How to write a Task 1 and 2 in 60 minutes
This is a common problem for a lot of people. A member in our private Facebook page “IELTS Writing and Speaking support” got in touch and left this question. “Sometimes we are given to much information in the task 1 and this makes it very hard to include all the data to the writing, just as it is very difficult to fill 150 words when there is very little to write about. However, I think the hardest part of the writing...
I can’t think of ideas for IELTS Task 2.
In Task 2, you need to support your ideas with examples. So, let’s take an example question like “The government should ban smoking in all public places, even though this would restrict some other people's freedoms. Do you agree or disagree?” First, you need to know that the question is asking for your opinion, nothing else. You don’t have to balance this type of question and argue both sides. Imagine if you were in a café and were asked this question, would you...
The IELTS speaking test – Why is Part 2 so important?
The IELTS speaking test is designed to get progressively more difficult so the examiner can see what you can do in English. Part 1 is very simple. It is just a question-and-answer session about you. You just have to say what you think and why you think it. The questions are relatively simple. However, Part 2 affects what questions you will face in Part 3. How so? Well, in Part 2 you, you have to talk for 2 minutes about a topic...
Can we use contractions in IELTS writing?
This is a question we received last week and we have seen it time and time again. It comes from the idea that IELTS, especially Academic IELTS, is a formal exam and should be treated us such. This is wrong. Academic IELTS is a test of your English for academic purposes (this means for university, post grad courses and also jobs). It is NOT a test of your academic English. If you go to an English school/academy to study English, the...
Is IELTS writing a scam?
We see this a lot from people who haven’t got the score they feel they deserve. Now, we need to address this. Why do people think they are being stopped from getting Band 7.0, for example, in writing? Firstly, some people don’t get Band 7 in writing because they are not band 7.0 level. To get to Band 7, the majority of your sentences need to be correct (grammatically and lexically). This is tough for a lot of people. Secondly, people don’t...
What does an IELTS Band 9 Task 2 look like?
We thought that we would share an example of a Band 9 Task 2 essay along with the rationale as to what it is high scoring. It was written by one of the IELTS examiners that works with us. In red, you can see why it is getting high Task Achievement scores. The range of grammar and vocabulary is very wide and accuracy is very high. Coherence is so smooth that it is not noticed. Have a read...... Now, of course, for...
What is the best template for Academic IELTS Task 1?
Many people try to use templates for IELTS writing and, as this IELTS examiner explains, they are not a very good idea. But there is something else that will help you. There isn’t one and don’t use templates in IELTS, they just lead to more problems for candidates. What happens with candidates that use templates is….. they use their template and it doesn’t quite fit the question so their answer is weird. the language they have learnt to use is archaic...
What happens if I write less than 250 words in IELTS Task 2?
The answer to this may surprise you and one of the IELTS examiners that works with us has this to say. The short answer is nothing. If you write 200 words, you are not penalised. If you write 100 words, you are not penalised. Until a few years ago, candidates lost Task Achievement marks for writing answers that were too short. For example, if you wrote 240 words, your Task Achievement had 1 Band deducted from it. It was a huge...