Can you see the mistakes in the following topic sentences?
- On the one hand, people facing different situation living in a city.
- The problems that urban inhabitants may face with are high cost of living, many kinds of social problems as well as poor air quality.
- People dwelling in cities are facing different kind of issues every day.
- On the one hand, the denizen need to face the challenge life in urban sprawl.
- The fantasy of high standard city life is infact faced with reality of many daily challenges.
Tip: the easiest way to improve these sentences is by simplifying them.
1,On the one hand, people living in a city are facing different situations.
2,The problems that urban inhabitants may face are high cost of living, social problems as well as poor air quality.
3,People living in cities are facing different kinds of issues every day.
4,On the one hand, the citizens need to face the challenges of life in urban sprawl.
5,People expecting the fantasy of a high standard of life in the city in fact face the reality of many daily challenges.
Posted by: Lucy | March 12, 2016 at 11:33
1. facing, should be face
situation, should be situations
There should be a "when/while" before "living"
"in city" instead of "in a city"
2 delete "with" after the "face"
"as well as " should be "and"
3. "People dwelling in cities" could be "urban dwellers"
"are facing" should be "are faced with"
"different kind of" should be "different kinds of"
4. "the denizen need" can be "denizens of XXX need" or "a denizen of XXX needs" . In tasks 2 , I think the first option would be better.
"the challenge life" should be "a challenging life"
5. "The fantasy of high standard city life is" could be "high living standards in city are"
"infact" spelling error "infect"
"faced with" --> "facing"
delete "reality of"
Posted by: PJ | March 12, 2016 at 11:46
1) On the one hand, people facing different situation living in a city.
People face many difficulties living in a city.
2) The problems that urban inhabitants may face with are high cost of living, many kinds of social problems as well as poor air quality.
Urban inhabitants face problems such as high costs of living, social issues and poor air quality.
3) People dwelling in cities are facing different kind of issues every day.
City dwellers face many issues on a day to day basis.
4) On the one hand, the denizen need to face the challenge life in urban sprawl.
On the one hand, people face a challenging life in cities.
5) The fantasy of high standard city life is infact faced with reality of many daily challenges.
The fantasy of a high standard city life hides the stark reality of daily challenges.
Posted by: Junaid | March 12, 2016 at 13:03
Dear Simon,
I received my result today. It's overall 8.
This is my 5th attempt and I was too tired and weary because of this.
It wouldn't be possible without this amazing website.
Thank you so so much for all your devoted time and effort, sir!
P.s sorry to post unrelated reply here.
Regards,
C
Posted by: -C- | March 12, 2016 at 13:04
1- On the one hand, people living in a city are facing different situations.
2- The problems that urban inhabitants may face with are high cost of living, many kinds of social problems and poor air quality.
3- People dwelling in cities are facing different issues every day.
4- On the one hand, the denizens need to face the challenge in urban sprawl.
5-The fantasy of high standard city life is in fact faced with real daily challenges.
Posted by: saeid | March 12, 2016 at 14:00
1. On the one hand, people who live in cities face different situations.
2. High cost of living, social problems and poor air quality are the problems that urban inhabitants may face with.
3. City dwellers face different kinds of problems every day.
4. On the one hand, the denizen should face the challenges caused by urban sprawl.
5.Numerous daily challenges could lead to the lost of fantasy of high standard city life.
Posted by: abbas azarmehr | March 12, 2016 at 14:08
Hi Simon,
Please help me ! I don't know anyone better than you and your blog!
Which of these forms s preferred by British people in speaking ? What I understood is they prefer to BOLD "not" when the speak.
-------------------
I've not seen...
I haven't seen
--------
Why don't you tell...
Why do you not tell ...
