Hello Wendy, There is a technique to writing essays. First of all you need to read and understand the question and make a good plan. You should allow 5 minutes for this. Next you need to write your essay according to your plan. 30 minutes for this part and finally 5 minutes to read and check the essay for grammar and spelling mistakes. Practise writing whenever you get the time and try to get feedback from other people. Best wishes Bob

Hi Wendy, it can be helpful to think of essay writing as a process that involves planning, drafting, and revising. First, do some pre-writing (brainstorm some ideas for the topic and write a simple outline). Then write a rough draft. Then go back and edit, revise and organize. To write a good essay, you need to work on your vocabulary, your grammar (capitalization, punctuation, verbs, etc.) and also your essay organization (how to organize sentences in each paragraph, and how to organize paragraphs in an essay). Here is a helpful website: http://ieltsmaterial.com/writing. I specialize in teaching writing. Feel free to message me with any questions you may have.

Hi Wendy -- Let me add a couple other things you can try. I assume you are taking this test online, and not writing longhand. Spend 15 minutes everyday writing (typing) as fast as you can on any topic that comes to mind. Start with daily activities (present tense) and then move to past stories. Go back a day later and proofread. Aim for short, clear, and correct sentences, but go fast. If you have longer sentences and aren't sure if they are correct, break them into shorter ones that you are confident are right. Within a few weeks, you should see improvement in both speed and accuracy. If the speed is not picking up, then stop proofreading for a couple weeks and only focus on getting words into your computer as fast as you can. This will also give you material to work on with an Italki tutor. I hope this helps, Thomas Gault, PhD

There are always going to be mistakes (especially grammar mistakes) in any first draft even for a native speaker, so on the one hand, don't worry too much about being "perfect." Focus on getting your point across, the grammar will come with practice. If you want, I specialize in teaching how to write, especially academically. We can practice outlining your answers, and I can correct your essays as well. The best advice I have for writing is to read a lot. This is a good site for reading example answers to the IELTS questions (https://www.ielts-exam.net/IELTS-Writing-Samples/ielts-writing.htm). Read one a day or so to help you get a feel for how the examiners want your writing to be. Then practice mimicking the answers in your own writing. Please feel free to message me directly with any questions.