IELTS - Writing - For Band 7 or Above.

[priteshgondalia]

Depends on how confident are you about what you wrote? How much time will it take for revaluation and most importantly do you have spare money in case reval doesn’t go your way?

They told me that it takes mostly one week and a maximum of two weeks. If I have a chance to get 0.5 band increase in writing, I would not think twice to pay for that.

In terms of writing, I am confident that I wrote good, but it would be great if you suggest by looking at the recent essay that I posted today in this post.

I'm thinking to evaluate speaking too because it was a really good exam for me. I thought I would achieve band 7.5 in it so if one of them get corrected, I wouldn't lose money.

Thank You.

 

[vmsanthosh.chn]

Hello,


Some people think the government should be responsible for solving the pollution problems which result from heavy traffic. To what extent do you agree or disagree?


It is usually believed that owing to the congested roads, diverse pollution problems should only be solved by the central authority. In my opinion, I completely agree with the aforementioned statement as they generally have complete authority to enforce various traffic related rules and ameliorate public transportation.


A good reason to support the authority responsible for eradicating the pollution is that they mostly have sufficient power to regulate divergent rules and regulations. This is due to the fact that in such situations, strict law enforcement often plays a key role in inspiring citizens not to use private vehicles in their day-to-day life. For example, if the government impose the carbon tax on fuels, such as petrol, diesel, coal, and crude oil, most middle-class and poor family members would prefer to commute through the public transportation or eco-friendly vehicles, especially bicycle, diminishing the greenhouse gas mixed emission from the environment.


Another point to consider is that they can also allocate adequate budget for public transport services which can encourage people to use governmental buses or trains, instead of their cars or bikes. In other words, providing low-cost transportation would have a significant effect on alleviating the heavy traffic in urban areas. Increasing popularity of free public transportation and minimal traffic on most highways in the West simply shows how significant is the impact of governmental aids in reducing the total number of private vehicles on the roads. As a result of this, more and more people would prefer to travel by public mode of transportation rather than polluting the atmosphere by utilizing cars or bikes.


To recapitulate, I think it is a must for the government to solve the pollution problems arising from overcrowded roads by introducing strict regulations and providing cost-effective public transportation for local people. If the authority enforces such laws, the pollution and total vehicles on the roads would drop soon.

Thanks,

question. Is this the topic you got for your test? I saw this exact topic somewhere...couldn't exactly recall it though. Btw, may I know where did u take the test?

 

[priteshgondalia]

question. Is this the topic you got for your test? I saw this exact topic somewhere...couldn't exactly recall it though. Btw, may I know where did u take the test?

No, the topic was ...
Shopping is the favorite pastime for most of the young people. Why do you think is that?
Do you think they should be encouraged to do some useful activities in their free time?

So I wrote first BP about two causes with supporting arguments. Main causes were: i) varieties of choices makes it fascinating activity ii) it helps reduce stress and feel rejuvenated

Second BP was about reading books in leisure time
Third BP was about playing sports in free time

I gave my exam in Toronto.

 

[vmsanthosh.chn]

Hello,


Some people think the government should be responsible for solving the pollution problems which result from heavy traffic. To what extent do you agree or disagree?


It is usually believed that owing to the congested roads, diverse pollution problems should only be solved by the central authority. In my opinion, I completely agree with the aforementioned statement as they generally have complete authority to enforce various traffic related rules and ameliorate public transportation.


A good reason to support the authority responsible for eradicating the pollution is that they mostly have sufficient power to regulate divergent rules and regulations. This is due to the fact that in such situations, strict law enforcement often plays a key role in inspiring citizens not to use private vehicles in their day-to-day life. For example, if the government impose the carbon tax on fuels, such as petrol, diesel, coal, and crude oil, most middle-class and poor family members would prefer to commute through the public transportation or eco-friendly vehicles, especially bicycle, diminishing the greenhouse gas mixed emission from the environment.


Another point to consider is that they can also allocate adequate budget for public transport services which can encourage people to use governmental buses or trains, instead of their cars or bikes. In other words, providing low-cost transportation would have a significant effect on alleviating the heavy traffic in urban areas. Increasing popularity of free public transportation and minimal traffic on most highways in the West simply shows how significant is the impact of governmental aids in reducing the total number of private vehicles on the roads. As a result of this, more and more people would prefer to travel by public mode of transportation rather than polluting the atmosphere by utilizing cars or bikes.


