Ten Top IELTS Writing Tips-DC IELTS

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IELTS writing 10 tips

Here are 10 of my top IELTS writing tips. They focus on the writing process in the exam. Much the most important tip is number 1. If you
are a band score 8.0 candidate, you may want to check out my other essay writing tips for more advanced candidates.
1. Read the question answer the question
Rule number 1 is to answer the question: read the question carefully and underline all the information you need to include. This works
differently in the essay and the report.
In the essay, often you will find background information and the question itself. Make sure you answer the question
(eg Do you agree?) and do not write generally about the topic. If you copy another essay you have written on the same topic, you will lose
a lot of marks.
In task 1, all the information you need to include is in the chart/graph: make sure you identify the key points before you start writing.

2. Dont start writing too soon think and plan!
It is important to finish both pieces of writing, but the way to do this is not necessarily starting to write immediately. If you do that, you
may get half way through the writing and realise you cannot finish it. Only start writing when you know how you are going to finish.
In the essay this can mean up to 10 minutes and in the task 1 report it can mean up to 5 minutes. The more you think, the better and more
quickly you will write. 2/3 minutes is almost certainly not enough. For more detail on this, try looking at Planning an IELTS essay the 10
minute solution.
3. Write enough words
250 means AT LEAST 250 and 150 means AT LEAST 150. See my post on how many words for more detail on this.
4. Dont write too many words
The more words you write, you more mistakes you are likely to make. The more words you write, the less efficient you become and the
quality will fall. The ideal is to aim for between 260 280 words in the essay and 160-180 words in the report.
5. Dont copy whole sections of the question
If you copy whole sections of the question, the examiner will not include those words in your word count: 260 words can become 230
words if you are not careful.
6. Time is your enemy have a plan and a watch
Ten top IELTS writing tips-DC IELTS http://www.dcielts.com/ielts-writing/10-tips-essays/
1 of 15 19-06-2014 15:22
Paragraph coherence: the PEE model How many words in IELTS essays?
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Timing can be a problem. It is important to keep moving and stick to your timing. Dont be tempted to spend more than 40 minutes on
your essay you need 20 minutes to answer task 1 properly.
7. Task 1 and task 2 which do you answer first?
The essay is worth twice the marks of the report. One idea is to do task 2 (the essay) before task 1(the report), just to ensure you finish the
essay. You do need to spend at least 20 minutes on part 1 though. Do not try to answer it in 15 minutes.
8. Check your writing
It is important to check your writing for grammatical errors. You need to have a checklist before you enter the exam of what mistakes you
typically make. For a little more detail on this, try checking this post about how to check your writing
9. Think about range of vocabulary
You should also check your writing for unnecessary word repetition you are graded on the variety of your language. You should note that
this does not mean you need to use long, complex words, rather it means you should use precise words.
10. Think about the examiner use paragraphs well
The examiner will not spend very long grading your paper. You need to create an immediate good impression and the best way to do this in
my experience is to present a well-structured piece of writing with clearly laid out paragraphs. This way the examiner is going to be on your
side. If, however, it looks disorganised, the examiner is not going to be impressed.
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44 Responses to IELTS writing 10 tips
2 of 15 19-06-2014 15:22
Anonymous January 3, 2011 at 6:35 am #
Hi Dominic,
What do you think of using templates?
I have read some tutors give templates to the student.
Do you have any templates?Or do you encourage using of templates for essay writing.
Many thanks.
Phoebe
REPLY
Dominic Cole January 3, 2011 at 10:26 am #
Im in two minds.
Templates can help in understanding essay structure and the planning process in general. The danger is though that they
encourage you to write the same essay every time, rather than answering the question if front of you. Thats a really big danger as
mistake number 1 is not to answer the question. Id suggest that if you are going to use them, you need a variety of templates to
deal with the different range of essay questions and the different types of answer.
Do I have any? Well in a way this is what my sample essays are all about. They show you different approaches to answering
essays.