Posted by: Hessam | March 12, 2016 at 14:15
Hi Simon,
We wondered if you would consider having a small ad box (to our online language school) on your site, what kind of price would you consider, Our budget is around 150-$200 a month, but this could be ongoing, Here is our site https://testedteachers.com/english Kind Regards Alex
Posted by: Alex | March 12, 2016 at 16:12
I just took the IELTS this is the topic of the writing
Some people think to created art a human being has to born whith a special hability others thinks that every human being can creat art
Discuss both situation and give your opinion
Posted by: Alexis | March 12, 2016 at 18:00
I just want to thank you Simon, I managed to increase my writing from band 6 to 7 just in two weeks thanks to your website, so grateful.
Posted by: Asmat | March 12, 2016 at 21:20
1. On the one hand, many people can face different kind of problems while living in a city.
2. Problems like high cost of living, various kind of social problems as well as outdoor air pollution may become an alarming problem that is faced by urban dwellers.
3. City dwellers face different kind of problems everyday
4. On the one hand, expansion of urban areas may be challenging for its inhabitants
5. It is sometimes thought that people living in big cities have higher standard of living than in (their hometown/rural areas), but indeed life in city is much challenging and difficult.
Posted by: Shahnoz | March 13, 2016 at 05:20
1.On the one hand, people are facing different problems of living in a city.
2 urban inhabitants may face many problems ,such as high cost of living, social problems and poor air quality.
3city-dwellers are facing different kinds of issues every day.
4.On the one hand, citizens face the challenge of urban sprawl.
5.The high living standard in city faces many daily challenges.
Posted by: Alice | March 13, 2016 at 05:24
1. On the one hand, people in a city face different situations.
2. Urban inhabitants may face problems of high cost of living, many kinds of social problems and poor air quality.
3. People in cities face different kinds of issues every day.
4. On the one hand, the denizen needs to face the challenge life in urban sprawl.
5. The fantasy of high standard city life is with reality of many daily challenges.
Posted by: Ryan | March 13, 2016 at 05:46
4. On thé one hand,the denizen needs to face the challenging life in urban area
Posted by: Jackie | March 13, 2016 at 06:02
1. On the other hand, people living in a city are facing different situation.
2. The problems that urban inhabitants may face are high cost of living and many kinds of social problems such as poor air quality.
3. People dwelling in cities are facing different kinds of issues everyday.
4. On the other hand, the citizens needs to face the challenging life in urban sprawl.
5. The fantasy of high standard city life was in fact faced with reality of many daily challenges.
Posted by: Gladz | March 13, 2016 at 06:58
On the one hand, people face difficult situation when living in a city.
Urban inhabitants may face with many problems such as high cost of living and many kinds of social problems as well as poor air quality.
People dwelling in cities face different kind of issues every day.
On the one hand, the migrant has to face the challenge from urban sprawl.
The relatively high standard of city life leads to many daily challenges in reality.
Posted by: Keddie Z. | March 13, 2016 at 07:32
FROM SHAKHZOD
Dear Simon,
Please can I ask another question regarding the Part 2 in speaking?
We are supposed to answer the questions on the speaking card. My question is what will happen if I have not got time to finish all the questions on the card when time is up? Do I lose marks for that? Or is it better to give a brief answer for each question on the card, then go into details?
Thank you
Posted by: shakhzod | March 13, 2016 at 07:35
hey everyone. 2 weeks ago i took ielts. And i got 7.5 overall. L:8 R:7.5 W:7 S:7 . I want to say thank you Simon for your great website and tips and lots of exercises!! Good luck !
Posted by: Vusal Mammadov | March 13, 2016 at 07:38
Hessam
1. 'I haven't seen' is much more common in the English speaking world. 'I've not seen' is possible in British English, but I wouldn't advise non native to use it.
2. 'Why do you not tell' is not used by natives. Don't use it.
Shakhzod
You are NOT assessed on those questions in any way. They exist ONLY to assist very weak candidates and to give examiners a way to push candidates to two minutes. The only advantage to you of addressing all of them is that you might provide a wider range of vocabulary, which is assessed.
