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Speaking is truly considered to be quite a complicated part of the test. Candidates never know what questions exactly they will hear. However, if you have a clear understanding of the format and how your response will be evaluated, if you know some tips and useful strategies, you can perform really well.
If you’re wondering how you could improve your IELTS Speaking in a limited period of time and what to focus on in your preparation, join our free webinars on November 19th and 20th!
We’re going to cover the following things at the webinar:
— the format of the Speaking part;
— useful tips on how to prepare effectively before the test;
— effective strategies you can use during the test;
— how your response is assessed and evaluated.
We’ll also take a look at IELTS speaking band descriptors, ways of how to structure your response and useful phrases that will help you sound more naturally.
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Who the webinar is for:
— IELTS Academic test takers
— students preparing to take IELTS in the future
— teachers providing IELTS preparation classes
— anyone wishing to improve their speaking skills for international exams.
By the end of the webinar you will have a clear understanding of the test format and assessment criteria and you’ll be equipped with effective techniques and strategies to use during IELTS Speaking test.
Speaker:
Olena Bochkariova — Academic Director, teacher with more than 19 years of experience and international teaching qualifications (CELTA, Delta), IELTS certified tutor and course consultant. Olena has been involved in IELTS preparation courses and running various training and academic programmes, creating materials, delivering workshops and webinars.
Register here:
November 19th, 5 pm – 6 pm (UTC +2)
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMrfuCurzwvHdbI8mfaiuo-Tw8vZCeggFI4
November 20th, 3 pm – 4 pm (UTC +2)
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0qd–rrzwpHtUuFFmzIgXnXR-xarCx0z22
You will spend an hour going through IELTS Speaking tips and strategies. You will also get a special bonus offer that will help you build rock solid skills to achieve the desired band score in IELTS.
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Many experts say that knowing what to do and how is a powerful tool in any exam, which is especially true for IELTS. Even though it’s possible to pass it without preparation, for an untrained eye all the variety of tasks in Writing task 1 presents an unbelievable challenge and all the data is seen as a mess of disconnected figures or objects. However, understanding different kinds of tasks and, more importantly, knowing how to describe different graphs, charts or diagrams boost candidate’s confidence and increase the chances of getting a higher score. In the webinar, we will be dealing with these aspects of preparation.
Join the free webinar on IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 preparation on October 22nd and 23d if you want to:
— learn about different kinds of visuals they might have in the IELTS exam;
— practice ‘reading’ graphs, charts and tables and understanding information in them;
— get to know how to organise their responses logically and in line with assessment criteria;
— practice planning descriptions based on exam tasks.
As well as that, actionable tips and strategies will be provided to help approach Writing task 1 effectively and make the experience of preparation clearer and more meaningful to everyone interested.
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Who the webinar is for:
— IELTS Academic test takers
— students preparing to take IELTS in the future
— teachers providing IELTS preparation classes
— anyone wishing to improve their speaking skills for international exams
Everyone attending the webinar will have a chance to study various examples of visuals in IELTS Academic Task 1, get practical tasks that will help improve writing skills and plan the response in order to create a structure of the sample answer.
Speaker:
Andrii Pigarev — Academic Director, teacher with more than 10 years of experience and international qualifications (CELTA, Delta), co-author of IELTS Grade course, IELTS certified tutor, CELTA trainer, International Speaking Examiner. Andrii has been involved in exam preparation and various teacher training programs, organising and running courses for teachers online and offline.
Register for the webinar:
October 22nd 6pm – 7 pm (UTC +2)
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAqdOyoqD4pHNK5D_-UefPaMoAVZIqfpJYy
October 23d 4pm – 5 pm (UTC +2)
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0rceCgrD8oHdfV50f6ziYcpwNVNx24sWyP
Spend 60 minutes practising and improving writing skills, becoming more confident in IELTS Academic.
Besides, you will also get a special bonus offer that will help you upgrade your IELTS band score.
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When many people think about the IELTS exam, they often start to feel quite nervous — especially when they think about how their speaking is going to be assessed! Moreover, many students start their exam preparation with some incorrect ideas — or misconceptions — about how the exam will take place, and what exactly the examiners are looking for according to their criteria.
