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.

Comments

[Nena]

Is it a mistake to write up to 100 words longer essays for Task 1 and Task 2 in the Writing section?

[theolog]

Hi Simon and everbody;
I'm so happy now, I got my results; overall 7.5, L: 8.5 R: 7.5 S: 6.5 W: 6.5. I needed 7 so
the nightmare of IELTS is finished, I'm so glad that I reached this score in my second exam, I hope everbody would get enough score for their dream.
thank you Simon, everbody :)))

[Vy]

Hi Nena
I don't think you would get your mark deduced by writing longer essay but that increases your chance of making mistakes. Which was the case of mine last year. I think I wrote about 350 or more for task 2 and only got 6.5

Congratulation Theolog
I'm gonna take mine next week. I'm so panicked

[SImon]

Congratulations theolog!

[Theolog]

Thank you Simon, I really love your blog and it really helped me a lot especially for writing section.

[Maia]

Hi, Simon I received my result yesterday L-9.0, R-7.5, S-7.5 & W-6.5. I needed 7 in writing too. i have been following your website and gone through all writing task and your e-book but i could not achieve my goal and i am planning to revise for 1 week all your material and e-book once again before i sit my test next week and I am keeping my finger crossed.

Thanks simon for your good effort to help everyone...... could we have some tips for better task 2...

[Taka]

Hi Simon,

Last week I took IELTS test, and I met "give your views" type question in writing section Task 2. I wrote "In this essay, my two perspectives to this issue are introduced at first, and then one possible solution is presented" as a part of my introduction in order to show my essay's direction. (This kind of expression seems to be widely used in academic writings such as scientific papers.)

However, some people said to me that these words might not be counted because this sentence could be regarded as a memorized or plagiarized one.

Would you think this is true?

[Devid]

Hi simon, i had given ielts few times ;however , my scores in writing and speaking were very inconsistent. I got 5.5 in writing, and in speaking 6.5.In contrast to these scores , i also achieved 6.5 in writing and 7 in speaking .So, Simon , I would like to obtain higher marks in writing and speaking modules. If you could provide me a good piece of advice on it I would be grateful to you.Also, if you would be able to tell me that why I am hitting 6.5 bands again and again in writing and speaking it would be appreciable as well. I am looking forward to your reply. Thankyou very much Simon

[ASD]

Hi Simon,

I am also wondering the answer of Taka's question.
Could you answer it please?
Thanks in advance!

[Vy]

i think they are counted

[Apurv]

Dear Mr Simon,

I am not too sure if this is the right page where I can ask questions. I have a few queries as below.

1) What does 7.5 in reading mean and how many correct answers it has to be for 8? I do not know if I am the only one but this is consistent score I am having for the past four months.
2) What actually is required for 8 in speaking ? Do we have to use Idioms or should we focus on vocabulary ? I sometimes prefer being informal but it is not normal for me to look at an examiner or anyone,sitting close to me.( May be because of my background!! )
3) Last but not the least, how can I stop making cuttings while writing an essay?Personally, it makes me nervous and distracts me a lot. It may sound silly but I feel that it is one of the biggest obstacle for me to reach 8 from 7.5, 7 or 6.5 .

I look forward to your reply.

In the end,Wish you a Happy Diwali.

Yours sincerely,
Apurv Walia

[Simon]

FROM SIMON:

I'm afraid I no longer have time to answer everyone's questions individually. However, I do still read them all, and I try to answer some questions in a lesson once a week (usually Saturdays).

[Aaron]

Hi Simon,

What if I want to desctibe the first part of the book, what tense should I use?

For example, to describe the first a few chapter, should I say "She was an annoying girl" or " She is an annoying girl"?

Regards,

Aaron