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Tips for writing better exam essays
1. Read – write – read – write – read – write – read – write – read – write – read
What does this mean? It means that you should go back and read the paragraph you have just written before you start the next one. You may think that this is a waste of time. If so, you’d be wrong.
One of my very first posts/articles on this site was headed “IELTS is not a test of intelligence”. While the post itself now looks a little old, the advice is still good. You are being tested on the quality of your English, not on the quality of your ideas.
This advice is particularly important for candidates who come from an academic background where they are used to being graded on quality and quantity of ideas. IELTS is different: it is quite possible to write a band 9.0 essay and not include some key ideas, let alone all the ideas.
The practical advice here is to select your best idea and write about that. That means not writing everything you know – leave some ideas out. Don’t worry if it is not your best explanation, worry about whether it is your clearest explanation.
3. Write about what you know – relax about ideas
This is a similar idea. IELTS is an international exam (that’s the “I” in IELTS) and the questions are written to be answered by anyone around the world. Some people stress about finding ideas. They shouldn’t. The ideas you need are generally simple (eg”I disagree”, “This is not a good idea”).
The practical solution is to think about what YOU know and what YOUR experience is. If you look at the question, this is what it tells you to do. If you come from Bonn, write about Bonn; if you come from Ulan Bator, write about Ulan Bator!
4. Examples are easier to write than explanations
In an exam you are under pressure. You want to make things as easy for yourself as possible. One practical idea to achieve this is to focus as much on examples as explanations when you write. Why?
It’s simply harder if you only think “because”. Some of the ideas may be very complex and, under pressure, it can be difficult to explain these with reasons. What may happen is that your sentences become too long and the ideas confused.
The practical bit is to concentrate as much on examples. This is a good idea as examples tend to be easier to write as you are simply describing situations. You should also note that the instructions tell you to use examples! All you need to do is make sure that your examples are relevant to the main idea.
5. Don’t write too much – the examiner is paid by the minute
There is no upper word limit I know of, but it really isn’t a good idea to write 350 words or more. Here’s why:
6. Writer – know yourself
One of the most famous philosophical thoughts is “know yourself”. How does this apply to exam writing? Did Plato really have IELTS in mind when he wrote his dialogues? Well, no, but…
The idea is that you should check for your mistakes when you write. The practical part here is that you shouldn’t check for mistakes generally – that’s too hard and probably a waste of time in the exam. What isn’t a waste of time though is to look for mistakes you know you can correct – the ones you normally make!
The really practical thing is to have your own checklist in your head before you start writing.
7. See the whole essay in your head before you start writing
It’s very important that your essay is a whole – that all the bits fit together. If you don’t do that, you may lose significant marks for both coherence and task response.
This means planning of course. Planning bothers some people and bores others. There are different ways to do this, but at the very least have a map of your essay in your head.
8. Focus on the backbone of your essay
This is a related point. All the essay matters of course, but perhaps some bits matter more than others. I’d suggest the practical thing to do is concentrate on the backbone of your essay, the bits that help you write better and the examiner to understand better. The backbone is:
9. Don’t just practice whole essays
The best way to learn to write essays is to write essays? True or false? My answer is a bit of both.
Yes, you do need to practise writing complete essays, but it may be a mistake to do only that. The different part of essays require slightly different skills. To write an introduction, you need to be able to paraphrase the question. To write a body paragraph, you need to be able to explain ideas. To write a conclusion, you need to be able summarise.
The practical suggestion is to practise writing introductions, body paragraphs and conclusions separately. Focus on skills.
10. Focus on the question and refocus on the question
I have left this one to last as it is for me the most important idea. Essays go wrong for different reasons. Some of these you may not be able to avoid: the quality of your English may not be good enough yet. The one mistake you can always avoid is that you didn’t answer the question. Too many essays go wrong because candidates didn’t read and think about the question properly.
The practical suggestion: before you write each paragraph, refer back to the question to remind yourself about what you are meant to write about.
It is very easy to get carried away in exams. You may start off on topic, then you have a “good idea” as you write. So you write about that. Sadly, that “good idea” may not fully relate to the question. Big problem.
