asked again and again.
1. How can I improve my spelling?
Spelling correctly is very important I writing and spelling errors are always counted as mistakes and will lower your score. If you know the words that you spell incorrectly then just memorise and practise these. Generally there will be a pattern to your spelling errors and you may find you keep spelling the same words wrongly – so just learn them
While you are practising for the exam then just take some time and look up any words you are not sure about and then learn them. Remember practising for the exam is not about doing test after test, it’s about improving your skill and spelling mistakes will not help you get a high band.
Spelling is a problem for English speakers too – we all spend years at primary school memorising spellings and getting tested on them.
If you are on my IELTS Step By Step Programme there are spelling exercises to help you.
2. Will the examiner check grammar mistakes?
Grammar errors are serious! If you make grammar mistakes then your English is not correct and so clearly this will bring your score down and the more grammar errors you have the more your score will suffer. Like spelling, grammar is part of the ‘mechanics’ of writing – these things must be correct in order to convey your ideas and examples. Bad spelling and bad grammar get in the way of your message and the examiner will not be able to follow your point clearly if they are constantly hindered by grammar and spelling mistakes.
It is vital that you find the mistakes that you make (and there are generally always some) and work to eliminate these. This is why it is important to have your work checked by someone who can point out these errors, explain then and help you to avoid them.
Your IELTS study kit should include a grammar book and English dictionary so that you can check these things and learn to avoid them.
3. Should I keep to the word count?
The word count is there for a specific reason. It is not random. It allows you to write enough about the topic (in both Task 1 and Task 2) but it also makes sure that you can finish the writing in the time allowed in the exam.
You need a minimum of 150 for task 1 and 250 for task 2 – it says ‘at least’ on the paper. This means that if you write less then you are not fulfilling the ‘rules’ of the exam. However, it is also true that the more you write the higher the chance of making errors so find a happy medium. A maximum of around 180 for task 1 and 280 for task 2 should be fine.
4. How can I plan task 1?
Task 1 does not need quite as much formal planning as task 2 but there are decisions to be made about how you allocate the information to the paragraphs. This should be quite obvious. The data will generally fall into two categories and you can allocate one to each paragraph. Often there are two ways of doing this and you should choose whichever seems the easiest and most logical to you. By having a simple structure to your description, you can focus on making your vocabulary and sentences good rather than worrying about presenting the data.
Generally there should be an introductory sentence (based on the question). An overview of the main information, a trend or something significant on the data (this should not go into any detail) which will be a single sentence -2 at the very most, (for the map, process and diagram this won’t be necessary), then 2 paragraphs giving the numbers and detail (sometimes you may need 3).
Your plan should say what will be written in each of these parts of the task. You don’t need to write much here – just decide.
5. How can I plan Task 2?
Planning task 2 well can help you in two main ways. Firstly and most importantly it can help you to decide exactly what your ideas, evidence and examples are before you begin your writing so that as you write you are focusing on the language that you want to use. This is really important as IELTS is primarily a test of English language so it is not what you say as much as how you say t that is important. If you are thinking about the ideas as you write then the ideas often become the most important things and that means that the language can suffer causing errors and often a less coherent answer.
The second benefit of a good plan is that it can help you to complete the task faster. If you have a really good structure to your plan then your writing will be a case of ‘fleshing this out’ with vocabulary good sentences, complex structures, linking words etc. and in this way your main focus will be on ‘how’ and not just ‘what’ to write making your task better written and more coherent.
Planning also avoids the problem of digressing away from the question – which can be a common problem in IELTS.
6. How can I improve my task 2 achievement?
This is a very broad question and if you are stuck around Band 6/6.5 and want to get band 7 then it is something that you must ask yourself. Some students seem to become experts at Band 6.5 and they never seem to move for this score. The solution is to stop doing what you are doing because this is keeping you at Band 6.5 and try to work out why you are not moving higher.