Join the free webinar on IELTS Speaking preparation on October 8th and 9th, where we’re going to take a closer look at speaking, and see exactly what skills we need to develop to reach our desired band on IELTS — and what things we should avoid.
— IELTS Speaking format and overview
— key skills to train
— important things to avoid during speaking on the exam
We’ll also cover some practical methods of preparation for the exam, and key resources that can be used to help you get ready.
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— IELTS Academic test takers
— students preparing to take IELTS in the future
— teachers providing IELTS preparation classes
— anyone wishing to improve their speaking skills for international exams
Christopher Reese — a certified teacher (CELTA, Delta), teacher trainer, Cambridge speaking examiner. Chris has experience teaching English to all age groups of students, including international exams preparation. Recently, Chris has also been working on teacher training courses including Cambridge CELTA and CELT-P/S courses.
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcqc-GqrDooHN2jt_HdRyRmKv9s_7a-lA-c
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUpd-qtqT4pG9DIPuNuFbbPEutoWMNdvw-n
Besides 60 minutes of useful content and real practical techniques, you will also get an exclusive bonus that will help you skyrocket your IELTS preparation.
See you online!
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One of the main criteria for assessing your writing at the IELTS Academic exams is Coherence and Cohesion, which is 25% of your marks. Besides logically organising information and ideas, using paragraphing, you have to ‘use cohesion in such a way that it attracts no attention’. This requirement is taken from the document that IELTS examiners use to score your essay. Cohesion refers to the use of linguistic devices to join sentences together.
Using linking words is a grammatically correct and stylistically effective way to connect ideas and sentences. They are essential for IELTS Writing Task 2, and if you use them, chances are you will get a higher score. However, the examiner will check your range, accuracy and your flexibility of linking words in an essay. Let us look at how the linking words are used and how they add coherence to a sentence.
Linking words and phrases are the tools that make your text naturally or logically connected. Thus, the reader can easily follow your ideas and understand them. Linking words play a very important role in the text:
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Use these words and phrases when you need to introduce opposite ideas in your essay. They can also introduce exceptions to the rules:
These linking words usually link reasons with results. Use them for the solution essay or any essay where you will have to explain consequences or results of something:
READ: IELTS Academic essay writing tips and tricks
When you are giving more details or want to explain your idea further in your essay, use the following phrases:
If you have to write a cause/solution essay in your IELTS Writing task 2, you will need these linking words and phrases to explain reasons and causes for something:
In essays, you have to give a main point, and then support it. If you use these linking words and expressions, the reader (examiner) will know that you are going to present some extra information:
WE RECOMMEND: 5 things to avoid in IELTS Academic Writing
Use the following expressions to join a condition and its consequence together. They are alternatives for ‘if’ used in more formal contexts, including academic writing:
When writing your essay, it is good to provide examples to support main ideas. Make sure you use these expressions to introduce examples:
Now, have a look at the linking words and expressions in the following essay sample, and think about their functions:
As you can see, we have highlighted all the linking words and expressions in the essay above. In the introduction, the writer presents two opposite ideas. In the next two paragraphs, these ideas are developed, explained in detail, and supported by examples. The author of the essay also writes about advantages and disadvantages of an increasing lifespan, and its consequences that depend on different conditions; this means that he or she models different situations. Finally, we can see that in conclusion, the writer explains the reason why this issue is controversial, and why such a trend is impossible to stop or prevent.
In your essay, show a range of linking words and expressions, and try not to repeat them throughout your essay. If you wrote ‘for example’, next time write ‘for instance’. Use the variety of linking words, but be careful, and only use them when they should be used. It’s a bad idea to stuff your essay with linking words or phrases because the use of these devices must look natural.
Using linking words or expressions is not the only way to make your writing cohesive. In our course, you will learn about other means that make different elements of the text hold together well. You will also keep all your strategies and useful tips in the Knowledge Bank so that you could return to them every time you need. With our new online IELTS Grade course, you will be fully-equipped to score high in IELTS Academic.
