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Learn From The Examiner

How to Pass the

IELTS Writing
Module

April

)ELTSBlog.com

Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthisbookmaybereproducedinanyformorbyanymeans,or
storedinadatabaseorretrievalsystemwithoutpriorpermissionoftheauthor.Making
copiesofanypartofthisbookforanypurposeotherthanyourownpersonaluseisa
violationof)nternationalCopyrightLaws.

LimitsofLiability/DisclaimerofWarranty

Theauthorandpublisherofthisbookandtheaccompanyingmaterialshaveusedtheirbest
effortsinpreparingthisprogram.Theauthorandpublishermakenorepresentationor
warrantieswithrespecttoaccuracy,applicability,fitnessorcompletenessofthisprogram.
Theydisclaimanywarranties expressedorimplied ,merchantabilityorfitnessforany
particularpurpose.Theauthorandthepublishershallinnoeventbeheldliableforany
lossorotherdamages,includingbutnotlimitedtospecial,incidental,consequentialor
otherdamages.Asalways,adviceofcompetentprofessionalsshouldbesought.

Thismanualcontainsmaterialprotectedunder)nternationalCopyrightLawsandTreaties.
Anyunauthorizedreprintoruseofthismaterialisprohibited.

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2

Table of Contents

. )ntroduction

. AcademicTask ofthe)ELTSWritingModuleExplained

. GeneralTrainingTask ofthe)ELTSWritingModuleExplained
. Task ofthe)ELTSWritingModuleExplained

. The mostcommonmistakesmadeby)ELTScandidatesandhowto
avoidthem.

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1. Introduction

Thisbookisdesignedtohelp)ELTScandidatesraisetheir)ELTSwritingscoresbyanentire
band,enablingthemtogetthemarktheyrequirefortheirfuturelife.Thisdocumenthas
been put together by a former )ELTS Writing Examiner who has experience of marking
many thousands of )ELTS writing tests and has been thereby able to identify the simple
errorswhichthemajorityofcandidatesmakeagainandagain.
After finishing reading this book you will be in a strong position to prepare yourself to
succeedinthe)ELTSWritingexam.Ofcourseifyoucombinetheknowledgeandwisdom
inside this book with completing an online Writing course at )ELTSBlog.com, you will
greatlyincreasetheeffectivenessofthisbookinhelpingtoraiseyourbandscore,andwill
bealmostcertaintoraiseyouroverallbandscoreforthe)ELTSwritingmodule.

)tisimportanttonotethatallmaterialsinthisbookarenotoriginal)ELTSmaterialsand
havebeenseparatelyproducedfor)ELTSBlog.com.

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2. How to Answer Part 1 of the Academic Writing Module

Part of the )ELTS writing module is an easily passed part of the test if you follow the
answeringsystemexplainedbelow.Althoughthedatapresentedinthequestionsforpart
are always different, they all follow a very similar pattern, and so long as you actually
readthequestionandtheinformationprovided,itshouldbeeasytoprovideanimpressive,
higherbandscoreanswer.

Tip 1:)tisimportanttorememberthatyouonlyhave hourforthewritingtest,soyou

mustmakesurethatyoudonotspendmorethan
worth %ofthemarksavailableforthewriting.

minutescompletingpart asitisonly

Tip 2:Youwilllosemarksifyoudonotwritetheminimumnumberofwordsrequiredfor
eachanswer.Thewordscounteddonotincludeanywordsofthequestiontitleandare:
Task :
Task :

words Tobesafeyoushoulddoatleast

Words Tobesafeyoushoulddoatleast

words

words

Writing Task 1
)ntheacademicmodule,Task isalwaysapresentationofdataonaspecifictopic.Thisis
presentedintheformofagraphoradiagram.Whateverthedatais,thequestionformatis
always the same. So to answer part question effectively and gain maximum possible
marksonachievingthetaskrequirementsyoushouldmakesurethatyoudothefollowing
inyouranswer:

.
.
.
.

AcademicTask Requirements
)ntroducethesubject
Explainthemainfeatureswithdata
Showtrendswithdata
Makeaconclusion

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Toshowhowthisworksinpractisewewilluseanexampleofatask stylequestion:
Example Question 1

Thebarchartbelowshowsthenumberofstudentsinthreedifferentcoursesfrom
.)dentifythemaintrendsandsummarizethedata.

. )ntroducethesubject

Thebarchartshowsstudentsattendingthreedifferentcoursesoverfouryearsfrom
to
.

Explanation:Themaintopicandreferencepointsareintroducedwithoutcopyingquestion
title.Sothewordswillcounttowardsthefinalwordcountfortask .

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. Explainthemainfeatureswithdata
)n
, . millionstudentstookcourseA.)n
, . millionpeopleattendedcourseA.
Movingontotheyear
, . millionpeopletookcourseA.Finallyin
thenumberof
studentstakingcourseAhadincreasedto . millionstudents.

)n
, . millionstudentstookcourseB.)n
, . millionpeopleattendedcourseB.
Movingontotheyear
, . millionpeopletookcourseB.Finallyin
thenumberof
studentstakingcourseBhaddecreasedto . millionstudents.

