Common myths For IELTS Writing Task - One and Writing Task - 2

I am going to dispel some dangerous myths about IELTS Writing. in seep of words, I am going to tell you some of the ideas that many students believe in which are mainly incorrect. Something you are going to in this article may surprise you. Some advice may go against things you have learned from other sources. But I want you to believe me as I have checked everything that I am going to tell you in this article.

8 Common myths For  IELTS Writing  

1. Myth I must not use pronouns ( I, we, you) in Writing Task - 2

Many people believe. they should or even must not use personal pronouns. That is actually incorrect. If you have look at the IELTS Official Guide or the official IELTS practice test books. You will find plenty of examples with personal pronouns or essays either written by examiners or essays achieved 7 or higher bands with personal pronouns. So it is alright to use them. If you don't use them too much. So, if you need personal pronouns in order to express your idea, go for it. so all that is about Task-2. 

What about Task- 1...??

If you are taking IELTS general training, you are writing a letter. then, of course, you can use personal pronouns. If you are taking IELTS academic, in Task- 1 you need to write a report to describe a chart, table, bar, diagram, etc. Don't use personal pronouns there. There is no need for them either. 

2. Avoid examples from personal experience

Again this is incorrect. Read the task statement ''include relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience''. It means you can include things that you know or thing you experience. if that is not enough. You can open the official IELTS guide books and read the rules, instructions there. They mentioned you can include examples from your own experience but these must be relevant to the question. 

3. Using linking words in each sentence can increase the band score

Indeed, you need to use linking words in your essay. These are words like however, although, despite, etc.

When students start preparing for the IELTS exam they learn that they need to use linking words. Students start inserting linking words into each sentence. That looks wrong. That looks fake. 

Remember there are other ways to link sentences. you can use pronouns. you can revert to previous sentences. For example, in your sentence, you are talking about global warming.  Then in the next sentence, you say this problem arouse Because....!! The examiner will know that you are talking about global warming. These sentences are linked but there are no linking words. 

4. I must learn big words and use them in my essay

There are plenty of videos or articles like 10 words to get 9 bands in writing or 7 words you must use in every essay. These seem often the solution. In reality, it does not work. The truth is when the IELTS examiner assesses your vocabulary. They check if you know how to use words if you know the precise meaning of each word if you combine phases correctly. These are the things which going to bring you a high score. You should really concentrate on how to use words correctly. 

5. Repeating any word is a huge mistake

The examiner is going to check how wide your vocabulary. To get a 7+ band score you need to show you have a wide range of vocabulary. Not repeating words helps a lot. You need to distinguish between words you can replace and words you can't. 

If you are writing an essay about school. You should not say a school, then, college, then university because these are different things. But some words have many synonyms.  Such as to increase, to grow, to rise, etc. You should use them. 

You can also change the form of the word. For example, the word: employment. to employ or be employed. The root of the word is the same but words look different. So, it is not a repeated word

but I would say is always use the best words for the situation. 

Especially don't take whole phrases from the question. That is more important. 

6. Longer essays or exceeding word limit achieve a higher score

That is not necessarily true. Task-1 is to write at least 150 words and 250 words in task-2. If you write fewer words, you will be penalized. that is true. If you write long essays. you are not going to get an automatically higher score for that. absolutely not. The longer essay takes more time to write. When I say long essays, I mean more than 200 words in task-1 and 300 words in task-2. I will not write more words than that unless you are a really fast writer and very confident in English.

Otherwise, I think it is better to write an essay that is not that long.  Instead, you leave yourself some time to check your essay and make sure you don't have any mistake in that. 

7. Low score? I should prepare for IELTS even more

Many people take the IELTS exam time and time. They still can't achieve the score, they need. The truth is, there is only that much you can do in order to prepare for the IELTS exam.

Once you know all the strategies. You know how to fulfill all the requirements. You take the exam and did not achieve a good score. OK! You can retake the exam. But if you didn't achieve the desired score again. Then, probably your English is not up to the level yet. 

I will suggest leaving the IELTS exam on the aside. Learn new words, read articles, learn collocations, listen to different accents. or join an intensive English course. In a few months, you will be able to achieve the score you need.

8. Writing long and highly complex sentences to get a high score

It is true that examiners are looking to see complex and compound sentences in your essay. You can not get a high score with only simple sentences but you need those to achieve band 6 scores. Complex sentences are a certain type of in the English language. IELTS examiners are looking for a wider range of grammar. You have to work on this.

Bottom Line

Good Luck with that! If you have any questions, you can ask me in the comments. Don’t forget to share this information about who really needs this.