One agonizing experience always difficult to erase from my mind during my stint as an examiner is a situation where a candidate has written proficiently and in your mind, you are already envisaging a band 8 essay. Then something happens; something so minute and such a candidate is brought from a lofty height to band 6 or even 5! It is so sad, but there is nothing one can do as we have to follow the rules in the mark scheme. I will be discussing some of those ‘foxes’ in this article.

THE RIGHT FORMAT- This is has to do with the basic rules guiding a particular kind of writing. In a letter it could be referred to as the tone, but it goes beyond this. The candidate must get the right tone or format and be consistent about it throughout a letter for example. You should for example not be overly familiar in a formal letter, while also not being so too serious or officious in an informal letter. When a informal letter for instance ends with Your faithfully, the crime is nothing but that the format is inappropriate. There are other details such as use of chatty language, slangs, contractions which fall under informal letters.

APPROPRIATE PARAGRAPHING-Ordinarily, this a simple rule which an average writer should know and understand that when one wants to start a fresh point in a paragraph, a margin is left on the left side of the line or an entire line left free. As simple as it is, it is distinguishing feature between band 6 and 7.This is even taken more seriously in Task 2 questions. So, as a candidate make your paragraph margins are very distinct such that no examiner would miss it!

INAPPROPRIATE ADDITION- At times, it is not what is missing in an essay that causes a problem, but what is inappropriately added. One unforgettable experience was a script (Task 2 essay ) that was almost impeccably written, but the candidate ended with ‘Thanks!’. Expectedly, this was penalized under wrong format,which means that the score is brought from 8 to 6!

INCOMPLETE ANSWER- Most IELTS Writing questions have 2 or more angles to it. However, there is a tendency for a candidate to overlook one of the components. If for instance, a question requires you to suggest a solution in addition to a cause, that is exactly what is required. A question may also require you to suggest two solutions, so if you give just one, then there is a penalty. What is required here is for one to be painstaking in looking at the requirements of a question, especially whether it is in plural or singular form. When a question looks familiar or like a past one, be careful, because it may actually be repeated, but a little adjustment has probably been made to it, so watch out!

OVERSIMPLIFICATION-It is actually good to be simple, but there is a clause to that. You may write an essay with little or no grammatical error, which makes it highly readable, but this oversimplification may be the problem. When your language lacks some level of sophistication which is required of essays within band 7-9 range, then expectedly such a candidate may be consigned to band 6.There is a level of maturity in writing which can only be expressed using sophisticated vocabulary for instance. This is why I always recommend candidates harming themselves with appropriate collocations and even idiomatic expressions, but the caveat here is to ensure it is used suitably and appropriately. Also note that there is nothing like a word or phrase being a ‘big word’. What is salient is appropriateness.

TIME MANAGEMENT- Many candidates may be so fixated on answering the questions set in the test forgetting that other variables too are being tested and one of such is time-management. I always state that ideally the time set for all tasks are never enough, but there is nothing you can do about it! The simple trick is that before the exam ,you would have been writing within a stipulated time, which should give you your personal speed in consonance with the set tasks. Having settled this, ensure you begin with Task 2 in the exam as this earns more marks than the Task 1.Where time management is even more imperative is in having enough time left to read over your essays. If you were able to finish your tasks without any time spared to edit or read over, it would only take the sheer grace of God for you to pass!

HANDWRITING-This is another factor that is often not discussed but equally very important. Many candidates would have earned band 7- 9 if not because of their illegible handwriting. The simple truth is that if your writing is not legible, you wont be physically present to tell the examiner exactly what you are trying to convey. Good handwriting is even more important now, considering the fact that your scripts are scanned to be sent abroad for assessment. The simple rule of good handwriting is for you to make your letters as big as possible and there is even an option of CBT(Computer Based Test) if your handwriting is irredeemably terrible.

Kunle Abrahams
(A former IELTS Writing Examiner with British Council,Lagos)
081783333447

Good job and thanks for the information. We have a blog post that explicitly explain how to write a band 8.0 + score. Visit https://bluesilvers.com/ielts-opinion-essay/