IELTS Task 2 Writing Band 9 Ultimate Guide 2024
Summary
TLDRThis video script addresses common pitfalls in IELTS essay writing, emphasizing that memorized templates can lead to lower band scores. It explains the importance of understanding the IELTS criteria set by Cambridge University and the need to write in either the first or third person voice without mixing. The script provides a detailed guide on how to achieve a high band score by focusing on task response, coherence and cohesion, lexical resource, and grammatical range and accuracy. It also includes a step-by-step correction of a sample band 6 essay to illustrate improvements for a band 9 score, highlighting the significance of clear structure, concise language, and proper grammar.
Takeaways
- 📚 The IELTS exam is created by Cambridge University, not British Council or IDP, which are involved in administration.
- 🎯 To achieve a high band score in IELTS, it's crucial to understand the official task 2 marking criteria: task response, coherence and cohesion, lexical resource, and grammatical range and accuracy.
- 📝 Cambridge University, established in the 1200s, has a deep understanding of English language and literature, which influences the IELTS writing task requirements.
- 📈 The goal of a standard persuasive essay, like those in IELTS, is to convince the reader of an idea, and it should have a clear structure with an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion.
- 🗣️ When writing an essay, the author can choose between a first-person voice (using 'I', 'me', 'my') or a third-person voice (using 'people', 'individuals'), and should not mix these voices.
- 💡 A band 9 task response requires the author to fully address the task and create a well-developed answer with accurate and precise ideas.
- 📑 For coherence and cohesion, a band 9 essay should skillfully manage paragraphing, including a hook, background information, and a direct thesis in the introductory paragraph.
- 🔄 To achieve a high lexical resource score, it's important to paraphrase key words in the essay to avoid repetition, rather than using overly complicated vocabulary.
- ⚖️ Grammatical range and accuracy require the use of a wide range of structures flexibly and accurately, with purpose, rather than simply using complex grammar for the sake of it.
- 👨🏫 The video provides a step-by-step correction of a band 6 essay to a band 9, highlighting common mistakes and how to correct them for higher scores.
- 🔗 The video suggests using a premium IELTS package for more help with writing, including understanding essay structures and receiving professional feedback.
Q & A
What is the main issue discussed in the video script?
-The main issue discussed in the video script is the common mistakes made by IELTS candidates when writing essays, particularly the use of templates and the lack of understanding of the IELTS scoring criteria.
Who is responsible for creating the IELTS exam?
-Cambridge University is responsible for creating the IELTS exam, including task two writing questions and the necessary English requirements for high band scores.
What are the four columns of the IELTS task 2 marking criteria?
-The four columns of the IELTS task 2 marking criteria are task response, coherence and cohesion, lexical resource, and grammatical range and accuracy.
Why are templates not effective for the IELTS exam?
-Templates are not effective for the IELTS exam because they do not allow for the full development of ideas and do not demonstrate the range of language skills required for high band scores.
What is the goal of a standard persuasive essay?
-The goal of a standard persuasive essay is to convince the reader of an idea, which requires a clear structure with an introductory paragraph, body paragraphs, and a conclusion.
What are the three different voices an author can choose to write an essay in?
-The three different voices an author can choose to write an essay in are first person voice (using 'I', 'me', 'my'), third person voice (using 'people', 'individuals'), and never mixing these voices.
Why is it important to maintain the same voice throughout an essay?
-Maintaining the same voice throughout an essay is important because mixing voices can confuse the reader and lead to a decrease in the essay's coherence and the author's credibility.
What does a band 9 task response require from the author?
-A band 9 task response requires the author to fully address the task and create a well-developed answer with accurate and precise ideas.
What is the importance of paraphrasing key words in an essay?
-Paraphrasing key words in an essay is important to avoid repetition and redundancy, and it can help achieve a higher lexical resource score without using overly complicated vocabulary.
What does the grammatical range and accuracy category assess in an essay?
-The grammatical range and accuracy category assesses the author's ability to use a wide range of structures flexibly and with accuracy, ensuring that grammar serves a purpose and is not used incorrectly.
How can a student improve their IELTS essay score?
-A student can improve their IELTS essay score by focusing on task response, coherence and cohesion, lexical resource, and grammatical range and accuracy, as well as avoiding common mistakes such as incorrect verb forms, unnecessary articles, and wordiness.
