IELTS Writing

Below are some strategies and activities to get the best IELTS score possible in the writing section. In my years teaching the IELTS writing has generally been the most difficult for students. Students struggle with the unique and complicated spelling rules and patterns of English, organizing thoughts, and keeping pace with time constraints. Below I will offer 3 tried and tested solutions for these problems focusing on each part of the exam.

problem: time - Strategy: Pass yourself. Set aside 5 minutes of each task to plan, 5 minutes to edit at the end, and the rest of the time to write. 400 words in an hour is less than it sounds. and time management underpins all else.


IELTS Writing part 1

Problem: Organization - Strategy plan write edit: You have 20 minutes to write 150 words! Your brain tells you to write like you've never written before, and whether you realize it or not you've made silly errors, lost coherence, and failed to answer the question as well as you could have. 20 minutes isn't long but 150 words is less than you think. Put your sense of urgency to the side, read the question, reread it, underline the key words, and write a very simple plan which gives in no more than a few words the point from which you will write. That will take a whole 5 minutes. Write for 12 minutes referring to your plan. Finally stop take 3-5 minutes to reread and answer these questions: does it make sense, are there any errors, is it logical. If the answer is no edit it. This will help with coherence grammar and lexis.


IELTS Writing part 2

Problem: Going on a tangent - Strategy focus - It can be easy to get lost in this task. This then induces panic, which repeats the cycle. With every sentence you think of writing ask the question you are given. Finally remember this structure

personal opinion
overview of what you will write

supporting point
evidence

opposing point
evidence

summarize

Stick to this and you will find it easier to get the best score possible in coherence, and stucture.