)n
, million students took course C. )n
, million people attended course C.
Movingontotheyear
, millionpeopletookcourseC.Finallyin
thenumbersof
studentstakingcourseAhadincreasedto millionstudents.

Explanation: All the data is presented clearly and without copying the task question, so
allowingallthewordstocounttowardsthefinalwordcount.(owever,tomaketheanswer
read more effectively and so increase the band score we need to change some of the
languageandthephrasesused.

Forexample:

. Explainthemainfeatureswithdata
)n
, . millionstudentstookcourseA.)n
, . millionpeopleattendedcourseA.
Movingontotheyear
, . millionpeopletookcourseA.Finallyin
thenumberof
studentstakingcourseAhadincreasedto . millionstudents.

Moving onto Course B, in 2001, 2.4 million students took the course. )n
, . million
peopleattendedcourseB.)n
, . millionpeopletookcourseB.By
,thenumber
ofstudentstakingcourseBhaddecreasedto . millionstudents.

, millionstudentstookthecourse.)n
TakingalookatthecourseCwecanseethatin
, millionpeopleattendedcourseC.)ntheyear
, millionpeopletookcourseC.
By
,thenumberofstudentstakingcourseAhadincreasedto millionstudents.

Explanation:Astherearedifferentwordsused,andthesentenceorderchanges,thewriting
becomeseasiertoread.
7

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. Showtrendswiththedata
)f we analyze the data we can see several trends emerging. Firstly, the number of
candidates taking course A has stayed almost the same over the four years, despite
decliningin
.ThenumberofcandidatestakingcourseBhasgraduallydeclinedover
the four years from . .million in
to . million in
. (owever the number of
candidatestakingcoursehasgrownfrom millionto millionoverthefouryears.

Explanation:Thekeyaimofexplainingtheoverall overthefouryears changein

numbersforeachofthe categoriesisincludedhere,avoidingrepeatingthesame
sentenceforms.
.Makeaconclusion
)nconclusionthen,onecansaythatoverthefouryearperiodfrom
to
beenanincreaseinoverallnumbersofstudentsattendingallthreecourses.

,therehas

Explanation:Theaimoftheconclusionistoexplainonekeytrendidentifiedfromallthe
differentdatatrends.
Soputtingallthedifferentpartstogetherwecanseewhatwouldgetan)ELTSbandscore
answerof forthisquestion:
Example question 2.

The bar chart below shows the number of students in three different courses from
2001-2004. Identify the main trends and summarize the data.

Number of Students Attending Three

Courses From 2001-2004
6
5
4
Students in
Millions 3

Course A

Course B

Course C

0
2001

2002

2003

2004

Years

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Sample Answer 1 (Band Score 8).

Thebarchartshowsstudentsattendingthreedifferentcoursesoverfouryearsfrom

to
.

)n
, . millionstudentstookcourseA.)n
, . millionpeopleattendedcourseA.
Movingontotheyear
, . millionpeopletookcourseA.Finallyin
thenumberof
studentstakingcourseAhadincreasedto . millionstudents.

MovingontoCourseB,in
, . millionstudentstookthecourse.)n
, . million
peopleattendedcourseB.)n
, . millionpeopletookcourseB.By
,thenumber
ofstudentstakingcourseBhaddecreasedto . millionstudents.

TakingalookatthecourseCwecanseethatin
, millionstudentstookthecourse.)n
, millionpeopleattendedcourseC.)ntheyear
, millionpeopletookcourseC.
By
,thenumberofstudentstakingcourseAhadincreasedto millionstudents.

)f we analyze the data we can see several trends emerging. Firstly, the number of
candidates taking course A has stayed almost the same over the four years, despite
decliningin
.ThenumberofcandidatestakingcourseBhasgraduallydeclinedover
the four years from . .million in
to . million in
. (owever the number of
candidatestakingcourseChasgrownfrom millionto millionoverthefouryears.

)nconclusionthen,onecansaythatoverthefouryearperiodfrom
to
,therehas
beenanincreaseinoverallnumbersofstudentsattendingallthreecourses.

Wordcount:

Sowhywouldtheaboveanswergetan)ELTSBand score?Becauseofthefollowing:
. Alltherequirementsofthetaskareachieved.
. Therearenospellingorgrammaticalerrors.

. The answer is over the minimum word count and the answer can be followed
effortlessly.
. Awiderangeofgrammarandvocabularyisused.

)tisimportanttonotethatonlyananswerwithpracticallynoerrorscangetan)ELTSband
.
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For it to become a , the writing would have to show an improvement in the style, and
evidence that the essay writer could use the most advanced grammatical structures and
vocabulary.Andtherewouldhavetobenoerrorsintheanswer.Theansweraboveuses
grammarandvocabularyappropriateforansweringthequestion.Anexampleofaband
answerwouldbethefollowing:

Sample Answer 2 (Band Score 9).

ThebarchartfeaturedinTask showsstudentsattendingthreedifferentcoursesovera
fouryeartimespanfrom
to
.

Firstofall,letstakealookatthedataprovidedinthebarchartoverthedurationofthe
fouryearperiod.)n
, . millionstudentshadpresumablyenrolledontocourseA.)n
,thisfigurehadincreasedbynearly percentto . million.Thenumberscontinued
to increase so that by
, . million people were at that time taking the course. A.
Finally in
the number of students taking course A had increased by another whole
millionto . millionstudents.

Moving onto course B, in

, . million students had decided to take the course. )n
,thenumbersnearlydoubledto . millionpeopleattendingthecourse.)n
, .
million people took course B. (owever in
the situation markedly changed the
numbersofstudentstakingcourseBhaddecreasedsignificantlyto . millionstudents.

TurningtothedataforcourseConecandiscernthatin
, millionstudentstookthe
course.Thisfigurestayedthesamefor
.Thenin
,therewasanotableriseto
million people taking course C. By
, the numbers of students taking course A had
increaseddramaticallyto millionstudents.

)fweanalyzethedatawecanseeseveraltrendsclearlyemerging.Firstly,thenumbersof
candidates taking course A has stayed virtually the same over the four years. This was
despite a decline and then gradual rebound in
to
.The number of candidates
takingcourseBhasgraduallydeclinedoverthefouryearsfrom . .millionin
to .
millionin
.(oweverthenumbersofcandidatestakingcoursehadmorethandouble
from millionto millionoverthefouryearperiod.

Toconcludethen,onecansaythatoverthefouryearperiodfrom
to
,therehas
beenanoverallincreaseinthenumbersofstudentsattendingallthreecourses.

Wordcount:

10

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Explanation:The)ELTSband answerthereforedoesthefollowing;
. )tanswersthequestionfullyandindetail.

. )tusesafullrangeofadvancedgrammaticalstructuresandvocabulary.
. Thestyleisfaultless.

Now you may have noticed something obvious about both Sample Answer and . Both
havewordcountswhicharemuchlongerthanrequired.)ntherealexamyouwillnothave
enoughtimetowritesuchdetailedanswerssoletslookatanansweroftherecommended
length
words whichwouldbegoodenoughtogetaband scorein)ELTS:
Sample Answer 3 (Band Score 6).

Thebarchartshowsstudentsattendingthreedifferentcoursesoverfouryearsfrom

to
.

Firstly, let us look at the data. )n

, . million students took course A. )n
, .
millionpeopleattendedcourseA.By
thishadincreasedto . million.)n
, .
million students took course B. This declined to . million students by
. )n
,
millionstudentsattendedcourseC.By
,thenumberofstudentstakingcourseAhad
increaseddramaticallyto millionstudents.

)fweanalyzethedatawecanseethatthenumberofcandidatestakingcourseAhasstayed
almostthesameoverthefouryears,evenwithadeclinein
.Thenumberofcandidates
takingcourseBhasgraduallydeclinedoverthefouryearsfrom . .millionin
to .
million in
. (owever the number of candidates taking course C has grown from
millionto millionfrom
to
.

)n conclusion then, one can say that from

to
, there has been an increase in
overallnumbersofstudentsattendingallthreecourses.

Wordcount
.

Explanation :SampleAnswer answersalltherequirementsofthequestionandshowsa

controlledrangeofgrammaticalstructuresandvocabulary.

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For Sample Answer to be able to get a , we would have to add a wider range of
grammaticalstructuresandvocabulary:

Sample Answer 4 (Band Score 7):

The bar chart provides an overview of students attending three different courses in four
yearsfrom
to
.

Firstly,letuslookatthedata.)n
, . millionstudentstookcourseA.Thishadshrunk
in
to . millionpeopleandthenreboundedin
to . million,slightlyaheadof
the
figures. )n
, . million students took course B. This low number had
increased slightly to . million students by
. )n
, million students attended
courseC.By
,thenumbersofstudentstakingcourseChadincreaseddramaticallyto
millionstudents,amassiveincreaseonthe
figures.

)fweanalyzethedatawecanseethatnumbersofcandidatestakingcourseAhasstayed
almostthesameoverthefouryears,takingintoaccountadeclinein
.Thenumberof
candidates taking course B has gradually declined over the four years from . .million in
to . millionin
.(oweverthenumbersofcandidatestakingthecourseChad
leptfrom millionin
to millionin
.

)nconclusionthen,onecansaythatfrom
to
,therehasbeenanotableincrease
inoverallnumbersofstudentsattendingallthreecourses.

Wordcount
.

Band 7 features:
.providesanoverviewof
.Thishadshrunk
.Rebounded
.slightlyaheadofthe
figures
.hadincreasedslightly
.amassiveincreaseonthe
figures
.takingintoaccountadecline
.notable

12

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(ereisabreakdownofthefourareasthatdecidewhatbandscorecandidatesareawarded
toforpart .

Tip. Unless the question is fully answered according to the explanation provided below,
thenthecandidatecannotgetmorethanaBand 5fortheiranswer.

MarkingCriteria
AnsweringtheQuestion

MarkingCriteria

Explanation
Were all the parts of the question
answered?Theseare
Sowasthereanintroductionofthe
datapresented
examplesofthedataprovided
ananalysisofdatagiven
andasummaryofthemaintrends
inthedata
(oweasywasittoreadtheessay?Wasit
logicalanddidithavethefollowing:
Anintroductionandaconclusion
Paragraphing
Good use of language connecting
thedifferentparagraphs
A logical progression towards the
conclusion did the essay develop
towardsaconclusion?
(ow varied and accurate was the
vocabulary?
(ow wide was the range of grammatical
structures uses, and how accurately and
appropriatelyweretheyused?

