IELTS Writing: Essential Tips for a High Score, Cheat Sheet of English

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IELTS

WRITING

Improve Speaking and your Writing

IELTS SPEAKING

WRITING TIPS

The thought occurs to someone The thought just occurs to me that it’s mum’s birthday tomorrow and we haven’t got her a card. Gather one’s thought The President was taken aback by the question and took a minute to gather his thoughts. Noun + preposition + thought: Great deal of thought Shirley doesn’t devote a great deal of thought to her appearance. Freedom of thought Some places don’t encourage freedom of thought. School of thought One school of thought contends that modern man originated in Central Africa. Train of thought Sorry, where was I? I’ve lost my train of thought. .

AVOID USING REALLY, SO, A LOT, VERY

In IELTS writing, you need to write an essay, using “academic” language. So your goal should be to be reasonably formal/academic. To do so, you should not use imprecise language like really, so, a lot, very, etc Examples:

1. Many IELTS candidates think that achieving Band 8.0 in IELTS is very hard. ==> Use a stronger word: Many IELTS candidates think that achieving Band 8.0 in IELTS is difficult replace simple words with more complex ones Very good ==> top-notch, splendid, terrific, excellent, magnificent, fabulous, outstanding, etc Very bad ==> horrible, terrible, outrageous, distressing, awful, etc

Very delicious ==> appetizing, delectable, flavourful, scrumptious, enjoyable, palatable, etc

1. Robot-driven car is really controversial ==> Robot-driven car is controversial
2. A lot of online earners share their great tips on websites. ==> Many/A great number of/ A multitude of online learners……

DO NOT USE CONTRACTIONS IN

ACADEMIC WRITING

It’s better to write out the words like: Don’t ==> do not Can’t ==> cannot Mustn’t ==> must not Couldn’t ==> could not Wouldn’t ==> would not Isn’t ==> is not Haven’t ==> have not Hasn’t ==> has not

AVOID “THERE IS/ THERE ARE”

When you write, try to write your ideas in a clear & concise way. There is/there are is extra words that are not needed. So just leave them out to make your sentences stronger and straight to the point. Example: There are many issues that students have to face at university ==> Students face a multitude of issues at university

How can we correct these sentences?

Corrections:

• The doctor worked around the clock, operating on the boy.
• As India has entered the WTO, the local entrepreneurs are faced with both challenges and opportunities.

2. Run-on Sentences:

A run-on sentence consists of two or more main clauses that are joined together without proper punctuation (comma, semi-colon, period, etc). We often speak in run-on sentences but our pauses indicate meaning; however, when we write we need to use punctuation to break up our sentences and impart proper meaning. Comma splices occur when two independent clauses are joined by a comma. Remember: a comma is not strong enough to join these clauses itself! You need a conjunctive coordinator to complement it, or else use a semi-colon and a conjunctive adverb. Most importantly, to do well in the IELTS writing you don’t need to be a punctuation expert. Just knowing commas and periods is usually sufficient for a good grade. Examples:

• Van Gogh is a world-famous artist his paintings can be found in many museums and art galleries.
• Allen Ginsberg is a renowned American poet, his most famous poem is Howl. How can we fix these? Corrections:
• Van Gogh is a world-famous artist whose paintings can be found in many museums and art galleries.
• Van Gogh is a world-famous artist. His paintings can be found in many museums and art galleries.
• Van Gogh is a world-famous artist; his paintings can be found in many museums and art galleries.

• Allen Ginsberg is a renowned American poet, whose most famous poem is Howl.
• Allen Ginsberg is a renowned American poet. His most famous poem is Howl.
• Allen Ginsberg is a renowned American poet; his most famous poem is Howl. As you can see above, there is more than one way to fix these errors. Make sure, however, that you use the correct fix according to the sentence’s precise meaning.

3. Comma Splices:

Be careful to avoid a comma splice. This is a very comma error wherein two independent clauses are joined with a comma, like this:

• The dog was hungry, he wanted some food. We can change it in a number of ways to make it correct.
• The dog was hungry; he wanted some food.
• The dog was hungry. He wanted some food.
• The dog was hungry, and he wanted some food.