IELTS Writing Tips Academic

IELTS writing is actually the hardest module to score in the whole IELTS exam. And cracking writing module can be tough for many students. Research also shows that students clear required bands for all modules that is listening, reading and speaking , leaving behind WRITING and that too after a couple of attempts of taking the test. It can get both distressing and exhausting, efforts wise and financially, to take test again and again. Therefore, I suggest that when you attempt writing you know the TIPS and TRICKS to crack it. So, below are some IELTS Writing tips and tricks.

First of all, I will discuss WRITING TASK 2 that is the essay which is common to both general training and academic candidate.

• It is very important that when you get the writing task, you attempt task 2 first. The reason being, task 2 carries more weightage in scoring than task 1 and secondly you are already mentally exhausted after listening and reading. Writing comes in as the third module during exam, so the fatigue factor sets in. That is why it has to be kept in mind. We should spend fresher mind on task 2.
• Now when you look at the topic, never start writing on the topic right away. MAKE BULLET POINTS. The student should spend good five to ten minutes out of the 40 minute task on just accumulating on rough space the points that he/she wants to put in the essay. They should start with thinking what would be the introductory line. If it is an agree disagree topic then think on the side they are on and the reasons to support it and pen them down in short for example one or two words. Also think of illustration or example one can put in it. It is of utmost importance that you already have chalked out in your head what you will write as that is the main exercise. The rest of penning it down takes only minutes. Main work is thinking and assembling your thoughts. Writing it down once compiled will take maximum 10 minutes. I suggest thinking time can go even further than 10 minutes.
• It is a must to use connectors before the paragraphs. Now what are connectors? They are the phrases or words that bring coherence to the essay which is one of the SCORING CRITERION for WRITING in IELTS. It’s called COHERANCE and COHESION (CC). Coherence basically is a state in which all the parts or ideas fit together well so they form a united whole. It is a systematic or logical connection or consistency. For  that you should know
  1. How to manage paragraphing
  2. Make sure each paragraph has a central idea
  3. Use linking words and connectors [firstly, in contrast, thus, in my opinion, to sum up]

There are many other connectors that I can list but I will mention them in the next blog.

• Another criterion for writing marking scheme is the LEXICAL RESOURCE (LR). What does it mean? It means how good your vocabulary is. Basically you should be able to use a wide range of vocabulary. How can you improve your vocabulary? Again it is a another blog worthy topic which I will cover but for now one should start reading a book of their interest be it love story, fiction, biography, suspense thriller etc. any book that catches your eye and should be an interesting read. Do not read boring newspaper. I can suggest some books which will be fun to read also and will grow your vocabulary exponentially. The book has to be of medium difficulty level not too difficult words and not too easy read. One can try reading
  1. Eat pray love by Elizabeth Gilbert.
  2. 2 states by Chetan Bhagat
  3. The alchemist by Paulo Coelho
  4. Ikigai by Yukari Mitsuhashi

Every word that you encounter that you do not understand,

• underline it,
• look into the meaning on dictionary.com
• read the sentence given  along with the meaning
• And in the end, make your own sentence using that word.

The rest of the IELTS Writing tips will be covered in the next blog. Till then, keep learning.

This blog has been compiled by Wings Education, Brisbane Australia. You can find more helpful blogs on www.wingseducation.com.