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The A to Z of IELTS: M is
to Memorise or not

Can memorising answers be a useful

approach in your preparation for your
IELTS test? Let's take a look.

On this page

In the IELTS Speaking and IELTS Writing tests, one

strategy that some people take is to use
memorised answers. But how can this approach be
unhelpful in your test? Let’s have a look at some of
the issues this can cause for you.

Should I memorise IELTS

Speaking answers?
One way that your speaking is affected with
memorisation is that it is harder to have authentic
pronunciation compared to having natural
reactions to questions. Let’s compare the following
responses to the question:

‘Do people in (your country) prefer to use public

transport or private transport?’

Response A (memorised)

“Australia is a diverse country and due to hectic

schedules, people use a variety of transport
options. Just like in my hometown, it has all the
facilities such as buses, taxis and trains. So, people
prefer to use public transport instead of private
transport.”

Response B (impromptu)

“Hmmm. It’s really hard to say I guess, because it

really depends on whether you are based in a
large city or a small town. I suppose in the
countryside, people have to rely on their own cars,
coz I have to admit, there are barely any services
put on for them at all. In the big cities, like
Melbourne, there are so many options for public
transport and the roads are so jammed with cars,
that catching a bus or a train would be less
problematic. Not sure about trams though, as they
move along at a snail’s pace, I would say.”

When comparing the two answers, you can see

that some of the memorised content in Response
A doesn’t quite fit the question neatly, unlike the
person in Response B. What is the relationship
between being a diverse country and using public
transport? It isn’t clear. Why are hectic schedules
associated with public transport? Can’t we say the
same about using private transport? This is not
clear. Also, the question is about people in your
country, so there is no need to talk about ‘all the
facilities’ in your hometown.

So, here is one of the dangers of using memorised

language – it doesn’t always fit the question
properly.

Secondly, you will see that the speaker in

Response B uses emphasis on particular words to
show feeling and emotion (see the words in italics).
When speaking in an impromptu manner, you are
more likely to show this emotion, which then
affects your pronunciation in a positive way as you
would use more emphasis, rhythm and intonation.
If you are using memorised speech, it is harder to
portray this feeling, and so, your pronunciation
suffers. Remember that pronunciation is worth 25%
of your total score.

Therefore, it can be said that using memorised

answers is a harder way to have a better score in
your IELTS Speaking test.

Should I memorise IELTS

Writing answers?
Some people like to use memorised phrases in
their IELTS Writing test. They like to use the same
phrases in any Writing test question, but there are
dangers of following this approach. Let’s have a
look at a sample writing task and contrast a
memorised versus an non-memorised approach.
We will look at just the introduction only.

Task:

Some people think it is a good thing for

primary school children to have a mobile
phone to take to school every day.

To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Response A (memorised)

With the development of society, mobile phones

are becoming more and more important in our
daily lives. Some people claim it is useful for
primary school children to bring one with them
daily, while others oppose this view and challenge
this notion. I am a supporter of the former view and
the following paragraphs will expand on the
above-mentioned arguments and provide a
plausible conclusion.

Response B (impromptu)

Ownership of mobile phones has become so

common these days, and so some people have
suggested that primary school learners should also
possess one, taking it with them to school each
day. This essay will explain why this view is
justified for both safety and family coordination
reasons.

Let’s have a look at the memorised answer to

begin with. You will see that the amount of
language that is actually related to the question is
quite minimal.

With the development of society, mobile phones

are becoming more and more important in our
daily lives. Some people claim it is useful for
primary school children to bring one with them
daily, while others oppose this view and challenge
this notion. I am a supporter of the former view and
the following paragraphs will expand on the
above-mentioned arguments and provide a
plausible conclusion.

When you look at the amount of template

language, it dominates the introduction:

With the development of society, mobile phones

are becoming more and more important in our
daily lives. Some people claim it is useful for
primary school children to bring one with them
daily, while others oppose this view and challenge
this notion. I am a supporter of the former view and
the following paragraphs will expand on the
above-mentioned arguments and provide a
plausible conclusion.

Some formulaic language is needed in an essay

(e.g. ‘some people claim’), but it shouldn’t
dominate your introduction. It is better to tailor
your introduction so it is relevant to the question.

There is some language in this introduction that is

not directly relevant to the question:

‘With the development of society’

(There is no mention of this in the task.)

‘are becoming more and more important in our

daily lives’

(This is not mentioned in the task.)

‘while others oppose this view and challenge this

notion’

(There is no mention of two sides to the argument

in the task – only one opinion is actually
mentioned. This person has invented their own
question!)

Now, when you look at the impromptu introduction,

you can see that a lot more of the content is
related to the actual task:

Ownership of mobile phones has become so

common these days, and so some people have
suggested that primary school learners should also
possess one, taking it with them to school each
day. This essay will explain why this view is
justified for both safety and family coordination
reasons.

The writer has also briefly previewed the theme of

the body paragraphs:

‘safety’ for body paragraph 1

‘family coordination’ for body paragraph 2

Therefore, on balance, we can see that using

memorised language does not necessarily help
you in your writing as the amount of language that
is relevant decreases, and there is less vocabulary
related to the topic that the examiner can assess.
Impromptu writing on the other hand, tends to be
better focussed on the question.

In conclusion, it is never advisable to memorise

answers in preparation for your IELTS test. The
responses aren't your original thoughts and
examiners are well trained to spot them.

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