Writing Effective Conclusion

Although it comes at last, it is not the least important. Conclusion of the essay is as important as is the introduction of the essay. But then, what are the things that need to be included in the conclusion and what are the ones that need to be avoided i.e. how can one write an effective conclusion.

The best part of the conclusion is that there is nothing you need to create anymore. You are required to use the same ideas and give a strong ending to your essay. Well, there are many things you can consider while writing the conclusion of the essay but following are few tips that you need to follow very strongly –

  1. Don’t add any new ideas- Conclusion simply restates the ideas that have already been used in the body paragraphs. Any new concept or idea must not be written here.
  2. Your opinion matters – This is the part of the essay in which you need to write the statement that clearly answers the question. You need to write what is your opinion about the question and make sure it is clearly stated.
  3. Language must be varied – Paraphrasing is the key. Remember, just because you are restating what has been already talked about, does not mean that you have to re write it yet again in the same language. You might lose marks if you attempt to do so.
  4. Conclusion is the end – You have already stated what you wanted to in the body paragraphs. You are not required to state every fact again. Rather, bring out only the main key points.
  5. Two is not the key –When it comes to conclusion, it is very important that you write only one. Writing more than one, might lead you to lose some marks.

Some of the linking words you can use to start your conclusion are –

  • In conclusion
  • To conclude
  • Overall

You can even add a recommendation or a future possibility, but make sure that you do it if you have time left.

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Plan Your Essay

A plan can take you miles. This is often a saying, regarded as the perfect quote for life. But, it is also the correct saying, if you want to get high marks in the writing section of IELTS. The reason most people face problems in essays, is because they start writing as soon they read the question. And that is the main issue with it. Until and unless each and every sentence has a purpose, chances are that you will end up writing either gibberish or something that an examiner does not expects out of you.

But then, most of you would argue that you get only 40 minutes to write an essay, what must you do then?? Well, plan. It is only way out and trust me, the time spent on planning is worth it. Just imagine, you start writing an essay without a plan. Half way through it you realise that you have written something wrong, what next will you do?? Obviously delete. So, yet again, the time gets wasted because you did not plan.

There are four things that you need to consider while writing an essay –

  1. Question
  2. Idea
  3. Structure
  4. Vocabulary

QUESTION – The question is the most important part of the writing task. You are marked on every aspect of the question. So, if you don’t answer a particular part of the question, you certainly will lose marks. Or if, you answer a part of the question wrongly, you be sure of losing marks.

For instance-

Some people think that it should be compulsory for people to retake their driving test after every five years.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of doing this?

So, now while answering this question, you need to bring out the advantage and disadvantage of giving driving test every five years. If you just write the advantages or the disadvantages and not the both, you will surely lose marks.

IDEA – Most of us think that the only way of getting great ideas is by brainstorming ourselves. But the fact is that although, you might get lot of ideas, but mostly they are not the ones that are required. So, instead of brainstorming yourself, ask the following questions –

What are the advantages of learning driving every five years?

What are the disadvantages of learning driving every five years?

It is okay if you have only two solid ideas for each of the question. Remember, it does not matter how many ideas you put in, but how well you explain what you have figured out.

STRUCTURE – Structure plays a very important role in IELTS. You may have a good idea, a great vocabulary but if you fall in structure, you are more likely to lose marks!! Given below is a structure that you may follow in the writing task of IELTS –

Paragraph 1- Introduction

Sentence 1- Paraphrase Sentence

Sentence 2- Thesis Statement

Sentence 3- Outline Statement

Paragraph 2- Advantages

Sentence 4- Topic Sentence

Sentence 5- Explanation

Sentence 6- Example

Paragraph 3- Disadvantages

Sentence 7- Topic Sentence

Sentence 8- Explanation

Sentence 9- Example

Paragraph 4- Conclusion

Sentence 1- Summary of main points

VOCABULARY

I don’t think I need to rewrite the importance of vocabulary in IELTS. The only thing that need reconsideration is that, make sure that while using high end vocabulary words you use them correctly. Often a word has more than one meaning, and you must make sure that you are using the word in the right context.

