One of the main reasons why IELTS students lose marks for task response is they present main ideas but they don’t support, extend or develop them.
In this blog post we’ll look at why this is so important. Take a look at some of my sample answers to learn more about this.
A lot of my students have good main ideas but the supporting ideas – the explanation, and examples don’t always support the main idea clearly.
As you can see from the table below, if your supporting ideas are missing or aren’t relevant then your Task Achievement score will drop – possibly to a 5!
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Dave
Band Score |
Official IELTS description(Task Achievement) |
What it means. |
8 |
Presents a well-developed response to the question with relevant, extended and supported ideas. |
Main ideas are supported and extended very well.Supporting ideas are relevant. |
7 |
Presents, extends and supports main ideas, but there may be a tendency to overgeneralise and/or supporting ideas may lack focus. |
Main ideas are supported and extended well.Supporting ideas may be too general or not totally relevant. |
6 |
Presents relevant main ideas but some may be inadequately developed/unclear. |
Main ideas are sometimes not supported and extended clearly. |
5 |
Presents some main ideas but these are limited and not sufficiently developed; there may be irrelevant detail. |
Main ideas are sometimes not supported at all.Some information may not be relevant to the question. |
How much support do I need to provide?
As you can see in the table below, each body paragraph should clearly focus on your one ‘central topic’, with all the supporting ideas logically organised around that.
If you include an idea that isn’t related to the main topic of your paragraph, then this will lower your coherence and cohesion score.
Also, if your supporting ideas within a paragraph are not logically ordered, then your coherence and cohesion score will suffer because of it.
Band Score |
Official IELTS description(Coherence and Cohesion) |
What it means. |
7+ |
“logically organises information and ideas…presents a clear central topic within each paragraph.” |
Body paragraphs have one main idea.Topic sentences are clear. |
6 |
“arranges information and ideas coherently…uses paragraphing, but not always logically.” |
Body paragraphs don’t always have one main idea.Topic sentences are not always clear. |
5 |
“presents information with some organisation…may not write in paragraphs, or paragraphing may be inadequate.” |
Paragraphs are not used well.Topic sentences are not clear. |
Hi, Dave, if candidates are asked to write more than one idea, like causes or advantages, and they only write one thing about the topic, will they lose the score?
I think that to be safe you should try to include a couple – a very picky examiner could mark you down for that!
this response is a little confusing. In your response about, obesity. you typed ” one of the main causes of obesity and poor health is unhealthy foods. ” YOU ONLY LISTED ONE CAUSE…. how to dyou handle that.? it really confuses me when they ask for ONE MAIN IDEA PER PARAGRAPH AND END UP….asking for causes or advantages
please give a sample on how to answer such questions, without affecting TA or CC.
Great question, Joey.
There are some exceptions to one idea per paragraph.
When it asks for causeS, solutionS, advantageS, disadvantageS – those are plural so to be safe you should include 2 in the paragraph.
It would probably be fine if you had one, but a picky examiner might mark your TA score down a lot!
My solution for that is usually to have one general main idea (such as they relate to unhealth foods) and then develop a couple of different ideas about that one main idea.
You can also include 2 completly separate ideas and just try to develop both as fully as possible.
Is that clear, Joey?
thank you very much. please check these out….
lifestyle choises —-i subdivided that into food and exercise.
main idea: one of the main causes of obesity is poor lifestyle choices.
General example: of the many pervasive lifestyle habits, junk food consumption and lack of exercise are becoming increasingly common.
explanation 1: long work hours often deprive even the most health conscious individuals, the much needed time to prepare healthy home made meals, and stay fit either by running or swimming.
explanation 2: This endless routine of consuming fast foods that are mostly non-nutritious, coupled with a largely sedentary generation is very injurious to health
Result: Overtime, the resultant effect is the accumulation of dietary toxins and unsaturated fats that leads to obesity and other heart morbidities.
specific examples: good examples include wall street traders who work insanely long hours, get caffeinated, live on meals from fast food restaurant.
Great Joey, that’s exactly what I would recommend for high-level, confident students!
For students who aren’t as confident, it tends to be easier to just have two clearly different main ideas.
Keep up the hard work!
Can you please help use linking words for the whole essay. I’m trying to improve on my linking devices. My exam in on the 13th and i need a minimum of 7.
How’s my vocabulary and grammar?
If you look closely at the band descriptors Joey, you’ll notice that the higher band scores for CC don’t ask for cohesive devices, but just cohesion that doesn’t attract attention.
Higher level writing uses few/no obvious linking devices.
If you want detailed feedback on your writing: Patreon.com/howtodoielts
I think – if I am wrong, please monsieur Dave, raise your voice- that if you agree that advantages ( or vice versa) outweigh the opposite, you should write one negative point, for instance, by starting your paragraph stating: The only benefit of watching Netflix for hours on end is shutting your annoying inner voice up for a while. In your 2nd paragraph, that one that you support, you write: Conversely, being exposure too much time to a TV screen is both counterproductive for your eyes’ health and a waste of precious time.
Am I correct? This a self-reflection after reading your tips.
Thanks!
Yes that is perfect – exactly how I would put it! Clear, clever main ideas too!
Hi dave
You repeated COHERENCE in these two paragraphs in above article:
“If you include an idea that isn’t related to the main topic of your paragraph, then this will lower your coherence and coherence score.”
“Also, if your supporting ideas within a paragraph are not logically ordered, then your coherence and coherence score will suffer because of it. “
Haha, thanks so much for pointing that out – I will correct it now!
For example in the task “the causes of obesity” i have two main ideas.
1. Lack of exercise
2. Poor diet
You said for gainig more score i have to write down only one of these ideas?
Another question:
So i have,for instance, two reasons for lack of exercise ( high gym fees and long work hours) can i mention these two as supporting sentences?
It is a tricky area because one examiner could mark you down for not full developing your ideas and another could mark you down for only have one cause (if the questions asks for ’causes’).
In that case, I recommend including both main ideas in the paragraph and trying to develop them as fully as possible.
Yes, those supporting ideas are good and exactly what you should be writing about after your main idea!