IELTS - Missed my CLB 9 by 0.5 Writing - Ask for Review?

[alexslx]

Hi everyone,

I'm applying to Express Entry and I received my IELTS GA Marks today:
Listening: 8.5
Reading: 8.5
Writing: 6.5
Speaking: 7.0

As you can see, I just missed my CLB 9 and that made my Express Entry dive from 463 to 405.

My question is:

1) Should I really try to ask for a review so they might increase my writing to 6.5? What are the odds?
2) They cannot decrease previous marks right? So I think it won't hurt asking for it.

Regards,

 

[scylla]

Hi everyone,

I'm applying to Express Entry and I received my IELTS GA Marks today:
Listening: 8.5
Reading: 8.5
Writing: 6.5
Speaking: 7.0

As you can see, I just missed my CLB 9 and that made my Express Entry dive from 463 to 405.

My question is:

1) Should I really try to ask for a review so they might increase my writing to 6.5? What are the odds?
2) They cannot decrease previous marks right? So I think it won't hurt asking for it.

Regards,

Correct - they won't decrease.

 

[marosa]

Hi everyone,

I'm applying to Express Entry and I received my IELTS GA Marks today:
Listening: 8.5
Reading: 8.5
Writing: 6.5
Speaking: 7.0

As you can see, I just missed my CLB 9 and that made my Express Entry dive from 463 to 405.

My question is:

1) Should I really try to ask for a review so they might increase my writing to 6.5? What are the odds?
2) They cannot decrease previous marks right? So I think it won't hurt asking for it.

Regards,

Hi!

Do you remember what your Task 2 question was and what you wrote? Like the approximate structure, how you stated your opinion etc.

 

[NIRALI-08]

Hi everyone,

I'm applying to Express Entry and I received my IELTS GA Marks today:
Listening: 8.5
Reading: 8.5
Writing: 6.5
Speaking: 7.0

As you can see, I just missed my CLB 9 and that made my Express Entry dive from 463 to 405.

My question is:

1) Should I really try to ask for a review so they might increase my writing to 6.5? What are the odds?
2) They cannot decrease previous marks right? So I think it won't hurt asking for it.

Regards,
Hi Alex,
Can you please share the material with me as I am having my ielts in June. My email is pnitsi@yahoo.com

 

[alexslx]

Hi!

Do you remember what your Task 2 question was and what you wrote? Like the approximate structure, how you stated your opinion etc.

Sorry, I do not remember the question as I'm writing about two writings per day. I'm out of topics already.

---

I did ask for a remark today, it is about 85 GBP and I'm dying inside, but worth a try. Let's see how it goes.

 

[nat.abramovich]

Sorry, I do not remember the question as I'm writing about two writings per day. I'm out of topics already.

---

I did ask for a remark today, it is about 85 GBP and I'm dying inside, but worth a try. Let's see how it goes.

What happened?

 

[alexslx]

What happened?

Still waiting for remarks. I'll update it here when it happens. There is no timeframe I think.

 

[nat.abramovich]

Still waiting for remarks. I'll update it here when it happens. There is no timeframe I think.

Same here bro,got 6,5
Is there any way to know seperate scores for each task?

 

[alexslx]

Still no update from EOR (Enquire On Results). However I got my second exames marks today and...

Listening: 8.5
Reading: 8.5
Writing: 6.5
Speaking: 7.0

SAME RESULTS. I really think examiners are so subjective on their writing marks... No way I can get almost 9 on L/R and can't write a 250 word essay.

 

[marosa]

Still no update from EOR (Enquire On Results). However I got my second exames marks today and...

Listening: 8.5
Reading: 8.5
Writing: 6.5
Speaking: 7.0

SAME RESULTS. I really think examiners are so subjective on their writing marks... No way I can get almost 9 on L/R and can't write a 250 word essay.

It’s most probably the essay format you can’t fit into. In most cases people know grammar and have a wide lexical resource, but simply because they don’t follow the format the examiners expect them to they get low scores. That’s why you get high marks on other sections and get stuck with writing. I took IELTS 4 times with 8.5 and 9 on R and L, 7.5 and 8 on S and 6.5 on W. When I finally understood what they wanted from me I could get 8 on writing too. I didn’t work on vocabulary or grammar, I simply paid more attention on task achievement and structuring.

Don’t get hopeless, you simply need to practice for few weeks. But if you keep writing the same way over and over again, there is very little chance you’ll get higher grades, it’s a waste of money.

 

[alexslx]

It’s most probably the essay format you can’t fit into. In most cases people know grammar and have a wide lexical resource, but simply because they don’t follow the format the examiners expect them to they get low scores. That’s why you get high marks on other sections and get stuck with writing. I took IELTS 4 times with 8.5 and 9 on R and L, 7.5 and 8 on S and 6.5 on W. When I finally understood what they wanted from me I could get 8 on writing too. I didn’t work on vocabulary or grammar, I simply paid more attention on task achievement and structuring.

Don’t get hopeless, you simply need to practice for few weeks. But if you keep writing the same way over and over again, there is very little chance you’ll get higher grades, it’s a waste of money.

Hey, thanks for writing that up. I have studied writing task format for some time and I try to write as they want (intro, body paragraph 1, body paragraph 2, conclusion, etc). Also, I use one idea per paragraph and everything that almost any IELTS practice course or guides say we need to do. However, that score still happening.

I really don't know what to do more than just write and write, but as you said, and I agree with, it's a waste of money keeping with the same scores.

 

[suresh320]

Still no update from EOR (Enquire On Results). However I got my second exames marks today and...

Listening: 8.5
Reading: 8.5
Writing: 6.5
Speaking: 7.0

SAME RESULTS. I really think examiners are so subjective on their writing marks... No way I can get almost 9 on L/R and can't write a 250 word essay.

Writing is tough need to add enough complex sentences and show variety in vocabulary usage to score high in writing.

 

[marosa]

Hey, thanks for writing that up. I have studied writing task format for some time and I try to write as they want (intro, body paragraph 1, body paragraph 2, conclusion, etc). Also, I use one idea per paragraph and everything that almost any IELTS practice course or guides say we need to do. However, that score still happening.

I really don't know what to do more than just write and write, but as you said, and I agree with, it's a waste of money keeping with the same scores.

This might help:

https://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/threads/ielts-writing-for-band-7-or-above.540392/page-90#post-7568485

Also, task response is extremely important. Often people don’t spend enough time to really understand the question and get off topic, especially at the exam, when they get nervous. This means that even if their grammar and vocabulary is band 9 they most probably won’t get 7+.

 

[alexslx]

Both EOR (Enquiry On Results) for my two tries got denied with a standard letter:

The IELTS test partners adhere to a strict global procedure for the re-marking of all EORs. All test papers listed above are remarked independently by British Council Senior Examiners and, Clerical Markers. Results are reported in confidence to the British Council. Please note that results provided by the British Council as a result of this process are final.

The outcome of your remark is as follows:
Writing: The band score awarded for this module has remained unchanged.
Speaking: The band score awarded for this module has remained unchanged.

 

[IELTS With Josh]

If you are certain that you deserve something better than your grade in Writing, then you might want to consider opting for EOR.

Regards,

Josh.