IELTS Simon

Full video course

I've now set a price for all of my video lessons (at the bottom of this page).

My aim for the video course was to go step by step through my techniques for every type of question. I think I've achieved this for writing, reading and speaking. I'm going to make just one lesson for the listening test, and then a couple of lessons for general writing task 1, but these will be free.

The videos were difficult to make, and took me longer than I expected. But I'm happy with the result, and the feedback from students has been really good :)

IELTS Vocabulary: topic list

Note: I'm reposting this list of topics because it was difficult to find amongst my older lessons.

Look through the following list of common IELTS topics. Do you have opinions about them? Could you discuss them in an essay or in a conversation?

1. Advertising
2. Animal Rights: testing on animals, vegetarianism, zoos
3. Cities: urbanisation, problems of city life
4. Crime: police, punishments/prisons, rehabilitation, capital punishment
5. Education: studying abroad, technology in education, education in developing countries, higher education, home-schooling, bad behaviour, corporal punishment, single sex education, streaming (grouping children according to ability)
6. Environment: global warming, impact of humans on the environment, solutions to environment problems, waste/rubbish, litter, recycling, nuclear power
7. Family: family size, working parents, negative effects on children, divorce, care for old people
8. Gender: gender and education, gender and work, women’s and men’s role in the family
9. Genetic Engineering: positives, negatives, genetically modified foods
10. Global Issues: problems in developing countries, how to help developing countries, immigration, multi-cultural societies, globalisation
11. Government and Society: what governments can do, public services, censorship, video cameras in public places
12. Guns and Weapons: gun ownership and possession, police and guns, nuclear weapons, armed forces
13. Health: diet, exercise, state health systems, private healthcare, alternative medicine, stress
14. Housing and Architecture: state housing, old buildings, modern/green buildings
15. International Language: English as an international language
16. Money: money and society, consumerism
17. Personal Development: happiness, success, nature or nurture
18. Sport and Leisure: professional/competitive sport, sport salaries, sport and politics
19. Tourism: positives, negative effects on environment, future of tourism
20. Traditions and Modern Life: losing traditional skills, traditional customs
21. Transport: traffic problems and solutions, public transport, road safety
22. Television, Internet and Mobile Phones: positives and negatives, Internet compared to newspapers and books
23. Water: importance of clean water, water supply, water should be free, bottled water
24. Work: same job for life, self-employment, unemployment, work/life balance, technology and work, child labour

This is the topic list that I work with when preparing lessons, and it's the basis of my ebook. It's a good idea to print this list and try to work through it.

IELTS Reading: Cambridge book 11

Last week I used Cambridge IELTS book 11 for the first time. Here's my first keyword table for this book; it's for test 1, passage 2.

IELTS Advice: feedback from teachers

Last week I did some IELTS teacher training at Liverpool University. Afterwards, I asked the teachers what they found most useful about the session, and three things stood out:

1. They liked my advice on essay planning for writing task 2. In particular, they thought that numbering the ideas in the plan was really useful. Watch this video to see an example.
2. They had a clearer understanding of the differences between IELTS writing and university academic writing e.g. using the word "I".
3. They liked the idea that it's easier to get faster than it is to get better. Don't worry if it takes you four hours to write a band 7 essay; the important thing is that you're achieving that score. Your only task now is to gradually speed up.

Note: These might not be the most useful tips for students, but it's interesting to see what's important for teachers.

IELTS Advice: 'empty package' essays

In Wednesday's lesson I showed you some examples of the kind of memorised phrases that examiners don't like. Here's the reply that I wrote to the student who asked me about those phrases:

Too many people write "empty" essays. Their essays are "packaged" with phrases like the ones you mentioned, but there is nothing inside the package - no real topic content.

If you read my own essays here on the blog, you'll see that the "packaging" is quite simple. I'm much more concerned about the contents.

IELTS Speaking: main tip for 3 parts

In case you missed the advice at the end of the video lesson that I shared last week, here's my main tip for each of the 3 parts in the speaking test:

Part 1
Focus on fluency. You don't need to show off with great vocabulary or grammar in this part. Just try to answer quickly, without hesitating. A short, simple answer is fine.

