Steve Price - IELTS Writing Task 2: How to Improve Your IELTS Band Score

IELTS Writing Task 2: How to Improve Your IELTS Band Score

Issue 2

An IELTS guide from www.passieltshigher.com

Copyright 2017, STMP Associates Ltd.

First published in 2012

This Issue, Issue 2, published in 2017

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For more information on the IELTS Test, please visit the official website at www.IELTS.org.

How This Book Helps You

This book gives you, the IELTS Test candidate, detailed guidance on how you can improve your IELTS Writing Task 2 Test band score.

The IELTS Writing Task 2 Test is no different from any other exam or test type. There are techniques, which can be practised and which will place candidates in a better position to answer each given question type.

This book teaches you those techniques for the IELTS Writing Task 2 Test .

Both Task 1 and Task 2 are rated based on four criteria: Task Achievement(Task 1) and Task Response (Task 2), Coherence and Cohesion, Lexical Resource, and Grammatical Range and Accuracy.

Scores range from 0 to 9, and a 0.5 rate may also be given.

To better understand each criterion, carefully study the descriptors below.

The four criteria are of equal weight, so there must also be an equal amount of preparation.

During your practice and preparation, dont forget to keep referring back and forth to these descriptors. This will thoroughly guide you as you progress.

This knowledge is the icing on your IELTS preparation cake. In a favourable way, of course.

The next table shows a comprehensive description of the English language capabilities required in each band score for Task 2 Writing.

The second question in the IELTS Academic Writing Test asks you to write an essay of at least 250 words.

The question may ask you to agree or disagree on a particular idea or opinion; sometimes, the question may directly ask your stand on a particular issue. It may also ask you to cite some advantages and disadvantages of a particular idea, action, or event.

The amount of time given to accomplish this task is 40 minutes.

A key technique for this task is to ensure you do not take longer than 40 minutes. This is because students would usually score higher marks in the first part of the next section of the IELTS Test than they would score by spending extra time on this task. DO remember though, that Task 2 is worth 66 or 2/3 of your marks, so twice as much.

9 Techniques for Better IELTS Writing Task 2 Band Score

The techniques are listed below, and each relates to a chapter in this book which teaches IELTS Test candidates the required skills.

• Technique 1: Reading and analysing the question
• Technique 2: Essay format - planning and outlining
• Technique 3: Brainstorming for good ideas and opinions
• Technique 4: The introductory paragraph - thesis statement
• Technique 5: The body - topic sentence; main idea and support ideas
• Technique 6: Time management
• Technique 7: Linking devices and expressions
• Technique 8: The conclusion - restatement or summary
• Technique 9: Common mistakes - syntax and lexis

CHAPTER ONE

Technique 1: Reading and analysing the question

What are the really effective ways of reading the question?

Firstly, you should make sure you understand every word in the question. In so doing, it is important to familiarise yourself with the range of possible topics in IELTS and the vocabulary associated with each.

Here are some typical topics:

• Education
• Leisure
• Entertainment
• Technology
• Environment
• IT
• Health
• Education
• Science
• The Natural World
• Sport
• Nature or Nurture
• Advertising
• Cultural Differences
• Social Issues
• Language and Communication
• The Arts

You should also refer to the practice materials by Cambridge, British Council, and/or IDP Australia, as they usually present the most common themes or topics used in the IELTS exam.

Secondly, you should study the question itself. Does it ask one or two things? Does it ask you to discuss something, give your opinion about a topic, agree or disagree with an argument, or suggest a solution or solutions to a certain problem?

Finally, it is a good strategy to keep asking yourself, what am I being asked in this question? What are the exact things I need to do? To help maintain focus, you should keep referring to these questions every now and then during the test to ensure you are still addressing them in your answer.

Why is "analysing" an important step in Writing Task 2?

Being able to analyse the question fully is a great way to start with Writing task 2. Do not attempt to start writing if you are not confident that you have totally understood the question. So it is a good idea to give yourself some time for this stage - 5 minutes of understanding the question very well - before you proceed to the planning stage. After reading and fully understanding the question, it will become straightforward to write your answer. Focus on what is being asked for before you start brainstorming for ideas.