In this edition:
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Introduction
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Comparisons Between Bands In The IELTS Test
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Retaking the IELTS Test
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From the Examiner's Chair
Introduction
Welcome to our '1st anniversary' edition of the
Your IELTS Guide
newsletter. It was in April 2005 that we published our first newsletter!
In this issue we have more in our "Comparisons Between Bands In The IELTS Test" series with a discussion of differences under Coherence and Cohesion between Bands 5, 6 & 7 in the General Training Writing Task 1.
We also have another in our series of articles, "From the Examiner's Chair". This month we look at the importance of word length in the writing test.
Use this link to read back issues.
Please feel free to forward this newsletter to your friends!
Comparisons Between Bands In The IELTS Test -
Coherence and Cohesion differences between Bands 5, 6 & 7 in the General Training Writing Task 1 test
Now that IELTS have provided public descriptors on their website, it is worth having a look at the differences between some of the band grades. This month we will look at the differences under Coherence and Cohesion between Bands 5, 6 & 7 in the Writing Task 1 test.
Look at the table below:
BAND 5
Coherence and cohesion
|
BAND 6
Coherence and cohesion
|
BAND 7
Coherence and cohesion
|
Presents information with some organisation but there may be a lack of overall progression
Makes inadequate, inaccurate or over-use of cohesive devices
May be repetitive because of lack of referencing and substitution
|
Arranges information and ideas coherently and there is a clear overall progression
uses cohesive devices effectively, but cohesion within and/or between sentences may be faulty or mechanical
May not always use referencing clearly or appropriately
|
Logically organises information and ideas; there is clear progression throughout
Uses a range of cohesive devices appropriately although there may be some under/over-use
|
First you must understand the meanings and differences between coherence and cohesion. The IELTS Handbook explains these as follows:
"Coherence and Cohesion
This criterion is concerned with the overall clarity and fluency of the message: how the response organises and links information, ideas and language. Coherence refers to the linking of ideas through logical sequencing. Cohesion refers to the varied and appropriate use of cohesive devices (for example, logical connectors, pronouns and conjunctions) to assist in making the conceptual and referential relationships between and within sentences clear."
If we consider Task 1 for General Training, which is always a letter, coherence refers basically to setting out the letter correctly. You should say why you are writing in the first paragraph (your introduction); give detail as required in the question in the body of the letter, which will probably be no more than 2 paragraphs as the word limit for the whole letter is only 150 words; and finish off your letter with the usual type of concluding paragraph according to what the letter is about. Always remember that each part of the letter has a specific purpose. A Band 5 answer shows some attempt at organisation; whereas a Band 7 answer progresses logically in both its ideas and organisation.
Using cohesive devices such as conjunctions, e.g.
and, sentence connectors like
however
and
therefore, and pronouns such as
he,
she
or
it, help us make sentences more understandable linking the whole text logically without being repetitive. A Band 5 answer shows a lack of control of cohesive devices; a Band 7 answer however shows good control by using a variety of cohesive devices though sometimes a better choice could have been made. Some sentence connectors, particularly those used in more formal writing, should be used sparingly. Many students tend to overuse words like
furthermore
and
nevertheless
and analysis of authentic writing would help to overcome this.
The instructions for the content of the Task 1 letter for General Training are usually very clear and the bullet points to follow are themselves usually set out logically. Planning your letter according to the instructions and following the bullet points in the order given will help you organise appropriately.
For more information on the Writing test check out our
IELTS Writing Module,
IELTS Writing Tips
and
IELTS Writing Preparation
pages.
Retaking the IELTS Test
As most of you will be aware, the requirement to wait 90 days before re-taking the IELTS test has been waived. From May 1st you will be able to apply for a new test immediately if you do not get the band score you need.
But is this a good thing?
In our view this is only good for candidates who realise they have made a stupid mistake on the test. Perhaps they didn't finish transferring their Reading or Listening answers onto the answer sheet or they didn't manage their time well in the Writing test. If these candidates truly believe that a second crack at the whip will allow them to achieve the score they need it might be worth them applying for a re-sit immediately. Some candidates don't fully understand what the test is about the first time they take it and fail to work efficiently. However, the majority of candidates are unlikely to improve their band score without further training. The 90 day rule at least enforced a period of time during which candidates could continue studying before retaking the test.
Retaking the test without improving your chances by further study is likely to be a costly mistake.
So who benefits? Well, those candidates mentioned above and, of course, IELTS. IELTS will receive extra fees from candidates retaking the test when they don't have any real chance of improving their score.
A secondary effect will be that fewer candidates will ask for re-marks. They may get their result more quickly if they re-sit.
Although potentially costly, we're all in favour of candidates asking for re-marks if they feel their result is lower than it should be. Re-marking is one way IELTS has of checking their examiners are marking accurately. We believe that IELTS does not monitor its examiners sufficiently. Without re-marks their ability to gauge the accuracy of their examiners is limited.
Candidates deciding between re-sitting the test and asking for a re-mark should also take into consideration the fact that they could get a lower mark on one of the modules if they re-sit. When asking for a re-mark, candidates can specify which modules are to be re-marked. We have known occasions where a candidate has just failed to get the required bandscore, has re-taken the test and then failed again but this time it was a different module.
Further information on deciding whether to re-sit or ask for a re-mark can be found on our website page:
What To Do If Your IELTS Result Is Too Low
From the Examiner's Chair
A serious issue that causes candidates to lose marks on the writing test is length of scripts. Underlength scripts are penalised. The script length should be be at least 150 words for Task 1 and 250 words for Task 2. We often see candidates counting the words they have written and, ocassionally, they write the word count at the end - just to let us know they have counted them, we suppose. There is no need to write the number of words at the end of the script. Believe us, after marking thousands of scripts, we know when one might be too short and should be counted.
Not only that, but what constitutes a 'word'? IELTS examiners are bound by a confidentiallity clause so we can't give you the specifics of how the number of words in a script are counted. Just remember that dates, numbers etc. can be written in various different ways and the way we count them as words may not be the way you would. Also, there are things that aren't included in the count. The best we can do is tell you to use your own common sense. Consider the following:
Do you think it would sensible to penalise candidates whose scripts are greatly underlength more than those that are only slightly underlength?
Would it be fair to include sentences copied directly from the rubrik?
What about titles and headers? Would it be fair to include those in the word count?
Common sense will answer those questions if you assume that only the parts of the script that reflect the candidates ability should be counted.
The other side of the coin is writing too much. As you don't get penalised for writing over the required number of words you might think this is not a problem, but it is. While some long scripts are excellent, the majority have traded words for planning. Instead of carefully organising their essay, these candidates have launched straight into it. As a result, they lose marks for coherence and cohesion. Their scripts are often rambling and sometimes, because they have not read the rubrik carefully enough, do not score well on Task Achievement/Task Response either. If they are far enough off topic, they get a low score for Lexical Resource as well.
We wish we could tell you exactly how the word count is done but, thanks to IELTS being so secretive, we can't. Having said that, candidates should not be overly concerned about counting their words during the exam. The best way to be sure you have written enough is to practise writing essays until you intuitively know when you have written just over 150 or 250 words. Try to write around 160 and 260 words for Tasks 1 and 2 respectively to give you a little leeway. When you know intuitively that you have written enough words you won't need to count, freeing time to get on with the important things like reading the rubrik carefully, planning and checking your finished work.
You can use the following links to check out the IELTS Writing band descriptors:
Task 1
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Task 2
