IELTS ACADEMIC WRITING PART 2

You have to • answer the questions clearly and completely; • give reasons for your answer; • include relevant example ▪ from your knowledge ▪ from your experience • spend about 40 minute

Table of Contents

Top 10 IELTS Grammar Mistakes and How To Avoid Them 17

What’s The Difference Between Band 5 and 8 in IELTS Writing Task 2? 39

How To Write an Effective Introduction For IELTS Writing Task 2 49

Introduction

Understanding the Rubric

General Outline of an essay (tweaks will apply depending on the type of question)

General comments

250 minimum – 300 maximum Remember under and over the limit can incur a penalty

Don’t waste words with flowery and passive writing

Use power words and adjectives consistently

Introduction: 4 sentences

A Hook (get the reader’s attention) 1 Sentence

B Answer the question by paraphrasing 1 Sentence

C Give the 2 points you will discuss in favour of your opinion 1 Sentence

D Concession point [but] (the other side of the argument) 1 Sentence

In an essay which does not require a concession, then in most cases you would add a third point or have two extended paragraphs

Do not use phrases like “and I will explain my reasons below’ Give your points!

Body: PEE your Paragraphs 4-5 sentences (generally 3 paragraphs)

P Point: Paraphrase your point from your introduction Very clear and concise

1 Sentence Do not use phrases like ‘on one hand’, ‘first [of all]’, Personally, In my

opinion This is weak writing

E Explain: In two sentences clearly explain the point 2 Sentences

E Example: Provide at least on clear example to illustrate your point 2

Sentences Examples can be from the news, common knowledge, personal

experiences…but make sure they clearly fit the point you are making

You do the same for each body paragraph

Body: Concession Paragraph (when needed)

You still PEE this paragraph You start this paragraph with ‘ However ’ Do not use any other way of starting it! This is clear signposting for the concession

The only difference in the concession is that instead of an example, you explain why you reject this argument

Conclusion 1-2 Sentences

Start with ‘ to conclude’ or ‘ in conclusion’ , as it two words and doesn’t waste

words

Re-answer the question (paraphrased yet again) with your points

Do not add any examples or new information into the conclusion If you didn’t mention it in the body, do not add to the conclusion

WRITING TASK 2

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task

Write about the following topic:

Some people believe that television programmes are of no real value for children

How far do you agree or disagree?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience Write at least 250 words

The Task

Task 2 involves writing an essay on the given topic You have to

• answer the question(s) clearly and completely;

• give reasons for your answer;

• include relevant example

▪ from your knowledge

▪ from your experience

• spend about 40 minutes on the task

• write at least 250 words 300 words

Note: Do part 2 first as it counts 2/3 of your writing mark

The Answer Sheet

The last two pages of the IELTS writing answer sheet are dedicated to task two and together have over 40 lines Although you may ask for extra sheets to write your answer in, this is not likely to become necessary since the space you are already provided with is way more than sufficient You must not write in the blank space at the bottom of the first page or in the scoring section at the bottom of page two

Focus on Academic Register

• Use longer sentences (about 20-30 words)

• Use subordinate clauses

• Use formal linkers (subordinators and transitions)

• Use academic words (see “The Academic Words List” at www.tahasoni.com/resources)

• Avoid contractions

• Avoid “get” phrases where possible

• Avoid personal tone except when giving personal opinions or talking of personal experiences

• Avoid phrasal verbs where possible

• Avoid over-generalisation:

▪ o Non-absolute statements

▪ o Introducing probability/possibility

Phrases to Avoid in your IELTS Essay

1 This essay will discuss both sides and give an opinion at the end

This sentence is poor because it is used for the thesis statement but contains no main points It

is a memorised sentence of 15 words It only repeats the instructions but adds no information to the essay Try to avoid using such sentences and just present your answer clearly Another similar sentence is “I shall put forth my arguments to support my views in the following

paragraphs” which should also be avoided Don’t forget that while these sentences might be fine for a usual academic essay, they are not appropriate for an English language test

2 With the development of science and modern technology…

Many students use this expression to start their essay It is only suitable to use if the essay is about science and technology It is overused and confusing for the reader if the topic is not science or technology You don’t need any expression to start your introduction, just paragraph the essay question directly

3 In the modern era, … / Since the dawn of time …

This is overused in introductions Most essay questions are about current issues so you don’t need to put in a time frame unless it is about an issue in the past compared to the present

“Since the dawn of time…” is not a relevant statement for most IELTS issues and should be avoided Some students also use “Nowadays” to start their essay Again this is overused Try to avoid these phrases and just paraphrase the information given by IELTS

4 This is a highly controversial issue

Most essay questions in IELTS are not controvesial Controversial means that it is deeply

debated and causes strong feeling, for example “the death penalty” which results in a person’s death is controversial but “watching sport on TV or playing it” is not controversial 99% of all essay questions in IELTS will not be controversial so don’t use this phrase Also be careful writing

“highly debatable” as this is also overused

5 The crux of the discussion is …

This is a sentence which is used too often It would be better to write “The most important aspect…” or “One of the key issues is…” as they are more natural to use in writing

6 For example, a recent study from the IMF showed that… / Research indicates that…

The examples you give in IELTS writing task 2 do not need to come from published sources or known research They can just be an example of a situation: “For instance, the majority of working people do not …” Avoid learning opening phrases to common sentences

7 It can broaden a person’s horizons

I have seen this written in so many essays and so have examiners It would be better to write about “learning more”, “opening their mind to something” or “developing deeper

understanding of something” Don’t learn sentences, just write naturally

8 There are good grounds to argue in favour of… / it is undeniable/ It cannot be denied that…

This is another example of a learned phrase to avoid It would be better to write more naturally

“One reason that X is important / crucial …” Using more natural language avoids the examiner thinking you are memorising phrases Also the phrase “it cannot be denied” is very much overused and mostly used incorrectly “It cannot be denied” means it is 100% fact but most essay contain opinions which are not fact Therefore, avoid this phrase

9 In a nutshell, …

Many students use this idiom to start their conclusion It is informal and not appriopriate to use

in IELTS essay writing

10 … the aforementioned arguments offer insights into vindications for the impression that…

This is a typical sentence that should be avoided in a conclusion You only need to restate the main points clearly without using learned phrases

11 I think that…

This is the epitome of a 4-5 essay Most of the time you can write your essay without using ‘’I” (to what extent questions are a notable exception) Try using, I believe, I feel, or something a little more original, if you have to use ‘I’

12 First, Second, Third, etc

In a part 2 essay these are a waste of words, you don’t need them if you have given your points

in the essay

13 On one hand, on the other hand (or any variation of these)

Informal spoken English rather than formal Also not needed if points were given in the

introduction

Task Types

Opinion-led

Some people believe that television programmes are of no real value for children

How far do you agree or disagree?

