Band 8-9: How to pick the correct answer for IELTS speaking and writing agree/disagree
You, however, are here because you want to get it right, every time.
There are 5 steps to being 100% sure that you have chosen the right side, ‘agree/disagree’.
Step 1: disagreeing is strong academic logic
Academics is about being critical. It isn’t about being friendly, it’s logic.
Good academics find out what’s wrong with a statement or research and expose it.
So, when you get a statement (question/prompt) at university or IELTS, you are being asked to find what is wrong with it.
This is TOTALLY different from Asian cultures where your job is to repeat what you think the ‘big man’ boss thinks.
If you listen to British people in pubs, they are having a conversation and laughing, but debate underpins it all.
You’ll hear them say “yes, but did you know that…….” and “perhaps, but isn’t it also true that……”.
So, when you answer ANY IELTS speaking or writing question, your answer is being judged by people who come from a society in which debate is the core.
Step 2: Critical Analysis in IELTS
The first thing you should ask is ‘what’s wrong with the logic of this question?”
The most common type is some ‘extreme’ claim.
“All people/students/teachers etc should (do something)”.
Students at 8-9 think more deeply: “perhaps students who are physically weak don’t enjoy being forced to play sports. Perhaps, they are math geniuses and their time is better spent studying. There could be physically challenged people who cannot participate. There could even be some who have health issues. It’s much easier to disagree with the statement.
Arguing that everyone, literally EVERYONE should do something is quite hard. Most students write about how it’s such a good idea, but the examiner, being from the critical tradition, is thinking, well you forgot about……..these people who shouldn’t, and then he/she starts to drop your mark.
Here’s an example: All students should be made to take PE classes.
Students at 6-7 generally write “I strongly agree that all students should take PE classes because they will become healthy.
Step 3: Brainstorming
When you fist see a question, you often think “oh I have no idea about this topic”. Your first weapon is to brainstorm.
I was watching Chris from IELTS ‘Advantage’ telling students that ‘brainstorming is a bad way to get ideas’, but brainstorming is about accessing the knowledge you have about the subject in your brain, and you can’t find your answer until you do that!
In step 4, I’ll show you the questions to ask to find the correct and most persuasive reasons for a thesis.
While popular ‘fairground’ teachers suggest skipping brainstorming to save time, this cursory approach is exactly why students remain trapped at Band 6.5. True academic depth requires…”
Step 4: Who, What, Why, Where, When and How?
One major difference between 6-7 and 8-9 is the extent to which they ‘expand’ their ideas. Examiners want details, and we’ll get to that in the course.
For now, you need to ask ‘W?’.
Who are these students? Where do they study? What kind of PE do you want them to do? How long do you want it to last for? etc.
The answers to these questions will tell you more about the situation. This will not only form the background for your introduction, no we aren’t ‘paraphrasing the question’ like a stupid parrot, (nobody does that at university), but it gives you your opinion and reasons.
For example: if the students are living far away from school and have to walk as happens in poorer parts of the world, are you going to make them take PE classes and then walk home 6 miles? There’s your reason to say no!
Once you feel you grasp the concepts on these pages, about 5 pages, submit an essay to see how you are doing.
Step 5: Choose the right reasons for your opinion. Band 9 Task Response
You want the reader to think ‘Yes! That’s a good reason not to jump off a bridge” or whatever silly statement the question says.
Should we make ALL students do PE? No, because some students can’t (duh) and some students are not well-suited to it.
So, you are not ‘looking for ideas’ like our friend Chris says, rather, you are looking for strong reasons for your opinion.
Now, there are many levels of sophistication in arguments, essays and speeches.
How do I get good at doing this?
There’s so much practice and guidance, as well as personal attention, in my course that you are guaranteed to be an academic thinker who can handle any question by the time the four week course is over.
and if you still have issues, you just email me, and we’ll sort it out together.
To learn how to raise yourself to university-level thinking that will breeze you through IELTS too, sign up for my month-long course.