11 Tips for Band 8 in IELTS Writing

Tip 1- Don’t procrastinate!

Huda knew that the writing test is the most difficult component of the IELTS test. She had to force herself to start studying the writing. She recommends that you “Start now!”

Tip 2- Take a writing course

Huda said that taking an online course helped her to understand the fundamentals of IELTS writing. For example, the different essay structures.

Tip 3- Get your essays evaluated

Through having her essays evaluated, Huda was able to work on her weaknesses. She started to focus on hedging, developing her ideas and writing a clear position throughout her essay. In total, I evaluated 8 of her essays and she was able to go from 6.5 in her first essay to band 7.5/8 in her last practice essay. In her real IELTS test, she got band 8! 

Tip 4- Read model answers 

Huda read model essays and looked at the way the essays were structured and the vocabulary that they used. 

Tip 5- Research IELTS topics

Huda used procon.org to research topics that could appear in her exam. She would also copy and paste the essay question into Google before she started writing her practice essays.  

Tip 6- In your real IELTS test…

Read task 2 first (this will help you to begin to subconsciously think of ideas), but start writing task 1 first. Huda gave herself 20 minutes for task 1 and 35 minutes for task 2. She allowed 5 minutes at the end to read over her writing and check for missing commas or spelling mistakes. 

Tip 7- Use high-quality IELTS essay questions

Huda got her IELTS questions from the official Cambridge practice tests. She read the examiner’s comments at the end of the book to understand how examiners think and evaluate the essays. 

Tip 8- Evaluate your essays

Huda learned to think like an examiner by reading the examiner comments at the end of the Cambridge IELTS books and also evaluated her essay using the public band descriptors. 

Tip 9- Write a lot of practice essays

Huda wrote more than 20 essays. She would write one essay per day. Huda recommends writing your essays on the sample answer sheet so that you can learn when you have written over 250 words.  

Tip 10- Do your best to stay relaxed during your real test

Find ways to relax yourself. Some people relax by breathing calmly; others remind themselves that it is just a test and they can do it again. 

Tip 11- Surround yourself with supportive people

Huda was supported by her family. They helped her to stay positive and confident before the test.