So one dude on Reddit claims to have achieved a perfect band score of 9.0 in the writing section of the IELTS academic test. Interestingly, this achievement unlocked the following band descriptor, which according to Google has only appeared once before online… in a Vietnamese Facebook group. Here it is:
Test takers at this band can typically fully address all parts of the questions. Their own point of view and ideas are relevant, fully developed and well supported. The writing is coherent and cohesive without necessarily any obvious linking words. They can skillfully manage paragraphing. They use a wide range of vocabulary in a very natural and sophisticated way, with only rare, minor mistakes. They can use a wide range of sentence types with full flexibility and accuracy. Only rare, minor errors occur in grammar.
This test taker latched on to “without necessarily any obvious linking words.” So maybe that’s the trick to getting a high score. Many teachers and online guides emphasize the use of transitional words and phrases. Perhaps that is not a good approach for people who desire a perfect score.
Update from some weeks later: One of the oft-mentioned bits of “negative washback” from the TOEFL and IELTS tests is the fact that they train young writers to overuse transitional words and phrases. I work with a whole lot of first year students who are trying to figure out academic writing and find their own voice. Part of that work involves teaching them to jettison at least some of those phrases (as a result, therefore, consequently, etc) from their writing and instead make use of the given-before-new principle. It can sometimes be pretty obvious which of my students cranked out two hundred TOEFL or IELTS essays before freshman year.
For for thought, anyway.
