Plans matter because they should ensure that you answer the question and you write enough words. Or put the other way, if you do not plan, you may not answer the question or you may get half way through the essay and find you have nothing to say.
How to plan
There is no easy answer to this question. Planning tends to be very individual and what works for one candidate may not work for another. However, there are one or two guidelines to follow:
- be methodical: before you get to the exam, know exactly how you are going to plan your essay and stick to that plan in the exam.
- give yourself enough time: you only have 40 minutes to write in the exam, but don’t start writing too quickly. Time spent planning is rarely wasted and candidates who fail to finish are generally those who start to write too soon.
- remember it’s a language exam: IELTS is a test of language, so make sure your plan helps you produce good language
- keep it simple: your plan is there to help you write. If it is too complex, it may not work in a 40 minute exam scenario.
- read the question: make sure your plan relates directly to the question.
How long to plan
Again, there can be no exact answer here, but I would suggest 10 minutes is approximately correct. That may seem a long time, but the longer you stop and plan for the better and the more quickly you will write. People who fail to finish in time are very often those who start writing too soon. For more on this see my 10 minute solution post.
What to plan – vocabulary and examples
Most text books suggest planning ideas. This is hard to do in practice when you are under pressure in the exam.
My suggestion is to focus first on vocabulary and examples. Vocabulary will give you ideas and examples will allow you to develop those ideas in coherent paragraphs.
In your post regarding vocabulary planning I am little confused by what you mean when you say ‘synonyms for key words in the question’ and ‘words in the same family as the key question words’. What exactly is the difference here and can you give an example?
Thanks
Mima
Sorry for the delay in getting back to you on this – a good question. A synonym is a different word with almost the same meaning eg “study” and “learn’. A word in the same family can best be explained by the example “analyse” and “analysis” – one is a verb, the other a noun.
This is brilliant. In fact I think you whole web page is great. Why don’t write anymore?
I’m learning a lot.thank you very much for your brilliant ideas.
i want to know how can write intoductions according to the type of questions……….is there any difference?
I plan to write more about intros shortly. There are different approaches to writing intros. The keys are to address the question and outline your own position in relation to it. Personally, I try to keep my intros quite short and functional. I think there can be a danger in including too much detail in the intro so that it becomes a content paragraph.
thank you so much for your reply.please up date more about introductions
I have recently joint.I really enjoy when i read so i am completely satisfied with your tip.But i have a problem when i want to explain my ideas because i do not have enough knowledge about the worlds and technology.Anyway I WAS happy with this part.
Thanks