IELTS Writing Task 2 Guidelines

BEFORE YOU WRITE

•Read the task carefully to decide how many parts it has and what your position is.
•Why? Because you will lose marks if you do not address all the parts of the question relevantly.
•Make a quick plan either mentally or on rough paper. Decide on your main ideas.
•Why? Because the examiner will be looking for a number of clear main ideas.
AS YOU WRITE
•Introduce your answer in your own words and make your position clear. You may state your position here as well.
•Why? Because the examiner will not count copied material as part of your total word count.
•Present your main ideas clearly and use examples to support them.
•Why? Because you will get more marks if your ideas are clear and well supported.
•Write a conclusion and re-state your position.
•Why? Because your examiner will expect to find a logical conclusion and a consistent position.
HOW YOU WRITE
•Try to show that you can use your own words (wherever possible) and a range of grammatical structures.
•Why? Because you will get more marks for vocabulary and grammar if you can do this.
•Divide your answer into paragraphs and use linkers to connect your ideas.
•Why? Because you will get more marks if you can organise your answer well and use a range of linking and reference words.
WHEN YOU HAVE FINISHED
•Count your words to make sure you have written enough.
•Why? Because short answers lose marks. (There are no extra marks for long answers.)
•Check your grammar, spelling and punctuation.
•Why? Because mistakes in these areas can reduce your marks.