IELTS writing

[DW44]

I've taken the IELTS twice in the last two years and both times I've had issues with the writing section. The first time I took it, I had two 9s (listening and reading) an 8 (speaking) but my writing score was below par (6.5) - all out of 9. The next time I took it, it was a similar story (9/9/8.5 - 7 in writing). I'm trying to get that writing score up to 8 because that one point is worth a lot of points on the Australian points test and while a 7 in IELTS (Australian authorities treat your lowest band as your overall score) is still enough to take me a few points above the minimum requirements, an 8 average takes my score significantly above the requirements so it's something I'd like to improve on before I turn in my paperwork in a month or two.

The issue is I can't seem to figure out how to go about improving my score. I have identified a few mistakes including improper use of punctuation, particularly commas and semicolons, repetition because of my very short attention span since I have ADHD - diagnosed by an actual shrink as opposed to WebMD - and my rather liberal use of American spellings and expressions which can be problematic on a test of British English. For those who have read my posts here(I tend to write long winded essay type posts), has anyone identified any other issues and, more importantly, how I go about fixing them? Practice(i.e. write more) doesn't seem to be helping much since I keep repeating the same mistakes. Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[Syed1]

You never used to put paragraphs in your posts, I see that has improved


I gave IELTS around 3-4 years back for a similar application in Canada and generally scored 8-8.5 in all the categories but never got a 9 so congratulations for scoring 9 in not one but two categories, that's amazing. I found the Listening one to be the hardest. Since you are not only listening to the conversation but also reading along at the same time to look for clues etc. Reading and Speaking were a breeze. Writing I agree is kinda tricky because you generally do not have alot of time to develop your ideas and compose two well thought out essays. Remember in the Writing section they are not only looking at your spelling and punctuation but the depth of the idea you can develop, so try doing some of the practice exams available online and compose well developed essays, the length doesn't really matter as long as you are above the min word count, but don't go crazy long as you tend to do sometimes on PP.

 

[JaDed]

Handwriting,more number of words an extra page,and make sure u don't put ur first language as English anywhere.

I am stuck with 6.5 in writing(took once) but my friend got an 8 in writing and he said don't repeat the same points in different paragraphs and if using pencil make sure to not rub often rather construct it on the question paper and then expand on answer sheet.

 

[Mamoon]

I gave IELTS in October 2013 in Islamabad and had an overall band score of 8:

Listening 8.5, Reading 8.5, Writing 7 and Speaking 7.5.

I was a bit surprised by the results because I take pride in my writing skills and I am very proficient when it comes to speaking because I have a lot of overseas family members who cannot speak Pashto/Urdu. Speaking is all about practice, which is why I was expecting 8.5 in both. The fact that the interviewer was a bearded mullah who couldn't string two coherent sentences together was quite ironic as well.

In my opinion, from what I have seen, you are a very skilled writer (one of the best on this forum) and comfortably better than 6.5/7.

 

[DW44]

Overall band is irrelevant to me because for my purposes, my lowest band is my overall band (stupid Australian rules). Writing seems to be my kryptonite and if handwriting factors into your score, I'm doomed. I make doctors look like calligraphers and after 13 years, I've given trying to fix that because I always end up going back to my natural handwriting which is pretty illegible.

Anyway, paragraphing seems to be an issue because when I'm writing about something, I almost always lose my train of thought and either go off topic, repeat myself (recently asked a girl on Tinder where she was from twice in the same message with literally one sentence in between) or go into too much detail, cramming two or three paragraphs worth of stuff into one. Got serious attention span issues.

I don't have issues developing ideas because I read a LOT so I can write intelligently about most of the topics likely to come up in IELTS but I have serious issues keeping things concise and to the point. Any advice on how to fix that and not go on tangents? Most of the time I do it, I don't realize I'm doing it and only notice it when I reread what I wrote but you can't do that in a timed exam.

 

[Tera Gawaandi]

I also got 9 in listening, 8.5 in Reading, 7.5 in speaking, 7 in writing, overall 8.

I was also disappointed with my writing score, but after seeing Mamoon's score in writing, I feel I got more than I deserved in writing.

Its a trend, I know many registered nurses in India who are stuck on 6.5 in writing, 8+ in others and they require 7 each. Maybe they do it intentionally, its a easy money for British Council and IDP.

 

[Slog]

I'm always baffled as to why people with education in English medium institutions need to give IELTS and TOEFL. Especially in your case as from what I gather you did undergrad in an English speaking country (UK)

When I was going to the US for college they (and Canadian folks - it was a backup) asked for it as well and I just politely showed them my SAT scores and how the English sections were near perfect. My argument was that since the English on this is much more complicated than anyone of the TOEFL/IELTS will throw up I should be exempted. All Canadian and US universities exempted me from it.

