1. IELTS WRITING WORKSHOP
General Training Task 1 & 2
By Emel Ortac

2. TASK 1
 For both GT and AC: 1/3 of total writing mark
 Min 150 words (no maximum)
 101-141 words = -1 TA
 51-100 words = -2 TA
 0-50 words = -3 TA
 Ideal time to spend: 20 minutes

3. GENERAL TRAINING
 Writing a letter of complaint or request (of
information), a formal business letter, a job
application letter, or a personal letter.
 Things to consider: audience, tone, formal/semi-
formal/informal language, structure.

4. WHILE TEACHING
 General Training candidates tend to have lower overall
scores on the placement test.
 They usually need between 4.5-6.5 for business and
immigration purposes.
 They usually work all week, so do not (or cannot) do
homework or study like they should.
 Homework should be given in small amounts so that it is
achievable.
 Try not to give them too many phrases or words.

5. MARKING CRITERIA
 Task Achievement (TA) (Different for GT and AC)
 Easier to raise in a short amount of time
 Coherence & Cohesion (CC)
 Easier to raise in a short amount of time
 Lexical Resource (LR)
 Takes more time to develop
 Grammatical Range & Accuracy (GRA)
 Takes more time to develop

6. BAND 5 VS 6: TASK ACHIEVEMENT
5 6

7. BAND 5 VS 6: COHERENCE & COHESION
5 6

8. BAND 5 VS 6: LEXICAL RESOURCE
5 6

9. BAND 5 VS 6: GRAMMATICAL RANGE & ACCURACY
Uses mostly simple
sentences, the density of
mistakes is high in complex
sentences/structures.
5 6

10. THINGS TO FOCUS ON
 Paying attention to the gives task(s)
You eat at your college cafeteria every lunchtime.
However, you think it needs some improvements.
Write a letter to the college magazine. In your letter:
- explain what you like about the cafeteria
- say what is wrong with it
- suggest how it could be improved
They have to
include three
points.
Paraphrase
the
problem/give
background
info.

11.  Planning/Brainstorming:
 make up a scenario for the letter
 think of details to include for the given tasks
 think of phrases and appropriate language
 if there is a problem, think of two solutions/ suggestions
THINGS TO FOCUS ON

12. WHILE TEACHING
 It is useful to make a double list of words for formal-
informal alternatives:
Example:

13. USEFUL PHRASES: STATING YOUR PURPOSE
 I am writing in regard/in reference to/in connection
with…
 I am writing to express my concern/ dissatisfaction
about…
 I would like to draw your attention to…
 I am writing about…

14. CLASS ACTIVITIES
A letter to a close relative with an
invitation to a surprise party.
What’s the purpose
of each of these
letters?
How will the tone differ
from letter to letter?

15. CLASS ACTIVITIES
Who am I writing to? (e.g.
friend, professor, company)
Overall purpose
Important points to include
Tone
 informal / neutral / formal?
Useful phrases
Topic specific vocabulary
Checking
Have I checked my writing for:
 logical structure?
 suitable paragraphing?
 accuracy of language?
 range of language?
 spelling?
 punctuation?

16. WHILE TEACHING
 Encourage students to write weekly (this means the
teacher(s) have a constant flow of homework to
check, so make sure STs limit it to 1 or 2 things per
week!)
 Tell STs to look at samples (model answers) to see
what they can use in their own writing.
www.ielts-exam.net
www.ielts-blog.com

17. CLASS ACTIVITIES
“Softening the Message” pairwork activity:
Make the sentences below softer and more polite. Try these techniques:
•a question instead of a statement (Might it be a good idea to...?)
•indirect questions (I wonder if you could...?)
•giving an explanation (When you play music at night, we can’t sleep.)
1. Send me a brochure.
2. I want a ticket for tonight’s show.
3. I think you should employ more staff.
4. You should give up smoking.
5. In my opinion you should improve your service.
6. I want to get a place at your school.

