Last Day Strategies : IELTS Writing (General Training)

Your exam day is near. You are focussed and determined. However, there are still a few things you need to keep in mind before you move ahead with everything. 

Here are a few last minute strategies for GENERAL TRAINING WRITING TASK 1, you should pay attention to before you step inside your examination room:

# 1 . Make sure you have completed at least one or two complete IELTS practice tests before your real test. 

# 2 . Don’t spend more than 20 mins on task 1. Keep checking the time so you don’t make this mistake. You need 40 mins for task 2.

# 3 . Always write over 150 words for task 1, not one word less than 150. Don’t count the number of words, count the lines and estimate your word count

# 4. Check your verbs.  Have you used the right tense (past, present, future)? Did you use the right singular/plural agreement? Did you use the correct form of the verb?

# 5. Check your spelling. You can use either American or British spelling. Whatever you use, stick to that! 

# 6. Before you proceed to write a letter in your examination, you should be aware of its basic structure. Memorize the structure well before you attempt any question. 

# 7. This is an undeniably a very important factor, you need to practice. By practicing well in advance, you will get a proposition about the situation you will have at the time of the IELTS test.

# 8. Build an enhanced vocabulary for your test. Writing requires a wide spectrum in terms of vocabulary. This will surely help you to write more prominently as well as effectively.

# 9. Manage your time effectively well. It’s necessary to attempt both the task of IELTS writing module. In contrast to Task 1, Task 2 is more time consuming and entails a higher score as well. Make sure you are paying attention to the time so you are able to complete everything in under 60 minutes. 

# 10. Pay attention to the areas where you have used synonyms. Ensure you have used the right ones. Also make sure the synonyms are making sense to you when used in a particular sentence or context.

Here are a few last minute strategies for GENERAL TRAINING WRITING TASK 2: 

You are all set if you have made it so far in this book! It is now time for the D-day. Do not panic, do not feel overwhelmed. It is all going to be fine. Keep your calm and try to brush on some of the last-minute strategies we have dynamically talked about throughout the book. 

#1. Do not forget to plan : Planning forms an integral part of your essay writing. If you plan in advance, you will know what you are trying to say, and what point you can skip. You will not need to stop in the middle to think of further dimensions the essay will take. This directly means you will be able to write much faster. 

Planning also ensures that you are able to include every important point that forms the requirement of the question task, which means you can easily achieve the 25% portion of your score dependent on the task achievement criteria. 

Planning also ensures a better-organized flow of ideas, which again entails you getting hold of the other 25% score dependent on the coherence and cohesion marking criteria. 

#2. Always remember the structure: Do not forget to include the right structure for your essay. It always goes like this:

Introduction
Body paragraphs (1-2, sometimes 3)
Conclusion

This is one of the most valuable tips as a part of your last-minute strategies in this book.

The structure is universal to all kinds of essays and is pretty easy to learn, knowing you will be required to support your essay with further nuances based on the type of essay you are supposed to write. 

Adhering to this structure ensures you get a hold of your coherence and cohesion, as well as your task achievement criteria. 

#3. Use the art of paraphrasing: Using the keywords in your essay is one thing, but copying the whole question prompt as a part of your introduction or your thesis statement is wrong on another level. 

Instead, what you should be doing is paraphrasing the question statement as a part of your introduction. 

Use synonyms for paraphrasing, instead of simply repeating the same words shamelessly. This is an essential step when it comes to achieving a high score on the basis of lexical resource criteria.  

#4. Be specific: Every single part of your answer needs to be relevant to the parts of your question. 

Questions will tell you what needs to be done. Therefore ensure you are following the same path, instead of putting in random ideas and views. If the question, for instance, is talking about fossil fuels and their impact on global warming, talk and focus on fossil fuels and not about global warming in general. 

Be specific to the primary topic keywords. Use your secondary keywords as a support for your topic keywords.

#5. Identify correctly: When it comes to task 2 of your writing section, understand the relevance of identifying the type of essay you are required to write. 

Confusing one type of essay with another is a major faux pas you might be committing. For instance, do not confuse an opinion essay for a discussion essay. Know the framework and the right wordings to differentiate between different kinds of essays. 

#6. Always highlight keywords in advance : Analysing the question in advance is an important step to writing a great essay. Ensure you are able to analyse the keywords since they are going to form the foundation of your essay. 

Identifying the topic keyword, instructional keywords and your secondary keywords ensures you getting scored better on the basis of task achievement criterion, which forms 25% of your band score for the particular task. 

You can follow the above tips to ensure success.

Unlock IELTS with Richa aims to help the IELTS aspirants by highlighting not only the imperative things one needs to follow to score well, but also acquaint the students with the aspects to avoid. It aims at Concentrating on both sides of the coins is important to help students master IELTS.