The Dos of IELTS Essay

Conciseness (8-15 words per sentence)

Cohesion (link ideas, paragraphs, sentences together)
Coherence (all ideas should be easily understood by the reader)
Composition (use the correct essay structure)
Answer the question fully (cover all points asked in the task statement)

Band 7+ essays need

a) more complex sentence structure

b) more complex vocabulary
c) more complex grammatical use and variation

Use the official writing task 2 form to practice and check what 250 words look like in
your own handwriting
Read many essay topics
Read many sample essays
Know the right structure for all essay types
Know when to give your opinion

Add examples from your own experience if asked

Use smart words and noun groups
Use punctuation correctly
Separate the arguments for and against into different paragraphs
Use the right tone (essays are always formal)
Only use possessive/personal pronouns when giving your opinion
Lead from one paragraph to another well connecting words are vital!
Vary grammar
Write neatly as it values the reader-writer relationship
Write maturely to reflect mature way of thinking
Make a plan in 3-5 minutes: it makes your essay more organised, mature and conveys
the positive image of YOU.
Make your opinion very clear: formal and reasoned point of view, give details.

The Donts of IELTS Essay

Write too many words if your English is average (aim for 250-265)
Use contractions such as dont, shouldnt, etc
Overuse connecting words (assessors expect that!)
Jump from one idea to the next: link, link, link!
Mix arguments for and against in the same paragraph
Use the wrong tone (essays are always formal)
Use abbreviations
Repeat words or overuse primitive verbs (does, makes, gets)
Cross out many things
 Write illegibly
Use idioms too frequently or inappropriately
Write in a babyish manner (bad grammar and poorly developed ideas)
Become a clock victim (constantly look at the clock and panic)
Start writing without a plan
Forget to leave a blank line between paragraphs
Use generalisations (All, Every) as this reflects an immature way of thinking
Use simple sentences if you want a high score
Use cliches as they are often too informal
Use lazy expressions (and so on, etc).
Copy part of task question
Agree with both sides choose one side to make your opinion clear
Let adrenaline make you arrogant
Go off topic

sentence according to the type of question asked.

In this post, we will look at the following:
1. What is thesis statement?
2. How to Identify Different Questions
3. How to write a thesis statement for any kind of question

What is thesis statement ?

Thesis is an idea that is being considered, especially the idea that is being discussed or
analyzed.
Thesis statement The most important sentence in Wrighting is Task 2. This sentence is in
the wringing preface, and each introduction should have a thesis statement, along with a
paraphrase question and outline statement.
Thesis statement is your main idea and it means that you express your opinion about the
question in a sentence. This statement to the examiner shows that you fully understand
the question and lead to a more transparent and rational Writing.
Let's take a sample thesis statement:
Question: There is a good deal of evidence that increasing car use is contributing to
global warming and having other unwanted effects on people's health and well-being.
To what extent do you agree or disagree?
Thesis statement : This essay agrees that increasing use of motor vehicles is contributing
to rising global temperatures and certain health issues.
As you can see, this statement clearly shows to the examiners what you think about the
question. Continuing your Wright should support this statement.
How do I know what to write?
The first thing we need to do is to identify the type of question and look at the type of
word that came in. For example, in the question below, the word 'do you agree or
disagree?' is.
Question: There is a good deal of evidence that increasing car use is contributing to
global warming and having other unwanted effects on people's health and well-being.
To what extent do you agree or disagree?
Therefore, we need to state quite clearly to the constituents that we agree or disagree with
this idea, and this personal opinion affects our thesis statement.
Let's take a look at the following questions:
1. Computers are being used more and more in education. Discuss the benefits and
disadvantages and give your own opinion.
2. Computers are being used more and more in education. Some people say that this is a
positive trend, while others argue that it leads to negative consequences. Discuss both
sides of this argument and then give your own opinion.
3. Students are becoming more and more dependent on computers. What are some of the
problems associated with reliance on computers, and what are some of the possible
solutions?
In all three of the above questions, the keywords are more or less similar - training and
computers. Of course, if we look at thegrammatical words, we will see that it is
necessary to answer each question in a specific way, and this affects our thesis statement.
The grammatical words of the above questions are low:
1. Discuss the benefits and disadvantages and give your own opinion.
2. Discuss both sides of this argument and then give your own opinion.
3. What are some of the problems and what are some of the possible solutions?
Therefore, it is very important to put aside the time to analyze the question, so that we
can see what exactly the question asks us.
How do I write a thesis statement for any question?
When it becomes clear what the question asks us, we can think about the thesis
statement. The following article will discuss the writing of the thesis statement for four
different questions:
Questions that ask your personal opinion (Do you agree or disagree)
Discussion Questions (Discussions both points of view)
Advantages and Disadvantages
Problem and solution.

