8 Keys to Improve Your IELTS Writing Score
English is one of the most important languages on earth. Originally a language spoken by Germanic tribes that arrived on the shores of the British Islands, the language has today become one of the most important languages for business, international communication and more.
English as a whole has today taken over the world. There isn’t a corner of the world that hasn’t been touched by the language in one way or another. Also, it is often observed that the language influence has gone to the extent of influencing other languages, with the steady influx of English words into other languages.
When it comes to education or employment, the importance of English is something that rivals to no other language on a global level. It is here that the IELTS exams come into the picture.
The International English Language Testing System or IELTS is an exam which is highly valued across educational institutions and businesses in predominantly English speaking countries like the US, UK, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, etc. The test is recognized across the world and is very popular among those who are seeking opportunities abroad.
If you are planning on taking the IELTS exam anytime soon, it is imperative that you get the highest score possible, so that you can get access to the best opportunities as you can, be it in the case of education or employment.
Given in the list below are 8 keys for improving your IELTS writing score.
1.) Be familiar with writing in English
This is the most important thing that must be addressed when you are trying to ace the writing aspect of the language. Most people are attuned and well versed with writing in their own language. However, it can be difficult for them to start writing in English, especially in an academic manner as expected during examinations. This is especially true if you’ve never done it in your entire life. Make it a point to practice writing in English every day so that you will get familiar with the language.
2.) Speed up your writing ability
This is something that will help you in acing the IELTS test as well as everything else that has to do with writing. Practice writing in English every single day, and when you do, figure out a way to write as fast as possible. Also, ensure that you don’t make any mistakes along the way. You need to learn how to be fast, at the same time, not make any mistake.
3.) Improve your vocabulary
You cannot write fast in an elegant way if you are not having the necessary words at the tip of your tongue. Keep in mind that you must have a sound vocabulary and work towards improving this every single day. You can go about doing this by studying more, reading as much of English articles as you can, and practicing the language in your everyday life. When you do this, make it a point to reference a dictionary, so that you’ll be able to get the meaning of the word as well on learning it.
4.) Learn proper grammar and sentence construction
There is more to English than merely having a great vocabulary. Words are useless if you don’t know how to use them in a sentence, or applying the right grammatical rules during sentence construction. Learn proper grammar! If you do this, you’ll be able to improve your writing ability immensely.
5.) Verify everything that you write
This is something that many people often overlook. Everyone makes mistakes when they write something, whether they are a novice or an expert. Therefore, it is necessary that you double check all that you’ve written, so that you can eliminate all the mistakes that you might have made.
6.) Know the various kinds of English that exist today
English is no doubt a single language. At the same time however, globalization has led to the language developing variants which can differ from each other such as British and American English. Therefore, it is important that you are familiar with the different kinds of English and the differences that could exist between them. You’ll never know when it might be asked during an exam.
7.) Think before you answer
Very often, the questions that are asked are not straightforward. The reality is that the questions can be twisted and mean something completely different from what you think it does. What happens in such tricky situations is that people often read the first part of the question and feel that they know what is expected of them to do, when in fact, what is asked is something completely different. Pay attention to the entire question before you start answering.
8.) Plan out your answers
When you start writing, it is not uncommon to get carried away and end up making a mess. Plan out your complete answer first and then begin to answer the question. Don’t try to answer the question as you go along, because you will find out sooner or later that you are stuck and have wasted a precious time along the way.
As a whole, if you can manage to master these 8 keys for improving your IELTS writing score, you should be able to ace the test and unlock a whole new world of opportunities.
