ielts-simon.com

IELTS Reading: keywords

Here's a table showing the key vocabulary from last week's reading exercise. I recommend making a keyword table every time you practise a reading test.

bolster (verb) = support or strengthen

IELTS Grammar: articles

Today I'm attaching some questions that a student asked about articles. You can read my answers below each question.

Click here to download

Please note that I cannot provide a complete explanation of all article rules and uses. Grammar books take many pages to do this!

Article rules can become very confusing, so don't worry too much about them. Students who are good at using articles have normally learnt by copying what they read and hear, rather than by learning the 'rules'.

IELTS Writing: which task should you do first?

Students often ask me which writing task they should do first in the exam. Is it better to start with IELTS writing task 1 or task 2?

Personally, I would start with task 1.

You'll be feeling nervous in the exam, so it's a good idea to start with something easy: the introduction to task 1.

If you have read my advice on how to write the introduction for task 1, you will know that you can simply paraphrase the question (rewrite the question with a few changes). This gives you a fast and simple way to begin the exam.

So, don't waste any time at the beginning of the writing test. If you have practised paraphrasing task 1 questions, you should be confident that you know exactly what to do. Get started straight away; you'll feel much better.

IELTS Speaking part 3: rivers, lakes, sea

1. What do you think are the functions of rivers nowadays?

Rivers have various functions. In the UK, they were probably more important in the past because they were used for the transportation of goods, but I suppose this is still the case in many parts of the world. Rivers can be used as a source of renewable energy in the production of hydro-electric power, and they are also a source of fresh water for drinking and irrigation. Leisure activities are another function: fishing, canoeing, swimming, bathing... I'm sure there are many other things I haven't thought of.

2. What do you think of boats and ships as forms of transportation?

I'm not really a fan of boats and ships. If I'm going abroad, I like to get to my destination quickly, so I prefer travelling by plane. Of course, ships are vital for the transportation of oil and other heavy cargo.

3. Why do some people like to live near rivers, lakes or the sea?

Well, the view is probably a major factor; most people like to look out to sea, or across a river or lake. I'd much prefer to look out of my window onto a natural landscape than an apartment building in a city. Then there's the lifestyle: if you live by the sea, for example, you can lie on the beach, go for a swim, or do water sports like surfing or waterskiing. I definitely wouldn't mind living near a beach at some point in my life!

Note:
These answers are less formal than the essays I write for the writing test, and I say things like "probably" or "I suppose" when I'm not sure about the facts.

IELTS Writing Task 1: you don't need a conclusion

You don't need to write a conclusion for IELTS writing task 1. You need to write an "overview" of the information.

But why don't you need to write a conclusion? What's the difference between a conclusion and an overview?

First, a conclusion is really a final judgement, decision or opinion. This is perfect for the task 2 essay, but task 1 asks you to write a description without analysis or opinions. On the other hand, an "overview" is a simple description of the main points. It is a summary of the information shown in the graph or chart.

Second, a conclusion should be at the end of a piece of writing. An overview or general summary could go either at the end or near the beginning. Personally, I think it's a good idea to describe the main features of the graph or chart near the beginning of your essay.

So, my suggested essay structure for task 1 looks like this:

1. Introduction: what does the chart show?
2. Overview / summary: what are the most noticeable features?
3. Specific details: try to write 2 paragraphs.

IELTS Writing Task 2: full essay

Today I'm attaching the full essay (click here) that we've been working on for the last 2 weeks. Here are some points to notice:

• There is a clear 4-paragraph structure, and the essay is easy to read because the ideas are developed in a logical way.
• The introduction is short, but it covers everything that the question asks you about.
• The main paragraphs make up around 70% of the essay. These paragraphs are the key to a high score.
• The conclusion is very short, and simply summarises what I had already written. Never put any new ideas in the conclusion.
• I focus on expressing my ideas well, using a range of relevant words and phrases. I'm not thinking about 'complex grammar' or linking phrases.

Note:
I went a bit "over the top" with this essay. It's 310 words long, and more than good enough for band 9. You might not be able to write like this, but hopefully you can learn something from it.

(go over the top: to do something that is more than what is considered normal or suitable)

IELTS Listening: more practice

The link below takes you to some more official listening practice exercises on the British Council website. Start with some simple multiple choice questions:

Click here

Note: To hear the recording, click on the blue writing above the clock pictures.

IELTS Reading: true, false, not given

Today's questions are about the passage that I used last week. This time you need to decide whether the statements below are true, false or not given.

Read the following text about the printing press:

From a single point of origin, Mainz, Germany, printing spread within several decades to over two hundred cities in a dozen European countries. By 1500, printing presses in operation throughout Western Europe had already produced more than twenty million volumes. In the 16th century, with presses spreading further afield, their output rose tenfold to an estimated 150 to 200 million copies. The operation of a press became so synonymous with the enterprise of printing that it lent its name to an entire new branch of media, the press.