REPLY
Anonymous May 6, 2011 at 7:34 pm #
can we use idiomatic phrases in graph for instance sank to the bottom of trough or reaches a plateau and even for
fluctuating full of ebbs and flows
REPLY
Dominic Cole June 26, 2011 at 10:00 am #
Its generally better to keep your writing as neutral as possible for this task. You dont need a great deal of varied
vocab here (its only 150 words or so), Id rahter concentrate on using vocab that was as clear and precise as possible. Its all
about clarity not variety.
REPLY
shazia mirza August 27, 2013 at 5:52 pm #
you are awsome thanks alot
REPLY
pawan July 5, 2011 at 1:54 pm #
hi, i am having difficulties achieving 7 in writing and stuck at 6.5.i dont have any idea whats missing to get 7.
i think my introduction needs to be improved.
is there any idea to produce good introduction?
REPLY
Sarabjit Mathon March 24, 2012 at 3:51 am #
Hey Pawan,
I am not an IELTS teacher but have recently achieved 7 each and my situation was similar to yours. I could never get 7 in
writing. Today i got 7.5 and honestly i did not practise much and didnt even write 1 practice paper before exam. Only thing
3 of 15 19-06-2014 15:22
which i did and think worked was, avoiding past mistakes.
I believe that examiner look at common mistakes and pull scores down once they track those silly mistakes. Give examiner
what he is looking for, this is a time to give your best. You could be writing best thoughts and ideas but examiner is not going
to be impressed with how brilliant your points are but he will looks how you present them.
Try not to make spelling mistake and avoid simple words and swap them with more hi-fi words. For example use jeopardise
instead of risk or Excellent instead of good. these are just example, i hope you got my point. When examiner look at these
words, he gets an idea that you are good language user and confident to write them.
PATTERN, The way you express your point must not be the same through out the essay or letter. Try to write different
patterns. Using same pattern to express your thoughts make examiner feel that you have memorised this way of writing and
just changing words. Examiner must feel that this person has strong control over the language.
This website has fantastic example of how to write effectively using different patterns. if you look at them and try to learn
those skills, i think you will be fine.
I can understand the frustration but do not give up. i got this result after 6 attempts and in past exams i was repeating same
mistakes, resulting into 6.5 bands in writing.
Spend last 5 minutes on rechecking your work because you will be surprised, how many mistakes we make while writing.
Those simple mistakes can be easily fixed and get you that 0.5 band which you are missing.
I wish you very good luck with your exam. This is a excellent website and i am 100% sure once you eliminate above mistakes,
your result will improve dramatically.
Good luck mate.
Sarabjit Mathon
REPLY
Dominic Cole July 5, 2011 at 2:05 pm #
Oh yes. The intro is the first thing the examiner reads and it is where s/he gets the first impression of your writing. A good
intro is key.
Two things to think about. Do you clearly identify the task and your approach to it in the intro? Do you put the question into your
own words?
Also take a look at my post on the planning process: its a good place to start. Problems often start with not thinking clearly about
the essay before you start writing.
http://www.dcielts.com/ielts-essays/10-minute-planning-solution/
Another thing to think about is the checking process. This is not an optional extra. If you are not improving, then the chances are
that you are making the same mistakes. The place to start here is:
http://www.dcielts.com/ielts-writing/editing-a-checklist/
Let me know how it works out. Also if you want a particular resource/lesson added to the site, put a request in on the facebook
site
REPLY
lasam o August 15, 2011 at 4:03 am #
Thanks so much its helpful.
REPLY
TheIELTSSolution August 19, 2011 at 12:57 am #
Hi,
First of all, I would like to commend you for posting this topic on your blog. This seems really good and interesting as well. Of all
the tips youve enumerated, I agree most on the tip number 2, because we all know that writing a piece for a certain topic is not
that an easy task, you have to think eagerly and plan deeply otherwise your output would become such a mess.
TheIELTSSolution.com
Thank you.
REPLY
4 of 15 19-06-2014 15:22
Anonymous October 7, 2011 at 6:56 pm #
Hi
I would like to ask you how one can improve his score in writing from 6.5 to 7.
