Ielts Writing
Ielts Writing
Ielts Writing
text 2write.com
How to write
IELTS Essays
by ROBERT LEWIS
M.A. LINGUISTICS
your answers as you complete each of the exercises. Begin by reading the Introduction
and learn about the essay form, the key stages and the language features of the essay
that are important for this form of persuasive communication.
What is the best way to study?
First, find a quiet and comfortable place where you can work. You should feel good
working there. Do a minimum of 40 minutes each day. Try to make a regular time for
study, so that it becomes routine - the same time and place every day.
You will need a dictionary to check the meaning of new
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Find a friend who will practice speaking English with you and discuss together the
topics and issues that you read about in this book Of course, an English teacher will
be helpful when you need to have your essays corrected and get advice about any
errors you might be making in your writing.
At the end of each chapter there is a checklist of things to look for in your writing.
Check that you have done all these things, and, if you need to, make changes and
corrections. Finally, it is advisable to attempt the sample essay questions provided at
the end of each chapter. By completing all the exercises in this book, you are taking
positive steps towards achieving your goals. Remember - every page completed is a
giant step toward achieving success in essay writing.
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contents
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introduction
What is an essay?
The essay is a form of academic writing widely used in secondary and higher education. The
general purpose of the essay is to demonstrate the importance of a given subject or issue, and
persuade an educated reader to consider the writers point of view on the issue.
What is an exam essay? What do they examine?
Exam essays, like the IELTS Task 2, test a students ability to think analytically, present
persuasive arguments and thus communicate effectively in an academic context. In other words,
the writer should show that they can :
- answer the question, which requires the careful analysis of the question,
- present and develop logical and reasonable arguments, and
- communicate clearly, using appropriate language (vocabulary and grammar).
What are the key stages of an essay?
It is important to remember that the exam essay is a response to a given question, so it should
answer the question clearly and decisively. To this end, the writer makes their position clear
from the start, and then presents a sequence of arguments in support of their position, before
finally restating their position. These are the three key stages of any essay.
KEY STAGES
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The staging of the essay is (in itself) a persuasive device. Statement and repeated restatement
reinforce the writers position. Depending on the number, strength and logical development of
arguments, any given essay will be more or less persuasive and more or less successful.
Most essays include a few optional stages, such as a lead-in (which introduces the topic by
providing some very general background information/ideas), and the preview stage (which
previews the arguments that will follow). A recommendation is optional, depending on the essay
question. Though many essays will differ, in terms of optional staging, all essays display the
same key stages as above. The sample essay below illustrates a more complex staging of the
essay genre.
This essay (below) is a good example because it has a clear position statement, previews the
arguments that follow, and proceeds to develop argumentation logically and coherently. The
recommendation stage follows logically from the essay question, as the writer is required to
discuss solutions to the problem of gambling.
What are the causes, effects and possible solutions to the problem of gambling?
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In an assessment of a candidates essay the examiner will consider (i) whether the writer
answers the question, (ii) their expression (grammatical accuracy and vocabulary), and (iii) the
cohesion of the text (including whether arguments are logically developed). Therefore, when
preparing for a writing exam, it is a good idea to practice developing arguments on many
different issues and topics.
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The language features of an essay reflect the writers purpose, namely, to persuade the reader
of their position (opinion) on a given issue. We have already mentioned that the staging of the
essay is itself a persuasive device by repeatedly stating and expanding on their arguments, the
writer is being persuasive.
The language features of an essay also reflect the persuasive strategies commonly used in
argumentation : be logical, reason effectively, sound authoritative and reasonable (dont
exaggerate), and communicate effectively (precisely and cohesively). The relevant strategies and
language features are summarised in the table below :
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Each chapter of this book discusses one of these five persuasive strategies and relevant
language features as outlined above. In the Grammar unit of each chapter, further
explanation and exercises are provided to help the reader become more familiar with the
key language features and their effective use in writing short exam essays.
topic 1
language learning
a Bizzy moment
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Adjective
Noun
Verb
Adverb
1.
learnt
study
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2.
5.
3.
6.
7.
copy
8.
11.
9.
memory/isation
understand
12.
10.
13.
enjoyable
repetitive
14.
17.
15.
18.
16.
19.
20.
acquisition
21.
22.
23.
26.
24.
27.
instruct
teach
25.
___________
28.
29.
functional/ing
33.
30.
34.
31.
35.
32.
dependently
36.
interaction
37.
38.
39..
contextual
recommendation
41.
40.
42.
43.
serious
advantage
46.
44.
___________
48.
49..
text
___________
50.
conversational
proficiency
52.
51.
53.
___________
___________
54.
speech
55.
___________
necessary
56.
57.
___________
___________
___________
methodically
___________
___________
45.
47.
58.