For
those of you who don’t know, the IELTS (the International
English Language Testing System) provides an assessment of whether
candidates are ready to study or train through the medium of English.
It is recognised by higher and further education institutions as
fulfilling English language entrance requirements and by professional
bodies such as the General Medical Council. It is readily available
in 251 approved test centres in 105 countries around the world who
arrange tests according to demand.
For
the academic module, there are two writing tasks, as I’m sure you
know, Kathy. In Task 1 you need to write a minimum of 150 words
in about 20 minutes and in Task 2 a minimum of 250 words in about
40 minutes.
In Task 1 you are asked to look at a diagram or table or bar chart
and then to organise and present the data in your own words in the
form of a general report suitable for a university lecturer or tutor.
Scripts are assessed on the criteria of:
task fulfilment
coherence and cohesion
vocabulary and sentence structure.
So
that you satisfy the task fulfilment requirements, it is a good
idea to spend a minute or two at the beginning, making sure that
you understand the information given and can represent it accurately
in your answer. Remember all that your are doing is transferring
tabulated information to a continuous discourse medium. You are
not required to comment on it.
It
is also a good idea at the beginning to take a little time to think
about how you will organise the information in your response so
that it has appropriate coherence and paragraphing. Make sure you
know how to use cohesive devices like ‘firstly’, ‘secondly’ etc,
so that your text hangs together both within and between sentences.
And
finally, in your reply to this question, try to use an appropriate
range of vocabulary and sentence structures, as suggested by the
question itself. The focus should be on appropriacy rather than
breadth of expression.
In
Task 2, you are presented with a point of view or argument or problem
and you are assessed on your ability to find a solution, justify
an opinion and compare and contrast evidence. Thus, you will need
to formulate and develop an argument and to show a degree of personal
response. Let’s look at a sample question which appears in the IELTS
April 2000 Handbook:
Present
a written argument or case to an educated reader with no Specialist
knowledge of the following topic:
'It is inevitable that as technology develops, traditional
cultures must be lost. Technology and tradition are incompatible
– you cannot have both together.'
To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?
Should
you choose to agree with this proposition, your opening paragraph
might read as follows:
'Technology
has developed rapidly over the past fifty years and technological
developments are accelerating at an even faster rate now. I
think it is the case that with these developments traditional
culture has to a large extent disappeared. Take my own country
for example.'
That
is already forty-four words. All you then need to do over perhaps
three or four paragraphs is to present, say, three instances of
disappearance of traditional culture relating to, e.g. dress, food
and customs and then perhaps cite one example of traditional culture
that has been maintained to justify your ‘to a large extent’ claim
in the opening paragraph.
You
are ready then to introduce a final paragraph which summarises your
viewpoint:
In
conclusion, it seems fairly clear that in the culture that I
grew up in only those traditions with the strongest roots in
people’s beliefs and values are likely to survive the unrelenting
progress of technological advance.
Give
it your best shot, Kathy! And to all of you taking IELTS over the
coming months, think clearly and organise your thoughts well as
far as the writing is concerned. Then utilise the best linguistic
resources that you possess.
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on the following link for further information on IELTS
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