Recently I've started applications for an MBA and since I'm applying from Pakistan this has sprung up again. So I've individually gotten in touch with the schools Im interested in and pointed to the fact that I did college in an English speaking country so this is not really relevant. And they have again told me that I will likely be exempted from it.

Since yours is more of a residency situation I guess it doesn't apply in your case but just a general wonderment on my part as to why don't more people try to rightly get themselves exempted from such mindless procedural things which give you zero practical benefit?

 

[DW44]

I'm always baffled as to why people with education in English medium institutions need to give IELTS and TOEFL. Especially in your case as from what I gather you did undergrad in an English speaking country (UK)

When I was going to the US for college they (and Canadian folks - it was a backup) asked for it as well and I just politely showed them my SAT scores and how the English sections were near perfect. My argument was that since the English on this is much more complicated than anyone of the TOEFL/IELTS will throw up I should be exempted. All Canadian and US universities exempted me from it.

Recently I've started applications for an MBA and since I'm applying from Pakistan this has sprung up again. So I've individually gotten in touch with the schools Im interested in and pointed to the fact that I did college in an English speaking country so this is not really relevant. And they have again told me that I will likely be exempted from it.

Since yours is more of a residency situation I guess it doesn't apply in your case but just a general wonderment on my part as to why don't more people try to rightly get themselves exempted from such mindless procedural things which give you zero practical benefit?

It's a ridiculous rule but there's not much we can do about it so might as well go with it. In Australia's case, you can get as much as 1/3rd of the points needed to qualify from your IELTS score alone and you get twice as many points (20) if you have 8 or more in all sections compared to what you get if you have a 7 or 7.5 in even one section (10). That's a lot of points considering you only need 60 to qualify and 70 is a very safe score.

The UK degree has already sort of paid for itself because you need to go through a stupid competency demonstration process if you have a Pakistani degree which you can bypass entirely and still get the points if your degree is recognized under one of Washington, Sydney or Dublin accords.

 

[Slog]

It's a ridiculous rule but there's not much we can do about it so might as well go with it. In Australia's case, you can get as much as 1/3rd of the points needed to qualify from your IELTS score alone and you get twice as many points (20) if you have 8 or more in all sections compared to what you get if you have a 7 or 7.5 in even one section (10). That's a lot of points considering you only need 60 to qualify and 70 is a very safe score.

The UK degree has already sort of paid for itself because you need to go through a stupid competency demonstration process if you have a Pakistani degree which you can bypass entirely and still get the points if your degree is recognized under one of Washington, Sydney or Dublin accords.

Anyways good luck man

Why didn't you try Canada? It's apparently very easy these days and every Tom dick and Harry seems to be applying for it. From what I gather the score needed (?) is at an all time low. Like I know someone who hasn't stepped outside pak and went to a Mickey Mouse university here who got it after 2 years of experience

 

[Black Zero]

I've taken the IELTS twice in the last two years and both times I've had issues with the writing section. The first time I took it, I had two 9s (listening and reading) an 8 (speaking) but my writing score was below par (6.5) - all out of 9. The next time I took it, it was a similar story (9/9/8.5 - 7 in writing). I'm trying to get that writing score up to 8 because that one point is worth a lot of points on the Australian points test and while a 7 in IELTS (Australian authorities treat your lowest band as your overall score) is still enough to take me a few points above the minimum requirements, an 8 average takes my score significantly above the requirements so it's something I'd like to improve on before I turn in my paperwork in a month or two.

The issue is I can't seem to figure out how to go about improving my score. I have identified a few mistakes including improper use of punctuation, particularly commas and semicolons, repetition because of my very short attention span since I have ADHD - diagnosed by an actual shrink as opposed to WebMD - and my rather liberal use of American spellings and expressions which can be problematic on a test of British English. For those who have read my posts here(I tend to write long winded essay type posts), has anyone identified any other issues and, more importantly, how I go about fixing them? Practice(i.e. write more) doesn't seem to be helping much since I keep repeating the same mistakes. Any advice would be appreciated.

You need to have a good combination of simple, compound and complex sentences.

 

[DW44]

Anyways good luck man

Why didn't you try Canada? It's apparently very easy these days and every Tom dick and Harry seems to be applying for it. From what I gather the score needed (?) is at an all time low. Like I know someone who hasn't stepped outside pak and went to a Mickey Mouse university here who got it after 2 years of experience

I'd prefer going to Canada, for the weather if nothing else, but time is of the essence and the Canadian process takes too long. I know people who've been waiting for over three years and still haven't got their visas. Aus usually processes your application within a year, often less depending on how long the interior ministry takes to provide them with the required information (can be expedited if you know someone there).

