IELTS Write Right IELTS FAQs & Writing Band Descriptors 1 Frequently Asked Questions 1. What do I have to write about in the IELTS writing section? All IELTS candidates must write two short essays: Writing Task 1 and Writing Task 2. If you wish to study abroad you must complete the IELTS Academic Module, in which you will be required to write a 150-word essay describing a graph, table or diagram (Task 1) together with a 250-word essay expressing your opinion on a set topic (Task 2). If, on the other hand, you wish to migrate to an English-speaking country, you must complete the General Training Module.
This involves writing a 150-word letter (T1) along with a 250- word essay similar to that completed by Academic Module candidates (T2). A total of one hour is allowed for the completion of both writing tasks. Candidates are encouraged to spend about 20 minutes on Task 1 and 40 minutes on T2. In order to achieve a high score, it is important that both tasks be answered well.
How does the examiner decide what band score to give me? In IELTS writing the lowest band score is 1 and the highest band score is 9. Most candidates can expect to get a score of between 4 and 7. In marking your writing, the examiner will firstly check to see whether or not you have answered the question – if you are asked to write 250 words about air pollution in cities, you should not write 150 words about side issues such as traffic problems. The examiner will then check whether or not your essay is cohesive and coherent – your ideas, sentences and paragraphs must be logically organized and linked.
He/she will also assess your grammar – you must use a variety of different grammatical forms and use them accurately. Finally, the examiner will assess your vocabulary – you must use a wide range of vocabulary and ensure that it is appropriate to the task set. In most cases, you will be expected to use formal, academic English. What happens if my essay isn’t long enough? Length is certainly important; you should aim for 150 words in T1 and 250 words in T2.
However, this should not be your main focus. It is still possible to attain a high score if you write a little less than this. Your grammar, vocabulary and spelling, as well as the 2 way you organize your ideas, are more important. 230 well-written and logically organized words will get a better score than 330 poorly written words 4.
What should I do if I don’t have any ideas about the topic? One problem faced by many candidates is lack of ideas, especially in Writing T2. It is very difficult indeed to write an essay about a topic you have never considered before. While most IELTS text books will tell you that no specialized knowledge is required to complete the IELTS writing section, many Writing T2 questions are underpinned by peculiarly western cultural concepts. It is, therefore, beneficial for candidates from Asian countries to have a broad knowledge of western social issues before taking IELTS.
One thing that can help you to gain a deeper understanding of relevant issues is to research information related to known IELTS writing topics online. You might also try reading feature articles, editorials or letters to the editor in western newspapers and magazines. What happens if the examiner doesn’t agree with me? You will not get a lower score if the examiner disagrees with you. IELTS is a test of your English not your opinion, so do not be scared to say what you think.
Make sure you give reasons for your opinion, though. For example, you might write, “I think we should discourage people from driving cars because cars cause pollution”. Also, make sure your reasons are logical. Many candidates write meaningless statements like, “I think we should discourage people from driving cars because too many people drive cars”.
Finally, remember that in western countries, disagreeing with people is acceptable and, in fact, often expected. Should I try to memorise lots of model answers? No! Memorising vocabulary and sentence structures is certainly important. However, you should not try to memorise whole model answers and hope to be given a familiar topic when you take the test. Memorised answers are obvious to the examiner and usually receive a bad score.
It is better to familiarise yourself with the sentence structures and 3 patterns used in several different model answers and then combine them in your own way in so that your writing is both natural and different from the writing of other candidates. How can I get a higher score in IELTS writing? Read read read read! You should read as many different model answers as you can, borrow sentence structures from each and then combine them in your own way. Rather than learning individual, isolated items of vocabulary you should try to learn them in the context of the whole sentences. If you learn what a word means but do not know how to use it correctly in a sentence it is useless to you.
Likewise, if you learn a sentence structure but omit a preposition or use the wrong verb tense, it will not improve your score. Your writing must be accurate. Can I ask to have my writing marked again if I don’t get the score I need? You can ask to have your writing rechecked, but you have to pay an extra fee for this. Rechecking is only worthwhile if you overall band score is just a little lower than the band score that you need.
4 IELTS Writing Task 1 Band Descriptors You might be a little confused about what the IELTS writing band scores actually mean. What does it mean to get 6 in writing? How do examiners decide what score to give you? If your grammar is good, but your spelling is bad, what score will you get? There is no easy answer to any of these questions. However, to help you understand a little more about the IELTS marking system, the following have been included. They are the public versions of the British Council/ IDP Australia/ University of Cambridge Writing T1 and 2 band descriptors.
