IELTS Simon

IELTS Speaking: 3 parts, same topic

Some topics can appear in all 3 parts of the IELTS speaking test. Below you can see an example using the topic of clothing. Have a look at my main tip for each part before you practise answering.

Part 1

1) Are clothes and clothing fashions important to you?
2) What different clothes do you wear for different situations?
3) Do you wear different styles of clothes now compared to 10 years ago?
4) Do you think the clothes we wear say something about who we are?

Part 2

Describe a piece of clothing that you like wearing. You should say
- what the item of clothing is
- where and when you bought it
- when you wear it
- and explain why you like wearing it.

Part 3

1) For which jobs are people required to wear a uniform in your country?
2) Do you think people are treated differently when they are in uniform?
3) What are the advantages of making children wear uniforms for school?

IELTS Writing Task 1: variety and repetition

In writing task 1, there will probably be one or two key words or phrases that you find yourself repeating in almost every sentence. For example, last week's graphs were about spending on sport and participation in sport, so it was necessary to mention these two ideas several times in the answer.

Add variety where you can
In my answer, I did try to add some variety where I felt that an alternative word or phrase worked well. For example, instead of "participation in" I also wrote:

- took part in
- taking part
- played
- were enrolled in
- practised
- doing

But repetition can also be positive
I wasn't too worried about repeating the key ideas (spending and participation) a few times. I wrote "parents spent" three times and I used the word "participation" four times. It can help the coherence of your writing if a key word or phrase is repeated, because this helps the reader to make connections between ideas in different sentences. Too much variety can confuse the reader. For example, it will seem very strange if you use 10 different synonyms for a word like "spending".

Remember: variety is good, but repetition is also normal.

IELTS Writing Task 2: 'high salaries' discussion

Here's a "discussion + opinion" question from a recent IELTS test:

In many countries, a small number of people earn extremely high salaries. Some people believe that this is good for the country, but others think that governments should not allow salaries above a certain level.
Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.

Can you suggest a 4-paragraph essay plan using the advice that I gave you in last week's lesson?

IELTS Listening: more multiple choice

Listen to the following recording about right and left-handedness.

Click here to listen

What is the probability of right-handed parents having a left-handed child?

A) more than 10%.
B) about 2%.
C) about 17%.

What comparison is made between males and females?

A) 50% of left-handed people are male.
B) Males are less likely to be left-handed.
C) Males are twice as likely to be left-handed.

A child's handedness can be determined for certain

A) when the child reaches two years of age.
B) when the child is six months old.
C) according to which hand the child reaches with in the first year of life.

IELTS Advice: work on the easy things

Following on from yesterday's advice about doing the easy things well, let's think about some of the 'easy' aspects of the IELTS test:

• Speaking part 1: Have you mastered the art of giving short, simple answers without hesitation? Have a look at this lesson to see some useful examples.
• Listening section 1: Can you get 10 out of 10 correct answers? If you can't, you need to do more work on this section before you worry about sections 2, 3 and 4.
• Writing task 1 introductions: If you've done enough practice, you should find it easy to write task 1 introductions. Use the method in this lesson.
• Writing task 2 introductions and conclusions: Practise writing introductions like this and conclusions like this.

My tip: become good at these 'easy' parts of the test before you move on to anything more difficult.

IELTS Speaking Part 1: 'free time at home' answers

Here are some example answers for the questions that I shared last week. Remember to focus on fluency in part 1. Try not to hesitate; just say the first thing that comes into your head.

1) How much time do you spend at home?

Obviously I sleep at home, but I don't spend very much time at home during the day, because I'm usually busy with work.

2) Do you prefer to spend your free time at home or outside the house?

During the day I prefer to be out of the house, so I like visiting family or meeting up with friends. But I do like relaxing at home in the evenings.

3) What do you do when you have some free time and you're at home?

I usually sit and watch some TV or a film, or I listen to some music. I also like sitting outside if the weather is nice.

4) Would you like to have more spare time to spend at home in the future?

No, not really. I get bored if I'm at home for too long. In the future, I imagine I'll still prefer to go out and do things rather than stay indoors.

