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Introduction
Gary Pathare, DMC Foundations 2014 Page 1
Exit 5
Academic writing
IELTS academic writing
Preparing for the course
The grammar goal
What is academic writing?
Rules of academic writing
The two IELTS writing tasks
Understanding writing marking
Understanding IELTS task types
Personal writing check
Your handwriting speed and line coverage
Your handwriting quality and accuracy
What you need for the course
Checklist
INTRODUCTION
Exit 5
Writing practice and testing plan
Introduction
Gary Pathare, DMC Foundations 2014 Page 2
Exit 5
Exercise 1
What is academic writing? Academic writing is what people write in the academic world or on an academic course such as a Bachelor’s degree. Learning to write good academic English is one of the most useful things you can learn. It will help you for the rest of your time at college, and later, in your job.
Which of these are academic writing tasks? Tick () the boxes:
1 A report about some scientific data to show a teacher.
2 A report about your research for an academic magazine. 3 An email to a friend telling them about the course.
4 An essay giving your opinions on an education issue. 5 A report for your teacher describing how apple juice is made.
6 A story about a family who live on a Pacific island.
7 A poem about a day from your childhood. 8 An essay discussing the advantages and disadvantages of cars.
9 A written description of how an electric motor works. 10 A newspaper article about the opening of a new supermarket.
Academic writing
Introduction
Gary Pathare, DMC Foundations 2014 Page 3
Exit 5
Exercise 2
Exercise 3
Rules of academic writing Academic writing has important rules. If you break the writing rules, people will think that your college work is bad, even if the content is correct. This is because it is very important in the academic world that the meaning is clear and nobody is confused by information or ideas you are trying to communicate. For example, for doctors or engineers it is dangerous if information is not clear. Academic writing is always planned and corrected.
IELTS tests your ability to follow these rules.
Here are 13 rules of academic writing. 3 are wrong. Tick () the 10 correct ones and correct the 3 wrong ones.
1 Separate the text into paragraphs.
2 Do not use correct spellings.
3 Generally avoid contractions like we’re; use we are.
4 Use ‘slang’ words like ‘gonna’. 5 Use academic English words, such as ‘discuss’ rather than ‘chat’.
6 Use correct punctuation: avoid very long, ‘run-on’ sentences. 7 Write a mixture of short and longer (complex) sentences.
8 Use your own words, or give a clear reference to the source. 9 Write so that the reader understands exactly what you mean.
10 Connect your ideas clearly (e.g. Finally/In conclusion/However)
11 Use correct grammar that makes your meaning clear. 12 Write informally, in a very friendly way.
13 Only give true data; do not invent or change it.
This is very bad academic writing. Circle the numbers of the rules in Exercise 2 that the student breaks:
hi teacher, i not like writing it’s kinda waste of
time you now 99% of student he hate writng
too much!! i know cus I chatting with she every
time I hop you liking this my writing
Rules broken: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
Introduction
Gary Pathare, DMC Foundations 2014 Page 4
Exit 5
Exercise 1
The two IELTS writing tasks There are two tasks, Task 1 and Task 2. Read about them and fill in the table.
Task 1 is a 150-word academic report. You describe some visual information in words. The information is presented in different ways: 1) line graphs 2) bar charts 3) pie charts 4) tables 5) maps and 6) diagrams. There can be one or more of these in a question. You must not give your opinions.
Task 2 is a 250-word academic essay. There are different types of essay: the most important are 1) opinion 2) advantages and disadvantages 3) writing about a problems. You must give your ideas, opinions and examples. The topic of Task 2 is not the same as the topic of Task 1.
Time: you have 60 minutes to complete both tasks. Task 2 is double the marks. Spend about 20 minutes on Task 1 and 40 minutes on Task 2. Do not write less than 150 + 250 words! You can write more, but you don’t get extra marks.
Task 1 Task 2 How many words?
How many minutes? Academic or informal?
Essay or report? Do you give an opinion?
Information/essay types?
1)
1)
2)
3)
2)
4)
5)
3)
6)
IELTS academic writing
Introduction
Gary Pathare, DMC Foundations 2014 Page 5
Exit 5
Understanding IELTS writing marking IELTS markers are very experienced English teachers who are trained to look for four main things: task achievement, organization, vocabulary and grammar.
Find and underline three differences between what IELTS markers look for in IELTS Task 1 and Task 2, then answer questions 1 – 6 below:
What IELTS markers look for in IELTS Task 1
Task achievement
Did you understand and write about what you could see?
Is there an overview? What information did you include?
Are there at least 150 words?
Organization
How well did you plan and organize the writing task? Did you use good connecting words?