What does this mean? It means that you should go back and read the paragraph you have just written before you start the next one. You may think that this is a waste of time. If so, you’d be wrong.
- It’s important to link your paragraphs together – what more practical way to do that than just read what you have written?
- It helps you with words for the next paragraph – it is good to repeat some words as this improves your coherence. Look at my sample essay to see how I repeat/reflect language. In one paragraph I talk about the short term, this makes it easy to move onto the long term in the next paragraph.
- You may also want to check out my series of lessons on the process of writing IELTS essays – where you will find a much more detailed explanation of this.
One of my very first posts/articles on this site was headed “IELTS is not a test of intelligence”. While the post itself now looks a little old, the advice is still good. You are being tested on the quality of your English, not on the quality of your ideas.
This advice is particularly important for candidates who come from an academic background where they are used to being graded on quality and quantity of ideas. IELTS is different: it is quite possible to write a band 9.0 essay and not include some key ideas, let alone all the ideas.
The practical advice here is to select your best idea and write about that. That means not writing everything you know – leave some ideas out. Don’t worry if it is not your best explanation, worry about whether it is your clearest explanation.
3. Write about what you know – relax about ideas
This is a similar idea. IELTS is an international exam (that’s the “I” in IELTS) and the questions are written to be answered by anyone around the world. Some people stress about finding ideas. They shouldn’t. The ideas you need are generally simple (eg”I disagree”, “This is not a good idea”).
The practical solution is to think about what YOU know and what YOUR experience is. If you look at the question, this is what it tells you to do. If you come from Bonn, write about Bonn; if you come from Ulan Bator, write about Ulan Bator!
4. Examples are easier to write than explanations
In an exam you are under pressure. You want to make things as easy for yourself as possible. One practical idea to achieve this is to focus as much on examples as explanations when you write. Why?
It’s simply harder if you only think “because”. Some of the ideas may be very complex and, under pressure, it can be difficult to explain these with reasons. What may happen is that your sentences become too long and the ideas confused.
The practical bit is to concentrate as much on examples. This is a good idea as examples tend to be easier to write as you are simply describing situations. You should also note that the instructions tell you to use examples! All you need to do is make sure that your examples are relevant to the main idea.
5. Don’t write too much – the examiner is paid by the minute
There is no upper word limit I know of, but it really isn’t a good idea to write 350 words or more. Here’s why:
- Examiners will only spend so much time looking at any essay. Write too much and they will read what you wrote “less carefully”. It is easier to read/grade a 300 word essay than a 400 word essay!
- The more you write, the more likely you are to make language mistakes.
- The more you write, the more likely you are to go off topic. The examiner won’t read/grade anything that doesn’t directly relate to the question.
- If you write less, you give yourself more time to choose the best words – and that’s what you are being graded on.
- If you write less, you give yourself more time to go back and check what you have written.
6. Writer – know yourself
One of the most famous philosophical thoughts is “know yourself”. How does this apply to exam writing? Did Plato really have IELTS in mind when he wrote his dialogues? Well, no, but…
The idea is that you should check for your mistakes when you write. The practical part here is that you shouldn’t check for mistakes generally – that’s too hard and probably a waste of time in the exam. What isn’t a waste of time though is to look for mistakes you know you can correct – the ones you normally make!
The really practical thing is to have your own checklist in your head before you start writing.
7. See the whole essay in your head before you start writing
It’s very important that your essay is a whole – that all the bits fit together. If you don’t do that, you may lose significant marks for both coherence and task response.
This means planning of course. Planning bothers some people and bores others. There are different ways to do this, but at the very least have a map of your essay in your head.
8. Focus on the backbone of your essay
This is a related point. All the essay matters of course, but perhaps some bits matter more than others. I’d suggest the practical thing to do is concentrate on the backbone of your essay, the bits that help you write better and the examiner to understand better. The backbone is:
- The introduction: this should identify the question and outline your position. Don’t rush it as it is the first thing the examiner will read. First impressions count.
- The first/topic sentences of each paragraph: these should be clear and to the point. They should identify exactly what that paragraph is about and show how it relates to the rest of the essay. The practical tip is to keep the detail/clever ideas for the body of the paragraph. Start off general and then build towards the specific.