Argument Discussion

a Some people think that a sense of competition in children should be encouraged

Others believe that children who are taught to co-operate rather than compete become more useful adults Discuss both these views and give your own opinion

b In some countries, it is usual for young people who graduate from high school to spend a year working or travelling before going to university

What are the advantages and disadvantages for young people who decide to do this?

c While some people prefer to live in apartments, others do not think an apartment is a suitable form of accommodation Do you think the advantages of living in an apartment outweigh the

disadvantages?

Issue Discussion

a Housing and accommodation has become a major problem in many countries around the world What are some of the main factors that have contributed to this problem?

What can be done to help reduce the number of homeless people?

b While mobile phones have many advantages, a number of problems have also resulted from them

or the ways in which they are used What are some of these problems? What solutions can you suggest for solving these problems?

c In many countries today insufficient respect is shown to older people

What do you think may be the reasons for this? hat problems might this cause in society?

How to Paraphrase in the IELTS Test

Paraphrasing is simply re-writing a phrase or sentence so that it has the same meaning, but with different words Paraphrasing is one of the most important skills to learn before doing your IELTS test It is most important for writing and speaking, but will also help you in the reading and listening tests In other words, if you know how to paraphrase you are more likely to get the score you need

The mental processes required to paraphrase will also help you to fully understand the question and this is one of the reasons I tell my students to begin all of their answers in the writing test by paraphrasing the question

Let’s look at an example

Example: Paraphrasing is one of the most important skills to learn before doing your IELTS

test

Paraphrased: Prior to taking the IELTS test, mastering paraphrasing is one of the most

crucial things to do

As you can see, the second sentence (paraphrased sentence) uses synonyms to change some vocabulary (e.g., ‘important’ for ‘crucial’ and ‘’prior’’ to ‘before’ and changes the grammar (e.g., Paraphrasing is one of the most important skills” for “mastering

paraphrasing”) You can also change the word order

These are the three main methods you should use in the IELTS test to paraphrase sentences Ideally, you should try to use all three but sometimes two will only be possible

We will now look at each method in detail and also have a look at the passive

Method Number 1: Using Synonyms

Synonyms are different words that have the same meaning For example, ‘humans’ is a synonym of ‘people’ and ‘attractive’ is a synonym of ‘beautiful’ This method simply replaces words with the same meaning in order to produce a new sentence

For example:

My car needs petrol

My vehicle requires fuel

As you can see, I have replaced 3 out of four words with synonyms to produce a new

sentence, with the same meaning as the first one You will notice that I didn’t replace all of the words, but you should try to replace most of them

This is the most common method that students use and it can be used effectively, but you should be careful The biggest mistake students make is trying to paraphrase and the word

having a similar meaning, but not the same meaning Similar meanings are not good enough

and will lose you marks Let’s look at some examples of poor paraphrasing because of using similar instead of the same meanings

Violent crime is on the rise among teenagers

Violent offences are rising among young people

This student has changed the word ‘teenagers’ for ‘young people’ They are similar words and teenagers are of course young people; however children and young adults, aged

between 18-30, could also be described as young people A more term would be

‘adolescents’ or ‘young people between the ages of 13-19.’ A better way to paraphrase this sentence would therefore be:

Violent offences are rising among adolescents

You should therefore only use words you are 100% sure about Don’t change a word unless you are 100% sure that it is a direct synonym, otherwise you are likely to make mistakes and this will bring down your score

Let’s look at another good example:

Global warming is mostly caused by emissions from internal combustion engines

Climate change is mainly caused by the release of fumes from motor vehicles

Method Number 2: Change the Word Order

Changing the word order also allows us to effectively paraphrase a sentence, but again, we have to be careful Don’t change the word order without thinking about how this affects the grammar of the sentence By changing the word order you may have to add a word,

subtract a word or change the form of the word

The 100% rule applies again; don’t change it if you are not 100% sure it is grammatically correct Remember that you are being judged on your ability to produce error free

sentences in the IELTS test as well as use a range of grammar structures

Fortunately, there are two straightforward ways we can change the word order in most IELTS questions

1 You can easily change the order of the clauses, if the original sentence has more than one clause

2

Question: As languages such as Spanish, Chinese and English become more widely used,

there is a fear that that many minority languages may die out

Paraphrased by changing word order: There is a fear that many minority languages may die

out, as languages such as Spanish, Chinese and English become more widely used

We could also add some synonyms to paraphrase it even more:

Paraphrased with changing word order AND synonyms: There is dismay that many lesser

used languages may pass away, as languages such as Chinese, English and Spanish become more broadly spoken

3 You can also change the word order if there is an adjective or noun in the question You do this by simply changing the adjective into a relative clause

Question: Learning to manage money is one of the key aspects to adult life

Paraphrased using a relative clause: Learning to manage money is one of the aspects to

adult life that is key

Method Number 3: Change the Form of the Word

There are many different forms of words including nouns, verbs, adjectives and

adverbs Changing the form of a word allows us to paraphrase effectively Again, don’t just

change the form of the word; you also need to check that your changes make grammatical sense You might need to change the words around it to make the sentence error free

Question: Longer life spans and improvements in the health of older people suggest that

people over the age of sixty-five can continue to live full and active lives

Paraphrased by changing word form: Longer life spans and improvements in the health of

older people are suggesting that people over the age of sixty-five can continue living full and active lives

Method Number 4: Change from Active to Passive

The passive voice is often used in academic writing and can therefore be used in the IELTS academic writing test Only verbs with an object can be turned into the passive

Example active sentence: The property developers invested $20 million in the

development of the shopping centre

Example passive sentence: $20 million was invested in the developments of shopping

How many of these methods should I use?

