IELTS Simon

Students' Questions: 'climate' topic

A student asked me for some ideas about this question:

Some people prefer to live in hot climates, whereas others love the lifestyle in countries with cold climates.
Discuss both views and explain which climate you prefer.

I looked at this question with one of my classes. We decided to write 2 main body paragraphs: one about the benefits of hot climates, and one about the benefits of cold climates.

The photo above shows the paragraph that we wrote about the benefits of hot climates. I hope you can read my writing! Click on the photo to make it bigger.

IELTS Speaking Part 2: example presentation

Watch this YouTube video of a student doing IELTS speaking part 2.

These are his good points:

• He speaks clearly. His pronunciation is good.
• He answers the questions.
• He sometimes corrects his own small mistakes.

These are some of the sentences he uses:

• When I was very young she told me to smile to people (should be 'at people').
• She treat everyone equally. (should be 'treats')
• I was really shy when I was young and I rarely talked to strangers, so she gave me this advice to teach me how to deal with people.
• It can increase my confidence and people will have a good impression on me. (should be 'impression of me')

As you can see, there are some small mistakes but also some good words and phrases (treat equally, I rarely talked, gave me advice, deal with people, increase my confidence, have a good impression).

What score do you think he deserves?

IELTS Writing Task 1: look at the chart first

A good piece of advice for IELTS writing task 1: look at the chart/graph/picture before you read the question.

Sometimes the question contains words that you don't know, and this can cause you to panic. But you don't really need to understand the question if you already understand the chart.

If you understand the chart below, you will understand any IELTS chart, graph or picture! Feel free to explain this chart in the "comments" area.

IELTS Writing Task 2: technology

Here is a question that a student asked me about:

Some people believe that the range of technology available to individuals today is increasing the gap between rich people and poor people, while others say that technology has the opposite effect. Discuss both views and give your opinion.

I'd write a 4-paragraph essay:

1. Introduction: introduce the topic and give your view
2. One view
3. The other view (that you agree with)
4. Conclusion: repeat your view

Some ideas:

Technology could increase the gap between rich and poor. Rich people have smartphones, laptops, wireless broadband Internet etc. People in developed countries can now work from home or from anywhere in the world. They can do their shopping online and have things delivered to their homes. Technology improves their quality of life.

On the other hand, many people in poorer countries, who did not have normal telephones, now have mobile phones. Also, the Internet is spreading to all parts of the world. In the past, only people in developed countries had access to world-class libraries, but now the Internet gives everyone access to the same information. This will lead to greater equality.

IELTS Reading: practice test

Try doing the test on page 50-53 in Cambridge IELTS book 4.

Follow this advice for the 3 question sections:

1. Which paragraph contains: Always do these questions last. Do the other question sections first to become familiar with the text.
2. Which ideas are mentioned: Remember, you are looking for ideas that are mentioned in the text, not ideas that are true.
3. Match the names: This is a perfect task for scanning. Scan quickly to find and underline the names.

Here is the key vocabulary that will help you to find the answers:

IELTS Grammar: 'because of'

Last week I looked at how to use the word 'because'. One of my students then asked me to explain the difference between 'because' and 'because of'.

Compare these two sentences:

I stayed at home because the weather was bad.
I stayed at home because of the bad weather.

The important difference is the use of the word 'was' in the first sentence. After 'because', you need a subject and a verb (e.g. the weather was). After 'because of', we don't use a verb, only a noun, nouns or noun phrase.

IELTS Speaking Part 1: a good example

Have a look at this video, taken from YouTube. I think it's a good example of how to do IELTS Speaking Part 1.

Remember, Part 1 is supposed to be easy. You should give short, simple answers. I think the student in the video does this well: she speaks clearly, answers the questions directly, and doesn't hesitate before answering. Her answers sound natural and she makes almost no mistakes.

Here are the first 4 questions and answers:

Do you work or are you a student?
I work and I'm studying English as well.

And what's your job?
I work in hairdressing and I do manicure, I do nails. I work part-time.

How long have you done this job?
I've been doing this job for almost one year.

Do you like it?
Actually, I don't like it very much. The part that I like is that I can communicate with people.

IELTS Writing Task 2: global language argument

The speaker in yesterday's video gave the positives of English as a global second language. Here is a paragraph with arguments against this view.

Negatives of English as a global language:
The expansion of English has also been criticised. Some people worry that if one language, like English, becomes dominant, other languages may disappear. Languages spoken by small communities could become extinct as people learn English in order to find work. This would obviously have a negative effect on local cultures, customs and traditions because the new dominant language would bring its own culture with it. For example, the expansion of English has happened alongside the increasing popularity of American culture. The American film, music and fashion industries are as dominant as global American companies and products, such as Microsoft or the iPod. Some people call this ‘cultural imperialism’, meaning that one culture has power over others.

