Hi guys,

When you prepare for IELTS writing task 2, you need to understand the scoring system for your essay.

IELTS have published the IELTS Writing Task 2 Band Score Descriptors which show you the four marking criteria (each 25% of your marks) and also the requirements for each band score in those criteria. As you know the four marking criteria are:

1. Task Response (your answer, position, ideas, relevancy and ability to develop ideas)
2. Coherence & Cohesion (organisation, paragraphing, linking)
3. Grammar (this is both your range and accuracy)
4. Lexical Resource (the range and accuracy of your vocabulary)

To see a copy of the band descriptors for writing task 2 published by IELTS, click here: IELTS Band Descriptors WT2

I have also made my own page which explains the scores and also gives you tips for improving your score. Click here: Liz’ Band Score Information & Tips for Improving

Take your time to get to know the differences between the band scores. Most people who do not get the score they want, often do not fully understand the scoring and requirements.

Creating a Model Answer for IELTS writing task 1.

Many students asked me to write a full model answer for this bar chart which was used in my lessons last week. 

IELTS Complex Bar Chart

 

Source of Bar Chart: https://www.english-in-chester.co.uk

IELTS Bar Chart Model: Sentence Ordering

Put the 10 sentences below in order to make a full band 9 model answer for IELTS writing task 1.

• A) Teenagers spent 25 hours on watching television in 2002 which increased to almost 40 hours in the final year.
• B) The other pursuits showed a decrease in hours, except watching DVDs which fluctuated.
• C) Going to pubs or discos, watching TV, and shopping all showed an increase in the number of hours teenagers spent on these activities.
• D) The bar chart illustrates how many hours adolescents in Chester spent on seven activities each week between 2002 and 2007.
• E) While teenagers occupied 10 hours doing homework in 2002, this figure dropped to just over 5 in 2007.
• F) The number of hours teenagers dedicated to watching DVDs was only 10 hours in first and final years, but reached a peak of over 15 hours in  2004 and 2005.
• G) Overall, the most popular activity over the period given was watching TV, whereas bowling was the least favourite.
• H) Bowling was under 5 hours throughout the entire period (declining by about 4 hours in total).
• I) Both going to pubs or discos, and shopping more than doubled in hours from over 5 to around 15 or slightly above.
• J) Playing sport fell more dramatically from 10 hours to around 3 hours.

Notice how many sentences are used to create a full model answer. IELTS writing task 1 does not require many sentences. There are NO fixed number of sentences for writing task 1, but you can see that you do not need many to write a high score answer.

Answers

Answers are now available. Please remember the answers also contain the full model answer in the right order. This isn’t just a lesson to complete an exercise, it is a method of helping you understand model answers and to learn from them. Take your time to review your answers and also review the full model.

Click below for the Answers

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All the best, Liz

Recommended for You

ALL MODEL ANSWERS & TIPS FOR WRITING TASK 1

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Learn how to organising information into logical paragraphs for IELTS Writing Task 1. Deciding  which categories go into which paragraphs is crucial for a high score. Below is a practice lesson with a bar chart typical of IELTS Writing Task 1 to show you how to do this. Bar charts are common in IELTS writing task 1 academic paper.

How to Organise Information – IELTS Writing Task 1

Coherence and Cohesion, which is 25% of your marks. This marking criterion is about:

1. logical order of information using paragraphs
2. logical order of information inside paragraphs
3. linking words

This is one area of that people often forget which greatly impacts their score. So, you must spend time during your planning stage to think about how you plan to organise data. You can read more about the marking on this page: IELTS WRITING TASK 1 MARKING CRITERIA WITH TIPS.

Some people find it difficult to decide which categories and what data should go into what paragraphs, particularly if there is a lot of information given in the task. Remember, writing task 1 is not an essay, it is a report which needs to be concise and highly organised.

Check your organisation skills

The bar chart below shows the hours per week that teenagers spend doing certain activities in Chester from 2002 to 2007.

