An interview with an IELTS writing examiner.
We received over 50 questions from people for this interview. A lot of people asked similar things so we tried to put them together to cover everything. Most came from our private group on Facebook “IELTS writing and speaking support”. Feel free to join.
The list of questions
- What do you think is the biggest challenge for IELTS candidates in writing?
- Why do so many people get 6 or 6.5 in writing?
- Why are there so many IELTS teachers stating different ways to do the exam?
- Why are there so many IELTS teachers stating different ways to do the exam?
- There is so much different information on the importance of research and personal examples in Task 2. Is it necessary to put a personal example and a detailed piece of research into the essay in order to score higher than Band 7?
- How can I develop my vocabulary for IELTS writing?
- I can’t write 250 words in 40 minutes and plan and check my work.
- Is there a template for body paragraphs?
- How much do IELTS examiners get paid?
Before we start, can you tell us a little about yourself first and why you became an IELTS examiner?
I work in a university in the UK on our Academic Communication Centre and we have a lot of international students that come to study here. I actually became an IELTS examiner before joining the university though. I worked in a language academy in London and I had a lot of IELTS students doing IELTS courses; it is a big business here in the UK, but I felt that I didn’t have the skills to really help the students. I mean, I could help with their English sure, but IELTS is different so when I was scoring their speaking and, in particular, their writing, I wasn’t sure I was as accurate as I needed to be. I applied to become an IELTS writing and speaking examiner and have been one for over 10 years now.
What do you think is the biggest challenge for IELTS candidates in writing?
Well, as I said, I became an examiner because I felt I couldn’t help my students in the way they needed and this is the biggest problem for a lot of candidates. They can’t find anyone to help them. Not just anyone that speaks English can help the candidates. IELTS is very rigid in its marking criteria and examiners are trained to interpret it correctly. It takes a long time and you aren’t really comfortable with the marking criteria (task 1 and task 2) for your first year or two of examining. This means that normal English teachers across the world (native and non-native) can’t really help with the writing in particular. I work with upmyielts because they are one of the only organisations that I know of that can help with IELTS writing.
Why do so many people get 6 or 6.5 in writing?
Well, this is partly because of my previous answer about finding a teacher. There are lots of other reasons though. I don’t know why but people don’t invest in themselves. They think they can self-study for IELTS and, unless you have a very high level of English and maybe live in an English-speaking country, self-studying is the worst way to prepare. If you self-study, how can you be sure that what you write is correct or not? How do you know if you are answering the question fully? How do you know if your vocabulary and grammar are accurate? So many people get 6 in the Grammar criteria because they can’t use articles or prepositions. A lot of people get Band 6 in Lexical Resource because they use archaic vocabulary that is confusing or, especially, out of context. You see lots on Instagram where “IELTS experts” say “Don’t say ‘very strong’, say ‘forceful’. Then, in the exam, the student writes “The man was forceful” which has a very different meaning. I also wrote a piece here for this website about the 3 main things that I see that stop people getting the score they need in IELTS writing. It is pretty accurate.
Why are there so many IELTS teachers stating different ways to do Task 2?
Yes, this is something I see too but there are many different ways to answer an IELTS question. There is no correct way. However, there are a number of wrong ways and a lot of IELTS ‘experts’ are actually guessing what you need to do while happily taking your money. I see some candidates try to use ‘templates’ that they have memorised. They have this amazing (although often very archaic) vocabulary while they present the memorized parts but it all falls apart when they have to write independently. Some candidates list points. What I mean is that if they have been asked for the advantages and disadvantages of something, they just list them with no development. This caps their Task Achievement at Band 6.0.
The way I recommend, and what upmyielts.com recommends is to present one idea in each body paragraph, extend it, then add a real-life example to it to support it. This will ensure that you are developing your ideas and hitting the Band 7+ criteria for Task Achievement.
There is so much different information on the importance of research and personal examples in Task 2. Is it necessary to put a personal example and a detailed piece of research into the essay in order to score higher than Band 7?
To get into Band 7.0 for Task Achievement, you need to support what you write. Band 6.0 writers will present their ideas but the support will either be very short or not detailed enough. One way to get around this and get into the top Bands is by supporting your ideas with a personal (possibly invented) example or some research. To get into Band 7.0 for Task Achievement, you need to
“present, extend and support your main ideas”
A logical way to do this is by supporting your idea with something like
- “The University of Sussex recently published a paper saying that……..”