The language in the descriptors is hard to understand, and the difference between different band scores is not always clear (even to native English speakers). However the important thing to remember is that the IELTS examiners will check the following four aspects of your writing: 1. Task achievement: Did you answer the question that they asked you or did you talk about something else? 2. Coherence and cohesion: Does your writing make sense? Is your essay logically organised at the sentence, paragraph and whole text level? 3.
Lexical resource: Do you use a wide range of vocabulary accurately and appropriately? Do you spell correctly? 4. Grammatical range and accuracy: Do you use many different sentence structures or do you always use the same ones? How often do you make mistakes with your grammar? 5 Band Task Achievement fully satisfies all the requirements of the task 9.0 clearly presents a fully developed response covers all requirements of the task sufficiently 8.0 presents, highlights and illustrates key features/bullets points clearly and appropriately covers the requirements of the task (Academic) presents a clear overview of main trend, differences or stages (General Training) presents a clear purpose, with the tone consistent and 7.0 appropriate clearly presents and highlights key features/bullet points but could be more fully extended addresses the requirements of the task (Academic) presents an overview with information appropriately selected (General Training) presents a purpose that is generally clear; there may be 6.0 inconsistencies in tone presents and adequately highlights key features/bullet points but details may be irrelevant, inappropriate or inaccurate general addresses the task; the format may be inappropriate in places (Academic) recounts detail mechanically with no clear overview; there may be no data to support the description 5.0 (General Training) may present a purpose for the letter that is unclear at times; the tone may be variable and sometimes inappropriate presents, but inadequately covers, key features/bullet points; there may be a tendency to focus on details 6 attempts to address the task but does not cover all key features/bullet points; the format may be inappropriate (General Training) fails to clearly explain the purpose of the letter; the 4.0 tone may be inappropriate may confuse key features/bullet points with detail; parts may be unclear, irrelevant, repetitive or inaccurate fails to address the task, which may have been completely misunderstood 3.0 presents limited ideas which may be largely irrelevant/repetitive 2.0 answer is barely related to the task 1.0 answer is completely unrelated to the task does not attend 0.0 does not attempt the task in anyway writes a totally memorised response 7 Band Coherence and Cohesion uses cohesion in such a way that it attracts no attention 9.0 skilfully manages paragraphing sequences information and ideas logically 8.0 manages all aspects of cohesion well use paragraphing sufficiently and appropriately logically organises information and ideas; there is a clear progression throughout 7.0 uses a range of cohesive devices appropriately although there may be some under/overuse arranges information and ideas coherently and there is a clear overall progression 6.0 uses cohesive devices effectively, but cohesion within and/or between sentences may be faulty or mechanical may not always use referencing clearly or appropriately presents information with some organisation but there may be a lack of overall progression 5.0 makes inadequate, inaccurate or over-use of cohesive devices may be repetitive because of lack of referencing and substitution 8 presents information and ideas but these are not arranged coherently and 4.0 there is no clear progression in the response uses some basic cohesive devices but these may be inaccurate or repetitive does not organise ideas logically 3.0 may use a very limited range of cohesive devices, and those used may not indicate a logical relationship between ideas 2.0 has very little control of organisational features 1.0 fails to communicate any message does not attend 0.0 does not attempt the task in anyway writes a totally memorised response 9 Band Lexical Resource uses a wide range of vocabulary with very natural and sophisticated 9.0 control of lexical features; rare minor errors occur only as “slips” uses a wide range of vocabulary fluently and flexibly to convey precise meanings 8.0 skilfully uses uncommon lexical items but there may be occasional inaccuracies in word choice and collocation produces rare errors in spelling and/or word formation uses a sufficient range of vocabulary to allow some flexibility and precision uses less common lexical items with some awareness of style and 7.0 collocation may produce occasional errors in word choice, spelling and/or word formation uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task attempts to use less common vocabulary but with some inaccuracy 6.0 makes some errors in spelling and/or word formation, but they do not impede communication uses a limited range of vocabulary, but this is minimally adequate for the task 5.0 may make noticeable errors in spelling and/or word formation that may cause some difficulty for the reader 10 uses only basic vocabulary which may be used repetitively or which may be inappropriate for the task 4.0 has limited control of word formation and/or spelling errors may cause strain for the reader uses only a very limited range of words and expressions with very limited 3.