Part 2
Focus on ideas / vocabulary. This is your best chance to impress the examiner with some nice language, especially if you've prepared for common topics in the way I suggest in my video lessons.

Part 3
Focus on your answer structure. Use the 3 or 4 steps that I explained in last week's video. This will force you to give longer answers without repeating yourself. You don't really have time to think about good vocabulary or grammar; just worry about answering the question by following the steps.

Note:
Notice that I don't recommend worrying about grammar or linking at any point in the speaking test. Finally, if you forget every other exam tip, just remember one thing: answer the question!

IELTS Writing Task 1: pie chart vocabulary

Here are a few sentences that describe the pie charts in this lesson. Can you guess which words I used in the spaces shown?

1. In San Diego County and California State, residential water consumption _____ for 60% and 39% of total water usage _____.
2. In both US regions, the _____ for agricultural water use is significantly _____, at 17% and 28%.
3. By contrast, a _____ 8% of the water used globally goes to homes, and a massive 69% is required for agriculture.

IELTS Writing Task 2: these phrases don't impress

A student on Facebook asked me about the following phrases:

• The concerns surrounding the problem of _____ have considerably escalated increasing awareness of the general public towards the issue.
• Notwithstanding the fact that attempts have been undertaken to tackle this nuisance, there is still a lot to be done to exterminate the problem.
• The most effective way in dealing with this situation is, first of all, through turning urgent attention to the underlying causes of the problem.

I don't like phrases like these, and I never teach them to my students. But why? Do you know why these phrases wouldn't impress an examiner?

New video lesson (free)

I've just published my last video lesson for IELTS speaking. In the lesson I give you a method for part 3 of the speaking test. I also summarise my advice for all three parts of the test.

To access the video lesson click here.

IELTS Advice: from students who have passed

I've just been reading the comments below yesterday's lesson, particularly those written by James Z and Kevin.

If you have time, please click here and read what James and Kevin wrote. If you're struggling to get the IELTS score you need, I hope it will inspire you to see that people do achieve their goals. Just keep working hard, and you'll be able to share your own success story soon!

IELTS Speaking: what's most important?

Here are some factors that might affect your speaking score:

• fluency, not hesitating too much
• linking
• answer structure / organisation
• ideas
• vocabulary
• grammar
• pronunciation

But which of these factors are most important? I'll give you my answer in a free video lesson that I'll publish this weekend.

Tip: I'm going to suggest that you focus on a different factor (from the list above) in each of the 3 parts of the speaking test.

IELTS Writing Task 1: correct the mistakes

The following sentences relate to the pie charts in last week's lesson. Can you correct the mistakes in each sentence?

1. Worldwide had spend water for agriculture almost 69%.
2. The world's proportion of water consumption go to agriculture by 69%.
3. There are same percentage in water usage in industry between San Diego and worldwide by 23%.
4. San Diego and worldwide consumptions had had same percentage which reached 23%.

Note:
Each of the sentences above is trying to describe one number. This is the most basic skill that you need when describing graphs and charts. If you want a good score in task 1, you must be able to describe one number clearly and correctly.

IELTS Writing Task 2: strong opinion and both sides

A few people were confused by the essay that I shared last week, because I gave a strong opinion (completely agree) and then wrote about both sides of the issue. Can you see why I was able to do this?

Here's the reason: the question contains the phrase "as well as". It wasn't asking me to give an opinion about whether companies should make money or have social responsibilities; it was asking whether I agree that companies should make money and have social responsibilities. I agreed that companies should do both.

Always read the question carefully. Sometimes it's possible to have a strong opinion and still write about both sides. Click here to see another example.

IELTS Listening: official practice exercises

The official IELTS website, ielts.org, has recently been redesigned. If you haven't tried the sample exercises on this site, you should.

Click here to access the practice listening exercises.

IELTS Reading: which paragraph contains...?

"Which paragraph contains the following information?" This type of question is not the same as "match the headings to the paragraphs".