Canadian job market is also kind of messed up with lower wages than Aus and very strict licensing rules, and I don't really fancy driving an Uber for five years before getting my first entry level job. Aus has a serious skill shortage and much higher wages in both my fields (even higher than the US) so employment prospects are a major factor.

The most important issue is the time taken between landing there and getting your citizenship. It's four years in Aus and up to 8 years in CA. Anyway, I'll probably move somewhere colder and less sunny when I have a better passport and half a decade or so of work experience in a first world market.

 

[Slog]

I'd prefer going to Canada, for the weather if nothing else, but time is of the essence and the Canadian process takes too long. I know people who've been waiting for over three years and still haven't got their visas. Aus usually processes your application within a year, often less depending on how long the interior ministry takes to provide them with the required information (can be expedited if you know someone there).

Canadian job market is also kind of messed up with lower wages than Aus and very strict licensing rules, and I don't really fancy driving an Uber for five years before getting my first entry level job. Aus has a serious skill shortage and much higher wages in both my fields (even higher than the US) so employment prospects are a major factor.

The most important issue is the time taken between landing there and getting your citizenship. It's four years in Aus and up to 8 years in CA. Anyway, I'll probably move somewhere colder and less sunny when I have a better passport and half a decade or so of work experience in a first world market.

You must be one of the few who's pick Canada over Australia due the Weather

Yes most people ending up in Canada end up doing odd jobs for a while is what I hear

 

[DW44]

You must be one of the few who's pick Canada over Australia due the Weather

Yes most people ending up in Canada end up doing odd jobs for a while is what I hear

Sunny/hot (anything over 25 degrees) weather can bite me. Living in Pakistan tends to have that effect, especially the Islamabad-Peshawar belt with it's combination of Lahori temperatures and Karachi levels of humidity, the same way Brits and other Euros prefer sunny weather.

 

[JaDed]

Overall band is irrelevant to me because for my purposes, my lowest band is my overall band (stupid Australian rules). Writing seems to be my kryptonite and if handwriting factors into your score, I'm doomed. I make doctors look like calligraphers and after 13 years, I've given trying to fix that because I always end up going back to my natural handwriting which is pretty illegible.

Anyway, paragraphing seems to be an issue because when I'm writing about something, I almost always lose my train of thought and either go off topic, repeat myself (recently asked a girl on Tinder where she was from twice in the same message with literally one sentence in between) or go into too much detail, cramming two or three paragraphs worth of stuff into one. Got serious attention span issues.

I don't have issues developing ideas because I read a LOT so I can write intelligently about most of the topics likely to come up in IELTS but I have serious issues keeping things concise and to the point. Any advice on how to fix that and not go on tangents? Most of the time I do it, I don't realize I'm doing it and only notice it when I reread what I wrote but you can't do that in a timed exam.

From all tutorials I read they don't care about handwriting as such but from someone here in coaching centers with some information told me was legibility matters a lot.

But as [MENTION=78116]Tera Gawaandi[/MENTION] said it could be deliberate and considering how easy listening and reading are its hard to understand people scoring less only in writing.

This is what Wiki says:

IELTS is a handwritten test and as such the candidate's handwriting is critical and may result in poor grading if the examiner is unable to read a particular handwriting style. Examiners are required to make every effort to read handwriting. Marks are not awarded for good handwriting, and marks are not subtracted for poor handwriting. However, if handwriting is completely illegible, then examiners will need to consider the word as a misspelling

http://www.cambridgeenglish.org/images/23135-research-notes-18.pdf

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_English_Language_Testing_System

 

[Syed1]

Sunny/hot (anything over 25 degrees) weather can bite me. Living in Pakistan tends to have that effect, especially the Islamabad-Peshawar belt with it's combination of Lahori temperatures and Karachi levels of humidity, the same way Brits and other Euros prefer sunny weather.

It is 30C and sunny in Toronto today. It gets hotter than Europe in Canada during the summer.

 

[Syed1]

You must be one of the few who's pick Canada over Australia due the Weather

Yes most people ending up in Canada end up doing odd jobs for a while is what I hear

Why single out Canada when it is true for any western country? In which country will employers go head over heels to hire someone who has BBA from someplace like Iqra University??

 

[DW44]

It is 30C and sunny in Toronto today. It gets hotter than Europe in Canada during the summer.

11 degrees in Melbourne right now(though that's probably not a good thing since it's their winter and winter temps should ideally stay well below zero.

Why single out Canada when it is true for any western country? In which country will employers go head over heels to hire someone who has BBA from someplace like Iqra University??

A BBA from Iqra would have to do that anywhere but someone with an MEng or MS from UCL or King's would only have to do that in Canada.

 

[Syed1]

11 degrees in Melbourne right now(though that's probably not a good thing since it's their winter and winter temps should ideally stay well below zero.