I have given both Academic and General test recently and my scores were as follows:
Academic L8.5 R7.5 W6.5 S7
General L8 R7 W6.5 S7
I have no clue, what I need to do, in order to reach 7 in writing.
Any tips?
REPLY
Dominic Cole December 8, 2011 at 8:50 pm #
You are obviously close. There is no great difference between 6.5 and 7.0. The likelihood is that you already are
getting 7.0 in some criteria of the writing. You need a teacher to advise you whether you should work on your grammar,
vocab, cohesion or task reponse.
REPLY
Indika Nimalrathna February 24, 2012 at 9:05 am #
Dear Sir,
Thanks a lot for your great effort.
I have sat for IELTS 3 times. During all those attempts, i scored 6.5 for writing where i got over 7 for others. I have attended few
classes as well. But non of them worked for me. Then I found this fantastic website. I followed your advice as much as I could &
here I am. I got 7 for writing (which was a huge barrier for me), 7 for speaking, 8.5 each for Listening & Reading.
Thanks again. Youre a life saver.! Cheers!
Indika
REPLY
Ravi March 4, 2012 at 11:56 pm #
Dear Dominic,
I have scored 7 (overall 7.5) in writing, listening, reading and 8.5 in speaking. I owe all of my success to your wonderful tips as I
didnt had enough time to enroll into any course or classes. I have scored badly in writing in the past and was afraid of it again.
But I came across your website and just worked through your tips everyday for 3-4 weeks before taking my exam. I have achieved
desired result today with your tips. Thanks a lot for your great help.
Regards,
Ravi Jain
REPLY
Sarabjit Mathon March 24, 2012 at 3:25 am #
Dear Dominic,
Thanks for your help and tips. It really helped me. I Just got my result and i have achieved 8 band overall(L-8, R- 7.5, W-7.5, S-
8). I found your website really helpful, especially for writing. Tips given by you were fantastic and worth to follow. I am glad that i
read your website and achieved my goal of 7 each in IELTS.
I wish everyone good luck for there exam.
Sarabjit Mathon.
REPLY
Lavinia April 11, 2012 at 6:27 pm #
5 of 15 19-06-2014 15:22
Hi,
Im having trouble finding ideas for some topics, mostly the ones about politics and economy. Could you recommend me
some websites with good articles that would help me out? I would be very grateful.
REPLY
Dominic Cole July 26, 2012 at 9:38 am #
The best place to look is possibly the Economist though national newspapers also work well. Try The Guardian it
is certainly the best online newspaper in the UK.
REPLY
mohammed April 12, 2012 at 9:34 pm #
hi sir
I have a problem with the word count.I almost always exceed the word limit.
Mainly,I think,because I cant deliver my ideas in shorter sentences.
this is the case in both task1 and2.
what do you suggest and is exceeding the word limit sharply lessen my mark?
REPLY
Dominic Cole July 14, 2012 at 5:35 pm #
You can write more than 250 words in fact you must that is the minimum figure. typically, if you are a stronger
student you will need to use more words but even then I generally suggest you dont exceed 300. The way to do this is to plan
carefully and to remember that you dont have to include all your ideas.
REPLY
Andrea June 27, 2012 at 11:53 pm #
Hallo Dominic,
I am having trouble in writing especially because the structure is not helping me put my ideas in order. I am practicing in a class
and usually get a 5 or 6, but havent improved in a month. My vocabulary is fine, and most of my grammar correct but it seems
that I always end up with a weird essay. Would you give me some advice?
Thanks
REPLY
The first point is that language does take time to improve. You may nmot want to hear this but a month is a relatively
short time in language learning so dont despair. One suggestion is to focus on writing paragraphs first and not a complete
essay. This is something that works well with many of my personal students. The idea is to focus on the skills of writing
rather than trying to produce an essay. If you can write one paragraph, you can write two, if you write two then with an intro
and a conclusion, you can write an essay.
Having taken some time off, Im about to get back into business and my first series of lessons will be precisely on this point.