Style

Vocabularyused
Grammarused

13

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Detailedanalysisofthedifferentmarkingcriteria;

MarkingCriteria
AnsweringtheQuestion
TheTask academicanswershouldincludethefollowingsubsectionsinorderto
getaband orhigherscore

. Overviewofthetopic.
. Examplesofthedata.
. Analysisofthedata.
. Summaryofidentifiedtrendsinthedata.

MarkingCriteria
Style
TheTask academicanswershouldincludethefollowingsubsectionsinorderto
getaband orhigherscore

. Anintroductionandaconclusion.
. Aclearlogicalprogressionfromtheintroductiontotheconclusion.
. Effectiveuseofparagraphing.
. Appropriate use of cohesive devices language that links the different
paragraphstogether .

MarkingCriteria
VocabularyUsed
The Task academic answer should include effective and accurate use of
vocabulary. This language has to be in addition to the language provided by the
Question. The wider the range of vocabulary, so long as it is accurately used, the
higherthebandsscore.

MarkingCriteria
GrammarUsed
The Task academic answer should include effective and accurate use of
grammatical structures. This language has to be in addition to the language
providedbytheQuestion.Thewidertherangeofgrammaticalstructures,solong
asitisaccuratelyused,thehigherthebandsscore.
14

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Template for Answering

Academic Task 1

Connective devices
As mentioned in the style marking requirement, an important part of how highly graded
the Task answer is in the use of what are known as connective devices. These are the
linking word and phrase used to connect paragraphs together developing from the
introductiontotheconclusionofanessay.Demonstratingagooduseandcontrolofthese
featurescansignificantlyimprovebandscores.Whatfollowsisatemplatewithsuggested
connectivedevicesandwhentousethem:

15

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16

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3. How to Answer Part 1 of the General Training Test

Part of the )ELTS writing test is an easily passed part of the test if you follow the
answering system explained below. Although the question tasks presented in the
questionsforpart arealwaysdifferent,theyallfollowaverysimilarpattern,andsolong
as you actually read the question and the information provided, it should be easy to
provideanimpressive,higherbandscoreanswer.

Tip 1:)tisimportanttorememberthatyouonlyhave hourforthewritingtest,soyou

mustmakesurethatyoudonotspendmorethan
worth %ofthemarksavailableforthewriting.

minutescompletingPart asitisonly

Tip 2:Youwilllosemarksifyoudonotwritetheminimumnumberofwordsrequiredfor
eachanswer.Thewordscounteddonotincludeanywordsofthequestiontitleandare:
Task :
Task :

words Tobesafeyoushoulddoatleast

Words Tobesafeyoushoulddoatleast

words

words

Writing Task 1
)n the general training module, Task asks the candidate to write a letter for a specific
purpose. The question provides the reason why the candidate is writing the letter, the
persontoaddresstheletterto,andthreespecificpointsthathavetobementionedinthe
letter. To answer Part question effectively and gain maximum possible marks on
achieving the task requirements you should make sure that you do the following in your
answer:
GeneralTrainingTask Requirements
. Usethecorrecttoneandletterformat
. Mentionallthreepoints.
. Write at least
words, less than
words will cost
marks. This does not include the salutations the
beginningandclosingphrasesoftheletter.
17

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ToshowhowthisworksinpractisewewilluseanexampleofaTask stylequestion:

GeneralTrainingSampleQuestion

YouareplanningtostayinahotelinanEnglishspeakingcountry.Youarewritingtothe
hotel manager to find out some additional information. )n your letter ask the following
questions:

Whatthedailyrateforonestandardroomis
Whatthefacilitiesinthehotelare
Whetherthehoteloffersexcursionstothenearbytouristsites

Thereisnoneedtoincludenamesandaddresses.

Theletterisaformaloneasyouarewritingtoapersonwhoyoudonotknowsoyouneed
towriteinaformaltone.Aninformalletterisaletterthatyouwritetoapersonwhoyou
do know a friend, a colleague, an acquaintance . Below is a comparison between formal
andinformallanguageinletterwriting:

FormalWriting
DearSir/Madam,
)amwritingtoyoutorequestdetailsabout
)trust
)wouldappreciate
)wouldbegrateful
)wouldliketo
Confirm
Yourssincerely
Additionally
Providemewith
Establishment
)lookforwardtoreceivingyourreply

)nformalWriting

(i,
)wanttoknow
)hope
)want
)twouldbegreat
)dliketo
Check
Bye
Also
Giveme
Business
(opetohearfromyousoon

So now that we know that it is a formal letter, we can then write the answer after
identifyingwhatinformationgoesintotheanswer seehighlightedbelow :
18

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GeneralTrainingSampleQuestion

YouareplanningtostayinahotelinanEnglishspeakingcountry.Youarewritingtothe
hotel manager to find out some additional information. )n your letter ask the following
questions:

Whatthedailyrateforonestandardroomis
Whatarethefacilitiesinthehotel
Whetherthehoteloffersexcursionstothenearbytouristsites

Thereisnoneedtoincludenamesandaddresses.

