IELTS writing and body paragraphs
We receive questions about writing a body paragraph in IELTS and sometime we see candidates try to squeeze too much in them. A body paragraph is like a carriage on a train. This is a common question we get. "How many ideas should I include in a body paragraph in Task 2? Some say one is enough others say you should include 2 or 3 even if the question is in singular? Also please describe in details what a developed idea...
What templates can I use in IELTS writing?
Is there any template for the IELTS academic task 1 that can literally work for any given question? IELTS templates.........do they exist? An IELTS examiners answers your question No. The tasks are too varied. How could you use a template to describe a bar chart and a process? There are certain phrases that I suppose you could use for your introduction if you were faced with bar chart to describe like “The given bar charts show + add your description here” “From an overall...
Can I use contractions in IELTS writing?
This is a question that came form a memeber in our private Facebook group (Feel free to join). "Are contractions allowed in both the General Training and Academic task 2 IELTS writing?" Yes, Yes, and Yes again. In Task 1 in the General exam, if you have to write a formal letter then try and avoid them. To be honest, the idea that contractions aren’t used in formal writing is very old-fashioned and old-fashioned teachers love to cling on to the idea...
Can I use Phrasal verbs in my IELTS Task 2 writing?
This is a common question and one that we get asked a lot. Basically, it is people being poorly advised by people that know nothing about IELTS. An IELTS writing examiner explains…… Phrasal verbs are part of normal every day speech. Using them in IELTS is fine. So many people think that IELTS is a test of your academic English and should, therefore, be approached as a formal test. This is not true. It is a test of your English, nothing...
Where should I get my IELTS writing questions from?
This question comes from a few questions that we have come to us recently from people using our writing service. We see a lot of people use IELTS questions that are not IELTS questions. But what does this mean? Well, it means that the questions are not up to IELTS standard. Let’s look at a couple of examples. This is one that someone who used our IELTS correction service used recently. Now, IELTS avoids issues like sex, religion, abortion etc because they are...
What does Band 9.0 writing look like in IELTS?
This is a good question and one we received from a member of our private Facebook group (Feel free to join and ask your questions about IELTS). Here is an example of a Band 9.0 Task 2. It is 293 words long so a bit long for what most people are able to produce. I don’t recommend writing more than this unless you are a very high user of English. Band 9.0 is just native or native-like level English that fully...
What are memorized phrases in IELTS writing?
This is a something we see a lot and a lot of candidates use memorized phrases. Some examples of what we see are below. Why we recommend you don’t use them is that accuracy drops considerably when you have to write something in your own words and this is very very noticeable for us (the examiners). This is the question we received from a member of our private Facebook group (Feel free to join) What sentences or phrases are considered by...
How can I improve my lexical resource in writing?
This is a good question that we reveived from a member in our private Facebook group. Feel free to join. This examiner had this to say. Generally, the best way to improve your vocabulary is reading. Read a newspaper online for example, and make a note of the vocabulary that appears that you don’t know. Don’t just copy the word but copy the whole phrase. Why copy the whole phrase? Well, the people that lose Lexical Resource marks are the ones that do one of...