- “The Times newspaper in the UK recently published an article stating that……”
- “My nephew was…….+ personal example”
These may be invented examples but IELTS is an English test so no one is ever going to check whether what you write is true or not. With support like this, you will be
1) supporting your ideas (Task Achievement)
2) using a wider range of vocabulary because you will have to be more specific (Lexical Resource)
3) using a wider range of grammar as you will be talking about specific things, probably in the past. For example, you would need to use reported speech after “The University of Sussex recently published a paper saying that……..”
Using personal examples or research covers a lot of the Band 7+ criteria.
How can I develop my vocabulary for IELTS writing?
This depends really. Reading is the best way to develop your vocabulary. Nothing else is as efficient as reading in English. Read something you enjoy about a topic that interests you. While reading, if a word/phrase you don’t know comes up 2 or 3 times, then it may be worth making a note of it. Then check its meaning, and make some sentences using it. It will then become part of your vocabulary.
However, and this is something that I see a lot in IELTS, do not use language that you are not familiar with. People seem to try and learn word lists to increase their vocabulary but all they do is learn a list of words out of context as I said before. English collocation is very rigid. You cannot change one word for another very easily in English. Reading a book presents you with English in context though and it is highly recommended.
I can’t write 250 words in 40 minutes and plan and check my work.
IELTS writing is a real test of writing efficiency and practice is very important here. It is very easy to see the candidates that didn’t plan their writing as they lose coherence at times and add in extra ideas that are undeveloped. So, planning is key to writing efficiently. You also have to remember a couple of things.
1) IELTS does not penalise underlength answers. If you write 240 words, you don’t lose any marks. Years ago, if you wrote under 240 words then you lost Task Achievement marks but that is not the case today.
2) IELTS deems 250 words the minimum needed to write a Band 9 answer. Therefore, it is possible to get into Band 7+ by writing 240 words, for example. What you need to work on is answering the question, supporting your ideas and using what you know accurately.
Is there a template for body paragraphs?
Template? No. Structure? Yes. In your body paragraphs (only write 2), you need to
- introduce your idea
- extend it by explaining it further
- add a real-life (or invented) example to support it
- stop yourself from adding more to the paragraph!
If you can do this, then you are hitting the higher bands in the criteria.
How much do IELTS examiners get paid?
Ha, well, it depends on which country you work in. IELTS marking has moved online now so it isn’t paid as much as it was. It used to be very lucrative if you were fast and accurate (100 USD an hour or more). It isn’t so lucrative now but you can do it from your home which is a bonus.
Thank you for all your questions. If you have any more then put them in the comments below or you can send them to us at our Facebook page or through our Contact Us page. You can also email us at [email protected]. We will pass them on to an IELTS examiner to answer
We only work with IELTS examiners so if you want your IELTS writing evaluated then you can buy a Full IELTS writing test or a Task 1 or Task 2.
upmyielts is where the examiners work for you.
Comments (9)
Thank you, very interesting
Hello. Can you do an interview with a speaking examiner?
We are in the process of asking one of the IELTS speaking examiners to take part. Good idea though Juan Ramon. Keep an eye out for the next interview.
Hey
Regarding using examples, I heard that there will be a change soon that will affect the marking score, it seems that personal example or the research one can have a negative impact on the marking .
Can you please confirm .
Thanks in advance
Hello Ahmed.
We have asked around and no one knows anything about a change to the writing exam coming soon. Where did you hear this? We can investigate further if you let us know.
The upmyielts team
I am confused and started doubting the originality of this article. Almost all IELTS experts advise avoiding “research” as examples, claiming that this approach doesn’t support your argument at all….
Hello Ismayil
Thank you for your comment. Research is absolutely fine to use to support your ideas. This is a very common misconception. However, compare……
1) “Recent research shows that…….” or
2) “At least 41% of people believe that…..” to
3) “The University of Essex recently published a paper stating…..:” or
4) “I read an article in the Guardian newspaper in the UK that said ………”
The first two are non-specific. Where is the research coming from? Who is saying that 41% of people believe something to be true? This is not support. However, number 3 and 4 are specific. This kind of research is what will get you higher marks in Task Achievement.
A lot of IELTS experts are unfortunately nothing of the sort. It is very difficult to get clear guidance on IELTS writing, hence us setting up upmyielts.com.
Please ask if you have more questions.
Hi Team,
If the task 2 mentions- what are the problems associated with….. and what solutions would you suggest?
Does that mean there must be atleast two problems as it is plural?
Hello and thank you for the question.
This is something that comes up at recertification again and again (Bi-yearly training when IELTS examiners get together to make sure they are marking correctly). The line that our examiners have been told is that when it says advantages, benefits, problems, etc, one is enough. If you present one clear and developed problem followed by a clear and developed solution, this will get you into the higher Task Achievement bands.