The key words in the title are practical and exam.

Last week I ran a competition to

write an essay on aid and poverty. The essays I received were spectacularly good and I
do suggest you check them out in the comments section. My one worry though was were
they really practical essays in an exam. My essay, which you will find below, is I think
much simpler than almost all the essays I received and perhaps a more practical
model for exams.
I should add that these are mostly band score 8.0 writing tips and are written especially
for candidates who are aiming high. The moral is:
the road to band score 8.0 often means doing the simple things well

1. Read write read write read write read write

read write read
What does this mean? It means that you should go back and read the paragraph you
have just written before you start the next one. You may think that this is a waste of
time. If so, youd be wrong.
1.
Its important to link your paragraphs together what more practical way to do
that than just read what you have written?
2.
It helps you with words for the next paragraph it is good to repeat some words
as this improves your coherence. Look at my sample essay to see how I repeat/reflect
language. In one paragraph I talk about the short term, this makes it easy to move onto
the long term in the next paragraph.
3.
You may also want to check out my series of lessons on the process of writing
IELTS essays where you will find a much more detailed explanation of this,

2. Dont be smart, be clear select your best idea

One of my very first posts/articles on this site was headed IELTS is not a test of
intelligence. While the post itself now looks a little old, the advice is still good. You are
being tested on the quality of your English, not on the quality of your ideas.
This advice is particularly important for candidates who come from an academic
background where they are used to being graded on quality and quantity of ideas.
IELTS is different: it is quite possible to write a band 9.0 essay and not include some key
ideas, let alone all the ideas.
The practical advice here is to select your best idea and write about that. That means not
writing everything you know leave some ideas out. Dont worry if it is not your best
explanation, worry about whether it is your clearest explanation.

3. Write about what you know relax about ideas

This is a similar idea. IELTS is an international exam (thats the I in IELTS) and the
questions are written to be answered by anyone around the world. Some people stress
about finding ideas. They shouldnt. The ideas you need are generally simple (egI
disagree, This is not a good idea).
The practical solution is to think about what YOU know and what YOUR experience is.
If you look at the question, this is what it tells you to do. If you come from Bonn, write
about Bonn; if you come from Ulan Bator, write about Ulan Bator!

4. Examples are easier to write than explanations

In an exam you are under pressure. You want to make things as easy for yourself as
possible. One practical idea to achieve this is to focus as much on examples as
explanations when you write. Why?
Its simply harder if you only think because. Some of the ideas may be very complex
and, under pressure, it can be difficult to explain these with reasons. What may happen
is that your sentences become too long and the ideas confused.
The practical bit is to concentrate as much on examples. This is a good idea as examples
tend to be easier to write as you are simply describing situations. You should also note
that the instructions tell you to use examples! All you need to do is make sure that your
examples are relevant to the main idea.

5. Dont write too much the examiner is paid by the minute

There is no upper word limit I know of, but it really isnt a good idea to write 350 words
or more. Heres why:
1.
Examiners will only spend so much time looking at any essay. Write too much
and they will read what you wrote less carefully. It is easier to read/grade a 300 word
essay than a 400 word essay!
2.
The more you write, the more likely you are to make language mistakes.

3.

The more you write, the more likely you are to go off topic. The examiner wont
read/grade anything that doesnt directly relate to the question.
4.
If you write less, you give yourself more time to choose the best words and
thats what you are being graded on.
5.
If you write less, you give yourself more time to go back and check what you have
written.

6. Writer know yourself

One of the most famous philosophical thoughts is know yourself. How does this apply
to exam writing? Did Plato really have IELTS in mind when he wrote his dialogues?
Well, no, but
The idea is that you should check for your mistakes when you write. The practical part
here is that you shouldnt check for mistakes generally thats too hard and probably a
waste of time in the exam. What isnt a waste of time though is to look for mistakes you
know you can correct the ones you normally make!
The really practical thing is to have your own checklist in your head before you start
writing.

7. See the whole essay in your head before you start writing
Its very important that your essay is a whole that all the bits fit together. If you dont
do that, you may lose significant marks for both coherence and task response.
This means planning of course. Planning bothers some people and bores others. There
are different ways to do this, but at the very least have a map of your essay in your head.

