I'm a Mean Teacher - and the IELTS is a Mean Test

I’m a bad online mentor when it comes to informal IELTS coaching.  Twenty-five years of provoking people, ruthlessly engaging in pointless internet fights, and making fun of things that others find oh so serious has led me to take an approach to this whole free IELTS mentoring hobby of mine that, unfortunately, annoys some and infuriates others. I've driven people off the Tips and Tricks group. I've had advice flatly rejected. I've even been a cause in people deciding not to do the IELTS at all. Crushing dreams because I point out you misunderstood the question.

Then there are those who understand my sense of humor. There’s no greater reward for me personally

It Goes Without Certainty - follow up with explanations of practice exercise

As with learning any skill, developing the ability to craft an IELTS essay requires that people learn a wide variety of micro-skills at different stages along the way. We've been talking about a micro-skill: the use and mis-use of certain "set phrases", specifically those which express certainty. Learners make typical mistakes with them that an expert sees made again and again. 

It Goes Without Saying, Be Careful With Expressions of Certainty (updated with video)

It goes without saying

It is needless to say
It is undoubtedly true
There is no denying
Without a doubt
Of course

These are standard connecting phrases that are used to express certainty in academic writing. I see them frequently in IELTS essays, but more often than not, they’re used incorrectly. These expressions are actually quite dangerous because they are just begging for the writer to make an unsupported conclusion.

In some previous video feedback, I’ve been pretty severe in my condemnation

Trying to Reach a 7 When You Should Try for an 8

Very little draws as much buzz and attention at the IELTS Tips and Tricks page as when a candidate posts some remarkable test results. This happened the other day with the results you see in the pic.  The double 9’s in the receptive skills of reading and listening are remarkable. Generally, a score of 38 out of 40 or better is needed to earn Band 9.

I’ve had students in my classroom over the years who could do this during practice tests. 38+ every time while their classmates averaged in the mid-20’s. Then when it came to writing practice, it was not unusual for them to produce essays that were not that much better than the norm.  Like this person, they were stuck at the 6.5 plateau.

I am of the mind that what a candidate needs to do to get past that barrier differs depending on where you are in the rest of your skills.  There’s loads of advice out there on the internet aimed at helping the average candidate who is around a 6 in each category write a Band 7 essay.

That’s not the same advice that a Band 9 reading/listening candidate should be following.

The former group needs to tighten up.  Using strict outlines and structures as well as utilizing certain connecting words and phrases at key points in the essay is the way to go for them.

The latter candidates, like this guy, need to loosen up. They need to let their natural English come out without worrying too much about structure.

He wrote a "Best Way" essay back in March. One of two essays he'd posted before his test. Neither of them were given feedback. Here's 22 minutes for him.

The Worst IELTS Advice on YouTube

It was just going to be a little project, but then Dimple drew me in.

The cat broke the video up into two natural parts...

How Many Types are There? Tips and Strategies: TO WHAT EXTENT AGREE/DISAGREE

NOT AN EASY TASK

 

This guy says there are only FOUR.
that's a low number.  From woxy.co

How many types of Task 2 questions are there?

Ask an IELTS expert how many different types of Task 2 writing questions there are and the answer would usually be 5 (Discuss Both Views; Agree/Disagree; Advantages/Disadvantages; Problems/Causes/Solutions; Two-Part Q's). If you ask an IELTS student who claims to be serious about study, and they cannot answer that question at all, then they have a serious lacking in their knowledge of the test.

You should not approach an agree/disagree question in the exact same way as you would a discuss both