E2 IELTS: Writing Task 2 | TOP TIPS YOU NEED TO KNOW with Jay!

awesome hey guys i'm jay from e2 language i've got an interesting story to tell you well I'll tell you it in a second actually what we're going to do in this live class is look at IELTS writing task 2 but instead of writing a laborious essay which you should do by the way in which you can do by looking at the other videos that we've produced I'm gonna give you some tips for scoring 8 plus okay let me tell you that little story I'm gonna admit this to you and it's kind of difficult for me to admit this because I'm an English teacher and I'm a native English speaker and I'm very very good at linguistics and writing and bla bla bla bla bla I got stuck on 7.5 for writing three times in the IELTS I've taken the IELTS four times now I've gotten nines on reading listening and speaking no problem right reading listening speaking 9 - cool cool bananas easy peasy writing however holy moly 3 times I got stuck on 7.5 right but I can proudly tell you that in the last test I took I got 8.5 which is good it's not perfect it's not 9 maybe I'll send it back and see if they'll up it to 9 but there's a reason why I got stuck and there's a reason why so many people get stuck on 6.5 7.5 and they can't cross that 8th barrier and I think I know the reason why and I I employed some different techniques in the final its final tests that I took I changed the way that I wrote my essays and I believe that that increased my score and there's good reason for that so let's have a look at that in this class so these ghastly looking things are what the examiners look at when they're marking your essay there are four of them right task achievement coherence cohesion lexing what the I don't these are crazy words basically these four things are as such task achievement means you answer the question coherence and cohesion means you structure your essay in your paragraphs while even within the paragraphs themselves lexical resource means vocabulary there are tips and tricks for each of these and the final one is grammatical range and accuracy not just accuracy grammatical range and accuracy we'll get to that one what we're going to do in this live class is look at how to get a top score for task achievement which is this criterion here and I'll show you how to boost it up to an eight plus but you'll have to wait for the other lessons which will happen next week for coherence and cohesion vocabulary and grammar bits so tonight just task achievement let me show you what you need to do to maximize your score on this one so there are four things related to task achievement that you need to do to boost your score first one it sounds very simple but in fact it's not it is answer the question you need to answer the question that they ask you a lot of people don't there's a number of reasons why they don't I'm going to show you what happens and why they go off track tasks achievements all about staying on track number two in your essay you need to make your position or your opinion clear as mud okay I'm going to show you how to do that number three in it's all about structures you need to use the e to language introduction the e to language paragraphs which I'll show you as well and the e to conclusion structures these are extremely important the fourth thing is of course and this relates to task achievement you need to write more than 250 words and we'll have a quick look at that but let's firstly look at how you should need to answer the question I'm going to give you 30 seconds to read this question prompt which you might get on test day ready imagine you and you're opening your test booklet and this is what you see you all right ah just before we continue masterpiece on YouTube live says J if you got stuck on seven point five three times then what hope do I have I'm stuck at seven point five twice already third time lucky perhaps it's not luck it really isn't luck there's a method there are certain strategies you need to employ so let's keep looking at this okay so we just read this question prompt that said considering that adults spend much of their lives at work having job satisfaction is extremely important what factors contribute to job satisfaction how realistic is the expectation of job satisfaction for all employees okay what I want you to do in a second when I get my slides right okay let's just do it what I want you to do here there's the question at the top it's the same question I want you to read this introduction okay I want you to read let me just show you where I want you to read this it's beautifully written I want you to give it a score from 0 to 9 for task achievement is it a 4 isn't a 6 an 8 isn't even a 9 ok read this and think about whether it answers the question ok I'll give you one I'll give you 30 seconds to read it starting now this particular introduction let's say this introduction was continued throughout the rest of the essay would get no more than a four out of nine it's right off topic it's beautifully written the grammar is perfect the vocabulary is excellent but it is off topic completely why well let's take a look the question said what factors contribute to job satisfaction and this said this essay will discuss the advantages of having a good of having good job satisfaction how realistic is the expectation of job satisfaction for all employees this says this essay will discuss the disadvantages of having an honest it's not on topic IELTS examiner's ba-bang you've just if this were a video game you've just died in the video game right that's not what you want to do you want to make sure that you read that question prompt and you answer that question it's perfectly okay answer the question I know that sounds crazy answer the question what happens is you're preparing for your IELTS and you write and advantages/disadvantages essay the night before right and that's good because that's printed that in your brain and then on test day you get there and you open the booklet and ask you something completely different and you're scared you're nervous and you think ah I'll just write what I wrote last night or what I saw on Jays YouTube video Jay's YouTube videos a damn good but you've got to be so flexible on test day and just answer the question okay that's it I won't drill it anymore you get the point I want you to read this introduction and give it a score from