IELTS Writing

The Writing part is designed to assess candidates' written abilities as well as analytical and argumentative thinking. There are divergent types of the writing exercises, yet they serve the same purpose -  to evaluate one's writing skills and techniques.

In Academic IELTS you have to describe a diagram. It can be a bar chart, line graph, map, process, pie chart etc. 

In General IELTS you have to write either Formal or Informal Letter. It can be a complaint letter, request or invitation letter and so on.

In both General and Academic writing task 2 you have to write an academic essay. It can be 'Agree or Disagree', 'Advantages and Disadvantages', 'Cause and Solution' and so forth.

Whichever the task you're writing, you have to follow the criteria and instructions. IELTS writing is very precise and subtle. Every single essay topic contains two parts - a prompt and a question.

NEVER go off the topic. Read the prompt very carefully and make sure you understand every part of the task. Your writing will be marked according to the quality and precision of your answer.

Don't be focused on recalling or even inventing examples to support your ideas. You'll be marked based on your ability to explain your position and support and strengthen your academic essay with reasonable arguments.

Merely write a lot - at least 3 essays a day. This will help you come up with ideas quicker and provide stronger arguments regarding distinctive topics.

✅ Word Limit - 250 - 300 words (150 - 190 for Task 1)

✅ Fully answers the task

✅ Fully answers the question

✅ Provides a fully developed answer with relevant arguments

✅ Appropriately highlights key features and main trends (Academic Task 1)

✅ Presents a clear purpose with a suitable tone (General Task 1)

Take your time and pay attention to the requirements of the task. Different types of essay, diagram and letter require different sorts of approach. Make sure you understand the topic and its demands. When you start writing, be extremely careful with your arguments choice. Never leave an unfinished position and never change the theme. You'll get a penalty for going off the topic. 

In Academic Task 1 - Clearly present the bullet points, identify the most important features of the illustration and present accurately.

In General Task 1 - Maintain the purpose (request, complain etc.) and tone (formal, informal) of the writing and cover all the given aspects.

✅ Paragraphs are properly presented

✅ Ideas are logically and clearly developed

✅ Every paragraph has a clear, central topic

✅ Sentences are logically connected

✅ Cohesive devices are effectively used

Use proper paragraphing. Some kinds of the essay need 4 paragraphs, while others require 5. Clearly present the sequence of the ideas and arguments. Focus on a single notion in each passage and link sentences naturally.

In Academic Task 1 - Divide your main part into 2 paragraphs. If possible (there are more than 1 diagrams), compare graphs to each other.

NEVER describe them one after another. Always contrast and compare different graphs to one another.

In General Task 1 - Answer each question in a separate paragraph.

✅ A wide range of vocabulary is used 

✅ Uncommon lexical items are naturally and skilfully used 

✅ Repetition is avoided and synonyms are properly used

Try to use sophisticated vocabulary and avoid repetition. Always search for synonyms and higher level, uncommon lexical items, such as collocations, linkers, discourse markers, sentence openers, adverbial clauses, pronouns etc.

However, you have to use them naturally and in a correct context. Therefore, before using them in your writing, check them in online dictionaries beforehand.

✅ A wide range of structures are used

✅ Sentences are accurate and error-free

✅ Punctuation, articles, prepositions are correctly used

In order to achieve a high score in the grammar section, you have to use several types of g structures. For instance:

◾ Simple Sentences (the modern world is facing multiple threats)

◾ Compound Sentences (the modern world is facing multiple threat but the majority of people don't realize it)

◾ Complex Sentences (multiple issues, which are threating the modern world, seem not to be worrying the majority of people)

◾ Passive Sentences (the modern world is severely affected by the climate changes)

◾ Conditional Sentences (if people were more thoughtful, our planet would not suffer from the climate changes)

◾ Complex Gerunds and Infinitives (having advanced in technology, some countries economy soared)

(economists are not sure if there are enough financial resources for a country to implement a new project)

◾ Inversion (Not only has technology affected the communication between people, but it has also had a noticeable impact on the way people obtain the information)

◾ Rhetorical Question (would today's world be better, if the technology was not so evolved?)

Make sure you use these types of sentences in your writing

Check out IELTS vocabulary below👇