A BBA from Iqra would have to do that anywhere but someone with an MEng or MS from UCL or King's would only have to do that in Canada.

Nope.. Not true. US, European and Australian degrees are accepted and recognized.

 

[DW44]

It is 30C and sunny in Toronto today. It gets hotter than Europe in Canada during the summer.

Why single out Canada when it is true for any western country? In which country will employers go head over heels to hire someone who has BBA from someplace like Iqra University??

Nope.. Not true. US, European and Australian degrees are accepted and recognized.

One of the biggest reasons I didn't bother with Canada was because three different friends of mine, all educated at British universities ranked between 5 and 140 in the world ended up having to do part time jobs due to issues with the licensing requirements (two in BC, one in Alberta - apparently they have different licensing authorities in each state which sucks).

 

[TalentSpotterPk]

I gave IELTS in October 2013 in Islamabad and had an overall band score of 8:

Listening 8.5, Reading 8.5, Writing 7 and Speaking 7.5.

I was a bit surprised by the results because I take pride in my writing skills and I am very proficient when it comes to speaking because I have a lot of overseas family members who cannot speak Pashto/Urdu. Speaking is all about practice, which is why I was expecting 8.5 in both. The fact that the interviewer was a bearded mullah who couldn't string two coherent sentences together was quite ironic as well.

In my opinion, from what I have seen, you are a very skilled writer (one of the best on this forum) and comfortably better than 6.5/7.

Very few Pakistani students get 8 bands overall except for those who study in lyceum, city, beacon, roots, frobels etc so great achievement by you and [MENTION=26195]DW44[/MENTION].


I don’t know why bolded part was pertinent to be mentioned.

 

[DW44]

Very few Pakistani students get 8 bands overall except for those who study in lyceum, city, beacon, roots, frobels etc so great achievement by you and [MENTION=26195]DW44[/MENTION].


I don’t know why bolded part was pertinent to be mentioned.

To be fair, I did go to one of the schools you listed.

 

[TalentSpotterPk]

Overall band is irrelevant to me because for my purposes, my lowest band is my overall band (stupid Australian rules). Writing seems to be my kryptonite and if handwriting factors into your score, I'm doomed. I make doctors look like calligraphers and after 13 years, I've given trying to fix that because I always end up going back to my natural handwriting which is pretty illegible.

Anyway, paragraphing seems to be an issue because when I'm writing about something, I almost always lose my train of thought and either go off topic, repeat myself (recently asked a girl on Tinder where she was from twice in the same message with literally one sentence in between) or go into too much detail, cramming two or three paragraphs worth of stuff into one. Got serious attention span issues.

I don't have issues developing ideas because I read a LOT so I can write intelligently about most of the topics likely to come up in IELTS but I have serious issues keeping things concise and to the point. Any advice on how to fix that and not go on tangents? Most of the time I do it, I don't realize I'm doing it and only notice it when I reread what I wrote but you can't do that in a timed exam.

Hehe bro.

Craving may be ?


You are very decent writer but sometimes your moods are evident in posts like you being vexed.

 

[Black Zero]

I'd prefer going to Canada, for the weather if nothing else, but time is of the essence and the Canadian process takes too long. I know people who've been waiting for over three years and still haven't got their visas. Aus usually processes your application within a year, often less depending on how long the interior ministry takes to provide them with the required information (can be expedited if you know someone there).

Canadian job market is also kind of messed up with lower wages than Aus and very strict licensing rules, and I don't really fancy driving an Uber for five years before getting my first entry level job. Aus has a serious skill shortage and much higher wages in both my fields (even higher than the US) so employment prospects are a major factor.

The most important issue is the time taken between landing there and getting your citizenship. It's four years in Aus and up to 8 years in CA. Anyway, I'll probably move somewhere colder and less sunny when I have a better passport and half a decade or so of work experience in a first world market.

- Job market in Aus is not good either.
- Issue of racism
- Language (accent)
=================

- You would see Kangaroo, Koala and Penguins (and Tasmanian devil)
- Great beaches
- People love real sports like Cricket, Hockey etc.


In Canada, as a permanent resident you got all (almost) all the rights if you stay within Canada.
If you want to travel (or vote) then you would need Canadian passport.

 

[Syed1]

One of the biggest reasons I didn't bother with Canada was because three different friends of mine, all educated at British universities ranked between 5 and 140 in the world ended up having to do part time jobs due to issues with the licensing requirements (two in BC, one in Alberta - apparently they have different licensing authorities in each state which sucks).

If you don't mind me asking that is their profession? It varies from profession to profession. My own friend who studied law in the UK had to get a certification or diploma in Canada because obviously Canadian law is different than UK law.

My first cousin is moving to the States after marriage, she lived and grew up in Canada and is a qualified pharmacist, yet she has to study for a couple of years in States to get a licence to practice over there.

