The Circle of IELTS - So long, Ali!

(why the guy fowkes mask?)

I feel a bit anxious today, as well as fortunate. One of "my students" is taking his IELTS exam here on 4 January (sometimes that means all 4 parts, but usually speaking is done separately). It was just by coincidence and his diligence in putting his essays where I will see them, but I ended up reviewing 3 or 4 of his Task 2 essays. Consequently, I feel like I have some stake in his

Four of the most common problems you're facing in your writing can be fixed.

This recent review garnered a lot of attention because the essayist exhibited symptoms of all of the most common weaknesses IELTS writers face on the whole. I put those in the thumbnail. 

Southeast Asians Can Suffer from Synonymania Too!

Synonymania : A vocabulary condition that strikes many IELTS candidates. 

Symptoms: In the writing task, the victim will consistently try to use less common words over everyday

Apples are Red. Similarly, Spaghetti is Pasta.

Wait? What?

In the last blog, we looked at a candidate who was right on the verge of being where he needed to be, but carelessness like using "for example" with unrelated examples was still plaguing him. He gets yet another look in this video.

A Great Example of an Unrelated Example

This response to an essay posted on IELTS Tips and Tricks here on Facebook is a classic example of some of those last hurdles students need to get over to get a high overall band score.

Be careful with mixing in hedging (which is generally a good thing to do) alongside very strong declarative statements.  See this essay's introduction as an example. 

The Gold Medal IELTS Final

In the final of our contest matching Team Myanmar versus Team World,  our two candidates answer this question:

In some countries, young people are encouraged to work or travel for a year between finishing high school and starting university studies. Do the advantages of this practice outweigh the disadvantages for young people who decide to do this? Give reasons for your answers and include any relevant examples from your own experience or knowledge. 250 words+

After Receiving My Feedback, the Candidate gets Worse

Another of Ali's essays was reviewed just a few days before this, and I was interested to see if he had made any improvement.   

I later learned he'd written this one several weeks before the posting. 

Again: Every Word Matters

Another essay from Brazil, and like the previous Brazilian from earlier this month, the biggest issue is not analyzing the quesiton thoroughly. What does she miss?

Music Bringing People Together: Positions Presented but Inadequately Supported

I love questions about music. What keeps the essay at below a 7?

Don't Jump Directly to Your Example, particularly when it is Jason Statham

Many candidates find great relief in learning that they are actually advised by some to support their positions with made-up fake examples. They are so eager to get to that part of their paragraph were they can feel comfortable in just making up whatever they want that they jump there after their topic sentence.

Um.. No.