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Test-takers and students often find IELTS Speaking to be difficult because they are not aware of what to expect in this section of the exam. In this article, we will tell you about the IELTS Speaking test, the parts it consists of and the types of questions to expect at the test. You will also learn what the examiner will be listening for during the test, and what your band will depend on.
Regardless the version of the test you choose, paper or computer-based, IELTS Speaking is always conducted face-to-face. You will take this part of the test in a private Speaking test room, free from noise and distraction with the examiner only. According to IELTS, it is the most effective way of assessing your speaking skills and it prompts a more lifelike performance. This is also an advantage because the examiner can repeat and rephrase questions for you.
You will take the Speaking test before or after other sections of IELTS. Some centers offer to take IELTS Speaking a day before Listening, Reading and Writing which is less stressful for candidates. Others conduct the Speaking test on the same day after the main session. It is up to you what option to choose. However, people tend to demonstrate better results when they are less tired and more relaxed.
IELTS Speaking is the shortest section of the test. It lasts only from 11 to 15 minutes. However, it may seem like you have spent forever and a day in the room with the examiner. The main reason for this is that candidates forget to relax and lose their confidence. The examiner knows you worry a lot, so he or she may also ask you how you feel to help you relax.
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There are 3 parts in the speaking test:
Part 1 will last for only 4 – 5 minutes, and you will have to answer questions about your everyday life, for example, about your family, work or studies, hobbies, weather etc. These are the questions people often ask each other when they meet for the first time. This part of the test is a kind of warm-up before the next two parts.
In Part 2 the examiner gives the candidate a card with the task. You will have 1 minute to prepare and then talk for 1 – 2 minutes, with some questions from the examiner. The tasks in this part are usually about your experience. For example, you can be asked to speak about things you have or want to have, places you visited or would like to visit, situations and experiences you’ve had or would like to have. Use the preparation time to plan your answer and make some notes. You can look at your notes while answering.
READ ABOUT: How not to pass IELTS Speaking: common mistakes made by candidates
Below, there is an example of the prompt card you might get from the examiner:
In Part 3 the examiner asks further questions on the topic from Part 2, and gives the candidate the opportunity to discuss more abstract issues or ideas. This means that you will have to speak about other people, tendencies and social issues. For example, if you were to talk about the adventure in Part 2, now you may have to answer the following questions:
The examiner will ask you questions, and you will have to give a response with as much detail as you can. Your answers should be clear and extended. It’s a good idea to support them with an example or two.
In IELTS Speaking you will be assessed according to the following criteria:
The better your work on these aspects the higher score you will get for your speaking test.
If you want to find out more about the format of the test, strategies you can use to increase your score and get feedback on your speaking, register for IELTS Grade course. Moreover, you will have the chance to practise all four skills, watch video tutorials, get your writing evaluated and checked by the automated checking system that uses artificial intelligence to give you the IELTS band score instantly.
We have also written about helpful idioms you can use at the IELTS Speaking test.
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Are you looking for an opportunity to prepare for IELTS Academic effectively within a short period of time? Would you believe if someone told you it is possible to get ready for all sections of the exam in just two months or less? If you want to take IELTS with confidence and skyrocket your band score, we, at Grade Education Centre, have prepared a practical course that gradually builds all the skills needed to pass IELTS Academic with flying colours.
IELTS Grade is a full preparation course with emphasis on the development of academic writing skills. Experienced qualified teachers and IELTS experts created it to help students and candidates get a better understanding of the IELTS Academic exam and master strategies needed to tackle all kinds of tasks.
IELTS Grade course includes four parts that cover all the skills you need to master for the exam. They are Speaking, Reading, Listening, and Writing.
The Speaking part has videos and diagnostic tasks for training your speaking skills. You will also familiarize yourself with sample tasks and get feedback from our IELTS experts.
In the Reading part, you will watch six videos on the test format and strategies for each particular type of task. We have also prepared materials with advice and topics covered in video lessons that you can download and save. In our course, we analyze all types of texts that you can come across at the exam.
The Listening part contains four video lessons on the test format and strategies as well as downloadable materials and sample tasks.
