IELTS Writing Task Lesson Writing Task - Lesson 1: Identify the Topic In the writing for task 2, one of the first things you need to is identify the topic of the essay If you write about the wrong topic or go off topic when you write your answer, this is likely to substantially reduce your band score How I identify the topic? Remember, in IELTS writing, you are usually presented with some issue or problem that is currently affecting society and you need to discuss it So you need to read the question carefully and identify what the issue is You will normally only be looking for one or two key words Have a look at the following question What is the issue? The crime rate among teenagers has increased dramatically in many countries Discuss some possible reasons for this increase and suggest solutions You should have identified teenage crime as the topic The crime rate among teenagers has increased dramatically in many countries What if I identified ‘crime’ as the topic? Your essay would be wrong if you wrote about crime generally When you have a topic, it may require you to talk about a particular area, group of people or place In this case, the question specifically wants you to address the issue of TEENAGE crime When you identify the topic, always look carefully to see if it is being narrowed down to a particular area that you need to focus on Identify the Topic - Practice Have a look at the following essay questions and choose the best answer to identify the topic Remember, this is not a full analysis of the question - you are just looking for the broad topic area Sometimes more than one answer may be possible In this case, when you identify the topic, choose the most precise 'Telecommuting' refers to workers doing their jobs from home for part of each week and communicating with their office using computer technology Telecommuting is growing in many countries and is expected to be common for most office workers in the coming decades How you think society will be affected by the growth of telecommuting? Working from home Telecommuting Computer technology To what extent is the use of animals in scientific research acceptable? Animal research Animals Scientific research We are becoming increasingly dependent on computers They are used in businesses, hospitals, crime detection and even to fly planes What things will they be used for in the future? Is this dependence on computers a good thing or should we be more suspicious of their benefits? The benefits of computers Computers in businesses, hospitals, crime detection, and flying Computer dependency In what ways has information technology changed work and working practices in the past 10 years? Information technology and work Information technology Working practices Blood sports have become a hot topic for debate in recent years As society develops it is increasingly seen as an uncivilized activity and cruel to the helpless animals that are killed All blood sports should be banned Discuss the main arguments for this statement and give your own opinion Animal cruelty Blood sports Blood sports and uncivilized activity A growing number of people feel that animals should not be exploited by people and that they should have the same rights as humans, while others argue that humans must employ animals to satisfy their various needs, including uses for food and research Discuss the arguments in favour of both these positions and state your own position on the issue Satisfying human needs Animals and humans Animal rights Forests are the lungs of the earth Destruction of the world's forests amounts to death of the world we currently know To what extent you agree or disagree? The Earth Deforestation Death of the world The idea of going overseas for university study is an exciting prospect for many people But while it may offer some advantages, it is probably better to stay home because of the difficulties a student inevitably encounters living and studying in a different culture To what extent you agree or disagree this statement? Studying abroad Studying Living in a different culture Zoos are sometimes seen as necessary but not poor alternatives to a natural environment Discuss some of the arguments for and/or against keeping animals in zoos Natural environments Alternatives to zoos Keeping animals in zoos 10 Many countries are currently witnessing an increase in criminal activity among young people Discuss reasons for this phenomenon and suggest ways to deal with the problem Youth crime Criminal activity Increases in crime Writing Task Lesson 2: Identify the Task Once you have identified the topic for your essay, you need to identify the task The ‘task’ is the part of the question that tells you what you have to to answer it This is one of the most important things you will have to when you analyze the essay question because 25% of your grade for the essay is based on ‘Task Response’ - how you have responded to the task How I identify the task? In order to grade your task response, the examiner will be looking to see if you haveanswered the question If you have only partially answered the question, this will decrease your grade for this criteria Let’s look at the same essay question we looked at in lesson when you identified the topic: The crime rate among teenagers has increased dramatically in many countries Discuss some possible reasons for this increase and suggest solutions In the previous lesson, we identified the topic for this question as‘teenage crime’ The task - or ‘what you have to do’ - is usually at the end of the prompt As you can see, you are being told to ‘Discuss some possiblereasons for this increase and suggest solutions’ It’s very common