IELTS Writing Task 1: separate line graphs answer

The first chart below gives information about the money spent by British parents on their children’s sports between 2008 and 2014. The second chart shows the number of children who participated in three sports in Britain over the same time period.

Here's my full answer:

The line graphs show the average monthly amount that parents in Britain spent on their children’s sporting activities and the number of British children who took part in three different sports from 2008 to 2014.

It is clear that parents spent more money each year on their children’s participation in sports over the six-year period. In terms of the number of children taking part, football was significantly more popular than athletics and swimming.

In 2008, British parents spent an average of around £20 per month on their children’s sporting activities. Parents’ spending on children’s sports increased gradually over the following six years, and by 2014 the average monthly amount had risen to just over £30.

Looking at participation numbers, in 2008 approximately 8 million British children played football, while only 2 million children were enrolled in swimming clubs and less than 1 million practised athletics. The figures for football participation remained relatively stable over the following 6 years. By contrast, participation in swimming almost doubled, to nearly 4 million children, and there was a near fivefold increase in the number of children doing athletics.

(185 words, band 9)

IELTS Writing Task 2: discussion + opinion

Students are often confused about questions that ask you to "discuss both views and give your own opinion".

Do we need to write 3 main paragraphs: one view, the other view, my own view?

The answer is no. I usually use the following essay structure:

1. Introduction: mention both views and my own view
2. Main paragraph: one view
3. Main paragraph: the opposite view (which is also my view)
4. Conclusion: repeat / summarise

We'll look at a new "discussion + opinion" question next Wednesday.

IELTS Listening: keywords from a matching task

There's a nice matching exercise in test 2 in Cambridge IELTS book 10 (questions 15 to 20). Here's a table showing the keywords that give us the answers:

Notice that synonyms or similar words are used in almost all of the questions. You need to be ready for this. You won't always hear the exact words from the question.

IELTS Reading: 'scanning made me panic'

I've written before about the problems of skimming and scanning (e.g. here). Over the weekend I taught an IELTS course here in Manchester, and we found another problem with scanning. I'll try to explain below.

In one practice test passage, the first question contained a name, and we decided to scan for it. We quickly found the name in one of the later paragraphs in the passage, and so we jumped straight to that paragraph and found the answer. The problem came later. Because we hadn't read the passage from the beginning, we didn't really understand what the whole article was about, and we felt lost when doing some of the other questions. "Scanning made me panic" is how one of my students described it.

Scanning encourages you to 'jump around' the passage in a disjointed way. It might help you to find one answer, but it will probably make your life more difficult overall.

Sometimes "slower is faster". Get into the habit of reading the passage at normal speed from the beginning. Go through it question by question, and resist the urge to jump around.

IELTS Advice: about 'task response'

Someone asked me about the following phrase, which describes a band 9 task response in writing task 2:

"presents a fully developed position with relevant, fully extended and well supported ideas"

Is it really possible to "fully extend and support" your ideas in such a short essay? Probably not. If you had time to write 1000 words, I'm sure you could extend and support your ideas more fully.

However, we shouldn't "overthink" this problem. Examiners know that it's impossible to write a truly perfect, fully developed answer in just 250 words. They understand the limitations of the task, and (hopefully!) they use their common sense. Instead of worrying about the precise meaning of the band descriptions, it's best to simply focus on answering the question as well as you can.

IELTS Advice: success tips

Occasionally I like to use this blog to share my thoughts about how to achieve goals. Here's a summary of what I believe are the keys to success in IELTS, or in any other endeavour:

1) The best information
If you want to achieve something, you first need to find the best source of information and guidance that you can.

2) Persistent work
Of course, you'll need to use the information that you have and take action. You'll need to do the regular practice that leads to improvement.

3) Positive attitude (or growth mindset)
If you have the right guidance and you're working hard, you need to be positive and patient. Try not to waste time worrying; instead, trust the process and know that you will improve gradually. Don't expect fast or easy results.

4) Measure your progress
Finally, you need to find a way to analyse the work that you produce. This will allow you to learn from your mistakes and make any necessary changes to your approach. Also, tracking your progress will give you confidence that you are moving towards your goal.

