IELTS Letter Writing — Write for Sure if You Don’t Know What to Write at All
The International English Language Testing System (IELTS) exam is one which tests the level of proficiency in the English language for a non — native English speaking candidate. Divided into IELTS — Academic or General Training, a lot of professional institutions across the world accept the IELTS score — a few, but not limited to the likes of British, Canadian, United States, Australian & New Zealand institutions. It is also for those who to engage in non — academic work, immigrate or for those who wish to capitalize on work experience.
The tests are basically done to see how the potential candidate practically uses the English language in everyday life. The tests, for both categories, are therefore held across four domains — Reading, Writing, Listening & Speaking.
Necessary Information: Bear in mind that whatever category you choose to give the exam in — Academic or General Training, the writing part has two tasks and both of them have to be completed in/under 60 minutes. The answers to questions asked have to be penned down in the answer sheet in the form of sentences, NOT bullet points.
As you can infer from the title, we will be addressing the Writing part, and in that, particularly something we used to do when technology used to stay behind us — Writing Letters. The first task of the General Training module is the Letter Writing Task. There is NO letter writing task in the IELTS — Academic task. In the letter writing task, a typical situation is given, the reason is outlined, and the person to whom the letter has to be addressed to is stated as well. Therefore, for the exam taker, they need to play with 5Ws & 1H.
The motive of the letter (Why) & a sense of basic understanding of the given situation (Who, What, Where, When) has to be covered in a well — organized manner, in a good flow to get a good score. But the 1H — How you present the flow of words & ideas in your letter will take you places!
With a right amount of practice, you must be putting in for the IELTS exam; it is highly unlikely that you’ll come across an alien topic — One which you don’t have the faintest idea about. Just think about the exam paper setters for a second!
• IELTS is a global exam.
• There are lots of non — English speakers taking the exam.
• The content has to be understood by any general person.
See? With decent practice, you really cannot go wrong. But, sometimes, on rare occasions, there could be some questions which could mess up their brains! Let us show you how! Don’t worry; we’ll also show you a way out!
Questions which could choke your thoughts & still leave you without answers are the ones which you are unfamiliar about! These questions, can, therefore, also hit you with a substantial element of surprise! In turn, these factors & the panic factor can end up causing you to waste your precious 60 minutes worrying or not completing or sprinting through your content for the sake of just finishing it.
What better way to better address this issue, than by giving an example.
A Friend has agreed to look after your car garage & your pet dog while you’re going on a holiday. In a letter to your friend, address the following issues:
• Your contact details to reach you in a time of need
• Instructions to look after your pet dog
• Precautions to be taken while going inside the garage
• Car maintenance
Now then if you’re not an animal lover or a car lover or for that matter, not a person who has looked after anyone’s house while they are away — Such pointers could give you a 1000 — volt shock! You might spend precious time endlessly, end up worrying and stressing about the topic & write about details here and there — But still fail to address the main point. This shows a clear failure on the task response area, a failure to cover and present all main points as asked. Also, you only have 60 minutes at your disposal to finish both the tasks! — So, plan accordingly.
Say, you get the same question, start with some things given, some which you already are aware of. Jot down the crucial points as stated and try to build your story around them. Make sure you don’t miss out on any points, at least the ones asked in the question. Well, other than that:
BE CREATIVE WITH YOUR IMAGINATION
Put yourself in your friend’s shoes. Think about what would you do if you were in their place. Pets are generally treated like a family member; therefore, some basic details which could’ve been included could be playing with the pet, taking it out for a walk, feeding it. Think — Even if the details on how to care for the animal would be inaccurate, at least how to keep the animal could be included. Or something like cleaning the garage regularly and taking the care for a run or revving up its engine to make sure it remains in a working condition could still be mentioned. Some score is better than none, isn’t it?
Now, if you think knowledge matters, it does, but it doesn’t as well! The IELTS exam is meant to check your language proficiency, therefore the knowledge part of it plays a secondary role. Say, a focus on important words like ‘look after,’ ‘precautions,’ ‘maintenance’ & ‘instructions’ could be well used instead of leaving the space blank.
BE READY
You never know what will be asked in your exam, the only thing you can do is to stay prepared. Have a look at common topics asked, letter types, etc. Practice is crucial as it can give you a test — like environment and conditions thereby helping you cope up towards the exam expectations. Some common letter types include recommendations, applying/volunteering for some work, complaining about a product/service, requesting someone to do something or asking for a favor, apologizing, thanking something for what they’ve done or even inviting someone to an event or a party, etc.
PRACTICE, IMPROVE, IMPROVE, PRACTICE
No training is complete without adequate practice, and you can get lots of practice tests for IELTS General W riting task — 1 on popular websites on the internet like IELTS Tutorials. Isn’t it great to have subject experts having a look at your write — up or suggesting steps for improvement?
To get trained for the IELTS exam by experts, and to join the 7+ band league, join IELTS Tutorials today. Also, register for FREE here and get 20+ mock tests to test your level of preparation! Join the elite wagon today!
