Mistake #1 - No Clear Topic Sentence

A paragraph without a clear topic sentence confuses the examiner and makes the entire argument feel unstructured.

❌ Example

“People today face many problems. One of them is health. Food is also important.”

The examiner cannot identify the paragraph’s purpose.

🎯 Why Examiners Penalise This

IELTS requires every paragraph to have:

• a clear purpose
• a micro-answer to the question
• a defined controlling idea

Missing topic sentence = Band 6 Coherence & Cohesion.

✅ Band-8 Fix Method: “TS = Micro-Answer”

A good TS should:

• answer part of the question
• reveal your position
• signal the direction of the paragraph

Example:

“One major reason why obesity is rising is the increased availability of cheap fast food.”

✔ Quick Checklist

• Does your TS answer the question?
• Does it contain one clear message?
• Does it tell the examiner what will follow?

Continue to: Mistake #2 - Unbalanced Paragraphs