IELTS Energy 1642: Diagnose a Bad Task 2 Paragraph With the 3D Test

This is an IELTS Energy Podcast, Episode 1642, Diagnose a Bad Task 2 Paragraph with the 3D Test. Welcome to the IELTS Energy Podcast from All Ears English, downloaded more than 35 million times with examiner-trained IELTS whiz Aubrey Carter and Lindsay McMahon, the English adventurer. If you are stuck with a low score, our insider method will help you get the score you need to unlock your dreams. Get your estimated band score now with our two-minute quiz at allearsenglish.com slash myscore.

Before you take your essay to a teacher, make sure you get the best possible feedback by critiquing your own essay by yourself first. Today, find out how to do it.

You can be technically correct in English and still not sound natural. Maybe your sentences are grammatically right, but something feels stiff, a little robotic, not quite how a native speaker would say it. That's nuance. Fluency lives in collocations, phrasal verbs, and word choice, not just grammar rules.

If you keep using the same safe phrases, it may be time to stretch. Find out your level and what vocabulary skills you're missing in our free two-minute quiz. Go to allearsenglish.com fluency score. That's allearsenglish.com f-l-u-e-n-c-y-s-c-o-r-e.

Hello, Lindsay. How are you today? I'm doing good, Aubrey. I'm feeling pretty good today. My voice is a little off. Apologies, but it'll be better tomorrow.

No problem. Yeah. Aubrey, I have a question for you. You ready? Okay. Yeah. Let's hear it. Have you ever thought an essay was good and then you were surprised that you actually got kind of a low score or a low grade?

Did this ever happen to you? Yes. This happened to me once in high school and it was kind of crazy what happened. I remember them. I wrote this essay and I was really proud of it.

And I got a really low score and there was a note on it to like see the teacher. And basically they accused me of having my parents help me because this is before the internet. There was no way to like, you know what I mean? I'm just like finding books in the library or whatever.

It was like a research paper. And I was so offended. Yeah. And I was really glad that I had, cause I'm sure a lot of kids do get help from parents, but I hadn't, I had done it all myself and I had worked really hard and I was, I had so much righteous indignation.

How dare they? Well, it must've been a really good essay, right? It must've been really, so it's a compliment really. Right. But there was no way to prove it.

I'm like, we could bring my parents in and they'll tell you, but like, it's their word against this assumption. Like so crazy. And it made me really realize as a teacher to be careful not to do that because it's so unfair when people have put in a lot of work, but also I can imagine they're getting, you know, high school level quality of essays. And yeah, it is a compliment.

I'm like, okay, that was good enough that they were sure that I hadn't written it by myself. Interesting. Interesting. Well, I mean, this does happen a lot to IELTS students on the exam.

I think writing is the biggest Achilles heel for most of us when it comes to the IELTS test. Don't you think? Absolutely. Students often get a lower score than they expect on writing and they'll know that their essay had good grammar, advanced vocabulary, complex sentences, linking words, but then they'll get a six or lower and they're not sure why.

So this is really tricky. Yeah. Yeah, exactly. But what is usually the problem in 99% of these situations, or let's say 90%, what would you say can be attributed to that?

Why is this happening, Aubrey? When those other things, right? When we've got good grammar, good vocabulary, the promised problem is almost always that their ideas aren't supported well enough. So today we're going to do something a little bit different.

Instead of teaching you just how to write a good paragraph, we're going to teach you how to diagnose a bad one so that you can sort of look at your own essays and go through today's steps and try to figure out what would it score and if it is getting a low score, why? I love that idea. This is so important to develop this critical eye, right? It's part of the learning process, the strategy building process, not just writing, but looking and evaluating other essays, right?

Exactly. Because to score seven or higher on that task response score, a paragraph has to have... one clear idea, you know, and then it needs to develop that main idea, has to directly answer the question. And often that won't happen, right?

Our ideas will be too general, not supported. The details might just not be related enough to the idea. All kinds of things can go wrong. That's pulling down that score.

But there is something that went right recently, Aubrey, within our Allers English community. And before we get further into our topic today, what went right? Yeah. We have some very exciting news to share.

Pei Yao, who did a two-part series with us here on IELTS. You probably heard it where we did a speaking test and then in part two gave her feedback. She got her score. She took IELTS.