(ereishowtheanswermightlook:

GeneralTrainingTask ,SampleQuestion
Answer BandScore :

DearSir/Madam,

) am writing to you to request details about your hotel and its services. ) plan to stay at
yourestablishmentinonemonthstimeandthereareanumberofpointswhich)wouldbe
gratefulifyoucouldclarifyforme.Thiswillallowmetoplanmyholidayinyourcountry
moreeffectivelyandtherebygivemetheopportunitytomaximisemyvacationtime.

Firstofall,couldyoupleaseinformmeastowhatthecurrentdailyrateisforonestandard
room.)fthequotedpriceissatisfactorythen)wouldliketoproceedtoreservetheroom
foroneweekfromthefirstofMarchtotheeighthofMarch.

Secondly,)wouldappreciateitifyoucouldadditionallyprovidemewithdetailsofwhatthe
hotelfacilitiesareatyourestablishment.Couldyoupleaseconfirmformethatyouhavea
gymandaswimmingpoolfortheuseofthehotelguests.

Finally,)aminterestedinvisitingthelocaltouristsitesandsowouldgreatlyappreciateitif
you could provide me with details of any excursions which your hotel may run to these
destinations.

)lookforwardtoreceivingyourreply.

Bestregards,

Wordcount:

19

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Theaboveanswerismadeupofthreeparts:
Dear
Sir/Madam

. )ntroduceyourself:whoyouareandwhyyouarewriting

)amwritingtoyourequestdetailsaboutyourhotelanditsservices.)plantostayatyour
establishment in one months time and there are a number of points which ) would be
gratefulifyoucouldclarifyforme.Thiswillallowmetoplanmyholidayinyourcountry
moreeffectivelyandtherebygivemetheopportunitytomaximisemyvacationtime.

. Talkaboutthethreekeypointsintheexamquestion
Firstofall,couldyoupleaseinformmeastowhatthecurrentdailyrateisforonestandard
room.)fthequotedpriceissatisfactorythen)wouldliketoproceedtoreservetheroom
foroneweekfromthefirstofMarchtotheeighthofMarch.

Secondly,)wouldappreciateitifyoucouldadditionallyprovidemewithdetailsofwhatthe
hotelfacilitiesareatyourestablishment.Couldyoupleaseconfirmformethatyouhavea
gymandaswimmingpoolfortheuseofthehotelguests.

Finally,)aminterestedinvisitingthelocaltouristsitesandsowouldgreatlyappreciateitif
you could provide me with details of any excursions which your hotel may run to these
destinations.

. Finishtheletterinanappropriatemanner
)lookforwardtoreceivingyourreply.

Yours
Sincerely,

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(ereisabreakdownofthefourareasthatdecidewhatbandscorecandidatesareawarded
toforpart .

Tip. Unless the question is fully answered according to the explanation provided below,
thenthecandidatecannotgetmorethanaBand 5fortheiranswer.

MarkingCriteria
AnsweringtheQuestion

MarkingCriteria

Explanation
Were all three parts of the question
answered?

(oweasywasittoreadtheletter?Wasit
logicalanddidithavethefollowing:
Appropriate tone formal or
informal
Appropriatestyle aletterstyle
Abeginningandanending
Paragraphing
Good use of language connecting
the different paragraphs cohesive
connectors

(ow varied and accurate was the

vocabulary?
(ow wide the range of grammatical
structures uses was, and how accurately
andappropriatelyweretheyused?

Style

Vocabularyused
Grammarused

Detailedanalysisofthedifferentmarkingcriteria:

MarkingCriteria
AnsweringtheQuestion
The Task general training answer should include the following subsections in
ordertogetaBand 6 or higher score

. Thereasonfortheletterismadeclear
. Allthreepointsinthequestionarementionedintheanswer

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MarkingCriteria
Style
TheTask academicanswershouldincludethefollowingsubsectionsinorderto
getaBand 6 or higher score

. Anappropriateintroductionandanending.
. Effectiveuseofparagraphing.
. Appropriate use of cohesive devices language that link the different
paragraphstogether .
. Anappropriatetone formalorinformal isused.
. Appropriatestyle aletterstyle .

MarkingCriteria
VocabularyUsed
The Task academic answer should include effective and accurate use of
vocabulary. This language has to be in addition to the language provided by the
Question. The wider the range of vocabulary, so long as it is accurately used, the
higherthebandsscore.

MarkingCriteria
GrammarUsed
The Task academic answer should include effective and accurate use of
grammatical structures. This language has to be in addition to the language
providedbytheQuestion.Thewidertherangeofgrammaticalstructures,solong
asitisaccuratelyused,thehigherthebandsscore.

GeneraltrainingTask alsohasinformalstylesoflettertowrite.(ereisanexample
questionfollowedbyanexampleanswer:

GeneralTrainingSampleQuestion

YouareplanningtostaywithafriendinanEnglishspeakingcountry.Youarewritingto
your friend to find out some additional information. )n your letter ask the following
questions:

(owlongshouldyouplantostayfor
Whatyoushouldbringwithyou
Whatyouwouldliketodothere

Thereisnoneedtoincludenamesandaddresses.
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GeneralTrainingSampleQuestion

Answer BandScore :

(i____,

) hope you are well. ) am writing to you to check a few details about my planned trip to
comeandstaywithyounextmonth.

