Taming down the Writing Section in IELTS

Right.. so, friends have been asking me to add some tiny details, especially within the writing sections. Pour a bit more of my experience in getting a good score in writing test. Writing is arguably one of the biggest constraint when it comes to IELTS test, as it doesn't exist in any other popular English Proficiency test; TOEFL & TOEIC. so like it or not when you are required to have an IELTS score, you've got to tame this "beast", the question is.. HOW? so here it is.. 

Before I get straight forward, I should add that this is an entirely based on my own experience and you might find it useful or not, (most likely you will) cause almost every person has their own way preparing for this kind of test. Like I said before there are many ways but there are almost no certain methods in scoring excellent in IELTS, particularly writing, but this has worked perfectly well for me, at least to score minimum 7.0, which is sublimely good one already for us Asians. Scoring at least 7.0 in writing (which arguably the most difficult band) will help you a lot if you aimed to score north of 7.0

So where to starts? let's break it down to several items to make it simpler..

⇃⇃ The foremost and the most helpful advice..

- Your writing skill is highly correlated with your reading habit..

Okay this one seems to be highly correlated with my previous post (take a look at it if u haven't) . This.. is entire true. wanna bet? Okay put it this way. Go take an IELTS preparation programme, anywhere.. like.. any-where on earth, then go ask the teacher about this. They will definitely say yes, it is highly correlated. The easiest analogy is.. "How would you expect to make a good piece of writing if you don't know how a good writing looks like?"

In IETLS writing test you are meant to create a writing essay which is not-only-good enough to read but also contain a good structure, few grammatical mistake, precise phrases usage, correct prepositions, and much more. It is a spider web, really. to be honest, it takes me two week of crazy practise and intensive reading to figure out the whole thing, and I almost went completely nuts. I took an IELTS preparation programme for two weeks, and whenever I did the writing practice at home, brought it to the class, the teacher always somehow painted-it-red. bunch of crosses here and there. Not to mention, I've been using English for over eleven years, (by the date I write this stuff) and I guarantee you not a single day passing ever since without me interacting with anything English, but still for me.. it was a mountain to climb. 

  

So, by all means, reading is important. not only to improve your English reading itself, but also to improve the whole aspects of ENGLISH. right! structure, prepositions, vocabularies, phrases, idioms, GRAMMARS, and more and more and more which are essential. on my prev post I've mentioned what kind of readings worth learned. so if up until now you're still using social medias, movies, or anything to learn proper English, especially in writing. (okay we're not gonna argue about this, it is entirely up to you).. they are good. but I've warned you, they are NOT gonna help you a lot in IELTS test. do a reading from a proper English writer, written for a proper English purposes. right... newspaper. there a lot out there to choose, whether it's in American or British spelling.

For me personally, I fancy The Guardian and BBC News.. for some of you, reading newspaper perhaps is a boring thing to do. BUT, Newspaper is the easiest English source we can access yet the most reliable one. The quality of the writings are well controlled. For a particular writing to be published in an international newspaper, name The Guardian, BBC News, The Sun, New York Times, CNN or anything,  it has to undergo some corrections, controls and  evaluation from the corps. so it is very rarely those big newspaper corp published a writing with bunch of grammatical errors, illiterate phrases, common mistakes and basic misconceptions. So, newspaper is a good place to start.. Of course, nowadays, those newspaper I have mentioned above are all available in app version. So you have absolutely NO EXCUSE to skip reading days. PLUS, those apps nowadays is well designed and completely allow you to customise your preferred topics. If you are a movie freaks, or football pundits, just put those topics on the top of the headlines.

From a technical perspective, these newspapers are written mostly by English natives. (mostly? not all. yes, I found once a good article in The Guardian written by Indonesian).. so, in some of the writings, you will encounter unfamiliar phrases, vocabularies, idioms, etc that will help you develop your English skills. by learning uncommon things that you. perhaps, haven't known before, it will stretch your vocabulary range. as well as getting you ready in writing with a more various phrases. try to absorb them and apply them later on during the test..

-  Understand the writing task type, pay attention to the structures - 

 ~Task ONE..

so here's a bit more technical advice.. In IELTS Test, you will be faced into two different type of writing tasks: Writing task one and writing task two. the types is different to each others and it is very crucial not to interchange between writing the two. these two types are significantly different and you will be asked to follow the instruction to create a precise writings. Understanding the writing type of the task thou, will also help you in managing the time you need to make both of the writing.