The four methods can be used independently or together I advise my students to try and change the grammar (word order and/or word form) and use synonyms Remember only use the methods you feel 100% comfortable using and that you are sure your work is error free

IELTS Writing Task 2: Paraphrasing Practice

IELTS writing task 2 paraphrasing practice exercise To get a good mark in IELTS

writing task 2 for the criterion of vocabulary, you need to be able to paraphrase The exercise below is a chance for you to practice your paraphrasing skills

The answers for this exercise have now been posted below

Paragraph

Paraphrase the words in this paragraph using the words below Only paraphrase a word

if you are sure it is appropriate to do so

Many people, when driving their cars, go over the speed limit in city centres As a way of solving this, the government should put more speed cameras on major streets to put people off speeding If this is done, more people who speed will be caught and this problem will eventually be solved

Paraphrasing Options

You do not need to use all the words You must decide which words to use and which words not to use

Law motorway stop put away authorities

Exceed deter from directly riding ought to key

By doing this arrested vehicles resolved

Citizens large caught red handed speed prevention

Increasing urban

Answer:

Many people, when driving their cars, exceed the speed limit in urban centers As a way

of solving this, the authorities ought to install more speed cameras on major streets to deter people from speeding By doing this, more people who speed will be caught and this problem will eventually be resolved

Common Mistakes and Explanations

Collocation: drive a car, not ride a car We use the verb “ride” with bicycles

A town is not a city You can write “city center” or “urban center” A town is much

smaller and this essay is not about small towns and villages

The government can usually be paraphrased with the word “authorities”

The word “should” can be paraphrased as “ought to” This is a common paraphrase

If you are writing about setting up or putting up equipment, you can use the word

“install”

“to deter” is used to put people off committing a crime or an offence It is actually a better word to use than “put off” for formal essay writing

“By doing this” and “As a way of solving this” both have the same meaning in this

context You can’t write “As an answer for solving this” – it isn’t correct English even though the meaning is the same

“people” are people We rare use the word “citizen” in an essay about transport

However, it would be acceptable to use it in the second sentence which refers to the government

“people” cannot be paraphrased as “humans” except in one context – please watch the video below to learn Any student making this mistake is not studying effectively The video below explains this very clearly so you should not be making this mistake

“caught red handed” must be written as it is shown You can never write “caught red” There are three words in this idiom However, this expression is mainly for theft or other crimes in which a person is caught face to face by the police It can’t be used for speed offences caught by camera

“vehicles” is used when we don’t know what type of transport is being written about or when we refer to different types This essay is about cars only which means you can’t use the word “vehicle”

This paragraph is about “streets” This is not the same as a “motorway” A motorway is a very large road outside a city which contains two or three lines in both directions for heavy traffic

IELTS Writing- How to Write a Complex Sentence

One of the biggest mistakes students make in IELTS writing is to try and show off and be overly ambitious with their grammar This is because many students think that all of their sentences need to be ‘complex’ (they don’t!) and them not understanding what a ‘complex’ sentence is Trying to write overly complicated sentences leads to grammar mistakes and this will lead to lost marks in many different areas

What does the examiner expect?

If we look at the examiners’ marking scheme it states that in order to get a band 6 for

grammar we need to:

• use a mix of simple and complex sentences

For band 7 it states:

• Use a variety of complex structures

This obviously means that we should use complex sentences in our writing, but it does not mean that we should try to make all of our sentences complex All band 9 answers that I have seen use a mixture of both simple and complex sentences The key is to know when to use them and we will look at this below But first, we need to understand what a complex sentence actually is

What is a complex sentence?

The main problem here seems to be the word ‘complex’ Complex, in this situation, does not mean complicated, long or impressive This is a common misconception and leads to

students writing very long and grammatically incorrect sentences that are very difficult to understand

For example:

‘In the modern world, global warming is one of the most popular topics causing many

environmental difficulties and tough challenges arising from its serious consequences.’ This is a very typical sentence from an essay that is trying to be overly complex This student has tried to put four simple ideas in to one paragraph and the result is an awkward and incoherent sentence They have lost control of the grammar and this affects the meaning When meaning is affected it stops the reading understanding what is being said and that is really bad for you IELTS writing band scores

‘Complex’ sentences are not actually very complex; they are just simple two or more simple sentences put together Putting them together makes the essay more coherent and

cohesive

Let’s look at the first example again In the sentence above there are four simple ideas that

we can put in to simple sentences:

1 Global warming is a common topic these days

2 Global warming causes environmental problems

3 There are tough challenges associated with global warming

4 Global warming has very serious consequences

If we write all of our sentences in the IELTS exam like this we lose marks because they are too simple What we need to do is put them together to make complex sentences

For example:

One of the most common environmental issues is global warming which causes many serious environmental problems There are tough challenges associated with this issue and its effects have very serious consequences

I don’t think there is anything ‘complex’ about these sentences, just simple ideas, simply put together

‘Complex’ is just a label, not a description

What I have done is take each of the four simple sentences and put them together in two complex sentences This result is a grammatically correct, easy to understand paragraph

When should I use complex sentences?

In general, we should use simple sentences when making main points; normally at the beginning of a paragraph We should then use complex sentences when expanding on the main point, for instance when giving a supporting example or explaining your main point

prohibitively expensive for most people Despite this, people in many developed countries, where the problem is most acute, can afford price hikes and will continue to eat high fat meals.’

The first sentence is the ‘topic sentence’ and makes the main point It is therefore

acceptable for this to be a simple sentence

The second sentence explains the main point and uses the word ‘and’ to link two simple sentences together, to make one complex sentence

The third sentence gives an example and uses the linking phrase ‘for instance’ The final sentence makes a concession (shows the limitation of the argument) and is also a complex sentence, linking more than one idea together

This paragraph has a mix of simple and complex sentences and therefore satisfies the marking criteria

How do I make a complex sentence?

