Ielts Step-By-Step | Mastering Writing (updated 6/2022)

Learn everything you need for the IELTS Writing exam — get that IELTS 7+!

What you'll learn
Improve your IELTS Writing grade significantly to a 7+
Do eighteen essays (Task 2) and eight Task 1 reports/letters, and review them in detail
Learn tips, tricks and structures to immediately improve your grade
Learn skills that are essential for getting a 7+
Learn about every type of IELTS Essay and Task 1 report/letter
Improve your general writing skills in preparation for university study or work in an English-speaking country
Requirements
Intermediate (B1) English
Description
From ex-IELTS examiner James Castleden's YouTube channel IELTS Step-by-step comes a course dedicated to improving your writing skills, your confidence, and your time management in the IELTS Writing exam. Together, you and James will complete 18 essays, 8 Task-1 reports (or, if you're doing General Training, 11 letters) and then review them in detail. You'll also learn hundreds of tips, tricks, skills and techniques that will significantly improve your IELTS Writing grade in numerous automatically-graded exercises as well as through Self Assessment tasks which can be discussed on the IELTS Step-by-step Community page on Facebook.So what are you waiting for? Get that 7+ in Writing you deserve!★★★★★ "Holy! This course is the best of all writing courses. I'd enrolled then studied for only 2 days without any essay writing experience. I only studied section 2-4(first day) & 9-12(second day), which were not all he taught, and I got 6.5. If I had studied everything he taught, I could have got 7 or above!!! ps thank you James :)"—TW★★★★★ "Excellence doesn't come from everyone .But this goes above that boundary!"—Deepika★★★★★ "This course is super-organized and it is helping me to learn everything I need to improve my writing skills. Within a month I improved my score from band 5.5 to 8. Highly recommended!"—Ardian★★★★★ "I am learning how to write down properly an essay for tasks 1 and 2. I think grammar and vocabulary tips are been essential to developing a great text in the IELTS exam."—Ana★★★★★ "Thanks, James. It is a very informative course. Sure, I can say that this called (All-in-one)."—Taha★★★★★ "Wow, it is so great, the way he explaining every step is easy to understand."—Nyugen• ABOUT ME •I have a masters degree in Applied Linguistics from the University of Leicester in the UK, and a Diploma in English Language Teaching to Adults (DELTA) from Cambridge University. I've been teaching for over 20 years, the last 10 of which have been predominantly focussed on teaching the IELTS exam. When I was an IELTS examiner, I was fortunate to have access to important aspects of the exam that many teachers and candidates are not aware of — these I can reveal to you in my courses.

Overview

Section 1: Introduction to the Mastering Writing course

Lecture 1 Introduction to the course

Section 2: Writing an advantages-and-disadvantages essay

Lecture 2 Introduction to this section

Lecture 3 Unit preparation — test yourself

Lecture 4 Model answer — Analysis

Lecture 5 Writing an introduction to an advantages-and-disadvantages essay

Lecture 6 Writing a conclusion to an essay

Lecture 7 Learner Training: Generating ideas for your essays

Lecture 8 Learner Training Practice: Writing Topic Sentences

Lecture 9 Learner Training: What is 'hedging'?

Lecture 10 Grammar & lexis practice: Hedging I

Lecture 11 Writing Criteria for Task 2

Lecture 12 Check your progress — compare essays

Section 3: Writing a problem-and-solution essay

Lecture 13 Introduction to this section

Lecture 14 Unit preparation — test yourself

Lecture 15 Model answer — Analysis

Lecture 16 Lexis: Phrases to write about solutions

Lecture 17 Lexis: Discourse markers — contrasting ideas

Lecture 18 Lexis: Word building

Lecture 19 Grammar and Lexis: Introductions

Lecture 20 Grammar and Lexis: Conclusions

Lecture 21 Grammar: Advanced explanations

Lecture 22 Learner Training: Building a good paragraph

Lecture 23 Check your progress — compare essays

Section 4: Writing an opinion essay

Lecture 24 Introduction to this section

Lecture 25 Unit preparation — test yourself

Lecture 26 Lexis: Crime and punishment

Lecture 27 Lexis: 'make', 'let' and 'allow'

Lecture 28 Model answer — Analysis

Lecture 29 Lexis: Degrees of opinion

Lecture 30 Structure: Supporting Arguments & Opinions

Lecture 31 Writing an introduction for an opinion essay

Lecture 32 Building a good main-body paragraph

Lecture 33 Check your progress — compare essays

Section 5: Writing a discussion essay (a type of opinion essay)