In Renaissance Europe, the arrival of mechanical movable type printing introduced the era of mass communication which permanently altered the structure of society. The relatively unrestricted circulation of information and ideas transcended borders and threatened the power of political and religious authorities. The sharp increase in literacy broke the monopoly of the literate elite on education and learning and bolstered the emerging middle class.

Answer TRUE, FALSE or NOT GIVEN:

1. By the beginning of the 16th century, the printing press was in use in several different countries.
2. The printing press was popular because it was so easy to operate.
3. Movable type printing can be linked to a rise in the number of people who could read and write.
4. Printing had a negative effect on the middle classes.

IELTS Grammar: capital letters

A few people have asked me about using capital letters in different parts of the IELTS test. Here's my advice:

• In the reading and listening tests, they don't care about capital letters. So you can write everything in lowercase or in capitals, and it won't affect your score.
• In the writing test, try to follow the normal rules for capital letters. Grammar books and websites explain these rules in detail. Click here to see a website that summarises the rules quite well.

IELTS Advice: 'real content'

Yesterday I made the point that 'real content' (topic-specific words and phrases) is much more important than linking phrases. To see a good example of real content, look back to Wednesday's lesson about main body paragraphs.

Here's some of the band 7-9 vocabulary that I used:

• a defined career path
• a great sense of satisfaction
• work towards (and gradually achieve) goals
• realise an ambition
• gain the relevant qualifications
• undertake years of training
• find their work rewarding
• invest time and effort

The above phrases came from just one paragraph! To be honest, the paragraphs I wrote on Wednesday are beyond (better than) what an examiner would ever expect to read. So don't worry if you can't write paragraphs like that; just try to learn something from them.

IELTS Speaking: linking phrases don't impress

A student asked me a really useful (and common) question the other day.

Student's question:

I've gone through your speaking answers, and I rarely found linking phrases like "I suppose I should begin by highlighting the fact that..." or "the point I'd like to begin with is that...". Don't you think such phrases are the sign of a high score?

Here's my answer:

Good question. No, I don't use those phrases because examiners are not impressed by them. Even a beginner can learn linking phrases, and if it were that easy, everyone would get band 9. The sign of a high score is 'real content' (topic-specific vocabulary), not memorised phrases.

IELTS Writing Task 1: how to describe future years

Several people have asked me how to write about future years on a graph or chart. For example, what tense should you use if the graph shows the year 2025?

Try this exercise: take a description of past years, and rewrite it with future years.

Past:

In 1999, the proportion of people using the Internet in the USA was about 20%. The figures for Canada and Mexico were lower, at about 10% and 5% respectively. In 2005, Internet usage in both the USA and Canada rose to around 70% of the population, while the figure for Mexico reached just over 25%.

Future (I've changed the years and the verbs):

In 2015, the proportion of people using the Internet in the USA is expected to be about 20%. The figures for Canada and Mexico are likely to be lower, at about 10% and 5% respectively. In 2025, it is predicted that Internet usage in both the USA and Canada will rise to around 70% of the population, while the figure for Mexico should reach just over 25%.

IELTS Writing Task 2: main body paragraphs

Here are my 2 main body paragraphs for last week's question. I tried to use an "Idea, Explain, Example" structure for the first paragraph, and a "Firstly, Secondly, Finally" structure for the second.

Main body paragraphs:

On the one hand, having a defined career path can certainly lead to a satisfying working life. Many people decide as young children what they want to do as adults, and it gives them a great sense of satisfaction to work towards their goals and gradually achieve them. For example, many children dream of becoming doctors, but to realise this ambition they need to gain the relevant qualifications and undertake years of training. In my experience, very few people who have qualified as doctors choose to change career because they find their work so rewarding, and because they have invested so much time and effort to reach their goal.

On the other hand, people find happiness in their working lives in different ways. Firstly, not everyone dreams of doing a particular job, and it can be equally rewarding to try a variety of professions; starting out on a completely new career path can be a reinvigorating experience. Secondly, some people see their jobs as simply a means of earning money, and they are happy if their salary is high enough to allow them to enjoy life outside work. Finally, job satisfaction is often the result of working conditions, rather than the career itself. For example, a positive working atmosphere, enthusiastic colleagues, and an inspirational boss can make working life much more satisfying, regardless of the profession.

IELTS Listening/Writing: advice about spelling

Some of my students have problems with spelling. Spelling is important because it can affect your score in the listening and writing tests.

If you have a problem with spelling, here are some tips:

1. Type your essays: your computer will find your spelling mistakes.
2. When writing by hand, use a dictionary to check difficult words.
3. Keep a list: write down any mistakes your computer/teacher finds.
4. Memorise: learn difficult words by heart.
5. Test yourself on words you previously spelt wrongly.
6. Never give your teacher an essay that you haven't checked.