in task IELTS essay questions to get asked to dotwo things, and this question is a good example of this: Why teenage crime has increased Ways to solve this problem You MUST discuss both those things to ensure you have fully answered the question and you must write roughly equal amounts about each part Doing any of the following things will reduce your score for task response, and hence may reduce your overall score: Only writing about reasons or only solutions Writing most of your essay about reasons and only a small part on solutions (or visa versa) Writing about the reasons and solutions for crime in general, and not referring to teenage crime (the topic) Writing about neither reasons nor solutions This is why it is so important to spend some time at the beginning making sure you identify the task so that you know what you have to write about A Common Mistake It is a common mistake for students to rush at the beginning to start writing as they are worried about not finishing, and then write about the wrong thing For example, when you have finished identifying the task, you will brainstorm your ideas You may come up with reasons for an increase in crime such as ‘lack of parental supervision’ and ‘boredom’ However, I have seen students come up with problems of teenage crime, such as ‘more young people being put in prison' and‘stress for their parents' This particular task asks you to write about ‘reasons’, not ‘problems’(though being asked to write about 'problems and solutions' is common) So if you this you will not be answering the question This comes from rushing and not taking enough time to identify the task properly Other Question Types The previous question was fairly easy, so to identify the task was hopefully not too difficult Some questions, though, will take more thought in order to identify what you need to write about Here is another example: Advances in technology and automation have reduced the need for manual labour Therefore, working hours should be reduced To what extent you agree? Again, look to the end of the prompt to identify the task You have to say if you agree or disagree with working hours being reduced, or, in other words, automation (machines) taking over from some human’s duties You must also say how much you agree or disagree ("to what extent") Let’s assume you want to look at both sides of the issue You therefore need to discuss the reasons why you agree, and the reasons why you disagree Or put another way: The advantages of reducing working hours The disadvantages of reducing working hours And of course in the introduction or conclusion you need to make it clear what your opinion is If you all of these things then you will have answered all parts of the prompt If you find more reasons to agree than disagree, then you can write more about this side of the argument, or visa versa Identify the Task - Practice Now you can have a practice identifying the task for some IELTS essay questions Pick the one that you think best describes what you would write about in order to fully answer all parts of the question The rising levels of congestion and air pollution found in most of the world cities can be attributed directly to the rapidly increasing number of private cars in use In order to reverse this decline in the quality of life in cities, attempts must be made to encourage people to use their cars less and public transport more Discuss possible ways to encourage the use of public transport Why people have been using cars more and public transport less How to get people to use public transport more The causes of increasing congestion and air pollution Do the benefits of study abroad justify the difficulties? What advice would you offer to a prospective student? (a) A discussion of the benefits versus the challenges of studying abroad (b) Strategies to cope with studying abroad (a) The benefits of study abroad (a) The benefits of study abroad (b) the difficulties of studying abroad Fresh water has always been a limited resource in some parts of the world Today, however, growing worldwide demand has made this a global problem What are the causes of the increased demand and what measure could governments and individuals take to respond to this problem? (a) The problems with using too much water (b)Government solutions (c) Individual solutions How (a) Governments and (b) Individuals can solve water shortage problems (a) Reasons for increased demand for water (b)Government solutions (c) Individual solutions As global trade increases, many goods including those we use on a daily basis are produced in other countries and transported long distances Do the benefits of the trend outweigh the drawback? (a) The benefits of this (b) The disadvantages of this(c) Your opinion on whether it is more beneficial or not (a) The benefits of this (b) Your opinion on whether is is more beneficial or not (a) The disadvantages of this (b) Your opinion on whether it is more beneficial or not Some people feel that animals should have the same rights as humans, but others think they are not as equal or intelligent as us so should not have the same rights Discuss both opinions and give your opinion (a) The arguments for giving animals rights (b) The arguments against this (a) Arguments for having animal rights (b) The arguments against this (c) Your opinion (a) The reasons why animals are not as equal or intelligent as humans Currently there is a trend towards the use of alternative forms of medicine However, at best these methods are ineffective, and at worst they may be dangerous To what extent you agree with this statement? (a) How alternative medicine differs from Conventional medicine (a) The