 

[Slog]

Why single out Canada when it is true for any western country? In which country will employers go head over heels to hire someone who has BBA from someplace like Iqra University??

Well since it was a discussion particularly on Canada....

In any case you also see some grads from good Canadian unis working the odd jobs. Not that US or uk degrees guarantee the jobs there. If you don't get a job within a certain period they simply kick you out so you don't see folks doing odd jobs unless they go illegal or sth

 

[DW44]

If you don't mind me asking that is their profession? It varies from profession to profession. My own friend who studied law in the UK had to get a certification or diploma in Canada because obviously Canadian law is different than UK law.

My first cousin is moving to the States after marriage, she lived and grew up in Canada and is a qualified pharmacist, yet she has to study for a couple of years in States to get a licence to practice over there.

Two electronic engineers(that's Brit for electrical engineer) and one civil.

 

[JaDed]

If you don't mind me asking that is their profession? It varies from profession to profession. My own friend who studied law in the UK had to get a certification or diploma in Canada because obviously Canadian law is different than UK law.

My first cousin is moving to the States after marriage, she lived and grew up in Canada and is a qualified pharmacist, yet she has to study for a couple of years in States to get a licence to practice over there.

Canada does have issues mate,even in IT its way behind compared to USA and pretty behind compared to Aus and Europe in terms of adoption of latest tech,plus the only thing majorly it has for IT is Banks,no big time retail stores(Except Zellers which got bought and destroyed by Target) no big tech company after blackberry disaster.

Its not only w.r.t licensing ,Canadian population isn't big enough to sustain a huge market for many professions and the welfare system although great for its existing citizens doesn't exactly create many opportunities.

 

[Syed1]

Two electronic engineers(that's Brit for electrical engineer) and one civil.

That is my field of work. You can work as an engineer in Canada without a professional licence however most employers prefer that you have a licence since the licence gives you a stamp and you are responsible for your own work, rather than piggy backing on others.

The requirements for licence are that you have engineering degree (preferably in Canada, but approved equivalent is accepted too), and 4 years of documented work experience with atleast 1 of them being under the supervision of a licenced engineer within Canada, and also complete a professional exam (both Canadians and non-Canadians have to do this)

 

[Syed1]

Canada does have issues mate,even in IT its way behind compared to USA and pretty behind compared to Aus and Europe in terms of adoption of latest tech,plus the only thing majorly it has for IT is Banks,no big time retail stores(Except Zellers which got bought and destroyed by Target) no big tech company after blackberry disaster.

Its not only w.r.t licensing ,Canadian population isn't big enough to sustain a huge market for many professions and the welfare system although great for its existing citizens doesn't exactly create many opportunities.

That is the furthest from the truth. Canada has a booming IT sector and many major companies are moving their operations here.

Electronics Arts (the makers of FIFA) has a massive office in Montreal, Canada.


AMD, Google, Intel, Microsoft and Amazon have big offices here. If IT was doing so bad then why would thousands of IT professionals from India migrate to Canada every year?

Obviously nobody can compete with the States in terms of potential, but Canada is far ahead of places like the UK or Australia.

 

[JaDed]

That is the furthest from the truth. Canada has a booming IT sector and many major companies are moving their operations here.

Electronics Arts (the makers of FIFA) has a massive office in Montreal, Canada.


AMD, Google, Intel, Microsoft and Amazon have big offices here. If IT was doing so bad then why would thousands of IT professionals from India migrate to Canada every year?

Obviously nobody can compete with the States in terms of potential, but Canada is far ahead of places like the UK or Australia.

IT professionals do migrate to Canada and it is booming but its not reaching stable levels and it might doing well compared to its population but its defn not doing well compared to UK,Australia.

There are various reasons for that,the companies you have mentioned are core companies of computer science and not basically IT companies as such,there are however IT contract companies,even my company(offshore-onshore) has a branch there but noway does it mean there are IT jobs as such,there are however many Computer Science jobs as such which have been booming offlate partly due to US visa restriction laws and companies not wanting to lose out on "top level" immigrants.(google,Amazon, etc).

 

[DW44]

That is my field of work. You can work as an engineer in Canada without a professional licence however most employers prefer that you have a licence since the licence gives you a stamp and you are responsible for your own work, rather than piggy backing on others.

The requirements for licence are that you have engineering degree (preferably in Canada, but approved equivalent is accepted too), and 4 years of documented work experience with atleast 1 of them being under the supervision of a licenced engineer within Canada, and also complete a professional exam (both Canadians and non-Canadians have to do this)

View attachment 74133

That's a catch 22 situation right there, that while one year in Canada under a licensed engineer business. In Aus, you basically send your degree, or Competency Demonstration Report if your degree is from an unrecognized institution (most third world colleges), and get accredited as a professional engineer or engineering technologist before you step foot on Australian soil.

