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IELTS 9 Band Essay: IELTS Writing Samples Band 9

Updated on 02 February, 2024

Akansha Semwal

Akansha Semwal

Study Abroad Expert

The IELTS or International English language Testing System is a standardized test that measures the English language proficiency of non-native English speakers. Writing an essay is a compulsory element of the task 2 of writing section. Task 2 of the IELTS writing section needs to be completed within 40 minutes, and the minimum word count for it is 250 words. An IELTS 9 band essay is structured in the form of an introduction, body, and conclusion. Every IELTS aspirant should aspire to get a band 9 to be eligible to get admission to globally ranked universities.

 

The examiner assesses Writing task 2 across four areas - task achievement, coherence and cohesion, lexical resource, and grammatical range and accuracy. An IELTS 9 band writing task 2 should fulfill all the parameters listed below. 

  • Task achievement - How effectively the candidate addresses all parts of the task including well-supported ideas.
  • Coherence and cohesion - Is the candidate able to logically organize the ideas and put them forward cohesively? 
  • Lexical resource - To what extent the candidate accurately uses a wide range of vocabulary and demonstrate sophisticated use of lexical items?
  • Grammatical range and accuracy - Ability of the candidate to use a range of grammatical structures accurately such as complex sentences with clauses instead of simple sentences with a repetitive structure. 

IELTS 9 Band Essay Structure

Knowing how to structure a 9 band essay in  IELTS is an essential skill a student needs to master in order to get a band score that is universally accepted. Listed below is the structure that is commonly followed in the Writing Task 2 essay. 

  • Introduction
  1. Paraphrase the question
  2. Outline the opinion along with the main ideas
  • Main body (Paragraph 1 and 2)
  1. Go in-depth into the points discussed in the introduction
  2. Explain the topic sentence and use proper vocabulary
  3. Support them with examples
  • Conclusion
  1. Summary of the main points and opinion

IELTS Essay Writing Tips for Band 9

Writing a 9 band essay requires a candidate to plan the stages in which an essay has to be written. There are some tips a candidate has to put to use to complete the essay for Writing Task 2 which are as follows:

  • Understand how the scoring is done in the Writing Task 2

One of the techniques to write an IELTS 9 band essay is to understand the parameters on which a candidate is assessed. There is an equal weightage to Task achievement, Coherence and cohesion, Lexical Resource, and Grammatical range and accuracy. A candidate has to ensure to meet all these assessment criteria to score a higher band score.

  • Analyze the question

Even the best candidates receive a poor band score for not analyzing the question before writing the essay. On the contrary, students who spend some time understanding the question before writing the essay, score comparatively higher. 

  • Understand the category of the essay

There are five categories of questions in the IELTS Writing Task 2. They are Opinion based- Agree or disagree, Advantages and disadvantages, Discussion of both views, Two-part questions, Solution to a problem statement, and a candidate’s answer depends on the category of the question. 

  • Make proper use of the 40 minutes given to complete the task

A candidate can dedicate two minutes of time to reading the question, understand its category, and decide whether to agree, disagree, or maintain a neutral standpoint. They should spend at least five minutes planning the flow of the essay and decide the point where to state the main idea and provide examples. Candidates should keep the flow consistent on whatever was thought while sketching the essay. Moreover, a proper revision after completing writing is also necessary.

  • Find Relevant Examples

The IELTS test is not a knowledge test, but rather a language proficiency test. Most students find it difficult to state relevant examples because they search for them in real-life incidents. However, a IELTS band 9 essay can be written by using examples as long as they are relevant.

  • Generate Ideas

In case a candidate gets a topic about which they have no idea, they can generate ideas by brainstorming or mind mapping. Moreover, knowing about some common topics like Health, Transportation, Environment, Sports, Music, Globalization, Home, Family, Population, Weather, Education, Society, Technology, and Government would make it easier to generate ideas.