If you find that spelling is a big problem, you should work on it every day. Keep a notebook or put posters on your walls. If you do nothing, you will not improve; there is no secret rule that will suddenly solve the problem!

IELTS Reading: paragraph headings

Match two of the following headings with the paragraphs below. I'll reveal the correct answers tomorrow.

1. Rapid sales of printing presses.
2. The revolutionary impact of the printing press.
3. New information and ideas.
4. The printing boom.

From a single point of origin, Mainz, Germany, printing spread within several decades to over two hundred cities in a dozen European countries. By 1500, printing presses in operation throughout Western Europe had already produced more than twenty million volumes. In the 16th century, with presses spreading further afield, their output rose tenfold to an estimated 150 to 200 million copies. The operation of a press became so synonymous with the enterprise of printing that it lent its name to an entire new branch of media, the press.

In Renaissance Europe, the arrival of mechanical movable type printing introduced the era of mass communication which permanently altered the structure of society. The relatively unrestricted circulation of information and ideas transcended borders and threatened the power of political and religious authorities. The sharp increase in literacy broke the monopoly of the literate elite on education and learning and bolstered the emerging middle class.

IELTS Grammar: correct the mistakes

Find the mistakes in the following sentences:

1. Parents influence on their children and give them many advices.
2. Students need to develop their knowledges and skills.
3. We can use the Internet to do some researches.
4. If we want to find some informations fastly, the Internet is the best resource.

Feel free to share your answers in the "comments" area. I'll give you my answers tomorrow.

IELTS Advice: where to find test practice

On Monday and Tuesday I linked to some practice materials from the official IELTS website, ielts.org. This is the best place to start looking for official practice materials online because all of the example questions there are 'real'.

ielts.org is a big website, and it's not easy to find the test samples, so here's a direct link to the page you need: click here. Just go down the page until you see the PDF links.

Of course, the other sources of 'real' test practice are the Cambridge IELTS books.

IELTS Speaking: another garden description

Last week I described a famous garden. Martin, an IELTS teacher who often contributes to the comments on this site, sent me a description of his own garden. You might find it more useful than my famous garden description!

Martin's description:

Today I'd like to describe my home garden, which I think is a beautiful one and which I like very much. The garden is part of my home's backyard, and my house is located in the suburbs, about a 1-hour drive from the city of San Francisco. There is a big tree right in the middle of my garden, which is surrounded by a hot tub, a small water fountain, several bushes, a section for vegetables, and different kinds of flowers.

This garden was actually one of the reasons why my wife and I chose to buy our house because it had been beautifully maintained by the previous owner’s gardener and landscaper. It’s been only 1 year since we bought the house and now we are taking care of the garden ourselves. Even though we are not experts in gardening, we still try our best to plant things that we like, such as roses and tulips, and we even grow our own tomatoes.

Whenever family and friends come to visit us, we invite them to have a relaxing time in our hot tub, and enjoy the view. So in other words, our garden has also become a kind of resort! It definitely requires lots of hard work to properly maintain the garden, but it gives us a great sense of accomplishment to “decorate” it the way we like.

All in all, the garden is one of the best features of my home and it is a place where I can relax after a long day of work or during the weekends.

IELTS Writing Task 1: comparing numbers

Fill the gaps in the following text using the words below it. If you find any of the gaps difficult, miss them and come back to them after doing the easier ones.

Emigration from the UK

The number of people leaving the UK for 12 months or more ______ ______ record ______ in 2008, ______ an estimated 427,000 people emigrating. This ______ ______ from 341,000 in 2007.

There has been a large ______ ______ the number of people emigrating for work related reasons, particularly those with a definite job to go to. In 2008 an estimated 136,000 people emigrated from the UK to take up a definite job, ______ ______ 100,000 in 2007.

- in
- high
- increase
- up
- reached
- with (x2)
- a
- compared
- was

IELTS Writing Task 2: rules for introductions

Many people decide on a career path early in their lives and keep to it. This, they argue, leads to a more satisfying working life.
To what extent do you agree with this view?
What other things can people do in order to have a satisfying working life?

In today's lesson I just want to look at how to write an introduction for this type of question. My simple rules for task 2 introductions are:

1. Write 2 sentences: introduce the topic, then give a general answer.
2. Mention everything that the question mentions.
3. Don't save any surprises for the conclusion; give your opinion in the introduction if the question asks for it.

Here's an example introduction:

It is true that some people know from an early age what career they want to pursue, and they are happy to spend the rest of their lives in the same profession. While I accept that this may suit many people, I believe that others enjoy changing careers or seeking job satisfaction in different ways.

I'll look at the main paragraphs next week.

IELTS Listening: multiple choice practice

Here's a multiple choice question from the official IELTS website, ielts.org. The transcript and correct answers are below the questions.

Click here to download the questions

Click here to listen