Outlines
📚 Introduction to IELTS Essay Writing
This paragraph introduces the topic of IELTS essay writing and the common pitfalls that lead to lower band scores. It emphasizes that IELTS is created by Cambridge University, which has a long history and expertise in English language and literature. The speaker outlines the four marking criteria for IELTS task 2: task response, coherence and cohesion, lexical resource, and grammatical range and accuracy. The paragraph also mentions the importance of understanding standard English essay writing practices, including the structure and voice of the essay, to achieve a high band score.
🚫 Avoiding IELTS Writing Templates
The speaker warns against the use of generic templates in IELTS writing, explaining that they do not lead to high band scores. Instead, candidates should use their own knowledge and language skills effectively. The paragraph discusses the importance of task response, coherence and cohesion, lexical resource, and grammatical range and accuracy for achieving a band 9 essay. It also touches on the need to avoid mixing first and third person voices in the essay and to use vocabulary and grammar with purpose, rather than simply using complex structures for the sake of it.
📝 Correcting Common Mistakes in IELTS Writing
This paragraph focuses on identifying and correcting common mistakes in IELTS writing, such as unnecessary articles, incorrect verb forms, punctuation errors, and the misuse of complex words. The speaker provides examples of how to improve the introductory paragraph of an essay about obesity and suggests focusing on conciseness, clarity, and proper grammar. The paragraph also highlights the importance of maintaining the author's voice throughout the essay and avoiding the use of 'you' in academic writing.
🏋️♂️ Improving Cohesion and Vocabulary Use
The speaker continues to address how to improve an IELTS essay, focusing on enhancing cohesion and vocabulary use. They suggest avoiding repetitive sentences, using affirmative language, and staying in the present tense for consistency. The paragraph also emphasizes the importance of linking paragraphs effectively and using simple concepts to convey ideas clearly. The speaker provides a detailed analysis of a student's sample essay, identifying specific errors and offering corrections to improve the essay's band score.
🎯 Final Tips for High Band Score in IELTS Writing
In the final paragraph, the speaker summarizes the key points for achieving a high band score in IELTS writing. They stress the importance of addressing the task clearly, using concise and clear language, and avoiding repetitive mistakes. The paragraph also provides a corrected version of the student's essay, demonstrating how to apply the discussed corrections to improve the overall quality of the writing. The speaker concludes by encouraging candidates to practice writing and to use the resources provided by their premium IELTS package for further assistance.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡IELTS
💡Band scores
💡Templates
💡Cambridge University
💡Task response
💡Coherence and cohesion
💡Lexical resource
💡Grammatical range and accuracy
💡Persuasive essay
💡Voice of the author
💡Overweight
💡Essay correction
Highlights
IELTS exam templates do not work effectively for achieving high band scores.
IELTS is created by Cambridge University, not British Council or IDP.
Cambridge University's long history and expertise in English language and literature.
Understanding the official IELTS task 2 marking criteria is crucial for high scores.
IELTS essay writing requires adherence to standard English essay writing practices.
An essay should have a clear structure: introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion.
Choosing between first person or third person voice is essential in essay writing.
Mixing author voices in an essay is a mistake that can lower your score.
A band 9 essay requires fully addressing the task with accurate and precise ideas.
Using complex vocabulary is not necessary; using known vocabulary well is key.
Coherence and cohesion are critical for a high-scoring IELTS essay.
A well-structured introductory paragraph with a clear thesis is important.
Paraphrasing key words in the essay helps avoid repetition and redundancy.
Grammatical range and accuracy require using a wide range of structures flexibly.
Grammar must serve a purpose and not be used unnecessarily or incorrectly.
Examples of correcting a band 6 essay to a band 9 by addressing specific mistakes.
Removing unnecessary articles and correcting verb forms can improve essay scores.
Maintaining a consistent voice throughout the essay is crucial for higher band scores.
Providing detailed explanations and avoiding repetition can enhance essay quality.
Using affirmative language and avoiding the future tense in the conclusion strengthens the essay.
Correcting repetitive mistakes and ensuring concise language can significantly improve band scores.
Professional feedback on essays is valuable for identifying and correcting errors.
Premium IELTS packages offer practice exams and courses to improve writing skills.