In the IELTS test, you will be given a total 60 minutes to create both writings. if you are taking an IELTS preparation programme, you will normally be advised to allocate 20 minutes to finish the writing task one and 40 minutes to finish writing task two. well, that is because the writing task two requires more word within the essay, and it is scored higher than the task one. your score of writing task two will be counted as double. so it is utterly important not to cracked in doing the writing task two, if you did. well.. let alone 7.0.

In writing task ONE, you'll be asked to create a 150 words writing within approximately 20 minutes. here, the examiner will provide you a bunch of facts. they are usually in form of pie charts, graphics, tables, figures, flowcharts, etc. Bear in mind, that in writing TASK ONE, you are not allowed to write down ANY opinion, as it will: a. waste your time.. b. deduct your score c. make your writing ineffective d. all of above. yes, D! all of above! in writing task one, the assessor will assess your writing based on the effectiveness, the precision, and the coherence. If you write down an opinion within the text, not only you will make your writing ineffective, but also you will make your score deducted heavily due to lack of coherence. So, pay attention to the chart, graphic, figure or whatever it is given, absorb the most noticeable information from those things, and write it down effectively with no opinion. yes, in writing task one you are not allowed to write down any of your own opinion in the essay. so, avoid writing down any thing that is not seen in the figures.

Graphic Example (Cambridge IELTS)

To make it easier, break your writing into three sections. first, opening paragraph. summarise the idea of the graphic and write down the overall information. End the opening paragraph with a thesis statement. then, second, write down the body paragraph. spot the most noticed information within the graph. it is absolutely okay for you to only write down the big picture, for example in figure above, it is okay for you to only explain the details of highest and lowest data from the chart, then explain the rest of the data in a simple ways.

the last, kill it with a good concluding paragraph. Do not make it too long. Concluding paragraph needs to be BRIEF, and it HAS TO summarise all things you've mentioned before. so if you write a paragraph with tons of words, it is not a concluding paragraph.

~Task TWO

Task two is a bit different than the first one. If in the writing task ONE you're asked to write down a brief essay based on the facts, in writing task TWO, you're demanded to write a longer essay. 250 words, in a form of argumentative essay. In writing task two you'll be given a condition.

Writing Task 2 (Cambridge IELTS)

Pay attention to the question, and understand what the assessor would like you to write. Normally, you'll be asked to agree or disagree to a certain situations, but it sometimes you'll also be asked to give your opinion to both sides or state your disagreement to both sides. Since it is an argumentative essay, you can write down pretty much anything you could probably think of. As long as you execute it right, I think there will be no problem in stating your own view to the condition given. Oh yes, in writing task two, there are no rights or wrongs. so, the assessor will NEVER judge your point of view. They assess you based on the quality of the writing NOT the side you pick.. For example if you are to choose between being a pro or con to the development of nuke tech. You might say: " I support all form of nuclear development programme, including its development to make weapons of mass destruction" Yes, you sound like a bloody extremist but in this test, as long as you write it in the right way, proper grammar, etc, it's all fine as rain..

Similar structures from writing task one can also be applied to writing task two. create an good opening paragraph by writing the overall view from give situations, and end it with thesis statement. Then, continue to write the body paragraph, state your opinion clearly. pick a side to whether you are agree or disagree with the given situation, and support it with a strong supporting opinion. and the last, same thing, kill it with a solid rock concluding paragraph.

IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER.. DO NOT.. please.. by all means..  write the essay in Less WORDS than instructed. this one is utterly crucial. the writing task one is meant to be written in 150 words and task two in 250 words, and by any circumstances, do not write in less words. It is perilous to your writing score, not to mentioned that the score in writing task two is a treasure.. it contains double value. SO, if you wrote the task two in less words than instructed, dock the showboat! you just bid an early farewell to 6,0 score..  forget about 7.0.. this sounds cruel, but I'm telling you truth.. the number of  words DOES matter.

-Never contract anything in IELTS writing, given it is a formal academic writing... Avoid, by any case, using informal expression in formal writings

In daily life we are familiar with contracted words: It's, We're, I'm, Don't.. Not only it is easier to write, but also it also allows us to write faster. However, during IELTS writing, you are advised not to do those kinda things. The worst case is, NEVER, in any form of formal writing (this include writing formal email to your colleagues, lecturers, professor, bosses or anyone who is professionally affiliated to you) use AIN'T. Yes it sounds cool, but using "ain't" in formal writing is a terrible disaster.  ain't fits to any contraction: do not, are not, is not, am not.. for example : "I bet 10 pounds he ain't gonna do that" sounds exactly the same with "I bet 10 pounds he isn't gonna do that". let me tell you it is absolutely fine in daily basis to do that, but in Academic or formal writing, it's big F-ing NO.. same case with the words: kinda, thou.. those are simplified words to sustain slang speaking and writing, but using those in academic writing will make your score free-falling from 300-feet right to the ground.