zero to nine this time we have a timer you what score would you give this from zero to nine not for grammar not for vocabulary but for staying on track for answering the question read it carefully and the answer is you probably guess that this one was much more improved this would get whoopsy this would get an eight or a nine for task achievement let's go back and see why one of the questions said or asked what factors contribute to job satisfaction let's look at that third sentence of the introduction this essay will discuss the two main contributors to an enjoyable job okay that is directly going to answer that question they're awesome what about the second question how realistic is the expectation of job satisfaction for all employees well this essay will discuss bla bla bla bla bla this essay will argue that few employees will truly have such factors in their working lives so it's going to answer both questions it's right on the money okay so again you're going to get an eight point nine eight or nine rather if you stay on track okay we've just looked at task achievement and how to answer the question of course it's complicated there are it's more complicated than that you have to stay on track throughout the entire essay not just in your in your introduction but in your paragraphs and in your conclusion you have to answer the question all the way through the problem is there are a number of different IELTS essay question types in fact I've seen seven or eight different types I won't reel them off the top of my head but in our YouTube videos up here you can do them all okay so if you're curious and I think you should practice them all if it's very important to practice them all and if you want to get some feedback on your writing go to e to language comm the link will be in the description below sign up to one of our packages get some feedback on your writing written feedback or take a one-on-one tutorial with one of our expert teachers we can certainly help you out okay so we've looked at how to answer the question let's look at the second key to task achievement which is making your position or opinion clear throughout so this is an example si let's say it's an opinion si okay let's say it's asking whether you think smoking is a good idea or a bad idea just to make it simple let's say you're gonna argue that smoking is a bad idea which is probably the easiest way to argue so in your introduction you're going to say that smoking is a bad idea first paragraph you're going to give a reason an example why smoking is a bad idea you're going to do the same different reasons and examples in paragraph two and three and in the conclusion you're going to say that smoking is a bad idea what people do is they contradict themselves they will start off and say smoking is a really bad idea but then in paragraph one they'll say yeah sometimes smoking is actually pretty fun to do with your friends and you know what the evidence may not be there but smoking is really bit and there's contradictions throughout the essay you need to be very mindful that when you choose a position whether you're going to agree or disagree for example that you absolutely stick with it now you've gotten what I did in my last essay yeah this is interesting because this is not usually what I'm like in life in life I like nuance and I like finding is sort of the pros and the cons and weighing up the I sort of agree but I sort of disagree and this is how I find my way through life being centered I hope but when you're writing an IELTS they're saying don't be centered you've got to be okay how can I say this it's got to be ideological you've got to choose a side and totally argue for that side and disregard all the other side of it okay unless it asks you to discuss both views of course it's asking you to discuss both views that's a very different thing but even if it asks you to discuss both views there's still a position there we are very clear on this view and you're very clear on this view right maybe it will also ask you for your opinion in which in the conclusion you'll be very clear about which of those views that you agree with okay the idea here is that throughout your essay you don't contradict yourself your paragraphs are very clear and their ideas and the position is well clear as well let's just say okay I want you to read this paragraph think about how clear it is whether it answers the questions and give it a score from 0 to 9 for task achievement think about the clarity of the paragraph the position is the position clear so I I should kind of tricked you this is relating to that first question about the factors that contribute to job satisfaction okay so let's think about this sorry we're answering this question here does this paragraph have a clear position here is it very clear have I written about the factors that contribute to job satisfaction there are a plethora of elements that contribute to job satisfaction although it is very complicated to ascertain what these aspects are it is clear that they exist consulting companies for instance can measure job satisfaction using various surveys after all it is one of the most important okay that damp down down down there's absolutely no clear position or not necessarily an opinion but I just have not answered that question again it isn't I'm just right off track here I've written it beautifully in terms of grammar and vocabulary but I haven't answered the question again okay try this one again I'm talking about this question here has this paragraph answered this question I'll give you a minute to read it I want you to score it from 0 to 9 for task achievement you okay what did you score this from zero to nine well let's read it so what factors contribute to job satisfaction the most important aspect of job satisfaction is purpose this relates to how much an employee feels that what they are doing is meaningful and has a positive impact on the world for example doctors have a great sense of purpose because they save the lives of their patients having a meaningful job is clearly the most important feature for overall enjoyment okay interesting what factors the most important aspect hmm I think the IELTS examiner's would give this a 6 why it's asking for factors more than one not one plural and in my paragraph how many have I talked about I've talked about one purpose so I'm going to achieve