Transcripts
foreign
[Music]
do you start your essays with this essay
we'll discuss the merits and the
disadvantages of this topic and include
my opinion and then continue your body
paragraphs with on the one hand and on
the other hand well you're certainly
headed towards a band 5 disaster in this
video I will explain why these templates
don't work on the IELTS exam and exactly
what you need to do to get those high
band scores without learning more
vocabulary or grammar just simply using
what you know in a smarter way let's
begin
the first point you must understand is
that IELTS in fact is created by
Cambridge University and not British
Council or IDP sure you hear these words
and they do the administrative part of
the IELTS exam but in fact it's
Cambridge that creates these task two
writing questions and the necessary
English requirement to get those high
band scores I mean fair enough Cambridge
was established in the 1200s in England
and is one of the oldest universities
arguably they created the English
language and modern literature the way
we see it today so they know what you
need to do to write that perfect essay
and I'm going to show you just that with
a couple of examples and a step-by-step
explanation a great place to start is by
looking at the official task 2 marking
criteria that is publicly available
right away you know notice there are
four columns task response coherence and
cohesion lexical resource grammatical
range and accuracy you can check out all
of the criteria that is required for a
band 0 all the way up to a band 9. but
we're not going to do that right now
because as you can see there's just a
lot of small letters and words we want
to focus on what is needed for that top
level band 9 essay to help me explain
this to you even better let's take the
example task 2 question being overweight
has become a major health concern in
many parts of the world explain the
causes for being overweight and provide
Solutions write at least 250 words later
in this video we'll take a look at a
band six and a band 9 correction for
this essay question to understand the
four marking criteria of the IELTS exam
we have to step back one and really
first understand stand Standard English
essay writing practices now this isn't
according to what I said or what that
other guy said in the other video but
it's the actual rules of writing an
essay in the English language that has
been developed over Centuries by
universities like Cambridge
firstly with past two you have to
understand that you are writing a
standard persuasive essay the goal of
this type of essay is to convince the
reader of an idea then you must
understand that such essays have clear
structure with an introductory paragraph
body paragraphs and a conclusion let's
dig even deeper
according to standard essay writing the
author can choose to write the essay
with three different voices first person
voice meaning the voice of the author in
my opinion I believe this is using the
pronouns I me my and this is fitting for
some IELTS task 2 essays or the third
person voice where the essay does not
use I me my or you yours it simply uses
the objective voice of the author using
words like people and individuals very
importantly you must never mix the
voices of the author if you decide to
write a first person voice Essay with I
me my your whole essay must follow
through with this perspective or if you
use the third person voice from
beginning to end you must never use the
pronouns I mean Emi and of course never
ever use the pronoun you this would be
second person voice and it is simply not
used in professional and academic
writing as soon as you start writing you
know this you can see that your Market
will go down
now that we understand that we need to
write a persuasive essay in either the
first or the third person voice we can
look at the marking criteria with more
clarity a band 9 task response states
that the author fully addresses the task
and creates a well-developed answer with
accurate and precise ideas this right
away tells you that templates simply
won't work you have to use your own
knowledge and your own language as the
saying goes content is King
does this mean that you have to come up
with some really original ideas and
write an essay using very fancy high
level vocabulary absolutely not in fact
that could be a really bad idea because
it could be quite confusing for the
examiner and will certainly result in
low marks instead use the vocabulary
that you know well that you can spell
easily and use your own style of
communication going back to the question
of being overweight clearly the reason
for this is usually that people simply
do not exercise enough and they eat
unhealthy the solutions a healthier diet
and doing more Sports as long as you
present these ideas with your own words
and focusing on the topic and your
explanations you can get a band nine
looking at the category of coherence and
cohesion for band 9 we can see the
description that the author skillfully
manages paragraphing this means that the
writer you clearly understand the
components of an introductory paragraph
a good introductory paragraph will have
a hook some background information and a
direct thesis this is not my advice this
is standard English essay writing
practice at the college and university
level it's very important that you learn
this structure if this is new for you
check out our premium IELTS package and
make sure to go through the writing
course carefully when we look at the
band 9 description for lexical resource
it starts by stating that the author
uses a wide range of vocabulary
naturally now does this mean that you're
using very complicated good words again
no that's a bad idea especially if
you're making spelling mistakes it
simply means that you're paraphrasing
especially the key words in the essay
like instead of saying healthy eating
you can say it's a good diet or lots of
exercise playing sports these aren't
complicated words they're simply
paraphrasing each other to avoid
repetition and redundancy again a simple
set of words used wisely can still get
you a very high band score as long as
you make sure that your writing is clean
and clear without spelling mistakes and
with good grammar the fourth and final
category of grammatical range and
accuracy states that the author can use
a wide range of structures flexibly and
with accuracy now some people think this
means using the passive voice present
perfect past perfect conditionals as
much as possible and just pushing them
into the essay again this will likely
lead to low results especially when used
incorrectly you need to keep in mind
that grammar has purpose there is a
reason to use present perfect academic
and professional essays in fact usually
avoid the passive voice because the
reader should know the agent of the
action again if this is unfamiliar
territory I highly recommend using our
premium IELTS course and going through
the writing section of the interactive
course step by step nevertheless for now
just keep in mind that grammar must be
used with purpose let's take a look at a
student's sample band 6sa which I will
correct to a band 9 essay explaining
each of the corrections step by step
first let's read this band 6
introductory paragraph and identify the
mistakes so that we can correct them and
make them a band nine do you want to
challenge yourself pause the video and
see if you can find the mistakes before
I identify them let's begin in the past
decades people are more concerned about
having a healthy life and controlling
weight for many reasons although in some
regions of the world the numbers of
obesity and health problems has a
giganticity increased I think that one
of the major problem is that people are
not having time to eat properly and the
fast foods are an easy option to have a
quick meal another problem could be that
some people do not like to do exercises
to improve their health life for these
two problems I have some suggestions
first we need to remove unnecessary
articles from the essay like the ah as
these make writing wordy and they do
eventually decrease your score then we
need to correct be verb mistakes
students often use incorrect form of the
B verb here it's were instead of are pay
attention to word form like healthy
instead of Health Punctuation is also
important for band 9 essays do not use
commas excessively here the dependent
clauses although in some regions of the
world the number of obesity and health
problems has increased comma I think
know your complex grammar also do not
use unnecessary complicated words
incorrectly here giganticity is both
wrong and awkward the word to use is
simply greatly pay attention to plurals
instead of problem the major problems
again the B verb must be used correctly
essays must be concise at the band 9
level here the phrase to have a quick
meal is unnecessary in the introduction
high band essays must have a specific
thesis statement instead of simply
stating that for these two problems I
have suggestions for band 9 the author
should State what those suggestions are
to get Corrections on your essays like
this make sure to use the green Task 1
and task two buttons in your my student
account now let's read the first body
paragraph having a quick meal is always
a good option when you do not have time
to cook at the moment most of the
population especially the ones who have
access to cheaper fast food chains
probably are used to that option when
they do not have time to prepare a
proper healthy meal for this a good
solution is in their free time people
could cook healthy food and put it small
portions keeping them in the freezer
doing this the people will always have
healthy food storage in their houses
again let's look for those mistakes with
grammar word choice spelling and content
so that we can push this essay from a
band six to a band 9. do you want to
challenge yourself remember to stop the
video and identify as many of these
mistakes as you can ahead of me now
let's start never shift the voice of the
author avoid using you here let's change
this to a third person voice and replace
the you with a person when a person does
not have time to cook in this case the
correct collocation is fast food
restaurants because we're not discussing
the entire chain although it's a small
change it is confusing avoid repeating
sentences between your paragraphs here
this sentence seems to be redundant with
the sentence that was already mentioned
in the introduction
to get those band aid band 9 high marks
your body paragraphs must go into more
details and explanations and avoid
repeating information that is already in
the introductory paragraph use
affirmative language in your essays
instead of using words like could use
the word can make sure to complete your
ideas keep in mind that the reader does
not know what you know in this case
keeping them in the freezer for quick
preparation later on simply reheat and
serve avoid jumping tents in your essays
practice staying in the present tense
avoid using the future participle will
in this way your argument holds true not
for the future but for the past present
and the future stay in the present tense
make sure to review after each paragraph
for mistakes like word form here using
the adjective health fee instead of the
noun health for healthy food stored in
their homes let's read the second body
paragraph and identify the mistakes here
again do this before me by pausing the
video see if you can catch all the
critical mistakes that I will identify
in just a moment let's read the other
problem to keep a balance in health food
and loss of weight is by doing some
exercises to improve the body not just
to looking good but also to be healthy
working out at the gym is always the
first though to lost weight but people
forget that doing some other activities
could help like biking hiking and doing
exercises Outdoors could help to improve
some of the vitamins that the body needs
especially vitamin D linking these
paragraphs strongly using a second major
problem is much better than simply
stating the other emphasize important
Concepts by choosing the correct
vocabulary make sure to use Simple
Concepts whenever possible like to keep
a balanced diet and healthy weight pay
attention to incorrect use of plural
like exercise instead of exercises
remember to reflect the original topic