Vocabulary
What vocabulary did you use? Did you use it well? How good is the spelling?
Grammar What grammar did you use? Did you use it well?
How good is the punctuation?
What IELTS markers look for in IELTS Task 2
Task achievement
Did you understand and answer the question?
Is there a clear opinion?
What information did you include? Are there at least 250 words?
Organization
How well did you plan and organize the writing task? Did you use good connecting words?
Vocabulary
What vocabulary did you use? Did you use it well?
How good is the spelling? Grammar What grammar did you use? Did you use it well?
How good is the punctuation?
1. In which task do you need to give an overview?
2. In which of the four main sections is punctuation marked in?
3. Which section is spelling marked in?
4. Which section needs good connecting words?
5. Which section is marked lower if you don’t write enough words?
6. In vocabulary, does it matter how you use the words you choose?
Exercise 2
Introduction
Gary Pathare, DMC Foundations 2014 Page 6
Exit 5
Exercise 3
Understanding IELTS task types
Look at the information in Exercise 1 and complete the information for each task type 1 – 9 (1 is done for you as an example):
1 2
Task: 1 Task:
Type: Bar chart Type:
Opinion? No Opinion?
Words: 150 Words:
Time: 20 minutes Time:
3 4
Task: Task:
Type: Type:
Opinion? Opinion?
Words: Words:
Time: Time:
0
20
40
60
80
100
1st Qtr 2nd
Qtr
3rd Qtr4th Qtr
East
West
North
0
50
100
150
200
1st Qtr 2nd
Qtr
3rd
Qtr
4th
Qtr
North
West
East
Many people nowadays choose to ride bicycles rather than drive cars. What are the advantages and disadvantages of riding a bicycle?
1st Qtr
2nd Qtr
3rd Qtr
4th Qtr
Introduction
Gary Pathare, DMC Foundations 2014 Page 7
Exit 5
5 6
Task: Task:
Type: Type:
Opinion? Opinion?
Words: Words:
Time: Time:
7 8
Task: Task:
Type: Type:
Opinion? Opinion? Words: Words:
Time: Time:
9 Task: Opinion?
Time: Type: Words:
City or Town Point A
Point B
Point C
Point D
Point E
Point A — Point B 87 — Point C 64 56 — Point D 37 32 91 — Point E 93 35 54 43 —
Some people believe that it is better to start work at 18 while others think that it is better to go to university. Discuss both views and give your opinion.
Boil
water
Put eggs in
The number of fish in the ocean is falling every year. What are the causes of this problem? What solutions can you suggest?
Introduction
Gary Pathare, DMC Foundations 2014 Page 8
Exit 5
Exercise 1
You saw on Page 5 that you need a band 5 in Task achievement, Organization, Vocabulary and Grammar. You will learn about the first three when you study Vocabulary, Task 1 and Task 2. Here, we focus on your Grammar goal.
Grammar IELTS Band 4 IELTS Band 5 IELTS Band 6 Grammar: variety and accuracy
Most sentences have mistakes.
Some mistakes, but basic grammar is correct and he tries a variety of grammar/ sentence types.
Some mistakes, but communication is good and grammar is varied.
Complex sentences
No
Tries to write some complex sentences, but they are not always correct
Yes
Punctuation Often wrong (e.g. there are long ‘sentences’ with no punctuation).
Some punctuation mistakes and some missing punctuation, but a lot is correct.
Most is correct, no problem for communication.
The table shows what you need to do to get a band 4, 5 or 6 in Grammar.
1. Look at the words in bold in the table above. What do you have to do to get a 5 in grammar? Tick () the correct boxes:
1 Try to use a variety of grammar and sentence types
2 Avoid long sentences with no punctuation. 3 Try some complex sentences.
4 Learn to use quite good punctuation. 5 Never make a mistake.
6 Get basic grammar correct.
2. Which one of these do you think is a complex sentence? a. Ali plays football every day with his friend. b. Ali plays football, which is a great sport.
The grammar goal
Introduction
Gary Pathare, DMC Foundations 2014 Page 9
Exit 5
Exercise 2 Which IELTS band would these paragraphs get for Grammar: 4, 5 or 6? Read the IELTS examiner’s comments below to check:
Paragraph 4 / 5/ 6
1 the table show how people go to school in thailand you can to see too many people go to school in bus it is cheap some people they go to school in car
2 The table shows how people go to the school in thailand. We can see that most people go to school by bus, what is the cheapest method.
3 The table shows how people go to the school in Thailand. We can see that most People go by bus, although a lot of people go by car.