- The conclusion: this is the easiest part of the essay normally. Most often, all you need to do is go back to the introduction and rephrase it
9. Don’t just practice whole essays
The best way to learn to write essays is to write essays? True or false? My answer is a bit of both.
Yes, you do need to practise writing complete essays, but it may be a mistake to do only that. The different part of essays require slightly different skills. To write an introduction, you need to be able to paraphrase the question. To write a body paragraph, you need to be able to explain ideas. To write a conclusion, you need to be able summarise.
The practical suggestion is to practise writing introductions, body paragraphs and conclusions separately. Focus on skills.
10. Focus on the question and refocus on the question
I have left this one to last as it is for me the most important idea. Essays go wrong for different reasons. Some of these you may not be able to avoid: the quality of your English may not be good enough yet. The one mistake you can always avoid is that you didn’t answer the question. Too many essays go wrong because candidates didn’t read and think about the question properly.
The practical suggestion: before you write each paragraph, refer back to the question to remind yourself about what you are meant to write about.
It is very easy to get carried away in exams. You may start off on topic, then you have a “good idea” as you write. So you write about that. Sadly, that “good idea” may not fully relate to the question. Big problem.
WRITING TASK 2
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Present
a written argument to an educated reader with no specialist knowledge of the
following topic.
Universities should accept equal numbers of male and female students in every subject.
To what extent do you agree or disagree?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own experience or knowledge.
You should write at least 250 words.
Education is a basic right for mankind in this world. For this reason, men and women should have access to the same educational opportunities. However, I do not agree with the opinion of accepting the equal proportion of both sexes in every university subject.
Having the same proportion of male and female students on all degree courses is unrealistic because student numbers on any course depend on the applications that the institution receives. If a university decided to fulfil a course with the equal gender, it would need enough applicants to attend this subject and spend much time on college enrolment. In the reality, many courses are more popular with only one gender. For example, nursing tend to attract female students rather than men, so that it would be difficult to make balance proportion between men and women.
Apart from practical concerns express above, I strongly believe that it will be wrong if universities discriminate against student due to their gender. These institutions should continue to select the best candidates for each subject according on their qualification. In this process, it is undoubtedly that both men and women have the same opportunities to attend a subject as per their individual merit that can prove that they are eligible. If a female student is the best candidate for a place on an engineering course, it is surely wrong to reject her in favour of a male student with lower grade of fewer qualifications.
In conclusion, the selection of university students should base on individual merits and qualifications, and gender should be irrelevant in accepting students. However, it would be impractical and unfair to change the selection procedure based on gender.
Having the same proportion of male and female students on all degree courses is unrealistic because student numbers on any course depend on the applications that the institution receives. If a university decided to fulfil a course with the equal gender, it would need enough applicants to attend this subject and spend much time on college enrolment. In the reality, many courses are more popular with only one gender. For example, nursing tend to attract female students rather than men, so that it would be difficult to make balance proportion between men and women.
Apart from practical concerns express above, I strongly believe that it will be wrong if universities discriminate against student due to their gender. These institutions should continue to select the best candidates for each subject according on their qualification. In this process, it is undoubtedly that both men and women have the same opportunities to attend a subject as per their individual merit that can prove that they are eligible. If a female student is the best candidate for a place on an engineering course, it is surely wrong to reject her in favour of a male student with lower grade of fewer qualifications.
In conclusion, the selection of university students should base on individual merits and qualifications, and gender should be irrelevant in accepting students. However, it would be impractical and unfair to change the selection procedure based on gender.
Full essay evaluations
nursing tend to
nursing tends to
Sentence: If a university decided to fulfil a course with the equal gender, it would need enough applicants to attend this subject and spend much time on college enrolment.
