IELTS Simon

IELTS Speaking Part 1: 'communication' topic

Here are some more examples for IELTS speaking part 1. Remember to give short, easy, direct answers.

1. How do you usually keep in touch with members of your family?

I mostly keep in touch with my family by phone, and I've started using the Internet to make video calls. I also try to visit members of my family in person as often as I can.

2. Do you prefer to speak to people by phone or by writing emails?

It depends on the situation. I use email and text messages to communicate with friends, but my parents prefer it if I phone them.

3. Do you ever write letters by hand? (Why / Why not?)

No, I don't write letters by hand because it's so much easier to send an email that will arrive immediately.

4. Is there anything you dislike about mobile phones?

Well, I don't like listening to other people's conversations in public places, and I don't like it when someone's phone rings in the cinema or during a lesson.

IELTS Writing Task 1: articles

Correct or natural use of articles (the, a, an) is probably one of the most difficult things for learners of English to master. For example, why did I write "temperatures are highest" instead of "temperatures are the highest" in the essay I wrote last week? Click here to read an explanation.

There are many other complex 'rules' about article use in English, which grammar books and websites do their best to explain. I also recommend using Google in the way described below.

Task: try Googling the phrases "temperatures were highest" and "temperatures were the highest" (make sure you put the quotation marks so that Google searches for the whole phrase). Compare the number of search results to see which is more common, then look through the results to find good examples of full sentences for each phrase. You might find that good examples help you more than grammar rules do.

IELTS Writing Task 2: video games

Yesterday's listening exercise was about the topic of video games. This could also be an IELTS writing topic, so let's think about how we could prepare for it.

Think about the following points:

1) Which type of question do you think is more likely for the 'video games' topic: discussion, agree/disagree or problem/solution?
2) Can we use any of the ideas, opinions or vocabulary from yesterday's lesson?
3) What other ideas or arguments could we add?

Task: try writing your own exam question for this topic. We'll look at a real question next week.

IELTS Reading: gap-fill summary

Read the following passage about the discovery of penicillin.

The discovery of penicillin is attributed to Scottish scientist Alexander Fleming. Fleming recounted that the date of his breakthrough was on the morning of September 28, 1928. It was a lucky accident: in his laboratory in the basement of St. Mary's Hospital in London, Fleming noticed a petri dish containing Staphylococcus culture that he had mistakenly left open. The culture had become contaminated by blue-green mould, and there was a halo of inhibited bacterial growth around the mould. Fleming concluded that the mould was releasing a substance that was repressing the growth of the bacteria. He grew a pure culture and discovered that it was a Penicillium mould, now known to be Penicillium notatum. Fleming coined the term "penicillin" to describe the filtrate of a broth culture of the Penicillium mould.

Fill the gaps in the summary below using words from the passage.

Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin by ______ on September 28, 1928. He found that the growth of bacteria on a petri dish was ______ by a blue-green mould that had contaminated the culture. He realised that the mould was producing a substance that was responsible for ______ bacterial growth.

Students' questions

1. What is the difference between bands 7.5 and 8 in writing and speaking?

The difference is small. In the writing test, you need a small improvement in one of the following four areas: 1) answering the question in a bit more depth 2) developing your ideas in a more organised way 3) using a wider range of vocabulary 4) making fewer mistakes. In the speaking test, my advice is to focus on adding detail to your answers in parts 2 and 3.

2. If the question is about 'working at home', is it ok to repeat those words?

Yes. It is inevitable that you will repeat some of the words from the question in both writing tasks. Try to add some variety where you can, but don't get stuck trying to think of five different ways to say the word "work" or "home"!

3. The examiner laughed at one of my answers. Is that a bad sign?

No, it's probably a good sign. Maybe you said something unexpected and the examiner liked it!

4. In writing task 1, can we join the introduction and overview together?

Yes, it's fine to put the introduction and overview together as one paragraph. Just make sure that your overview is good because it's an important part of your essay.

5. Can we use quotations in writing task 2 and the speaking test?

Personally I don't recommend including quotations because it's difficult to use them in a natural and relevant way. It usually seems like the student has 'forced' the quotation into his/her work, and this won't impress the examiner.

IELTS Speaking: useful expressions

In this lesson I want to draw your attention to a few useful expressions that I used in last week's answers. Maybe you could try using them in your own answers.

1. An alternative way to say "and":
- Just as individuals can learn from their mistakes, societies can (also)...
- Just as we need to exercise the body, we also need to exercise the mind.

2. A nice way to introduce a personal example or opinion:
- From what I've read in the newspapers,...
- From what I've heard / seen / experienced,...

3. Giving an opinion when you're not sure:
- If I had to guess what might happen in the future, I'd like to think that...
- If I had to give my opinion, I'd say...

IELTS Writing Task 1: climate essay

The climograph below shows average monthly temperatures and rainfall in the city of Kolkata.

The chart compares average figures for temperature and precipitation over the course of a calendar year in Kolkata.

