When is the last time you wrote someone a letter?
General training Task 1 can be difficult since we rarely write letters anymore.
Academic Task 1 is also difficult as we rarely write about charts and graphs!
Today you’ll learn tips for boosting scores on both these IELTS essays.
Today’s question
Today’s question was asked by a listener named Mikayıl on Spotify.
Don’t forget you can leave questions in the comments on Spotify or YouTube.
I am stuck with a low score in Writing. I got 6.5 two times straight.
Other parts are higher 7, but Writing is my Achilles heel. What should I do?
You’re not alone
This is a very common issue for many students.
This is Part 1 of a two-part series.
We’ll cover Writing Task 1 today and Writing Task 2 in Part 2 of this series.
You’ll learn why students score 6 or 6.5 on Task 1 and how to improve to 7+.
#1: General Training – Task Response score
The first problem is often inconsistent tone.
To score 7 or higher, your vocabulary and phrasing must match the tone.
- Informal: letter to a friend or family
- Semiformal: letter to a neighbor or coworker you know well
- Formal: letter to someone you haven’t met
Formal letters will be more formal scenarios, such as a complaint letter to an airline.
The second issue is often not fully addressing all 3 bullet points.
You need two ideas per bullet point and must address them directly.
#2: General Training – Vocabulary score
The first mistake for this score is that students don’t use enough high-scoring vocabulary.
The Examiner is looking for the following
- Less common words
- Slang, idioms, and phrasal verbs for informal letters
- Topic-specific impressive vocabulary for formal letters
Secondly, you may be repeating vocabulary.
Don’t use language from the bullets.
Restate or paraphrase these in your own words if including information from the bullets.
Avoid repeating words by using synonyms or paraphrase.
#3 General Training – Cohesion/Coherence score
Your essay may have a lack of organization, which would pull down this score.
Answer each bullet point in its own paragraph.
Avoid going back to a bullet point once it has been addressed.
You may also be lacking transition phrases.
To score 7+ for Cohesion/Coherence, you need linking phrases to transition between ideas.
These linking words will be more or less formal depending on the tone you need to set.
- Informal: for what it’s worth, on the other hand
- Formal: hence, consequently
#4: Academic – Task Response score
The first issue for this score is not covering all key information.
- Strategy: circle highest, second highest and lowest numbers or biggest increases/decreases
You can’t describe every number or detail.
You need to know what to leave out.
Secondly, you may have an inaccurate, unclear or missing overall trend.
This is the overall idea of what is seen in the graphs, charts or diagram and it is required to score 7+.
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#5: Academic – Vocabulary score
One problem may be not having enough high-scoring vocabulary.
You need less common words to describe numbers
- most paltry instead of “lowest”
- skyrocketing markedly instead of “increasing a lot”
Many high-scoring words and phrases for this essay are taught in our 3 Keys IELTS course.
Another issue can be repetition.
Avoid using language from the topic, graphs or charts.
Instead, restate it in your own words.
Avoid repeating words and, instead, use synonyms or paraphrase.
#6: Academic – Cohesion/Coherence score
Many low-scoring essays have a lack of organization.
- Strategy: divide information in half in a logical way
Describe each half in its own body paragraph.
For example, if there are two pie charts, describe each in its own paragraph.
You may also have a lack of transition phrases.
It’s vital that you have linking phrases to transition between ideas.
Introduce your body paragraphs with a linking phrase.
For example, if the paragraph will be about sales of seasonal passes:
“Regarding seasonal passes, sales started at a meager $1,500 in 2002 before skyrocketing to $25,000 in 2009.”
Takeaway
If you are having trouble scoring 7 on IELTS Writing, you’re not alone!
There are specific score-killers keeping students from scoring 7 on IELTS Writing Task 1.
Today’s tips for both General and Academic writing exams will help you get the 7 you need!
For all strategies you need on IELTS, sign up for our online IELTS course!
What questions do you have from today’s episode?
Please leave a comment below.