To recapitulate, I think it is a must for the government to solve the pollution problems arising from overcrowded roads by introducing strict regulations and providing cost-effective public transportation for local people. If the authority enforces such laws, the pollution and total vehicles on the roads would drop soon.

Thanks,

No, the topic was ...
Shopping is the favorite pastime for most of the young people. Why do you think is that?
Do you think they should be encouraged to do some useful activities in their free time?

So I wrote first BP about two causes with supporting arguments. Main causes were: i) varieties of choices makes it fascinating activity ii) it helps reduce stress and feel rejuvenated

Second BP was about reading books in leisure time
Third BP was about playing sports in free time

I gave my exam in Toronto.

Thanks. I did that in Toronto (Centennial) too last time, and got same 6,5 score. Wondering if the center makes any difference in evaluation on how stringent are they. The one I did in Ottawa prior to that, which was PBT, gave me 7 in writing which doesn't make any sense because I would have certainly improved for the second test if it was truly my skill set alone.

As for your structure, honestly, I don't see any problem in it except for 3 BPs. I would have combined BP 2 & 3 together if I were you and leave it with just BP1 for why part, BP2 for what part and a conclusion. I would suggest you to go for reval if money is not a problem.

 

[nns14]

As some of you may have already know it, Today we have received results of 13 October test, well they came positive for me, finally!

Overall Band: 8.0
Listening: 8.5
Reading: 8.5
Writing: 7.0
Speaking: 7.0

I was waiting for it, kinda frustrated, that was the reason why I was reluctant to review your essays. I hope my journey will help you.

this was my 8th test this year, starting from 6th Jan 2018.

few details,
Listening: It ranged from 7 to 8.5 - never got 9
Reading: It ranged from 7.5 to 9 - mostly 9
Writing: 6.5 in 6 tests, 7 in two, including this one
Speaking: ranged from 6.5 to 8 - even got 6.5 to 7.5 via reevaluation

What inhibited me from achieving the required scores ?

Listening: I think, because this is the first section, nervousness, an agitated state, frustration, I even missed first ones which are the easiest ones. And sometimes because of a map, directions, MCQ, It boils down to your luck. A split second distraction can cost you a half band. For this there's is only one tip, increase the speed of your practice listening tests, and keep listening BBC Radio stations all the time, even in toilet, keep it running beside your pillow while you are sleeping

Reading: I read alot, It helps me calm, I enjoy it, busting IELTS tricks gives me thrill, but sometimes answers are totally vague, you can not be 100% sure.

Speaking: I am not a people person, I avoid strangers, unnecessary talks, conversations, have traits of an Introvert, So even hesitated in first introductory questions, most of the times my two minutes speaking topic was short in length, because it's hard for me to cook-up fake stories, but I always engaged well in Part 3, follow up questions, there are reasons, two part questions, they will keep asking why, and I love answering whys of my views. I speak my mind, and fortify it with examples, reasons etc. Most of the times examiners enjoyed talking to me because I don't cave-in, I always note or keep an eye on their eyebrows, their stressed forehead, inquisitive questions, a state of wondering, more question coming out of my own statements, lengthy conversation of consisting of 12 to 20 questions --- this all tells me, its going fine. If your part is ending quickly, say less than 10 questions or they are not asking questions from your own answers, means you are in a danger zone, some examiners like to cut short, they don't give the time to explain and you end up getting 6.5

Writing: There are many contributing factors for writing section, they vary individually, In-fact this whole thread is about it.
> I was out of practice, wrote nothing substantial by hand in last 10 years.
> My grammar was always weak, still struggling, blame the teachers I have got till 10th standard.
> I think alot before writing a line or sentence, a quest to make it perfect, never got the time to review my essay, even once.
> tendency to digress, said something, then started explaining it, which went south, failed badly in task achievement, wrote irrelevant stuff entirely.
> spelling mistakes, blame my computer for that.

To improve it.
> made myself known to their assessing criteria, mainly Task achievement.
> learned to write longer sentences, complex and compound, a content rich sentences with more meat.
> most Important - write essay under 30 minutes, letter 15 minutes, count words, review it, check articles -spell errors. etc.


well If you are new here, start reading this thread from first post, most of us are making same mistakes and getting same 6.5 bands.


some other thoughts ::

Now some of you heard that - IELTS is a scam, yes surely it is, I have no doubt in this statement.

but this should not deter you from improving yourself, you have to admit/own your mistakes, then improve them all.

is this entirely an English language test ?
nope it is not, they test your IQ and EQ too, your psychology plays great role in this test.
prepare well, trust yourself, be calm, think that you can always come and take this test again, have the budget and mental toughness to go through it, It is a high wall if others can climb it you can do it too.