Error: enrolment Suggestion: enrollment
Error: fulfil Suggestion: fulfill
Attribute Value Ideal
Score: 7.0 out of 9
Category: Good Excellent
No. of Grammatical Errors: 1 2
No. of Spelling Errors: 2 2
No. of Sentences: 13 15
No. of Words: 279 350
No. of Characters: 1408 1500
No. of Different Words: 150 200
Fourth Root of Number of Words: 4.087 4.7
Average Word Length: 5.047 4.6
Word Length SD: 2.865 2.4
No. of Words greater than 5 chars: 108 100
No. of Words greater than 6 chars: 76 80
No. of Words greater than 7 chars: 47 40
No. of Words greater than 8 chars: 38 20
Use of Passive Voice (%): 0 0
Avg. Sentence Length: 21.462 21.0
Sentence Length SD: 7.407 7.5
Use of Discourse Markers (%): 0.538 0.12
Sentence-Text Coherence: 0.334 0.35
Sentence-Para Coherence: 0.563 0.50
Sentence-Sentence Coherence: 0.047 0.07
Number of Paragraphs: 4 5
nursing tend to
nursing tends to
Sentence: If a university decided to fulfil a course with the equal gender, it would need enough applicants to attend this subject and spend much time on college enrolment.
Error: enrolment Suggestion: enrollment
Error: fulfil Suggestion: fulfill
Attribute Value Ideal
Score: 7.0 out of 9
Category: Good Excellent
No. of Grammatical Errors: 1 2
No. of Spelling Errors: 2 2
No. of Sentences: 13 15
No. of Words: 279 350
No. of Characters: 1408 1500
No. of Different Words: 150 200
Fourth Root of Number of Words: 4.087 4.7
Average Word Length: 5.047 4.6
Word Length SD: 2.865 2.4
No. of Words greater than 5 chars: 108 100
No. of Words greater than 6 chars: 76 80
No. of Words greater than 7 chars: 47 40
No. of Words greater than 8 chars: 38 20
Use of Passive Voice (%): 0 0
Avg. Sentence Length: 21.462 21.0
Sentence Length SD: 7.407 7.5
Use of Discourse Markers (%): 0.538 0.12
Sentence-Text Coherence: 0.334 0.35
Sentence-Para Coherence: 0.563 0.50
Sentence-Sentence Coherence: 0.047 0.07
Number of Paragraphs: 4 5
Writing Task 1
The graph and table below give information about water use worldwide and water consumption in two different countries. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
The line graph illustrates the water consumption in three sectors around the world from 1900 to 2000 and the table compares the water demand per capital in two countries: Brazil and Congo in the year 2000. It is possible to see from the graph that the water use in Agriculture was highest and the water consumption of all aspects experienced an upward trend for a century. We can also see that the individual water use in Brazil was significantly higher than Congo.
As the line graph shows, in 1900, 500 km3 of water was used by Agriculture, and this amount increased sixfold to reach 3000 km3. Industrial and domestic water demand was very low at the beginning, and grew steadily to 1000 km3 and under 500 km3 respectively at the end of period.
Moving to the table, the population of Brazil was remarkably greater than Congo, 176 million in comparison with 5.2 million, and the area of irrigated land was also 265 times larger (26,500 km2 as against 100 km2). This explains why individual water need in Brazil was dramatically higher than Congo, 359 m3 and 8 m3 in that order.
Full Essay Evaluations
the individual water use in Brazil was significantly higher than Congo.
the individual water use in Brazil was significantly higher than that in Congo.
the population of Brazil was remarkably greater than Congo,
the population of Brazil was remarkably greater than the population of Congo,
Attribute Value Ideal
Score: 7.0 out of 9
Category: Good Excellent
No. of Grammatical Errors: 2 2
No. of Spelling Errors: 0 2
No. of Sentences: 7 10
No. of Words: 191 200
No. of Characters: 869 1000
No. of Different Words: 107 100
Fourth Root of Number of Words: 3.718 4.0
Average Word Length: 4.55 4.6
Word Length SD: 2.518 2.4
No. of Words greater than 5 chars: 49 60
No. of Words greater than 6 chars: 34 50
No. of Words greater than 7 chars: 24 40
No. of Words greater than 8 chars: 19 20
Use of Passive Voice (%): 0 0
Avg. Sentence Length: 27.286 21.0
Sentence Length SD: 7.126 7.5
Use of Discourse Markers (%): 0.286 0.12
Sentence-Text Coherence: 0.477 0.35
Sentence-Para Coherence: 0.716 0.50
Sentence-Sentence Coherence: 0.165 0.07
Number of Paragraphs: 3 4
As the line graph shows, in 1900, 500 km3 of water was used by Agriculture, and this amount increased sixfold to reach 3000 km3. Industrial and domestic water demand was very low at the beginning, and grew steadily to 1000 km3 and under 500 km3 respectively at the end of period.
