Candidates often receive their lowest marks for Ielts writing, but an awareness of the pitfalls is the secret to success, writes Rod Smith

The design of the Ielts general and academic writing tests is pretty straightforward as they contain just two separate tasks each. However, both have their own particular challenges, which are worth preparing your students for.

Task 1 for the general training test involves writing a short letter to a friend, colleague or someone you do not know very well, such as a landlord or business person, while task 2 requires an essay of a non-academic character.

Task 1 for the academic test asks candidates to describe a graph, chart, map or diagram. Task 2 involves writing an academic-style essay in response to a point of view, argument, discussion or problem requiring a solution.

Failure to understand exactly what is required in relation to these task questions causes many test-takers to perform below their potential, so here are five tips to help prevent misunderstanding.

1. Read each task question carefully to ensure you understand the required response.

Avoid the common mistake of rushing into answering task questions. Task 1 in the general training test is either a formal letter such as a request or complaint, or an informal communication such as an invitation to a friend.

To understand the task 1 diagrams in the academic test, it is a good idea to select any point on, for example, a line graph, read the titles of the vertical and horizontal axes, and then ask yourself, ‘What does this point represent?’ It might be the percentage of a particular group of people, or a time period. The important thing is that selecting a point helps to increase understanding by contextualising ‘part’ of a diagram in relation to its ‘whole’.

2. Divide your time wisely and plan your answer before you start writing.

The approximate percentage of marks awarded for both Ielts writing tests are as follows: 34 per cent for task 1 questions; 66 per cent for task 2. Clearly, task 2 is more important, and the time you spend on each task should reflect this. Therefore, allow 20 minutes for answering task 1 and 40 minutes for task 2. Part of this time should be spent mentally planning your answer before you start writing. A useful planning guide would be to spend around five minutes planning your task 1 and task 2 responses plus a further five minutes to check your answers.

3. Do not forget to give an ‘overview’ when answering academic task 1 questions.

Many test-takers score poorly on task 1 of the academic test because they fail to give an ‘overview’ of the information presented in a diagram. An overview is a summary of the main features, or dominant trends, shown in a visual representation. One way of doing this in relation to a graph would be to look at its beginning and end points and ask questions such as ‘What happened overall?’ or ‘Were the figures in the graph higher at the end of the graph than they were at the beginning?’ Comparing these ‘start’ and ‘end’ points should prompt an overview sentence such as: ‘Overall, the number of people in part-time education in New Zealand increased (or ‘lowered’ or ‘remained roughly the same’) between 2010 and 2015.’ This overview sentence can either form part of the introductory paragraph or the conclusion.

4. The importance of ‘paraphrasing’.

The response to all Ielts writing task questions can begin by ‘paraphrasing’, or restating the task question in your own words. This is important because copying three or more words from a question will be penalised. A typical paraphrasing example would be to transform the common academic task 1 instruction: ‘The diagram below indicates the number of …’ etc., to: ‘The following illustration shows the amount of vehicles …’ etc. Paraphrasing involves developing an ability to use synonyms accurately, an extremely useful skill in all aspects of Ielts.

5. Understanding the focus of academic writing task 2 questions.

Academic task 2 essay questions commonly involve responding to a given fact or facts by expressing an opinion, balancing two opposing arguments or suggesting a solution to a problem.

It is very important, therefore, to read the question carefully so that you are able to focus on the required response.

While ‘giving an opinion’ can focus solely on a test-taker’s point of view, a ‘balanced argument’ involves discussing both sides of an issue equally before indicating a preference. In this case, it is important that your written response has an equal focus. Sometimes there is more than one focus, as in the following question: ‘Cars are blamed for both polluting city environments and causing accidents. What steps would you take to tackle these problems?’ Here, a test-taker needs to focus on solutions to two issues: vehicles as polluters and as a threat to safety. Their answers, therefore, need to deal with both of these.

• Rod Smith is an author, editor and Ielts consultant