A COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE FOR IELTS PREPARATION

Paper Format	You must complete TWO writing tasks.
Timing	60 minutes
No. of Questions	2
Task Types	In Task 1, you must describe some visual information (for example, a graph, chart, table, or diagram) using your own words. You should write around 150 words and spend approximately 20 minutes on Task 1 In Task 2, you must respond to a point of view, argument, or problem. You should write around 250 words and spend approximately 40 minutes on Task 2.
Answering	Type your answers directly into the space on the CD IELTS Writing Test page. You may make notes on Login Details sheet if you wish. You should write in full sentences and paragraphs and avoid numbered lists and bullet points.
Answering	Type your answers directly into the space on the CD IELTS Writing Test page. You may make notes on Login Details sheet if you wish. You should write in full sentences and paragraphs and avoid numbered lists and bullet points.
Task 1
Task Type and Format	In Writing Task 1, you may be asked to describe facts and figures presented in one or more graphs, charts, or tables. Alternatively, you may be given a diagram of a machine, device or process and asked to explain how it works. You may also be asked to compare maps or layout plans. You should write in a neutral, academic style and include the most important and relevant information from the graphic. Some minor details may be left out.
Timing	You are advised to spend around 20 minutes on Task 1.
Task Focus	Task 1 assesses your ability to identify the most important and relevant information and trends in a graphic and to present these in a well-organized overview, backed up with a more detailed description of the data. You are also assessed on your ability to use language accurately and appropriately.
Task 2
Task Type and Format	In Writing Task 2, you are given a topic to write about in a neutral, academic style. Your answer should take the form of a discursive essay. You should provide a full, relevant response which directly addresses the statement or statements in the prompt. You will be penalized for irrelevance (i.e. going off-topic), and for using numbered lists and bullet points. You will be severely penalized for plagiarism (i.e. copying from another source). Content that has been directly copied from the question prompt will not be assessed.
Timing	You are advised to spend around 40 minutes on Task 2.
Task Focus	Task 2 assesses your ability to produce a clear, relevant, well-organized argument, giving evidence or examples to support your ideas. You are also assessed on your ability to use language accurately and appropriately.

Academic Writing Task 1: Make sure that you understand the format of the task. You must write a short, academic report based on a graphic. This could be a graph, chart, table, map, plan, or diagram. You need to write approximately 150 words in 20 minutes. Practice writing reports based on each of the different type graphic in the question.

Make sure you understand the assessment criteria:

• Task Achievement
• Coherence and Cohesion
• Lexical Resource
• Grammatical Range and Accuracy

Get to know the requirements for the band score that you are aiming for by looking at the IELTS Writing Task 1 band descriptors.

You will receive a band score for each criterion mentioned above. Your final band score is an average of all four scores.

Practice writing in an academic style. You will lose marks if your writing is too informal. Look at the examples below; the first uses an informal style, whereas the second uses a more suitable, academic style.

• Here we can see a graph that gives us information about how kids get to school and then get back home in a few different European countries.
• The graph illustrates the modes of transport children use to travel to and from school in five European countries.

Practice identifying key features in graphs, charts, and diagrams. You must summarise these key features and general trends in an overview paragraph. If you don’t include an overview, your Task Achievement band score will be limited to a 5.

It’s important to use a range of vocabulary for describing the graph, chart, or diagram. Make a list of useful vocabulary for Writing Task 1 and practice using it. To avoid repeating yourself practice using synonyms and paraphrasing to describe trends and changes. For example, synonyms for the verb increase include climb, rise, improve, jump, leap, rocket, soar, shoot up, surge, and recover.

To score a band 6 or above for Grammatical Range and Accuracy, you must use a variety of complex sentence structures. Learn 4 or 5 sentence structures that can be used to describe movement and change in graphs and charts and adapt them to fit individual Task 1 question prompts. Learn to identify and eliminate grammatical errors; you are unlikely to score a 6 for Grammatical Range and Accuracy if your report contains too many grammatical errors.

Once you have booked a computer-delivered (CD) IELTS, be sure to familiarise yourself with the digital test environment.

Academic Writing Task 2: Make sure that you understand the format of the task. You must write an academic essay in response to a point of view, argument, or problem. You need to write approximately 250 words in 40 minutes. Practice writing essays on a range of different topics. All topics are of general interest and require no specialised knowledge.

Make sure you understand the assessment criteria:

• Task Response
• Coherence and Cohesion
• Lexical Resource
• Grammatical Range and Accuracy

Get to know the requirements for the band score that you are aiming for by looking at the IELTS Writing Task 2 band descriptors.

You will receive a band score for each criterion mentioned above. Your final band score is an average of all four scores.

It is important to identify the aspects of your writing that you need to work on to get the IELTS band score you need. Base your analysis on the assessment criteria listed above. Practice as many Writing Task 2 essays as you can and ask someone with an expertise in the subject to help you to determine what you need to do to increase your score.