a six probably for this it's not too bad but it's again the positions not clear I haven't answered the question it's a little bit off-topic try this one on for size write this from 0 to 9 you just forget that second question by the way okay so what factors more than one contribute to job satisfaction well my paragraph says there are two main contributors to having a satisfying job mainly namely having a sense of purpose and autonomy having a purpose means that you are doing something that you feel and believe has meaning for example many teachers derive enjoyment from their jobs because they are educating students the other main factor is autonomy people like to be in control of their jobs and to not be bossed around it is quite clear that being a manager rather than a subordinate leads to more enjoyment these two factors are the most important this my friends is very clear the positions clear its answered the question this would push you up from that dreaded 6 or 7 up to the eighth or I don't know if 9 exists to be perfectly honest but there you have it again read the question understand the question answer the question I know that's a crazy thing but again as I said I've taken these tests four times now and anxiety does very strange things to the human mind and it can make it very difficult to concentrate you really need to do on test day is stay calm relaxed focus on what you're reading okay despite all of the butterflies and the stomach and the sweaty hands and then whatever's going through your physical body focus on reading that question and think I'd better do what Jay said about answering this bloody question because if I don't I'm gonna be in trouble and get six again okay all right so we just looked at how to make your position or opinion clear there and my position was very clear I focused on two main aspects and I just spelled it out okay third key for task achievement is to use the e2 language introduction the e2 language paragraph structures in conclusion structures let's just look at the essay structure overall if you haven't seen the wonderful videos that we have on YouTube do check them out it will take you through this sentence by sentence when we're writing an introduction let's focus on this first you start with a background statement about the topic okay you want to write something about job satisfaction for example okay then you rewrite the question prompt in your own words and you I can't remember exactly what it was but you know job satisfaction is very important you've rewrite that prompt in your own words right then this is the most critical sentence maybe of your entire essay this sentence here tells the reader what you're going to tell them so this is they will discuss if you're discussing both views if it's an opinion essay this essay will argue if it's a double question essay this essay will explain why job satisfaction is so important or sorry - this essay will explain what constitutes job satisfaction this answers the question this one here right let's just skip the paragraphs for a second we'll go down to the conclusion again I suggest writing a background statement broad neutral on job satisfaction don't go off-topic don't start writing about your favorite job or whatever just it's about job satisfaction and then this essay discussed or argued or explained okay it answered the first question and it answered the second question and maybe you put your opinion in here now what do you do with the opinion okay some questions specifically ask you for your opinion and some don't for example there's a question type that says discuss both views and there's a question type that says discuss both views and tell me which one you think is best so this one is devoid of an opinion and this one specifically asks you for your opinion what do you do well I've spoken to an IELTS examiner and I said I helps examiner what happens if somebody puts their opinion and it hasn't asked for their opinion and he said it's not a big deal you're allowed to do that it's fine so you'll see in some of the videos I've done where I've said explicitly don't give your opinion because I haven't asked for it and then others I've said no it's actually it's alright it is actually fine but it's not the emphasis it's not the position it's not the the purpose of your essay if it just says discuss both views discuss both views and maybe pop your opinion in the conclusion if it says discuss both views and give your opinion then discuss both views and in those paragraphs also give your opinion in some way by saying while some people bla bla bla bla bla personally I think this and ducted it did a thread your opinion throughout the whole thing whereas if it doesn't you can just pop your opinion in the conclusion at the end that's cool all right so that's the conclusion if you're unclear there's heaps of videos on YouTube let's just quickly recap the paragraphs structures because this relates to task achievement because one of the things they ask you to do is to give relevant and extended answers about the topic write relevant an extended don't go off track and in by extended they mean they want reasons and want explanations they want some evidence like an example ok let me show you how to do that in the paragraph structures so if you're familiar with the e to language structures there are two paragraphs that you might need on test day and you do need to learn both of these because some questions require the double idea paragraph and some questions require the single idea paragraph let's focus on the single idea paragraph first so that's where you have your opening sentence where you outline the main idea for example let's do the smoking is bad I'll give you a very simple one it just says smoking cigarettes is a terrible idea what's your reason well it affects your physical body what's your evidence well many people contract a lung cancer as a result of smoking so what's your point again well smoking is a terrible idea that's a single idea paragraph I'm just talking about my smoking is a terrible idea that's the main single idea and I extrapolate I build upon that main idea by giving a reason explaining it and then giving some evidence like an example right that's pretty simple you need to practice these paragraph structures by the way because it's one thing to sit here and watch this video lesson I think I up cool got a test