8. Focus on the backbone of your essay

This is a related point. All the essay matters of course, but perhaps some bits matter
more than others. Id suggest the practical thing to do is concentrate on the backbone of
your essay, the bits that help you write better and the examiner to understand better.
The backbone is:
1.
The introduction: this should identify the question and outline your position.
Dont rush it as it is the first thing the examiner will read. First impressions count.
2.
The first/topic sentences of each paragraph: these should be clear and to
the point. They should identify exactly what that paragraph is about and show how it
relates to the rest of the essay. The practical tip is to keep the detail/clever ideas for the
body of the paragraph. Start off general and then build towards the specific.
3.
The conclusion: this is the easiest part of the essay normally. Most often, all
you need to do is go back to the introduction and rephrase it
Get these bits right and the rest of the essay tends to take care of itself.

9. Dont just practice whole essays

The best way to learn to write essays is to write essays? True or false? My answer is a bit
of both.
Yes, you do need to practise writing complete essays, but it may be a mistake to do only
that. The different part of essays require slightly different skills. To write an
introduction, you need to be able to paraphrase the question. To write a body paragraph,
you need to be able to explain ideas. To write a conclusion, you need to be able
summarise.
The practical suggestion is to practise writing introductions, body paragraphs and
conclusions separately. Focus on skills.

10. Focus on the question and refocus on the question

I have left this one to last as it is for me the most important idea. Essays go wrong for
different reasons. Some of these you may not be able to avoid: the quality of your
English may not be good enough yet. The one mistake you can always avoid is that you
didnt answer the question. Too many essays go wrong because candidates didnt read
and think about the question properly.
The practical suggestion: before you write each paragraph, refer back to the question to
remind yourself about what you are meant to write about.
It is very easy to get carried away in exams. You may start off on topic, then you have a
good idea as you write. So you write about that. Sadly, that good idea may not fully
relate to the question. Big problem.

My sample essay on poverty and aid

This essay which you can download below is intended to be an example of the ideas in
this post.
It is fairly simple in structure.
It focuses clearly on the question
I left many of my best ideas out. I concentrated on what I could explain clearly.
It comes in at only just over 300 words.

Read more: 10 band score 8.0 writing tips http://www.dcielts.com/ielts-tips/10practical-tips-for-writing-better-exam-essays/#ixzz3WJaZeMmB

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IELTS Vocabulary: Describing & analysing tables

Look at the four tables below. These show demographic trends in four different countries
between 1996 and 2000. The numbers on the left and right of each table show the number of
people in millions.
Using the information in these tables, match sentences 1-13 with the appropriate country.

Number of people
under 18 years of age

Number of people
over 65 years of age

Number
of deaths

Country 1: Lycia

Country 2: Cilica

Country 3: Moesia

Number of
married people

Number of
single people

Country 4: Cappadocia

1) In which two countries was there a considerable discrepancy between married and single people
between 1996 and 1998?
a)
2) In which country was there a constant and considerable discrepancy between married and single
people over the five-year period?
a)
3) In which country was there a sudden and noticeable difference between those under 18 and those over
65 in 1998?
a)
4) In which country did the number of under-18s rise dramatically between 1996 and 2000?
a)
5) In which country did the number of under-18s increase slightly between 1996 and 2000?

a)
6) In which country did the number of over-65s go up sharply between 1996 and 1998?
a)
7) In which country did the number of married people decline over the five-year period?
a)
8) In which country did the number of deaths decrease significantly between 1996 and 1999?
a)
9) In which country was there a slight decline in the number of married people between 1998 and 1999?
a)
10) In which country was there a sharp drop in the number of under-18s between 1997 and 1998?
a)
11) In which country was there a slight reduction in the number of deaths over the five-year period?
a)
12) In which country was there a significant increase in the number of deaths between 1998 and 2000?
a)
13) In which country did the number of deaths remain constant over the five-year period?
a)
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Vocabulary Tip
The verbs rise and increase have the same meaning here. We can also say climb. These verbs can also
be nouns.
The verbs fail, drop and decline have the same meaning here. These verbs can also be nouns.
The adverbs steadily and noticeably can have the same meaning here. They can also be adjectives
(steady, noticeable).

The adverbs sharply, rapidly and dramatically can have the same meaning here. They can also be
adjectives (sharp, rapid, dramatic).

Now look at the table below, which shows the changes in economic activity in a town over a
period of five years. The figures on the left and right show the number of people involved in
these activities, in thousands.
Write your own sentences to describe the situation in the town regarding the number of:

Number of people
in industry

Number of people
in retail

Number of semi-skilled /
skilled
people in public services
(including
police, doctors, bus
drivers, etc.)

Number of people
in tourism

Number of
unemployed

1) People employed in industry between 1996 and 2000.

