IELTS Writing Task 1: the 'word choice' skill

 You might assume that mistakes affect only your grammar score. But some mistakes are vocabulary mistakes. For example:

• a spelling mistake
• a word formation mistake (e.g. incorrect formation of a past participle)
• a word choice mistake (e.g. inappropriate or unnatural use of a word)

For me, word choice is the big one. If you want to be a good writer, even in your own language, word choice is the skill that you need to develop. Interestingly, we refer to the greatest writers, like Shakespeare, as 'wordsmiths' due to their mastery of word choice.

So, the next time you're writing in English, try to imagine yourself as a 'wordsmith'. Think about the different vocabulary options that you have, and make word choice your priority as you write.

I'll be going deeper into this aspect of the writing test in the next few video lessons on my member site.