For letters: http://www.scribd.

com/doc/36969551/IELTS-Letter-Writing-Tips

http://www.guide4ielts.com/reading-tips/how-to-improve-reading-skills

So how long should a sentence be? Including cohesive phrases (the second ‘C’ in our
list), typical sentences are somewhere between 8 and 15 words.

Now let’s take a look at how to write these cohesive phrases.

Cohesion refers to words and phrases that help ideas link together. Cohesive phrases
include wordings like…

Because of this, …
As this shows, …
As can clearly be seen from this example, …
It is clear that…
Thus, the idea that…
To illustrate this, …
After analyzing both points of view, …
To provide a summary, …
Without a doubt, this causes…

What I always suggest to students is to commit many of these phrases to memory and
learn how to use them properly. When you get to your examination, you can use these
phrases with confidence, which will not only save you time but also reduce the chances
of grammatical mistakes.

Our third C is coherence, which is the notion that all ideas you present in your essay
should be easily understood by your reader. As you can probably guess, using the
cohesive phrases above correctly can really help to boost the coherence in your essay as
they clarify your ideas. Coherence is also greatly improved by proper grammar, so make
an effort to brush up on this prior to your examination.

Our final C, composition, refers to employing a proper essay structure. This means
including a thesis (in the case of an argument essay), at least 2 supporting ideas, real-life
examples, proper discussion of those examples as well as some kind of summary and
finally a reasoned conclusion. To break it down, an argument essay is most likely going
to contain 15 sentences partitioned into 4 paragraphs and follow a pattern something like
this:

Introduction paragraph

 A background sentence giving some background information on the essay topic.

 A more detailed sentence linking the background sentence to the thesis.
 A thesis that presents your point of view on your given topic.
  An outline sentence declaring the 2 points you are going to use to support your
thesis.

Supporting paragraph 1

 A topic sentence illustrating the first point you will be presenting to support your
thesis (this point taken from your outline sentence).
 A sentence showing a real-life example of this topic in action.
 A discussion sentence that shows how your example links or proves your topic
sentence.
 A conclusion sentence that links this entire paragraph back to your thesis.

Supporting paragraph 2

 A topic sentence illustrating the second point you will be presenting to support
your thesis (this point taken from your outline sentence).
 A sentence showing a real-life example of this topic in action.
 A discussion sentence that shows how your example links or proves your topic
sentence.
 A conclusion sentence that links this entire paragraph back to your thesis.

Conclusion paragraph

 A summary sentence that briefly states the 2 points you discussed in your
supporting paragraphs.
 A restatement of your thesis using different words.
 A prediction or recommendation based on the topic you have been given.

By employing a logical structure like this you fulfill your essay’s requirement for proper
composition.

So, in a nutshell, the 4 Cs make up the essential elements in a successful essay.

Conciseness keeps sentences brief, cohesion helps the sentences link together, coherence
maintains understanding in the essay and composition links all parts of the essay together
logically.

Make an effort to use the 4 Cs properly and I guarantee your IELTS written mark will
improve.

Good luck on your exam!