  • Build a Strong Vocabulary

Before the exam, a student can develop their vocabulary by reading a book or magazine and jotting down all the new words they come across. Using the words often would lead to imbibing them into one’s vocabulary. Applicants can also use the thesaurus to learn synonyms, and play word games and crosswords. On the exam day, after reading the question, they can write down the special vocabulary related to the discussion and use synonyms, idioms, special expressions, and phrases

IELTS Sample Essays to Score a Band 9

The key to getting a band 9 in IELTS essay writing is by practicing some IELTS 9 band essay samples. 

Recommended Read: How to Get 9 Bands in IELTS

Here are a few essay samples so that aspirants can prepare well. 

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Essay 1

Some people say friends are more important than family. To what extent do you agree or disagree? 

“You can choose your friends, but you can’t choose your family” is a very famous quote in our lives. Blood is much thicker than water; this means our family will stay with us, and others may come and go. For the younger generation, friends are more important and play a significant role compared to family. In my opinion, this cannot be true. 

Friends play an essential role in life. Having a few good friends always makes life fruitful and worth living. The nature and meaning of friendship alter with time as we move ahead in life. As we pass out school, college, and university, we make new friends, and it is not feasible to keep the same bond with all of them. No matter how hard you try, few friendships are always lost in the course of time. 

Friends have their own families, obligations, and responsibilities. It becomes difficult after a certain period to stay in touch every time. Perhaps they just become approachable at times of need. With changing times, the relevance and nature of friendship change. 

This is not what happens with our family. Family is constant through thick and thin. There can be differences in thoughts and opinions; it is so likely to get each other’s back immediately. The nature and the pattern of a relationship with family do not change with the situation and time. Family is always unequivocally present during good and bad times. People with friends and family are happier in life. 

To conclude, life is less exciting without friends, but life is incomplete without a family. Friends may come and go, but family sticks with you no matter what!

Essay 2 

The most important consideration while selecting a job or career has a high income. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

When going through a job description, the first thing that an individual check is a monetary gain associated with it. The compensation in terms of salary keeps one get going and motivated throughout. However, I am not entirely in favor of this thought. In my opinion, salary is essential, but there are other things to it. 

After home, we spend the maximum part of our lives at our workplace. Therefore, finding a job of our preference is more important than money. If individuals do not enjoy what they are doing, the scope of development and growth becomes stagnant. If you find people dragging themselves to work, they probably do not like what they are doing. Over time, being unsatisfied with work will eventually lead to emotional and physical stress. By contrast, Individuals who enjoy their work are happy even if they do not get a high paycheck. Teachers and nurses are always underpaid, yet many choose these fields because they find fulfillment in healing the sick and nurturing the young minds. 

Salary is an essential part of the job and cannot be neglected. Job satisfaction alone will not serve food on your table. Thus, salary becomes the driving factor for some people in most cases. Having said so, one cannot deny the fact that some of the best-salaried jobs demand ridiculous working hours and targets that look unrealistic. It is essential to understand that peace of mind is more important than money. 

To conclude, salary is important, but it should not be the first thing one must consider when opting for a job. If you choose the work you love, you eventually do well and start earning a good paycheck. Finding a job that fulfills your life will fill your wallets too!

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Essay 3

The majority of individuals feel that money cannot buy happiness. Why is it so difficult to define happiness? How can individuals achieve happiness? 

If money could buy internal happiness, the richest men on earth would be the happiest. The reality is different. People who are always chasing money throughout their lives lead a very unfulfilling and unsatisfied life. They cannot enjoy little things in life as ordinary people do. With money comes security concerns and the rich people are usually insecure when it comes to moving freely around the world without any security. It proves that money cannot bring happiness, nor can power or fame. 

Happiness is relative and cannot be easily defined. What makes you happy cannot make someone else happy. Like kids are happy with toys, adults find no sense of happiness with the same. Likewise, for a poor man, a jackpot will be life-changing, but it doesn’t make much difference for a rich man. For someone suffering from chronic health ailments, finding a cure to it is happiness. 

The definition of happiness varies from person to person. Some people are passionate about a particular thing and find happiness in pursuing it, whereas others do not find happiness even if they get everything they desire. The yearning for things never stops, even after attaining most of the things in life. Happiness depends heavily on the mindset one carries. Some people are happy with what they have, while some people are never satisfied with what they attain. Happiness is contentment. People that are satisfied in life are happy. 

