IELTS writing 7+ band score guide
IELTS writing 7+
Getting IELTS writing 7+ in the exam is not a big task, you just have to be more organised and have a good understanding of the official IELTS scoring criteria. IELTS writing has 2 sections; Task 1 and Task 2. For Task 1 student should write at least 150 words and for Task 2 it’s 250 words at-least. So what does the word count really mean? and how many words are most optimised for the best scores? What is the most optimal word limit? We will try to answer all these questions in this article.
Don’t write too little
There is actually a penalty in IELTS writing if you write under the word count. IELTS examiners have to sit and count all of your words. It is really unfortunate when a good candidate produces a great answer and only writes 248 words in part 2 and examiners have to mark them down.
Don’t write too much, more doesn’t mean high scores
You don’t get any penalty for writing too much. Although, it doesn’t necessarily mean if you write more you will get a better score. On the contrary, your chances of mistakes rise with more words. The more mistakes you make the chances of getting a low score is high, so be smart and write to the point. The IELTS examiner is looking for quality, not quantity!
How many paragraphs are ideal?
Paragraphs are very important for your IELTS score. There is a clear guideline that each task 2 essay must have an introduction and a conclusion. Also, it is mandatory to add a supportive paragraph. Then comes the body of the essay which must be divided either into two or three paragraphs. In total, your essay must comprise of four or five paragraphs.
To get an excellent score in the IELTS Task 2 writing section, one of the easiest and most effective tips is structuring your writing in the most solid format. A great argument essay structure may be divided into four paragraphs, in which comprises of four sentences (excluding the conclusion paragraph, which comprises of three sentences.
To consider an essay structure a great one, it should be looking like this:
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Paragraph 1 – Introduction
- Sentence 1 – Background statement
- Sentence 2 – Detailed background statement
- Sentence 3 – Thesis
- Sentence 4 – Outline sentence
Paragraph 2 – First supporting paragraph
- Sentence 1 – Topic sentence
- Sentence 2 – Example
- Sentence 3 – Discussion
- Sentence 4 – Conclusion
Paragraph 3 – Second supporting paragraph
- Sentence 1 – Topic sentence
- Sentence 2 – Example
- Sentence 3 – Discussion
- Sentence 4 – Conclusion
Paragraph 4 – Conclusion
- Sentence 1 – Summary
- Sentence 2 – Restatement of thesis
- Sentence 3 – Prediction or recommendation
How do you count words for IELTS writing?
- Hyphenated words like ‘Second-class’ or ‘State-of-the-art’ count as one word only.
- Contractions like “we’ll” or “you’re” also count as one word.
- Articles “a” “an” and “the” are always counted towards the word limit.
- Numbers, dates and time are counted as words in writing. For example 30,000 = one word / 55 = one word / 9.30am = one word / 12.06.2016 = one word.
- Dates are written as both words and numbers are counted in this way: 12th July = one number and one word.
- Symbols with numbers are not counted. For example, 55% = one number (the symbol “%” is not counted as a word). However, if you write “66 percent” it is counted as one word and one number.
- All prepositions, such as “in” or “at” are also counted.
- Compound nouns which are written as one word are also counted as one word. For example, blackboard = one word.
- All words are counted, including words in brackets. For example, “The majority of energy was generated by electricity (75%).”. This sentence is counted as 9 words. The number in brackets is counted.
- Punctuation is not included in the word count.
The best approach
The ideal task 1 essay should be between 160 and 180 words and for task 2 the essay should be between 260 and 280. This the best word for avoiding for getting any penalty for IELTS writing. If you copy the information given by IELTS for your introduction, the examiner will not count those words. This means you might be under the word count. You are being judged on your ability to paraphrase using synonyms, so try to master this skill and you will avoid copying.
Keep one thing in mind, if you memorise any model answers and use it in the essay, the examiner will know it is a memorised answer and you might get a penalty. You can repeat some words throughout the essay. You do not get a penalty for using the same word 3 or 4 times because in some cases it is difficult to find synonyms for some words.
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With Exam-Practice you can train for all the sections and also practice for real-time mock exams. Get access to study materials and lots of training exercises.
Strategies for better writing grades
As you have understood that, it’s not that difficult to get a good band for IELTS writing. Here are some of the key strategies for IELTS writing task.
Know the Basic Structure
Before you proceed to write an essay in task 2 you should be aware of its basic structure.
Practice Writing
“Practice makes a man perfect.”
But little modification it even makes the woman perfect and both of them wise too.
This is an undeniably a very important factor, you need to practice. By practising you will get a proposition about the situation you will have at the time of the IELTS test.
START WRITING! Just a few days, and see the difference.
Build Vocabulary
Writing requires a wide academic vocabulary. This will surely help you to write more prominently as well as effectively.
Avoid Informal Ways of Writing
There are some rules of writing that you should follow. The other thing, it will be good if you will avoid informal ways of writing such as the usage of abbreviations etc.
Time Management
It’s necessary to attempt both the task of IELTS writing module. In contrast to Task 1, Task 2 is more time consuming and have a high score.
But that doesn’t mean you will leave task 1. You have to attempt and complete both the tasks, no matter how. IELTS writing task 1 and 2
You can also have a glance on Official IELTS Writing Tips by British Council
Exam-Practice for improving your writing
Getting 7+ for IELTS needs some techniques along with practice. There are mainly 4 criteria that you have to focus on :
- Coherence & Cohesion
- Lexical Resource
- Grammatical Range
- Subject Adherence
It’s very hard to know your performance for the above skills and it’s necessary for a good band score.
With Exam-Practice Artificial Intelligence you can get the band scores in seconds and also know the individual breakdown of the scores. You will be able to know your strengths and weakness and improve upon your mistakes.