Moving to the table, the population of Brazil was remarkably greater than Congo, 176 million in comparison with 5.2 million, and the area of irrigated land was also 265 times larger (26,500 km2 as against 100 km2). This explains why individual water need in Brazil was dramatically higher than Congo, 359 m3 and 8 m3 in that order.
Full Essay Evaluations
the individual water use in Brazil was significantly higher than Congo.
the individual water use in Brazil was significantly higher than that in Congo.
the population of Brazil was remarkably greater than Congo,
the population of Brazil was remarkably greater than the population of Congo,
Attribute Value Ideal
Score: 7.0 out of 9
Category: Good Excellent
No. of Grammatical Errors: 2 2
No. of Spelling Errors: 0 2
No. of Sentences: 7 10
No. of Words: 191 200
No. of Characters: 869 1000
No. of Different Words: 107 100
Fourth Root of Number of Words: 3.718 4.0
Average Word Length: 4.55 4.6
Word Length SD: 2.518 2.4
No. of Words greater than 5 chars: 49 60
No. of Words greater than 6 chars: 34 50
No. of Words greater than 7 chars: 24 40
No. of Words greater than 8 chars: 19 20
Use of Passive Voice (%): 0 0
Avg. Sentence Length: 27.286 21.0
Sentence Length SD: 7.126 7.5
Use of Discourse Markers (%): 0.286 0.12
Sentence-Text Coherence: 0.477 0.35
Sentence-Para Coherence: 0.716 0.50
Sentence-Sentence Coherence: 0.165 0.07
Number of Paragraphs: 3 4
WRITING TASK 2
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Global warming is one of the most serious issues that the world is facing today.What are the causes of global warming and what measures can governments and individuals take to tackle the issue?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own experience or knowledge.
You should write at least 250 words.
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Global warming is one of the most serious issues that the world is facing today.What are the causes of global warming and what measures can governments and individuals take to tackle the issue?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own experience or knowledge.
You should write at least 250 words.
Undoubtedly, one of the most pressing issues that world is dealing with today is global warming. There are various reasons which have led to global warming and several steps can be taken by government and individual to combat this problem.
A number of factors are responsible for the rise in temparature of earth. For one, exhaust gases from vehicles are polluting the air to a large extent and contributing to the earth's temparature to go up. Secondly, a vast area of forest has been demolished for the purpose of making industrial or residential area. This has a direct impact on global warming as trees keep the temparature low by absorbing carbon-di-oxide. For instance, because of introduction of large number of cars and also cutting down most of the trees in Sundarban, the temparature in Bangladesh has risen by five degree celcius within only a decade.
Though tackling this problem is not easy but government and individual can take several initiative to reduce the effects associated with global warming. Firstly, instead of driving their own car people should be encouraged to use public transport mostly in the center of the city. Another one may be to impose a heavy fine on cutting trees in forest ranging from monetary fine to sentence in jail. Individual should also take the responsibility by using heating system as less as possible during winter as this is one of the major contributors for global warming. for example, in Canada, if people use electric heater it will greatly reduce the amount of fumes produced by the conventional heating method and will help to keep the earth's temparature low.
To sum up, global warming has severe detrimental effect on earth and a variety of reasons are responsible for this global warming. Individuals and government should come along to work together to prevent global warming and decrease the adverse effects of it and make this world a better place to live in for our future generation.
Full Essay Evaluations
Sentence: A number of factors are responsible for the rise in temparature of earth.
Error: temparature Suggestion: temperature
Sentence: For one, exhaust gases from vehicles are polluting the air to a large extent and contributing to the earth's temparature to go up.
Error: temparature Suggestion: temperature
Sentence: This has a direct impact on global warming as trees keep the temparature low by absorbing carbon-di-oxide.