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The Writing part is the advanced course in preparation for the IELTS Academic Writing test. As many candidates consider Writing to be the hardest part of the test, we make emphasis on the thorough preparation for it. Here you will find a diagnostic test that will be followed by feedback from an IELTS expert. In the course, we will analyse all the types of texts that you can get on the day of the exam step by step, including essays and visuals. You will practise doing real tasks on Writing that will be checked by an automatic checking system that uses AI. Every time you succeed in doing the tasks of the course, more and more strategies and tips will be added to your Knowledge Bank. Finally, you will sit a mock test in the real exam-like conditions.
Our platform is easy to use. You can choose one of the three pricing plans.
You can start with a Free trial. You will get access to all tasks of the first unit in each part: Listening, Reading, Writing, Speaking. This will give you an opportunity to get the taste of the course.
Choose the Basic plan if you are planning to study at your own pace, cover all parts and the materials of the course in any order you like. Spend as much time studying as you need and follow the Study plan in your profile that will help you structure and organise your IELTS preparation process.
If you would like to access all parts and tasks of the course, do a full mock test in the exam-like conditions, and have an online lesson with a certified teacher, choose the Complete plan.
After that, log in to the platform, and do the tasks in turn or in random order. You will receive step-by-step instructions for completing IELTS Writing, Speaking, Listening and Reading tasks as well as tips and hints from our virtual assistant. Depending on how much time you have, you will get a detailed self-study plan to prepare for IELTS Academic from 1 week to 2 months.
READ ABOUT: Opportunities you have with IELTS certificate
There are more than 80 topics in the course. Every lesson contains strategies for successful completion of test tasks, vocabulary and grammar required to pass IELTS Academic. In total, you will have 40+ hours of practice on the IELTS Academic test format. In your personal Knowledge Bank, you will keep tips and checklists for self-examination on IELTS Academic Writing. AI and our IELTS experts will assess your writing. You will also be able to track your own progress. At the end of the course, you will get a certificate of completion and have clear structure for all types of tasks in IELTS Academic Writing, Speaking, Reading and Listening.
We did our best and put a lot of effort into our course to make IELTS simple for you and build your confidence. Don’t waste time, enroll, and skyrocket your IELTS band score today!
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Many candidates and students struggle with the IELTS Reading section. Difficulties appear because they might not be aware of the essentials of the Reading test, such as time, number of questions and types of texts, and some other basic, but indispensable facts. However, good news is if you are reading this blog, you still have some time to correct your mistakes and change the route of your preparation towards passing the IELTS exam successfully. Below, we are going to discuss everything you need to know about IELTS Reading as well as everything you need not to get lost on the day of the exam.
1. The tasks are different in each module of the IELTS test: General and Academic. You will take the exam together with other candidates regardless the module. As you already know, you will do the Listening section in the same room. Right after that, you will remain seated and proceed with the Reading and Writing sections. Candidates do not change the rooms until the end of the test.
2. The types of questions in both modules of IELTS Reading are basically the same. This means that the IELTS Reading sections in general and academic modules differ only in contents. For example, you may need to:
We will look specifically at all question types and give you lots of useful tips in our course.
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3. The duration of the IELTS Reading test is 60 minutes. You have to manage your time properly in order to complete all tasks. Try to spend no more than 20 minutes on each part of the test (there are 3 of them). However, you will notice that the first part is usually shorter. So, it is recommended to spend less time on it if you want to complete the rest of the tasks in time.
4. In IELTS Reading, you have to answer 40 questions. All of them are divided into several texts with different levels of difficulty. That is why some of the questions might seem easier, and others will look more difficult. Your task is to answer all of them.
5. Texts for IELTS General Training and Academic Training come from different sources. If you are taking IELTS Academic, you should get used to reading texts from books, journals, magazines and newspapers written for a non-specialist audience. At least one text contains detailed logical argument. They may also contain non-verbal materials such as diagrams, graphs or illustrations. If texts contain technical terms, a simple glossary is provided. That is because most IELTS Academic test-takers enter undergraduate or postgraduate courses or seek professional registration, and they are going to deal with these kinds of texts further in their studies or work.
READ ABOUT: IELTS Reading tips and resources
Those who take IELTS General should prepare themselves for ‘social survival’, i.e. you have to understand general factual information, such as timetables or notices. The texts are also about ‘workplace survival’ where you have to read a job description or staff development materials, for example. And the last part involves reading newspapers, magazines and fictional and non-fictional book extracts, i.e. is about general context.
6. You will have no extra time to transfer your answers. Remember that you have to do everything in 60 minutes. Be very attentive when writing answers on the answer sheet as poor spelling and grammar are penalised.
7. You can get a maximum of 40 points for IELTS Reading. Each correct answer is worth 1 mark. After that they are translated into IELTS 9 band scale. In the tables below you can see the average number of marks required to achieve a particular band score in Academic Reading and General Training Reading.
|
Academic Reading |
|
|
Band score |
Raw score out of 40 |
|
5 |
15 |
|
6 |
23 |
|
7 |
30 |
| 8 |
35 |
and
|
General Training Reading |
|
|
Band score |
Raw score out of 40 |
|
4 |
15 |
|
5 |
23 |
| 6 |
30 |
| 7 |
34 |
| 8 |
38 |
Now, when you are already aware of the structure of the IELTS Reading test and know what to expect, here are some helpful tips from our IELTS experts:
Tip #1. You should read not only the texts but also the instructions. Always check how many words you need to write, and how many options to choose in each question.
Tip #2. Do not even try to understand every single word. You will waste precious time and fail to find the answers to the questions, which is your goal, isn’t it? It’s a good idea to scan the text and find the necessary information such as keywords. Then, read this part of the text more carefully.
Tip #3. Do not get stuck if you can’t find the answer. If you spend too much time on the question you cannot answer, you are likely not to finish in time. Simply skip it and return to it later.
Tip #4. Do not leave blank answers. You have to answer all 40 questions. You will not get any penalties for choosing the wrong answer. If you are not sure, try any option that seems most appropriate. Chances are you can get it right.
Tip #5. Complete the answer sheet after each part. Once you are done with the first text, for example, transfer your answers. Then, proceed to the next task. This will help you save time and finish your test before it’s too late.
You will learn more useful tips and tricks in our complete IELTS Academic Writing self-study course with video lessons on all parts of the test, including reading strategies, sample tasks, feedback from IELTS experts, and a detailed self-study plan from 1 week to 2 months. Register for a free trial now or buy the full course and get access to all parts of the IELTS preparation.
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READ ABOUT: 6 typical mistakes in IELTS essays
There are different ways to prepare for tests and exams. If you want to do it flexibly, whenever you want and wherever you are, take a look at mobile apps to practise for IELTS. One more advantage is that they are usually free. Let’s find out more about them and decide which ones to download!
First of all, have a look at IELTS Prep App and IELTS Word Power offered by the British Council, the official maker of the IELTS.
With IELTS Prep App you will get instant access to free practice tests, grammar tips, exercises, quizzes and more. You will find sample questions for each section of the exam: Listening, Reading, Writing, Speaking, as well as vocabulary practice. Furthermore, you can track your progress to help you understand the IELTS assessment criteria and to build your confidence for the real test.
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Word Power contains over 100 vocabulary quiz questions. With gap-fill activities and listening comprehension quizzes, this app tests vocabulary skills for the IELTS Reading, Writing, and Listening sections. Because users get to hear an extensive selection of English audio, this app also has some use for developing spoken vocabulary. Additionally, the speakers in the sound files can serve as an example of how to pronounce IELTS vocabulary words and use them in context. There is a series of interesting and exciting vocabulary-building games that will ensure that you learn and have fun at the same time. You can even challenge your friends and see who has the best vocabulary!
IELTS Full – Band 7.5+ contains various sections: Tips, Reading, Writing, Speaking, Listening and Vocabulary. Each section provides practice exercises, information, and sample tests with answers. The Listening section has 3 levels, each containing 34 lessons. You will find words and collocations on various topics for both general and academic modules in the Vocabulary section. In addition, the Speaking section has many cue cards with examples, as well as vocabulary you will need to complete the tasks. Even more, the section allows you to practise their speaking, listen to sample audio recordings, record yourself and replay your answer.
READ ABOUT: IELTS Speaking: common mistakes made by candidates
10000+ Free Videos For IELTS is a real treasure box for those who enjoy watching videos and want to practice listening skills. The new videos update every day. Each video has subtitles which run correspondingly with it. The videos are grouped by topics: music, movies, travel, media, social, business, academic, kids, education, entertainment, science etc. The app provides an intelligent way that helps learners practice all skills. Moreover, you can practice listening to each sentence, record yourself and check your pronunciation, translate each sentence to over 40 languages. The app provides 4 kinds of word games to help learners enhance vocabulary. It also has a section for taking and saving notes.
IELTS Tutorials – Speaking is a free self-preparation mobile app for both IELTS Speaking Academic and IELTS Speaking General Training. It will help to improve your speaking skills and to boost your capabilities in addressing and resolving each task. There are various types of IELTS speaking questions, topics, tips and features like: question bookmark, record your test, common mistakes of speaking, etc. What’s more, it contains a collection of introductory questions, cue cards with the latest topics, model answers given by experts. In addition, you can learn some common mistakes of the IELTS speaking exam and how to avoid them. Useful videos will improve your speaking, pronunciation and time management skills during the exam.
WE RECOMMEND: IELTS Academic Writing Topics in 2020
IELTS Reading offers a real test-like collection of exam samples. This app provides real reading tasks and model practice tests with answers, and covers the following reading types:
There are lessons that teach you strategies to answer different kinds of questions. Moreover, you can switch from general to academic module.
ALSO READ ABOUT: Tips and resources to get ready for IELTS Reading
IELTS Academic Writing self-study platform by Grade is the latest and the most practical course with over 500 practical tasks of all types, an in-depth analysis of model answers, and a full writing test at the end of the course. Besides, you will get:
Before you start, try the Free version to get the taste of the course!
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Writing an IELTS essay might seem tough for most candidates. However, one can do it with flying colours if he or she knows how to do it and has a lot of practice before the exam. What should you keep in mind whilst writing an essay? How can you prepare yourself to get a higher score on the day of your Writing test? We are sharing some tips and tricks on IELTS Academic Writing Task 2 below.
What is your biggest fear on the day of the exam? The majority of candidates admit that it is the fear that a question will come up that they cannot answer because they know nothing about it. Others tend to think that IELTS examiners look for some “best possible ideas” that answer the question and they will award the highest scores for this. Neither is true. What you have to do is to answer the question and justify your point using arguments and examples. What is important is the relevancy of the ideas.
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While preparing for IELTS, read more about different kinds of topics that you can come up with at the exam. This is the easiest and the most effective way to get ready not only for Writing but also for the Reading and Speaking sections of the exam. You can do this by reading international newspapers or magazines and by looking at old essay questions and sample answers.
There are also topics that will never appear in IELTS tasks, and these are ones connected to religion, politics and war. Thus, there is no need to research about these.
READ ABOUT: IELTS Academic Writing topics in 2020
While planning your essay, you need to brainstorm ideas about a particular topic or aspect. You will usually have to come up with 2-4 ideas depending on the type of your essay. DO NOT start writing an essay if you have no idea what you are going to write about. Generating ideas is a skill, and you need to develop it.
First, try generating ideas without writing an essay. Start with asking yourself wh-questions about the topic of the essay. For example:
Some people think that it is necessary to travel abroad to learn about other countries, but others think that it is not necessary to travel abroad because all the information can be seen on TV and the internet. Discuss both views and give your own opinion.
Who thinks that it is necessary to travel abroad to learn about other countries?
Probably young people. They have access to different exchange programs and international internships.
Why?
They don’t think about saving money, because they are still young, and they don’t care about the time when they retire.
Who thinks that it is not necessary to travel abroad?
Maybe their parents or grandparents. They grew up in the times of deficit. They got used to saving money. They think about retirement.
