HiGuys,
I would like to share my experience with you all in the hope it helps someone.
I took my IELTS on 16th December 2017 for the first time ever and my scores were a decent LRWS 8, 8, 7.5, 7. When I came out of the exam hall, I knew Speaking test didn't go well and I was mentally prepared to take a retest after checking my results. I remember telling myself that I'm a better speaker than my scores and I'll do better in my next attempt. Imagine my relief in getting to CLB9 in my first attempt! That said, I'll put in a few tips that might be helpful as regards to Writing.
1. Firstly, practice. Not for knowing WHAT to write (at first), but HOW much to write. Trust me, you'll have little to no time to count during the exam to check if you've met the word limit or not, so get a hang of the number of words Vis a Vis length of your essay/letter. You lose 0.5 band for not keeping to the word limit, so don't lose it there!
2. Secondly, plan your answer. Take 5 minutes max before you start your essay/letter and just think and roughly jot down 3-4 points. Pick two best ones and simply follow this format between your introduction and conclusion paragraphs. The basic idea is to let your key points flow smoothly:
Para 1, Line 1 - Firstly,...(your idea here)...
Para 1, Line 2 - (explain you think it's good/relevant)
Para 1, Line 3 - Therefore/Hence... (Repeat your idea, but rephrase it slightly differently )
Para 2, Line 1 - Also/Moreover/Secondly,...(your idea here)...
Para 2, Line 2 - (explain you think it's good/relevant)
Para 2, Line 3 - Therefore/Hence... (Repeat your idea, but rephrase it slightly differently )
3. It's a Complete Myth that you need to weave complicated sentences with high level vocabulary to get a good writing score. Simple sentences, showing good use of sentence joining structures such as because, although, moreover, while, however is more than sufficient to score Band 7. So practice writing such sentences together. One example would be:
Instead of writing this:
I arrived at the school very early on Monday morning. The school gates were closed on the account of a holiday that i was not informed about.
You could write:
I arrived at the school very early on Monday morning, but/however, the school gates were closed on the account of a holiday that I was not informed about.
Hope you get the idea now.
4. Spellings: i cannot stress enough about the importance of spelling. Do not use words that are too long or complicated to remember. It's completely okay to write another less complicated but equally effective word. Do not use high level words to impress examiners if you do not know how to use them. ROOKIE MISTAKE . It's perfectly ok to write: One of the repercussions (penalties) of not following safety guidelines is a personal safety audit.
I've tried to outline points that you may not find in the guides. Sorry for the extremely long post. Do reach out to me if you have any questions.
I want to know do you give ielts classes?