do you know that in ielts writing only 50 of your score depends on your vocabulary and
grammar or in short your English the other 50 is determined by the so-called writing skills
although learning English takes a lot of time you can develop your
writing skills much more quickly it's Asiya let's get started with our tips
first of all you should stay extremely close to the task when we were writing it's so easy
to get a bit carried away and write a sentence or two about the topic more generally in IELTS
writing however irrelevant details are not just a waste of time they actually harm your score
if you have a look at the band descriptors that list all the requirements you can see
that irrelevant detail is a sign of band 5 ouch have a look at this topic some people
think the government should subsidize fruit and vegetables to make healthy food more affordable
others argue that the government should tax and healthy food instead
discuss both these views and give your own opinion what should you write about how about this
why eating healthily is important what is a healthy diet is it relevant no healthy eating
is a wider topic but this is not what our question is about writing about a general topic rather than
answering the particular question in the task is a very common mistake that will cost you daily
the only three things you should write about are should the government subsidize fruit and
vegetables to make healthy food more affordable should the government tax unhealthy food
and your opinion you should discuss both these views and say which one you agree with next
when you're writing your answers don't look for smart high level ideas you're not taking a course
on nutrition or public policy using simple ideas is absolutely fine it's actually good because
you may be able to express simple ideas better and examiners don't expect that you know much
about the topic in IELTS writing it's important to know where to give your opinion and where not to
if you take IELTS academic your Task 1 is a report where you describe a chart map table diagram you
should not say what you think about the data if it's good or bad you must write a formal report
summarizing the information in the task Task 1 General training is a letter this whole letter
is about what you think or want task 2 is an essay here you should make your opinion clear
throughout your answer in my task to course I show how to give opinion in each type of task
for example in our topic about two views in your opinion a common mistake is when candidates write
only about what other people think and then in the conclusion there is one phrase I agree with
view one why we'll never know how the examiner what you think in your body paragraphs don't wait
until the conclusion to do so next use appropriate style use formal English in your task 2 essay this
means you should avoid contractions such as don't and wound instead write do not will not
avoid slang five dollars rather than five bucks or tired instead of naked avoid idioms most
English idioms are informal instead of writing that University education costs a nominal leg
say it is unaffordable for many and don't cut to the chase instead get to the most important point
I know that in some types of formal writing personal pronouns I we are avoided this is not the
case in IELTS writing you can freely say I think in my opinion I believe in any part of USA okay
writing task 2 is formal so is Task 1 academic where you describe data if you take the general
training exam your Task 1 is a letter which may be informal semi-formal or formal and it's very
important to stick to the correct Style have a look at these examples are they formal or informal
should you require any further assistance don't hesitate to contact me is it formal or informal
it's formal although very friendly how about this phrase at the beginning of a letter I'm writing to
formal or informal again it's quite formal in a formal letter it's better to write it in full
I am writing what about this one warmest regards Asia is it formal or informal it's sending formal
letter ending to make it more formal say best regards or kind regards and in a very formal
letter you're sincerely or Faithfully one of the key things in IELTS writing is to develop your
ideas in the task 2 essay here is an example of a body paragraph about imposing tax on unhealthy
food if you read it you can see that the first sentence introduces the paragraph and then each
sentence follows one from another I know it's not easy to do in my courses I teach the Tet
formula for writing body paragraphs basically each paragraph should have a topic sentence explanation
and transition to the next paragraph the next tip is to make sure that you link your sentences
and one of the main ways to do so is to use a variety of formal linking words if we have a
look at the same body paragraph I've highlighted all the linkers on the other hand for example
however and as a result and furthermore when we write naturally we tend not to use enough of them
so make sure you learn some linkers for each situation and Vary them in your writing by the
way uh this paragraph comes from a full band 9 sample answer which you can download at the end
of this video as for your vocabulary and grammar you should try to find the right balance in your
writing I mean the balance between complexity and accuracy when we use less common words and
complex grammar your score goes up when you make mistakes it goes down band 7 you need some less
common words and some complex grammar but most importantly you're only allowed to make occasional
errors or a few errors and it seems that many students try to make their essay as complex as
possible in an attempt to increase their score but this leads to so many mistakes that this call goes
down instead there is no need to make your writing overly simplistic but avoid this extra complexity
next it's pretty difficult to finish both tasks in 60 minutes but if your essay has no conclusion
you'll be severely penalized the same will happen if you don't cover part of your task 1.
two finished answers are likely to get a higher score than the great answer written only halfway
practice at home and do your best to finish both of them you've probably seen that in Task 1 you
must write more than 150 words and in task 2 more than 250 first examiners don't count
if you write 145 or 151 words they just deduct marks if your answers are obviously too short
candidates with Advanced skills often write longer answers which is fine you don't lose points for
writing more words but you don't get any extra marks either when you're practicing at home write
your answers on the answer sheet and see how long each answer should be I personally know
that I need to be careful with my task 2 to make sure it fits on a single answer sheet and I don't
have to ask for another sheet in the middle of the exam feeling the candidate information and so on
of course that relates to the paper-based diets if you take your exam on computer words will be
counted automatically at the bottom of the screen one of the things that can help you
write your answers more quickly is knowing what to write about in each type of task
then when you see a task you know what to do let me show you what these types of tasks are
in academic Task 1 you may get charts and tables with dates I mean with several time periods and
you need to show changes over time charts and tables without dates maps and diagrams make sure
you practice answering each of them in general training you may get informal letters to friends
semi-formal letters for example to your work colleagues and formal letters to a business
in task 2 there are five main types advantages disadvantages
two views in your opinion opinion essays or agree disagree and positive negative development
problem Solutions and two direct questions in my courses I show what each question may sound like
how to structure each essay and what to write about in each paragraph for example in our task
about taxes and subsidies you must discuss both views but if the question is whether you agree or
disagree with a certain statement you must not give reasons why you agree with this statement
and why you disagree with the same statement I'll link my courses in the video description
box below check them out if you are interested as for the sample essay we used earlier you can
download it right now and these are the linking words for task 2 that you should learn before
your exam thank you so much for watching me today good luck with your preparation and your exam bye