Band descriptors course, writing task 2 ielts-simon.

study

Lesson 1: overview of the scoring system

What you need for this lesson:

1) This sheet, printed if possible

2) A printed copy of the band descriptors with my highlighting of key phrases
3) At least one task 2 introduction paragraph that you wrote before this course
4) A pen and paper for making notes

Here are the key points that you’ll see me discuss in this first video lesson:

• The aims and focus of this course, what will be covered, and what we won’t cover in the seven
lessons. The following lesson titles give you a basic idea of how the course will progress:



Lesson 1: overview of the scoring system

Lesson 2: grammar

Lesson 3: task response

Lesson 4: coherence and cohesion

Lesson 5: lexical resource (vocabulary)

Lesson 6: scoring a student’s essay

Lesson 7: improving the student’s essay

• The four scoring criteria (below), what they mean, and how examiners use them



- Task response

- Coherence and cohesion

- Lexical resource

- Grammatical range and accuracy


• The key phrases in the descriptors that I have highlighted, how they work, and why they are
important



1) Address all parts of the task

2) Present a clear position

3) Extend and support main ideas

4) Organise ideas logically

5) Progression of ideas

6) Cohesive devices

7) Paragraphs with a clear central topic

8) Vocabulary range, flexibility and precision

9) Less common vocabulary, collocations, style

10) Range of grammatical structures

11) Mistakes, error-free sentences

The 11 ‘key phrases’ above are our ‘TOOL’. Here’s a quick demonstration of how we can use
this tool, using an introduction paragraph.

Question:

Some people believe that nowadays we have too many choices. To what extent do you
agree or disagree with this statement?

My introduction:

It is often said that modern life presents us with an overwhelming number of choices. I completely
agree with this, and I believe that the Internet and globalisation are the two major factors involved.

Let’s analyse the above introduction using our ‘tool’.

1) Address all parts of the task - YES, it introduces the topic and answers the question

2) Present a clear position - YES, it is clear that I completely agree

3) Extend and support main ideas - NO, this is not the job of the introduction

4) Organise ideas logically - YES, it is logical to start with the topic and an overall answer

5) Progression of ideas - NO, this will be done in the main body paragraphs

6) Cohesive devices - YES, the word “this” refers back, the word “and” links ideas

7) Paragraphs with a clear central topic - YES, the introduction has done its job

8) Vocabulary range, flexibility and precision - YES, examples are highlighted

9) Less common vocabulary, collocations, style - YES, examples are highlighted

10) Range of grammatical structures - YES, as much as can be expected from 2 sentences

11) Mistakes, error-free sentences - YES, two error-free sentences

Note:
For now, we’re not assessing how well my introduction meets the criteria (we are not scoring it).
We are only looking at whether it meets them or not.

Writing method:

I recommend that you write just 2 sentences for your introduction paragraph. The key aim of the
introduction is to address the task (by introducing all parts of the given topic), and to present a
clear position (by answering the question, or by stating the aims of the essay in some way).

Homework task:
Analyse one of your own introductions in the same way. Don’t try to score it; just decide whether or
not it does the 11 things in our list.