Whether you are taking IELTS Academic or IELTS General Training, you will need to write a 250 word essay in the IELTS Writing Task 2. You will perform much better if you understand what the examiner is looking for — and find success if you can deliver it.

The easiest way to fail is not knowing the basics. First, let’s look at the IELTS Writing assessment criteria:

1. Task achievement.
   This means you should answer all parts of the question, your answer must be relevant, and you should provide supporting ideas for the points you are making.
2. Coherence and cohesion.
   Your writing should be structured so it is easy to read and understand. This means you need to organise your ideas into paragraphs. You also need to link your ideas with words like however, therefore and despite.
3. Lexical resource.
   To get a good score, you need to use a wide range of vocabulary. Not everything has to be 100% correct, but any errors you make should be few in number and should not affect understanding.
4. Grammatical range and accuracy.
   As with vocabulary, you should use a variety of grammatical structures, and any grammatical errors should be few in number and should not affect understanding.

Now, let’s see how we can apply them to a candidate’s essay.

Exercise 1: Read a candidate’s Writing Task 2 essay

Read the essay below written by an IELTS candidate for Writing Task 2. As you read it, think about the four criteria and decide how well the writer performs on each of them. Make notes.

The world would be a better place if we all spoke the same language. Do you agree?As the world becomes more interconnected with the growth of the Internet and cheaper travel, it is important to examine the concept of a universal language. There are benefits in terms of travel and business, but a common language threatens a loss of culture and identity.Firstly, a common language would mean there are no language barriers. Travelling to different countries would be easier and more accessible. In business, there would be less danger of misunderstandings. Furthermore, in situations of conflict where there are multiple troops from different countries, it would be easier for them to work together if they all spoke one language.However, this would mean the loss of all other languages as they become unnecessary. Language is tied to culture. Through speaking a language one is projecting cultural history and identity. Moreover, the way language changes reflects both the history of a society and the current culture. Loss of a language means the loss of an important part of the culture.Additionally there is evidence to show that language is linked to the way people think. People who speak multiple languages alter their thought process when they switch languages. The entire world speaking one language eliminates diversity of thought, threatening future development and invention.In conclusion, although a universal language might make the world easier in terms of cooperation, it would not be a better place. It would mean the loss of culture, identity and diversity of thought. In the long term, these losses outweigh the benefits.

When you have made your notes, read on to compare your notes with a teacher’s notes.