REPLY
theju July 11, 2012 at 6:51 pm #
hello dominic,
i have taken my IELTS thrice , bet there is no change in my results i landed only on 6.5 band with 6 & 6.5 in reading , writing.
now as such my friend has suggested me to go through with your website. if you can please help me in providing some very exam
cracking tips i would be really happy .
am waiting eagerly for you reply.
6 of 15 19-06-2014 15:22
thanks.
REPLY
Good to hear from you. I am now back at work on the site after having taken some time off. I am currently sorting
out one or two small technical problems with the site, but from the beginning of August I intend to posting lots of new
material on writing. The reading may take a little more time to put together.
REPLY
Sara July 15, 2012 at 1:36 am #
Hello sir,
I have registered in your website to receive your daily lessons. I recently got the
required IELTS score of 7.5. I have no words to express my happiness. I got this in my
second attempt which wouldnt have been possible without you. You are doing great service of helping students like us. The best
teacher I ever had who could simply things so easier. I followed each and every step of your lessons. Thank you so much for
recovering me from this obstacle to continue my medical postgraduation. I am glad I found your website for my exam
preparation. My hearty wishes for all those who are preparing for the exams.
REPLY
Excellent news best of luck with your future studies/career.
REPLY
Mohamed August 16, 2012 at 8:53 pm #
Hi Dominc
Honestly, Great thanks to your efforts in this amazing site. I do myself learned a lot from you. I already asked this question
somewhere in this site, but unfortunately I dont know where it is. Then let me ask it again.
Once you prepared us with some templates that looks very useful and save our time. As
they are mostly same Are they considered memorized? I do really afraid of this term and
do not know what should I do in this case. This is somehow vague and Id really like to
explain it or ask from eximner at your most convenience . Again I do appreciate these
really useful/valuable tips.
REPLY
7 of 15 19-06-2014 15:22
Dominic Cole August 16, 2012 at 9:07 pm #
Okay. Ill do something on this next week. I do follow the same sort of pattern for most of my essays its easy for me
Ive written quite a lot now! I do try and vary the patterns a bit though to show that there are different ways to write any
essay an important point for me. I dont particularly recommend people follow my models because they are written with
my knowledge. it may be if you think/know something different about the topic you will write a different essay just as
good.
The key for me is to ask yourself 2/3 questions. One is do you want to write 2 or 3 content paragraphs? That will depend on
what you know. For any essay both options are available. The other main question is whether the content paras support each
other or will make different points. That second question will depend slightly on the question type but just as much as on
what you know very often both approaches are available. The third question is slightly more sophistacated. Do you want to
use a listing paragraph structure to make a number of related points or a more normal structure developing one point.
More next week. I promise.
REPLY
Mohamed August 17, 2012 at 3:00 pm #
Hi
Thanks for your response. Id be grateful if you explain us how examiners consider
something memorized or not? As in the bottom of writing test sheet we see this term.!!
Best Regards,
REPLY
Pemala September 7, 2012 at 4:20 pm #
Hello Dominic,
I gave my IELTS exam recently & had been following your posts regularly before giving the exam.My IELTS results came in today
& I scored 8.5 overall (L-9,R-8.5,W-7.5,S-8.5)..& Im extremely happy !!! It wouldnt have been possible if i hadnt followed
your wonderful guidance.I think your blog is very helpful and you are doing a marvellous job by helping students like me realise
our dreams.Thank you so much & I will recommend your blog to anyone who is interested in giving the exam in future.
REPLY
Happy Girl September 29, 2012 at 5:55 pm #
You are the best thing that has happened to me prior my IELTS examination. Your tips are so useful. Thank you so much
Sir!
