The IELTS Writing Test - text issues and teaching strategies

The IELTS (International English Language Testing System) test is growing in popularity internationally both as an entry requirement for students wishing to study in various English-speaking countries and, more recently, as a tool of the migration process. This paper explores some of the issues surrounding candidate performance on the Writing section of the IELTS test. It draws on research which used a functional grammar perspective to compare texts produced in response to the same task prompt by two cohorts - one of native-speaker-writers, and the other of nonnative speaker-writers from non-European cultures. The classroom implications of the identified writing issues are discussed in terms of practical strategies for assisting the written performance of IELTS test candidates