Creating A Positive Impression Lesson 4

IELTSBlog.
com presents:

How to get a higher IELTS score
by building a positive image in the examiner’s mind

This series of lessons was prepared by Donna Millen especially for the readers of
IELTS‐Blog.com. The lessons are brilliant and will do amazing things for your IELTS
score if you study and implement them.

You will learn:

Lesson #1: How to create a positive, psychological impression on your
IELTS assessors.

Lesson #2: How to write a Task 1 report that will impress your assessors
(Academic Module).

Lesson #3: How to write a Task 1 letter that will impress your assessors
(General Training Module)

Lesson #4: How to write a Task 2 essay that will influence your assessors
positively (Academic and General).

Lesson #5: How to improve your Speaking test score by
connecting with your assessor.

Lesson #6: How to optimize your performance in the Listening and Reading
tests.

Donna Millen, co‐author of the Centre for English Language in the University of
South Australia’s IELTS on Track series of books (ieltsontrack.com) talks about
what may create a positive psychological impression on assessors who may be
scoring the Writing and Speaking (interview) components of your IELTS test.

Page 1

© Donna Millen (content) ● Web: http://www.ieltsontrack.com
Design & layout by IELTS‐Blog.com ● Web: http://www.ielts‐blog.com

Lesson #4: How to write a Task 2 essay that will influence
your assessors positively (Academic and General)

Before beginning Lesson #4, here is a short summary of what we learned last week.

Summary of Lesson #3.

In the IELTS Writing Task 1 General Training letter it is important to:

• read the letter‐writing task and the 3 required parts of the letter clearly
• make sure you establish a clear purpose for your letter
• write the letter realistically and ‘in good faith’ as if you are really in the situation
• write about the same amount of information for each of the three parts

You can create a good impression on the assessor by:

• using actual situations from your own life if they are relevant in order to make the
letter seem more real
• use the appropriate level of formality (informal, or formal) consistently in your
letter’s language to reflect the relationship between letter writer and letter
receiver.
• manage the variation of verb use as accurately as you can
• try not to be too repetitive; use range of vocabulary to add colour and ‘personality’
to your letter
• use appropriate beginnings and endings for the type of letter and the receiver of it
• set out and space the parts of your letter neatly and clearly in paragraphs for
careful presentation

Now let’s move on to Lesson #4.

Page 2


Creating a good impression in your WRITING – ACADEMIC
and GENERAL TRAINING Writing task 2

The second task involves writing about a social issue. Again, you should try to see yourself
in your ‘professional persona’ as offering a formal and reasoned viewpoint on the issue for
presentation to a colleague. Try not to see yourself as just a person who is having to take a
difficult test.

3 Steps when planning your writing

1. Study the words in the IELTS Writing Task 2

The same issues apply to Task 2 as to Task 1. You need to read the task carefully and make
sure you know what the topic is and what precise aspect of the topic you have to give your
view on. This will help your answer to be relevant.

EXAMPLE

Imagine this is an IELTS Task 2 question:

‘Many people keep pets in small apartments. To what extent do you consider that this is
cruel?’

The topic is keeping pets. To stay relevant, you would need to focus your discussion of
pets on:

• types of pet (The expression ‘pets’ covers many types of living creature, so you shouldn’t
over‐generalise) and,
• where the pets are kept (specifically in this essay, in small apartments)

• how cruel this is and why (You need to offer a clear, precise point of view)

How can I decide on a clear point of view?

Imagine a line with ‘It’s cruel’ __________at one end, and________ ‘It’s not cruel’ at the other
end.
Where on the line would you stand to show your point of view and why?

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2. Decide upon a clear and precise point of view

This can be achieved by offering enough detail to explain why you have that opinion.

In the Task 2 essay, having a clear and precise point of view on the task topic enables
the assessor to feel more connected to the strength of your writing ‘voice’.

EXAMPLE

Let’s use the same Task 2 example about keeping pets:

a) An unclear and not very precise point of view might be:
‘It is sometimes cruel to keep pets in apartments but sometimes it is not cruel’.

This point of view sounds as though the writer doesn’t clearly know what their
point of view is about cruelty, and so it is less convincing, less powerful.

b) A clear and more precise point of view might be:
‘It is cruel to keep pets in small apartments if the pets are large and need more space,
more attention or a different environment in order to be happy and healthy’

This point of view gives a more precise point of view because it gives the precise
conditions in which the writer thinks it is cruel (that is, the writer says it is cruel, if
pets are large and if they can’t be healthy and happy in small apartments)

A clear and precise point of view gives additional direction to your essay’s
introduction as you will be developing the supporting reasons for that point of view
in the other paragraphs. It tells the assessor more. and so it gives the assessor a
more detailed impression of you and of what the essay might contain.

Page 4


3. Make a quick plan of the paragraphs you will write and the topic of
each paragraph.

Remember that the first sentence in each paragraph (often called the ‘topic
sentence’) tells the reader what the paragraph is about so if the topic sentence is
clear, it gives a positive impression to the assessor, because it means the
assessor can predict the content of the paragraph more easily. An important
part of reading someone’s essay easily is being able to predict what will come next.

In your Task 2 plan:

• show an introduction which contains your viewpoint on the essay task’s stated
opinion,

• then list 2 or 3 paragraph headings each with a key reason connected to your own
viewpoint, which you will discuss in each paragraph, plus one or two examples to
support that reason

• and show a concluding paragraph that will summarise what your essay has shown.

If you write the plan in the IELTS Answer book, just put a line through it and
underline it to show that it is not part of your actual answer. Then begin the actual
essay.

