Ielts Writing Task 2 Academic Tips And Tricks

[Faith Lienhard]

UsefulIELTS writing task 1 tips, answers, lessons & videos for success achieving a high score. This page contains all the information and help you need to do well. Learn about the IELTS marking criteria, paragraphing, vocabulary and much more. This page has tips for Academic writing task 1 and GT writing task 1 (see bottom of page).

The following links are for IELTS candidates who are preparing for the General Training Writing Test. Your task will be asked to write a letter. You will not be writing a report as in the Academic Test. Use the links below to help you prepare:

Hi, my name is Elizabeth (Liz). I am your teacher and the author of this website. I am an experienced, qualified English teacher specialising in IELTS test preparation since 2008. Please enjoy the 300 plus pages of free lessons, tips, model answers, topics etc.

Whether you take the General Training or Academic IELTS test, the second writing task is writing an essay in response to a problem or argument. Here are 10 easy steps, with lots of tips, to guide you on how to write high-scoring essays.

The Writing test (consisting of Writing tasks 1 and 2) takes approximately 60 minutes. Plan to spend around 20 minutes on your first task, and 40 minutes on your essay task. A sample plan for your time might be:

While you may be anxious to jump straight into writing, make sure you take the time to carefully read the essay question. If you misunderstand the question, you risk writing an essay that does not address the issues properly which will lower your score.

There will be multiple issues that you will need to address in your essay. Addressing each issue individually is key to achieving a high essay score. Highlight each individual issue that you will need to address.

Connecting your ideas clearly and correctly is critical to achieving a high essay score. Try to use a range of linking words to make your essay easy to read. You can use connecting devices and phrases to:

You can read it silently, but it may help to read it out loud if you can do so without disturbing others. Make a mental note or mark your paper anywhere that you may need to fix an issue.

Also, the IELTS Familiarisation test is designed to give test takers an idea of what to expect on the actual IELTS test. It includes sample questions from different part of the test, such as Listening, Reading, and Writing. Set yourself up for success and explore our extensive library of preparation materials today.

I took the IELTS because I am an English teacher who wanted to have the experience of doing the test, to gain valuable insights from it and to put myself in your shoes, so to speak, so I can help you to pass your test more easily and more quickly.

It would be even more awkward had I not taken the PTE Academic three months earlier. In that test, I scored a perfect 90, or 100%, in writing, which I consider being a true reflection of my abilities.

Could this formatting issue have been my downfall? Did the examiner see a big arrow and presume that I was a 6.5 despite the fact that my essay was entirely logical from beginning to end, paragraph to paragraph, sentence to sentence, word to word, first capital letter to final full stop? Did the examiner see the arrow and then doubt my Task 1? Did the examiner see the arrow and lose faith in my grammar, vocabulary and topical relevance?

Note: I applied for an IELTS rescore and my IELTS writing test score was increased from a 6.5 to a 7.5. I plan on taking IELTS again soon so I can have another shot at an IELTS 9 on the writing test!

Thank you so much for sharing your experience with us. Personally I believe IELTS test is very subjective, subjective from the point of view of examiner. Their personal biasness and feelings sometimes reflects on your score card, when you think you have done well but you get unexpected results.

It really crush the confidence of test takers who work so hard and end up with demotivating results and many times its not even their mistake as well. Luckily we have PTE now, where there is no place for personal biasness, may be a small room for technical error but that can be tackled next time.

But on the other hand, IELTS sometimes get too diificult to crack due to of its very subjective nature. I know some people who gave IETLS 20-30 times but still couldnt get 7 band each. Not because their english is bad but because some other reasons.

After I got the results I was very depressed, I was running out of time and needed to retake the test on the next available date. So I did, I read about the test and focused on the writing part.

Finally the day arrived and I was ready to it give my all ( and so I thought I did).

Hi Victoria,

My email to you bounced. Do you have another address I can contact you through? I am interested in your article as I believe I have been unfairly marked 3 times.

Thanks,

Megan.

RE test adjustments: Yes, she got extra time but as she says, that is like giving a blindman extra time to read the paper rather than offering it in braille.