18. RELAX

19. TASK 2
 2/3 of total writing mark
 Min 250 words (no maximum)
 151-241 words = -1 TA
 150-101 words = -2 TA
 100-0 words = -3 TA
 Ideal amount of time: 40 minutes

20. TARGET WRITING SKILLS
 Expressing and justifying a point of view on a topic.
 Comparing and contrasting opinions drawing on
personal experience.
 Evaluating a situation or development.
 Considering the causes of a problem and suggest
possible solutions.
Takenfrom:IELTSPracticeTestsPlus3

21. POSSIBLE TOPICS
the environment
education
crime
poverty
healthcare
the internet
the media
advertising
society

22. THE 7 TYPES OF ESSAYS
 Problem-Solution
 “Why is this so? What can can be done to…?”
 Agree-Disagree
 “To what extent do you…?”
 Discuss two views + your opinion
 Discuss two views (pro + con)
 Two-part questions
 Opinion
 Advantages outweigh disadvantages
Takenfrom:http://yourieltstutor.com/

23. CLASS ACTIVITIES
Approaching the question:
General topic:
More specific topic:
Essay instruction:
In some cultures the parents arrange marriages for their
children but in others people choose their own marriage
partner.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of each
system?

24. EXAMPLES
Takenfrom:OfficialIELTSPracticeMaterial,2009

25. EXAMPLES
Takenfrom:OfficialIELTSPracticeMaterial,2009

26. EXAMPLES
Takenfrom:OfficialIELTSPracticeMaterial,2009

27. THINGS TO CONSIDER
 The more ideas you generate, the less you repeat
yourself!
 Brainstorming: 5-10 minutes
 Brainstorm for both sides.
 Your essay must include:
 opinions with reasons
 real examples to prove your point
 linking expressions to help the reader understand where essay
is going in
 paragraphs

28. FOR LOWER LEVELS
 Have them memorize 4-5 useful discourse markers.
 Think simple, but take calculated risks.
 Find a style you are comfortable with.
 Try to vary your phrases and grammar.
 Concentrate on improving your coherence & cohesion
and task response grades (it is easier than trying to
improve your grammar and vocabulary when you have
only a short amount of time).

29. WHILE TEACHING
 Explain what a paragraph is and why we need
them.
 Paragraphs help organise our ideas.
 Each paragraph has a main or central idea/topic.
 Each idea/topic is supported, this is why we have
examples.
 A well written body paragraph should have:
 A main idea that connects everything to it
 Supporting ideas/examples
 A link to or clue about the next paragraph

30. DISCOURSE MARKERS (A.K.A. SIGNPOST WORDS)
 Less is more.
 Be careful of appropriacy and nuance in meanings
 Ex: “In conclusion,…” vs. “Consequently,…”
 Avoid LONG phrases.
 Ex: “In the light of the reasons mentioned above…”
 In the Band Score Descriptors: “memorized phrases”
are penalized under Lexical Resource.

31. CLASS ACTIVITIES
Mini-Essays
Some people think making a mistake in English isn’t important while
you’re communicating.
It’s true to say that ______________________________________________.
However,
_______________________________________________________.
On balance I would say __________________________________________.

32. IDEAS FOR WRITING INTRODUCTIONS
 Narrative Approach
 Shocking Statement Approach
 General Statement Approach
 Dramatic Figures Approach
 Quote, proverb or saying
 Asking a question that leads to the thesis statement
Takenfrom:TheOfficialGuidetotheNewTOEFL-iBT

33. CONCLUSION
 Paraphrased ideas from introduction or body
paragraphs.
 Should not introduce a new idea.
 Should not include (open-ended) questions.

34. CHECKLIST
(2-3 MINUTES)
 TR (Did I answer the question/s?)
 CC (Am I on topic? Is there repetition?)
 GRA/LR (sub-verb agreement, parallelism, articles,
prepositions, tenses, spelling)
 Punctuation (contractions, commas…)
 Word count!!

35. LINKS
 www.dcielts.com/
 www.ielts-exam.net
 www.ielts-blog.com