Error: temparature Suggestion: temperature
Sentence: For instance, because of introduction of large number of cars and also cutting down most of the trees in Sundarban, the temparature in Bangladesh has risen by five degree celcius within only a decade.
Error: temparature Suggestion: temperature
Error: celcius Suggestion: celsius
Attribute Value Ideal
Score: 7.5 out of 9
Category: Very Good Excellent
No. of Grammatical Errors: 0 2
No. of Spelling Errors: 5 2
No. of Sentences: 13 15
No. of Words: 327 350
No. of Characters: 1600 1500
No. of Different Words: 176 200
Fourth Root of Number of Words: 4.252 4.7
Average Word Length: 4.893 4.6
Word Length SD: 2.738 2.4
No. of Words greater than 5 chars: 129 100
No. of Words greater than 6 chars: 85 80
No. of Words greater than 7 chars: 46 40
No. of Words greater than 8 chars: 34 20
Use of Passive Voice (%): 0 0
Avg. Sentence Length: 25.154 21.0
Sentence Length SD: 11.407 7.5
Use of Discourse Markers (%): 0.538 0.12
Sentence-Text Coherence: 0.349 0.35
Sentence-Para Coherence: 0.572 0.50
Sentence-Sentence Coherence: 0.047 0.07
Number of Paragraphs: 4 5
A number of factors are responsible for the rise in temparature of earth. For one, exhaust gases from vehicles are polluting the air to a large extent and contributing to the earth's temparature to go up. Secondly, a vast area of forest has been demolished for the purpose of making industrial or residential area. This has a direct impact on global warming as trees keep the temparature low by absorbing carbon-di-oxide. For instance, because of introduction of large number of cars and also cutting down most of the trees in Sundarban, the temparature in Bangladesh has risen by five degree celcius within only a decade.
Though tackling this problem is not easy but government and individual can take several initiative to reduce the effects associated with global warming. Firstly, instead of driving their own car people should be encouraged to use public transport mostly in the center of the city. Another one may be to impose a heavy fine on cutting trees in forest ranging from monetary fine to sentence in jail. Individual should also take the responsibility by using heating system as less as possible during winter as this is one of the major contributors for global warming. for example, in Canada, if people use electric heater it will greatly reduce the amount of fumes produced by the conventional heating method and will help to keep the earth's temparature low.
To sum up, global warming has severe detrimental effect on earth and a variety of reasons are responsible for this global warming. Individuals and government should come along to work together to prevent global warming and decrease the adverse effects of it and make this world a better place to live in for our future generation.
Full Essay Evaluations
Sentence: A number of factors are responsible for the rise in temparature of earth.
Error: temparature Suggestion: temperature
Sentence: For one, exhaust gases from vehicles are polluting the air to a large extent and contributing to the earth's temparature to go up.
Error: temparature Suggestion: temperature
Sentence: This has a direct impact on global warming as trees keep the temparature low by absorbing carbon-di-oxide.
Error: temparature Suggestion: temperature
Sentence: For instance, because of introduction of large number of cars and also cutting down most of the trees in Sundarban, the temparature in Bangladesh has risen by five degree celcius within only a decade.
Error: temparature Suggestion: temperature
Error: celcius Suggestion: celsius
Attribute Value Ideal
Score: 7.5 out of 9
Category: Very Good Excellent
No. of Grammatical Errors: 0 2
No. of Spelling Errors: 5 2
No. of Sentences: 13 15
No. of Words: 327 350
No. of Characters: 1600 1500
No. of Different Words: 176 200
Fourth Root of Number of Words: 4.252 4.7
Average Word Length: 4.893 4.6
Word Length SD: 2.738 2.4
No. of Words greater than 5 chars: 129 100
No. of Words greater than 6 chars: 85 80
No. of Words greater than 7 chars: 46 40
No. of Words greater than 8 chars: 34 20
Use of Passive Voice (%): 0 0
Avg. Sentence Length: 25.154 21.0
Sentence Length SD: 11.407 7.5
Use of Discourse Markers (%): 0.538 0.12
Sentence-Text Coherence: 0.349 0.35
Sentence-Para Coherence: 0.572 0.50
Sentence-Sentence Coherence: 0.047 0.07
Number of Paragraphs: 4 5