01) Understand the question well
Understanding the question is the first and foremost thing to do. There could be two or more thesis statements to be discussed along with the prompts. In the below example, thesis statement and prompts are highlighted red and blue respectively.
Understanding the question is the first and foremost thing to do. There could be two or more thesis statements to be discussed along with the prompts. In the below example, thesis statement and prompts are highlighted red and blue respectively.
Crime rates in cities tend to be accelerating in numerous
ways, whereas it is few in
numbers in smaller towns. Explain some
possible reasons for this scenario and suggest some solutions.
Focus on the key words in the thesis statement including
the linking words and figure out supporting
and opposing viewpoints and draw the scope
of your essay.
So what is scope?
It is the confined
parameter or the limitations of your essay. It is the indicator of what you
should and should not discuss in your essay.
After becoming
aware of the scope and focus of your topic, the next thing to do is to decide
what type of essay you need to write: opinion,
argumentative or problem solving.
Here is the analysis:
·
Theses
statement
Key
words – crime rates, accelerating, cities, few, smaller towns
Linking
word- whereas (contrast)
·
Prompts
Possible
reasons
Solutions
·
Scope
Causes
of crime rate increase in cities
Suggestions
to resolve them
·
Type
of essay
Problem
Solving
2) Plan
properly
After analyzing the
question and deciding the type of essay, the next step is to lay out a
well-structured map. There are two steps in the planning process.
1. Brainstorming
You will have to brainstorm on the following areas:
·
Ideas
These are the facts needed for the essay e.g. more people migrating to cities for better livelihood/ increase in unemployment.
·
Key
words
These are some of the thematic headwords needed for
the essay e.g. urbanization, unemployment, facilities, overcome a
situation, reach a solution etc.
·
Thesis
sentences
These are the topic sentences you will be using as the
first sentences in your paragraphs. Usually for IELTS, four paragraph essay is
ideal. So two effective thesis sentences will be sufficient enough.
For example, for the above question, we could draw a
thesis sentence like this for the first paragraph of the body.
Population
explosion in cities has become the primary cause of many uprising criminal
activities.
2. Structures your essay
Structure your essay according to the essay type. For
the above problem solving essay, here is a possible map.
Introduction:
topic and general answer to question
Main paragraph
one: give reasons for problem
Main paragraph
two: offer some solutions
Conclusion:
summarize (and paraphrase your argument)
03) Use formal/ Academic Register
Register is nothing but your tone/style/manner of communication with the listener or reader.
Register is nothing but your tone/style/manner of communication with the listener or reader.
You could be
aware of the different words and sentences you use when you talk to your best
friend and your superiors at workplace. It is not the same degree of respect
you give for both.
The rapport between speaker and listener or
writer and reader always plays a significant role in communication.
When it comes to
IELTS essay writing, you should always maintain a formal or academic register
throughout your whole essay, as your reader is going to be most likely a native
speaker with a sound academic background. That is to say you should avoid
informal words, phrases and sentences in your writing.
Here are some points to make your essay
formal in register:
·
Avoid contractions:
E.g. it’s,
isn’t, wasn’t etc.
Use the full
forms instead: it is, is not, was not
etc.
·
Use
impersonal third person passive:
E.g. “I agree with this statement up to some
extent”
Say “It
could be agreed with this statement up to some extent”
“People commonly believe
that…”
Say “It
is commonly believed that…”
·
Use
formal linking words and phrases:
Reduce the number of simple conjunctions
such as, and, but, because etc.
Use formal linking words and
phrases instead like, furthermore, in
addition, on the other hand,
alternatively, as a result of etc.
·
Use
complex sentences:
Minimize the use of simple and
compound sentences use complex sentences
instead:
E.g.
Although it is widely accepted that population
explosion, which is said to be the main cause of rising number of criminal
activities in cities, is beneficial to a country’s economy in plenty of other
ways, as closer analysis of individual and social welfare is considered in a country
as a whole.
·
Avoid
colloquial expressions , phrasal verbs and idioms
In academic writing day to expressions, ordinary
phrasal verbs and clichés need
to be avoided.
E.g. lots of = many
give up=
abandon
over the
moon= in high spirit
04) Write an attractive introduction
Introduction of your essay is the threshold to your content. The introduction that you write should grab the attention of the reader. In order to write an effective introduction you can start your essay in the following ways:
04) Write an attractive introduction
Introduction of your essay is the threshold to your content. The introduction that you write should grab the attention of the reader. In order to write an effective introduction you can start your essay in the following ways:
- Discourse markers:
Nowadays/In modern days/ These days / In the
twenty-first century etc.
- Rhetorical questions:
Have you ever imagined a world without
mobile phones? / Have you ever thought of life without electricity?
- Quotation:
‘Imagination is more important than
knowledge’, Einstein once said.
05) Use synonyms
05) Use synonyms
People migrate to cities for
People
migrate to cities for multiple
reasons. Some come with an intention of finding a better employment. Others visit
for better medical facilities. There are many move for continuing higher studies and a few for better
livelihoods.
06) Use appropriate collocation
Collocation refers to the natural positioning of words in groups so that they make clear sense to a native speaker. For example, you can say ‘I did a few mistakes in the exam paper’ is usually understandable to anyone; a native speaker might find it odd.
Collocation refers to the natural positioning of words in groups so that they make clear sense to a native speaker. For example, you can say ‘I did a few mistakes in the exam paper’ is usually understandable to anyone; a native speaker might find it odd.
So ‘I made
a few mistakes in the exam paper’ should give a better sense to the
listener.
Collocation is a
very crucial language aspect if you want to give a native touch or original
flavor to your writing. In other words it is the appropriate use of language.
e.g. I highly recommend it be the perfect
solution to this problem.
I strongly recommend it to be
the perfect solution to this problem.
She gave a useful contribution to the discussion.
She made a useful
contribution to the discussion.
To find collocation click here: http://oxforddictionary.so8848.com
07) Manage your time well
As you can spend more or less 40 minutes for essay, time management plays a crucial role. It is always advisable you could manage your time unconsciously with plenty of prior practice at home. For many, exam anxiety kills most of their precious minutes and in a formal exam setting it is very difficult to concentrate on both time and task simultaneously. And that is why you need prior practice beforehand.
As you can spend more or less 40 minutes for essay, time management plays a crucial role. It is always advisable you could manage your time unconsciously with plenty of prior practice at home. For many, exam anxiety kills most of their precious minutes and in a formal exam setting it is very difficult to concentrate on both time and task simultaneously. And that is why you need prior practice beforehand.
An effective
planning leads to a sound essay. But do not spend much time on it. Just 5- 10
minutes will be sufficient enough.
So practise your
timing now. Take up an essay question and settle down in one place and start
writing to see how many words your will be able to write within 40 minutes of time.
And then check how well you can polish up your vocabulary and grammar.
08) Revise your essay
Last minute revision, though is difficult, a quick glance before handing in the paper will remarkably improve your scores.
Most importantly
your focus should be on the language used and not the facts. You can’t correct
the factual errors in hurry on the eleventh second. But what you do can correct
are the language errors such as word class, spelling, punctuation and
capitalization.
It is a
well-known fact that proof reading is not done by writers themselves. It is
because the writers generally preconceive the content in their head and the
brain sometimes overlook the visual representation on paper.
So what you can
do at the last moment is to do the revision in the reverse in other words from
bottom to top. This will enable the brain to focus on the langue as whole not
the preconceived train of thought.
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