Picture you’re outside the exam centre on the day of your IELTS writing exam. You walk through the corridor, you take a seat and the examiner says ‘you may begin’.
You open the test paper.
It says ‘How has transport changed over the last 100 years. What are the benefits of public transport in busy cities?’ Ummm… now what? You don’t know anything about public transport in busy cities!
In truth, the idea of filling a blank exam page with your own ideas is difficult in any language, but it’s important you don’t let the fact that you’re not sure what to write affect your confidence. This is a great opportunity to show the examiner how well you understand the question and prove what you’re made of.
The best way to avoid being anxious during the exam is to prepare. We break down the IELTS writing exam into three tips:
Tip #1 : Answer the question!
It sounds obvious but we can’t stress this enough. A lot of students waste their word count by making additional points that are not gaining them marks. Our tutor Jenny advises:
‘Instead of diving straight into answering the question, take a minute to really figure out what is being asked. Highlight the keywords in the answer. If the question is ‘Why is public transport important?’, don’t waste time telling a story about something unrelated. Answer the question only and nothing else. If you find yourself straying away from the question, force yourself to go back on topic. I recommend the following format for your essays:
Introduction > Point #1 > Point #2 > Summary
What is the question asking you to do? Is it asking you to compare two things? Is it asking you whether you agree or disagree? Is it asking you to suggest a solution to a problem? It is absolutely critical that you understand what is being asked before you begin. You could write the most beautifully crafted essay in the world, but if it doesn’t answer the questions, you will lose marks. An important part of getting to grips with the types of questions that frequently come up in the writing tasks is looking up topics that appear often in the exam.
TOP TIP: Common topics that appear in task 2 are health, education, transport, travel, government, the environment, crime and technology.
Tip #2: Excite the examiner! Make your work interesting.
When we say excite the examiner, we don’t mean by pulling a rabbit out of a hat during the exam. But you can make your writing more exciting by the using exciting and interesting vocabulary. Of course, don’t get carried away either – nobody needs to use the word ‘anachronistic’ in a sentence! Use simple language and sprinkle in a small number of complex words to show the examiner your skills.
By engaging the examiner, by interesting them, by letting your personality shine through in your answer, you demonstrate that you’re confident in your use of English. Take a risk and use sophisticated vocabulary once every paragraph to make your writing stand out.
Of course, if you don’t know what a word means; then don’t use it! Be confident in your work and you’ll feel confident during the exam.
Tip #3: Focus on plurals. Or is it plural?
IELTS examiners see it all the time. It is one of the most common grammatical mistakes that students make – that dreaded ‘S’. Students around the world appear to fall into the trap of adding an ‘S’ onto a word that simply does not require it. For example, students might say ‘My childs was playing outside’ when should be ‘My child was playing outside’.
Don’t Say: “I Have Three Childrens.”
Say: “I Have Three Children.”
Or: “I Have Three Kids.”
The plural of “child” is “children” – because the word “children” is already plural, we don’t add “s.” Another possibility is to say “kids,” which is an alternative word for “children.”
Another common mistake in writing exam 1 is to refer to one graph as ‘graphs’ or saying ‘one men’ instead of ‘one man’. The English language is tricky – as I’m sure you’re well aware – but a strong understanding of plurals will help your writing appear natural to the examiner. If you know that grammar is one of your weakest areas, dedicate some time to studying it.
As always, if you are having trouble with any of these areas of the writing exam – enrol now to Fast Track IELTS and let our tutors do the hard work for you.
Do you have any stress busting tips? Share your top tips in the comment section below.
