How Do You Count Words In IELTS Writing?

IELTS is a test which evaluates a person’s ability to use the English language. There are four different modules- Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking. Each module has different rules and structure, and everyone has to follow these rules to obtain good marks. Writing is considered as the toughest of all the four modules as there are a number of criteria to follow, and word limit is one of them.

When someone starts preparing for the IELTS exam, the very first thing they are asked to do in the writing tasks is to follow the word limit strictly. And, candidates usually make the mistake of not counting the words after completing a task, which costs them the marks later.

Students make this mistake because they do not know how to count the words correctly.

Hence, we have brought some tips for you about how the words are counted in a writing task.

• Hyphenated words like “anti-imperial and long-term” are counted as one word.
• Compound nouns which are used in the writing task are also considered as one word. For example: “Bus stop, Mother-in-law.” 
• The words that are written in the brackets are also counted in a writing test.
• Numbers, dates and time are counted as one word in the writing test. e.g. 45,000 = 1 word, 12 noon = one word.
• When the dates are written by using a number and a word, it is considered as one number (19^th) and one word (may).

Tips and advice about word count rules    

• Always remember to count words while taking the test because the examiner will count your words if he/she feels the paragraph is too short.
• Avoid adding irrelevant things and prefer to write according to the question asked in the exam
• Well-organise your paragraphs.
• Avoid cuttings and overwriting because this may cause you to lose the marks. 
• Aim to write only 160-170 words for task one and about 260-270 words for task 2.
• You must focus on writing adequate words and phrases according to the topic.

In a nutshell, practice leads to perfection. And if you want to enhance your skills in each module and are looking for the best IELTSinstitute in Punjab, you can join AAI. Here you will be provided with the top coaching classes in Punjab. 

However, if you are unable to come to our institute and want to study at home, you can easily download our app from the play store to get our IELTS practice test online.

For more information, kindly visit our website www.allaboutielts.com.