Anyhow, this thread has gone massively off topic and my question has been sort of left somewhat unanswered. That writing test is important because those extra points do a lot for your prospects when applying.

 

[Nostalgic]

The fact that the interviewer was a bearded mullah who couldn't string two coherent sentences together was quite ironic as well.

So the venerable British Council has gone to the dogs too? When I took the test, way back in 1998, I was interviewed by an actual English lady.

What I remember most about the test was an auntie whispering to me during the written module, trying to cajole me into giving her the answers. Since I had finished early, the invigilator made me de facto proctor, asking me to stand at the front of the room, ostensibly to keep an eye on everyone, but most likely for not wanting to disqualify the auntie.

 

[TalentSpotterPk]

That's a catch 22 situation right there, that while one year in Canada under a licensed engineer business. In Aus, you basically send your degree, or Competency Demonstration Report if your degree is from an unrecognized institution (most third world colleges), and get accredited as a professional engineer or engineering technologist before you step foot on Australian soil.

Anyhow, this thread has gone massively off topic and my question has been sort of left somewhat unanswered. That writing test is important because those extra points do a lot for your prospects when applying.

When Are you giving Test again ?


I might help you practically in next 30 or 60 days. Sadly not now.


I took GRE glasses at USEFP Islamabad. The teacher there is one of the best. He gave some key points. My English overall is very very poor but I got 7.5 in IELTS writing without putting in any effort for Ielts test except for listening practice once.


So I am sure if I can give you those points you will easily score 8-8.5 because generally your English is much much better than mine. Wish I can help you.

 

[Donal Cozzie]

Man I gotta say as a native speaker you have absolutely zero noticeable issues from what I can tell. Maybe writing really long sentences at times but you addressed that with your "tangents" comment.

Honestly one of the things my struggles with German has taught me is how damn good subcontinental people on this forum are with English. Learning a new language is damn tough, let alone mastering it

 

[kabbirann]

Scored 8 in writing when I gave my exam ages ago.

I had joined coaching classes prior- maybe worthwhile getting a professional to check your answers.

you've identified most of your problems, all I can add to that is that you've to make it easy for the reader- while the content of your posts is ace ,there is a density to your posts which can make them a bit difficult to read for eg your 2nd post is easier on the eyes than your first.

Hope you make it,Australia is a gorgeous beautiful country.

 

[DW44]

When Are you giving Test again ?


I might help you practically in next 30 or 60 days. Sadly not now.


I took GRE glasses at USEFP Islamabad. The teacher there is one of the best. He gave some key points. My English overall is very very poor but I got 7.5 in IELTS writing without putting in any effort for Ielts test except for listening practice once.


So I am sure if I can give you those points you will easily score 8-8.5 because generally your English is much much better than mine. Wish I can help you.

Some time before August.

 

[big_gamer007]

I haven't heard of anyone getting 9 in writing.. I got the same scores as you could never touch 8+ in writing in both my attempts..

 

[MenInG]

You take an exam - you dont give one! Very URDU thing to say in English

 

[TalentSpotterPk]

You take an exam - you dont give one! Very URDU thing to say in English

Maaf keejiye ga.

Should have said : " When are appearing in exam again "

 

[SandyB]

I plan to take IELTS this year. Is handwriting a big issue?

My handwriting has been consistently horrible and most of my teachers in school and college had identified that as a reason I scored below expectations in most of my exams..

If then how should I approach IELTS?

 

[SandyB]

Hi Guys, My IELTS - Academic results are out , scored an overall band 8 (Listening -9, Reading 8.5, Speaking 7.5 and writing 6 . .

My handwriting was quite poor, so I didn't use cursive writing to salvage whatever I could. But that alone wouldn't have been the issue. I have a tendency to write a bit too much (as you'd knowfrom my posts), maybe my structuring wasn't good enough.

I'm planning to try for a masters in Canada in some some software related courses, and most of the uni's I'm looking at seem to require only an avg band above 7 etc, but I DID come across some uni's where a Writing score of 6.5 was mandatory .

Any thought on whether I should give another try and how to improve my score . ?
[MENTION=26195]DW44[/MENTION], [MENTION=141093]big_gamer007[/MENTION], [MENTION=138980]TalentSpotterPk[/MENTION], [MENTION=137142]JaDed[/MENTION]

 

[JaDed]

Hi Guys, My IELTS - Academic results are out , scored an overall band 8 (Listening -9, Reading 8.5, Speaking 7.5 and writing 6 . .

My handwriting was quite poor, so I didn't use cursive writing to salvage whatever I could. But that alone wouldn't have been the issue. I have a tendency to write a bit too much (as you'd knowfrom my posts), maybe my structuring wasn't good enough.