She got her scores and scored an overall 7.5, which is an amazing score. So we want to congratulate Pei Yao for this awesome score. Yeah. I'm clapping right now on the side of the microphone here.

That's incredible. So proud of Payal. And we hope that you all can feel that inspiration from what you learned from Payal and go into the test well-prepared. That was the difference.

She was in our course. She was well-prepared. She was ready. Right? Exactly. Yes. And if you happen to miss that series, stay to the end. We'll share where you can access it so that you can definitely hear her speaking exam and the feedback she got because a lot of that will definitely apply to your speaking answers as well.

All right. Let's get into a framework that we have for our listeners today to assess an essay, right? Assess their own essays. What can we say? We're calling it the 3D test, right?

So the Ds are, first of all, direction, which you want to ask yourself, does the paragraph have a clear main idea, right? Is the direction of this paragraph clear? Yeah. And then the second D is development.

Does it explain and support that idea? Right? Does it explain and support the idea? What's the third? Yeah. The third is details. Are the supporting details specific and relevant?

So as you can see, this 3D test is not about grammar and vocabulary. We're diagnosing a paragraph for the task response score. Is it on topic? Is it directly answering the question?

And are the details supporting it? If so, your task response score will be high. All right. So in order to use this framework, though, Aubrey, we have to kind of be able to see it and know it when we see it.

Right. So, for example, if a paragraph or writing essay does not have a clear idea, a task to answer, no clear main idea, what does this look like? Exactly. So this is that number one, right?

We're going to take you through all of these steps. So that number one direction, there may be no clear main idea. So let's give an example. For a task two essay, you may get the question, some people believe that working from home is beneficial for employees.

To what extent do you agree or disagree? Now we're going to share a bad paragraph opening with no clear main idea. Do you want to share that for us, Lindsay? Yeah.

Yes. All right, here it is. Nowadays, many people work from home. Technology has changed the way people work, and there are many different types of jobs.

People use computers every day, and companies have offices in many different places. Feels like it's drifting, Aubrey. Yes, right. The problem here is that, you know, the paragraph has information about work and technology, but we don't know the main argument, right?

So we want to give you a diagnostic question when you are reading your paragraphs, ask yourself, could I summarize the paragraph's main point in one sentence? Right. And for this, you know, this sentence, you couldn't, it'd be like, like you said, it's kind of drifting. We don't understand the main idea.

Where's the paragraph going to go from here? So what would be better? One sentence to have a clear main idea. One sentence. Here it is. One major advantage of working from home is that it gives employees greater flexibility.

Okay. Boom. Yes. Right now the examiner knows exactly what the paragraph is about. This is going to be so much easier to brainstorm. If that is a clear main idea, you're going to be able to come up with supporting details and examples.

Yes, I love it. This is fun. This is good. It's great to have a framework here, Aubrey. So our second D was development, right? The idea is not developed.

Give us a bad example. Okay. So for that same task two question, here's a part of a paragraph that's not developed, right? Working from home is beneficial because it gives employees more flexibility.

People can choose when they work. This is convenient and it is also good for employees. Okay. Ooh. And we see students do this a lot, right? They're kind of, they feel like they need to get more words, they're repeating ideas, and they're just not actually supporting the idea.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, technically speaking, what do we have to know here? Yeah. So technically this paragraph has a main idea, right? Supporting sentences and correct grammar, but there's no development of that idea.

It just feels circular. The examiner sees this all as filler. Yeah. So the question we would ask ourselves here with this development part of the framework is, did I explain why or how my main idea is true?

Right? Yes. If it's developed, you would be able to answer that question. You would be able to answer the question, why does flexibility matter? Right.

And in this, you know, what I read, no, you can't tell me that because I'm just kind of in general, this is good for employee, but what, what is good about it? You have to support that idea. All right. So here's a better paragraph for this type of essay.

Yeah, let's hear it. Here we go. This can be particularly valuable for parents who may need to take their children to school or attend appointments during traditional working hours. That's much more cohesive.

Okay, notice how, yes, and it's just developed really well. It's well supported. The examiner, if they ask, why does flexibility matter? They have a very clear answer because you've supported that idea, right?

With specific details and examples. Yes. Yes. Who are you in your native language? Confident, funny, opinionated. Now, who are you in English? If you feel smaller, quieter, or less expressive, that's not because you're bad at English.