-Pay Attention to Singular and Plural Forms

Although it is likely to be a minor error, it'd still be better for us to minimise all errors as we could. plural and singular form are often enough becoming a pebble on the road. Take a look back to your old English school book and re-learn about these things. Don't be shy to learn the basic, because making a fundamental mistake in English proficiency test will also be considered as a form of under cooked English. remember noun preceded by a, WILL ALWAYS BE SINGULAR.. so, writing a word plural preceded by a, is a terrible DISASTERS ? wait ? what ? no I joke.. terrible disaster, of course. starts from now on don't write: a fruits, a women, a children, a cars or anything.. Pick one ! get rid of those a's or use a plural form..

Another tricky part of plural and singular form, expressions like: the number of, the group of, the bunch of, the couple of, the pair of.. and more.. are sometimes becoming a bear trap to most of writers out there (those whose English is not their main language).. crucial to remember that the form of VERB following those expressions should refer to THE expressions not the objects.

for example: "The number of people increase/increases significantly within the city in the past decades"

a bit flashback, VERB following a singular subjects must contain "s" behind it, and Verb following plural no. so: person WEARS, but, people WEAR.. Do you get it ? Yes! terrific.. moving on..  unfortunately this concept has often trapped the writers, leading to mass confusion. Let me light the way.. as I told you, in this case the VERB REFERS to the expressions..

look again: "The number of people increase/increases significantly within the city in the past decades"

focus on the VERB and the Expression.. Because "The NUMBER" is Singular.. right? One. The-Number. only one. so the verb must contain S. 

so the correct answer is: "The number of people increases significantly within the city in the past decades"

Compare with: "The numbers of cats and dogs that compete in the tournament is increasing during the past four years"

Since there are MORE than ONE NUMBER.. right? the number of cats, and the number of dogs which joined up into one: the numbers of cats and dogs.. so the VERB within the sentence must contain no "s"

You're welcome :)
alright! clear enough.. moving on.....

-Be constant in British or US Spelling

Whoa, this one is my favourite.. I've told you many times that being constant is important. In IELTS test, yes, most of the assessing institutions (here in Indonesia) are seemed to be British-English institutions such as, British Council, Indonesia Australia Language Foundation, but it is okay for you to write in American Spelling. Be thorough and consistent, never mix it up!

it is so silly to write: "I really like the color blue, and I have a very good sense of humour. I have a suit of armour which I used to wear when I attended a military program" Messed up.. so messed up..  

be it in all American spelling: "I really like the color blue and I have a very good sense of humor" or in all BRITISH Spelling: " I have a suit of armour which I used to wear when I attended a military programme"

and.. the foremost.. Match it with your speaking.. If you.. are.. intended to speak in British accent, you've got to write as well in a British Spelling. don't be silly. but if you speak in a normal American accent, be your writing in American spelling. Don't interchange between both, and keep it like that in your entire life. Apart of IELTS test you will do more writing, and keep this concept in mind.

here's a reliable reference of British and American Spelling .. check your spelling, see if you're doing it right!.. "You're welcome :)"

-Last but not least, vary up! make your writing more diverse with idioms and expression

Who doesn't like a cake with a cherry on top? idioms and expressions will make a cherry to your cake. but REMEMBER, even a basket-full of cherries won't help if you put it on a top of poorly baked cake. this is a touch of decoration to your writing, but first you gotta make sure that the fundamentals of English has been fulfilled in your writing. If you had mastered it, then you can think of further details such as idioms or expression. You might find some of those in my writings..

idioms like: over the roof, raining cats and dogs, once in a blue moon, barking up the wrong tree, taking down two birds in one stone and still more, (you know how to put those into sentence right? (: ) can be used to beautify the looks of your writing. thus, it makes you sounds more like natives.. which is sublimely good.


Wrapped up! that's it.. that's not all, but that covers up.. All fundamentals, you gotta learn it by yourself.. I can't possibly explain the whole tense, grammars, clauses, prepositions, and more and more and more here.. it would be like 500 pages more. but these tips, if you bear those in mind. well. I can see you people reach 6.0 - 6.5 range or even 7.0 - 7.5.

Til then, see you..


Lad with handful of dreams & wishful thinking.. "