Source of Bar Chart: https://www.english-in-chester.co.uk

QUESTIONS FOR YOU

1. How many paragraphs would you have?
2. How would you organise the categories into body paragraphs? Which categories go into which body paragraphs?

ANSWERS

The answer to this lesson is now available.

CLICK HERE FOR ANSWERS: Answers to bar chart organisation

All the best

Liz

RECOMMENDED FOR YOU

• How to prepare for Writing Task 1
• IELTS Bar Char Model Answer
• IELTS Table Model Answer
• ALL MODEL ANSWERS & TIPS FOR WRITING TASK 1

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Below are two IELTS model essays for May 2018 in writing task 2. There is one essay for the Academic test and one for the General Training test. You can all benefit from both of them.

IELTS Essay Question May 2018

Caring for children is very important for our society. Therefore all mothers and fathers should take a childcare training course. To what you extent agree or disagree?

IELTS Model Essay 2018

It is thought that all parents should attend a childcare training course in order to properly understand how to bring up their children. In my opinion, while I agree that parents should learn about childcare, it is not realistic to have mandatory childcare training courses for all parents.

Firstly, it is certainly essential that parents learn the basics of childcare, particularly in the early months and years when they first have a child. Understanding a baby’s needs and the possible medical problems that can arise is essential for the baby’s safety. Without such knowledge they could easily put their baby at risk or not be ready to respond to critical situations in the right way.

However, although childcare is important, it would be practically impossible to have obligatory childcare training courses for all parents due to the large number of new parents each year. For example, there are over half a million children born annually in the UK at present which means that over 750,000 parents would have to attend a childcare training course each year. Both the large scale and cost of such a training course makes this option very difficult to implement.

Finally, a more practical solution to teaching parents, therefore, would be to provide easily accessible information on a website with a free online video training course. This would ensure all parents have access to the necessary information at a fraction of the cost. This would also allow parents to decide which information is useful and still bring up their children according to their own culture or religion.

In conclusion, it is best to provide a free video training course and website which is cheap to make and accessible to all parents rather than a training course which parents need to attend in person.

IELTS Essay Question May 2018 (GT)

Some people believe that travelling within a city is better by car while some other think bicycle is a better means. Discuss both sides and give your opinion.

IELTS Model Answer May 2018 (GT)

People hold different opinions about whether a car or a bicycle is the best form of transport in a city. I believe within the city centre a bicycle is best, but a car is better if someone must travel further.

On the one hand, it is commonly thought that a car is the best option for transport in a city as it offers great comfort in terms of seating, air conditioning and other features. A further reason for people preferring cars is that they can easily transport a number of people at the same time and is especially safe for children. Cars are, moreover, time effective. being able to cover long distances in less time.

On the other hand, bicycles are healthier options for getting around a city centre according to some. The majority of people lead a sedentary life style with little or no exercise which can cause serious health problems. This is often due to the lack of time available in their daily routine for exercise. By using a bicycle to travel, people will get the necessary physical activities without any inconvenience.

Finally, in my opinion, bicycles are certainly an asset in a city centre where traffic jams are frequent. They can pass through congestion with minimal effort and offer health benefits. However, if a person lives in the suburbs, the most logical option would be a car for travelling longer distances into the city centre, particularly with more than one person to transport.

In conclusion, both bicycles and cars offer advantages depending on whether the travel is only with the city centre or outside the centre. However, for families travelling together, a car will always be the best option.

Comments

These essays are possibly longer than essays you might aim to write in your real test. There is no actual upper word limit for IELTS writing task 2. However, there is a time limit which will prevent you writing a long essay. Also errors will lower your score. This means you should aim for quality rather than quantity. Most people will aim for between 270 and 290 in writing task 2.

To learn more about the length of your essay, click here: Tips on IELTS Essay Length  If you would like to see more tips on writing task 2, click here: IELTS Writing Task 2 Tips, Info and Answers