Remember that a complex sentence is just more than one simple sentence put together to make one sentence We therefore need to learn and become confident using the various grammatical structures that allow us to do that Below are a few ways we can link ideas together in a sentence

To make a complex sentence we normally should have two things- a dependent clause and

an independent clause A clause is a group of words with both a subject and a verb

An example of a dependent clauses is ‘….because the weather was cold.’ This is a dependent clause because it has a subject and a verb but it doesn’t make any sense on its own To make sense we need to add an independent clause

As the name suggests, an independent clause can make sense on its own For example, ‘I wore a warm coat.’ If we combine these two clauses we get a complex sentence- ‘I wore a warm coat because the weather was cold.’

As you can see, ‘complex’ sentences don’t have to be complicated Let’s now look at other ways we can make complex sentences

Air pollution can cause health problems Air pollution is largely caused by motor vehicles

We can convert these two simple sentences in to one complex sentences by using the word

We can link both of these sentences together by using the word ‘that’

There is evidence that people who have parents and friends that smoke are more likely to

smoke

2 Subordinate Clauses

A subordinate clause can describe nouns and pronouns; describe verbs, adverbs, and

adjectives; or act as the subject or object of another clause They are made by connecting an independent clause with a dependent clause with words like as, because, while, until, even though, although, when and if

3 Conditional Clauses

Also known as ‘If clauses’, they are used to express that the action in the main clause can only take place if a certain condition is met

For example:

If I had a million dollars, I would quit my job

I will be really happy, if I pass the IELTS test

These clauses are good for giving examples in IELTS writing part 2

For example:

‘Increasing taxes would raise prices and lower consumption Fast food companies would pass on these taxes to consumers in the form of higher prices and this would lead to people

not being able to afford junk food If the cost of organic food proves prohibitively

expensive for most people, they will simply not buy it Despite this, people in many

developed countries, where the problem is most acute, can afford price hikes and will continue to eat high fat meals.’

They are also useful for talking about unreal situations or to speculate about results in the past or present

There are four different kinds of conditionals which I will outline below:

Zero Conditionals are used to talk about information that is true or facts We can

use if or when to introduce the conditional

Example: Nowadays when we travel long distances, we usually use air travel

First conditionals are used to talk about things in the present or future

Example: If the city’s population continues to grow, we will need to build more

infrastructure

Second Conditionals are used to talk about things that are impossible

Example: If the sun didn’t come up tomorrow, we wouldn’t have any life on earth

Third Conditionals are used to speculate about past events It is often used when we regret something or to imagine a past unreal situation

Example: The Second World War would have never happened, if Germany had been given a fairer peace settlement in World War One

4 Compound Sentences

Compound sentences consist of two independent clauses linked together with a conjunction such as ‘and’, ‘for’ or ‘but’

Examples:

I really want to study, but I’m too tired

She got to the test centre early, and she did really well on her IELTS test

Some students think these sentences are too simple to count as complex but they are wrong

Warning

The crucial thing is to understand and be able to use these grammar structures before your IELTS test Some students memorise lots of structures and try to insert them in to their essays without giving much thought to how they work or if they are accurate This will only lead to unnatural and incoherent sentences Remember that your sentences need to be also error free so only use structures you are confident using

They key is to only use them appropriately Concentrate on answering the question and if you know how to use these structures they will flow naturally

Improving Sentences for Academic Writing

This practice exercise is about improving sentences for a higher score in IELTS writing task 2 See the essay question below

There is a significant gap between rich and poor countries Some people think that richer countries should be responsible for supporting poorer countries while others think it is the responsibility of the poorer countries What is your opinion?

Below are some sentences from a student’s essay on the above topic Read through the sentences and try to improve them yourself before you check the model answers In other words, write the sentences again to make them accurate and also a better score

1 Firstly, it is obvious that this is their job Poorer countries should not wait for any organisation abroad or other governments to deal with this

2 Secondly, depending too much on rich countries may make them weaker For example, they will lose a part of their power if they agree to allow developed nations to help them with critical issues

3 Regarding to responsibility of wealthy countries They should support poorer countries because there are millions of people in poorer nations need their help Many people in Africa, especially women and children die everyday because of lack of food, medical treatments

4 However, rich countries should not be forces to help poorer ones It should be a choice not a responsibility

Top 10 IELTS Grammar Mistakes and How To Avoid Them

25% of your marks in the writing and speaking tests come from using appropriate grammar structures that are error free Unfortunately, when learning a new language people often make frequent grammar mistakes In fact, if more than 50% of your sentences have any errors in them, you will not get more than band 6 for grammatical range and accuracy In other words, to score 7 or higher, you should try to make more than half of your sentences completely error free

After marking thousands of IELTS tests I have noticed that the same errors are made again and again Below are the top 10 mistakes and some advice on how to avoid them

Most people make all or some of these mistakes in their writing and speaking tests A good thing to do is show some of your practice tests to a teacher or native speaker and establish your common errors When you are aware of your common grammar errors you can easily fix them with practice and raise your score

1 Use of the word ‘the’

We use the:

 when there is only one of something in a particular area: the government, the police, the

bridge, the river, the hospital

 when there is only one in the entire world: the internet, the environment, the ozone layer,

the atmosphere

 with cardinal numbers: the first, the second, the third

 with superlatives: the worst, the shortest, the lowest, the most beautiful, the least

impressive

 with places where the name refers to a group of islands or states: the USA, the UK, the

Maldives, the Middle East, the United Arab Emirates

 before nouns which describe general things: exercise is good for the body, the motorbike is

the most common form of transport in Asia, the role of the teacher has changed in recent

years

 before abstract nouns used to describe a situation, process, quality or a change: over the

years the development of the town accelerated, the frequency of violent crime decreased over the period, the improvement in living standards