4 The table show how people go to school. Most of people go in bus. The bus is cheap. Some people they are go by car.
“This is a 5 – there is some good grammar – the table shows, we can see that, most people go, and it is mostly correct, except to the school, and there is no capital T for Thailand. I can understand it easily and she tries to use a complex sentence – it’s not perfect, she put what instead of which – but she tries, so she gets a 5.
“Where is the punctuation? There are no sentences, no capital letters, and the basic grammar is wrong…the table show…in bus…you can to see…people they go…is show… 4, maybe 3?.…no, 4, just!”
“This gets a 6 for grammar. There is a good complex sentence…there is a variety of grammar (most, a lot of, shows with an s, we can see), and it is all correct except the school… and capital P for people…”
“4. All the sentences are short and simple – he hasn’t tried to write any complex sentences. They are go and the table show – this student doesn’t know basic grammar…4”
Introduction
Gary Pathare, DMC Foundations 2014 Page 10
Exit 5
Exercise 1
Personal writing check
In IELTS, you have to write four hundred words in an hour, by hand. Before you start the course, it is a good idea for you to check and assess your handwriting skills. Copy this paragraph onto the lines below, writing in pencil. Use a rubber and rewrite any mistakes you make. Time yourself in seconds from start to finish.
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Your time in seconds: ______
Preparing for the course
Introduction
Gary Pathare, DMC Foundations 2014 Page 11
Exit 5
Your handwriting speed and line coverage Find your writing speed (words per minute) and the time the IELTS writing (not including reading the question, thinking and planning) will take you:
60 ÷ your time in seconds x 60 = = your writing speed
400 ÷ your writing speed = = the number of minutes it will take you to write 400 words in the IELTS exam.
Find the number of lines you need to write 150 and 250 words. Count the number of lines you wrote, then fill in the table.
60 ÷ number of lines = = your average words per line
150 ÷ average words per line = lines for 150 words
250 ÷ average words per line = lines for 250 words
Remember this information when you are writing IELTS. You can save time while you are writing by estimating how much you have written.
Your handwriting quality and accuracy Ask your teacher to look at your writing. Note their comments in the table below. Tick () anything you need to change.
Handwriting quality/accuracy Teacher comments/suggestions Change?
Spacing: do you leave enough space between words?
Position: do you write on, through or above the lines? Do g, j, p, q, and y cross the lines?
Letter formation: are there any letters that are not clear? Are capitals bigger?
Size and line quality: is the writing easy to see and read?
Care and attention: did you copy the spellings, capitals and punctuation correctly?
General presentation: does it look neat and tidy?
Introduction
Gary Pathare, DMC Foundations 2014 Page 12
Exit 5
Exercise 2
What you need for the course Learning to write academic English is important but not easy. You will need to be organized, and you must have the right tools for the job.
Fill in blanks 1 - 6 with the words below:
You need a (1) ________________, because writing practice tests are on paper, and you will have documents and notes (good students make notes while they are studying). You can use your (2) ________________ to store copies of your work, and to make notes.
A (3) ________________ helps you practice timing, which is very important in IELTS.
In IELTS you write in (4) ________________, so practice during the course. Using an (5) ________________ helps if you change your mind or make a mistake, and it makes your work much nicer to read. Having your own (6) ________________ saves you time.
If you come to class without these things, you cannot learn effectively. Make sure you have somewhere to keep them.
pencil eraser pencil sharpener iPad folder watch
Introduction
Gary Pathare, DMC Foundations 2014 Page 13
Exit 5
Checklist Tick () the things that you understand or have. These are what you need to start the course well.
1 I understand what academic writing is.
2 I understand what IELTS markers are looking for.
3 I understand what IELTS Task 1 is.
4 I understand what IELTS Task 2 is.
5 I understand the grammar goal.
6 I have a good folder and a system to organize it
7 I have pencils
8 I have an eraser and sharpener
9 I have a way of taking notes (a notebook, iPad or laptop)
10 I have a locker or somewhere to keep my things
11 I have a personal goal for this course
Write the information in the table
1 My writing speed in words per minute
2 Number of lines for 150 words (task 1)
3 Number of lines for 250 words (task 2)
4 What I need to focus on in my handwriting
Now you are ready to start the course. Good luck!
Introduction
Gary Pathare, DMC Foundations 2014 Page 14
Exit 5
Test Time Writing practice task
type/topic
Task Your IELTS band
TA O V G Total
Write your scores in this table. For each task, write your scores in each of the four IELTS categories (Task Achievement, Organization, Vocabulary and Grammar) and your total score. Use the information to help you next time.
Writing practice scores
