Before we begin, there is something else you need to know. In the recent post about the difference between the formal and informal writing styles there was a mistake. Although it was caught and fixed almost immediately on the website, the erroneous version was sent to your emails before we could stop it. To clarify, the words “children”, “many” and “much” are formal equivalents of informal “kids”, “a lot of” and “heaps of”. My apologies, if the previous email confused you.
And now to the common mistake in the IELTS Writing test. As you may know, there are 2 tasks, Writing Task 1 and Task 2, and in both Academic and General Training modules Task 1 is shorter (150 words) than Task 2 (250 words). Often people decide to write the Task 2 first, before writing Task 1. No problem so far, but we are getting to the really important bit.
It is essential that you pay attention to the Answer Sheet and write your answers in the right places. There are 2 marked spaces on the Answer Sheet that you get in the Writing test, one says “Task 1” and the other says “Task 2”. To avoid confusing the examiner who will check your work, you need to make sure that the the essay is written under “Task 2” and the report (for Academic) or the letter (for General Training) – under Task 1.
Good luck with your exam!
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Is it true if we add a quote in the essay, our mark is considerably increased?
I think that the thing they mentioned, “the 4cs” is a very good example
Thanks dear your advises are great
May be … If quote is related , increase score band
Thank you so much
Hello sir. I did the same mistake that I had written task 2 answer in task 1 answer sheet and task 1 in task 2 sheet. Eventually, staff came with red pen to fix the problem. I’m worrying about the upcoming consequences.
This mistake is quite common, many test takers mix up the answer sheets for task 1 and task 2. If the staff member marked task 2 / task 1 correctly, it should not affect your score.
What if I am not sure if I mix them up or not?😠Will the examiner still mark them when they receive the paper? I didn’t ask for check after exam immediately and by the time I asked they told me they seal the answers already.
It’s really hard to say! I hope everything will be fine and even if you wrote the answers on the wrong sheets, they will disregard that and mark by the content of your writing. But, whatever happens, please leave a comment and let us know – there might be others in the same situation, they would appreciate the info.
Hey have you received your result?
I did same mistake. However, I got good score
HeI did the same mistake that I had written task 2 answer in task 1 answer sheet and task 1 in task 2 sheet. Eventually, staff came with pen to fix the problem. However, I got good score.
I did the same mistake. When the staff member noticed it, she asked me to change the headings of tasks with blue pen and do a signature beside. Will it affect my score?
Lucky the invigilator saw this and gave you the correct way to handle the problem. Everything should be fine!