The number of people employed in industry fell/dropped/declined steadily/noticeably between
1996 and 2000 / over the five-year period.
OR
There was a steady drop/decline/fall in the number of people employed in industry between 1996
and 2000 / over the five-year period.
2) People employed in retail between 1996 and 2000.
The number of people employed in retail rose / increased slightly between 1996 and 2000 / over
the five-year period.
OR

There was a slight rise / increase in the number of people employed in retail between 1996 / over
the five-year period.
3) People employed in public services between 1999 and 2000.
The number of people employed in public services rose / increased sharply / rapidly / dramatically
between 1999 and 2000.
OR
There was a sharp / rapid / dramatic rise / increase in the number of people employed in public
services between 1999 and 2000.
4) People employed in tourism between 1996 and 2000.
The number of people employed in tourism rose / increased steadily / noticeably between 1996
and 2000.
OR
There was a steady / noticeable rise / increase in the number of people employed in tourism
between 1996 and 2000 / over the five-year period.
5) Unemployed between 1998 and 2000.
The number of unemployed fell /dropped /declined sharply/rapidly/dramatically between 1998 and
2000.
OR
There was a sharp / rapid / dramatic fall / drop / decline in the number of unemployed between
1998 and 2000.
6) People employed in industry compared with those in tourism in 1996.
There was a considerable discrepancy between those employed in industry and those working in
tourism in 1996.
7) People employed in industry between 1998 and 1999.
The number of people employed in industry fell /dropped/declined slightly between 1998 and 1999.
OR
There was a slight fall /drop /decline in the number of people employed in industry between 1998
and 1999.
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Vocabulary Tip
Other words and expressions which you might find useful include:
For things going up: rocket/jump/edge up/soar/creep up/peak (especially for numbers, prices, etc.)
For things going down: slump / plunge / slip back / slip down / plummet / drop / bottom out (especially
when talking about prices)

This global warming essay lesson is mostly about the need to vary your vocabulary when
you write. This means thinking about the topic of the question of course but also
thinking about what the question asks you to do i.e. talk about causes etc.

Read and understand the question structuring the essay

Research shows that global warming is caused by human activity. What
are the possible effects of climate change and what can governments and
individuals do to reduce these?
This is a two part question. To answer it, you must write about both
the causes of climate change
what can be done about it by both governments and individuals
The sensible approach is to use separate paragraphs for each point. My essay below is
divided into two main topic paragraphs. You could use three if you wanted to write a
separate paragraph for government and individual actions.

Choosing the language

You should see that you need this language for the essay:

climate change vocabulary

cause and effect vocabulary
suggestion vocabulary
My suggestion is that you do not start writing too quickly but plan and think about what
words you need to use.

See the vocabulary

Cause and effect vocabulary. This is key area of language and you want to vary the
word effects in the question. Look at the red words below to see how I do this. You will
find a lot more words on my lesson cause and effect vocabulary

cause and effect

Climate change vocabulary. This is the topic vocabulary of the essay. If you need
more, take a look at my vocabulary lesson on this:

climate change vocabulary

Suggestion language. Dont forget this. You have options here too. The mistake is to
go must must must. English had lots of words for this. Think of

should

need

can

There is now little doubt that global warming and climate change are the result
of human activity. This has happened because of a failure in environmental policy by
governments and a lack of concern for wasted energy by individuals.
It is almost universally accepted that climate change is the consequence of a number
of environmental failings. Perhaps the most important of these is how fossil fuels such
as gas and coal are still the main source of power. This is a problem because their
use means that a large amount of CO2 is released into the atmosphere causing the
greenhouse effect. Another serious issue is how illegal logging continues in rainforests

and the Amazon Basin in particular. It should also not be forgotten that there is a
connection between global warming and the inefficient use of energy by consumers in
the home.
While governments must take prime responsibility for reducing climate change,
individuals too can play a part. Political leaders across the globe need to cooperate so
that research into renewable forms of energy such as wind and solar power is
properly funded and the use ofcoal and gas in power stations is phased out.
They must also of course ensure that regulations against logging are properly
enforced. Consumers of energy can help by insulating their homes properly and
using solar panels where possible so that less energy is required and wasted. These
actions should limit the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere and so reduce the
greenhouse effect.
In conclusion, while global warming is a serious threat to humanity, there are a
number of steps that can be taken to reduce its effects.
(274 words)

Test yourself on some of this language

Read more: Global warming essay | http://www.dcielts.com/global-warmingessay/#ixzz3WJeh1Pbv

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