How to prepare for the IELTS Writing exam

The IELTS Writing test lasts for 60 minutes and consists of two parts. The best way to prepare is
to know what is involved and how you will be evaluated, then to come up with a strategy for
success.
The first part will consist of writing a short letter (of 150 words or more) for the General IELTS
exam or for the IELTS Academic exam, you will be asked to summarize a chart, diagram or map
in 150 words or more.
The second part of the exam consists of writing an essay of 250 words or more explaining your
opinions and/or ideas about a problem or situation given to you. (The second part of the exam
is the same for both General and Academic IELTS). Part 2 is also twice as important as Part 1 for
your score so it is recommended that you spend 20 minutes on Part 1 and 40 minutes on Part 2.
The IELTS Writing Exam measures your ability to:

• Understand and respond to a problem or task
• Organize and connect your ideas
• Use a range of vocabulary and grammatical structures in written form.

The IELTS Speaking is scored on a scale of 0 to 9, but Band 6 is for those who show an
understanding of the tasks without using advanced vocabulary and grammar well. A native
speaker, on the other hand, should score between 8.5 and 9.
You will be judged on the following four criteria:
Task achievement – your ability to display an understanding of the question and provide a
complete answer.
Lexical Resource – the range of your vocabulary and expressions, including synonyms,
antonyms, intensifiers, idioms and collocations (or words that go together).
Grammatical Range & Accuracy – your ability to express yourself in simple and complex
sentences correctly and appropriate to the situation. To get the best score, you should exhibit a
variety of tenses, including conditionals and passive voice, linking everything together with
appropriate connecting words.
Coherence & Cohesion – your ability to write a well-formed written response smoothly using
linking and connecting words and clauses properly.
.
In one hour, you will have to showcase your best skills and talents for expressing your opinions
and summarizing information in English. You can do this by using words and expressions

correctly, exhibiting a range of tenses (used properly), paraphrasing or substituting words used
in the examiner’s questions, and showing an understanding of questions with thoughtful, well-
reasoned responses.
Check out the sample exams provided by the British Council for General Training:
https://takeielts.britishcouncil.org/prepare-test/practice-tests/writing-practice-test-1-general-
training
For IELTS Academic, try this link to the British Council site:
https://takeielts.britishcouncil.org/prepare-your-test/free-practice-tests/writing-practice-test-
1-ielts-academic
When preparing try the following:

• Read editorials and opinion essays in newspapers, magazines or online.
• Practice vocabulary for general purposes and/or pertaining to charts, diagrams and
• graphs.
• Devise a quick way of jotting down notes with key words and phrases to structure your
• answers.
• Practice with a stopwatch to ensure that you stay within the proper time limits.
• Practice different sentence structures for your opening sentences and conclusions.
• Practice paraphrasing what the examiner says using synonyms and antonyms.
• Practice bridging your ideas in a logical manner with connectors and linking words.
• Make sure to read questions carefully to ensure that you respond fully and
• appropriately.
• Save a bit of time to re-check your work before submitting your writing.
• You should devise a weekly plan to work on your writing skills. Time should be spent on making
• sure that you are using advanced vocabulary, intensifiers and connectors with a wide range of
• grammatical structures.

The following resources are great:
https://www.ieltsbuddy.com/ielts-writing.html
https://www.ieltsbuddy.com/ielts-vocabulary.html
https://www.myenglishteacher.eu/ask/question/list-of-sentence-connectors-in-english/
https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/english-grammar/intensifiers

If you need more help devising a strategy, feel free to contact me at www.amysindicic.com
I work online 24/7 for your success! 🙂