Mark Griffiths - IELTS Writing: A Comprehensive Guide

IELTS Writing:A Comprehensive Guide

MarkGriffiths

SmashwordsEdition

Copyright 2010Mark Griffiths

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This ebook islicensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not bere-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to sharethis book with another person, please purchase an additional copyfor each recipient. If youre reading this book and did notpurchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then pleasereturn to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you forrespecting the hard work of this author.

Table ofContents

DataQuestions

1. Trafficjams

2. The deathpenalty

3. Governmentspending on the arts

4. Boardingschools

5.Journalists

6. Waste

7. Punishingchildren

8. Animalexperiments

9. Nucleartechnology

10. Schools andsuccess

12.International immigration

13. The statusof women

14. Technologyand traditional cultures

15. Smoking

16. Reportingcrime

17. The future better or worse?

18. Predictingcriminality

19. Faster paceof life

20. Prisons

22. Assessingteachers

23. A globallanguage

24. Childrenfrom wealthy and poor families

25. Shoppingfor leisure

26. Sport andpeace

27. Globaltrade

28.Advertising

29. Using theInternet for education

30. Foodproduction

32. Technologyand creativity

33. Watershortages

34. Theteaching profession

35. Suitablework for women

36. Spending onanimal protection

37. A smallerworld

38. Public orprivate provision of services

39. Tourism andinternational understanding

40. Spaceresearch

42. Work timeand free time

43. Academicand practical school subjects

44. The purposeof schools

45. Privatehealth care

46. Studyinginternational news

47. Male andfemale leaders

48. Modern andtraditional buildings

49. Happinessand economic success

50. Violence infilms

52. Computergames

53. Communityservice

54. Usingcomputers

55. WatchingTV

56. Theavailability of information

57. Workingfrom home

58. Learningtechnical subjects

59 Paying foruniversity studies

60. Theprovision of medical services

62. Gapyears

63. Learningusing computers

64. Defencespending

65. Roadsafety

66. Olderworkers retiring early

67. TheInternet

68. Music

69. Newseditors

70. Careerpaths

72. Taxinghaving children

73. Zoos

74. Cars

75. Diet

76. Urbandevelopment

77. Radio

78. Urban andrural standards of living

79. Governmentspending

80. Thepurposes of museums and art galleries

82. Lying

83. What ishappiness?

84. Fashion

85. Robotstaking over from humans

86. Limitingthe time children spend watching TV

87. Poorstudent behaviour

88. TheInternet and information/development

GeneralIntroduction

Having beeninvolved with IELTS for the past twelve years, I am familiar withthe main problems students face when preparing for the IELTSWriting Module. This book aims to help students deal with theseproblems. The first part of the book examines the format of thewriting module, the assessment criteria, and the common problemsthat students face. It also looks at the requirements of thewriting module in terms of the use of grammar and various parts ofspeech. The second part of the book demonstrates how to writereports, letters, and essays for the IELTS writing module andcontains an extensive range of sample questions and answers.

Introductionfor Teachers (Students should read this, too!)

As a teacher, Iwas eager to produce a book which would be teacher-friendly. Thebook is laid out in such a way that teachers can work through thecontents of the book in the same order that they are presented.

Some basicEnglish structures are presented in the first section of the book.Bear in mind that this is not primarily intended to be a grammarbook and that the grammar and structures contained in the firstsection are really designed to serve as a reminder forstudents.

Dealcomprehensively with the test format and criteria so that studentsknow exactly what they are facing. The first section contains theanswers to questions that students are likely to have. The pagesdevoted to grammar and structures are designed to ensure thatstudents know what level of English is expected of them in thetest.

The threechapters dealing with report, letter, and essay writing approachthe task from the standpoint of a student sitting the examination from understanding the question through to writing theconclusion.

It is unlikelythat you will have enough time to go through all of the essaytopics in the class. This doesn't matter as the essays can easilybe read by students outside class. Students should be encouraged towrite their own answers, using the model essays as guides whereappropriate.

Encouragestudents to be imaginative and thoughtful. The Task 2 topics givestudents plenty of scope for original, highly individual answers.Writing in class gives students the feel of working in a controlledenvironment (particularly with regard to time limits), whereasworking at home allows them to explore new ideas and check newvocabulary. Students should also be encouraged to debate issues.Debating issues before meeting them in the test allows students totest ideas and arguments.

The Format ofthe Writing Module

The format ofthe IELTS Writing Module is very simple. It lasts for 60 minutes.It is strongly recommended that you spend 20 minutes on Task 1 and40 minutes on Task 2. You may do Task 1 first or Task 2 first thechoice is yours. Many candidates prefer to do Task 2 first as it isworth more. Task 2 is worth two-thirds of the total IELTS WritingModule score, with Task 1 being worth one-third. It is vital thatcandidates are aware of how much time they have remaining tocomplete the tasks. Bear in mind that the 60 minutes includes timefor preparation and time for checking your work (e.g. forgrammatical errors and spelling mistakes).

Time is not theonly factor you must bear in mind. Task 1 must be at least 150words long. Task 2 must be at least 250 words long. These are theminimum lengths stated by the test developers. In my experience, aTask 1 report or letter should ideally be around 180 words long,whilst a well-developed Task 2 essay should be around 300 wordslong. Most candidates can achieve these targets without greatdifficulty after a little practise.

The AnswerSheet

Each candidatereceives a four-page answer sheet. Pages 1 and 2 are for Task 1,whilst pages 3 and 4 are for Task 2. Candidates have to write someinformation (name, candidate number, test centre, date, and module)on page 1 before the test begins.

At the bottomof the answer sheet, candidates can see the following:

These parts ofthe answer sheet are used by examiners when they assess theanswers. The part where 'Examiner 1' writes scores can be torn offif a second examiner is required to assess the essays. This meansthat the second examiner does not see the scores given by the firstexaminer (and is therefore not influenced by them).

Theabbreviations refer to the criteria (TA = Task Achievement, TR =Task Response, CC = Coherence and Cohesion, LR = Lexical Resource,i.e. vocabulary, and GRA = Grammatical Range and Accuracy).

TaskAchievement (TA) is used in Task 1

Task Response(TR) is used in Task 2

The otherreferences are as follows: