Success at IELTS Academic Writing

By Anna Rowe

Are you preparing for IELTS Academic? Are you hoping to get Band 6.5 or higher in the IELTS Academic Writing test? Then this handy guide is exactly what you need!
Work your way through the six original practice tasks with lots of guidance, hints and tips. Then read the annotated sample answers (all marked at 8.5 or 9) to help you improve your essays. There is lots of advice on structure and language. You’ll also find out great strategies and tips on how you can succeed at the IELTS Academic Writing test and impress the examiner.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Anna Rowe
• Release date: Jan 25, 2016
• ISBN: 9781524240677

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Tips for IELTS Academic Writing

Format of the Writing test

The Writing test is 1 hour long and will come after the Listening and Reading tests. There’s sometimes a break between the tests and you might be able to get a coffee or have a few moments in the fresh air. Ask your test centre about it. Psychologically, it’s always a good idea to know exactly how the day will run and your test centre should be able to give you exact information on how they administer the test.

Within the 60 minutes you have to answer two questions. You need to divide your time however you see fit. However, bear in mind that Task 1 is shorter than Task 2, so you probably need to allow around 15-20 minutes for Task 1 and 40-45 minutes for Task 2. Task 1 is worth 1/3 of the marks and Task 2 is worth 2/3 of the marks.

In Task 1 you will have to describe and interpret visual information, for example a graph or a diagram.

In Task 2 you need to discuss a problem, point of view or argument.

We will look at both tasks in detail in the Guided Practice section.

Word count

The word count is clearly stated on your test, so you don’t need to memorise it, but you will need it to practise. You are expected to write at least 150 words for Task 1 and at least 250 words for Task 2, so in total you will have to write at least 400 words in 60 minutes.

In order to do well in the test, you’ll need to know how much space 150 and 250 words take up in your handwriting. You won’t have time to count words in your test, so simply count a few of your practice essays and see how many pages you’ll have to write. The test paper is lined A4 paper. Use similar paper for your practice and you’ll know exactly what you have to aim for.

Many students get very worried about the word count, but you really shouldn’t. You’ll need to write a minimum of 150 words or 250 words in order to give a full answer. Anything less than that and you’re probably missing a lot of important points. Many students have the opposite problem. They would find it really easy to write too many words. You will not lose marks if you write a longer answer, but you don’t have much time in the test. It’s also really important that you check your work at the