How did Hira go from 6.5 in writing to 8 in writing in 2 weeks? And what can you learn from her journey?
“I actually checked my result 6/7 times before I even reacted. I mean a jump from 6.5 to 8????”
Well… a lot! :D Read about what she did during her writing exam to get a Band 8, in her own words, in this post.
So what did Hira do during her writing exam to get band 8?
---------------------
“This time I exactly knew what I was writing because I had spent a good time on planning.”
Hira planned extensively during her exam because she knew how valuable it was for her.
“Firstly I recalled what you said: Hira you won’t need luck because you will have a plan.
That’s the most incredible advice I’ve ever received [...] Time spent on planning: 12 mins”
And the result speaks for itself:
“And boom I just went on writing. It seemed like a piece of cake.”
So what did Hira include in her plan?
“So my essay was discuss both and give your opinion. Luckily, we had done an essay in great detail. So I made my pointers on the question paper. Wrote small phrases.
Intro: general statement (paraphrase the question) Main conclusion with opinion
Mini conclusion side 1 Why? Closing- support mini conclusion 1
Mini conclusion side 2 Why Closing support mini conclusion 2
Ending- summary of reasons and a general ending supporting my opinion.
In the corner I wrote some linking words and related synonyms that I could recall.”
I would highlight three parts of Hira’s plan as super important in getting band 8 in writing (and which are also necessary to get Band 7):
1. She is very clear about her “main conclusion”, throughout all of her essay.
This means she is constantly focused on answering the question in every part of her essay.
2. Her plan includes how she is going to support and explain her main conclusion.
Notice how often she is explaining “WHY” in her plan. This is a technique you can use to ensure your essay has a consistent focus.
3. She made a plan to vary her vocabulary and include linking words.
Hira is conscious that she will need to demonstrate a variety of vocabulary and grammatical constructions in her essay. She planned with this in mind!
---------------------
“Kept it short, to the point and focused.”
At a band 8 (and 7 as well), your essay can’t contain ideas that are not relevant to your answer or anything that’s not helping your fulfill the Band 7 and 8 marking criteria.
“Well yes, remember how you kept saying 'keep it short, Hira, keep it short'. The more you get carried away... the more you’re off task.”
Your essay must be, as Hira says, short, to the point and focused.
Hira achieved this by planning her essay so she had ideas organised in a structure that would allow her to fulfil the Band 7 criteria as a minimum.
Specifically, she planned her essay using conclusions and mini-conclusions.
A main conclusion is, in essence, the shortest possible answer to the exam question.
Mini-conclusions are the shortest possible explanations of your answer.
*coming tomorrow* You can find out more about what Hira learnt about this in Tuesday’s post… *coming tomorrow*
Planning your essay in this way means you will write only what you need to answer the question and get your target bandscore.
You’ll write the correct number of words (250-300 words)...
… and one other benefit is that you won’t feel time pressure in the exam.
“While people were filing sheets I was peacefully rereading and counting my words ”
Can you imagine feeling that way during your exam?!
It all comes from proper planning, and understanding how to do that...
---------------------
I would attribute a good part of Hira’s success in her exam to the plan that she made.
If you’re interested in learning how to write a Band 7+ essay like Hira, there’s two things you can do:
Read the My Exam with Sam posts on Tuesday and Wednesday this week.
You'll find out:
- what Hira learnt in 2 weeks that changed her essays from a 6.5 to an 8
AND
- what, fundamentally, helped her succeed in her exam.
OR YOU CAN...
“I actually checked my result 6/7 times before I even reacted. I mean a jump from 6.5 to 8????”
Well… a lot! :D Read about what she did during her writing exam to get a Band 8, in her own words, in this post.
So what did Hira do during her writing exam to get band 8?
---------------------
“This time I exactly knew what I was writing because I had spent a good time on planning.”
Hira planned extensively during her exam because she knew how valuable it was for her.
“Firstly I recalled what you said: Hira you won’t need luck because you will have a plan.
That’s the most incredible advice I’ve ever received [...] Time spent on planning: 12 mins”
And the result speaks for itself:
“And boom I just went on writing. It seemed like a piece of cake.”
So what did Hira include in her plan?
“So my essay was discuss both and give your opinion. Luckily, we had done an essay in great detail. So I made my pointers on the question paper. Wrote small phrases.
Intro: general statement (paraphrase the question) Main conclusion with opinion
Mini conclusion side 1 Why? Closing- support mini conclusion 1
Mini conclusion side 2 Why Closing support mini conclusion 2
Ending- summary of reasons and a general ending supporting my opinion.
In the corner I wrote some linking words and related synonyms that I could recall.”
I would highlight three parts of Hira’s plan as super important in getting band 8 in writing (and which are also necessary to get Band 7):
1. She is very clear about her “main conclusion”, throughout all of her essay.
This means she is constantly focused on answering the question in every part of her essay.
2. Her plan includes how she is going to support and explain her main conclusion.
Notice how often she is explaining “WHY” in her plan. This is a technique you can use to ensure your essay has a consistent focus.
3. She made a plan to vary her vocabulary and include linking words.
Hira is conscious that she will need to demonstrate a variety of vocabulary and grammatical constructions in her essay. She planned with this in mind!
---------------------
“Kept it short, to the point and focused.”
At a band 8 (and 7 as well), your essay can’t contain ideas that are not relevant to your answer or anything that’s not helping your fulfill the Band 7 and 8 marking criteria.
“Well yes, remember how you kept saying 'keep it short, Hira, keep it short'. The more you get carried away... the more you’re off task.”
Your essay must be, as Hira says, short, to the point and focused.
Hira achieved this by planning her essay so she had ideas organised in a structure that would allow her to fulfil the Band 7 criteria as a minimum.
Specifically, she planned her essay using conclusions and mini-conclusions.
A main conclusion is, in essence, the shortest possible answer to the exam question.
Mini-conclusions are the shortest possible explanations of your answer.
*coming tomorrow* You can find out more about what Hira learnt about this in Tuesday’s post… *coming tomorrow*
Planning your essay in this way means you will write only what you need to answer the question and get your target bandscore.
You’ll write the correct number of words (250-300 words)...
… and one other benefit is that you won’t feel time pressure in the exam.
“While people were filing sheets I was peacefully rereading and counting my words ”
Can you imagine feeling that way during your exam?!
It all comes from proper planning, and understanding how to do that...
---------------------
I would attribute a good part of Hira’s success in her exam to the plan that she made.
If you’re interested in learning how to write a Band 7+ essay like Hira, there’s two things you can do:
Read the My Exam with Sam posts on Tuesday and Wednesday this week.
You'll find out:
- what Hira learnt in 2 weeks that changed her essays from a 6.5 to an 8
AND
- what, fundamentally, helped her succeed in her exam.
OR YOU CAN...
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It was good explanation and wonderful content. Keep posting...
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