IELTS-Blog

Did you know that your marks are taken away for writing a too short essay, letter or report in IELTS? How about this: depending on the length of the essay you can loose more or less marks. Let me explain: if you have written 240 words (instead of required 250 for essay), you will loose less marks than if you have written only 200 words.

The lesson here is: even if you don’t have enough time to write 250 words, try to write as much as you can, because then you will loose less marks. Obviously the best is to aim at 250-265 words to avoid penalty for length.

Did you know that if you write an essay/letter/report but not on the topic you were given, your work can be disqualified? Yes, that’s true and here is another sure way to loose all the marks for writing: memorizing. The examiners are not fools; they are trained professionals and can easily spot a memorized work.

The lesson here is: don’t take any chances, write an essay on the topic you were given, even if you don’t have brilliant ideas about it. It doesn’t matter how original you are, as long as your writing makes sense and follows the rules of IELTS essay.

Did you like this post? New ones are coming every day - subscribe and read future updates seconds after they’ve been published.

I am so impressed with the British Council in India! I think what they are doing for IELTS candidates is great. If you haven’t heard already, here is what they made available:

First, you can register for the exam online and reserve a seat for the date you need. Click here for online registration.

Second, you get two free books with your registration, IELTS 6 (a set of 4 test papers from Cambridge ESOL) and Action plan for IELTS ( exam preparation advice and one full test paper). They are posted to your home and this page here explains about exam preparation.

Third, after you’ve sat for the exam, you can get your results also online, all you need to do is to choose your exam date, the city and your passport number. Click here to check your score online.

I wish more countries were doing the same for their IELTS candidates. If you know of a similar service in your country – please let me know. Leave a comment on this post or use this contact form to send me an email and thanks for your help!