Written by a Guest Contributor
7 Essential Tips on How to Write IELTS Opinion Essay to Get 7.0-7.5 Band
If you plan on studying abroad in an English-speaking country, you will need to either take the TOEFL or the IELTS exam. The IELTS exam is usually required for studying in the United Kingdom. While some might say that IELTS “is a piece of cake,” we believe that the mandatory writing part might be challenging for a great number of students sitting for the test.
You will need to know how to write accurately, objectively, and passionately at the same time. For some students, the opinion essay is indeed easy. They are born with writing skills; but for those who are not, we have put up a helpful list of IELTS tips. Now you can conquer the writing part, and even get 7.0-7.5 band. Feel free to leave comments and/or feedback if you find them necessary!
Essential Tips to Get High Scores on IELTS Essay
1. Planning it out
The foundation of your essay is the outline. Without an organized outline, there is a high chance you will get lost in useless details and endless commentaries. Writing an opinion essay can be challenging without a well-designed structure. Here are the most important steps to go through:- Pay attention to the question asked. Students tend to scan through the questions and leave out important details in their responses. Write down the questions to make sure you got it all.
- Spend a little bit of time brainstorming. The opinion essay will take 40 minutes total, so make sure you spend at least 7 minutes reading, comprehending, and planning all out.
- Write down your first thoughts on the subject and summarize your main points.
- Transform thoughts into arguments by giving out specific arguments important to the topic.
- For each argument, write down at least 3 sub points to discuss (better to have more points than one, but don’t use all of them if unnecessary).
- After finishing the outline, return to the introduction and expand on that (more on point 7).
- Stick to a simple outline.
- Think about how many words you need to write and how you’ll divide your paragraphs.
2. Choosing a side won’t hurt your score
Students might think that choosing a side hurts their score because the readers might have a different opinion on the subject. That is a myth. The IELTS committee does not allow any of the readers’ potential biased opinions to intervene in the grading process.Even if your readers do not agree with your statements, they are not allowed to extract points for that. They can only mark down your essay based on length, complexity, grammar, and punctuation. Choosing a side is actually better – it shows how passionate you are about a certain topic, and how well you can sustain your arguments.
3. You cannot choose another type of essay
While descriptive, narrative, or expository essays might seem interesting, do not (ever!) use one of them instead of the traditional opinion article. The IELTS readers want to see how well you can argument in such a short period of time. It is not about the topic itself, but about how quick-witted you are. Make sure you prove good writing qualities by sticking to the argumentative essay! How to know when you are pulling away from the topic:- If you don’t give out your personal opinion
- If you don’t explain the other side’s perspective too
- If you don’t explain why you agree/disagree
- If you don’t give out arguments, but use descriptions
4. Using “I” statements
“Is using ‘I’ statements wrong?” Of course not. Using “I” and “me” statements is actually recommended. Here are some examples of standard/individual idioms:- Standard (not personalized): “this is to say,” “in particular,” “notably,” “it seems like”
- “I” statements: “to me, it seems,” “I personally believe,”” My own view is that”
5. Using the right vocabulary
Academic papers cannot be written in colloquial language. Make sure you use proper phrasing, avoid grammar mistakes, and utilize academic language to explain concepts and ideas. The more words you know, the higher your score will be. Read a lot of English books or magazines in order to improve your vocabulary if you are aiming for band score 6 or up.6. Brief, concise, yet interesting
You cannot have only one body paragraph, but you cannot have 7 either. Your reader evaluates at least 10 more essays beside yours per day, so make his/her job easier. If your essay is too long, your evaluator will get bored. If it is too short, he/she will take points off for not meeting the writing quota.I would try to aim for 2or 3 body paragraphs. Those, along with the introduction and essay, should make up for the right amount of words requested.
7. First impression matters
Essay introductions matter! If you start off with a boring introduction, your reader might quickly lose focus. Here are some tips on how to write awesome introductions:- Deliver proper background information – not too brief, yet not too long
- Provide a thesis that summarizes your main idea that you’ll support and discuss
- Don’t use clichés
- Convince your audience that you are passionate and interested in your topic
Conclusion
Aiming for a 7.0-7.5 IELTS band is challenging, yet doable! Make sure you plan out your essay beforehand, keep content structured, use the right vocabulary, and make it interesting. You are welcome to leave comments and/or feedback in the POST A COMMENT section below.Good luck!
Related: Tips to Live Successfully As International Students Abroad
Author Bio
Brandon is interested in marketing, writing and editing. He writes on different topics related to writer’s skills and techniques. He really loves playing the piano and collecting unique books. He is also a contributor to RushMyEssay. You can find him on Twitter and Facebook
Brandon is interested in marketing, writing and editing. He writes on different topics related to writer’s skills and techniques. He really loves playing the piano and collecting unique books. He is also a contributor to RushMyEssay. You can find him on Twitter and Facebook
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