In writing, conciseness plays a crucial role. You should aim to fill your 250-word essay with topic-related words, avoiding popular weasel words. The IELTS examiners are trained to recognize memorized phrases from the internet, and repetitive use of such phrases can lead to a reduction in your score.

Lengthy sentences often result from five reasons:

1. Nominalization:

Nominalization involves changing a verb into a noun phrase. However, using noun phrases just for the sake of lengthening sentences is not effective. Instead, use noun phrases when they genuinely shorten your answer. For example:

Original: Exchange programs cost a considerable amount of money, which a handful of students may be inaccessible.

Correction: The expensiveness of various exchange programs makes them inaccessible to many students.

2. Lengthy adjuncts:

Adjuncts, which modify nouns, can be wordier than equivalent adjectives. Save their use for emphasizing specific points.

3. Unnecessary expletive constructions:

Expletive constructions like “it is,” “there is,” and “there are” should generally be avoided, as they obscure the main subject and action of a sentence. However, some exceptions exist, such as “It’s raining.”

4. Unnecessary time expressions:

Avoid using redundant time expressions like “in recent times.” Instead, consider changing the grammatical tense to present continuous or present perfect continuous to convey an ongoing trend.

5. Unnecessary “of”:

Use the possessive form to replace “of” in phrases like “the opinion of the manager.” For example, use “the manager’s opinion” to make the sentence more concise.

In summary, strive for conciseness in your writing. Use topic-specific vocabulary rather than elongating sentences to achieve a higher Lexical Resource score. Avoid unnecessary wordiness and focus on expressing your ideas clearly and effectively. By keeping these tips in mind, you can improve your writing and increase your chances of success in the IELTS exam.