dangers of alternative medicine (a) The benefits of alternative medicine (b) The drawbacks of alternative medicine (c) Your opinion Overpopulation of urban areas has led to numerous problems Identify one or two serious ones and suggest ways that governments and individuals can tackle these problems (a) Problems of overpopulation in urban areas (b)Government solutions (c) Individual solutions (a) The problems of overpopulation (b) The solutions (a) How governments can tackle urban overpopulation(b) How individuals can tackle urban overpopulation Computers should never have been invented To what extent you agree or disagree with this statement? (a) The reasons why computers were invented (b) The benefits of computers (c) Your opinion (a) The problems with computers (b) Solutions to these problems (a) The benefits of computers (b) The drawbacks of computers (c) Your opinion Unemployment has become an increasing problem in the recent past What factors contribute to an increase in unemployment and what steps can be taken to solve the problem? (a) The causes of increasing unemployment (b) How to solve this problem (a) The problems with increasing unemployment (b) How to solve this problem (a) The reasons why unemployment is increasing 10 Some people think that young children should be allowed to paid work, while others think that this should be illegal Discuss both opinions and give your opinion (a) The advantages of allowing children to paid work(b) Your opinion (a) The advantages of allowing children to paid work(b) The disadvantages this (c) Your opinion an adult to view a site Parents also have a part to play They need toclosely monitor the activities of their children and restrict their access to certain sites, which can now be done through various computer programs Companies mustalso improve their onsite IT security systems to make fraud and hacking much more difficult by undertaking thorough reviews of their current systems for weaknesses Here is another example of a problem solution essay: Overpopulation Lesson 13: IELTS Opinion Essays IELTS opinion essays are very common in the exam It can be a bit confusing, especially if you are new to IELTS, to work out the different types of essay Some people talk about 'argumentative essays', 'thesis-led essays', 'discussion essays', which can get quite confusing and it is usually not necessary to know this The important thing is to analyze each question as you see it andanswer it The aim of this lesson is to give you a brief overview of thecommon types of essay that ask for your opinion Of course not everything will fit this pattern as there are a variety of ways a question can be worded, but the types below are common ways to be asked about your opinion in the test Task IELTS Opinion Essays can broadly be put into three types: Discuss ONE opinion Advances in technology and automation have reduced the need for manual labour (opinion) Therefore, working hours should be reduced To what extent you agree or disagree? With these essays you are normally given ONE opinion, and then asked specifically if you agree or disagree with it, or to what extent you agree or disagree You must make it clear whether you agree, disagree or partly agree and give your reasons why Discuss TWO OPPOSING opinions (opinion one) A growing number of people feel that animals should not be exploited by people and that they should have the same rights as humans, (opposing opinion) while others argue that humans must employ animals to satisfy their various needs, including uses for food and research Discuss both views and give your opinion With these essays you have TWO opinions that oppose each other You have to discuss BOTH of them and also give your opinion Your essay will get a lower mark for 'task response' if you don’t discuss both of the opinions or you don’t make your opinion clear Advantages and Disadvantages The number of old people around the world is increasing dramatically Could this have more positive or negative effects on society? or… Do the advantages of the trend outweigh the disadvantages? or… Is this a positive development? In these questions you are given a fact or facts and then you have to look at the positive and negative sides of this They are all asking for your opinion so you must state this In the first two you will need to look at both sides as the question is clearly implying there are both positive and negative impacts Don't mix this up with a basic advantage and disadvantage essay like this: What are the advantages and disadvantages of this trend? Although your organization, ideas and body paragraphs may be similar, this one is not asking for your opinion so you don't need to give it It is simply asking you to present both sides of the issue This has been a quick and broad overview of some common IELTS opinion essay question types and it should be particularly helpful if you are fairly new to IELTS or if you have been studying for a while but are still unclear about the various types of essay Take a look at the model essays page and you can browse through some examples of these types of essays and how they can be answered by clicking on the links on the right of the page Look for these types of IELTS opinion essay: agree / disagree discuss two opinions advantages and disadvantages Lesson 14: IELTS Music Essay In this lesson we’ll look at an IELTS music essay in order to explain how to approach a more complex IELTS task question Many questions have a clear task For example, the task may clearly state that you need to agree or disagree, offer solutions to aproblem, or given the reasons why a problem exists Some though may have more general questions Take a look at this example: There are many types of music in the world today Why we need music? Is the traditional music of a country more important and should it be preserved or is international music that is heard everywhere nowadays more useful to a society? This is quite complex - the IELTS music essay question is long and ‘music’ is quite an abstract topic Understanding the Question When you get a more complex IELTS task question like this you should make sure you underline important words and carefullybreak it down into its different parts This will make sure that you not miss something when you answer the question When you have done this, you should hopefully end up with something like this:  Why we need music?  