So many students lose a lot of marks because they don’t know or forget to do the basic things that examiners want to see in your writing for a band 7 or even 6.

In this article, I’m going to share with you a tip that can help you remember easily, and therefore save you a whole band score.

You can see how it works out in all my sample answers here.

The Basics for a Band 7 

According to examiners I know, so many students lose marks for their Task Achievement and Coherence and Cohesion because they don’t do the basic things that are needed for a band 6 or 7. This includes things like:

clear introduction

clear conclusion

clear overall opinion

main ideas supported well

one main idea per body paragraph.

Don’t know how? Let us help

If you’re not sure how to write a band 7+ introduction or conclusion, please check out the other blog posts in our Task 2 Writing section.

Once you know clearly what you need to do to make the examiner super happy, then of course the next step is to spend weeks, even months practising so you can do it for any topic or question type.

Don’t forget in your exam!

But then, there is one last challenge – remembering to do it in the exam.

I’m not exaggerating when I say that based on the examiners I talk to, more than half of IELTS students fail to do these basic things in the exam.

So why do many students fall at this hurdle? Is it a lack of practice or could it be nerves?

Whatever the reason, all of that study and practice will go to waste if you don’t remember to do it in the exam.

Write a Mini Checklist!

The solution is to write a quick checklist to remind you of all this basic stuff. So as soon as you open your question paper, quickly write down the following notes:

POS 242 OWE

And this is code for…

Your introduction – POS: 

Paraphrase the question, give your opinion, and then signpost to the examiner what you will do in the essay.

Your Body paragraphs – 242: 

2 main ideas for 2 body paragraphs – one main idea per body paragraph, supported with relevant explanation and examples.

Your conclusion – OWE:

Restate your opinion, say why Reasons, then finish with a related extra thought or idea.

Customise it!

You could add to it or even come up with your own version.

Whatever you do, just make sure you find a way of remembering to do the basic things that will help you to get a band 7 for your Task Achievement and Coherence and Cohesion.

Now it’s Your Turn! Comment below!

Which of these basic things do you forget to do?

Try this out and comment below how it went.

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