IELTS Speaking Part 1: 'free time at home' topic

Try giving short, direct answers to the following part 1 questions. Remember to answer with a full sentence, and give a reason where relevant.

1) How much time do you spend at home?

2) Do you prefer to spend your free time at home or outside the house?

3) What do you do when you have some free time and you're at home?

4) Would you like to have more spare time to spend at home in the future?

IELTS Writing Task 2: 'perfect' essays

In this lesson I wrote that you should try to write 'perfect' essays when you are practising at home.

What I meant was that you should take as much time as you need, check everything carefully, use a dictionary or the Internet to find better vocabulary, and generally do your best to write an essay that you probably wouldn't be able to write in an exam. You should be able to score at least one band higher when you're practising like this, compared to the score you get in exam conditions.

Ask yourself: Am I pushing myself to write essays to the best of my ability when I'm practising at home? Or am I simply testing myself or staying in my comfort zone?

IELTS Listening: 'dolphin tagging' gap-fill

Watch the following video or listen to the recording, and complete the summary below.

Click here to listen

Summary:

Scientists attach data logging tags to marine _____ to measure their movements and behaviour. However, they would like to know whether these tags affect the animals’ behaviour or _____ consumption.

A research group is currently investigating the effects of drag created by the data logging devices. Dolphins are trained to follow a _____ boat while wearing the data logger. The boat is fitted with a _____ which records the dolphin’s speed and the _____ of the session. A trainer then takes breath _____ from the dolphin and measures respiratory _____, as well as oxygen and carbon dioxide _____.

In this way, researchers can quantify differences in energy _____ when the dolphin is or isn’t wearing the data logger.

IELTS Vocabulary: band 7-9 phrases

Here's a list of the good vocabulary from my 'climate change' essay:

• represents a major threat to
• tackle this issue
• reduce the human impact
• to prevent, or at least mitigate, climate change
• limit the carbon dioxide emissions
• impose “green taxes” on drivers
• other polluters
• invest in renewable energy production
• energy efficient
• voting for politicians who propose to tackle climate change
• the consequences will be disastrous
• not optimistic that we would be able to cope
• rise in sea levels
• people would be displaced
• the means to safeguard low-lying areas
• forced to migrate to nearby cities
• the potential for human suffering would be huge
• outbreaks of disease and famine
• increased homelessness and poverty

Remember: if you want a high score in writing task 2, you need to use good 'topic vocabulary' like the examples above.

Students' questions about my essay

People asked some useful questions in the comments below the essay I shared on Wednesday. I'll try to answer them here. If you don't like grammar, don't read number 1 below!

1) When writing about our planet, should we write: Earth, earth, the Earth or the earth?

To be honest, this confuses native speakers and you'll see it written in different ways. I wrote "life on Earth" and "the Earth's climate", and I've found plenty of examples of both phrases written in this way, in publications such as National Geographic. However, I've also found both phrases written with the lower case "e" (earth). If you read the grammar rules on a website like this one, you'll probably be even more confused. Either way, you won't lose any marks in the IELTS test, so don't worry too much about this.

Note: After reading about the grammar rules myself, I'll probably follow the convention of writing "Earth" without "the" when I'm using it as a proper noun (name). Following this rule, I would write "Earth's climate" instead of "the Earth's climate".

2) Does "Try to limit the contribution" mean "make every effort" or "make little effort"?

It means "make every effort to limit the contribution".

3) Should we write "represents a threat" or "presents a threat"?

Both are possible, but "represents a threat" is a very common collocation, and has more results on Google.

4) Is it possible to completely agree/disagree without mentioning the other side?

Yes. I chose to completely agree, and I mentioned the negatives of the other view. However, you don't have to mention the other side at all. You can simply support your opinion in both main paragraphs.

5) Do we write "life on Earth" or "the life on Earth"?

It's normal in English to write "life on Earth". It's best to learn this as a fixed phrase; don't worry about why we don't say "the life".

IELTS Speaking Part 2: describe your feelings

The last bullet point on the task card for speaking part 2 usually asks you to describe your feelings. Often, this last point contains the word 'why' e.g. explain why you liked...

