Common Mistakes

Analysing the Question 

This is one of the most crucial parts of answering any IELTS writing question. If you don’t take the time to properly think about what the examiner is asking you to do, then it is very difficult to answer the question correctly.

We analyze the question by thinking about three things:

• 
  keywords
  
• 
  micro-keywords
  
• 
  action words
  

Keywords are the words that tell us what the general topic is.

Micro-keywords identify which part of the general topic the examiner wants you to talk about. They often give an opinion, qualify the statement or talk about a sub-category of the bigger general topic.

Action words tell us what the examiner wants us to do.