I'm planning to try for a masters in Canada in some some software related courses, and most of the uni's I'm looking at seem to require only an avg band above 7 etc, but I DID come across some uni's where a Writing score of 6.5 was mandatory .

Any thought on whether I should give another try and how to improve my score . ?
[MENTION=26195]DW44[/MENTION], [MENTION=141093]big_gamer007[/MENTION], [MENTION=138980]TalentSpotterPk[/MENTION], [MENTION=137142]JaDed[/MENTION]

Take toeffel rather many unis in Montreal accept it..,IELTS FEELS like a scam nowadays.

 

[DW44]

Hi Guys, My IELTS - Academic results are out , scored an overall band 8 (Listening -9, Reading 8.5, Speaking 7.5 and writing 6 . .

My handwriting was quite poor, so I didn't use cursive writing to salvage whatever I could. But that alone wouldn't have been the issue. I have a tendency to write a bit too much (as you'd knowfrom my posts), maybe my structuring wasn't good enough.

I'm planning to try for a masters in Canada in some some software related courses, and most of the uni's I'm looking at seem to require only an avg band above 7 etc, but I DID come across some uni's where a Writing score of 6.5 was mandatory .

Any thought on whether I should give another try and how to improve my score . ?
[MENTION=26195]DW44[/MENTION], [MENTION=141093]big_gamer007[/MENTION], [MENTION=138980]TalentSpotterPk[/MENTION], [MENTION=137142]JaDed[/MENTION]

For writing, your handwriting makes no difference whatsoever to your score unless what you write is unreadable. The first time I got 6.5 in writing, I figured it must be the handwriting but after taking the advice in this thread into consideration, I focused on content, especially paragraphs, and ended up with an 8. The people who grade your essay have been at it for years and they've seen every kind of handwriting imaginable so it's very rare that they will find something completely unreadable so don't waste time worrying about that.

 

[JaDed]

For writing, your handwriting makes no difference whatsoever to your score unless what you write is unreadable. The first time I got 6.5 in writing, I figured it must be the handwriting but after taking the advice in this thread into consideration, I focused on content, especially paragraphs, and ended up with an 8. The people who grade your essay have been at it for years and they've seen every kind of handwriting imaginable so it's very rare that they will find something completely unreadable so don't waste time worrying about that.

Give tips on 8..? What change did you apply?

 

[DW44]

Give tips on 8..? What change did you apply?

Shorter, more focused paragraphs. Didn't change anything else.

 

[LastManstanding]

IT professionals do migrate to Canada and it is booming but its not reaching stable levels and it might doing well compared to its population but its defn not doing well compared to UK,Australia.

There are various reasons for that,the companies you have mentioned are core companies of computer science and not basically IT companies as such,there are however IT contract companies,even my company(offshore-onshore) has a branch there but noway does it mean there are IT jobs as such,there are however many Computer Science jobs as such which have been booming offlate partly due to US visa restriction laws and companies not wanting to lose out on "top level" immigrants.(google,Amazon, etc).

Few of my colleagues have applied for PR for Canada. How is the job market for IT there? Is it worth considering moving there?

 

[SandyB]

For writing, your handwriting makes no difference whatsoever to your score unless what you write is unreadable. The first time I got 6.5 in writing, I figured it must be the handwriting but after taking the advice in this thread into consideration, I focused on content, especially paragraphs, and ended up with an 8. The people who grade your essay have been at it for years and they've seen every kind of handwriting imaginable so it's very rare that they will find something completely unreadable so don't waste time worrying about that.

Hmm. My preparation for writing was quite poor actually , I think I wrote just 2-3 paragraphs and used sentences that were too long .

 

[JaDed]

Shorter, more focused paragraphs. Didn't change anything else.

Ok thanks..

Few of my colleagues have applied for PR for Canada. How is the job market for IT there? Is it worth considering moving there?

IT is not great,more of a blue collared place..but it's growing,home grown is still less.

 

[Buffet]

Shorter and focused sentences should help a bit here.

 

[amax]

I have same issues with Toefl Speaking , got 30/30 in both listening and reading , 27/30 in writing but trailing way behind in speaking with 22(but that is more understandable because speaking can be really tough for non natives).. But I think it will work as my overall score is quite respectable

 

[TalentSpotterPk]

[MENTION=140459]SandyB[/MENTION]


Great overall score MashaAllah.

Hope you get admission in your first choice university. Email Head of Department your bachelor's transcript and ielts result. Hope he will give you some leverage.


Otherwise give another try.


Best wishes & prayers brother.

 

[big_gamer007]

Hi Guys, My IELTS - Academic results are out , scored an overall band 8 (Listening -9, Reading 8.5, Speaking 7.5 and writing 6 . .