She can articulate well what is required- yet what is not provided.

One theory which I believe may be true, is that IELTs is fraud. I need at least a band 7 in all components of the test to gain at least 10 points towards and a skilled independent visa. This was the purpose of me doing the test.

They know this and intentionally give me a mark below 7 in the writing component so I have to resit the test and therefore pay more money. Because writing is subjective this is the area of the test they can get away with marking a lower score.

I also an a native English speaker, as well as a teacher.

I received all 9s, and a 6.5 in Writing. I submitted an EOR, so we will see what happens, but anything below 8 seems ridiculous!

I took the exam with BC in Dubai.

Hi,

My name is Harry and i am living in USA since the past 10 years. Before that i was in Canada for about 6 years. I have studied in English throughout my life. I am applying for Canadian PR and hence i had to write the IELTS General exam. I was super confident after I wrote my exam. If anything i was more confident on my writing than other aspects. I just receive my score today. I scored L-9 R-8.5 S-8.5 and guess what 6.5 in writing. I was really mad at myself and very embarrassed as well. On top of that i needed a 7 in writing. I called the IDP (IELTS) examiners in Canada and they said that since the difference in the band from the lowest score to the next higher score 2 or more another set of examiner checks your writing test. It means that my test was checked by 2 different sets of examiners and still i got a 6.5. I am in a dilemma, my ego wants me to contest the test and it costs $185 for contesting the score, however i am now unsure on what to do. I pay $300 to write a new test. Moreover, if 2 different sets of people have checked my test, logically, it means that my essay was really not up to the standards.

I am confident that i wrote more than 250 words. Yes, my topic was a little different but i wrote logical ideas and structured them well. My first letter was pretty good as well. Since i only need another 0.5 mark i am inclined towards rechecking. What would you all suggest?

Thanks,

Harry

I have felt the same similar shock on the day I received my IELTS score. I, also scored a heart breaking 6.5 when I was expecting 8.5. It just devastated me. I was the essay champ back in high school. My teachers in schools branded my English level to be of high standard and that is perhaps why I was asked to write articles for the news letters and such in school.

Then again, coming to analyse where I went wrong, it was the word limit. Much like the writer; after I completed my writing I found out that I was about 80 words short. This happened to me on both task 1 and 2. So I spent some time erasing off some of the paragraphs to rewrite them in more elaborate way. And yes I wrote with a pencil which- as much as it was a life saver but it was also a downfall.

Hello Jay E2

I took the ielts writing test today and got my ID taken and a malpractice form filled against me for writing a little bit after the time was up.

I am very fearful about this. Please what are your thoughts?

The use of the English language is how I make a living. Being an attorney requires constant attention to detail, an efficient use of words from a respectable vocabulary, the ability to decipher subtleties in meaning, e.t.c.

I am planning to start a petition against IELTS. IELTS is a fraud. I have experienced this exam more than 10 times working harder and harder on my English after each try. Unfortunately, each time I took IELTS I scored 6.5 in writing. I do not understand how it is possible to score same score in every single attepmt? I have scored 9,9 and 8 in all bands excluding writing. I am a dentist with PhD, passed with high scores very difficult board examinations internationally, won awards, honors etc. I have published papers in most respectful medical journals, I have given lectures to many people around the world. IELTS general writing is the only thing in my life I am continuously failing.

Thank you for taking the time to write this blog post Jay. While this whole experience has been incredibly frustrating, reading that others have had similar experiences has given me some of my strength back. I will have to try again.

Just got my IELTS results and was disappointed to see a score of 6 while all other sections had 8-9. I am a doctor in business and have over 25 years of education in british english language, mostly writing thesis and white papers. Moreover, the low scores came as a surprise because after carefully balancing grammar, word count, covering up all the pointers that the question required and the formatting, I saw no room for improvement in my writing. Spoke to a few colleagues and they had similar experiences. Shattered confidence? May be not but what I heard and now I believe it too that human error and bias is a big factor in your scoring. IELTS body makes hundreds of millions each year and re-tests are just a cherry on top in this greedy empire.

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