Lecture 34 Introduction to this section

Lecture 35 Unit preparation — test yourself

Lecture 36 Formal language: the passive voice and nominalisation

Lecture 37 Model answer — Analysis

Lecture 38 Expressing someone else's opinion

Lecture 39 Check your progress — compare essays

Section 6: Writing another advantages-and-disadvantages essay

Lecture 40 Intro to this section

Lecture 41 Unit preparation — test yourself

Lecture 42 Model answer — Analysis

Lecture 43 Lexis: Employment

Lecture 44 Grammar and Lexis: Hedging II

Lecture 45 Grammar: Gerund phrases

Lecture 46 Discourse markers — contrasting linkers: despite / in spite of

Lecture 47 Structure: Using pronouns to link ideas and avoid repetition

Lecture 48 Grammar practice: The passive voice II

Lecture 49 Lexis: Strengthening adverbs — alternatives to 'really'

Lecture 50 Lexis: Comment adverbs

Lecture 51 Check your progress — compare essays

Section 7: Writing another problem-and-solution essay

Lecture 52 Introduction to this section

Lecture 53 Unit preparation — test yourself

Lecture 54 Model answer — Analysis

Lecture 55 Lexis: Explaining why something is done

Lecture 56 Lexis: Other ways of making your writing more formal

Lecture 57 Lexis: Writing about solutions

Lecture 58 Grammar and Lexis: Developing a topic sentence further

Lecture 59 Grammar: The 2nd conditional

Lecture 60 Learner training: Getting feedback

Lecture 61 Check your progress — compare essays

Section 8: Writing another opinion essay

Lecture 62 Introduction to this section

Lecture 63 Unit preparation — test yourself

Lecture 64 Lexis: Qualifying your opinion

Lecture 65 Lexis: Giving an opinion about future trends

Lecture 66 Model answer — Analysis

Lecture 67 Lexis: 'Instead (of)'

Lecture 68 Grammar: Relative Clauses

Lecture 69 Learner Training: Error checking

Lecture 70 Grammar: Noun phrases

Lecture 71 Check your progress — compare essays

Section 9: Task 1: Graphs and charts with a trend (IELTS for Academic ONLY)

Lecture 72 Introduction to this section

Lecture 73 Writing criteria for Task 1 Academic

Lecture 74 Unit preparation — test yourself

Lecture 75 Grammar and Lexis: Re-wording the introduction

Lecture 76 Writing an overview for a graph

Lecture 77 Lexis: Verbs and adverbs for describing changes

Lecture 78 Model answer — Analysis

Lecture 79 Grammar and Lexis: Joining two changes together

Lecture 80 Grammar: Prepositions for Task 1

Lecture 81 Lexis: Commenting on data in a graph

Lecture 82 Grammar: Writing about graphs with a future trend

Lecture 83 Check your progress — compare responses

Section 10: Task 1: Comparative graphs (IELTS for Academic ONLY)

Lecture 84 Introduction to this section

Lecture 85 Unit preparation — test yourself

Lecture 86 Grammar: Comparative structures

Lecture 87 Lexis: Describing numbers

Lecture 88 Model answer — Analysis

Lecture 89 Lexis: Numerical comparatives

Lecture 90 Lexis: Ranking information

Lecture 91 Dealing with more than one graph

Lecture 92 Check your progress — compare responses

Section 11: Task 1: Processes (IELTS for Academic ONLY)

Lecture 93 Introduction to this section

Lecture 94 Unit preparation — test yourself

Lecture 95 Model answer — Analysis

Lecture 96 Grammar: The Present simple passive

Lecture 97 Lexis: Linking stages together

Lecture 98 Grammar: Using relative clauses to give extra information about a stage

Lecture 99 Writing the introduction and overview

Lecture 100 Describing a process: Further practice

Lecture 101 Check your progress — compare responses

Section 12: Task 1: Maps (IELTS for Academic ONLY)

Lecture 102 Introduction to this section

Lecture 103 Unit preparation — test yourself

Lecture 104 Lexis & Grammar: Describing changes

Lecture 105 Lexis: Nominalisation and noun phrases for maps

Lecture 106 Model answer — Analysis

Lecture 107 Describing a map: Further practice

Lecture 108 Check your progress — compare responses

Section 13: Task 1: Letters (IELTS for General Training ONLY)

Lecture 109 Introduction to this section

Lecture 110 Writing criteria for Task 1 General Training

Lecture 111 Letter writing: The task and planning

Lecture 112 Letter writing: Paragraphing and salutations

Lecture 113 Letter writing: Formality and opening statements

Lecture 114 Writing a letter of complaint

Lecture 115 Writing a letter of request

Lecture 116 Writing a letter of advice

Lecture 117 Writing a letter of instruction

Lecture 118 Writing a letter of recommendation

Lecture 119 Writing an application letter

Lecture 120 Writing a letter of apology

Lecture 121 Writing a thank-you letter

Lecture 122 Writing a letter of acceptance

Lecture 123 Writing a letter of resignation

Lecture 124 Writing a letter to a friend

Section 14: Conclusion

Lecture 125 Conclusion and thank you

People who need to take an IELTS test (Academic or General Training)