In the IELTS writing tasks test, which is the International English Language Testing System, there are four parts.
1. The IELTS listening test.
2. the IELTS reading test.
3. The IELTS writing test and
4. The IELTS speaking test respectively.
In this short article, let us understand the importance of paragraphing in the IELTS writing test.
What exactly is meant by paragraphing?
A paragraph may be defined as the clustered arrangement of sentences together. In other words, a paragraph is a group of sentences which are arranged together. But remember that these sentences which make up a paragraph have to be related to each other in some way.
There has to be a connection of some sort in between them. So, arranging such related sentence meaningfully together makes a paragraph, and such an arrangement is given a name which is called paragraphing.
Why is paragraphing so important in the IELTS Writing tasks test?
Now, talking about the importance of paragraphing in the IELTS Writing tasks test, it is a very vital factor which carries approximately twenty five percent of the weights in the test. So, let us understand this is detail.
To start with, the IELTS writing tasks test varies or differs depending on the module. There are two modules in the IELTS test.
The first one, which is usually written by students who are planning to study in an English speaking country, and it is called the IELTS academic test. Another reason why the candidates possibly take the IELTS test is for the purpose of immigration, that is, they might want to move or migrate to another native English speaking nation. The apt module for such aspirants is the IELTS general training test.
The point to note here is that the writing test is different for each of these modules, and this is because the test is specific for a purpose. Hence, the two forms of the writing test are
1. The IELTS academic writing test and
2. The IELTS general training writing test.
There are two tasks which every test taker has to. Complete in this writing test. In the academic test, the first task is an academic report. This has to be written by analysing and interpreting a graphical representation, such as a bar chart, a line graph ,a table or general illustration , like a diagram or a flow chart.
In the general training test, on the other hand, the first writing task is a letter. There are three basic types of letters, the formal letter, the semi formal letter and the informal letter. A minimum of 150 words have to be written in task 1.
While task 1 is variable depending on the test module, there is no difference in task 2.
All the candidates, regardless of the module, have to write an essay.
The essay is usually based on social, general issues such as education, law and crime, environment, family, etc. A minimum of 250 words should be written while writing the essay.
The importance of paragraphing in the IELTS test has to be understood for both the task one as well as task two. There are certain factors which are considered when grading your writing test. These are known as band descriptors. There are four band descriptors for each of the two writing tasks.
For writing task one, the band descriptors are
1. Coherence and cohesion
2. Lexical resource
3. Task achievement
4. Grammatical range and accuracy.
For the task two, the band descriptors are
1. Coherence and cohesion
2. Lexical resource
3. Task response
4. Grammatical range and accuracy.
If you observe, the Coherence and cohesion factor is common for both task one and task two. Thus, it has to be understood very clearly.
Coherence is defined as the ability to generate the ideas in a logical manner so as to relate to the given topic. For example, if the topic of the essay is about the ill effects of overeating, then you can generate the ideas such as poor health, lack of physical fitness activities, effect on the cardiovascular system, its impact on the family and the society, etc. Generating such ideas related to the topic is called coherence.
But your job does not end here. After you get the ideas, you should decide which of these ideas suit the topic perfectly in comparison with the others. In this process, you my have to eliminate some ideas which do not appeal. After this, you should organize the ideas as per the requirements for the taste. Let us take an example. Say that the essay is about the increasing levels of pollution, and what can be done to solve the problems related to pollution. In this case, the first body paragraph should explain about the problems and the second body paragraph should discuss about the solutions.
Another point to remember is that the paragraphs should progress from one idea to another idea. This clear overall progression from one paragraph to another paragraph is called cohesion. And what could be an essential feature of cohesion?
This is the method in which you link one sentence with the next one. You should ensure that there is some kind of connection between the sentences. This can be achieved by using some words, and these words which connect the two sentences and two paragraphs to maintain cohesion are called cohesive devices. These cohesive devices are also called transitional words or linking words or discourse markers.
What are these cohesive devices?
Cohesion is the ability to form sentences and link them together. In order to do that, there are certain words and phrases which will help. These are called cohesive devices. Example: firstly, finally, on the other hand, however, nevertheless, when, while, first and foremost, etc.
If two ideas relate to one another, then you can use the cohesive devices such as additionally, in addition to this, furthermore, moreover, etc. If the two sentences contradict each other, then you can use the words like in contrast to this, on the contrary, etc. By doing so, you can form paragraphs easily.