Finding happiness is not difficult if you know the right place to look for them. Why do we brood over the things we don’t have? Why do we miss out on something that we are lucky to have? It is important to value what we have. Yearning for things that we cannot have is what makes us unhappy. When we start counting on things we are lucky to have and blessed with, we find happiness. 

When we stop keeping unrealistic expectations, it becomes a reason to become happy. To sum up, happiness is relative, and therefore, it becomes difficult to define it. Setting realistic goals can bring happiness. 

Essay 4 

Success is measured by the material possession and wealth of a person. Do you think wealth is the only way to measure success? What makes a man successful? 

Success is defined by wealth and worldly possession. Wealth is not a suitable indicator of success. In my opinion, I strongly believe that one’s confidence, determination, and perseverance is the best way to gain success and fulfillment in life. 

Wealth alone cannot decide whether an individual is successful or not. Can you call a wealthy but unhappy man successful? Certainly not! A true sense of success lies in finding peace and happiness in oneself. The main objective behind being successful is being happy. Materialistic possession and wealth alone cannot make you happy unless you find inner peace. Also, many individuals attain wealth by inheriting the property from past generations. Can these individuals be termed as successful? In either case, wealth is not an indicator of success. They are only lucky, not successful. 

A couple of factors that make a man successful have a lot to do with personality traits and character other than a bank balance. Knowing your self-worth and being confident about yourself is indispensable for the term success. Individuals having faith in themselves and their ability to work and achieve goals are successful. Success is elusive for an individual who lacks personality traits like hard work, self-confidence, and perseverance.  

To sum up, wealth is not the single yardstick for measuring success, as there are effective factors. An ideal successful person is happy, fulfilled, and living a well-off life with contentment. 

Conclusion

IELTS is a widely accepted English language proficiency test to get admission to prestigious universities worldwide. Ace the IELTS essay band by practicing IELTS 9 band sample essays. For any help and support regarding the essay writing tips and samples, consult with the academic counselors of upGrad Abroad.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How to write 9 band essays in IELTS?

In an IELTS 9 band essay, the candidate should address all the parts of the task, write cohesively, skillfully structure the paragraphs, and present a fully developed answer with fully extended and well-supported ideas. Moreover, a sophisticated control over lexical features during the use of vocabulary, knowing how to employ the wide range of structures with accuracy, and making rare minor errors are some of the ways of scoring a 9 band in the Writing Task 2.

How to get 9 bands in IELTS writing?

Scoring well in the writing task 2 essay requires the student to practice IELTS sample essays for band 9. However, with the help of certain tips like understanding the scoring system, analyzing the question before writing, recognizing the category of the essay, dividing the 40 minutes into reading, planning, writing and reviewing, etc., a student can score well in the writing section.

What are the benefits of the IELTS 9 band?

The IELTS band descriptors describe a 9 band score recipient as ‘expert users.’ This means that the candidate has an excellent command of English. This would help them get admission to the premium universities abroad and introduce them to the best career opportunities.

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Which is the easiest part of the IELTS Exam?

The easiest part of the IELTS Exam is the listening section, and it is also the most scoring one. The whole crux of the listening section is that the students have to listen to four audios and then answer the questions. All the answers to the questions are actually in the audio.

Which is the most difficult part of the IELTS Test?

While some students report that the Reading section is the most difficult section of IELTS, some says it is hard to score well in the writing section. Both the sections require a candidate to be equally sound in English, and they have to state their opinions regarding the question to receive a band score of 9.

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Akansha Semwal

Study Abroad Expert

Akansha Semwal is a content marketer at upGrad and has also worked as a social media marketer & sub-editor. Experienced in creating impressive Statement of Purpose, Essays, and LOR, she knows how to captivate the attention of Admissions Committee. Her research-driven;study-abroad articles helps aspirants to make the prudent decision. She holds a bachelor's & master's degree in Literature from the University of Delhi.

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The above tips are the Author's experiences. upGrad does not guarantee scores or admissions.