So, go on and use the following tips and make sure that now on, when you write essays you follow these tips. Remember, you are going to write the final essay the way you practice your mock test essays. Try to bridge the gap between your exam and preparation.

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Number Of Catholics # Graph For IELTS

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The graph below gives information about the number of Catholics residing in different nations, during 2010-2013.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

Write at least 150 words.

Number Of Catholics

Number Of Catholics

SAMPLE ANSWER

The graph compares the number of Catholics living in six different countries of the world; China, India, Philippines, Vietnam, Korea and Japan, during a span of three years, i.e. from 2010 to 2013.

Over the entire period of time, most of the Catholics preferred to reside in Philippines, while Japan had the least number of Catholics. The countries to the left of Philippines, in the graph, showed a considerable figure of Catholics, however, the ones to the right of Philippines marked a glooming picture of numbers of Catholics residing.

Philippines had the majority of Catholics, with over 70 million of them living there during 2010. However, this figure showed a slight dip by 2013, yet making it the country with maximum of Catholics. On the other hand, Japan showed an upward trend. The population of Catholics in Japan increased approximately 100 thousand.

Catholics finding livelihood in China and India went up during the period of 2010 to 2013 with India making a higher rise of 90 million as compared to 60 million in China. The situation remained almost steady in Vietnam, with only a slight increase but a slump was observed in Korea.

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How Many Words ?

The most confusing part of IELTS writing task, be it writing task 1 or writing task 2, is how many words do you need to write? Although, it is clearly written at least 150 words and at least 250 words, the most important confusion is whether you need to write exact number of words or more or is it okay to write few words less than the given word limit. You must have heard the following two things from people –

  1. You need not to write 250 or 150 words. Even if you write 10 words below the given word limit, it is perfectly fine and you will not lose marks.
  2. You must write, whatever you feel like. No body cares about the word limit, you must write, that much which will fetch you more marks.

WHAT IF YOU WRITE BELOW THE WORD LIMIT?

Well, you must be wondering, what if you wrote, 149 or 249 words in the  two writing tasks?? Nothing much you will lose marks. The question clearly states that you must write at least 150/250 words . This means that you have to write these many words, and then you can even exceed. Remember, the examiners are very particular about the word limit and they actually go on to count them, so make sure you write minimum of 150/250 words, failing to which, will make you lose marks.

SO, DOES THAT MEAN YOU NEED TO WRITE MORE WORDS?

Well, writing more words, could land you in trouble if you write a lot.

  1. There is a time limit for both the tasks. If you put a lot of time on one task, you are sacrificing on the other task. Remember, just because you wrote more on one task than was required, does not mean you will get marks for the next task.
  2. Grammar mistakes become more evident if you write more than the word limit. Just imagine, if you keep on writing, it becomes very easy for you to make grammar errors, and this will bring down the overall marking.
  3. It is not only about writing, but also about planning and rechecking. Even more, you are marked on the basis of your quality and not on quantity. Make sure, you write well and check well.

 

THEN, HOW MANY WORDS SHOULD YOU WRITE?

Make sure you write, 10% above than the prescribed word limit. This means, you need to aim for writing 160-170 in the writing task 1 and 260-270 words in the writing task 2. But then, does it mean you need to actually go about and counting the words during the exam!! Well, no. There is a better way. Go on and download the official sheets of the IELTS and practice writing on them. After some time, you will be familiar with the answer sheet, making it easier for you to write during exams.

ARE ALL THE WORDS SAME?

Well, No. Hyphenated words such as First-class are counted as one word. Even more, the contraction words such as I’ll are counted as one word.

Remember, you cannot copy words from the question.

Learn the art of PARAPHRASING and score high.

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