Three Common Mistakes to Avoid

Hello again and welcome back in this final lecture in section 2 we are going to focus on some common pitfalls that I see from a number of my Skype students and Im writing corrections. So we’re looking at three common mistakes to avoid in ials writing task one and the first of those mistakes is interpreting the data. It’s very important that you only present the data and you do not try to explain why that data is the way that it is. Now we’re going to look at this really simple bar chart here and this is you know is obviously a very simplified chart you’re unlikely to see something quite this simple in your task. But it serves a purpose as to illustrate the importance of not interpreting the data. So this graph shows how many p s 4S was sold compared to x box ones over four months. And those are two video game consoles for anybody who might not be aware. So it might be tempting to say that customers thought that the best for video game console was superior to the Xbox One console and maybe it’s even true. I don’t know. But this is an interpretation and not a fact supported by the data on the screen. Now you need to be careful with this because some language that candidates use they think the things that they’re saying are not really interpreting the data but sometimes it is. So make sure that you only present and that you do not try to explain or interpret the data. The second mistake is when people either write an overview and a conclusion or they write neither. So this is a real problem and we mentioned this a little bit earlier. The bad descriptors for task achievement in task one state that in order to achieve a ban 7 the candida presents a clear view of main trends differences or stages even for band 6. The requirement is to present a clear overview with information appropriately selected. So an overview basically is not optional. It’s a requirement of bondservant writing it’s a requirement of band 6 writing and it must be clear within your response. Some people like to write a summary and that’s OK. But as long as this is a paragraph which contains the main trends differences or stages and the power graph comes in a logical position then this also makes the band seven requirements. Just make sure not to write both the final mistake is when candidates try to include everything. Now this is only a mistake depending on the type of graphic image that you receive because sometimes it is possible to include a description of all the data. But most of the time it is not possible to include all of the data. Try not to put yourself under pressure to cover every single figure for every single category in the graph. A lot of the time this takes too long and is a huge waste of the valuable time that you have. Also taking time away from Task two as well the requirements state that you need to present and highlight key features. And this is a skill which we’ll be looking at later. And the skill is really about identifying what those key features are key features the expression key features does not mean everything. Otherwise it wouldn’t be key. So make sure you’re trying to identify the key features when you’ve got a graph which contains a lot of data and then only presenting those key features clearly and leaving out anything which is not so important. And that takes us to the end of section two. So when you return to the next lecture We’ll get started on Section 3 which is about addressing Bamm descriptor requirements for task achievement Seether.