IELTS Writing: 3 ways to be more academic

1. Avoid personal pronouns

Number 1 of our 3 ways to be more academic in your IELTS writing is to avoid using personal pronouns. These pronouns are words like ‘I, me or my’; ‘you or your’; and ‘we, us or our’. Of these, the worst is ‘you/your’.  Think about who ‘you’ is: the reader (in this case the examiner). If you use this a lot in your IELTS writing, it’s time to stop. ‘You should consider losing some weight to improve your health’ = the examiner is fat. ‘You should spend less time on your phone and communicate more with your friends’ = the examiner has poor social skills and is addicted to their phone!

Similarly, when you write ‘we/us/our’, think about what that means. ‘One benefit of parks in urban areas is that we can enjoy going for walks in green spaces’. We = the reader (the examiner), you, your friend, the dog, etc. It sounds very informal, and there are better ways to express your ideas. Try to be specific. Instead of ‘we can enjoy going for walks’, try ‘residents in such places can enjoy…’. It’s better for your vocabulary (residents) and using a phrase like ‘such places’ to refer back to ‘urban areas’ is brilliant for your coherence.

I/me/my is way too personal for most of your essay. You might use it when directly giving opinions but avoid using it for examples. Try to think about the bigger picture in your essay. Instead of saying ‘At my school’, you could try saying ‘In many schools’. ‘I own a dog and I benefit from the companionship he provides’ could become ‘Dog owners often benefit from the companionship provided by their pet’. Your essay will sound more persuasive and is more likely to be relevant to the question.

2. Avoid contractions

We use contractions all the time in speaking. These are words that you make shorter and using them in speaking shows good pronunciation. They are often used for negatives and the verb ‘be’. For example:

They’re often used…

It’s time to (do something…)

People can’t get to work on time due to traffic congestion.

Unfortunately, in your writing, they aren’t appropriate. I know, I know, I can see the contradiction. We use them in our articles (e.g. they aren’t appropriate), but this article is designed to be easy to read rather than show academic style. In your IELTS writing, avoid using contractions. Instead, write everything out in full (e.g. they are not appropriate). This will make your writing a lot more formal and academic. Remember, though, your speaking is a lot less formal than writing, so make sure you do use spoken contractions, because it’s good for your pronunciation!

3. Word choice matters

In your academic writing, you should only use formal vocabulary. Instead of writing about kids, write about children. Rather than a boss, talk about a manager. This will also show off your vocabulary.

There are more advanced considerations for word choice as well. Lots of people use idioms in their writing to try and score band 7+, but remember, you need to show awareness of style. If you talk about ‘letting off steam’ or ‘unwinding at the end of a hard day’, your writing will not sound very formal and the style won’t be appropriate. Compare the following two sentences:

1. When people clock off for the day, it’s great for them to unwind by doing something they enjoy to let off some steam.
2. When people get home from work, it is important for them to spend time on leisure activities to reduce stress levels.

The first sentence is very informal. It would be brilliant in speaking, but in your IELTS task 2, it isn’t showing a good understanding of writing style. It also makes your writing sound less authoritative and persuasive. You might use sentence 1 when talking to a friend, but you probably wouldn’t email it to your boss (write MANAGER!).