Essay planning starts long before you take your writing test. You should know your strengths and weaknesses as well as your preferred ways to write essays for IELTS Writing Task 2. If you have practiced IELTS writing with the help of a qualified teacher, you will know EXACTLY what you need to do from when you first read the question to when you finish your proofreading.
If you rely on luck or the type of question you get asked in the test, then you are not really serious about passing.
What to know before your test
What structure you will use
For example, I recommend the following essay structure:
Introduction
Paraphrase the question and give your opinion if needed
Body paragraph 1
Topic sentence
Supporting sentence 1
Example
Supporting sentence 2
Concluding sentence – to round it all up or to link to the next paragraph
Body paragraph 2
Topic sentence
Supporting sentence 1
Example
Supporting sentence 2
Concluding sentence – to round it all up or to link to the next paragraph
Conclusion
Summarise your argument and restate your opinion if needed
Doing it this way, you know what you are going to do before your exam, so you can concentrate on answering the question, not which structure you are going to use. This can be used for any question type.
It’s better to have two ideas for each paragraph. One paragraph, one main idea, which is more vague, so you can fit in the two ideas to support it.
If you completely agree or you want both sides of the argument to be from the same side, then rather than using the same kind of language in both paragraphs, agree with the other side, then refute o rubbish that/these claim(s).
Planning
Topic sentences – have some ideas from a template ready
Supporting sentences, the same. Supporting sentences are usually the more complex sentences, so try to use compound complex sentences here. THESE SENTENCES DO NOT NEED TO BE FOUR OR FIVE LINES LONG, they just need to be complex or compound complex sentences!
In one paragraph, use for example, for instance or something like that, in the other add the example into the sentence, such as xxxxx. See the examples below for the different places you can use ‘for example’.
Examples are there to make your argument clear, they are not the whole essay. In one paragraph, your example should be an average sized sentence at most.
A conditional sentence as the last sentence in Body 1, should link to the next paragraph well.
Limit repetition by using referencing and substitution, but be careful to have the correct subject-verb agreement.
What to practice before your test
Answering the question
Read the question three times to make sure you understand it. IT IS VERY VERY COMMON FOR STUDENTS TO ANSWER THE QUESTION THEY THINK THEY READ, NOT THE REAL ONE!!!!!!! This is a killer!!!!!!
Do not think of your position yet.
If the question has two parts, advantages and disadvantages, 2 questions, opposing arguments and so on, start brainstorming ideas.
Your opinion (if needed)
Do not start to think – omg omg what do I need to say, think – if I am having a coffee with my friend and we started to talk about this topic, what would we say?
Also think about – who, what, when , where, why, how long, how often, how much and so on.
Now look at the ideas you have. If you have 10 ideas for one side and 2 ideas for the other, then you should have the side with 10 ideas as your opinion or your agreement.
WRITE THE ESSAY YOU CAN WRITE, NOT THE ESSAY THAT WILL SHOW THE EXAMINER HOW CLEVER YOUR OPINION IS!!!!!
This is the best piece of advice you will ever get. Please pay attention to it.
Where to put your ideas
Once you know which side you are in favour of / agree with and so on, choose your best ideas. YOU DO NOT NEED TO USE ALL YOUR IDEAS IN ONE ESSAY! Use the best ones. If you need to to, you can mention one or two of the others in passing, which works very well.
Write this out and add your ideas to the different parts of the essay.
Para
Opinion
TS
SS1
EX
SS2
C
TS
SS1
EX
SS2
C
Conc
Vocabulary
Then write in what you are going to talk about and any worries about vocabulary – this should take a few minutes.
You should also practice using synonyms of vocabulary used in common topics. Here are some useful ones:
| Word | Synonym(s) |
| People | The general public, locals, most of the population, adults |
| The government | The authorities, the national / local / city government |
| Tourists | Holidaymakers, vacationers, overseas visitors |
| Family | Relatives, extended family, relations |
| Children | Youngsters, boys and girls, infants, primary school children, secondary school children |
| Society | The local community, public, civilisation, social groups |
| Being healthy | Well-being, being fit, in good condition |
| Job | Career, employment, occupation, position, profession |
| University | Tertiary education, academia, educational institution |
You should also be able to use topic vocabulary fluently and flexibly.
Sentence Structure and Grammar
For a higher band score, use compound complex sentences – where are you going to put them?
Using compound complex supporting sentences –
Firstly, high speed train travel is more convenient and cheaper than flying, while many also consider it safer.
If you want to use relative clauses, conditionals and noun phrases – where are you going to put them?
Work out your paraphrase on a scrap sheet of paper
Spelling
When you have chosen your favourite words and phrases, also make sure that you can spell them properly. If you check the Lexical Resource section of the IELTS Task 2 writing rubric, for example, you will see spelling is an important part of the score.
Punctuation
Learning sentence structures is not always easy, but when you learn one first, also learn how it is punctuated. Punctuation can make a big difference to the meaning of a sentence, so take care!
Examples
Here are some suggestions – noun phrases in bold, verb phrases in italics, and adjective phrases underlined
Use relative clauses in examples –
For example, people who earn high salaries enjoy taking expensive vacations to flaunt their lifestyle.
Companies that produce such products for instance, often have financial problems.
Travelling by rail, which is relatively inexpensive, does not appeal to many families for example.
For example, residential areas where there is little recycling are often less affluent.
Graduates who are technically minded for example, will have a wider range of job offers.
Use conditionals in examples –
For example, if a child is talented at playing an instrument, their parents will often insist on them spending more time practicing and learning it.
If sensitive information was shared freely for example, the research costs could be wasted.
For example, if parents punish their children too harshly, they would put their relationship at risk.
For example, if governments spent more on railways, then the road system would fall into disrepair.
For example, if the number of sports facilities was increased, it would probably not make more people interested in sport.
Use conditionals in a body paragraph concluding sentence –
If such measures were taken, then the likelihood of the economy overheating would decrease significantly.
If these skills help youngsters develop into self-supporting adults, they would soon be ready to enter society and the work force.
If the instructions are followed correctly and the games’ problems solved, it would only help these children’s thinking skills.
If these problems could not be tackled quickly and efficiently, it would increase the chances of financial disaster. (leading on to the next paragraph about financial problems).
If some parents cannot discuss these issues, they could liaise with the teachers to approach the issue from a different angle. (leading on to a paragraph about teachers).
Coherence
Make sure you follow the same order – I believe that A and B are the best. The order should remain the same all the way through your essay A and B…… A and B ……. and in the conclusion A and B. It makes it very coherent.
The more you practice, the better you will become. If you really want to get a good score, get an experienced teacher to give help and advice while you are practicing. It is far too easy to be kind to yourself when checking your own writing. Getting a teacher to do it will point out your weaknesses and help you build on your strengths. In this way, you can reach your target score.
How to plan during your test
Aim to take about 10 minutes at the most
1.Read the question three times and underline the important words and phrases.
2.Think of ideas as if you are chatting to your friends in a cafe.
3.The side with most ideas is your opinion.
4.Choose the best ideas.
5.Quickly note any synonyms, topic vocabulary and collocations that fit with your position.
6.Try to fit more advanced grammar into the supporting sentences and examples in particular.
7.Paraphrase the question for your introduction.
8.Quickly think about how you could summarise without repetition.
9.Start writing.
Suggestion
Taking an IELTS test is a tiring and highly stressful event. If you are serious about emigrating or going abroad to study, don’t think of each test as the ONLY one, think of it as one in a series of tests that you will need to do to get your required score. This will reduce your stress, especially for the speaking and writing parts.