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Causes and Solutions IELTS Writing Task 2 question

Some IELTS Writing Task 2 questions require you to think of the reason for something as well as coming up with solutions for it.

These questions are called Causes and Solution questions. They are also a type of two part question.

Here is an example of one.

Causes/Problem and Solution
Example: Crime rates tend to be higher in cities than in smaller towns. Explain some possible reasons for this problem and suggest some solutions.

Get help with your IELTS writing task

For a real model answer that would get a Band 7 score in this Writing Task 2 question, just email seb@theredink.co.uk

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Short IELTS writing questions – The Stinger

Most IELTS Writing Tasks 2 essay questions ask you to discuss an opinion or a topic. In a lot of cases the question will give you a context to help you answer the question.
An example of a standard Agree or Disagree question is shown below.

Some people think that scientists experimenting with animals in a laboratory is the only way we can guarantee new products will be safe for human use. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?

Continue reading “Short IELTS writing questions – The Stinger”

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Answering the wrong IELTS essay question

The IELTS Task 2 writing question can be very challenging. Not only is it a test of your grammar and vocabulary, it also tests your ability to analyze and answer the RIGHT question.

Students can sometimes write well on a topic but get a low score. This is usually because they are answering the WRONG question within the topic presented to them.

This is a real example from an essay a student gave me before we started his course.

Question
Using a computer can have more negative effects than positive effects on your children. Do you agree or disagree?

2nd para
Some people believe that it is antisocial to be seen using your computer every day by your children. It is thought that this attitude can rub off on children and for them to copy a parent’s actions as they grow up.
 
Can you spot the mistake?
 
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Critical Thinking for Essay Writing

Many students ask me how to write an essay. They say “I don’t know what to write!!!” or “I know what to write but it doesn’t come out the way I mean to!!!.”

A key part of how to improve these skills is called critical thinking. Critical thinking, according to The Oxford Dictionary is “The objective analysis and evaluation of an issue in order to form a judgement.”

The ability to assess and make a balanced judgement AND write about it clearly is a key life skill and an important element when tackling an essay question such as the Task 2 IELTS essay question.

I can help you to think of ideas for your essay and how to organise those ideas into a coherent piece of writing.

See the courses section within this website or email seb@theredink.co.uk

Do you need  help with brainstorming when you are writing an IELTS essay? Visit the courses page for all the tips you need

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How to write an IELTS Task 2 essay. Planning is everything.

The IELTS Task 2 essay is a 250 word discursive writing test.

As well as testing your level of English, it assesses your general knowledge and ability to clearly argue, discuss and express an opinion about a given topic.

Examiners will give high scores to a well argued and above all, well organized essay. If your essay is well organized your point of view will be clearer. If your point of view is clearer it will get  higher band score.

I emphasize the importance of planning when writing a Task 2 IELTS essay and it works! Whether it’s a case of raising your score if you have already taken the exam, or if you are taking the test for the first time.

For help with writing your IELTS Task 2 essay or to get a higher band score for the writing test overall email seb@theredink.co.uk

For tips on how to improve Cohesion and Coherence in your IELTS essay visit the courses page here

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Planning your Task 2 IELTS essay

Get organized

Planning an essay is the best way to achieve a band 7 score on the Task 2 IELTS writing task. The essay takes 40 minutes to complete but you should take at least 10 minutes to plan your essay before you start to write.

NEVER START UNTIL YOU’VE COMPLETED YOUR ESSAY PLAN.

Examiners will give you a higher score if your essay is clear to read. If the essay is well planned your essay will be easier to follow.

Make sure your essay uses ‘information chunking’. This is the way you can write by separating your essay into logical sections or ‘chunks’ so it is easier to follow.

Creating ideas for your essay

The examiner will give you a high band score if you present a number of clear relevant ideas to support your argument or point of view.

Ideas should be organized into three basic categories: positions, main ideas and supporting ideas. These will form the order and content of each of your paragraphs.

For more information on how to plan your essay email seb@theredink.co.uk

Are you looking for help with planning your IELTS essay? Check out the courses page here

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Do you want to work for the NHS but qualified overseas?

