In this series Greg Archer, co-author of Mindset for IELTS, provides bite-size support for teachers new to preparing students for IELTS. In his second instalment, Greg looks at Task 2 of the Writing Test.
What’s the transition from Task 1 to Task 2?
Greg says that in Task 2, both Academic and General Training modules require essentially the same skills – producing an essay on a given subject. However, a slightly more informal written style is accepted for General Training. While the focus of Task 1 was Task Achievement – how well students can extract and summarise information – Task 2 assesses students’ Task Response skills. Students need to show they can develop opinions and arguments and compare and contrast ideas in response to the question. This also gives them a chance to be a little freer and show off their language skills.
How can I help lower level students with IELTS Writing Task 2?
According to Greg, you must acknowledge lower level students’ limitations, and recognise that while they may not score highly on Grammar Range and Accuracy or Lexical Resource, they can be helped with their Task Response. You can do this by helping them understand the requirements of the task, and how to brainstorm, plan and develop their answer.
How can I help students develop their essay writing skills?
The specific style of writing and organisation of ideas required by Task 2 may not exist in your students’ cultures, so make sure students understand what is expected. Some students may struggle with basic paragraph structure, so focus on the basics of Topic Sentences, Linking Paragraphs etc.
So, what is Greg’s priority in the Writing class?
Make sure students of all levels can write paragraphs that flow and make sense!
For more tips and information on Writing Task 2, watch Greg’s video in full below:
Greg will be back with ideas to help prepare students for IELTS Reading. In the meantime, be sure to check out our helpful resources for teaching IELTS.