It has been an enriching experience, being an IELTS Trainer for so many years, to help people realize their dreams. It has come to my observation that the writing module in IELTS is proving to be a challenge for many students today, especially securing a 7+ in Writing.
It is important to do a thorough reading of Band 7 essays, and make notes to understand their structure, sentence construction, vocabulary level, phrasal verbs usage, overall length, concluding remarks among others. The scoring criteria are following:
1. Task Achievement/Response
2. Coherence and Cohesion
3. Lexical Resource
4. Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Many students are unable to comprehend what is wrong with their essay structure, why they are unable to score 7 bands and how to improve their writing skill. The answers in Writing Task 1 are evaluated against the following criteria: task achievement, coherence and cohesion, lexical resource and grammatical range and accuracy. Writing Task 2 is also evaluated in a similar fashion except for the task response criterion. Let us explore the band descriptors in detail:
1.Task Achievement
A band 7 essay should cover all the requirements of the task and clearly present a fully developed response. The tone and language should be consistent and appropriate and highlight the key features of the topic, ensure to address all the parts of the task.
2.Coherence and Cohesion
A band 7 essay logically organizes information and ideas, there is a clear progression throughout. Try to use a range of cohesive devices appropriately. Linking words in particular help you to connect one paragraph to another. Students must use cohesive devices effectively to make the quality of writing more effective.
Linking structures
Using a wide range of vocabulary will help you to gain higher score at IELTS.
Don’t fear- you don’t have to learn all of these phrases. Just choose a few that you like and practice using them in your writing.