You might already know that I like using the word while in my introductions. It's also possible to write a 'while sentence' for the conclusion.
Take this question for example:
Some people think that strict punishments for driving offences are the key to reducing traffic accidents. Others, however, believe that other measures would be more effective in improving road safety. Discuss both these views and give your own opinion. (Official IELTS Practice Materials 2)
Here's an example of a 'while' conclusion:
In conclusion, while punishments can help to prevent bad driving, I believe that other road safety measures should also be introduced.
good idea and good word to help us contract and compare two sides of essay.
Thank you Simon.
Posted by: Mohammed | April 29, 2015 at 10:13
Hello everyone,
here is a good website you can find news and topic especially in business
http://www.businessinsider.com/
Posted by: Mohammed | April 29, 2015 at 10:15
my exam will be held tomorrow in Bangladesh. for writing task 2 I need a suggestion. which topic should I study for task 2? please, help me.
Posted by: Piya | April 29, 2015 at 13:28
Hello Simon,
In conclusion, while traffic accidents can be controlled by tough penalties, introducing other measures also have a huge impact on narrowing the number of car accidents.
Posted by: Mahmoud | April 29, 2015 at 17:47
Dear Simon,
In all Cambridge series, it is indicated that the passages are extracted from "New Scientist" magazine, do you suggest reading this magazine? I have downloaded few issues of it and found out that the articles could be useful in this part, it just remind me that I'am reading IELTS passages!
Thanks,
Mahdi
Posted by: Mahdi | April 29, 2015 at 18:01
Hi Simon,
I have jast found your site it is very useful for IELTS peraparation i hope your lessons help me with my exam i will follow your lessons day by day
Thanks,
Posted by: sayed wares | April 29, 2015 at 20:47
Dear Simon,
thanks for your all useful tips about IELTS.
there is a question that i have no idea to write a skeleton, would you please help me?
the question is: Some people think that the amount of noise people make have to be controlled strictly while other say that people are free to make as much noise as they wish. Discuss both views and give your opinion.
thanks again
Posted by: Chatherine | April 30, 2015 at 02:24
Dear SIMON
Is it possible to use "FOR" instead of "TO" in "strict punishments for driving offences are the key to (for?) reducing traffic accidents" ?
Is it right to use "TO"?
Posted by: Mohammad | April 30, 2015 at 04:41
Mohammad
No. We say 'the key TO something'.
Posted by: sjm | April 30, 2015 at 14:34
Dear Simon,
İn conclusion, while traffic penalties can helps in order to reduce dangerous driving, I would argue that other drastic measure can be taken.
Posted by: Advocate | April 30, 2015 at 14:53
Hi Simon and Sjm
I know that we are in writing part of the blog, but I have a question for you in regard to reading.
Do you agree that some IELTS reading questions , particularly in the True, False, Not given forms have a kind of grey area?
I mean there can be Not given in one paragraph but contradicted and No in other paragraph. I saw some examples of those and if you like I can give you one of them.
Let me know if you want , so we can discuss more.
I thank you in advance for your reply.
Posted by: Aria | April 30, 2015 at 15:24
Thanks sjm
However, I believe that we cannot use "reducing" after "TO" in "strict punishments for driving offences are the key to reducing traffic accidents" am I right?
thanks again
Posted by: Mohammad | April 30, 2015 at 20:26
Aria
T/F/NG questions can be very tricky. Even natives struggle with them. Sometimes they require the reader to understand not just the meaning of words but 'shades of meaning'.
Reading tests are thoroughly checked before they are issued and the answers are debated and approved by teams of people, so they are likely to be correct. Just be aware that there are thousands of tests online and most of them are not official tests so there may be some errors.
Mohammed
'the key to' in English is followed by a 'noun phrase'. This means that if you put an action after it, that action has to be in a 'noun' form, which is 'ing'. We can say, for example:
the key to success
the key to being successful
You can't say 'the key to be successful'.
Posted by: sjm | April 30, 2015 at 21:42
Thanks a lot Sjm.
I really appreciate your prompt response. I believe you are right and I might be confused by some of those online tests.
Posted by: Aria | May 01, 2015 at 12:59
Kindly Comment on this I had this topic on April 11th IELTS
Topic:
Children should be taught to obey parents and teachers; however, some people argue that children should be independent in their decision making.
Discuss both views and give your opinion.
It is true that people have different opinion on how to nurture their children in a positive way. Although independent decision making is a remarkable skill, there are various advantages in listening to parents and teachers. I personally believe that both are crucial qualities and we should stress on both.
Some people argue in favor of making children independent due to various reasons. Firstly, these children become better decision makers as they never afraid of taking bold decisions. For example, a child who grew up in an independent environment and took all his personal decisions by himself would be a better business man compare to others who always looking for help. Due to the fact that he would not afraid of risk taking, and it has been observed that risk-takers are successful businessmen. Hence, it proves that independent decision making is a crucial skill for successful future.
On the contrary, there are others who strongly support obedience and taking guidance from parents and teachers. There are several situations in life when children need guidance of seniors; for example, when any child is not performing appropriately in his class, he must need instructions from teachers, so he can achieve required grades in his semester. Similarly, when children become adolescent they tend to have different habits like smoking, drinking and sexual behavior. This is a crucial time when they need advise from seniors, parents or friends, so they could restrict their intuitions under a limit. It is therefore extremely important that our children grow up in an environment where they learn to take guidance and advise from their seniors, so they could avoid drastic consequences.
To conclude, I suppose that a holistic approach is needed for a better children development, which should includes good listening qualities and at the same time independent decision making abilities, so they grow as a responsible adult.
Posted by: Toxic | May 02, 2015 at 08:17
Dear simon,
I am studying writing part 2 from your videos , and i want to ask you if its ok to write the two main paragraphs in the form of firstly secondly , finally? In case i have many reasons for both arguments . I am asking this because i noticed from all the exapmles that u gave us that you use fristly secondly finally for the first paragraph and idea , explain, example for the second .
Thank you
Posted by: Manar | May 02, 2015 at 22:00
Hi Manar,
Good question. Have a look at the document linked below:
http://ielts-simon.com/files/alternatives-for-firstly.pdf
Posted by: Simon | May 03, 2015 at 22:44
how can I imprve my writing skill?
Posted by: Monjur Ahmed | May 26, 2015 at 12:43
In conclusion, I believe that while punishments can deter drivers from breaking traffic rules, other measures should be also adopted to enhance road safety.
Posted by: Keddie Z. | November 24, 2015 at 11:49