Firstofall,howlongdoyouthinkthat)shouldplantostaywithyou?Whenwelastspokeit
was a little bit unclear and ) would like to confirm this in advance of booking my flights
over to your country. ) know that you said two weeks was fine, but are you sure that it
wouldbeokformetostayforthatlongatyourhome?

Secondly,doyouhaveanyrecommendationsaboutthetypesofthingsthat)shouldbring
withme?)amplanningonbringingtheusualtravelitemsthat)takeonholidaywithme,
butitoccurredtome,thatitmightbealittlebitcoldinyourcountryatthemoment.Doyou
thinkthat)shouldbringwarmclotheswithme?

Finally,)knowthatwehavetalkedgenerallyaboutdoingthingswhen)arrive,but)have
read about a tourist attraction near your home. ) am very interested in going to see this
sight,andafter)findthemagazineagain)willsendyouanotherletterwiththenameofthe
attractiononit.

Well,)reallylookforwardtoseeingyousoon.

Allthebest,

Wordcount:

Connective devices
As mentioned in the style marking requirement, an important part of how highly graded
the Task answer is in the use of what are known as connective devices. These are the
linking words and phrases used to connect paragraphs together developing from the
introductiontotheconclusionofanessay.Demonstratingagooduseandcontrolofthese
features can significantly improve band scores. On the next page is a template with
suggestedconnectivedevicesforansweringGeneralTrainingTask .Allthedevicesshould
beusedatthebeginningoftherespectiveparagraphs.
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4. Writing Task 2
For both Academic and General Training Modules, the Writing Task is the same. The
answerisworth %oftheavailablemarksforwriting,soyoushouldallow minutesto
complete Task . You are presented with a discussion topic and asked to discuss it and
presentyourownopiniononit.Thequestionsmayvary,butthetaskrequirementsalways
remainthesame,whichare:

AcademicandGeneralTrainingTask Requirements
. Usethe correcttone and essayformat an introductionto
thetopic,ananalysisofbothsidesoftheargumentanda
conclusionwherethewritergivestheirownopinion.
. Alwaysuseparagraphing.
. Write at least
words, less than
words will cost
marks. Thisdoesnotincludetheessaytitle.Sodonotcopy
theessaytitletogainextrawordlength.

Tip:Everyessayquestionwillhaveatleasttwopossibleviewsforandagainstthe

discussiontopic.Togaintopmarksyouneedtopresentbothviewsbeforeprovidingyou
ownviewpointintheconclusion.
Examplesofessayquestionsandanswers:

Allowfor minutestocompletethistask.

Writeaboutthefollowingtopic:

It is more important to invest in further education rather than to gain work

experience after finishing university in order to find a good job.
To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Givereasonsforyouranswerandincludeanyrelevantexamplesfromyourownknowledge
orexperience.

Write
wordsormore.

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Toanswerthisquestionweneedtoidentifythekeypointsasfollows:
Key points:
Opinion 1: Important to invest in further education.
Opinion 2: Gain work experience after finishing university.
To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Asampleanswercouldlooklikethis:

Answer BandScore

Asthenumbersofuniversitygraduatescontinuestoincrease,itcanseemthatthereisno
alternativebuttocontinueonesstudiesinordertobemoreattractiveinthejobmarket,
ratherthantoseektogainpracticalworkexperience.Toseehowvalidthisargumentis,we
havetolookatbothsidesofthedebate.

Firstofall,letstakealookatthefirsttraditionalrouteforuniversitygraduates.Themain
reasonwhypeopleundertakeanundergraduatedegreeistogivethemacompetitiveedge
inthejobmarket,asgainingadegreeisseenaguaranteeofacertainlevelofmentalability.
)tisthenseenasnecessarytocombinethisintellectualtrainingwithpractical,realworld
workexperienceinordertobecomeaviableandstrongcontenderinthejobmarket.

Thealternativeviewhoweverarguesthatitisnolongerenoughmerelytopossessa
standarduniversitydegreeandpracticalworkexperience.Thesheernumbersof
graduatesenteringthelabourmarketeachyearmeansthatitisvitaltogainanadditional
competitiveedgewhenapplyingforthemoresoughtafterpositionswithselective
employers.

Sowheredoesthetruthlie?Ontheonehandthereisthetimehonouredviewthathaslong
beentheconventionalandpracticalroutetocareersuccessforyoungambitious
individuals.Ontheotherhand,theviewthatthejobmarkethasneverbeenmore
competitiveanditisessentialtoaspiretomuchhigherlevelsofcompetitiveexcellence.
Withcurrentlackofjobsavailableinthelabourmarketitseemsinevitablethatonehasto
gainadditionalqualificationswhichwillprovetoapotentialemployerthatoneistheright
candidateforthatveryjob.
Wordcount

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(ereisanothersampletask question:

Allowfor minutestocompletethistask.