Try to analyse this paragraph
Is there a topic sentence? What reasons and examples are given? What linking expressions are used? What 'band 7 vocabulary' is used? Can you find some conditional sentences?

Write the main ideas for the 'global language' topic (positives and negatives) in your notebook.

IELTS Advice: there is no secret

Many students are waiting to find the 'secret' to the IELTS test. They try different books, websites, teachers and even different test centres in their search for the answer. They spend a lot of time worrying.

Other students just do an hour or two of hard work every day. They read newspapers and watch TV or online videos, they keep a notebook for vocabulary, they gradually prepare themselves rather than doing tests all the time, they do their homework, and they try to learn from their mistakes.

Which group are you in?

IELTS Grammar: because

Students often make mistakes when using the word "because". You can't use "because" to connect ideas in two separate sentences. Put both the main idea and the reason in the same sentence.

Which sentence is NOT correct?

1. Some children behave badly at school because their parents are too lenient at home.
2. Because parents are often too lenient at home, discipline in schools is becoming more difficult to enforce.
3. Children's behaviour is getting worse nowadays. Because parents are not strict enough.

IELTS Writing Task 1: bar charts essay

Here is my full essay for last week's bar chart question. Study the essay carefully to see which details I selected for each paragraph. Notice that I describe the two science bar charts in the same paragraph.

Click here to see the question

The three bar charts show average years of schooling, numbers of scientists and technicians, and research and development spending in developing and developed countries. Figures are given for 1980 and 1990.

It is clear from the charts that the figures for developed countries are much higher than those for developing nations. Also, the charts show an overall increase in participation in education and science from 1980 to 1990.

People in developing nations attended school for an average of around 3 years, with only a slight increase in years of schooling from 1980 to 1990. On the other hand, the figure for industrialised countries rose from nearly 9 years of schooling in 1980 to nearly 11 years in 1990.

From 1980 to 1990, the number of scientists and technicians in industrialised countries almost doubled to about 70 per 1000 people. Spending on research and development also saw rapid growth in these countries, reaching $350 billion in 1990. By contrast, the number of science workers in developing countries remained below 20 per 1000 people, and research spending fell from about $50 billion to only $25 billion.

(187 words)

IELTS Speaking Part 3: How will the Internet affect our lives?

The "perspectives technique" for generating ideas (see 6th October) can also be useful in the IELTS speaking test. Here's an example:

How do you think the Internet will affect our lives in the future?

Personal perspective:
I think the Internet will have a huge impact on our lives. More and more people are using social websites to keep in touch with friends. I think the Internet will probably replace TV because most channels are already available online.

Economic perspective:
Also, I think we'll do more online shopping. Web-based companies like Amazon are already really successful. In the future, there will probably be more companies that only sell via the Internet, and I expect we'll spend more money online than in traditional shops.

Educational perspective:
Schools and universities might also use the Internet to provide courses, so online learning will probably become a normal part of life.

IELTS Writing Task 1: more than one chart

Look at the following bar charts, taken from Cambridge IELTS 3, page 73.

The charts below show the levels of participation in education and science in developing and industrialised countries in 1980 and 1990.

Advice for band 7 or higher:

You must give an overview of the information. This means that you need to find an overall trend that connects all 3 charts.

Can you find any overall trends? Feel free to discuss your ideas in the "comments" area. I'll tell you what I think tomorrow.

IELTS Writing Task 2: tourism

Do the benefits of tourism outweigh the drawbacks?

Here are some ideas. I've organised the vocabulary according to different perspectives (different ways of looking at this issue).

Positives of tourism:

1. Personal perspective: Tourism is a popular leisure activity. Tourists can relax, have fun, 'recharge their batteries', experience different customs and cultures (sight-seeing, sunbathing, visiting monuments, tasting new cuisine). Travel opens our minds. It can broaden our horizons.
2. Economic perspective: The tourism industry is vital for some countries. People rely on tourism for their income. Tourism attracts investment from governments and companies. It creates employment due to demand for goods and services (hotels, entertainment etc.). It helps to improve the standard of living.

Negatives of tourism:

1. Environmental perspective: Tourism can have a negative impact on the environment. Excessive building (roads, hotels etc.) destroys natural habitats and spoils the landscape. Tourism creates pollution and waste. It puts pressure on local resources such as food, water and energy.
2. Economic perspective: Tourism may cause a rise in the cost of living. Prices of goods and services go up. Tourists buy second homes. All of this affects local people.
3. Cultural perspective: Local traditions may be lost. Traditional jobs and skills die out (e.g. farming, fishing). Local people are forced to work in the tourist industry.

Thinking about topics from different perspectives can help you to generate better ideas. This technique isn't perfect for every topic, but it can be really useful.