IELTS Writing

Different question types 

The IELTS writing test is split into the IELTS Academic Writing exam and the IELTS General Writing exam, if you know specifically which type of test you will take you should browse to the specific page on this site. There are separate pages for Part 1 Academic Writing, Part 1 General Writing, and Part 2 (Academic and General versions are the same). 

How the writing test is graded 

Your writing test is graded and marked from 1-9 in accordance with four key criteria, as follows:

Task Fulfillment: this concerns whether you addressed all parts of the question, and also whether you fully developed all parts of your answer.

Coherence & Cohesion: Coherence refers to your writing being easy to understand and cohesion refers to the way it fits together - such as the quality of your sentence structure, paragraphing, and use of connective devices.

Vocabulary: To score highly you must use higher level words, pay attention to collocation, and also control your word endings (correctly use singular/plural and use the correct verb ending for the correct tense).

Grammar: To score highly you need to use a variety of sentence types (simple, compound, complex) and also avoid grammatical errors, such as with articles and prepositions and sentence order especially when they make your writing difficult to understand.

Special Note: In some instances errors can count in two categories; for example, many grammatical errors also result in a lower score for coherence. On the positive, it is useful to learn lots of connective devices because they can count for Coherence & Cohesion as well as vocabulary.  Part of your self-study should be aimed at efficiently using your time to maximize your grade.

Tips Skills and Techniques for the Writing Test 

To improve your score in the IELTS writing section, you should focus on the following areas: 

1. Understanding the different question types, and responses required, especially for task 1 (diagrams!)  
2. Understanding how the writing test is graded 
3. Planning an answer (I always like to think of 3 main points I will make about the topic) 
4. Learning the best way to structure an answer 
5. Practicing writing clearly and cohesively  
6. Improving paraphrasing and parallel constructions (how to score well for vocabulary) 
7. Learning to use Nominalisation (turning verbs into nouns) 
8. Broadening vocabulary (task 1 requires a lot of language related to describing trends and useful words that can be used in many essays) 
9. Finally you need to do a lot of writing practice and receive feedback from a trained professional about the quality of your writing. You especially need a lot of feedback on the appropriateness of word choices (not only if they are correct - but also if they are natural) and feedback on grammar - one of the best ways to learn is through error analysis - which is a focus on correcting any errors that are frequently occurring. 

IELTS Writing Resources

Commonly misspelt words

100 words to impress an examiner!

Easy grammar

Advanced Grammar