Three common mistakes in IELTS writing and how to fix them

There are a number of common mistakes in IELTS writing that are easy to fix with a few simple tricks.

IELTS Writing Tips

1. Using Contractions

‘It’s essential to learn the exam techniques to achieve the target score effectively. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be able to pass the IELTS by deadline.’

Is this statement correct? No.

Why? Because this sentence uses contractions (e.g. it’s, wouldn’t).

In the formal academic writing, you should not use contractions. ‘I’ll’, ‘don’t’, ‘can’t’... they all decrease your writing score. For example, ‘if you do not use contractions, your essay will be better.’

2. Using numbers instead of words

‘According to the research, 3 out of 46 people are under 10 years of age. 15 out of 50 people are over 25 years of age.’

The rule of formal academic writing is:

•  Numbers under ten must be spelled out
•  Numbers at the beginning of a sentence must be spelled out

Therefore, the above sentence should be;

‘According to the research, three out of 46 people are under ten years of age. Fifteen out of 46 people are over 25 years of age.’

Note that dates and years (i.e. 12th November, 2017) or percentages (52%) are some of the exceptions.

3. Mixing countable and uncountable nouns

You may have already known that sheep, deer and fish are uncountable nouns; and you never use plural verb for them. Here are more nouns that you do not count;

• Advice
• Content
• Data
• Evidence
• Information
• Knowledge
• Literature
• Money
• News
• Traffic
• Understanding
• Vocabulary
• Work

Some nouns could be both countable and uncountable depending on the context.

Study IELTS in London

If you need to improve your English ahead of applying to a UK university, study IELTS in London at SI-UK’s Language Centre. Take a practice test to learn your current IELTS level and then sign up for classes with no registration fees and all your learing materials provided!