It is noticeable that monthly figures for precipitation in Kolkata vary considerably, whereas monthly temperatures remain relatively stable. Rainfall is highest from July to August, while temperatures are highest in April and May.

Between the months of January and May, average temperatures in Kolkata rise from their lowest point at around 20°C to a peak of just over 30°C. Average rainfall in the city also rises over the same period, from approximately 20mm of rain in January to 100mm in May.

While temperatures stay roughly the same for the next four months, the amount of rainfall more than doubles between May and June. Figures for precipitation remain above 250mm from June to September, peaking at around 330mm in July. The final three months of the year see a dramatic fall in precipitation, to a low of about 10mm in December, and a steady drop in temperatures back to the January average.

(173 words, band 9)

IELTS Writing Task 2: parents or schools?

One of the questions in Cambridge IELTS book 8 asks who should be responsible for making children into good citizens: parents or schools?

Here's a paragraph I wrote about this topic:

Parents play a huge ______ in their children’s lives, and shoulder more of the ______ for their upbringing than school teachers do. Before starting school, infants spend the first four or five years of their lives with their mothers and fathers. During those ______ years, parents teach their children vital skills and habits, such as the ability to speak, eat and behave. Parents are the major role ______ for young people, who copy the behaviour that they see on a daily ______ at home, and it would be wrong to expect schools to ______ a greater influence than the family.

Task:
Can you guess what words I used in the spaces?

IELTS Listening: 'vegetarianism' topic

Do you have an opinion about vegetarianism? Could you write an essay about the arguments for and against a vegetarian diet? Today's video will give you some ideas.

Fill the gaps in the following summary.

The speaker states that eating a hamburger every day can ______ the ______ of dying by a third, and that the meat we eat comes from animals raised in ______ ______ ______. He argues that meat production causes more ______ than ______, and beef production uses ______ ______ the water that it takes to produce most vegetables.

IELTS Reading: more key vocabulary

On Saturday I taught an IELTS reading and writing course here in Manchester. My students and I did reading test 2, passage 3 in Cambridge IELTS book 8.

Here are some of the keywords that helped us to find the correct answers:

IELTS Band 9 (continued)

Following on from yesterday's lesson, let's look at why the answers I wrote on Friday were at band 9 level. Here are two reasons:

- Quality of language: rich vocabulary and detailed description
- Answers are relevant and well developed, with opinions and examples

For me, these are the two main things to focus on if you want to get a higher score in IELTS speaking or writing. If you thought that grammar and linking were the most important things, you need to change your approach!

IELTS Band 9

People often ask what makes a band 9 answer in the writing and speaking tests. The answers I wrote in yesterday's speaking lesson are definitely at band 9 level. Can you explain why?

Feel free to suggest some reasons in the 'comments' area below this lesson. I'll add my own explanation tomorrow.

IELTS Speaking Part 3: 'history' topic

Questions in part 3 of the speaking test follow on from the topic you were given in part 2. So, after last week's historic event question, you might be asked some further questions about history and events. For example:

1. What do you think we can learn by studying events of the past?

I think we can learn a lot by studying history. Just as individual people learn from their mistakes, societies can learn from the mistakes made by previous governments or leaders. For example, from what I've read in the newspapers, many economists are looking back to the time of the Great Depression, around 80 years ago, in order to understand the financial crisis that is currently affecting many countries around the world. Even if we don't always learn from mistakes, I think it's fascinating to study history because it gives us an insight into who we are and where we come from.

2. What important events do you think might take place in the future?

It's really difficult to predict what will happen in the future; most of the big, historic events of the past would have been impossible to foresee. For example, I don't think that anyone living 100 years ago could have imagined that people would one day walk on the moon! If I had to guess what might happen in the future, I'd like to think that scientists will invent cures for diseases like cancer, and we'll all live longer.

IELTS Writing Task 2: are you stuck?

Students often tell me that they are stuck on the same writing score. For example, they keep getting 6.5 in every test they take. If you are stuck in a rut like this, perhaps the most effective way to get out of it is to give more importance to your essay plan.

I tell my students to spend around 3 minutes making notes for each main body paragraph. So, for the housing topic we've been looking at recently, we would spend 3 minutes thinking about why we shouldn't build more houses in cities, and 3 more minutes thinking about the benefits of developing new towns.

The act of planning helps you to separate the task of idea generation from the task of writing. It's extremely difficult to do both of these things at the same time.

IELTS Advice: vocabulary review

It's useful to review the words and phrases you learn each week. Here's a quick list of some vocabulary from this week's lessons on the blog:

• a pressing issue
• consecutive
• the provision of
• over the course of (+ time)
• a calendar year

Try writing a simple sentence with each of the above phrases. Check the meaning of each one in a dictionary first if you're not sure.

Students' questions

1. Is it a good idea to write 60 to 80 words for my task 2 introduction?

Personally I wouldn't write that many words for the introduction. The main body paragraphs are much more important, so I would spend more time on those.

2. Which verb tense should I use to describe a film or novel?

We normally use the present simple to describe what happens in a film or novel e.g. "the film is about a man who travels to..."