Respect,
Happy Girl
REPLY
Shaima Mazhar November 19, 2012 at 6:53 am #
Hi , Dominic firstly theres a big thankyou to you for your heaps of efforts down there . me n my sister ended up seeing ur
website just like anyother ordinary websites , but i started reading through every article written by you and the advices you have
been putting up. the tips are excellent , your method of conveying is so effective. keep up teh great work may Allah bless you for
such a good deed thants helping billions of people out there.
i initially had a 6.5 band in my writing when i sat for the exam but going through this resource, i improved upto a band 8 in
writing in 25 days
thanks tonns
REPLY
varinder pal February 21, 2013 at 6:58 am #
Hi there,
8 of 15 19-06-2014 15:22
First of all, I would like to thank you for your work you are doing through this website to help student like us whi is struggling to
achieve good band score in IELTS. I have given my IELTS recently, but couldnt get the desire score of band 7 in each module. I
got 6, 6.5,7.5 and 7.5 in writing, speaking , listening and reading respectively . I would appreciate if you help me in improving my
writing score. I have given IELTS after 2 year but I got the same score which I got 2 year ago . Anyways, I am following your tips
and guidelines for writing . I hope this will be helpful for me to get 7 in writhing.
regards
varinder pal
REPLY
Dilshi dernando March 5, 2013 at 4:14 pm #
Thanks a a lot Mr.Dominic.I shall be obliged.These lessons you have listed were many useful for me.every day I follow
you.Because I can get a good knowledge & brush my knowledge because of you! Thanks once again.!
REPLY
aditya April 4, 2013 at 4:38 am #
hi, i recently appeared for my IELTS (academic). i scored L:7.5, R:7, S:7, W:5.5 overall 7. i am planning for retake bcz all
uni. requires min. in every section. could u help me improve my writing skills ?
REPLY
Dominic Cole April 4, 2013 at 11:48 am #
Not really. Or not in person. The only way i can help you on the site is through my writing lessons. These are limited
in a way because I do not know your problems and very has their own problems. This is why I have added tutors to the site
these are all skilled professionals with experience. The idea is that they can look at YOUR writing and suggest ways YOU
can improve.
The good news is that you may be one of those people who might be able to improve their score quite quickly. You already
have 7.0 in all the other skills, so 7.0 in writing should be possible too. It may be that there is some technical thing that you
are doing wrong thats the sort of thing a teacher can help you with.
REPLY
Akylbek April 23, 2013 at 3:56 pm #
Hi, Sir Dominic Cole thank you so much!! I have just recieved my results from ielts and I am happy with that. Definitely it
is with your help. I have earned 7,0 it is better than before and most importantly all the parts 6 and above!! Thank you and god
bless you!
REPLY
fary August 15, 2013 at 9:44 pm #
Hi sir Dominic
how are you?I m tanks you for your website.
I want to exam ielts but it is dificult.plz Help me
tanks
REPLY
ben September 11, 2013 at 1:11 pm #
sir,i want to write ielts but i dont know how how to process it,sir please teach me
REPLY
9 of 15 19-06-2014 15:22
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Abhilash October 10, 2013 at 4:06 pm #
Hi,
I kindly requesting evry one, please help to to score good band 7.
i have got 5.5 . (sp-6,wr-5,Re-5.5,Li-5).
I am reday to work hard so please guide me how to learn and score.
REPLY
zoheb anwar October 26, 2013 at 11:42 pm #
i have written the ielts test thrice with almost the same score in each attempt. the latest result is an overall of 7.5 L8 R8.5
W6.5 and S7.5. i require 7 in writing. please let me know how you can help. thank you.
REPLY
Our Essay Writing Help December 27, 2013 at 10:58 am #
This is an interesting, well argued post. Many I already visit daily, but theres some that Id never heard of and am excited
to check out! I admire you and your knowledge in writing.You make essay writing fun!
REPLY
top essay writing service March 12, 2014 at 3:57 pm #
Knowing all of the does and donts in writng an essay in university abroad is a good advantage for those foreing students
to have a greater chance to be a part on that certain university they wanted to stay for their study. You details seems short but it
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Dominic Cole March 12, 2014 at 4:09 pm #
Hi Farid
Thanks for the recommendation. Can I pick you up though on one error in your comment. Its worth doing simply because so
many learners get this wrong. Information is uncountable.
REPLY
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