of the question here becoming overweight
or being obese in the topic sentence it
is much better to end by stating and
avoid becoming obese after you finish
each paragraph review for silly spelling
mistakes that can quickly drop your
score like writing firsts instead of
first keep language concise biking and
Hiking are forms of exercise which
people do outdoors this does not need to
be stated for the reader stop and think
about how you can improve information
biking and exercising are both
cardiovascular exercises that lead to
good blood circulation providing this
kind of added detail will help to boost
your mark now let's read and review the
conclusion challenge yourself pause the
video and see if you can identify the
mistakes before I do have you already
found some mistakes that I missed if so
make sure to comment in the video Below
in conclusion studies shows that the
higher numbers of obesity is caused by
the highest numbers of people consuming
junk food and not doing proper exercises
of course people does not need to stop
to eat fast food but decreased
consumption could help as go doing some
exercises that they enjoy too could help
having a balance with health food and
exercising is not easy but if you want
to have a healthy life and live longer
you should give it a try
once again word form matters especially
when mistakes tend to be repetitive
these cost ban scores the same situation
happens again with the be verb clearly
for this candidate using the correct
word form and the correct form of B is a
common type of Mistake by identifying
redundant mistakes and correcting these
a person can quickly improve their band
scores but you need professional
feedback once again you can do this in
your premium course on the website
simply click the link in the video
description let's keep going using
infinitives and gerunds correctly is
confusing for many English Learners be
sure to review this before your IELTS
exam keep your language concise
especially in the conclusion when you're
practicing for your IELTS exam at home
always check to see if you can write the
same ideas using less words if so this
will lead to better band scores concise
writing is considered Advanced English
you need to use affirmative language
especially in the conclusion as this is
a persuasive essay and the conclusion is
the final thought of the author that's
you so in this case the candidate should
write they must do this instead of you
should give it a try which of course
also has that second person voice
mistake avoid making mistakes with the
voices and use affirmative language
convince your reader of your ideas when
you're able to do this well that's when
you get those high band scores make sure
to practice this by going through the
writing section of our premium IELTS
course and submitting essays once you're
confident that you have a good idea on
how to write a standard persuasive essay
in the first or third person voice we
look forward to seeing your work this
candidate would likely score a ban 5 on
the low end and a band 6 on the high end
after correction this would be a band
8.5 for task response the candidate gets
an eight because they do address the
question clearly and with details they
Identify some good points that lack of
exercise and poor diet lead to these
problems and fixing these are the
solution the coherence and cohesion are
a band Six because at times it is
difficult to understand the Transitions
and the information presented lexical
resource is a seven the candidate has
lots of vocabulary although they do need
to improve the accuracy of the word form
and at times the word choice grammatical
range and accuracy is a band five this
is where all of those word form and
punctuation mistakes come into play and
of course these different marking
criteria are interconnected grammatical
range and accuracy has a major impact on
the overall adhesion and coherence of
the essay the important Corrections for
this candidate are the ones that are
repetitive that are made three four five
or more times throughout the essay
including paying more attention to word
form being more careful with correct use
of plurals and singulars especially when
it comes to verbs and finally using
concise and clear language now let's
read the corrected version in past
decades people were more concerned about
having a healthy life and controlling
weight for many reasons although in some
regions of the world the cases of
obesity and health problems have greatly
increased I think that one of the major
problems is that people do not have time
to eat healthily and fast foods are an
easy option another problem is that some
people do not like to do exercise to
improve their physical fitness levels
nevertheless there are solutions to
these two problems having a quick meal
is always a good option when a person
does not have time to cook at the moment
most of the population especially the
ones who have access to cheaper fast
food restaurants get used to that option
when they do not have time to prepare a
proper healthy meal for this a good
solution is during free time people can
cook healthy foods and put it in small
portions to keep them in the freezer for
quick preparation later simply reheat
and serve by doing this people always
have healthy food stored in their homes
a second major problem to keeping a
balanced diet and healthy weight is by
doing some exercises to improve physical
fitness not just to look good but also
to be healthy and avoid becoming obese
working out at the gym is always the
first thought to lose weight but people
forget that doing some other activities
could help like biking and Hiking to
improve blood circulation and vitamin D
uptake in conclusion study please show
that the high numbers of obesity are
caused by many people consuming junk
food and not doing proper exercise of
course people do not need to stop eating
fast food but decreased consumption
helps doing some enjoyable exercises
also helps having a balance of healthy
food and exercising is not easy but if a
person wants to have a healthy life live
longer and reduce weight they must do
this good luck on your next IELTS exam
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