Appendix B Detailed example of a three month study plan tailored to a

student weak in only IELTS Writing

If engaged actively, the following approach would likely improve a students IELTS Writing score by at least half a
band:
Weeks 1 2
-Watch all of the videos in my playlist on Task 1 and 2 structure and write several Task 1 and 2 responses on your
own time using the questions provided in the writing examples on this site. Compare your responses to my example
responses and note differences in lexical resource, example usage, grammatical structures and cohesive phrases.
Commit correct usage of these elements to memory and actively try to reproduce them in your own writing. Consider
committing entire model band 9 essays to memory and producing/adapting their linguistic elements to your own
writing.
-Post a writing example to ieltsnetwork.com to feedback from other IELTS enthusiasts. (I provide feedback there from
time to time, too.)
-Do not concern yourself with training to write under IELTS time constraint yet. At this point, focus entirely on
improving the quality of your writing.
Weeks 3-4
-Establish a habit of writing at least one complete Task 1 or 2 response every day under exam-like conditions.
-Watch my videos on analyzing IELTS writing questions and the Task 1 and 2 writing process. Try to include the
phrasing you see in your own writing.
-Watch my videos on building lexical and grammatical skills and enhancing coherence. Regularly review
your personal dictionary of words, phrases and cohesive devices and actively push yourself to use these resources in
your writing.
Weeks 5-6
-Continue with your daily writing routine. At this point, your confidence should be increasing and you should see
significant improvement in your writing when compared to the month prior.
-Have an IELTS Writing coach (either me or someone else you know to be versed in the exam) gauge your writing
performance. In addition to commenting on overall structure, cohesiveness and lexical resource, be sure this person

does a thorough grammatical cleanup of your writing. When you receive this information, pay very close attention to
the mistakes you have made. Note exactly what your weaknesses are (awkwardness? plurals? articles? parallelism?
fitting examples? ). Actively work to stop making these mistakes in your practice essays.
Weeks 7-8
-Maintain your daily writing routine and continue to experiment with new wording structures and vocabulary.
-At this time, you should start being strict with yourself about timing. Do not allow more than 18 minutes to perform
Task 1 and 36 minutes to perform Task 2 (the remaining minutes in each allotted to review).
-Have your writing periodically evaluated by an IELTS Writing coach to ensure you are on the right track.
Weeks 9-10
-Maintain your daily writing routine. You should now be concluding what writing structures you feel confident using.
Experimentation is still encouraged at this point, but you should definitely start to narrow what writing patterns you
can exercise with grammatical accuracy.
-With your IELTS coach, start to form a strategy for the exam. Your goal is to score well in all four breadths of the
writing mark (Task Achievement, Coherence and Cohesion, Lexical Resources and Grammar). Much of your
performance in these four areas hinges on grammar, so be sure to choose a writing strategy that plays to this, even if
this means cutting back the length of your sentences. An essay that employs short sentences but is grammatically
accurate and completely coherent will score better than an essay employing incoherent and grammatically inaccurate
complex sentences.
Weeks 11-12
-These final two weeks are all about polishing your exam strategy. You should no longer be experimenting with new
writing forms. Instead, work to fortify the skills you have practiced over the past 2.5 months.
-Pinpoint your exact weaknesses (elicit the help of your IELTS coach) and aim to write in a manner that minimizes
exposure to these areas. You want to present your best face to your examiner. The ultimate goal here is to maximize
your score.
In the days before the exam
-In the few days before the exam, you should have a well prepared strategy regarding how you are going to tackle
Tasks 1 and 2. Practice only this strategy during this period. Do not experiment with new writing forms (your

experimentation period is over). NEVER attempt new writing patterns on your exam. Remember Sun Tzus advice:
Every battle is won before it is ever fought.
-The night before your exam should be a relaxing one. Reflect on the progress youve made and remind yourself of
how confident this makes you feel.
On exam day
Go and kill your IELTS! (And two weeks later send me a nice email describing your beautiful band score.)