All about IELTS writing

IELTS has included writing module in the test to evaluate the ability of a student to write essays, letters, reports and other formal documents. The exam body of Ielts wants to make certain that the candidate is fairly competent in writing formal essays. Ielts writing module is comparatively difficult than listening and speaking but easier than reading module. However, it depends on the candidate’s overall knack for any module whether he would find that one easy or difficult.

Oxygen for English is dedicated towards the upliftment of each and every aspirant of Ielts. Keeping that in mind, this page has been designed to deal with each and every facet of Ielts writing module. By applying the techniques mentioned over here and studying from the material provided you certainly can achieve the required band score.

To begin with, the candidate must know about the basics of Ielts writing module.

  • How is Ielts writing conducted?
  • What are the tasks of it?
  • How are your Ielts writing tasks evaluated? (Expectation and parameters)
  • How should you attempt the tasks?( essay structures, graph structure, process of writing essay
  • How could you improve your writing? ( 20 vital tips )
  • Frequently asked questions about Ielts writing

How is Ielts writing conducted?

The IELTS writing modules is an evaluation of the candidate whether he is able to finish the tasks in a given time. The writing module has been allocated one hour time in which the candidates have to finish two different writing tasks. It is normally followed by reading module in exam.

What are the tasks of it?

There are two parts of IELTS writing viz Task 1 and task 2. Task 2 is same for both the academic and general module whereas Task 1 is different. (You can have the full information about the Ielts modules form here)

Task 1

Academic module: For academic module Task 1 is an illustration of charts, diagrams or processes. In this task, candidates are given the diagram of certain research or information. Candidates have to write down the summary in about 150 words of this information. The task has to be finished in 20 minutes.

General module

Task 1 for Ielts general is somewhat different. In general module the students are given a situation of some incident for which they have to write down a letter.

The letter should also be written in about 150 words and must be finished in 20 minutes.

Task 2

Task 2 is same for both the academic and general modules and carries more importance for obtaining the final band score.

In task 2, the candidates are given a topic of general interest on which they have to present a formal written argument in about 250 words for which 40 minutes is allotted which means the students have to finish the task in 40 minutes.

Here the formal word is important to us. While writing a Formal essay there are some dos and don’ts which should be considered seriously. Otherwise there may be a serious impact on the band score.

How are your Ielts writing tasks evaluated?

In all modules including writing Ielts evaluates the students on the basis of the level starting from below average to proficient. And on the basis of this the band score is given. Study the below table to understand your level in comparison with Ielts band score.

Band score Level of the student
5 -5.5 Below average
6 Average
6.5 Above average
7 -7.5 Superior
8 and above Proficient

The candidates can check their level of English by the band score they obtained in IELTS exam.

Now as far as Ielts writing is concerned, there are certain parameters which Ielts has included to check the ability of the student.

  1. Task achievement
  2. Cohesion and coherence
  3. Lexical resources
  4. Grammatical range and accuracy

Task achievement

Task achievement in the simple form can be defined as whether the student fulfilled the requirement of the writing or not.

First things first, the examiner will see whether you have written the minimum words required or not. The minimum words requirement in writing task 1 and 2 is 150 and 250 words respectively.

Apart from that, Ielts writing tasks should be written in a proper format. Ielts writing task 1 and 2 has certain parameters of how it should be written to get the maximum band you will get detailed and full information about the structures and methods of Ielts writing task 2 here.

Cohesion and coherence

Cohesion word suggests how the people or things are connected to each other and the meaning of coherence is how logical and consistent something is. The words themselves suggest the parameter.

When you are writing an essay or illustration of graphs or letters for general module. Your sentences and paragraphs should be linked to each other in such a way that the examiner will find logical connection between the paragraphs and the overall point you want to discuss about.

You can do this by using proper linking words and conjunctions

Lexical resources

Lexical resources are the power of vocabulary you use in your writing. Ielts writing is a formal piece of writing which required using of higher and advanced vocabulary. Simple vocabulary will not get any band score.

The candidates should be in a position to use higher vocabulary with natural occurrence.

Grammatical range and accuracy

Like vocabulary grammar should also be of advanced standard. The examiner will look for the variation of grammar in your writing.

How should you attempt the tasks?

For complete guidance click here

How could you improve your Ielts Writing?

You are required to have thorough knowledge on both the tasks.

About how you can improve your knowledge in both the writing tasks. Dos and don’ts of Ielts writing have been given a full dedicated page which is also called tips.

I am enlisting 20 vital tips for improving IELTS writing task 1 and 2 and the detailed guidance will follow.

Click here for detailed understanding of Ielts writing tips.

  1. Decide your goal first.
  2. Read, read and read.
  3. Write, Write and write.
  4. Do not copy anything directly from any resources.
  5. Always use proper format.
  6. Always write more words than required.
  7. Pay attention to presentation
  8. Always use the given time.
  9. Understand the process :
  10. work on your grammar
  11. learn to write Complex sentences
  12. Learn and use advanced vocabulary
  13. Linking words and conjunctions
  14. Use passive construction
  15. Never use short forms.
  16. Never use colloquial language.
  17. Do not use simple vocabulary.
  18. Simple linking words.
  19. Do not use personal examples.
  20. Do not give your opinion too strongly.