We don’t use the:

 to talk generally we drop the word ‘the’ and use the plural: dogs don’t like cats, people with

dyslexia have reading problems, Japanese cars are very reliable, German products are very high quality

 with a single place or country: Ireland, China, Vietnam, Europe, South America

2 Countable and Uncountable Nouns

Some nouns in English are uncountable and will therefore always be in the singular form and never plural Some common nouns that students often get wrong in the IELTS test are:

If a noun is uncountable you cannot use:

 a plural verb: There were many traffic in the city

 a number: three advice, four food

 a few, a couple, many, a number of: a number of literature, a few research

 a/an: a happiness, an entertainment

3 Noun Verb Agreement

The verb must agree with the noun If you use a plural noun, you must use a plural verb and vice versa

Example:

There is some dogs outside

There is some food in the kitchen

Here are some homework for you

There are some eggs in the kitchen

4 –ing or to + infinitive

We use to + infinitive verb after the following verbs: learn how, would like, want, seem,

refuse, promise, prepare, offer, learn, hope, help, deserve, decide, afford, and ask

Example:

It is important to learn how to speak English

Most people cannot afford to go on holiday every year

I would like to study overseas

Note: ‘like’ can be followed by –ing or to + infinitive

We use verb–ing after the following verbs: suggest, recommend, practice, mind, keep,

involve, imagine, give up, finish, enjoy, deny, consider, carry on, and avoid

Example:

I would recommend checking your writing for mistakes

You should avoid drinking coffee after 6pm

I’ve finished writing my essay

5 Use Of Articles Before Noun Phrases

You should include a/an before adjective singular noun combinations: a massive

improvement, a steady increase, an overall majority, a very small percentage, a really strong argument

Some exceptions include the word ‘of’ after the noun phrase: a wide range of, an equal

number of, a large/small number of, a small/large/equal proportion of

Exceptions: quite a few people, to a certain extent/degree

6 Use of Commas

In the IELTS writing test we often use phrases called ‘discourse markers’ or ‘liking phrases’

to link our ideas together, such as on the one hand, on the other hand, however, for

example, nevertheless, firstly, secondly, to conclusion, in summary

We normally use a comma after a discourse marker that introduces a sentence:

 Firstly, the main cause of pollution is motor vehicles

 On the one hand, motor vehicles are said to be the main cause

 However, pollution from industry may also be to blame

 To sum up, the causes of pollution are mostly man-made

 We also use commas on either side of discourse markers in the middle of sentences:

 Fossil fuels are mostly to blame for global warming, however, some people believe this is a natural process

 Fossil fuels are mostly to blame for global warming, for example, from cars and factories

7 Verb Tenses

Always consider which of the following tense you should use:

 Present simple:

o things that are always true (the sky is blue)

o general statements of fact (I was born in 1982)

o habits (I go to sleep every night at 11pm)

 Present continuous:

o an action at the moment of speaking

o something in progress this week, month or year

o to talk about a future planned event

 Present Perfect:

o an action that took place at an indefinite time in the past

o an action that was repeated before now

o an action that began in the past and continues until now

 Present Perfect Continuous:

o to show the duration of something that happened in the past and continues until now

o a general activity in progress recently

 Past Simple

o action that began in the past and finished in the past

 Past Continuous

o talk about an action that was happening in the past when another occurred

o an action that was in progress at a specific time in the past

 Past Perfect

o talk about something that was completed before another activity or another time in the past

 Past Perfect Continuous

o talk about duration of activity that was in progress before another event in the past

o an activity in progress that is recent to another time or activity in the past

 Future Simple

o to predict or plan for the future

o to express a willingness to do something

 Future Continuous

o an action that will be in progress at a time in the future

 Future Perfect

o an action that will be completed before another time or event in the future

 Future Perfect Continuous

o the duration of an action that will be in progress before another time or event in the future

8 Prepositions After Adjectives and Nouns

Students often get confused about which prepositions to use after adjectives and nouns Here are some common expressions:

 Pleased about (something)

 Pleased with (someone)

 Angry about (something)

 Angry with (someone)

 Disappointed about (something)

 Disappointed with (someone)

 Worried about (something or someone)

We don’t use apostrophes with possessive pronouns such as:

 The dog has broken its

 The book is not theirs it’s ours

10 Common Spelling Mistakes

Some common spelling mistakes:

Improving Sentences for IELTS Writing Task 2

Below are some sentences written by a student There might be one or more mistakes in the sentence or the sentences might be fine but you need to improve them

In my opinion, I believe that studying history is extremely important in term of learning about culture, and science, medicine development

On the one hand, history is a subject that is rarely used in people’s lives Thus, it would

be better to focus on science and technology, which is more relevant to the future

In other word, they should use the school time effectively, because students are loosing the motivation to study subjects like history that has no important role in day to day life For instance, most people memorize dates,names and facts when they study history This information is not useful for the future

Furthermore, Valuable information can often be found in history, how science and

medicine had developed over the years

In conclusion, although history has many information that not used today, studying history is important for our present as will as for our future

Answers

In my opinion, I believe that studying history is extremely important in terms of learning about culture and the development of science and medicine (The linking word “and” can

be used to link items in a list as well as clauses.)

On the one hand, as history is a subject that is rarely used in people’s lives, it would be better to focus on science and technology, which is more relevant to the future

(Combine the sentences to make one complex structure 33 words is a good length but don’t try for much more than that.)

In other words, school time should be used effectively because students are loosing the motivation to study subjects such as history that has no important role in day to day life (Linking words.)

For instance, most people memorize dates, names and facts when they study history which is not considered useful information for the future (Combine the sentences.) Furthermore, valuable information can often be found in history which relates to how science and medicine has developed over the years (Grammar: capital letters and tenses.)

In conclusion, although history has a lot of information that is not used in today’s life, studying history is still important for our present as well as for our future (The main issues are grammar and writing the sentence so that it contains a more precise

meaning.)

Linking Words: You can also see that a number of linking words have also been

corrected Linking words are easy to learn but students still make mistakes with

forgetting the “s” or using non-academic linking words such as “like” Make sure you all work on perfecting your linking

Punctuation Practice for Writing

Below is an example of a complex sentence which does not have any punctuation Not only does it lack commas but it also lacks full stops – it’s too long This is a mistake that many students make They think that the longer the sentence, the higher the band score – unfortunately this is not true Check the three questions to help you decide how to punctuate it

How many sentences do you think it should be?