You should always keep in mind that although Witting Task 2 questions usually follow a
standard format, these questions may change, and you should be prepared for this.
Questions that ask for your personal opinion
Some aspects of celebrity culture have a bad influence on young people.
How much do you agree or disagree with this statement?
We have three options for such questions:
1. Agree
2. Agree
3. Both agree and disagree

It is suggested that you always select option 1 or option 2. Selecting option 3 usually
causes confusing or very long wiring. If you have just one option and talk well about it,
this will allow you to write clearer writings that have been well discussed.
So, you have two options to answer this question:
1. I agree that some aspects of celebrity culture have a bad effect on young people.
2. I disagree that some aspects of celebrity culture have a bad effect on young people.
All thesis statement statements for this type of question should begin with the following
sentences:
This essay agrees that ... ..
Or
This essay disagrees that ... ..
We should not use personal pronouns such as 'i' and instead of 'This essay ....' We use
Also, remember that you do not have to copy the exact form of the question, as you are
not allowed to do so in the Wright exam, and instead you must parse it.
For example, ' This essay agrees that some famous people's lifestyles have a detrimental
effect on the youth of today.'
The second is the question of giving a personal opinion
Increasing the price of petrol is the best way to solve growing traffic and pollution
problems.
To what extent do you agree or disagree?
Thesis Statement: This essay disagrees that the best way to deal with increasing
pollution and congestion problems is to raise the cost of fuel.
Question Discussion
Computers are being used more and more in education. Some people say that this is
a positive trend, while others argue that it leads to negative consequences.
Discuss both sides of this argument and then give your own opinion.
For this sample questions, you need to clearly examine the two sides of the discussion
and express your opinion at the end.
We can begin by pointing out the question and then discussing the two sides and
expressing our own opinion at the end. Our personal opinion should only be on the one
hand.
If you do not agree on both sides of the discussion, just support one side to give a clearer
answer.
Thesis statement: Some argue that schools and universities increasing the use of
computers is a beneficial trend, while others are opposed to this view. This essay agrees
that the growing use of technology by educators is a positive development.
As you can see, the learner examines the two sides of the discussion, and at the end he
expresses his personal opinion.
Second discussion question
Some people think that parents should teach children how to be good members of
society. Others, however, believe that school is the best place to learn this.
Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.
Thesis statement: Some argue that teachers should teach youngsters how to be
upstanding members of the community, while others feel that this is the role of mother
and father. This essay agrees that this duty should be filled primarily by parents.
The question of the advantages and disadvantages
Computers are being used more and more in education.
Discuss the benefits and disadvantages and give your own opinion.
In this type of question, we must clearly state what the main advantage and the main flaw
of this issue is.
Thesis Statement: The main advantage is the amount of information instantly available
to students and the main disadvantage is the lack of discipline and motivation provided
by computers.
Question of the advantages and disadvantages of the second
Some experts believe that it is better for children to start learning a foreign language
in primary school rather than secondary school.
Do the advantages of this outweigh the disadvantages?
Thesis statement: The main advantage is that exposing children to languages as early as
possible leads to higher levels of proficiency later in life, and this outweighs the main
disadvantage of young children being overwhelmed by too many subjects.
Problem questions and solutions
Students are becoming more and more dependent on computers.
What are some of the problems associated with reliance on computers, and what are
some of the possible solutions?
Thesis statement should be a major problem and a major solution to this question. Some
language professors suggest choosing more than one problem and solution. This is not a
problem, but it is better to choose 2 very good ideas and develop them well.
Thesis statement: The principal problem is that students are allowed to do their job for
all without thinking for themselves, and the possible solution is to have more strict
supervision from teachers and parents.
Cause and solution questions
In some countries, the average weight of people is increasing and their health and
fitness levels are decreasing.
What do you think are the reasons for these problems and what measures could be
taken to solve them?
Thesis statement: The main cause of this problem is people's sedentary lifestyles and a
possible solution to educate the public about the dangers of not keeping fit.
Next steps
All that is said in this article about the thesis statement is an overview of this important
note in Wrighting Task 2, and this article, along with another article about writing an
introduction to Wrighting Tosk, should be studied to This issue is fully understood.
It is necessary to emphasize that although the four common questions in the IELTS
Witness exam have been reviewed, Wrighting questions may change, and you must
change the thesis statement and the introduction based on the type of question, thesis
statement, and introduction.

The IELTS Writing test: telling the difference between

formal and informal
Many of you have asked me about the difference between the formal and informal
writing in IELTS and this tells me that its a common problem. So here is what you need
to know about the styles of writing in the IELTS test.