The best first step is to get someone to check your writing. Find out what is stopping you – it could be many things – too many errors, no complex sentences, poor relationships between your sentences through a lack of good linking words, ideas that are not supported well or ideas that are too numerous and not developed – this list goes on!
You cannot know until you ask exactly what your particular problem is and it may be a combination of several things.
When you get your work checked you need to know exactly what is going wrong and more importantly exactly how to change these things. Without this knowledge the corrections are not entirely helpful – so make sure you get this information.
On our writing courses we not only correct in detail and explain the corrections we also provide extra exercises and videos so that students are able to see exactly what they need to do to change their writing.
7. How can I check and correct my work?
The very best way to correct your work, and I always do this myself when I am correcting my students’ work, is to read it out loud. I realise that this may not be possible in the exam (although you could read ‘under your breath’ I suppose).
This technique of correction helps you to identify where there is a problem. As you read you will generally stumble at any point where something is not right and this will lead you to check this part. You’ll be able to see when you check what the problem is – grammar, spelling, or a sentence that doesn’t quite make sense. Once you become adept at this technique you will even spot where a word or sentence-type has been repeated.
Your job then is to correct the errors and move on with your ‘reading’.
8. Where can I get ideas for the task 2?
First of all you don’t need lots of ideas just some that are relevant and that you can support. However, sometimes it may be hard to think of anything to say and in this case it’s absolutely fine to do some research.
Try typing the question into your browser – you’ll probably come up with lots of other IELTS writing but check them for their ideas. Alternatively just put the topic in and see what information you can find. You’ll discover some vocabulary to use also with any luck.
Remember that while you are practising for the IELTS exam you need to build your language skills and this can mean doing research for vocabulary, ideas, checking spelling and grammar etc. If you don’t do these things then you will not improve. Having said that there will come a point close to your exam when you will need to stop doing these things too much so that you can practise just using what is in your head.
9. How can I improve my tenses for Academic writing?
The good news is that in most academic writing you will not need to use many tenses! Much of task 2 writing will need only present and past simple and the odd present perfect tense use. This is because you need to report facts, truths and opinions or information from the past which is complete. The writing is also objective so you will be focusing on passive and a good use of modal verbs (should, would need to etc.). There are one or two exceptions: in task 1 where you need to describe changes to a place from the past you will have to use a range of tenses so you cannot ignore them completely and also for GT students the letter will sometimes require a range of tenses as you describe events that have happened over time.
Being able to use a range of tenses is, of course important for the other parts of the exam especially speaking – so you do have to be able to use them well and flexibly. The first thing to do if you are not confident about tenses is to check your understanding and usage of them – this can be done using a grammar book or English course book – these will give you an explanation, examples and also exercises to practise.
Once you are familiar with the ones you need to use in your IELTS writing then you need to apply them to your tasks. If you are working with a teacher they will tell you if they are correct or not and help you to use them well. If you haven’t got a teacher to work with then you can try to find a study partner and you will be able to help each other.
10. How can I move from 6.5 to Band 7?
This is a very common question and one that faces many students. As I mentioned in point 6 above there are many reasons why you may be achieving Band 6.5 but what is clear from your score is that you are not doing everything that is required to reach band 7. In some cases (and I think this is rare) you can request and get an upgrading of your Band score if you ask for a re-mark. You really need to have all the other scores that you want and to be very certain that your writing was at the required band. I have known only a handful of students who had a positive outcome from this route. Examiners are well-trained to mark the writing so in most cases their assessment will be correct.
Once you know that you are Band 6.5 then you should check the Band descriptors to see if there was anything there that you missed out or didn’t do. If you didn’t write complex sentences, or if you repeated words or know that you had some grammar errors then you can work on these things and hopefully the next time you’ll be successful.
If you have no idea and you think you are writing everything that is required then getting a teacher to check your writing might be the best option. In that way everything will be clear and you will know what to do next. Improving a skill is a process involving regular practice and also correction of errors. Don’t expect things to change overnight – it will take some time.