Where would you put the full stops?

Where would you put the commas?

Write this sentence again using correct punctuation

Firstly while it is thought that over population can be solved by limiting the number of children people can have it would be better to limit the number of people moving from rural to urban areas which is where the biggest problem lies because many people are moving to cities in search of employment so if the government tried to create more jobs

in the countryside the problem would be solved almost instantly

Answer

Firstly, while it is thought that over population can be solved by limiting the number of children people can have, it would be better to limit the number of people moving from rural to urban areas This is where the biggest problem lies Many people are moving to cities in search of employment so if the government tried to create more jobs in the countryside, the problem would be solved almost instantly

Comments:

After a linker such as “firstly” at the beginning of a sentence we usually use a comma When you use the linker “while” or “although” at the start of a sentence, you will need a comma before the clause

The sentence using “while” is long so it is logical and necessary to have a full stop after

it

The word “this” is used in order to divide the sentences and start a new one This sentence is not long but it is still considered complex because it uses a “where” clause The last sentence has two sentences joined with the linking word “so” The first part is quite simple, while the second part is a second conditional which requires a comma between clauses

IELTS Writing Task 2: Practice with Linking Words

Decide the best linking word to use in the following sentences:

(Whereas / While / But)……… individuals can make a considerable difference to environmental problems, they ought to be dealt with on a global scale to be solved effectively

Global warming is a prominent issue these days (due to / owing to /

because)……… it has a direct impact on the climate of countries all over the world (As a result / Consequently / Thus)……… of global warming, sea levels are rising which threaten many low lying lands

One of the best ways to deal with global warming is to reduce the emissions of fossil fuels, (specific / particularly / certainly)………… from industry

Global warming affects weather patterns and can cause extreme weather (namely / as

an example / like) ……… heat waves, droughts and floods

IELTS Writing Task 2: Essay Planning Tips

Should I spend time planning my essay?

Yes, you should 50% of your marks as based on your ability to answer the essay

question directly, present relevant ideas, have clear supporting points to extend the main ideas, to organise your ideas and have logical paragraphing So, spending time planning

is essential for any student aiming for band score 6, 7, 8 or 9

When you get to writing task 2, you will be tired You will already have done the listening test, reading test and writing task 1 This means your concentration and energy levels will be low It is easy to make a mistake with the essay question, lose focus in your writing and present disorganised ideas This is another reason why planning is so

important It helps you focus and create a clear strategy with clear ideas This will make writing your essay easier and help you write a strong essay

How much time should I spend planning?

Some teachers will tell you to plan for at least 10 minutes This is good advice but I know what most students are too nervous to spend so much time planning Other teachers advise students to spend about 3 minutes This is enough to plan main ideas but not to plan supporting points and to organise ideas

I advise you to spend at least 5 minutes planning You must practice planning your essay and calculate how long it really takes you to create a strong plan for your essay Whatever you decide, know that planning is critical Lack of planning is the common downfall of most students

What should I plan before I start writing?

You should have a clear outline of the following before you start your essay:

identifying the issues in the essay question

brainstorming main points

choosing the best main points

planning supporting points

organising paragraphs

Should I practice planning my essays at home before my test?

Yes, definitely There is a skill to good logical essay planning which you need to

practice On this blog, I have over 100 essay questions for IELTS writing task 2 While it might be difficult to practice writing over 100, you should certainly spend time planning a lot of them even if you don’t have time to write the full essay The better you are at

planning, the better your essay will be See the link below for essay questions

Where can I write my plan?

You can write your plan on the question paper There is plenty of room to write on the question paper and the examiner will not see it The examiner only sees the answer sheet So, use the question paper to plan your essay

How to Write a Thesis Statement

What is a thesis statement?

Thesis- An idea put forward for consideration, especially one to be discussed or analysed

A thesis statement is the most important sentence in your IELTS writing task 2 answer It is contained in the introduction and each introduction should have one; along with

a paraphrase of the question and an outline statement

A thesis statement is your main idea and I often describe it to students as how you feel about the whole issue in one sentence It tells the examiner that you have understood the question and will lead to a clearer; more coherent essay

Let’s look at an example of a thesis statement:

Question: There is a good deal of evidence that increasing car use is contributing to global

warming and having other undesirable effects on people’s health and well-being

To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Thesis statement: It is agreed that increasing use of motor vehicles is contributing to rising

global temperatures and certain health issues

As you can see, this sentence makes it absolutely clear to the examiner how you feel about the question The rest of your essay should support this statement

How do I know what to write?

The first thing we need to do is to identify which kind of question is being asked and look at the action words For example, in the question below the action words are ‘do you agree or disagree?’

Question: There is a good deal of evidence that increasing car use is contributing to global

warming and having other undesirable effects on people’s health and well-being

To what extent do you agree or disagree?

We therefore need to tell the examiner clearly whether we agree or disagree and this will influence our thesis statement

Let’s look at other examples:

1 Computers are being used more and more in education

Discuss the advantages and disadvantages and give your own opinion

2 Computers are being used more and more in education Some people say that this is a positive trend, while others argue that it is leading to negative consequences

Discuss both sides of this argument and then give your own opinion

3 Students are becoming more and more reliant on computers

What are some of the problems associated with reliance on computers, and what are some

of the possible solutions?

In each of the three questions above the main keywords are more or less the same-

education and computers However, if we look at the action words we can see that we are

required to answer the three questions in very different ways and this will affect our thesis statement

The action words are:

1 Discuss the advantages and disadvantages and give your own opinion

2 Discuss both sides of this argument and then give your own opinion

3 What are some of the problems and what are some of the possible solutions?

It is therefore important to take some time to analyse the question and establish what the question is actually asking you to do

How do I write a thesis statement for each question?