Why is traditional music important?  Should it be preserved?  Why is international music important?  Which is the most important? You need to discuss all these things as they are all within the IELTS music essay question If you address all of these points then you will be fully answering the question These kinds of question are usually asking your opinion in some way, and this question is no exception All of the points listed are asking for your opinion, but most importantly you MUST make it clear which type of music, traditional or international, you think is more important/useful (if indeed you think one is more important than the other - you may think they are equally important) Planning and Organizing your Answer You can use these questions to brainstorm and plan your answer With a question like this there is no ‘fixed’ way to organize it There could be many different ways But you must ensure that, as always, it is logical and covers everything One clear way would be to discuss why we need music first, then go on to discuss/compare the relative importance of traditional and international music, ensuring that you finish by stating your opinion (or restating your opinion if you already gave it in your introduction) Now, take a look at the IELTS music essay model answer IELTS Music Essay Model Answer There are many types of music in the world today Why we need music? Is the traditional music of a country more important and should it be preserved or is international music that is heard everywhere nowadays more useful to a society? Music exists in some form or another in every culture around the world and it provides enjoyment to millions of people However, some people are concerned that traditional music is being lost because of the popularity of international music Without a doubt, music is a necessity Firstly, music is important as it provides enjoyment and pleasure in daily life People listen to music to relax at home, to relieve the boredom of long journeys, and to dance to in the evening at clubs Not only this, music is also an expression of culture, often being an important part of religious ceremonies such as weddings and funerals or yearly festivals It is also now important in educational development, as children learn to play music at school In considering which kind of music is the most important, international music is certainly useful to society as it can be argued that it helps us to understand and relate to other people, cultures and countries as we all listen to the same songs This has occurred as globalization means Western music is heard around the world However, it is critical that this is not at the expense of traditional music It should be a priority to preserve this as it teaches people about their history, and helps societies remember and retain their national and cultural identity To conclude, I would argue that one type of music is not more important or useful than another Traditional music is important and should be preserved as it is part of a country’s cultural identity, but both are needed as they provide enjoyment to people in different ways (270 words) Comments As you can see, the IELTS music essay answer is 270 words There is a lot more you could have written about this topic and I could have made the answer longer, but this is to show you that you can address quite a few points in a short space If you are a good writer and you can write more then that is fine, but most people cannot write much more if they have to brainstorm, plan and check their grammar as well as write the answer The question has quite a few points to discuss and they are all within the essay Personal Pronouns in Essays for IELTS Whether to use personal pronouns in essays for IELTS is a question that often comes up often with students studying for the test Personal pronouns are words such as "I", "you", "we" and "they" Some people believe that these words should not be used in IELTS essays because IELTS essays are 'academic' and it is not usually advised to use such personal words in academic writing This is true, but IELTS is not the same as writing an essay at university or writing a research article for a journal When you write an essay at university, you will have books and journals that you will refer to and you will need to use citations and references In an IELTS essays you don't have any of these sources - you only have your own experience (and 40 minutes!) And as the rubric states in every question, you are expected to make use of this experience and knowledge: "Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own experience or knowledge" It would not be written in this way if you were forbidden to use personal pronouns in essays for IELTS So you may wish to give an example from your own country, or even your own personal experience if it is relevant Also, some of the tasks asking for your opinion are personal: "To what extent you agree or disagree?" "Discuss both