Remember

What we said about Task 1 Academic in Lesson 2 is also important here. A few
minutes spent planning your Task 2 response will help you to write more
systematically and more smoothly, and in clearer paragraphs; it is not wasted time.

Page 5


3 tips for organising your writing

1. Try to develop each paragraph by developing each point that supports the topic
sentence. (Don’t just state one point and then move on to an entirely new point as this
seems mechanical and prevents you from developing a point in more detail)

2. Try to use a variety of linking words between sentences, rather than just the simpler
‘shopping list’ style links such as: firstly, secondly, thirdly, finally

3. Make sure you leave a line between each of your paragraph when you write your essay,
so that the assessor can see the way your essay is organised

EXAMPLE

Read this mini paragraph:

Keeping pets such as large dogs in small apartments can easily lead to unintended
cruelty. An obvious example of this is that limited space makes large animals
frustrated because they can’t use enough of their physical energy. This may result in
possible aggression. Linked to this lack of exercise is the issue of health. A dog that has
insufficient space and lacks exercise can easily become obese which, in turn, may
shorten a dog’s life.

The linking words in bold type show how writers direct their thoughts and express
relationships between the content as they move from sentence to sentence. This also helps
the assessor to connect with a point of view that is developing, which builds a positive
impression of sophisticated thought. Test candidates who just list one point after another
without any development, and without any subtle linking expressions may seem less
natural and less mature in the mind of the assessor.

Page 6


8 rules for appropriate language

1. Avoid generalisations that are too simplistic
(simplistic generalisations seem too unsubtle, and too strong; they don’t reflect a mature
approach to the topic )

EXAMPLE

Compare the generalisations below, which are written in pairs:

1) All dogs like people.
2) Most dogs are sociable and seem to enjoy human companionship, if they are looked after
with care and kindness.

1) It is good to have pets in an apartment and they stop loneliness.
2)Those who live alone in apartments, particularly the elderly, may benefit from a suitable
pet which is able to offer companionship and a greater sense of security.

Which viewpoint in each pair is less simplistic and more considered?
The answer is: the SECOND sentence in each pair.

So, a more considered view probably needs to be expressed in a sentence that is:
• longer
• more grammatically complex.
• more detailed and therefore more precise
• written with ‘cautious’ language forms (e.g. ‘may’, ‘possibly’, ‘perhaps’, ‘seem’)

2. Avoid using idioms or sayings which either state the obvious or seem out of place in an
essay where a formal viewpoint is being systematically developed.

Examples: ‘Every coin has two sides’. ‘Every cloud has a silver lining’.

3. Avoid using clichés, as they can communicate too much informality.

Example: With most pets, what you see is what you get.

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4. Avoid using informal expressions in this formal type of writing.

Examples:
Less formal More formal
Keeping pets is a very hot topic Keeping pets is a significant issue
Petroldriven cars are past their sell by date ……are fast becoming obsolete

5. Avoid using ‘lazy expressions’ to complete sentences, especially ones that belong
more to spoken conversation.

Examples: etc; ‘…and so on’; ‘…and things like that; ‘…that sort of thing’

6. Avoid imprecise general expressions that make views sound too simple.

Example: Compare these expressions in a) and b)
a) Walking a dog is a good thing and…
b) Walking a dog is a necessary daily activity and …….

Which one is more precise in explaining what the writer thinks about walking dogs?
Example b) offers more precision (necessary, daily) than example a) (good)

7. Come to some conclusion about your point of view in a concluding paragraph

It helps to round off your answer if you can offer a short conclusion, with sentence
beginnings like:

It can be concluded from the point of view presented in this response that……….
Or, more simply:
Overall then, the point of view developed in this response is that……..
Or, for a different type of essay question,
To sum up, the solution to this problem might best involve….

(There are many other ways of starting a conclusion – so remember that these are
just a few suggestions)

Page 8


8. Make a quick check of your grammar

The last minute or two will be well spent if you read your essay quickly and try to
find those elementary grammar mistakes which do not impress assessors
(For example: ’Pet are…’ (should be ‘Pets are...) or, ‘Pets is…(should be ‘Pets are…’);
‘Keep pets in small apartments is sometime cruelty.’ (should be ‘Keeping pets in
small apartments is sometimes cruel’)

To summarise

To build a good impression in the assessor’s mind in both Academic and
General Training Writing task 2:

Before writing

• read the task carefully and establish your own clear point of view (to make sure
your writing is relevant)
• plan before writing by writing a clear overall point of view and 2 or 3 paragraph
headings each with a different, main reason to support your stated viewpoint
(to make your writing more relevant, organised and systematic)

In your written response to Task 2:

• develop ideas in separate paragraphs which support and link to reasons for the
main point of view in your introduction
• build your paragraphs with connecting expressions between sentences to show
how your viewpoint is being supported and developed; don’t just list your points.
• write a short, concluding paragraph to round off your response
• show maturity of thought; don’t just make lists of separate points or imprecise
over‐simplified opinions.
• write in a formal tone and avoid clichés, idioms, and ‘lazy’ expressions
• avoid over‐general vocabulary expressions
• search your essay at the end for any elementary grammar errors

Page 9


Hope you’ll come back and join me for Lesson #5.

We’ll take a look at how you can ‘sing and dance’ to the music of the Speaking test
and how you can become a good ‘dance partner’ who impresses the assessor and
makes a good ‘cooperative connection’ as you both move through each section of that
test.

© 2009 Donna Millen and ieltsontrack.com

This article is copyright to ieltsontrack.com, and may not be reproduced
or copied without the permission of ieltsontrack.com

The design and layout of this series of lessons are copyright to IELTS
Blog.com and may not be reproduced or copied without the permission
of IELTSBlog.com

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