The top 10 game-changing secret tips for the IELTS writing test.

ielts tips in writing

Are you always tirelessly preparing and unable to get help to do well on the IELTS writing test?   This article shares the top 10 beneficial IELTS writing tips to increase your confidence level.  Most of the students fail the writing test because they don’t know how to organize each section of the test.  Students fail to organize answers in the way an examiner wants them to.   If you know these ten tips, you will gain deep knowledge to improve your writing test scores.  These tips will give breakthrough results for an IELTS aspirant.  From time management to boosting vocabulary and essay structure, many crucial hacks are essential for your IELTS writing.   

After reading this article, solve all the confusion of writing tests.  We have presented each topic to you through examples.

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    IELTS writing test score criteria

    IELTS writing test score criteria

    1. The marking system in IELTS writing task 1 and task 2 depends on four factors. They are: 

      • Task achievement: This proves the writing skill of the students. It shows how effectively you can write. And how well you have represented the answer. 

      • Coherence and cohesion: It organizes the body structure of the writing part. Coherence and cohesion give your writing a natural look.

      • Lexical Resources: Lexical Resources: It proves how effectively you use vast vocabulary and phrases in a sentence. When you improve in this part, your chance grows to a better score.

      • Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Control the proper use of grammar. Be careful when using grammar in sentences.

    Writing test question format

    Section

    Time

    Task

    Word quantity

    Writing task 1

    60 min

    Line chart, pie chart, bar chart, Isotherm, table, flow chart diagram

    Around 150 word

    Writing task 2

    Essay

    Around 250 word

    Tip 1: Analyze the question carefully

    Analyze the question carefully

    The majority of students make one mistake every time: they don’t send timed questions for analysis. As a result, the students can’t correctly understand the concept of the question. When the examiner asked questions, they failed to identify the questions. Below are some Instructions about this topic.

    Instruction
    1. Identify the main topic.

    It’s essential to identify the question’s actual purpose. For example 

     

    Cycling to the office every day will keep your body healthy.

    • Do you agree or disagree with this statement?
    • To what extent do you agree or disagree? 
    • Discuss both points of view and explain your own opinion.

    Now, many students consider the primary keywords “Cycling” and “office every day.” They find the wrong keywords.

    2. Looking Keyword

    The question’s main keywords are “Cycling”  and “body health.” After finding the keyword, you keep and highlight the word on the answer by making a fantastic sentence. Your topic must include keywords and a clear opinion so that you write the answer, but don’t ignore the question’s central concept inside the topic. It would help if you tried to keep your opinion on the complete essay.

    3. Analyze the question

    Try to analyze the question carefully. It helps you generate your thinking about the relevant topic.

    Tip 2: Influential essay structure

    An influential essay structure has four parts. There is an introduction, body paragraph 1, overview statement, paragraph 2, and conclusion.

    1. Introduction

    1. Write answer questions starting with paraphrasing; it's mandatory. So that the examiners looking at your answer to every question can easily understand your answer's primary motive; through paraphrasing, the examiner can quickly know what is in your answer.  For example

    Normal statement: 
    "The graph below shows the number of trees that are alive and the number of trees dead in one country between 2011 and  2018."

    Paraphrased statement:
    "The line graph shows trends of alive and dead trees in a particular country between 2011 and  2018."

     2. Write your own opinion about the topic.

    3. And last, write down 2 thesis statements.

    2.  overview statement:

    1. An overview statement is also vital in achieving good marks in writing tasks. Because it highlights your question's specific topic, you will highlight general trends in the answers overview statement.

     2. Writing task 1 needs to give an overview of the topic. 

    3. Within 20-25 words, complete the overview statement.

    3. Body paragraphs 1 and 2:

    1.  Notice where fluctuations change. Also, Notice eye-catching changes. [for writing task 1]

    2.  The body paragraph gives the examiner an idea of your essay
     [for writing task 2]

    3. However, you will make examples and explanations to support the topic sentence.

    Conclusion:

    Highlight one important event sentence. Try to highlight the topic that gets the most attention.

    Tip 3: Use a variety of vocabulary and sentence structures

    The variety of words in every sentence makes your writing task much more enjoyable. So, increase your vocabulary. Do you have any idea “how to increase your vocabulary”? Here, we share some tricks.