Practice writing in an academic style. You will lose marks if your writing is too informal. Look at the examples below; the first uses an informal style, whereas the second uses a more suitable, academic style.

• Going to the gym a lot with your buddies not only gets you fit, but it’s also a good laugh.
• Regular physical exercise such as jogging or going to the gym not only improves fitness levels, but also enhances the mood and increases energy levels.

It’s important to use a range of vocabulary in your essay. Create vocabulary lists covering a variety of common IELTS Writing Task 2 topics. Topics that appear frequently include education, the environment, friends and family, government and society, health, jobs and employment, science and technology, sport, media and the arts, and travel and tourism.

To score a band 6 or above for Grammatical Range and Accuracy, you must use a variety of complex sentence structures. Practice joining simple sentences together to form complex sentences. Learn to identify and eliminate grammatical errors. Common errors include articles (a, an, the), plural and uncountable nouns, subject-verb agreement, and sentence word order.

Once you have booked a computer-delivered (CD) IELTS test, be sure to familiarise yourself with the digital test environment.

Academic Writing Task 1: Avoid copying directly from the question prompt – try to use synonyms and paraphrasing instead.

Use a simple report structure: a short introductory paragraph explaining the contents of the graphic; an overview paragraph summarising the major trends and most important features; one (or maximum two) paragraphs covering the detail.

You must include data to support your description. If you don’t include enough data, your band score for Task Achievement will be limited to a 4. Make sure that the data you include is accurate, and that the units of measurement you refer to (if any) are the same as those used in the graphic. Focus on the similarities and differences between different sets of data.

Don’t speculate about the reasons for or causes behind the data presented in the graphic; and never include your own interpretation of the data or your own views and opinions.

Don’t just present a list of data or items shown on the graphic. Highlight the most important pieces of data, make comparisons, and highlight similarities and differences.

Academic Writing Task 2: Analyse the question carefully and spend 3–4 minutes planning what you will write. Make sure that you answer all parts of the question. You can make notes on your Login Details sheet or use the CD IELTS note function.

Use a simple, four paragraph essay structure: an introduction, two main body paragraphs, and a short conclusion. Make sure you state your point of view in the introduction, and that it remains consistent throughout.

Include one, main idea in each of your main body paragraphs and back it up with evidence or examples from your own experience. Try to summarise the main idea of each paragraph in a topic sentence; use the topic sentence as the first sentence in your paragraph.

Ensure that your ideas are specifically related to the requirements of the question prompt, not just the general topic. For example, if the prompt asks you to write about air pollution in cities, you will be penalized for only writing about pollution in general.

Academic Writing Task 1

Write a Clear Overview: The overview is a short paragraph which gives a summary of the major changes described in the graphic. If you don’t present an overview, you will be limited to a band 5 score for Task Achievement. If your overview is not very clear or accurate, you will be limited to a band 6 score.

Don’t Try to Write About Everything: Many test takers try to include every number listed on a graph or in a table which can lead to the mechanical reporting of data, or a disorganized report. While you must be careful to mention all the key features, and to provide enough data to support your description, you don’t have to mention every last number.

Organise Ideas Logically: It’s important to use a clear, simple structure for your task 1 report so that it is easy for the examiner to understand. Don’t jump from one unrelated piece of data to the other or list the data in random order. Try to include a short introduction, an overview, and two more paragraphs describing and comparing the main features.

Describing Data Accurately: Make sure that you look carefully at the units of measure they in graphs, charts and tables. Many test takers lose marks for Task Achievement because they make errors in their descriptions of the data.

Academic Writing Task 2

Don’t Fill Your Essay with Complex Vocabulary: While it is important to use a wide range of appropriate vocabulary in your task 2 essay, do not try to fill your response with too many complicated words as this will make your writing sound awkward and unnatural. Make sure that you use any less common vocabulary items appropriately.

Check for Grammatical Errors: Make sure that you allow 2 or 3 minutes to check your grammar when you have finished writing your essay.

Don’t Overuse Cohesive Devices: Do not attempt to fill every sentence with as many cohesive devices as you can. Ensure that you don’t begin every sentence with a cohesive device; try to limit yourself to 3 or 4 per paragraph.

Address Both Parts of the Question Equally: Academic Writing Task 2 prompts often have two parts, and some contain two separate questions. You might be asked to ‘discuss both of these views’ or to ‘discuss the advantages and disadvantages’ of a particular idea. If you write 2 paragraphs about one view, but only two sentences about the other, you have not covered both parts of the question sufficiently.

Don’t Write About the Topic in General: Even if you use an excellent range of accurate grammar and vocabulary in your essay, you will not be awarded a high band score if you fail to answer the question. Another common mistake is to go off-topic.

Develop Your Ideas: It is not a good idea to include as many ideas as possible in your Academic task 2 essay as you will not be able to develop them fully in the 40 minutes. It would be better if you identified, for example, one or two advantages and one or two disadvantage and developed these ideas with explanations and examples.