This is my criticism of what I call the “formulaic template approach”. This is the approach typically used in IELTS training centres across China where the student is taught to memorise a template consisting of numerous generic sentences or partial sentences so that all they need to do is paraphrase the prompt a few times to fill in the gaps and, voila, there is a complete essay. For example, a typical template might be something like this:
With the development of the [economy, society, technology] whether [paraphrase the question] has become a hot topic/important issue/etc. There are advantages and disadvantages to [paraphrase the question]. In this essay I will discuss this and draw some conclusions.
First, there are several advantages to [paraphrase question]. These advantages are [give an example].
However, there are also disadvantages. The disadvantages are [give example].
In conclusion, there are both advantages and disadvantages of [paraphrase question]. The government should put effort into keeping the benefits and reducing the drawbacks.
So, what is wrong with such a “formulaic template approach”? Well, if your goal is an IELTS band 5.5, the answer is that there is nothing wrong with this approach. In fact, if your language level is around band 3-4, I would go as far as recommending the “formulaic template approach” because it gives you a solid structure which does follow the conventions of essay organisational structure. However, if you are aiming for band 6.5 or above, this “formulaic template method” is far too constrictive.
There are three main reasons why this method is not appropriate for students aiming to achieve a higher band score in IELTS.
1. Not answering the question, establishing a strong position or developing ideas
Since the template is so generic, it is designed to answer any possible question very vaguely. It is so imprecise that it cannot obtain a high band for answering all aspects of the question (failing to answer the question is, incidentally, also the biggest cause of failure for students at university). This also impacts on the development of ideas because vague generic sentences express vague generic ideas. For the IELTS test, to get a band 7 for the Task Achievement criterion requires “position clear throughout”, which is obviously unachievable if the introduction has such vague and generic language that the writer’s own position is entirely unclear.
2. As a consequence of not developing ideas, not using a significant range of grammar or vocabulary
If you express vague generic ideas, you will almost certainly use vague generic vocabulary. IELTS examiners are likely to ignore the most generic parts of the template so only the remaining small amount of lexical items will be used to award the score. this means that unless the examples that the student provides are highly sophisticated, the vocabulary range is going to be maximum of band 6 and more likely a band 5.
3. Risk of basic grammar and vocabulary errors in paraphrasing efforts
This is one of the most painful experiences for me when I am marking student papers that follow the template. The paraphrasing is so bad that it simply says to the examiner, ‘my grammar is band 5 or below.’ Poor choice of synonyms or incorrect word forms can also help to limit the score for vocabulary to a band 5 too. Consider this common error:
With the development of the economic, …
Only six words into the essay and the writer has announced to the examiner that “I am using a template and I have no idea about basic word forms and parts of speech and I am therefore most likely a band 5 for vocabulary and grammar”. This is obviously a very unhelpful strategy for those students who are aiming a bit higher than the Chinese national average of 5.5 in their writing.
Conclusion
If you are aiming higher then band 5.5 or 6 in your IELTS test, avoid constraining your writing to the template.