    1. Read more English books, articles, newspapers, and magazines.  
    2. Watch English news reports on TV or YouTube, such as BBC News, Al Jazeera, and NDTV News. Also, you can see other English news channels and movies. 
    3. Write your learned new words in a journal with meanings.  Also, make sentences with the words.  
    4. Learn at least ten words per day.  Also, learn the synonyms of these ten words.  Use your learned words in daily life.  
    5. Idioms represent your ideas clearly to the examiner.  But don’t use too many idioms, as it spoils the beauty of your writing. Some idioms
    IdiomsMeaning
    Run-of-the-millAverage
    A hot potatoControversial topic
    Miss the boatMiss the opportunity
    Over the moonTo be delight

    Tip 4: Pay attention to grammar and punctuation

    Pay attention to grammar and punctuation

    To do well in the IELTS writing test, you must write with correct grammar in the sentence.  Many people know English well but don’t care about grammar.  Some tips to improve grammar are:

    1. You can follow a basic sentence structure like Subject +verb+objects. For example 

    “I live in Dhaka.” 

    1. You can convert this simple structure into a compound sentence using or, and, yet, so, nor, and many connectors. Example: 

    “Now I live in Australia, but I am from Bangladesh.”

    1. Try to make your simple sentences correct. 
    2. Put the punctuation marks correctly with commas, full stops, and other punctuation. 
    3. Subordinate conjunction adds. Like

    “Before I came to  Paris, I traveled to Disney Land.” 

    The most common grammatical mistake : 

    Verb agreement: I am/ was/ have, she/ he is/ was/ has, they are/ were/ have.  

    Wrong: He want to go to Dhaka.  
    Right: He wants to go to Dhaka.  

    Tense: Don't use Tense correctly. Example: 

    Wrong: "I go to Dhaka yesterday" 
    Right: "I went to Dhaka yesterday"

    Article: You don't make a mistake while adding the correct article to the Sentence. 

    Wrong: " I  am living in the  Gazipur"
    Right: "I am living in Gazipur" 

    Preposition: Preposition wrong. 

    Wrong: "I go at Dhaka on Friday" 
    Right: "I go to Dhaka

    Tip 5: The importance of coherence and cohesion

    Another essential thing to boost a good band score on the IELTS writing test is coherence and cohesion.  

    Coherence: It is organizing ideas logically while writing.  

    • Each sentence must be related to the question. 
    • Do not add unnecessary words while writing. 
    • You can add linking words to increase the sentence.  

    Cohesion: This is the grammatical relationship between a sentence.    

    • Through cohesion, the reader can easily understand the main motive of your answer.
    • The conjunction can smoothly connect the candidate’s ideas and input on the answer sheet.

    “After the sorrow, always comes happiness”

    Tip 6: How to time management

    How to time management

     Within 1 hour, you should complete  IELTS writing task 1 and task 2.  You can answer task 1 and task 2 entirely in 1 hour if you are good at time management.  Here are the ideas on how to manage your time: 

    • Task 2 has more numbers than Task 1, so finish Task 1 quickly and give more time to the task. For example

    Time distribution

    • Task 1 = 20 minutes
    • Task 2 = 40 minutes

    If you divide the time this way, it is enough for you.  

    • Writing task 1:
    • Plane: 2-3 mins
    • Writing: 10-15 mins
    • Essay writing time management:
    • Plane: 5 mins
    • Introductions: 5 mins
    • Body paragraph 1: 10 mins
    • Body paragraph 2:  10 mins
    • Conclusion: 5 mins
    • Checking: 5 min

    It would help if you first answered those questions, which will take less time than you need to write.  Use the remaining time on the subsequent questions that are problematic.

    Tip 7: Use complex sentence

    The use of complex sentences in writing makes your writing much more lively.  If you aim to achieve a nine-band score, use your answer sheet for complex sentences.  Compose the entire text with one type of structure.  Then, the beauty of writing will increase. 

    Tip 8: Don't do this

    Don't do this

    Avoid this

      •  Do not use numbers, symbols, or abbreviations ( 1,2,&,+,-)
      • Do not use headlines or subheadlines.
      • Do not underline. 
      • Don’t end the paragraph with one sentence.
      • Don’t overuse familiar vocabulary. Put a variety of words in sentences.
      • Don’t make mistakes in tenses. 
      • Overuse of adverbial phrases

    Tip 9: Trace your answer

    Before you are writing, think about what to write.  Think following the question motive. Don’t write anything inconsistent because the examiner checks the sharpness of your thinking power in the writing task.   The examiner checks how logically you can present your ideas. If you write inconsistently, the reader thinks wrong about you. He will give you low marks on your writing.

    Tip 10: Contact a study partner

    Find people who are preparing for the IELTS exam like you.  Doing your preparation with an IELTS candidate partner will help you prepare better.  If you don’t get a partner, stay connected with your teacher always to get his advice. Give more and more mock tests, and you will improve a lot. Compare the number of your partners.

    Conclusion and final tips for success in the IELTS Writing section

    The IELTS writing test is very challenging. But if you follow the tips well, you will find this exam very easy if you know the correct method. These ten tips can make your IELTS writing journey much more accessible. Keep in mind one thing: don’t panic at the exam time. It will hurt your exam. On exam day, you should relax and focus entirely on your exam.