Posted by: sjm | March 13, 2016 at 07:59
On the one hand, people faces different situation living in a city.
The problems that urban inhabitants may faced with are high cost of
living, many kinds of social problems as well as poor air quality.
People dwelling in cities face different kind of issues every day.
On the one hand, the denizen needs to face the challenge life in urban sprawl.
The fantasy of high standard city life is infact facing with reality of many daily challenges.
Posted by: Alex | March 13, 2016 at 10:04
FROM SHAKHZOD
Thank you for advice,Sjm.
Frankly speaking, I did a bit of work and wrote a small book regarding IELTS common questions and answers. I would be really glad to know your opinion about that book.
Please, send me an email or post your email if you want to read my work.
[email protected]
Simon, I also would be glad if you also want me to send it to you!
Thank you
best wishes.
Posted by: shakhzod | March 13, 2016 at 14:19
1. On the one hand, people ARE facing different PROBLEMS living in a city.
2. AMONG OTHER, inhabitants HAVE TO DEAL WITH high living cost, many social and ecological problems. For instance, air quality is real poor.
3. People, WHO LIVE in cities, SHOULD FAСE different TYPES of issues every day.
4. On the one hand, the INHABITANS need to face the challenges of urban life.
5.The TALES about high level city life is in fact TURN TO MANY daily PROBLEMS.
Posted by: Ievgen | March 13, 2016 at 16:28
Tnx, but I'm not talking about all english speakers or the way I should do in formal writings ! I'm just talking about the way British people speak ! Because I hear lots of "NOT" in their speaking ! Instead of I haven't , they say I've not ... !
Posted by: Hessam | March 13, 2016 at 22:43
Hessam
I'll leave this to Simon to comment on definitively because he's British and I'm Australian, but 'I haven't' is definitely more common than 'I've not...' in the entire English speaking world, including Britain. There is no difference in formality.
Remember the word 'not' appears a lot in all speaking, especially after the verb to be ('I'm not , he's not etc) so you are also noticing these types of uses.
Remember there are occasionally regional variations in all languages, but as a non native if you copy 'variations' you will almost certainly sound 'wrong' to a native.
Posted by: sjm | March 14, 2016 at 02:52
Hi Hessam,
I would like to share my experience in real IELTS exam if you don't mind.
I vividly remember one examiner corrected my pronunciation of the word 'adult' from /əˈdʌlt/ to /ˈædʌlt/. I thought both should be acceptable as I'd heard the former thousand times on US channels, dramas and movies. Even though I was not sure whether I was penalised for this 'wrong' pronunciation, yet I still felt lucky because the examiner actually gave me sort of 'feedback'. Imagine the situation where he/she keeps silent but endures your 'wrong' pronunciation, what kind of impression he/she might have of you?
I believe there must be variations of language usage, but the role of teachers are there to help us learn the widely recognised principles, especially those that are accepted in exams. That's what teachers are for.
Thanks and best wishes
Posted by: James Z. | March 14, 2016 at 06:53
James
That's crazy that an examiner 'corrected' your pronunciation in a test. This is completely forbidden in the test.
In any case, these small differences really have almost no impact on your score. Stress, intonation, rhythm and speed variation are far more important.
Posted by: sjm | March 14, 2016 at 09:57
Hessam,
It's true that we British sometimes say "I've not seen..." and "Have you not seen...?".
However, I still think that "I haven't seen..." and "Haven't you seen...?" are more common - these are the phrases that I would almost always use. I'd advise you to stick to these too.
Posted by: Simon | March 14, 2016 at 16:16
1. People living in a city have many different situation to deal with.
2. Living in the city may brings high cost of living, social problems and air pollution.
3. People living in cities daily facing problem.
4. Immigrant are dealing with problems in urban sprawl.
5. High cost of living causes various challenges.
Posted by: hpt1996 | March 17, 2016 at 08:38