logo
Courses Blog Login

IELTS Writing Test: A band nine essay writing tips for IELTS

Do you know Writing is the best way to express your opinions, share your views, and discuss any matter? Additionally, studies have shown that most people find it a meaningful way to convey their messages. But this often requires excellent writing skills, mainly when appearing for an international English exam like IELTS, where writing task 2 carries the most significance and the test-taker has to be very clear about his ideas. Still, many students need help with the views, reasonable opinions, and examples to pen down in their IELTS writing task 2. Due to this, they stay far from achieving band 9 in the writing module.

Don’t panic about this. Scoring band 9 is possible if you seek proper guidance and follow the right techniques. Experienced IELTS tutors are available to you 24*7 to make you exam ready. They can analyze your writing speed, grammar, and ideas, check your mistakes, and mark you accordingly.

Let’s discuss how you, as a test-taker, can improve your writing skills to score band 9 in the IELTS writing task.

Reasons why you score no more than six bands in Writing

Inability to find the crux of the essay

  • Understanding the main point of the topic is very important because if you fail to identify it, you can score no more than Band 4.5.
  • Also, if you showcase the main idea but fail to prove it through good examples, you will still achieve up to six bands.

Not addressing all the parts of the essay

  • You will only score well if you address all the main parts of the task. Therefore, you will score up to Band 5 only.
  • Moreover, it is also essential to clearly explain and cover each part of writing task 2, failing which will make you score up to Band 6.

Form your Opinion

  • The Opinion holds the most attention of the examiner. If you fail to express your opinions and ideas clearly, you won’t score more than band 5.

Conclusion

  • At last, conclude your paragraph with clear wordings and meaning since it is the previous section of writing task 2.
  • You don’t have to repeat your sentences or similar phrases, as this can cause you to get lower scores.

Some Important factors of IELTS Essay Writing

  • Cohesion: It brings meaning to the sentence by using relevant words and phrases that connect your ideas. For instance:  
  • It is clear that…
  • Because of this...
  • It can be seen...
  • Therefore, it can be said that…
  • Define Briefly: Writing longer sentences will fetch you more scores. But that’s not true every time. So instead, you must use the three sentence structures enlisted below:
  • A simple structure comprises a subject and a verb and represents a meaningful sentence. Example - She completed her homework.
  • A complex structure contains independent clauses (simple sentences) and single or more dependent clauses. For instance - She completed her work before she sat to meditate.
  • The compound structure links two simple sentences through a coordinator (like for, or, and, yet, so). Example - She completed her work and felt very satisfied.
  • Coherence: Are readers able to understand your written information? The examiner will consider your writing skills could be better if your essay needs to be clearer to read and understand. Using grammar structures plays an essential role in making your Writing better. Also, your ideas must be evident in the essay, and by using cohesive words and phrases, you can improve the coherence of your essay.
    • Composition: Remember, using the correct structure for writing an IELTS essay is paramount to leaving the first impression on the examiner’s mind. Like:
    1. Introduction paragraph
    2. 2-3 body paragraphs
    3. Conclusion paragraph.

      4. Giving an exciting introduction will hold the examiner’s attention for a while. Therefore, your first para must contain a brief topic introduction, a thesis statement, and a general view in 2-3 lines of your essay.

      Then, every body paragraph must focus on a topic sentence highlighting your point. Exampalisation makes more sense to acknowledge your viewpoints. Then, you can conclude with the fact that assures why you hold onto that viewpoint.

      You can conclude by repeating two or three main points mentioned in the body paragraphs. Also, you can re-mention your thesis through different words and phrases. Then you can end your concluding paragraph by recommending the given essay topic.

      Tips to get Band 9 in IELTS Essay Writing part 2

      Scoring nine bands in IELTS writing task 2 is relatively easy if you plan and follow the proper format for writing an essay. Below are some tips for dashing off a band 9 IELTS writing essay.

  • How examiner scores you for your Writing
The most effective way to pen down your IELTS essay is to know what factors the examiner checks you. These factors carry equal importance and are as followings:
  • Task Achievement
  • Coherence and cohesion
  • Lexical Resource,
  • Grammatical range and accuracy. 
By meeting all these assessment criteria, you are very close to scoring a higher band score.
  • Understand your essay question
    • Most test-takers achieve low band scores because they need help understanding and analyzing the essay question. In such cases, even the ideas won’t work if it does not provide a meaningful sense. In contrast, if you spend a few minutes understanding the question first, you are in the vicinity of scoring eight or above bands.
  • Examine the Category of the essay
IELTS writing task 2 has five questions: Opinion based- Agree or disagree, pros and cons, Discuss both the views, Two-part questions, Solution statement to a problem, and your response based on the type of the question.
  • Use the entire 40 minutes to complete the essay.
It is in your hands to manage the entire time and complete the task without causing a fuss. You can take two minutes to read and understand the question type and decide how you want to begin your answer. Then, you can write in favor or against the notion or maintain a neutral opinion. Spending at least five minutes deciding the flow of your essay and how to address the main points and provide instances is beneficial. Coherence should be in mind while sketching the Writing. At last, a considerate revision is mandatory to check for minor errors.
  • Quote Meaningful Examples
    • It is true that when you raise a point, it makes more sense when best example. Unfortunately, test-takers often need help to quote relevant examples since they look for them in their current life. But, an IELTS band nine essay can be penned down by citing examples if they are meaningful and can maintain cohesion in the article.
    Let’s look at an example where all the above criteria are followed categorically. Forests are the lungs of the earth. Therefore, the destruction of the world’s forests amounts to the death of the world we currently know. To what extent do you agree or disagree? Support your answer by giving reasons and suitable examples.

    You must remember that the ball is in your court. The more you practice and devote time to reading books that cover different topics, the more chances you have of getting unique ideas and relevant information. So there is no need to get anxious if you lack ideas first because many candidates need help. And, with time, you can improve with continuous practice and ace the exam with band 9. This article helps you overcome doubts regarding the band 9 IELTS essay. If you want to ask anything, you can approach Dr. Roma, IELTS online course, who can assist you by all means in improving your IELTS writing skills.

    Wishing you good luck with your upcoming exam.

    Dr.Roma  

    Content Writer