Helpful ielts 10 pot

101 Helpful Hints for IELTS

UNDERSTAND THE QUESTION TASK

It is important to fully understand the task you must perform in the IELTS Writing Test. The Golden

Rule is that you must be sure of the type of answer you are required to give to the examiners, and

what you must do with that information to give the answer accurately. (See IELTS Test - Basic Hint 7.)

You will probably receive a lower Writing Test Band Score if you fail to ...

... write what you are required to write, and with at least the minimum number of

words requested per task. You may be asked to write an essay, report, or description

etc. There is no maximum word limit, but there is a limit to the amount of space in which

to write your answers.

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Quick Punctuation Guide

1. Use full-stops only at the end of a

sentence. Begin sentences with a

capital letter. Proper nouns also

require capital letters.

2. Use commas to separate parts of a

sentence to avoid any confusion with

meaning. Additional information is

enclosed within commas.

A comma is used after most

connectives (linking words), and

usually before and after a connective

in mid-sentence. Commas separate

clauses in most conditional sentences.

3. Semi-colons are used to separate sub￾groups within lists, but more often to

join two independent clauses that are

grammatically complete but closely

related. However, in the latter case,

you can always use a full-stop instead.

4. You may use a colon if you need to

draw attention to what is to follow.

5. Use quotation marks for quotes and

titles. Apostrophes show possession

or contraction.

6. Do not use contractions in formal

writing. Use the full form instead.

7. Do not use exclamation marks in

the IELTS Writing Test, and avoid

asking questions.

8. Brackets are useful, especially for

quoting statistics in Writing Task 1,

but do not overuse.

e.g. the Eiffel Tower

the University of North London

e.g. The pollution of rivers, which is

often caused by chemical waste and

fertiliser, is causing enormous

problems for fishermen, especially

in Britain.

(The comma after 'fishermen'

ensures that 'especially' connects

with 'Britain' not 'fishermen'.)

e.g. Therefore, the use of chemicals on

farms should be better controlled.

However, even if such laws were

passed tomorrow, most rivers would

take years to recover.

e.g. Chemical waste from factories is

still drained into river systems; it is

hard to believe that this practice is

still allowed by law in some areas.

e.g. The environment is important for

the following reasons:

e.g. The Daily Express

farmers' profits

there's

e.g. don't, shouldn't, can't, it's

etc.

e.g. the total number of cars (10)