IELTS Focus. Free lessons and advice on getting Band 7+

Word count for IELTS writing tasks

October 9, 2023March 11, 2019 by Ray IELTS Focus

What is the ideal word count for IELTS writing?

Updated July 2022.

This is a common question many IELTS candidates have but there seems to be misinformation out on the internet about word count in the IELTS writing section.

Although the word count penalty has been abolished I would advise writing more than 250 words in an essay and over 150 words in writing task 1 to fully develop your answer. Here are some examples of what I have heard about the word count in IELTS essays and writing task 1.

Useful technique for ‘True, False, Not Given’

October 9, 2023February 26, 2019 by Ray IELTS Focus

TFNG /YNNG: Changing the statements into questions.

Updated: September 2023

True False Not Given and Yes No Not Given questions are some of the most challenging for IELTS candidates. However, there is a technique you can use to successfully answer these questions, which is to change the statement into a question.

The IELTS reading test is actually testing your vocabulary, such as your ability to understand synonyms and how paraphrasing works in a text.

What’s more important? grammatical range or accuracy?

October 9, 2023February 21, 2019 by Ray IELTS Focus

Let’s take a look at grammatical range and accuracy in IELTS writing.

Many IELTS test takers think that they need to have a wide range of grammar for a high score in grammatical range and accuracy in the writing section. This is only partly true. If you have a wide range of grammar but it is not accurate then it will not score very high.

My advice is to focus on accuracy rather than range at the start and when you get confident with accuracy you develop your range of grammar. You need to think of the reader when writing and essay. If you are just trying to impress the examiner then you are not considering the overall coherence of the essay. Keep it concise and simple. Of course, if you have a consistently wide range of grammar with good accuracy then you are well on the way to a Band 7 or more.

IELTS speaking part 2 structure

October 9, 2023February 8, 2019 by Ray IELTS Focus

Use a structure to help you talk for the full 2 minutes.

Updated: September 2023

In IELTS speaking part 2, you have to talk for 2 minutes on a particular topic. The examiner gives you a cue card with 1 minute preparation time to make notes. It is important to have a strategy in this part of the speaking as 2 minutes is a long time to talk non-stop, even I would find that a challenge!

The way to make this easier is to structure your talk. Remember that you need to develop your speech like you are telling a story. This is very important for a higher band score.

Writing examples in IELTS essays.

April 21, 2024January 8, 2019 by Ray IELTS Focus

How to write examples in IELTS essay body paragraphs.

Updated: April 2024

In IELTS writing task 2 it is very important to extend your ideas and support your main idea in the body paragraphs. This can be done with supporting points and specific examples. This is necessary to get a good band score in task response and helps with the overall cohesion of the essay.

By using examples the examiner can see how you are developing your main idea in the main body paragraphs. However, the examples given must be specific to the task question and your main idea, and they should also be clear, easy to follow, concise, and realistic looking, but never include statistics.

7 model answers for IELTS writing task 2

September 14, 2024December 9, 2018 by Ray IELTS Focus

ielts model answers writing task 2 — A model answer for each type of IELTS essay

Updated: September 2024

An IELTS essay is a ‘discursive essay’ where you may have to discuss an issue, give an opinion, explain the advantages or disadvantages, write about problems or causes of problems, and give solutions. There are 5 variations to an IELTS discursive essay.

In this blog post, there are 7 model answers for IELTS writing task 2. These are based on essays my students have written with help from me to correct them and make them more concise and clear.

IELTS academic writing task 1: Table on consumer expenditure

October 9, 2023November 9, 2018 by Ray IELTS Focus

Model answer and analysis of a table in IELTS writing task 1.

Tables sometimes show up in IELTS academic writing task 1. In some cases, they are in a double task such as a pie chart and table or a bar graph and table. In this lesson, we have a table on its own with a lot of data. This is taken from Cambridge IELTS 7, page 30, it is a popular example of a table for IELTS teachers.

Before writing anything you will need to analyse the task. Take around 4 minutes to plan, look at the categories, the countries, the year and the highest and lowest statistics. The grammar tense is important to get right too, you can see below that the table shows data from 2002, so I will write in the past tense.

IELTS General: Letter to a friend about a problem at work.

October 9, 2023November 7, 2018 by Ray IELTS Focus

General Writing Task 1: Model answer for a letter to a friend about work issues.

If you are doing IELTS general instead of the Academic version then you are lucky. In the general section, you only need to write a letter and it will be either formal or informal. There is a semi formal style but if you are writing to a friend, even if it is in a business setting, then just write informally.

In the Academic version of IELTS you will get one of the following: a bar chart, pie chart, line graph, map, process diagram, table, double task (pie chart and table for instance) so the general IELTS writing task 1 is much easier.

Let’s take a look at the task question below about an IELTS general letter to a friend.

Make your own IELTS study plan.

October 9, 2023October 31, 2018 by Ray IELTS Focus

Setting up your own personalised IELTS study schedule.

If you are serious about getting a Band 7+ in IELTS then you need to get very organized and focused. Consider making your own IELTS study plan. There is a YouTube video below about this and 5 steps to take below that video.

Everyone has different weaknesses in IELTS, so it is really your responsibility to make a study schedule. Motivation is crucial here too. If you can find a study partner then that will help you keep motivated and accountable. The best option is to have a teacher who can check your writing and evaluate your speaking giving feedback along the way.

IELTS writing task 1: Paraphrasing statistics

April 20, 2024October 18, 2018 by Ray IELTS Focus

Paraphrasing percentages and statistics in IELTS academic writing task 1.

Updated: April 2024

One thing that can be challenging in IELTS writing task 1 academic is how to report on all the data in a chart or graph. Something that can help your vocabulary band score is using specific language, such as the language of approximation, proportion and fractions to paraphrase percentages.