My handwriting was quite poor, so I didn't use cursive writing to salvage whatever I could. But that alone wouldn't have been the issue. I have a tendency to write a bit too much (as you'd knowfrom my posts), maybe my structuring wasn't good enough.

I'm planning to try for a masters in Canada in some some software related courses, and most of the uni's I'm looking at seem to require only an avg band above 7 etc, but I DID come across some uni's where a Writing score of 6.5 was mandatory .

Any thought on whether I should give another try and how to improve my score . ?
[MENTION=26195]DW44[/MENTION], [MENTION=141093]big_gamer007[/MENTION], [MENTION=138980]TalentSpotterPk[/MENTION], [MENTION=137142]JaDed[/MENTION]

Mate tbh first you need to decide which universities you want to target.. Make a list of them and then see the criteria do these university want individual modules score also as 6.5+ or not.. If it's only 1 out of 10 university the want individual module score as 6.5+ also then you can probably skip that and apply in other 9 universities..

Going abroad for studies is very very easy as long as you belong to a decent well offish family.. I don't know about Canada but when I applied for Australia 7 odd years back I got admission in their top colleges bar their top one where I didn't apply.. So I guess it's probably same in Canada if they just want your IELTS score.. You should try for IVY league colleges if you can I would say if you are really good go for GRE/TOEFL and try in top US colleges rather than Canadian colleges.. If you are mediocre like me then go for Canada..

I guess for writing you need to practice which I couldn't maybe you can open a thread here everyday about a random topic and write on it without using google and we can rate it and point out mistakes or suggest how to make it better.. Do it for a couple of weeks you should see some improvements I guess..

 

[Slog]

Mate tbh first you need to decide which universities you want to target.. Make a list of them and then see the criteria do these university want individual modules score also as 6.5+ or not.. If it's only 1 out of 10 university the want individual module score as 6.5+ also then you can probably skip that and apply in other 9 universities..

Going abroad for studies is very very easy as long as you belong to a decent well offish family.. I don't know about Canada but when I applied for Australia 7 odd years back I got admission in their top colleges bar their top one where I didn't apply.. So I guess it's probably same in Canada if they just want your IELTS score.. You should try for IVY league colleges if you can I would say if you are really good go for GRE/TOEFL and try in top US colleges rather than Canadian colleges.. If you are mediocre like me then go for Canada..

I guess for writing you need to practice which I couldn't maybe you can open a thread here everyday about a random topic and write on it without using google and we can rate it and point out mistakes or suggest how to make it better.. Do it for a couple of weeks you should see some improvements I guess..

I'm a bit baffled as to why you are putting so much emphasis on TOEFL and IELTS as far as admissions to top us unis is concerned

They literally do not care. It's just a check

Gre is a different beast and you need to prepare for it a lot

 

[big_gamer007]

I'm a bit baffled as to why you are putting so much emphasis on TOEFL and IELTS as far as admissions to top us unis is concerned

They literally do not care. It's just a check

Gre is a different beast and you need to prepare for it a lot

Not putting emphasis mate, SandyB asked a query about how to improve in ielts and I replied.. I think some universities do ask for 6.5+ in individual modules in IELTS yes it's an English check and not that tough but you got to fulfil the requirement of the university..

Of course GRE is better that's why I recommended if he got patience and dedication to go for that and try Ivy League colleges of USA than easy to get in Canadian/Australian colleges..

 

[SandyB]

[MENTION=140459]SandyB[/MENTION]


Great overall score MashaAllah.

Hope you get admission in your first choice university. Email Head of Department your bachelor's transcript and ielts result. Hope he will give you some leverage.


Otherwise give another try.


Best wishes & prayers brother.

[MENTION=138980]TalentSpotterPk[/MENTION] Thank you for all the kind words brother !

Mate tbh first you need to decide which universities you want to target.. Make a list of them and then see the criteria do these university want individual modules score also as 6.5+ or not.. If it's only 1 out of 10 university the want individual module score as 6.5+ also then you can probably skip that and apply in other 9 universities..

Going abroad for studies is very very easy as long as you belong to a decent well offish family.. I don't know about Canada but when I applied for Australia 7 odd years back I got admission in their top colleges bar their top one where I didn't apply.. So I guess it's probably same in Canada if they just want your IELTS score.. You should try for IVY league colleges if you can I would say if you are really good go for GRE/TOEFL and try in top US colleges rather than Canadian colleges.. If you are mediocre like me then go for Canada..

I guess for writing you need to practice which I couldn't maybe you can open a thread here everyday about a random topic and write on it without using google and we can rate it and point out mistakes or suggest how to make it better.. Do it for a couple of weeks you should see some improvements I guess..

My graduation score isn't that great (7.0) , so I'm working out what all unis I can apply to.