Where?
People in post-soviet countries like Ukraine or Russia. In these countries, older generations often live in between poverty and the air line.
This technique will help you generate some initial ideas. You can also try:
Also remember, if you have too many ideas, choose those that are easy to explain.
When you have come up with the ideas for your essay, be sure you organize them properly in separate paragraphs. Your essay should consist of:
Paragraphs give a clear structure to a piece of writing and they help the reader understand your message. Organise each paragraph around one main idea. Each of your supporting paragraphs should have a specific example that supports and illustrates your main point. If you put your ideas, explanations and examples into a clear structure before you start to write, you will get a higher band score.
READ ABOUT: How to write IELTS essay
Good grammar and accuracy will bring you 25% of the score. Even simple sentences need to be written accurately! Moreover, the highest score you can receive for grammar in IELTS writing if you write only simple and compound sentences is 4 (check IELTS TASK 2 Writing band descriptors). If you aim higher, learn to use a wide range of structures (Passive Voice, Subordinate Clauses, Conditionals, Modal Verbs, etc.), avoid mistakes, and master punctuation. Make sure each sentence you write is complete.
As you know, you will have 40 minutes to complete Task 2. Also, remember that Task 2 gives more to your final writing band and so you should make sure that you have enough time after Task 1 to write an essay.
We recommend that you spend at least 1 or 2 minutes thinking about your ideas and how you are going to present them. The last thing you want to do is to go off topic. Keeping your ideas focused and on the task with an outline will improve your writing. After this, divide the ideas into 3 or 4 paragraphs in a logical order. This will not take you long and the structure that this will give your essay will be well worth the time that you spend doing it. You could follow this timeline to complete the task:
plan – 5 minutes
write – 30 minutes
check – 5 minutes.
If you feel that you need more practice in completing Task 2, improve your writing skills and get an IELTS band score evaluation for your essay, sign up for the IELTS Academic Writing self-study course. You can start with a free trial version or purchase access to the full course and get more than 40 hours of practice, lots of strong examples of IELTS Academic essay model answers, tips and strategies from our IELTS experts.
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READ ABOUT: 5 easy steps to complete IELTS Academic Writing Task 1
As you might know, there are two tasks in the Writing section of IELTS Academic:
– in Task 1 you have to describe a one or two graphs/ processes/ maps etc. in at least 150 words
– in Task 2 you have to write an Academic Essay on the given topic, minimum 250 words.
You have 60 minutes to complete both tasks, and we recommend you to spend 20 minutes on describing a visual and 40 minutes on writing an essay. Remember that Task 2 contributes twice as much to the Writing band score. Therefore, test takers who fail to attempt to answer this task will greatly reduce their chance of achieving a good band.
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Unlike Task 1, where there are a limited number of question types and some are more common than others, if you want to do well in Task 2 you should prepare ideas for common topics and then practice applying them to tasks given. These essay questions vary according to the essay type and their number is unlimited, but the number of essay types remains the same:
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There are about 20 different topics for IELTS Academic Writing Task 2, which you cannot change even if you do not like them or are not familiar with them. In other words, we recommend to research, prepare and practice writing on various topics before your exam. Here are the most common ones:
In addition, each topic is divided into subtopics that you should prepare.
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Let’s have a look at “Art”. What subtopics should you consider? Think about censorship of art and artists, creativity, art at school, the benefits of art for individuals and society, funding etc..
What kind of task will you have to complete? Here are a few examples:
As you can see, there can be thousands of essay questions for you to answer at your IELTS exam. Moreover, questions are changing from test to test and there are no chances you will get the same question as your friend answered a couple of years ago. However, you can practice writing essays using the ideas from previous tests and keeping in mind the algorithms of answering different question types.
Here is a list of websites where you can find Academic Writing Task 2 questions submitted by test-takers from all over the world:
Academic Writing Task 2 Topics
100 IELTS Essay Topics for IELTS Writing
IELTS Essay Topics Jan & Feb 2020
Recent IELTS Writing Topics and Questions 2020
We highly recommend you reading about How to write IELTS essay.
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