Students report their greatest fear concerning the IELTS test is how to do well in IELTS Writing Task 2.
IELTS Writing Task 2 is the second part of the writing test. This section of the exam is when you have to write an essay in response to a point of view, argument or problem. You should write this essay in formal academic English, make sure it has at least 250 words and ensure you complete it within 40 minutes.
Key steps to writing a Band 7 IELTS Writing Task 2 Essay
- Make sure you understand the question
Make sure you fully understand the question before you start writing. This will help you get a more accurate score and potentially allow for a higher ranking.
To answer the question, you need to identify first the question type and then find the keywords in the question. And finally you need to understand what the instructions are. Having this knowledge before you write means that you will have a better grasp of what the examiner wants from you.
- Planning
Planning your work can help you structure your essay more efficiently and actually in the end save time. It also benefits you in several other ways too. If you spend at least 10 minutes planning your essay, you will improve the quality of your writing.
- Introduction
The introduction should set the stage for the rest of the essay, it introduces your answer to the question and shows the examiner what he or she can expect from the main part of your essay.
- The paragraphs of the body
This is where you present your main points and then add more detail by backing these up with explanations and examples.
- Conclusion
Your conclusion should summarize what you have already said in your essay.
If you’re a university student hoping to pursue a Master’s degree in the United Kingdom, for example, you’ll need to study for the Academic IELTS test and check with the relevant university to see what scores they require. If you wish to study in higher education, get vocational training, or migrate to Australia, New Zealand, Canada, or the United Kingdom, you should take IELTS General Training.
How to Improve your Score in IELTS Writing Task 2
We all know that we need to improve our writing skills and in fact there are many ways to do it, however the problem is often how we go about doing it because learning to be a strong writer takes time. What we want are methods and techniques which deliver the fastest possible results. Have a look at the following four key tips:
- Understanding The Exam
It sounds strange but in fact a lot of people. The first stage in preparing for IELTS Writing Task 2 is understanding what you are expected to do, what the examiners want, and how to give them that information.
It is crucial to find a reliable source of information; this is tricky since there are so many resources especially online and these often contain conflicting information or are poor quality.
- Finding out where you are going wrong
You need to figure out the source of your car’s malfunction, or your doctor will run tests to identify the cause of your illness.
When it comes to IELTS writing Task 2, first identify the reasons why you are not getting a score that is high enough. For example, if you are not distinguishing between your thoughts and opinions and those of your sources just yet, we can help you.
- Learn how things should be done
If you need to work on your grammar, focus on that. If your vocabulary could use a boost, work on improving this.
You can learn more about the specifics of a doctor’s practice by signing up for one of their workshops.
- Practice and get feedback
Studying without feedback is not enough and will not help you improve. Feedback is essential to find what you may have missed or done incorrectly.
To learn how to drive, you should take a course or lessons and get properly certified before driving a car on public roads.
You need to get feedback from someone if you want to move past the first stage of writing. Find someone who will give you helpful and accurate feedback on your work.
You have improved your skills enough to score higher on the IELTS writing test, so now you can apply your effort where it matters most and get the score you deserve.
Writing Task 2 Essay Structures
Using structures for your essay is really important but just applying the structure does not mean you will instantly get a better result. You need to use them properly, knowing that they are just one aspect of your overall writing score.
Structures help you to organize your response to each of the main question types in Writing Task 2, whether practicing at home or during the actual exam.
Task 2: Key Skills
If you’re only looking to take the IELTS Writing Task 2 test, you need to brush up on your writing skills. These guides will teach you everything you need to know.
A good plan helps you save time when writing and essay. This guide will show you how to plan and create an effective, clear essay every time.
You can quickly and easily think of relevant ideas with different methods that are connected to the question.
- Complex sentences boost your score for grammar because they are actually not complex and require very little time to create.
- Paraphrasing is one of the essential skills to get a high score in writing part 2 of the IELTS exam. You should paraphrase the question of your essay in the first sentence to help with vocabulary.
- Supporting paragraphs, or the main body paragraphs, provide more detail as explanations and examples. These are the meat in a sandwich, providing what the examiner is looking for in paragraph form.
- When writing an IELTS Task 2 exam, if you don’t express to the examiner your opinion of the topic in a clear, concise manner, your score will suffer accordingly.
- The introduction is the first thing to be read by the examiner, so it is essential that we give them a good first impression. I can help you write introductions with a specific sentence by sentence structure that I’ll share in this article, to speed up the process. Check this LINK
- A good conclusion should summarize the main points of your essay. It is also the last paragraph that the examiner will read, if it is a strong finish then this will leave a good impression and of course benefit your final score.
- Learning how to provide an insightful, meaningful example is an essential skill for getting a high band score.
- Cohesive devices, linking words or linkers, are absolutely crucial in any piece of writing and particularly in academic writing as you have to write in Task 2. Knowing how and when to use them is a must, time to practice!
- Don’t use synonyms incorrectly, they are valuable but believe it or not they can actually lower your score!
Learn how to use the list of common topics
There are some lessons I use when teaching writing in IELTS. They provide all the information needed to tackle the writing task.
In this lesson, we look at how to tackle an “agree or disagree” type of question. We show you the best way to approach answering these types of questions– and what to do for the “To what extent…” questions.
When writing an argument essay, it is important to remember that you are asked to discuss both sides and your own opinion.
These questions are easier than you think, having a conversation with friends and family can generate ideas around these topics, above all keep it simple.
There are a few different types of question for topics.
Writers need to practice in order to improve. Practice writing to get better.
This is my most comprehensive lesson on IELTS Writing Task 2.
Tips and Advice for IELTS Writing Task 2: 10 things you need to know before you write
- You will write an academic essay in response to a question
- You must write 250 words or more
- Task 2 is worth 66% of the total marks for the writing section
- General Training and Academic are the same for Task 1, but different for Task 2.
- The recommended time to spend on Task 2 is 40 minutes
- Questions will ask you to do certain things like give your opinion
- You will be scored in 4 areas
- Task Achievement
- Coherence and Cohesion
- Lexical Resource
- Grammatical Range and Accuracy
- Each of these is a worth 25% of the total band score
- Every essay you write must have an introduction, body and conclusion
- You essay must be organised well
Finding your common grammar mistakes and fixing them is an efficient way to boost your essay mark in the Writing task 2 test.
One of the reasons your Writing Task 2 test score might not be as high as you want it to be is because of grammar mistakes. This can be easily solved by finding out what your frequent mistakes are, how to resolve them and then actually implementing them correctly in your writing. The best way to improve your writing is by practicing. You can find plenty of examples and questions that will help you with your typing. We offer you support and help in achieving your goal, visit this link, it will change your destiny.