Have you ever dreamed of breaking through and achieving a band score of 8 in the IELTS Writing test?
Many candidates spend most of their time practicing writing good essays throughout their IELTS preparation process. To achieve their desired score, they often tend to cram uncommon vocabulary into their essays, overuse complex grammar, or present their writing in an overly lengthy manner. But are these factors really necessary for your essay? The answer is No.
There are still many essays with much simpler content and presentation that still score 8.0 or higher! Basically, you don't need to possess any special knowledge: the examiners will evaluate your writing, not just your thoughts. Even the simplest ideas, when expressed accurately, will score better than overly complex ones.
To confidently achieve a high score in the IELTS Writing test, you need to:
Present content and test-taking skills accurately.
Write simple yet concise ideas.
For those who don't know, even well-trained candidates often lose points in the IELTS Writing test just because they make simple mistakes: going off-topic and writing too many words in their essays.
This article will compile 10 useful tips to "level up" your writing skills. These tips will help you confidently achieve a band score of 8+ in your upcoming IELTS Writing test.
10 IELTS Writing Tips
1. Read the question carefully
Reading carefully and fully understanding the requirements of the question is crucial for achieving a high score. Always read your question thoroughly and present all the points you are asked to discuss. For example:
The government should pay to the parents of very young children, so that one of them can stay at home and look after their children.
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For this question, you are required to do two things:
Write pros & cons
Justify your examples
If you fail to complete one of these requirements, it will be difficult to score high in this part of the test.
2. Proofread your work carefully
When you finish any paragraph, read it again before starting the next one. Don't think this will waste your time; it will actually help you connect your paragraphs more easily.
3. Present clear ideas and arguments
A key tip to remember is to choose what you consider to be your best arguments to present in your essay. Don't write down all the ideas that come to your mind; learn to select and present your best thoughts. Don't worry too much about whether it's the most brilliant idea or not; instead, focus on presenting your arguments and examples clearly and coherently.
4. Write about what you know, your own experiences
Once you understand the scoring criteria for the IELTS Writing test, you'll realize that this exam assesses your English writing and presentation skills, not the quality of your ideas. Therefore, you shouldn't worry about finding the "right answer". You need a simple idea that you can present and prove clearly.
5. Present your work according to the standard structure
To achieve the maximum score, you should understand the standard structure when presenting your work in the IELTS Writing test.
IELTS Writing Task 1 will have a structure including the following parts:
Introduction: Briefly describe what your chart shows.
Overview: State the main trends, key points presented in the essay.
Specific details: Describe specific changes, provide data, changes and trends for the information in the essay.
The answer for IELTS Writing Task 2 will have the following structure:
Introduction: Reintroduce the topic + state your opinion.
Body paragraphs: Each paragraph should have a main idea, usually stated in the first sentence.
Conclusion: Restate your opinion from the introduction.
6. Avoid writing too many words in your essay
Writing more than 300 words in Task 2 and more than 200 words in Task 1 is not a good idea at all. If you present your work too long, this will be a challenge for examiners when they have to read through overly long essays, leading to carelessness when reading ideas. Secondly, you may make more mistakes and have less time to check your work at the end of the hour.
7. Choose an appropriate writing style
Avoid using informal language in academic texts or essays. Usually, you may be asked to write a letter in the IELTS Writing - Task 1 test.
8. Don't memorize sample answers
Never memorize sample answers; an essay like that will rarely receive a high score. In fact, the chance of encountering an essay topic that you've studied is very rare. And if you're unfortunate enough to go off-topic, you'll receive a low score.
Instead, spend time learning how to use advanced vocabulary, grammar to present your answers accurately and appropriately. This way, you'll be able to use various phrases in your writings and impress the examiners with your rich vocabulary.
9. Avoid presenting irrelevant information
Write only on the topic and limit mentioning irrelevant information. If you stray from the topic, you'll receive a lower score compared to a simple answer that stays on point.
10. Write clearly and coherently
Don't repeat ideas you've already written using different presentations; this will limit redundant information in your essay. Additionally, ensure that each paragraph in Writing Task 2 highlights the main idea.
For the IELTS Writing test, presenting each paragraph separately and clearly, while fully expressing the main idea, will make your essay neat and coherent.
Master the IELTS Writing test when preparing with IDP!
We hope the above article will help you summarize the knowledge needed to score well in the IELTS Writing section. With extensive experience in helping candidates prepare for the IELTS exam, IDP always supports you with free access to useful test preparation resources including articles, videos sharing exam tips from international experts to improve your test-taking skills.
Additionally, you can register for a mock test experience at IDP's IELTS test centers, participate in IELTS Workshops directly guided by IDP experts to better understand common mistakes to avoid, study some sample questions and answers along with video tutorials from experts.
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