It's because fluency is tied to identity. When you're unsure, you hold back. And when you hold back, people don't see the real you. You don't need perfect grammar.

You need clarity about what is holding you back. In just two minutes, you can discover your English level and what's slowing your progress for free. Go to allearsenglish.com slash fluency score. That's allearsenglish.com slash F-L-U-E-N-C-Y-S-C-O-R-E.

All right, Aubrey, we are at step three of our formula here, which is what was step three? Details. Yes. So your details have to be specific and relevant.

Often the problem is the example, the details you're sharing are still super general. They're not specific and relevant. So Lindsay, give us an example of a bad example related to this same essay. Here's a what not to do, right?

Working from home can improve people's quality of life. For example, my cousin used to spend an hour commuting to work each morning, but now he works remotely. What's wrong with this, Aubrey? This is really interesting.

And I'm curious, a lot of you out there might be thinking that seems right. But the problem is the example isn't connected clearly to the argument. We don't know if the cousin has a better quality of life due to working remotely. Maybe he loved the commute, but

Listen to his favorite podcast. And maybe that was the hour of quiet time with his own thoughts. You cannot ask the examiner to make assumptions, right? We can't assume that just no longer having a commute means a better quality of life.

You have to share details that draw that conclusion for the examiner. You have to connect the ideas for them. Yeah. And don't get confused, guys, because we do share that it's okay to use personal examples, right?

It's okay to say I, my, my cousin. That's great. But here what we're dropping the ball on is connecting the details, right, to the main point. So that's the key.

Exactly. So your diagnostic question here could be, does my example prove to the examiner that my idea is valid? And think about assumptions. You might be assuming that not having a commute means better work-life balance, but maybe the examiner would disagree with that.

If you haven't connected that for them, it's not a strong detail. Connect the dots in the examiner's mind, right? So using that critical lens of the three Ds when you examine your essay... will help you get there.

Okay. Exactly. I'm going to share a better example here. Yes. If you want to have your details be specific and relevant, connect the dots for the examiner.

It might look like this. Working from home can improve people's quality of life by reducing the time they spend commuting. For example, my cousin used to spend an hour commuting to work each morning, but now that he works remotely, he has time each morning to exercise and have breakfast with his family. So now notice how these details are directly related to quality of life.

Love it. So much better. Now the example proves the point, right? So much more strategic. So much better. So this is such a great skill to be able to diagnose your own paragraphs, write your practice essay, and then use this 3D framework to diagnose those essays.

Are your ideas clear, relevant? Are you directly answering the topic? And are you connecting the dots for the examiner? Yeah, that's very empowering. I mean, it's not always about going to a teacher to say, grade my essay, grade my essay.

This would be a step to take before you take your essay to the teacher. So you can get even better grading from the teacher, right? Absolutely. Right.

Imagine if you take your results here, be like, okay, this is what I wrote. This is kind of what I thought you are. And then the teacher can either say, yes, you're on the right track. Exactly.

Or if not, they could sort of set you straight. That would really help. Yeah. So good. So much better. We want to spend our time in a smart way so that when we do have time with a teacher, you have the best possible exchange and learn as much as possible with that teacher.

Right? Absolutely. Yes. Make the most of any time you have to get that feedback, to understand how to boost your scores. This is such a great first step.

Exactly. And in our course, Three Keys IELTS, we do have a personal coach plan where you have access to a mock speaking test, right, Aubrey, with you, the teacher, our IELTS teacher, and also access to writing feedback. Isn't that right? Yes.

This is immensely helpful to be able to get the scores that you would get on your essays if you took the exam today, right? Mm-hmm. You can sign up at allearsenglish.com slash keys, K-E-Y-S. Because yeah, like you were saying, Lindsay, this is just a good first step. You would need to know, right?

What are all the scores I'm getting in all of these? Because this task response also is just one of four scores. Just one of four. Yeah. It's just scraping the surface here, guys.

And go over to IELTS Energy 1633 to hear Payal's story, right? You're going to hear her practice IELTS speaking exam, and then part two with her feedback. And yes, all of the feedback that she got, all of the mistakes she was making, students make constantly. So I know that there's going to be valuable information there that's going to also help you boost your IELTS speaking score.

Wonderful. All right, Aubrey, thanks for hanging out on the show today. I'll see you very soon. Take care. Awesome. See you next time. Bye. Thanks for listening to IELTS Energy.

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