Do you know what you need feedback on? How is IELTS writing feedback different from any other writing feedback?
Speaking and writing are very difficult to improve on your own. You do need feedback from a native speaker, and one who is an IELTS professional.
If you are looking for specific feedback, such as on IELTS, you do need to ask someone who really knows the test.
Here is a short checklist for what to look for in IELTS writing, and what you need to ask for feedback on. It is all based on what the IELTS examiner will grade you on.
TA/TR Feedback
In IELTS Task 1, Academic, you must give specific numbers and an overall trend to get a high score.
In Task 1 for General Training, you must cover all bullet points from the question in a balanced way, and your tone must be appropriate and consistent.
For IELTS Task 2, there a few specific things you must get feedback on. Firstly, your tutor or teacher should make sure that you are answering all parts of the question.
Secondly, you must provide very specific, detailed support for the main ideas in your body paragraphs. A teacher who really understands how IELTS Writing is graded can help you practice coming up with these ideas. One student in our course, 3 Keys IELTS, raised her Task 2 score by 2 whole band points after getting feedback from me on this point.
Cohesion/Coherence Feedback
The most important thing to get feedback on here is whether or not your essay flows.
This means that a reader can easily follow your ideas, and never has to stop reading to figure out what you want to say. If you confuse the reader, especially the examiner, your score goes down.
Using the right linking words and transition phrases is a key factor in this category.
Also, your ideas must be logical and clear. This means that you must brainstorm specific ideas before you write, and not try and fit too many ideas into each body paragraph.
Vocabulary Feedback
Getting advice from a native speaker and an IELTS professional is very important for your vocabulary score.
Only these people can tell you if you are using the words appropriately, and also provide you with correct paraphrases for words that you are repeating in your essay.
Also, in Academic IELTS Writing Task 1, you must use unique sets of words to describe number trends. Note, as well, that these sets of words are different if the question is Change Over Time or Static. Again, only an IELTS professional can truly guide you here, as only she/he knows what exactly the examiner is looking for.
Grammar Feedback
Remember that you can’t teach yourself what you don’t know.
You really do need feedback from a native speaker on sentence structures and error density. These are the two factors that decide your IELTS Grammar score for writing.
In short, you must invest in your future. It is almost impossible to significantly improve your speaking and writing by yourself. Find an IELTS professional you trust and ask for help!
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