tomorrow easy right one out will help you to forge it into your brain now there's a second type of paragraph called the double idea paragraph because what do you do if the question says discuss the advantages well what do you do if the question says what factors okay or what do you do if the question says what are the problems associated you need two ideas in the one paragraph so for example your opening sentence will say that there are two main reasons why smoking is a terrible idea what's your first idea or explanation well smoking is a terribly bad for your physical health what's your evidence well it gives you lung cancer what's your second idea what's the second reason that it's that it's terrible well it makes you makes your teeth yellow what's your evidence well the dentists have many patients with yellow teeth what's your closing well smoking is a terrible idea because it's bad for your physical health and makes your teeth yellow just try and do that just you can go back and pause this video and think of something like you think about why smoking is good and try and just say to yourself do that because that's also what you want to do on test day and a big part of getting a high score in task achievement what we're talking about basically answering the question prompt is thinking of what you're going to write before you write it one of the big problems people make problems they make or have rather is they just start writing their essay without really thinking about what they're going to write or what paragraph they're going to use this can be a split-second decision you make you look at that question prompt you give yourself a minute you think okay that's gonna need a double idea paragraph because it's asking about factors and that second question there's just ask okay that's a single idea paragraph so I'm going to do a double and a single okay fine what are the two ideas for my double what factors of job satisfaction well you know big a big wage for example because that's job satisfaction and and meaningfulness okay I've got my two and whatever and then you can start to write you need to do a thought experiment before you start to write writing without thinking will lead you to a six ok we're nearly there we've just looked at how to use the e2 language introduction paragraph and conclusion structures the final key for task achievement is that you need to write more than two and that's a spelling error from my behalf more than 250 words apparently 23 percent of candidates that's two out of ten that's one out of five one out of five candidates lose marks because they don't write 250 words or more okay so the difference is and what we're going to learn when we get to the grammar section in let's just say well a couple of weeks it'll take me to get there but pay attention you can watch this one on YouTube I'm going to show you how to extend your sentences because this is another absolute key and this is a reason why I got stuck on 7.5 I like short sentences I write in short sentences I speak in short sentences but in the IELTS you need to write long sentences so we're going to talk about that in grammar and that will contribute to your word count increase but have a look here if you write an introduction of 40 words and your two paragraphs of 70 and a conclusion of 40 you will hit 220 words and you will lose I don't know exactly but let's just say it's significant maybe an entire bear score maybe more if you extend the length of your sentences and you write some complex sentences which I'll show you how to do if you come along to the next lesson and you extend it out to 50 80 80 and 50 well you've hit above 250 and that's all you need to do to maximize your score there you just need to write more than 250 words this may mean counting your words on test day which is time-consuming but pretty important okay the other thing that this reminds me of is practicing writing an essay or a series of essays if not heaps of essays before test day and having some feedback from e to language comm on getting your essays from et language calm but paying attention to work out and seeing what that looks like on the page in front of you last thing for word count is a lot of people write below the word count because they've on test day you get one sheet of paper right and you fill it up one side and you fill up the second side and you think ah okay I've completed that that must mean that I've written over 250 words alas this happened to me in my first IELTS this is why I got a 7.5 the first time around I wrote about 220 words because my handwriting is big and messy and I needed to put up my hands and ask for another sheet of paper so just be mindful and don't be shy put your hand up and ask for a second sheet of paper if you are under the word count and you need to write an additional paragraph for example cool bananas next week what are we going to do next week well we're gonna look at top tips for this criterion which is coherence and cohesion this is all about structure it's all about internal structures of paragraphs so not just the basic outline of your essay and how the paragraph sentences fit together but how do you how do you connect those sentences together beautifully so it flows from one to the next so there are top tips that I want to show you next week so be sure to tune in then and yes the week after vocabulary the week after that grammar please share these videos with your friends if they're taking the IELTS because these are the kind of things that everybody needs to know and these are the reasons why people get stuck at 6.5 and 7 okay what else have I got for you that's all go and check out the website you can sign up for free you can check out all of our lessons methods lessons overview lessons heaps of practice material live classes every Monday to Friday feedback on your writing and speaking one-on-one tutorials lots and lots of stuff for you to do there I'll stick around for a few minutes to answer any questions you may have you

Channel: E2 IELTS

Views: 1,347,109

Keywords: ielts, ielts writing, ielts writing task 2, ielts task 2, task 2 ielts, ielts e2, e2 ielts, e2 jay, jay ielts, ielts jay, ielts writing essay, ielts writing tips, ielts writing top tips, ielts liz, e2 language ielts, e2language ielts, ielts reading, ielts course

Id: JMZT6UA7df8

Length: 33min 10sec (1990 seconds)

Published: Thu Mar 22 2018