Healthcare professionals seeking work in the NHS in the uk have to pass the IELTS exam.   

They need to get a 7 band score in the test. This rule applies to nurses as well as doctors.

The exam is part of the tier-2 visa system that allows overseas professionals to work in the UK.  

The English exam is divided into four sections: Speaking, writing, reading and listening.   The IELTS writing is divided into two tasks.

In the IELTS task 1 writing question students are presented with a chart or a diagram. Task 1 asks students to write a short description of the data depicted in the chart or diagram. The essay should be approximately 150 words long and should take 20 minutes to complete.

In the IELT task 2 writing question students are presented with a discursive essay question. The question requires students to formulate an argument or an opinion about a subject presented by it. Points are awarded to students who present their ideas clearly and focus on the correct issues and subjects that the question poses. The essay should be approximately 250 words long and take 40 minutes to complete.

For more information about the IELTS test, email seb@theredink.co.uk

If you want to enroll on an inexpensive IELTS course find out more here

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Band 7 score required by overseas medical professionals coming to work in NHS

Thousands more overseas doctors will be able to come and work in the NHS after Theresa May took advice from cabinet colleagues to do away with limits that hospital bosses had criticised.

The relaxation of immigration rules, which is due to be announced imminently, represents a victory for Jeremy Hunt and Sajid Javid and follows an active and passionate campaign by NHS organisations and medical groups.

They have been arguing that medics should be taken out of the cap on skilled workers allowed to work in Britain, in order to help tackle the NHS’s deepening workforce crisis.

Hunt, the health and social care secretary, and Javid, the home secretary, have been privately lobbying the prime minister to ease restrictions that between November and April denied more than 2,300 doctors from outside the European Economic Area the chance to work in the NHS.

Under the current immigration system the number of non-EEA skilled workers across the board able to come and work in Britain on a tier-2 visa through a certificate of sponsorship is capped at 20,700 a year – a ceiling set by the Home Office.

Doctors and Nurses wishing to work in the NHS at all levels will have to achieve a minimum 7 band score in the IELTS exam. For more information on help with the IELTS exam email seb@theredink.co.uk

If you are  a health worker who qualified overseas and want to work in the NHS find out more here

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IELTS test still required for health workers in the UK

Language rules introduced to curb immigration are set to be relaxed after they prevented native English-speaking nurses from working in the NHS.

The NHS has a shortage of 40,000 nurses and recruiters and NHS employers have been lobbying for looser language requirements so that thousands of nurses from countries such as Australia, India and the Philippines can work in Britain.

In June, the Observer uncovered evidence that Australians and other native English-speaking nurses were being turned down because they could not pass the International English Language Testing System test. Now the Nursing and Midwifery Council will consider a measure on Wednesday to allow other measures such as the Occupational English Test.

Nurses with a recent qualification that was taught in English and nurses who have worked for two years in a country where English is the native language would also qualify. If patient organisations and NHS bodies also agree to the proposals, the changes could be introduced next month.

In 2016 the government forced all public sector bodies to introduce strict tests for new employees. Matthew Hancock, then the Cabinet Office minister, said tests were necessary to control immigration “for the benefit of all hard-working people”. As a result the NMC brought in the IELTS test, but it led to a dramatic drop in foreign nurses registering in the UK, from 1,304 EU nurses in July 2016 to just 46 in April this year.

Recruitment firms such as HCL said that many English-speaking nurses struggled with the written part of IELTS – an essay-based exam. Candidates need to score at least seven out of nine in each of four sections.

The NMC is still looking at whether or not it should reduce the required minimum score.

Teresa Wilson, HCL’s international operations manager, said research showed the two main reasons for failing IELTS were “incorrect tenses and essay structure”.

“These are hardly issues that should preclude a skilled nurse from fulfilling a nursing role effectively,” she said. “The current system is suffocating the vital supply of highly skilled foreign nurses who want to work in our NHS.”

This article was first published in The Guardian on 24th September 2017.

If you are a health worker who wants help with their IELTS exam check out the courses page here