opinions and give your opinion" So although an IELTS essay does need to be in an academic style, it is not quite the same as your average piece of academic writing and it can be more personal with the use of personal pronouns Where can I use personal pronouns in essays and how often? So it is ok to use personal pronouns in essays for IELTS, but you should not overdo it If you start using them all the way through, your essay will be in danger of losing its academic style But using them a few times when needed is not a problem For example, you may want to use them in the thesis statement in the introduction to give your opinion: "In my opinion, students should not have to wear school uniforms" "I not believe that students should wear school uniforms" "I agree that wearing school uniforms is necessary for the following reasons" Another advantage of using personal pronouns in essays for IELTS is that it makes your opinion very clear The examiner will expect to be able to clearly see what your opinion is (in opinion essays) There is a possibity that if you use impersonal language the examiner will not realise it is your opinion This is not to say you have to use personal pronouns as you certainly don't, but if you are a lower level writer it makes it very clear what your opinion is so there are no misunderstandings Look at this example conclusion - it is very clear what the writers position is and there will be no misunderstanding: On balance, I would argue that although it is not realistic to remove all opportunities for privately funded research, governments should have the main responsibility for the monitoring and controlling of this Strong checks and balances need to be in place to ensure future research is ethical and productive What about in body paragraphs? Again, as explained above, you may wish to use personal pronouns in essays as you are told you can give examples from your own experience and you are asked for your opinion A few times is ok, butdon't use them too much as your essay may start to look too informal Take a look at this example essay where personal pronouns have been used effectively and they not detract from the style of the essay or the answer: Many old buildings protected by law are part of a nation’s history Some people think they should be knocked down and replaced by news ones How important is it to maintain old buildings? Should history stand in the way of progress? Most nations around the world have at least some, or possibly many, old buildings such as temples, churches and houses in their cities, villages and surrounding areas which have historical significance In my opinion, it is very important to maintain these, but this does not mean progress should stop Preserving certain old buildings is important for several reasons Firstly, these structures provide an insight into the history of our countries, showing how people many centuries ago lived their lives Without them,we could only learn by books, and it would undoubtedly be sad if this were the only way to see them Many of these buildings are also very beautiful Take for example the many religious buildings such as churches and temples that can be seen around the world Not only this, but on a more practical level, many of these buildings provide important income to a country as many tourists visit them in great numbers However, this certainly does not mean that modernization should be discouraged I believe that old buildings can be protected in tandem with progress For example, in many circumstances we see old historic buildings being renovated whilst maintaining their original character, and being used for modern purposes Also, in no way does history hinder progress, and in fact it is the opposite By studying and learning aboutour history, a greater understanding is gained about the world we live in, and this helps to build a better future To conclude, in my view it is very important to protect and preserve old buildings as we can learn about our history as can others from other countries Such knowledge can also help us to understand how to modernize our countries in the best way You will likely not use personal pronouns in essays for IELTS to this extent as this question is particulary suitable for it more than some others, but it shows you that it is not necessarily a problem This is a good essay and it would not lose marks because of the use of personal pronouns So to sum up, it is ok to use personal pronouns in essays for IELTS, but don't overuse them as it may start sounding too informal Certainly make use of them in opinion essays in your introduction and / or conclusion as this will make your opinion very clear You are less likely to use them in your body paragraphs, but it is not wrong to so As you saw in the essay above, using personal pronouns did not detract from the style of the essay You may also have a particularly good example from your experience that means you need to use a personal pronoun IELTS Advantage Disadvantage Essay Lesson This lesson is about IELTS advantage disadvantage essayquestions when you are told to assess whether the benefits of something outweigh the drawbacks The topic of the essay which is used as an example is about the trend to live and work abroad Take a look at the essay question we are going to analyse: People now have the freedom to work and live anywhere in the world due to the development of communication technology and transportation Do the advantages of this development outweigh the disadvantages? Understanding the Task When you have this type of advantage disadvantage essay it is important to distinguish between this and one that asks you to discuss advantages and