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The article is by an IELTS Examiner named David Park. It deals with the importance of being pin pointedly on Topic. There is a sample essay and comments. At first glance the essay looks to be addressing the topic well. But only till the examiner explains why the essay cannot get anymore than 4 bands in task achievement section. Must read in my opinion for better Writing score.

http://www.idp.co.th/IELTS/A_GetOnTopic.aspx

IndianHarry wrote:The article is by an IELTS Examiner named David Park. It deals with the importance of being pin pointedly on Topic. There is a sample essay and comments. At first glance the essay looks to be addressing the topic well. But only till the examiner explains why the essay cannot get anymore than 4 bands in task achievement section. Must read in my opinion for better Writing score.

http://www.idp.co.th/IELTS/A_GetOnTopic.aspx

Thanks you very much IndianHarry. It's really helped ^^

Quite informative!
I make such mistake sometimes.

Please check one of my essays which I posted earlier.

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=1769&hilit=+shopping

I asked a question in that post:
after finishing this piece, I found I probably made a mistake. The question is asking the advantages/disadvantages of the trend of online shopping. I just talked about the disadvantages of "online shopping" but not the "trend of online shopping". Will it be seen as off topic?

I talked about disadvantages of on-line shopping like: You cannot try it before you receive it. You have to wait for a few days before you get it from courier.
However, I feel it is not about the trend. if the disadvantages is about the trend, it should be something like:"employees of traditional shops will lose their job". It's the consequence of the "trend", but not the "inconvenience" of on-line shopping.

Seems arithmetically unreasonable to me to get only 4.

IELTS Writing Mark Schemes
http://www.examenglish.com/IELTS/IELTS_ ... hemes.html

4 is the score for task response. He may get high score on other sections.

youngsherlock wrote:Seems arithmetically unreasonable to me to get only 4.

IELTS Writing Mark Schemes
http://www.examenglish.com/IELTS/IELTS_ ... hemes.html

Only on the task response section. Sounds a bit unreasonable to me as well. But it is what it is. The lesson: don't rush and be on topic.

BTW if that is you in your avatar, I have to do this

allen_zhang wrote:Quite informative!
I make such mistake sometimes.

Please check one of my essays which I posted earlier.

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=1769&hilit=+shopping

I asked a question in that post:
after finishing this piece, I found I probably made a mistake. The question is asking the advantages/disadvantages of the trend of online shopping. I just talked about the disadvantages of "online shopping" but not the "trend of online shopping". Will it be seen as off topic?

I talked about disadvantages of on-line shopping like: You cannot try it before you receive it. You have to wait for a few days before you get it from courier.
However, I feel it is not about the trend. if the disadvantages is about the trend, it should be something like:"employees of traditional shops will lose their job". It's the consequence of the "trend", but not the "inconvenience" of on-line shopping.

Yes. The disadvatages/advantages of online shopping and of trend of online shopping can be slightly different. Its a fine distinction but a distinction still.

To elaborate:

In case of just online shopping , we can say something like we cannot actually see the quality of the product before our eyes as the picture of the product may be edited. (This would be to state the demerit of online shopping compared to shopping in the market.)

In case of trend of online shopping, we could say that small retailers are being pushed to the brink of bankruptcy. (This would be to state the negative effects of this TREND)

IndianHarry wrote:The lesson: don't rush and be on topic.

Couldn't disagree more.

That was my strategy when taking the test on June 7.
I had to first finish in order to finish first.

Using Lincoln's strategy, I spent time analysing the topic alone for 5 minutes, then another 10 for visualizing the whole essay in my head from the begining to the end before actually writting it.

Working this way helped me to write quickly and cohesively.
I had another 5 to correct my misspelling errors.

It's such a powerful 180-year-old advice from him.

youngsherlock wrote:

IndianHarry wrote:The lesson: don't rush and be on topic.

Couldn't disagree more.

That was my strategy when taking the test on June 7.
I had to first finish in order to finish first.

Using Lincoln's strategy, I spent time analysing the topic alone for 5 minutes, then another 10 for visualizing the whole essay in my head from the begining to the end before actually writting it.

Working this way helped me to write quickly and cohesively.
I had another 5 to correct my misspelling errors.

It's such a powerful 180-year-old advice from him.

You mean spending 15 minutes just on preparation helped you finish topic on time with 5 minutes left for checking? Or, are my sarcasm detectors out of order? The "Couldn't disagree more" seems to suggest it might be the latter.

Anyways, my strategy is to spend just 5 minutes for locking on to the topic and brainstorming. The next 30 minutes are spent writing the essay. Last 5 minutes are for recheck. Never had a problem finishing it in time.