Composeanessayonthefollowing:

Some people believe that television is a powerful educational tool. Other people
believe that television is nothing more than mindless entertainment and should be
discouraged.
To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?
Discussbothviewsandgiveyourownopinion.Provideexamplesandsupportingevidence
tobackupyouropiniononthissubject.
Write

wordsormore.

Toanswerthisquestionweneedtoidentifythekeypointsasfollows:

Key points:

Opinion 1: Television as a powerful educational tool.

Opinion 2: Television as mindless entertainment to be discouraged.
Discuss both views and give your own opinion.

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Asampleanswercouldlooklikethis:

)t seems that television isever present in our society. Perhaps because of its popularity,
therearewidelydifferingviewsastowhetherthemediumoftelevisionisapositiveforce
oranegativeforceinsociety.

Ontheplusside,thereisacommonlyheardviewthattelevisionisofgreatimportanceto
society as it acts as an educational tool for the general public. Television, it is argued,
makes the boring exciting through its ability to engage us with both sound and visual
stimulation.Peoplerespondwelltothevisualstorytellingpoweroffastpacedtelevision
programmesandarebetterabletoretaintheknowledgelearnedthroughtheexperience.
The use of television programmes to teach children how to read and write is a good
exampleofthis.

Alternatively, some people believe that television is nothing more than mindless
entertainment. )t is argued by such people that television acts as a substitute for actual
learning.Thatinsteadofabsorbinginformationatonesownspeedthroughthemediumof
readingforexample,oneisforcefedthebriefestofinformationatafastpace,makingin
depth analysis difficult. An example of this would be the comparison between television
newsandanewspaper.Anewspapercanbereadandabsorbedatonesownpaceandhas
theabilitytogointomuchgreaterdepththantelevision.

)n conclusion then, one can see that the rapid superficiality of television is in fact no
substituteforindepthcoverageprovidedbyothermedia,suchasthewrittenform.

Wordcount:

(ereisabreakdownofthefourareasthatdecidewhatbandscorecandidatesareawarded
toforpart .

Tip. Unless the question is fully answered according to the explanation provided below,
thenthecandidatecannotgetmorethanaBand 5fortheiranswer.

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MarkingCriteria
AnsweringtheQuestion

MarkingCriteria

Explanation
Were all three parts of the question
answered?

(oweasywasittoreadtheessay?Wasit
logicalanddidithavethefollowing:
Appropriate tone formal or
informal
Appropriatestyle anessaystyle
Abeginningandanending
Paragraphing
Good use of language connecting
the different paragraphs cohesive
connectors

(ow varied and accurate was the

vocabulary?
(ow wide the range of grammatical
structures uses was, and how accurately
andappropriatelyweretheyused?

Style

Vocabularyused
Grammarused

Detailedanalysisofthedifferentmarkingcriteria:

MarkingCriteria
AnsweringtheQuestion
TheTask answershouldincludethefollowingsubsectionsinordertogeta Band
6 or higher score

. Overviewofthetopic.
. Exampleandanalysisofthefirstviewpoint.
. Exampleandanalysisofthesecondviewpoint.
. Conclusionwiththewritersownopinionbaseduponthetwo
analysedviewpoints.

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MarkingCriteria
Style
TheTask answershouldincludethefollowingsubsectionsinordertogetaBand
6 or higher score

. Anintroductionandaconclusion.
. A clear logical progression from the introduction to the
conclusion.
. Effectiveuseofparagraphing.
. Appropriate use of cohesive devices language that links the
differentparagraphstogether .

MarkingCriteria
VocabularyUsed
The Task answer should include effective and accurate use of vocabulary. This
languagehastobeinadditiontothelanguageprovidedbytheQuestion.Thewider
therangeofvocabulary,solongasitisaccuratelyused,thehigherthebandsscore.

MarkingCriteria
GrammarUsed
The Task answer should include effective and accurate use of grammatical
structures. This language has to be in addition to the language provided by the
Question.Thewidertherangeofgrammaticalstructures,solongasitisaccurately
used,thehigherthebandsscore.

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Tip:ThekeytosuccessfullyansweringTask istouseanessaystylewithanintroduction,
ananalysisofbothpointsofviewandaconclusionbasedupontheevidencepresented.To
dothissuccessfullyitisessentialtousethefollowing:

paragraphing

aformalstyle

anintroductionandaconclusion
presentationofbothviewpoints
yourownopinion
towriteover

words,notincludingtheessaytitle

Togetthehighermarksitisagainimportantuseconnectivedevicestolinktheparagraphs
together.Belowisalistofhigherlevelconnectivedevicesandwhentousethem.
Anoverviewofasuccessfultask answerwouldlooklikethis:

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Tip:Avoidusingclichswherepossibleaclichisasetphrasetodescribeasituation.
Classicexamplesarethefollowing:

Clich
Everycoinhastwosides.

