In this post: Why "seeing" the corrections is not the same as learning them, what my essay notes look like, and the core "changed words in capitals, original in brackets" correction format.
Turning Feedback into Notes · 3 parts
- 1. My notes and the capitals method (you are here)
- 2. Categories A–H and a five-step routine
- 3. Review, checklist, exercise and FAQ
✦ In this post
When a marked essay comes back, a lot of people deal with it like this: glance at the score, skim the red ink, think “oh, so that was wrong”, and start the next essay. Then the next essay goes wrong in exactly the same places.
My Google Doc of essay notes is called “Road to Band 7.5”. Besides the score log and every essay, it contains a set of categories from A to H, and a very simple correction format: changed words go in capitals, and the original wording stays in brackets. This post is built around those two things. I’ll share how you can organise your feedback once it comes back, so that every marked essay turns into something you can use in the next one.
One note first: this post does not pass on any teacher’s comments. What I’m sharing is a way of organising feedback, and you can use it whichever teacher or platform your marking comes from.
1. “Seeing” the corrections is not the same as learning them
Marking often doesn’t help because the mistakes stay inside “that one essay”. When you write a new question, you don’t go back through the red ink on the last one, so the same mistakes come back.
The point of organising your notes is to move each mistake out of “one particular essay” and into “one particular category”. For example, if in your last essay you wrote is after people, that mistake shouldn’t stay in that essay; it should go into your “grammar” category, where you will see it before you hand in any essay, whatever the question.
| Just reading the red ink | Turning it into notes |
|---|---|
| Mistakes are scattered across dozens of essays | Mistakes are gathered in fixed places by type |
| After writing the next essay, you don’t know what to check | You have a checklist that grew out of your own mistakes |
| You’ve been corrected for the same mistake many times and still make it | You can see how many times a mistake has appeared and decide whether to make it a priority |
| Good sentences and collocations are forgotten once used | Useful expressions are kept in a fixed category, ready to use in the next essay |
2. What my essay notes look like
My notes are roughly divided into five parts, in this order:
| Part | Contents |
|---|---|
| Score log | 64 essays in the Task 1 log and 62 in the Task 2 log; the columns are No., Date, Topic, Source, Marking, Ref and Corrected (V / N/A) |
| Templates and notes for each question type | Structures and reminders for each Task 2 question type (Agree/Disagree, Outweigh, Discuss both views, Two-question and so on) and each Task 1 chart type |
| A–H language and material categories | A easy patterns / must-use collocations, B grammar toolkit, C prepositions / singular and plural, D phrases and set patterns, E synonyms, F background sentences, G ideas by topic, H question bank (Cambridge past papers, homework questions, predicted questions) |
| Task 2 essays (by topic) | The Task 2 essays I have written, filed by topic, with corrections |
| Task 1 essays (by chart type) | Line graphs L01–L13, pie charts P01–P09, bar charts B01–B07, tables T01–T04, mixed charts C01–C05, processes PR01–PR07, maps M01–M11 |
This structure has two features. First, the essays themselves are filed by topic or chart type, not by date. Task 2 essays sit under the matching topic, and Task 1 essays are numbered with a chart-type code, so when I want to review maps, M01 to M11 are all together.
Second, language and material have their own section, A–H. The essays are the raw material; A–H is what I extract from that material and can use directly in the next essay. The Ref column in the score log links the log to the essays, and the Corrected column reminds me which essays I haven’t finished working through. If you want to see how I used the score log to find my weakest criterion, read Stuck at the Same Score? How to Find Recurring Problems in Your Practice Records.
3. The core method: changed words in capitals, the original in brackets
My correction format is simple. When I paste an essay back into my notes, every word that was changed goes in capitals, and the original wording goes in brackets straight after it. Below I demonstrate the format with original sentences from essays I sent for marking (the originals are exactly what I wrote; the corrections are my own demonstration rewrites in the same format):
Original (Task 2, advertising question)
since people is so busy to search the functions or characters of goods
Demonstration: capitals + original in brackets
since people ARE (is) TOO (so) busy to search FOR the functions AND FEATURES (or characters) of goods
Original (Task 2, environment question)
global warming is so imperative that should not be ignored
Demonstration: capitals + original in brackets
global warming is so SERIOUS (imperative) that IT should not be ignored
Why this format works
| Benefit | Explanation |
|---|---|
| You see the mistakes at a glance | Capitals stand out clearly in a paragraph of lower-case text, so you don’t have to compare word by word when you reread |
| It keeps “what I would naturally write” | The brackets hold your own habitual wording, which is the version you are most likely to write again. If you keep only the correct answer, you forget what you actually got wrong |
| It’s searchable | Search your Google Doc for brackets like “(is)” or “(so)” and you can find how many times the same mistake appears across different essays |
| Rereading an essay is revision | Whenever you look back at an old essay, the capitals become the highlights automatically, with no need for separate error cards |
| No special tools needed | It works in plain text, with no colours, comments or tracked changes, and it is easy to read on a phone |
Rules for using it (my suggestions)
- Replacing a word: the new word in capitals, the old word in brackets, for example SERIOUS (imperative).
- Adding a word: the added word in capitals, with no brackets, for example that IT should.
- Deleting a word: brackets only, for example in (the) society, meaning I had written an extra the.
- Rewriting a whole sentence: when the structure changes a lot, don’t force the capitals. Write the new sentence on the next line, starting with “Rewrite:”, and keep the original on the line above.
- Change only what you’re sure of: correct only what the marking points out. If you’re unsure about something yourself, add a note reminding you to check it, rather than guessing a correction.
Continue reading · Part 2 of 3
IELTS Notes in English · Practice Methods (post 4 of 5)
← Previous: Stuck at the Same Score? How to Find Recurring Problems in Your Practice Records
Next →: Stuck at 6.5 in Writing? My Six Weeks and 50 Essays with Mike's Marking Service
Task 1 Structure · Task 2 Structure · Topic Guides · Writing Language · Band Score Samples · Practice Methods · Speaking & Study Tips
✦ Target Your Future
Some days you practise for hours and the score still does not move. I hope these notes remind you that the setbacks are part of the road: every recording you replayed, every essay you rewrote and every sentence you finally dared to say is progress you have already made.
I wrote this down so the next person can take fewer detours. You do not have to follow my method exactly. Find a rhythm that works for you, rest when you need to, and come back for the next small step.
I hope what you take away is more than a number on a score report: a little more confidence in yourself, and the courage to step a bit closer to the world.
— Ting
← Back to IELTS notes in English
Leave a Reply