Why am I stuck at a band 6 in the IELTS Writing paper?

Many IELTS candidates feel frustrated that their IELTS Writing score never improves UNTIL they sign up with IELTSroadmap.com.

In order to improve your IELTS Writing score,  make sure that you become familiar with band descriptors and the marking scheme; something which will dramatically change the way you perform on the test!

In this comprehensive article guys, we will explain why a candidate may be stuck at a band 6. Let’s focus on Writing Task 2  for now as it carries more marks towards your total IELTS score.

There are “Four Criteria” based on which you will receive Four individual scores.  We will review these criteria one by one and show how you may be falling short of the mark in each case.

1. Task Achievement:

 

-One reason for a score less than 7 is “Not a clear position throughout”. What this means is that the IELTS candidate either changes their mind half-way through the essay, or they just quote what others say without showing their agreement or disagreement with the view(s) presented in the question.

The solution is for you to “stick to your guns!” This means “Choose a position and defend it all the way through”. Here’s an example of a piece of writing that will not achieve a band 7 because the IELTS candidate’s position is not clear.

“Some people say we should not allow smoking in public places. These individuals argue that the second-hand smoke is dangerous to health. They cite examples from research studies that show smoking causes respiratory illness such as lung cancer.  Therefore, this group of people argue that smoking should be banned in public areas.

Others believe that we should be permitted to smoke in public places because this is our right. …..”

Bear in mind that you could show your position directly or indirectly using your language. (Take IELTSroadmap’s Writing Task 2 course for more information and step-by-step guidelines towards writing a stellar essay where your position is clear throughout.)

-A second reason why your score is less than 7 in Task Achievement is that you may focus on one part of the question more than others. Take this question as an example:

Crime is on the increase in rural areas. Why is that? What can be done about it?

If you focused more on the causes of the problem than the solutions (or the other way around), you would lose marks. So, make sure you pay attention to all aspects of the question.

-A third reason why you may be stuck at a 6 is that your essay conclusions are unclear or repetitive. Do you simply copy the words and phrases from your body paragraphs to draw your conclusions? This will reduce your score. Develop your paraphrasing skills to avoid this error.

– Finally, in terms of Task Achievement, you need to make sure you fully support and develop your ideas in body paragraphs. Use clear, specific examples where needed!

2. Coherence and Cohesion

-One reason you’re getting a low score may be due to the fact that your body paragraph repeats what your introduction says. Have a look at this piece of writing from a candidate’s essay:

In today’s world, many teachers include music as part of the primary school’s curriculum. Some people believe this is beneficial, while others disagree. I agree with the former group.

On the one hand, a number of individuals argue that learning music in primary school is of benefit. ………….

This candidate would lose marks because they are not making a clear progression in their writing. The intro says the same thing as the first line of the body paragraph. Each line of your IELTS essay should take a step further towards your concluding remarks.

-You might be using “too many cohesive devices” such as “moreover”, “furthermore”, “in addition” etc. Instead, try to connect your sentences without using these phrases excessively. Otherwise, your writing is likely to sound “mechanical”

-How do you compose your paragraphs? It may be that your paragraphs are not logically organized. Remember that, as a rule of thumb, a paragraph is written to focus on ONE central idea. If you have “crammed too many ideas into one sentence or one paragraphs”, you will lose marks.

 

3. Lexical Resource

-Is your vocabulary accurately used? Here’s an example of poor vocabulary use in IELTS Writing:

Many people allege that governments should promote cultural activities.

The word “allege” sounds like a sophisticated or less commonly used vocabulary item, doesn’t it?  This is true. However, in this sentence, this word is misused since allege means “ to say someone has done something wrong!” Therefore, I want you to choose topic-related vocabulary and use it correctly. The Oxford Collocation Dictionary is a fantastic tool that can transform your vocabulary usage.

-Perhaps your word-formation or spelling is off? This could also account for a low band score, too. If you are writing your essay using Microsoft Word, turn off the auto-correct spell check feature while you’re composing your IELTS essay.

4. Grammatical Range and Accuracy

Do you only use simple and compound sentences in your IELTS Writing? You need a variety of complex sentences to score a band 7! Nonetheless, “Complex” does NOT mean complicated! Look at this example:

Melbourne is where I live.

This is a complex sentence because of the use of the relative clause. Other complex sentences are formed typically with  words/phrases such as these:

even though –   while  –  whereas  – although  – who  – in which

-Is your grammatical accuracy off? Here’s an example of a grammatically-inaccurate sentence:

This is a situation which the government needs to take action.

The candidate should have used the word “where” instead of “which” (Another option is using the conjunction phrase “in which”). Use a reliable grammar book to get plenty of practice with different grammatical structures, especially complex sentences.

-How’s your punctuation by the way? Look at the punctuation marks for this sentence:

Some people argue that exercise should be done only at the gym; however, I disagree.  [Correct use of:    ;   ,   . ]

I hope this article has been of benefit to you. In the future, we will look at the reasons why you may be stuck at a band score of 6 in relation to Task 1.