Consider yourself lucky, if you got 8777 in first attempt, or even in first 3 attempts.

Best of luck to everyone involved in this thread or even reading as a guest,

I thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

Many congratulations for your success in IELTS. It takes a lot of courage and mental toughness (like you said) to repeat the test again and again and again. Much like you, I am stuck on 6.5 writing and the occasional 7.5 in listening. I have already given 6 times but now preparing for computer based. I cannot take pencil anymore and thankfully CBP is available in many locations now.

All the best.

 

[MaryNguyen]

Many congratulations for your success in IELTS. It takes a lot of courage and mental toughness (like you said) to repeat the test again and again and again. Much like you, I am stuck on 6.5 writing and the occasional 7.5 in listening. I have already given 6 times but now preparing for computer based. I cannot take pencil anymore and thankfully CBP is available in many locations now.

All the best.

As you said you occasionally got 7.5 in listening skill and you'd like to try CBP, I'd like to tell you that in Computer- base test, the listening test DO NOT have the example in section 1, which means you have less time for reading questions before jumping in the recording. At the end, you will have only 2 minutes for checking in lieu of 10 mins (Actually I heard that). In case you can read fast, it's fine. However, I think you should check on the IDP or BC websites to understand exactly how does listening test perform before registering. Goodluck.

 

[nns14]

As you said you occasionally got 7.5 in listening skill and you'd like to try CBP, I'd like to tell you that in Computer- base test, the listening test DO NOT have the example in section 1, which means you have less time for reading questions before jumping in the recording. At the end, you will have only 2 minutes for checking in lieu of 10 mins (Actually I heard that). In case you can read fast, it's fine. However, I think you should check on the IDP or BC websites to understand exactly how does listening test perform before registering. Goodluck.

Yes, this is my worry in CBP. The 10 minutes at the end is not an issue as 2 minutes of just checking should be enough, but the issue is the 30 seconds we used to get while example is played.

With CBP, my main concern is listening test because there are no full mock test based on CBP. in CELPIP, there are many mock tests which we can purchase from the provider which give full test experience. Unfortunately, this is unavailable for IELTS, at least not yet.

 

[MaryNguyen]

Many congratulations for your success in IELTS. It takes a lot of courage and mental toughness (like you said) to repeat the test again and again and again. Much like you, I am stuck on 6.5 writing and the occasional 7.5 in listening. I have already given 6 times but now preparing for computer based. I cannot take pencil anymore and thankfully CBP is available in many locations now.

All the best.

You may wanna post some essays here or buy the correction service before sitting real exams. Some native teachers offer services of 7-7.5 usd per essay. 220*6=1320 usd! I can not afford that figure. Although services do not mean you'll attain the same band scores, the teachers who offer the services have spent long time on ielts than us. Not to mention stressfulness while doing exams.

 

[kingkong88]

Please review.

Some people say that in all levels of education, from primary schools to universities, too much time is spent on learning facts and not enough on learning practical skills.

Do you agree or disagree?

Ans : There is an ongoing debate as to what should be the focus of education. While some people believe that learning facts is more important, others stress on practical skills. In my opinion, the purpose of education should be to focus on the theory and facts of the subjects, and not on practical skills.

Firstly, I believe that the purpose of school and university education is to provide the theoretical and factual foundation which would provide the underpinnings of a person's learning. Although practical skills are important, they can be picked up easily once the theoretical foundation has been laid properly, since it is then only a matter of applying the knowledge to real world problems.

Secondly, education is not meant to create a workforce ready for employment. Even though the high cost of education necessitates that due importance be given to practical skills that would help with employment prospects, education is meant to broaden one's horizons and teach one critical thinking skills.

Lastly, I would give the example of my learning of database technologies in university. While I did not delve too deeply into a practically useful database system, I was taught how to design database systems, the common issues faced in doing so, and how the underlying systems worked. This provided me with a basic understanding of databases that I could utilise to understand the working of any database system out there. I believe this is more useful than having narrow but practical experience in a single database system.

In conclusion, I believe that schools and universities are right in not spending too much time on learning practical skills, which I believe are secondary to picking up theoretical and factual knowledge.