If you are preparing for the Academic IELTS module, both Task 1 and Task 2 in the
Writing test are formal. For the General Training candidates, Task 2 in Writing is always
formal, and Task 1 can be formal or informal.

As you know, Task 1 for the GT module is a letter, and if the topic asks you to write to
someone you know, that is an informal letter as opposed to writing to someone you
dont know, which should be formal.
The difference between formal and informal styles is mainly in the vocabulary. Informal
words are the ones used in everyday conversations and formal are used in books,
contracts, business letters and essays. If the task requires formal writing avoid using
informal vocabulary. If the task requires informal writing, such as a letter to a friend,
avoid using formal heavy words.

Apart from the vocabulary in formal writing it is best to avoid words like I, you,
we, unless you are expressing an opinion. For example in an essay instead of writing
You would find it difficult to get a job without proper qualifications, write something
like One would find it difficult to find a job without proper qualifications, or you could
write Finding a job without proper qualifications would be rather difficult.

For those of you who dont live in an English speaking country and dont speak English
on daily basis it may be difficult to tell the difference between the formal and informal
vocabulary, which is why I compiled this short list of words. You could memorize it and
use in your writing while practicing this way the chances you will use the correct word
in the real exam increase.

Formal Informal

Inform me Let me know

Cancel Drop

Contact Get in touch

Obtain Get

Apologise Say sorry

Postpone Delay

Request Ask for

Compensate Make up

Establish Set up

Discover Find out

Handle Deal with

Investigate Check up on

Tolerate Put up

Increase Go up
Children Kids

Many / Much A lot of

Many / Much Heaps of

IELTS writing: using transitional phrases

This post was contributed by Mr. Nipun Jain, the head of Benchmark our evaluation
team. On behalf of all the readers I would like to thank Mr. Jain and all the fine teachers
of Benchmark.

Transitions

Transitional words and phrases are what gives your essays coherence, we need them to
join sentences and thoughts together. Look at the lists below. These are transitional
phrases that you can memorize and keep in your arsenal for the IELTS writing module.

AGREEMENT: also, plus, in addition, further, furthermore, moreover, additionally, to

add to that, next, in accordance with, accordingly, in agreement, finally, for instance, for
example, in exemplification, exemplifying that, in fact, factually speaking, in terms of,
and so forth, looking at the nexus between, in coordination with, along those lines,
collectively speaking, generally speaking, indeed, undoubtedly, obviously, to be sure.

CONTRAST: however, contrastingly, in contrast, on the contrary, on the other hand, To

put it into perspective, from a different angle, nonetheless, nevertheless, but, yet, a catch
to this is, sadly enough, as a hindrance, looking at the holdups, oddly enough, instead, in
direct opposition, still, and rather.

RESULT: as a result, as a consequence, consequently, thus, therefore, hence, thereby,

resulting in, ultimately, in the end, finally, in the overall analysis, in hindsight, in
retrospect, retrospectively, vicariously, the long term effect, as a short term result,
significantly, as a major effect, effectively, heretofore, hereafter, thereafter, in short,
generally, over all, concluding.

4 ways to get in trouble with your IELTS Writing tasks

If you have an IELTS exam this weekend, this post can literally save your score. Many
people get in trouble with their IELTS Writing tasks for no reason, just because they dont
realize some things are not acceptable in IELTS letters, essays or reports. Here is a
number of ways you can get in trouble with your IELTS writing tasks:
1. Using informal English in the IELTS Writing tasks.

Informal English is OK for your Speaking test it is not OK for your Writing test. Even
though not every informal word gets penalized, the more formal your style is, the better
your score will be. To demonstrate the difference, informal expressions such as loads
of / tons of should be replaced with many or much; fed up with should be
replaced with lost his patience, etc.

2. Using contractions.

Contractions are its instead of it is, Ive instead of I have, were instead of
we are (these are only a few examples). Contractions are a bad, bad thing to use in your
essay, they dont save you much time and can cost you marks. Do me a favor and forget
about contractions in your IELTS writing. Write should not instead of shouldnt,
could not instead of couldnt, would not instead of wouldnt. You get the idea.

3. Using slang.

You can use slang any time talking to your friends, but this is the only place where it
belongs, in a conversation between friends. Keep it out of your IELTS essays, letters or
reports. You cant write dunno instead of dont know, wanna instead of want to
or gonna instead of going to.

4. SMS-like spelling.

We all are typing SMS messages, chatting on Skype and the like, and there is a bunch of
shorter ways to write longer words. We type u instead of you, c instead of see,
IMHO instead of in my humble opinion. None of these can appear in your IELTS
exam, unless you are specifically trying to mess up and get a lower score than you
deserve. You need to write the full word and spell it correctly, period.

I hope this post has caught you in time to prevent any of the above mistakes. Good luck
with your exam!