3. The sentences in your ebook are all quite short. Do I need to write some longer, more complex sentences too?

Yes. I tried to limit the length of sentences in the ebook because I wanted to focus on ideas and vocabulary. However, it's easy to make longer, complex sentences by joining two or three ideas together. Remember that long sentences are not necessarily considered 'difficult'. Good writing tends to involve a mix of long and short sentences.

4. Is it ok to introduce myself when writing a complaint letter (GT task 1)?

Yes, that would be fine.

5. Are the academic and general listening tests different?

No, there are no differences in either the listening or the speaking tests.

IELTS Speaking Part 2: event in history

A student sent me this question from a recent IELTS test:

Describe an important event in history. You should say

• when it happened
• what the event was
• and what effect you think this event had.

I think this is a really nice question. If you choose the right event, it should be easy to talk for 2 minutes. Here are some suggestions:

• Don't talk about a personal event - that would be considered 'off topic'.
• Choose something that you know about - a recent event might be easier. For example, you could choose the invention of the World Wide Web or the election of Barack Obama.
• Prepare this topic before your exam. If you like the two examples mentioned above, click on the links and do some research.

IELTS Writing Task 1: introduction technique

The task 1 introduction should be fast and easy to do. Just write one sentence in which you paraphrase the question statement.

Here's the question statement from a previous lesson:

The climograph below shows average monthly temperatures and rainfall in the city of Kolkata.

Here's my one-sentence introduction:

The chart compares average figures for temperature and precipitation over the course of a calendar year in Kolkata.

IELTS Writing Task 2: introduction technique

As I've said before, task 2 introductions should be short and direct. You only need to write two sentences in order to do two things:

1. Introduce the topic.
2. Respond to the question, making your position clear.

Take this question from last week's lesson:

More houses are needed in many countries to cope with increasing populations. Would it be better to build houses in existing towns and cities, or to develop new towns in rural areas?

Here's my 2-sentence introduction:

It is true that the populations of many countries are growing, and that new housing is therefore needed. In my opinion, it would be better to increase the provision of housing by creating new towns, rather than by further developing existing towns and cities.

IELTS Reading: matching similar words

To find answers in the reading test, look for words or phrases in the passage that are similar to words in the questions.

In the test mentioned below, you need to know that 'exaggerate' is similar to 'overstate', or that 'urgent' is similar to 'pressing'.

The table below shows similar words/phrases for the test on page 24 of Cambridge IELTS book 5.

IELTS Advice: use a dictionary

Many students make spelling, vocabulary and grammar mistakes that could be avoided if they checked their work properly.

When practising your writing, do you have a dictionary with you? Do you check when you are not sure about something?

Remember, a dictionary shows more than just meanings of words. A good dictionary shows you examples of how to use words correctly.

Students' questions

1. I followed your advice and used a 4-paragraph essay structure, so why didn't I get a higher score?

Good structure and organisation are important, but the expression of ideas is even more important. IELTS is a language test, so the key to a high score is to express relevant ideas using good language.

2. How many bands will I lose if I only write 130 words for task 1?

I can't give an exact answer to this. The examiner will give you a lower score for 'task achievement', but you might also lose marks for vocabulary - a shorter essay probably contains fewer examples of good language use.

3. Can I use 'double' like this: "The figure for X increased to nearly 20% in 1997, which almost doubled its initial rate in 2000."

The use of 'doubled' is ok, but I found the whole sentence a bit confusing, maybe because the years seem to be mixed up. Can anyone suggest a clearer way to write this sentence?

4. Can I use the word "skew" to describe numbers in task 1?

If you Google the word "skew" or "skewed", you'll see it used to describe numbers and data. However, it's only used in certain situations, and I've never used it in an IELTS essay. I wouldn't worry about this word if I were you.

5. Can I say "There were twice as many precipitation"?

No, you would need to write "There was twice as much precipitation" because 'precipitation' is an uncountable noun.

IELTS Speaking Part 2: old building description

Describe an old building that you like. You should say:

• where it is
• what it is used for
• and why you like it.

The answer below is adapted from the modern building description I wrote last year. Can you spot some of the vocabulary that I've recycled?

1. I'm going to describe a very famous building in New York: the Empire State Building. People might not think of it as an old building, but the Empire State Building was built in 1931, so I don't think it can be classed as new. It's located on Manhattan island and it's probably the most distinctive and recognisable building when you look at New York's skyline.
2. As far as I know, the Empire State Building is an office building, but visitors can go up to an observation deck on the top floor, which is the 102nd floor. There's also a 360-degree observation area on the 86th floor. Apparently, the building makes more money from the sale of tickets to the observation floors than it does from office rentals.
3. I think the Empire State Building is still one of the most impressive skyscrapers in the world. It's such an iconic structure, and it's amazing to think that it was built around 80 years ago. The best thing about the building is the viewing deck on the top floor, which offers spectacular views of the city; it's definitely the best vantage point in New York. I'd recommend anyone who visits the city to go there and experience the view.