 

[priteshgondalia]

Hey,
Please help me improve my writing.

Online, people write product reviews and opinions about services. Is it a good thing or bad thing?


Owing to breakthrough inventions, online shoppers' reviews and detailed opinions about various items and services are often found on diverse websites. This is a positive development which can be advantageous for both consumers as well as companies.


A good reason to publish product experiences on the internet is that buyers can know more about unaware items which they are going to purchase from online stores. In other words, since a number of sellers nowadays advertise their products wrongly on several shopping sites, such reviews will allow shoppers to acquire proper information about accurate quality and quantity of any products or services. As a result, they will be able to do shopping wisely and would not be attracted from innovative and attractive advertises which only show the information that people want to see.


Another point to consider is that the overall product sales of organizations can also be improved by such online reviews and comments. This is to say that when company owners read their customer's opinion about their services and item, they will be able to know that whether their products have significant impacts in the local community or not. Such virtual platforms even allow them to enhance their services if consumers are not satisfied. Therefore, such modern aspects of providing personal opinions on the internet often play a predominant role in ameliorating one's annual profit.


To summarize, online reviews and opinions are a must not only for consumers but also for sellers. This is because such practices will inform reliable information about products and help company improve their services and sales.

Word Count: 262

 

[nns14]

You may wanna post some essays here or buy the correction service before sitting real exams. Some native teachers offer services of 7-7.5 usd per essay. 220*6=1320 usd! I can not afford that figure. Although services do not mean you'll attain the same band scores, the teachers who offer the services have spent long time on ielts than us. Not to mention stressfulness while doing exams.

I already bought the correction service of Chris (IELTS Advantage) for five essays. I have submitted the first piece, and he has already given thorough feedback.

 

[H0peAndFa1th]

I already bought the correction service of Chris (IELTS Advantage) for five essays. I have submitted the first piece, and he has already given thorough feedback.

yea, they are quite good, could you share his feedback privately ?

 

[Moeedkh]

overall this is very good intro, 7 or more bands.


so, this para says if it is illegal don't do it.

nice language, delivery, one main idea, logic, reason, word choice, vocab, collocations, sentence structure, clearly 7 for this one, minimum.

very smooth, no hesitation, logical progression, vocab, collocations etc etc.

everything is so good, I really want to read essays like this one, this is so ideal essay. clearly above 7.


wow nice conclusion, you know what are you writing.

because this one is so good, let's see what is missing here.
idiomatic language.
If statement (Conditional sentence)
question statement,

try to incorporate these things to get you above 8, but don't spoil your current state.



nice, clear.


again clear, good word usage, and vocab, no issues at all. logical.


again everything is perfect.


nice

-------
You deserve 7.5 to 8.5, but examiner these days are so shitheads, don't expect more than 7 or 7.5 for this.

repeat the good things, try to add suggestions, but don't spoil the good thing.

under exam conditions, we make mistakes, we forget things. keep that in mind.

Hi H0peAndFa1th & Cansha,

I have taken the test on 3rd Nov18 andmy score is : L8.5 R6.5 W6.5 S7.0
I am surprised by my results. Previously I have never got less than 8.5 in reading. Also writing is still 6.5 in spite of leaving no stone un turned. I dont think IELTS examination is fair..its total biased.

 

[MaryNguyen]

Hi H0peAndFa1th & Cansha,

I have taken the test on 3rd Nov18 andmy score is : L8.5 R6.5 W6.5 S7.0
I am surprised by my results. Previously I have never got less than 8.5 in reading. Also writing is still 6.5 in spite of leaving no stone un turned. I dont think IELTS examination is fair..its total biased.

Now you know.
Just take a look around websites that teach ielts. They all have some differences in structure, approach to essay questions, viewpoint about how is clear or balanced... Even the two ex-examiners that are Simon and Mat Clark have differences.
Cambridge, IDP and BC claim that all examiners must be under training and retraining, I believe that. But what do they train?! I believe it's general criteria, and so examiners apply their own views on those basic requirements. They are humans, not machines.
Not to mention it might be a scam. Hope that's a myth.

 

[H0peAndFa1th]

new results of 27 October test

consistent with 7 bands in writing, I was expecting more this time
but not happy with speaking, I was expecting 8 or so bands in speaking and 9 in listening



Overall Band: 8.0
Listening: 8.5
Reading: 9.0
Writing: 7.0
Speaking: 7.0