ashotofhails Posted October 13, 2015 Share Posted October 13, 2015 I have sat the IELTS test 3 times in total now and I am having some serious issues with the Writing section. For all three times I've sat the exam, I've received 9.0 in all the other sections but Writing. In the 1st and 2nd attempt, I received 6.5, and 7.0 from the 3rd attempt. (all Academic module) I've booked another test(General module) in the first week of November. So I have slightly less than a month's time to prepare for this. Any help or advice as to how to tackle the writing section to get at least 8.0 would be greatly appreciated!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanduex Posted October 14, 2015 Share Posted October 14, 2015 I scored 9s across the board and an 8.5 in the writing (academic) From recollection it was all about the structure. focused intro response rebuttal conclusion I ran out of time and rushed the conclusion which I attribute to the 0.5. I also went over the words by 150, but in my head they were valid and focused words. Sounds simple but this is the format and practice that I did and it paid of. In addition you need to keep spelling and grammar good. And where possible use connected sentences and improve flow as opposed to stacatto excessive short sentences and full stops. Most of all - answer the question/task Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris S Posted October 14, 2015 Share Posted October 14, 2015 I share your pain having failed it 5 times now (twice with Pearson & 3 times with IELTS). You don't say whether you are in Oz or UK, but I sense a fairer marking system is operating in the UK with Australia using it either as a cash cow or an immigration choke point, or both. Being an ex-pat, it's easy to get complacent. And maybe I was in the early days but now it's just becoming a joke. I'm 44 years of age and now find myself watching helpful clips on youtube to see where I'm going wrong. I passed my English Lang & Lit with flying colours nearly 30 years ago, back in the day when O levels set the bar a little higher. Vanduex is right, form a structured & intelligent response .. intro, middle & conclusion. There are many sources of info out there, this being a good site ... http://ielts-simon.com/ From reading around, you may find that the General module is slightly easier. I was scoring top marks with Pearson on everything bar speaking (7.5) & I've no idea where that was going wrong. IELTS ... Had a disastrous day initially with listening (if you lose the thread or can't quite grasp the context then you get left behind and you've had it, fail). You have to be 100% focused on the listening. Since then, I've also struggled with writing, achieving 0.5 point under the 8 I require. Fair to say, it's grinding me down now. I've got no idea who is marking these papers but I would like a face to face with them to see exactly what it is that they have a problem with. Maybe they see an English face and want you to fail, I don't know, but that's what it's looking like. There aren't many Aussies I know who could pass this test so what does that tell you ... that they should all be deported from their homeland? Let me know how you go & happy to talk offline. Cheers, Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persianharry Posted October 14, 2015 Share Posted October 14, 2015 I've booked another test(General module) in the first week of November. I think you will find the General version much easier. The writing section is split into two parts, the first part is typically a short letter, perhaps asking for a reference or time off work, this is a third of the marks. The second section is a short essay type thing along the lines of: "Statement about celebrity life", Discuss the above statement and give your own opinion. The letter should be easy, as long as you structure it correctly with capitalisation and proper sentences you shouldn't drop any marks. The short essay is a little bit more difficult and I think it is worth spending a couple of minutes to jot down a structure of what you are going to say. The marking of the essay is a little more subjective as there isn't a single correct answer, but the key is not to make silly mistakes. I believe that you start off with full marks and then marks are deducted for spelling and grammar mistakes or failure to make your argument etc. As someone mentioned above it is easy for the time to run away with you writing a lot of words, but if you structure it well with your conclusion planned before you start then you should be OK. An old lecturer I had used to say that for essays: Say what you are going to say, Say it, then say what you said. I hope that helps, and good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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