disadvantages but does not ask your opinion If you are asked “What are the advantages and disadvantages of… ” you are not being asked your opinion You simply have to discuss the benefits and drawbacks You could this in two body paragraphs – one discussing the positive points, the next discussing the negative points However, if you have the word “outweigh” or “Will this trend have more positive or negative effects?” then you are being asked for your opinion and you must say which there are the most of – positive or negative impacts If you not this then you may get your score reduced on ‘Task Response’ for not fully addressing the question If you look at the IELTS public band descriptors (available to download if you an internet search or available from your local IELTS centre), you will see that this could reduce your band to a for this criteria (it would not necessarily affect the other three criteria) (Check this lesson on IELTS Band for an overview of the criteria for getting a band if you are unsure of what the criteria are) Take a look at these examples: People now have the freedom to work and live anywhere in the world due to the development of communication technology and transportation What are the advantages and disadvantages of this trend? This advantage disadvantage essay is not asking for your opinion You could simply write one paragraph on the advantages and another on the disadvantages However, this one does: People now have the freedom to work and live anywhere in the world due to the development of communication technology and transportation Do the advantages of this development outweigh the disadvantages? OR Will this have more positive or negative impacts? Writing your Thesis Another point to be careful of is using the word ‘outweigh’ It is common for IELTS students to get mixed up when they write the thesis statement, and actually say the opposite to what they write in the essay! For example, they will say the drawbacks outweigh the benefits, but then give more benefits in the essay This makes no sense So if you are not sure you can use the word correctly, I would recommend not using it in this type of IELTS advantage disadvantage essay You can just say what your opinion is, as in the thesis in the model answer: I believe that this has more benefits than drawbacks This will avoid any mistakes Planning and Organisation You then need to think of supporting ideas One for one side and two for the other side So you will then have three body paragraphs, one with the drawback / benefit and two with the advantages / disadvantages It is common academic practice tostart with the opposing opinionto yours, so you can start with the point that you have one idea for As explained above, it is very important, especially if you are looking for a band or higher, that your opinion reflects what is in your essay So if you have said there are more benefits, then you would have two benefits and one drawback Now take a look at the advantage disadvantage essay model answer Model Advantage Disadvantage Essay People now have the freedom to work and live anywhere in the world due to the development of communication technology and transportation Do the advantages of this development outweigh the disadvantages? These days many people choose to live or work in other countries, which has been made possible because of the convenience of air travel and modern communications I believe that this has more benefits than drawbacks The disadvantage of this development is the distance that is put between family members If a person moves away it is true that air travel and devices such as skype mean that communication and contact can be maintained However, it is likely that a person will only be able to return one or two times a year during holidays, and speaking on skype or via email is not the same as face-to-face contact Despite this, there are significant advantages it can bring to people’s lives Firstly, it means that people have the opportunity to see other parts of the world and the way people live For example, people from the West often go to work in Asia or the Middle East and visa-versa This enriches many people’s lives as they get to learn about other languages, traditions, cultures and different ways of working from their own country In addition to this, on a wider level it may also benefit other countries If someone moves abroad for work, it is usually because their skill is required there To illustrate, nurses and Doctors often move to work in hospitals in other countries when there is a shortage, so this is very valuable to the place they move to I would therefore argue that although there are disadvantages of the current trend to live and work abroad, they are outweighed by the advantages It can enrich people’s lives and lives of the people in the countries that they move to (283 Words) Comments As you can see in the essay, the writer believes there are more benefits so the essay is biased towards this opinion, giving more advantages than disadvantages The opinion is very clear, and repeated in the conclusion, and the body of the essay reflects this opinion so there will be no confusion when someone reads it Other Ways to Answer the Question This is not to suggest that this method is the only way to answer this type of question There could be other ways For example, some people advise to write two body paragraphs - one on the advantages and another on the disadvantages, then in the conclusion state which one outweighs the other You can this, but it can look at bit odd if you write about them equally, but then say there are more of one than the other! A conclusion can be cleverly worded to make this