Hi
Here’s the fourth in our series of IELTS band score 8.0 videos.
In the video, I explain what you need to do to get an IELTS band score 8.0 in IELTS Writing task 2.
(If you can’t view the video above, try viewing it directly on our YouTube channel).
I’ll post an example answer to the IELTS Writing task 2 question shown at the end of the video (taken from the Official IELTS Practice Materials) in an couple of days.
I hope you’ve found our series of IELTS band score 8.0 videos useful.
Pete
See our IELTS tutoring options to find out more about how we can help you improve your English for the IELTS test.
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Hello, I was told that I should use simple English with a range of vocab. Should I avoid proverbs and sayings in my essay to get a band 8?
Thanks for your question, Kaminee.
To get an IELTS band score 6.0 or above for your writing, one of the things you need to do is use complex sentence forms and a range of vocabulary. If you only use ‘simple English’, you may not get the writing band score you need.
To see how the range of grammar in your writing can affect your band score, have a look at our post ‘What are complex sentences?‘.
It’s probably not a good idea to use proverbs or sayings from your own language translated into English in your essay because these proverbs/sayings may not have the same meaning or any meaning in English. Most proverbs and sayings are related to a specific culture or nationality and the meanings are often lost in translation.
You can see an example of an IELTS Writing Task 2 essay in our post ‘Here’s an essay that I wrote earlier‘.
Pete
Unfortunately I am not able to watch your videos, I live in Iran and after the recent events we are limited to access to almost all foreign websites including the youtube under the government censorship. Please send your videos to my e-mail address if it is possible.
Arsham
Hi Arsham,
I’m sorry to hear that you’re unable to watch our IELTS videos. Our videos are only available to watch through our YouTube channel at present.
Pete
To begin with, thank you for all the information you have provided on this website.
Secondly, I have an issue of not using sufficent vocabulary and corrent spellings while I am writing under presure. I am efficient in spoken English.However, I struggle in English writing. Also, I am better at typing emails as it is as quick as I speak, but because I am slow in expressing my views in writing, sentences are not as accurate as they are while I speak. Please direct me to the right resources where I can learn adequate vocabulary and also how to improve my spellings. My target is band 8 in IELTS. Thanks
I’m glad that you’ve found our website useful, Umair, and thanks for explaining your situation.
For some ideas about how to improve your spelling in IELTS Writing, have a look at our blog post ‘Common spelling mistakes in IELTS Writing‘.
In terms of developing your vocabulary, there are lots of suggestions in the posts in the ‘Vocabulary for IELTS‘ category of this blog; you could also try the book ‘Vocabulary for IELTS Advanced‘ as it includes a lot of vocabulary related to common IELTS writing topics.
Good luck with your goal of getting an IELTS band score 8.0.
Pete
Hi, I want to ask whether we should use proverbs expressions in academic writing? I appeared in ielts in India 3 years ago and I got 7 bands in writing. Now I’m in Dubai I had to reappear in ielts. Here I got 6 bands in writing. I exclusively use expressions.
Hi Jhangia,
If you mean English proverbs like the ones in this list, then it may be appropriate to use one to support your opinion at the end of your essay.
It certainly isn’t appropriate to use lots of proverbs in an IELTS Academic essay because the impact of each proverb will be lost if you use more than one.
As I said in one of the comments above, it’s probably not a good idea to use proverbs or sayings from your own language translated into English in your essay.
Pete
Thanks for prompt reply.
Let me give you some examples. For instance, if i disagree the statement of essay I would use ‘to me, this view holds no water ‘. In conclusion most of the time I write ‘I can put two and two together by inferring that….’
In previous test I used proverbs like ‘the game is not worth a candle’ and ‘square peg in the wrong hole’ etc.
I got 6 bands in two consecutive attemps. My overall score is 8 but in writing 6. I am confused how to handle this in future.
Hi Jhangia,
There are a couple of things to consider here.
First of all, some proverbs or expressions are not appropriate for IELTS essays because they are too informal. The expression ‘a square peg in a round hole’, for example, is usually used in spoken English to describe someone who doesn’t feel happy or comfortable in a particular situation.
The second thing is that most expressions like the ones you’ve mentioned are fixed, i.e. they include particular words that cannot be changed. The expression ‘a square peg in the wrong hole’ is not correct; it should be ‘a square peg in a round hole’.
If you’d like some individual feedback on your writing, have a look at the ‘Get started – IELTS writing’ option on the IELTS tutoring page of our website.
Pete
Hi,
Thanks for your precious advice. I really need tutor guidance. Sorry for faulty proverb. It was miss typed.