Thisisahotbuttontopic
Franklyspeaking
Tolookforgreenerpastures

Tohaveabrightfuture
Therapiddevelopmentoftechnology
Therapiddevelopmentoftheeconomy

Explanation
Explaining that there are two sides to an
argument
Describingacontentiousissue
Togiveanhonestviewpoint
To improve ones chances in a new
environment
Toimproveonesfuturelife
Thespeedoftechnologicalchange
Thespeedofeconomicchange

Below is a list of clichs and the suitable highlevel language that can be used instead to
gainratherthanlosemarks.
Clich
Everycoinhastwosides.
Thisisahotbuttontopic
Franklyspeaking
Tolookforgreenerpastures

Tohaveabrightfuture
Therapiddevelopmentoftechnology
Therapiddevelopmentoftheeconomy

Explanation
Everyargumenthastwosides
Thisisahighlycontentiousissue
(onestlyspeaking
Toseeknewbetteropportunitiesoverseas

Togreatlyimproveonesfuturechances
Thespeedoftechnologicalprogress
Thespeedofeconomicprogress

Soifyoubeartheaboveinmindandpracticeansweringtheabovequestions Task and

both within a hour time limit, you will greatly improve your chances of passing the
Writing module. )ndeed, if you practice using the above techniques to answer the
individualpracticewritingtestsonthe)ELTSblog.comwebsite eachwithaseparateTask
andTask question ,andtheincorporatetheteachers'feedbackthereisnoreasonwhy
youshouldnotgetahighbandscoreinthe)ELTSWritingmodule.

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5. The 10 Key Mistakes Made by IELTS Candidates Taking the IELTS

Writing Exam
)ELTS candidates frequently fail to get the score they require because they make some
basicmistakes.UnlessyouareaForeign)ELTSexamineryoudonotknowwhatthesebasic
mistakes are. )ELTS preparatory courses teach you how to pass the )ELTS writing exam
fromthestudent'sperspective.Nowforthefirsttimeyoucanlearnhowtopassthe)ELTS
writing exam from the perspective of the person who gives out the scoresthe )ELTS
examiner.
Lets take a look at the ten most common and easily solved problems made by )ELTS
candidatestakingthe)ELTSwritingExam:
10 Key mistakes Made By IELTS Candidates taking the IELTS writing Test
Mistake
Explanation
. Writingdownmemorisedanswers
. Notwritingenough

. Notwritinglikeanindividual

. Beinginadvertentlyracist
. Usingclichs
. Writinginappropriately
. Notusingparagraphing

. Notansweringthequestion

. Using
vocabulary
and
inappropriately
. Notmanagingexamtimewell

Amemorisedansweriswrittenbyanonnative
speaker is easy to recognize and will stop you
frompassingtheexam
Failuretowritetheminimum amountofwords
meansthatthecandidatewillbemarkeddown
Although it is common to think as part of a
groupin manycountries,mostexaminerscome
from Western countries where they expect
people write personal or individual answers to
questions.
Describingoneethnic/nationalgroupasunique
and deserving special treatment is considered
offensivebypeoplefromWesterncountries.
Aclichisaphraseusedtodescribeasituation
suchas everycoinhastwosides whichisover
usedbymanycandidates.Chooseyourownway
ofdescribingsomething.
Unlessthequestionasksyoutowritetoafriend,
your answers should always be written
formally.
)t is essential to use paragraphing in Task of
theWritingexam.
Always answer try to answer the question,
otherwiseyouwillnotpasstheexam
phrases Do not use vocabulary and phrases unless you
knowhowtousetheminawrittenanswer.
)f you take longer than the recommended
amountoftimeoneachtask,youwillrunoutof
timetowriteagoodanswer.
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Andherearethewaystosimplyavoidtheseproblems:

10 Key mistakes Made By IELTS Candidates taking the IELTS Writing Test
Mistake
Solution
. Writingdownmemorisedanswers
Repeatedlypractisewritingdownyourown
answerswiththefeedbackfrom
)ELTSBlog.comteachersyouwilllearntobe
able to write your own highscoring
answers
. Notwritingenough
Practise writing the minimum word
amountsintherequiredtimelimits
Task
words in minutes. Task
wordsin minutes.
. Notwritinglikeanindividual
Avoid writing things such as "because ) am
yourownnationality )think...
. Usingclichs
AvoidusingEnglishsayingswhichyouhave
not seen used by native English speaking
writers.
. Beinginadvertentlyracist
Recognizing that there are many different
types of people in the world and that there
no one country or ethnic group can be the
bestatanything.Sowritingsomethingsuch
as the following would be acceptable: The
yourownnationality haveareputationfor
beingveryhospitable...
. Writinginappropriately
Use formal speech always, unless
specifically told otherwise in the Task
question this applies only to General
Trainingcandidates
. Notusingparagraphing
Practise writing essays with paragraphing
andusingconnectivedevices.
. Notansweringthequestion
Alwaystrytoanswerthequestion.
. Using
vocabulary
and
phrases Practise using new vocabulary and phrases
inappropriately
by identifying them in material written by
native English speaking writers, such as
newspapersandmagazines.
. Notmanagingexamtimewell
Practise writing your answers under timed
conditionsremember it is minutes for
Task and minutesforTask .

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Final word

)tisstronglyrecommendedthatyoufirstofallmemorizetheinformationinthisbookand
thenpractiseusingitthroughdoingcontrolled hourtests.

Remember,ifyouplancorrectly,andrepeatedlypractice,thenthewritingtestisoneofthe
surestwaystoachieveahighbandscoreinthe)ELTStest.
Goodluck!

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