Once we have established what the question wants us to do, we can now think about our thesis statement Below we will look at how to write a thesis statement for four different kinds of question:

 Opinion Question (Do you agree or Disagree)

 Discussion Question (Discuss both points of view)

 Advantages and Disadvantage

 Problem and Solution

You should remember that although IELTS writing part 2 questions normally follow a

standard format as above, they sometimes change and you should be prepared for that

Opinion Question

Some aspects of celebrity culture have a bad influence on young people

To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?

We have three choices with this kind of question:

1 I agree

2 I disagree

3 I both agree and disagree

I tell my students to only choose options one or two Choosing option three will often lead

to a confused and/or very long essay If you have just one opinion and you stick to this, it will lead to a clear and well argued essay

You therefore have two choices

1 I agree that some aspects of celebrity culture have a bad influence on young people

2 I disagree that some aspects of celebrity culture have a bad influence on young people

All of your thesis statements for this kind of question should start with:

For example, ‘It is agreed that the some famous people’s lifestyles have a detrimental effect

on the youth of today.’

Second Example Opinion Question

Increasing the price of petrol is the best way to solve growing traffic and pollution

problems

To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Thesis Statement: It is disagreed that the best way to resolve increasing pollution and

congestion problems is to raise the cost of fuel

Discussion Question

Computers are being used more and more in education Some people say that this is a positive trend, while others argue that it is leading to negative consequences

Discuss both sides of this argument and then give your own opinion

For this kind of question we need to clearly state both sides of the argument and state our own opinion

We do this by simply paraphrasing the question; thus stating both sides, and then giving our own opinion Our own opinion will be just one side of the argument

Even if you favour both sides of the argument, just state one Again, this leads to a clearer answer

Thesis statement: Some argue that schools and universities increasing use of computers is a

beneficial trend, while others are opposed to this view It is argued that growing use of technology by educators is a positive development

As you can see, this student has clearly stated both sides of the argument and stated which side of the argument she prefers

Second Example Discussion Question

Some people think that parents should teach children how to be good members of

society Others, however, believe that school is the best place to learn this

Discuss both these views and give your own opinion

Thesis statement: Some argue that teachers should teach youngsters how to be upstanding

members of the community, whereas others feel this is the role of the mother and father It

is argued that this duty should be filled primarily by parents

Advantage and Disadvantages Question

Computers are being used more and more in education

Discuss the advantages and disadvantages and give your own opinion

In this kind of question we need to clearly state what we think the main advantage is and what the main disadvantage is

Thesis Statement: The principal advantage is the amount of information instantly available

to students and the main disadvantage is the lack of discipline and motivation provided by computers

Second Advantage and Disadvantages Question

Some experts believe that it is better for children to begin learning a foreign language at primary school rather than secondary school

Do the advantages of this outweigh the disadvantages?

Thesis statement: The principal advantage is that exposing children to languages as early as

possible leads to higher levels of proficiency later in life and this outweighs the main

disadvantage of young children being overwhelmed by too many subjects

Problem and Solution Question

Students are becoming more and more reliant on computers

What are some of the problems associated with reliance on computers, and what are some of the possible solutions?

Our thesis statement will need to state one main problem and one main solution Some teachers will advise you to state more than problem and solution There is nothing wrong with this, but I like my students to choose two good ideas and develop these fully

Thesis statement: The principal problem is students allowing machines to do all the work

for them without thinking for themselves and a possible solution is to have stricter

supervision from teachers and parents

Cause and Solution Question

In some countries the average weight of people is increasing and their levels of health and fitness are decreasing

What do you think are the causes of these problems and what measures could be taken to solve them?

Thesis statement: The principal cause of this problem is peoples’ sedentary lifestyles and a

possible solution is to educate society about the dangers of not keeping fit

How to Understand and Analyse an IELTS Writing Task 2 Question

One of the main reasons students fail to get the score they deserve in writing task 2 is not analysing the question effectively I had one student recently who had great grammar and vocabulary, but always failed to read and analyse the question properly and therefore didn’t understand the question He was so confident in his ability that he went straight in to

writing without really thinking about what the examiner wanted him to write He should have got at least a 7 or 8 but ended up with a 6 instead

Some students think that analysing the question will take up too much time, but they are normally the students who don’t do as well as they should I know teachers say over and over again ‘read the question’ but what does this actually mean?

The examiner is actually looking to see if you have understood the question properly and a failure to take the time to do so could result in you dropping down a few band scores

So why do some students not do so well? There are four main reasons:

1 Failure to take the time to actually read the question;

2 Writing about the topic generally and not answering the specific question;

3 Failing to recognise the kind of question being asked and

4 Misunderstanding the question

Luckily, there are simple steps you can take in the exam that will save you time and help you

to understand and analyse the question effectively, therefore boosting your band score These 3 easy steps are simply identifying three easy things:

1 The topic words;

2 The micro-topic words and

3 The instruction words

I will explain how you can do this below

What do questions normally look like?

It is a good idea to at least have a look at the different types of questions that normally come up in this part of the exam You will be much more confident in the exam and there will be no surprises

The question will always start off with one or two statements It will then give a set of instructions that will differ from question to question Now we know the format, we can get

in to analysing the question

1 Identify the Topic Words

Each essay will be about a general topic and we must identify this first

Let’s look at an example question:

The internet allows us to stay connected with each other no matter where we are On the other hand, it also isolates us and encourages people not to socialise

To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Give reasons for your answers and include any relevant examples from your own

knowledge or experience

The topic word here is obviously ‘The internet’ If it is obvious why am I telling you about it? Because too many students will simply write generally about the topic and this is how you lose marks It is fine to write about the topic, but it is must be linked to the rest of the question This is where ‘micro-topic’ words come in

2 Identify Micro-Topic Words

These words define the question and tell you which particular part of the main topic the question would like you to discuss and what the examiner is looking for They often give an opinion or qualify the statement in some way

Let’s look at our example question again:

The internet allows us to stay connected with each other no matter where we are On the other hand, it also isolates us and encourages people not to socialise

To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Give reasons for your answers and include any relevant examples from your own

knowledge or experience

So as you can see, we should only include things in our essay that are relevant to the words highlighted above If we discuss anything else, such as how the internet helps us study, how

it is dangerous for children, the history of the internet or how the internet is used for

entertainment, then you are not being relevant

Let’s look at another question:

Many children these days have an unhealthy lifestyle Both schools and parents are responsible for solving this problem

To what extent do you agree with this statement

The main topic is children’s unhealthy lifestyle This is a very wide topic and we can’t write about it in general Instead, we have to look at the second sentence for the micro-topic

words Here we have to look at both schools and parents and how they

are responsible for solving this problem

Remember; write about the micro-topic words, not the topic in general

3 Identify Instruction Words

The next stage is looking to see what the examiner wants us to do They could ask us to give

an opinion, or evaluate the advantages and disadvantages or present problems and

solutions

Let’s look at our example question again:

The internet allows us to stay connected with each other no matter where we are On the other hand, it also isolates us and encourages people not to socialise

To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Give reasons for your answers and include any relevant examples from your own

knowledge or experience

We can clearly see that this is an agree or disagree question and we therefore must follow this format or we will lose marks We should also give reasons and include some relevant examples

That’s it! You’re now ready to present relevant arguments backed up by supporting

information

This will also keep you focused throughout the essay and you should refer back to it from time to time to make sure you are staying within what the question asks

Let’s practice

Have a look at this example question below and identify:

1 The topic words;

2 The micro-topic words and

3 The instruction words

Women and men are commonly seen as having different strengths and weaknesses Is it right to exclude males or females from certain professions because of their gender? Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own

knowledge or experience

Do you think the examiner wants you to discuss men and women’s strengths and

weaknesses or something else? Comment below with your answers and we will reply

Improving a Thesis Statement

This lesson will show you how to write a clearer thesis statement for a specific question essay This is the introduction paragraph and is applicable to both the GT and academic paper

Many people think that job satisfaction is important in work

Do you think young people these days should be sure of getting job satisfaction before taking a new job or should they put salary first?

What can we see from this essay question?

The essay question asks for your opinion (“Do you think….?”)

The essay is about what people look for when they take a new job

It is often thought that people should choose a new job for job satisfaction

Others think that people should choose a new job for the salary

Here’s a student’s thesis statement for their introduction How would you improve the thesis statement? Try to write this thesis statement again before you look at the models

“While work satisfaction should be a motive for a successful employee, I do not think that salary must be a priority.”

Model Thesis Statement Model Introduction

“While work satisfaction should be a motive for a successful employee, I do not think that salary must be a priority.”

Model Thesis Statement

Here are two possible ways that the above thesis statement could be better written to make the answer clearer for the reader

1 Work satisfaction should be the main motive for choosing a job rather than salary

2 It is better for people to put satisfaction at work as a priority for choosing a job instead

of aiming for a competitive salary

Model Introduction

Below is a model introduction with both a background and thesis statement This offers yet another way to write the thesis statement:

An increasing number of people are prioritising job satisfaction as one of the most

important factors in their work In my opinion, I think that job satisfaction should be the deciding factor when considering a new job instead of aiming for a competitive salary

What’s The Difference Between Band 5 and 8 in IELTS Writing Task 2? Band

Scores Explained

One of the keys to success in the IELTS writing test is understanding how the test is marked

and using this knowledge to increase your band score You can then give the examiners

exactly what they want and focus on doing the things that get high scores

This post will look at what each of the four criteria mean and the practical differences

between typical band 5 answers and band 8 answers I have also put each band score for

each category in a helpful table for you, so it’s easy to compare and understand

The four criteria you will be marked on are:

 Task Achievement

 Coherence and Cohesion

 Lexical Resource

 Grammatical Range and Accuracy

The examiner will be looking for your ability to answer the question properly What

does this actually mean?

If we look at the marking criteria above we notice that essays in bands 6, 7 and 8

fully address all parts of the question This means that if you do not fully address all

parts of the question you will get a band 5 or below

This means that you should read the questions very carefully and make sure you

cover everything it asks Let’s look at an example:

More and more people nowadays have to compete with younger people for the

same job

What problems does this cause?

What are some possible solutions?

There are two different things we need to talk about- ‘problems’ and ‘solutions’ If

we don’t include these in our answer we cannot score higher than band 5 for task achievement Also, if you talked about ‘causes’ instead of ‘problems’ you would also score 5 or below, because this is not what the question asks you to talk about

Let’s look at another example:

Some people say that the best way to improve public health is by increasing the number of sports facilities Others, however, say that this would have little effect

on public health and that other measures are required

Discuss both of these views and give your own opinion

This question requires us to do three things:

1 Discuss increasing number of sports facilities to improve public health

2 Discuss the view that sports facilities would have little effect of public health

3 Give our own opinion

If we don’t do all 3 of these we cannot score above a 5 for task achievement

Now that we know how to score above a 5 we need to look at the difference

between bands 6, 7 and 8 for task achievement

The difference between these scores is about how we support our ideas with

explanations and examples

Band 6– Gives relevant ideas but these may not be fully developed with explanations

or examples or the explanations and examples given are irrelevant

Example– The main problem causing traffic jams is too many cars There are lots

more cars these days

The idea is relevant but they have failed to explain why cars cause traffic jams or give examples

Band 7- Gives relevant ideas and these are developed with explanations or examples

but these ideas may be too general or lack focus

Example- The main problem causing traffic jams is too many cars In lots of cities

around the world there are lots of cars and this causes traffic jams For example, the number of cars purchased in developing countries is increasing year after year

This student has presented a clear position, but they have given a very general explanation and their example lacks focus and is not specifically linked to the main point

Band 8– Gives relevant ideas and these are developed with focused and specific

ideas and examples

Example- The main problem causing traffic jams is too many cars When we have

more vehicles than a city’s infrastructure was designed for it leads to congestion For example, Ho Chi Minh City was designed to cope with around 500,000 cars and the city now has over 2 million cars, resulting in chronic traffic problems

This student has explained their point very well, explaining exactly why they think

too many cars are the problem and given a very specific and relevant example to

prove their point If you can’t think of a specific example, make one up The

examiners are not interested in how factual your examples are, just your ability to make one

Task Achievement Key Points

 Answer all parts of the question