Here are some tips for "which paragraph contains?" questions:

• Instead of looking for the main idea of each paragraph, you need to find one piece of information.
• Some paragraphs might not contain any answers.
• The same paragraph might contain more than one answer.
• It's not usually difficult to understand the question or answer, but it is difficult to find the answer.
• Do these questions last. By doing other questions first, you will become familiar with the passage, and you might remember where some of the answers are.
• Look for the easiest information first: questions that contain names, numbers or big/unusual words might be easier to find.

Click here to try an example "which paragraph contains?" question from the official IELTS website.

IELTS Vocabulary: paraphrasing

Let's review the paraphrasing that I used in Thursday's lesson:

• the pie charts compare = the pie charts give information about
• water usage = the water used
• water usage = water is consumed
• the rest of the world = the world as a whole
• the rest of the world = worldwide
• for residential purposes = by homes
• San Diego and California = two American regions

Remember: Paraphrasing is considered to be a 'high level' language skill. The ability to say or write the same thing in several different ways is the sign of an 'advanced' language user.

IELTS Vocabulary: weekly review

Have you noted down the following good vocabulary from this week's lessons?

• should do the trick (informal) = should be enough
• resist the urge to
• ramble on (informal) = say too much
• dive right in (informal) = go straight to
• with the sole aim of
• maximising profit
• a wider role to play in society
• treat employees well, rather than exploiting them
• pay a "living wage"
• ensure that they have a good quality of life
• use a proportion of their profits
• support local charities
• environmental projects
• education initiatives
• minimise tax payments
• accounting loopholes
• contribute to society
• in the world as a whole
• accounts for the vast majority of
• they've used up their energy
• leave a good impression on someone

IELTS Writing Task 1: 'water use' pie charts

Today I'll show you the first half of my answer for the pie chart question below.

The pie charts below compare water usage in San Diego, California and the rest of the world.
...

...
Introduction (just paraphrase the question):
The pie charts give information about the water used for residential, industrial and agricultural purposes in San Diego County, California, and the world as a whole.

Overview (describe two main, general features):
It is noticeable that more water is consumed by homes than by industry or agriculture in the two American regions. By contrast, agriculture accounts for the vast majority of water used worldwide.

IELTS Writing Task 2: 'business responsibilities' essay

Here's my full essay for the question below.

As well as making money, businesses also have social responsibilities. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Businesses have always sought to make a profit, but it is becoming increasingly common to hear people talk about the social obligations that companies have. I completely agree with the idea that businesses should do more for society than simply make money.

On the one hand, I accept that businesses must make money in order to survive in a competitive world. It seems logical that the priority of any company should be to cover its running costs, such as employees’ wages and payments for buildings and utilities. On top of these costs, companies also need to invest in improvements and innovations if they wish to remain successful. If a company is unable to pay its bills or meet the changing needs of customers, any concerns about social responsibilities become irrelevant. In other words, a company can only make a positive contribution to society if it is in good financial health.

On the other hand, companies should not be run with the sole aim of maximising profit; they have a wider role to play in society. One social obligation that owners and managers have is to treat their employees well, rather than exploiting them. For example, they could pay a “living wage” to ensure that workers have a good quality of life. I also like the idea that businesses could use a proportion of their profits to support local charities, environmental projects or education initiatives. Finally, instead of trying to minimise their tax payments by using accounting loopholes, I believe that company bosses should be happy to contribute to society through the tax system.

In conclusion, I believe that companies should place as much importance on their social responsibilities as they do on their financial objectives.

(285 words, band 9)

IELTS Advice: answer the question!

In the IELTS speaking and writing tests, the most important thing is to answer the question. This seems obvious, but many students are so worried about using 'difficult grammar' that they don't give relevant answers.

In the speaking test, listen carefully to the question and answer it as if you were speaking to a friend. Try to speak without thinking too much; forget the grammar and just have a normal conversation.

In the writing test, take some time to understand each question and plan your answer. Check the question every time you write a new idea; make sure that everything you write is relevant. If part of your answer is not related to the topic you will lose marks, even if your grammar is perfect.