IELTS Writing: connective words (part 4)

This is the post about connective words and here you will find words to use in sentences
referring to examples, describing reasons or sequencing events in time.

Time

for instance
There are many schools in many countries where you could study, for instance the
schools in London or Birmingham.

one example

One example of how to get better at cooking would be to start reading recipes.

for example
just as

I wanted to be home already just as much as a thirsty man in the desert wanted water.

in particular

I am referring to my exams, in particular, IELTS and TOEFL.

such as
namely

My friends, namely Andy and Cindy, have told me about this new exhibition in the city.

to illustrate

Reason

since

Since you asked, Id like to tell you my story

because (of)
due to

Due to the teachers illness this lecture is canceled.

owing to
the reason why
in other words
leads to

This assumption leads us to believe that

cause

The cause of this unfortunate accident was

Time
 before
since

Since 2005 I have been working in

as
until

Until now I wasnt able to find anything like it.

meanwhile

Meanwhile, I would like to ask you to be patient.

at the moment

At the moment I am experiencing financial difficulties.

when
whenever

Whenever I call him, he appears to be very busy.

as soon as
just as

Below is more detail on the sentences that should be contained within each of these
paragraphs along with examples based around this sample Task 2 Question:

Government investment in the visual arts, the kind you commonly see in art galleries, is a
waste of money. Governments must invest this money in public services instead. To what
extent do you agree with this statement?

Introduction
Aim to write three sentences around 60 words in total.
 Sentence 1 Paraphrase the task question or write a general statement relating
to the topic using synonyms of the key words used in the question. E.g. These
days, many local governments spend large portions of their budget not only on
public services, but also on the visual arts.

Sentence 2 State your opinion or point of view on the question being asked.
E.g Although I agree that it is important to invest in local amenities, I do not
think spending on the visual arts is a waste of money.

Sentence 3 Give an essay overview including a summarizing phrase like: E.g.

This essay will discuss this issue using examples to support arguments and
demonstrate points.

Supporting Paragraphs
The two supporting paragraphs should include your ideas and supporting examples to
answer the task question. Aim to write only two supporting paragraphs with roughly 85
words in each. Each paragraph should contain the following four sentences and stick to
one idea per paragraph:

Paragraph 1:

Sentence 1 State your 1st position. Eg. On the one hand, spending a
significant amount of the government budget on public services is beneficial for
society.

Sentence 2 Explain why you hold that position. Eg. Providing for basic
amenities, such as hospitals, roads, and schools, helps to determine the quality of
life that most citizens will have.

Sentence 3 Give an academic example that backs up your idea. Eg. For
example, a recent survey by Education Today shows that countries that spend
more on schools have a population that is higher in literacy, by 65%, compared to
those that dedicate no money to education.

Sentence 4 Summarise the paragraph showing how your example links your
idea/argument back to the main idea. Eg. Therefore it is apparent that spending
on public services is a worthwhile investment for a government.

Paragraph 2:

Sentence 1 State your 2nd position. Eg. However, this does not mean that the
visual arts should be completely neglected.
 Sentence 2 Explain why you hold that position. Eg. The visual arts also have
an important impact on our quality of life.

Sentence 3 Give an academic example that backs up your idea. Eg. For
example, a recent study conducted by the World Health Organization concluded
that individuals that regularly visit art galleries are cited as being 20% happier in
life than people who do not.

Sentence 4 Summarise the paragraph showing how your example links your
idea/argument back to the main idea. Eg. Seeing the health benefits that many
people get from the visual arts, it is important that the government assists such
institutions so that they can continue to provide pleasure to the public.

Conclusion
For the conclusion, aim to write just one or two sentences that paraphrase what youve
discussed in the essay. Try to keep to under 45 words.

Sentence 1 Summarise the essay. Be sure to start this sentence with an

appropriate linking phrase (i.e. In conclusion, To sum up, Consequently) followed
by an overall summary of what youve just written. E.g. To sum up, although
there are clear benefits of ensuring a large amount of investment goes into public
services, I do not believe spending money on the arts is a waste of money as this
too provides important benefits.

Sentence 2 Give a Final Thought. Eg. In the future, governments should

consider budgeting for both.

When to use capital letters in English grammar

Days/ Months = Thursday / September

Names and Titles = Mrs J Blogs / Dr Author Jones
Countries / Cities = India / Vietnam / Paris / Hong Kong
Names of Places = University of London
Acronyms = BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation)
 Start of a Sentence = The majority of people use cars to go to work these
days. However, it would be better if they used healthier means of transport
such as the bicycle.
Biggest Mistake with Capital Letters

but / because / and

These linking words NEVER start with a capital letter because they
should NEVER be used to start a sentence.