work, but that is a high level skill that many candidates not have You could write only about the advantages or only about disadvantages and argue that one vastly outweights the other However, the fact that the question uses 'outweigh' or 'more' is suggesting that there are both benefits and drawbacks The benefit of organising your advantage disadvantage essay as illustrated in this lesson is that by looking at both sides, you will havemore ideas to brainstorm And importantly, your opinion is clearand this is reflected in the essay, which is balanced to reflect and support your opinion Practice Now you can have a practice Try to answer this advantage disadvantage essay question: More and more students are choosing to study at colleges and universities in foreign countries Do the benefits of studying abroad outweigh the drawbacks? A model answer for this essay will be posted shortly so watch this space, or sign up using the form on the right to be notifed when there are updates to the site [...]... writing coherence Make sure you find out more about these transitions so you know how to use them correctly, then practice using them in your writing Lesson 5: Writing an IELTS Essay Introduction Writing the Introduction In the writing for task 2, you must write an IELTS essay introduction, but you only have 40 minutes In this time you need to analyze the question, brainstorm ideas to write about, formulate... essay is and giving your opinion if necessary Lesson 7: IELTS Band 7 Writing A question asked many times is how to score IELTS band 7 writing If you need a band 7 and you are not getting it, it is almost impossible to tell you why without seeing samples of your writing So the aim of this lesson is to look more generally at what is required to get a band 7 in the writing test If you want to know specifically... diagram See this lesson on writing a task 1 for more information on this Finally, to acheive in the last point you must be able to show that you can notice and write about the important things that are happening in the graph, and make comparisons between the data Again, the lesson above will help you with this Some final tips This lesson then has shown you how to get an IELTS band 7 in your writing, or... for mistakes If you have a writing teacher obviously this will help as they can check your work But again, planning first can help with this because if you plan then you will be able to write quicker You will then have more time to be more careful and more time to check your grammar and lexis whilst you write and at the end Lesson 8: Pronouns & Coherency In Writing Task 2 Lesson 4, we looked at improving... then you will need to discuss your work with an experienced IELTS instructor The frustration is normally for those who are stuck at a band 6 or 6.5 but just don't seem to be able to get that 7! It can be quite a jump to go from a 6.5 to a 7, so this lesson will explain what is required for an IELTS band 7 We'll focus on essay writing rather than task 1, but the criteria and principals are more or less... struggle to get an IELTS band 7 You need to have frequent error-free sentences In other words, the majority of your sentences can't have grammar errors This is not easy, so like with the lexis, you will need to be a fairly skilled writer Task 1 The last three criteria are more or less the same for task 1 The differences are in the task achievement as obviously you are being given a different task This is... introduction How do I write a thesis statement? In order to make it effective, you must have first identified the task of the essay If you are unsure about this, check out this lesson onidentifying the task The task is what you have to do, and is usually at the end of the rubric For example, look at this IELTS essay question: As global trade increases, many goods including those we use on a daily basis are produced... further Words 29 4 _ A common mistake is to have lots of ideas that are not explained properly However, you can see that as a result of brainstorming some key ideas and making sure you have explained each of them, you have a fully supported and well organized essay Lesson 4: Essay Writing Coherence Your writing coherence is important because you are marked on this as part of the IELTS grading... band score for each of the criteria, and the ones in this table in the descriptors column are those that are specifically needed for an IELTS band 7 Criteria IELTS Band 7 Descriptors  Addresses all parts of the task  Presents a clear position throughout the response Task Achievement Presents, extends and supports main ideas, but there may be a tendency to over-generalize and/or supporting ideas may... not be meeting the standard required as shown in the table for one or two of them For example: Task acheivement = 7 Coherence and Cohesion = 7 Lexical Resource = 7 Grammatical Range and Accuracy = 6 Overall writing band = 6.5 As previously stated above, you'd have to show some of your writing to an experienced IELTS teacher to get some advice on which ones you are not achieving in and to find out if it ... then practice using them in your writing Lesson 5: Writing an IELTS Essay Introduction Writing the Introduction In the writing for task 2, you must write an IELTS essay introduction, but you... Criminal activity Increases in crime Writing Task Lesson 2: Identify the Task Once you have identified the topic for your essay, you need to identify the task The task is the part of the question... essay question because 25 % of your grade for the essay is based on Task Response’ - how you have responded to the task How I identify the task? In order to grade your task response, the examiner