“Every sentence in your essay has a job to do.” – Listen to Ryan’s interview on IELTSPodcast.com

A few months ago, I had the pleasure of speaking with Ben of ieltspodcast.com about the written portion of the IELTS.  Our conversation touches on a number of topics, among them: how to write a strong introduction paragraph, how to choose effective examples and how to use cohesion to help the various parts of your essay work together.  Although I’m sure you’re used to watching a video when you hear my voice, this new medium will test your listening abilities and hopefully help clarify any questions you have about essay writing.  Click here to stream the entire interview.

Don’t forget to subscribe to Ben’s podcast, too.  (And I’m sure when you hear the free IELTS material he’s creating, you’ll be happy to leave a five star iTunes rating next to mine!)

You have 48 hours to suggest an opening sentence for this Academic Task 1 response!

(This model Academic Task 1 answer was written in response to a question seen on an IELTS exam held in Ireland in April of 2012.  Please leave your suggestion as a comment to this post.)

___________Insert your sentence here!____________.  Consumption for all countries varied between 1800 and 3350 calories and the differences seen do not appear to be sensitive to continent.

Perhaps not surprisingly, the country with the highest caloric intake was the United States, with a staggering 3350 calories consumed per day on average.  Not far behind was New Zealand, where people consumed about 3200 calories per day during the year in question.  Intakes for Spain and Mexico were slightly higher than 2500 calories per day.  On the lower side of the spectrum were countries like China, at 2200 daily calories, India, as 2100 daily calories, and Somalia and Indonesia, both at roughly 1800 calories per day.  When comparing the highest and lowest values, it appears as though Americans in 2003 ingested almost twice as much food as Indonesians.

The values presented in this graph are thought to be reflective of the diet, lifestyle and culture of each country.

You have 24 hours 48 hours to suggest a topic sentence for the first supporting paragraph of this essay!

(This is a model essay in response to a question seen in the UK in April 2012.  This question was taken from ielts-blog.com.  Please leave your suggestion as a comment to this post.  Suggestions emailed to me will not be added.)

Some believe museums should entertain people, while others believe their purpose is to educate.  Discuss both views and give your own opinion.

Museums often represent different things to different people.  On the one hand, many people feel a museum’s primary purpose is to entertain.  However, others feel they function to house an educational resource.  The merits of both arguments will be analyzed before a conclusion is decided upon.

________________Insert your sentence here!_______________.  For example, the Science and Technology Museum in Ottawa minimizes the written descriptions normally found next to exhibits, instead preferring to provide visitors with a demonstrational experience to illustrate a scientific point.  Although this setup leaves their museum visitors stimulated, it does little to provide them with a deeper understanding of a scientific topic.  Thus, the merits of this opinion regarding the purpose of museums are hard to support.

However, many other people see museums as powerful educational resources.  For example, the British Museum in London, England, is arranged to provide its visitors with a very informed look at the roots of the human race.  Patrons leave this museum with a much more acute understanding of historical topics, and this understanding is something they can apply to their everyday endeavors.  Thus, the heightened benefits of this opinion on the role of museums can clearly be seen.

After looking at these two opposing points of view, it is felt that museums better serve the public when they are established to educate as opposed to entertain.  Thus, it is hoped that the museums of the future are arranged primarily for this purpose.

 

Inside secret! Read this and found out how the IELTS writing exam is marked!

(Are you an IELTS examiner?  Is there anything in the following article that is inaccurate?  Please let me know at: ryanthiggins@gmail.com.)

People are often confused by the methodology used to calculate the IELTS writing mark.  As you know, your IELTS writing band is made up of your performance on two separate writing assignments, more commonly known as Task 1 and Task 2.  But what you may not know is how these assignments are weighted against each other to formulate your overall writing band.  Knowing the answer to this question gives the IELTS student a major advantage in the exam.

As was recently explained to me by former IELTS examiner Chris Green (of http://ielts-yasi.englishlab.net/), examiners first assign a band to each of a student’s tasks.  Then the examiner uses a chart to calibrate precisely what the student’s overall writing band is.  According to this chart, the Task 1 to Task 2 weighting ratio is about 1:2 (in other words, Task 1 contributes 33% and Task 2 66%).

Below you can see a copy of the chart (reproduced with permission from Chris Green at http://ielts-yasi.englishlab.net/).  Please note that Chris was an examiner several years ago and created this chart based on what he estimates the current score chart to look like.  Thus, it may not accurately reflect the numbers used by today’s active IELTS examiners (click the image to enlarge):

Knowing that Task 1 and Task 2 are weighted 1:2, some interesting observations can be made.  For example, if you perform at a band 8 in your Task 1 response, but only receive band 5 for your Task 2, your writing will be labeled an overall band of 6.  However, if these marks are reversed (that is to say your Task 1 is band 5 and your Task 2 is band 8), you will be honoured an overall band of 7.  In fact, even if your Task 1 mark were to fall to a band 4, you would still be awarded an overall band of 7.

Let me summarize the above in a few quick equations:

Task 1 Band 8 + Task 2 Band 5 = Overall Writing Band 6

Task 1 Band 5 + Task 2 Band 8 = Overall Writing Band 7

Task 1 Band 4 + Task 2 Band 8 = Overall Writing Band 7

So what conclusions can we draw from this?

The above equations illustrate three things.

The first is that the 1:2 weighting ratio can shift slightly depending on the combination of marks you receive.

The second is that perhaps the best strategy a student can take is to engage Task 2 first, then proceed to Task 1.  In doing this, the student prioritizes the Task 2 response, which heightens their chances of performing well in this area.  This would in turn heighten their chances of receiving a higher overall writing band.

The third is just how important it is that you perform well on the Task 2 portion of the exam.  I can tell you from my experience correcting Task 1 and 2 writing samples that students underestimate their abilities to engage Task 1 and overestimate their abilities to engage Task 2 (this is particularly true for students engaging the Academic exam).  I believe this is why many students are surprised by how low their writing mark is.

If you are one of these people, my guess is that your Task 2 is weak and the additional weight this Task contributes to your overall mark is causing the depression you see in your writing band.  As the above examples show, a strong Task 2 can overshadow a weak Task 1.  It is thus imperative that you have your writing checked at least once by a native English speaker before you engage the IELTS.

So I hope the above both clears up any confusion you had regarding how this section is marked and helps you strategize a personal plan for your writing.

Be sure to check out the other resources at Chris’s website, too.  There are lots of speaking resources and an interesting section that makes an educated guess for upcoming exam topics: http://ielts-yasi.englishlab.net/