So, it's a good idea to prepare some good words and phrases that help you to express your feelings in a more interesting way. Instead of saying "it was nice", why not say "it was an unforgettable experience"?

Study idea:
Go back through my speaking lessons and search for full sample answers for part 2 (like the one I wrote last Friday). Go to the last bullet point in my answer, and copy any words or phrases that I use to express feelings.

For example:
- I was filled with a sense of panic and fear
- I felt so embarrassed
- What I liked most about..... was...
- I was amazed at how...
- I enjoyed learning...

IELTS Writing Task 1: introduction and overview

Let's look at the first two paragraphs for the question below.

The first chart below gives information about the money spent by British parents on their children’s sports between 2008 and 2014. The second chart shows the number of children who participated in three sports in Britain over the same time period.

Introduction and overview:

The line graphs show the average monthly amount that parents in Britain spent on their children’s sporting activities and the number of British children who took part in three different sports from 2008 to 2014.

It is clear that parents spent more money each year on their children’s participation in sports over the 6-year period. In terms of the number of children taking part, football was significantly more popular than athletics and swimming.

Remember:
You just need one sentence for the introduction, and you can write it by paraphrasing the question statement (rewrite it in your own words). Try to write two sentences for your overview paragraph; in this case we can describe one main feature of each graph.

IELTS Writing Task 2: climate change essay

Here's my full essay for the question that we've been looking at in recent weeks (see below). It's a bit longer than necessary, but I decided not to cut it down.

Some people think that instead of preventing climate change, we need to find a way to live with it. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Climate change represents a major threat to life on Earth, but some people argue that we need to accept it rather than try to stop it. I completely disagree with this opinion, because I believe that we still have time to tackle this issue and reduce the human impact on the Earth's climate.

There are various measures that governments and individuals could take to prevent, or at least mitigate, climate change. Governments could introduce laws to limit the carbon dioxide emissions that lead to global warming. They could impose “green taxes” on drivers, airline companies and other polluters, and they could invest in renewable energy production from solar, wind or water power. As individuals, we should also try to limit our contribution to climate change, by becoming more energy efficient, by flying less, and by using bicycles and public transport. Furthermore, the public can affect the actions of governments by voting for politicians who propose to tackle climate change, rather than for those who would prefer to ignore it.

If instead of taking the above measures we simply try to live with climate change, I believe that the consequences will be disastrous. To give just one example, I am not optimistic that we would be able to cope with even a small rise in sea levels. Millions of people would be displaced by flooding, particularly in countries that do not have the means to safeguard low-lying areas. These people would lose their homes and their jobs, and they would be forced to migrate to nearby cities or perhaps to other countries. The potential for human suffering would be huge, and it is likely that we would see outbreaks of disease and famine, as well as increased homelessness and poverty.

In conclusion, it is clear to me that we must address the problem of climate change, and I disagree with those who argue that we can find ways to live with it.

(322 words, band 9)

IELTS Listening: 'blue sky' transcript

Here's the full transcript for my most recent listening exercise:

Why is sky blue?

Well, first we need to understand a little bit about how light works. When light travels from the sun, it moves up and down like a wave, similar to the waves you see on the ocean. Some waves are close together and others are further apart. The distance between each bump in a wave is called wavelength, and when all of the different wavelengths travel together, light appears white to our eyes. But if you break up sunlight so that the waves are separated, you will see individual colours. In fact, every colour has its own unique wavelength. Bluish colours have a short wavelength and move up and down more often than a colour like red, which has a longer wavelength.

So if light from the sun contains all of these different colours, why does the sky appear blue? Well, it also has to do with the way these waves interact with the atmosphere. If there were nothing between the sun and our eyes, the sun would look like a white circle in a black sky. But the atmosphere gets in the way and changes the way the light behaves. While the atmosphere may seem like a large empty space, it is actually made up of a whole bunch of tiny little particles like air molecules, water, and dust. Light waves are tiny too, so when they finally reach the atmosphere they have a hard time dodging the small particles in the sky. The shorter wavelengths of light, like blue and violet, move up and down so much they tend to interact with the particles more often than other colours. These colours get bounced around so much they spread through the atmosphere and fill the sky. Even though purple light is also scattered out across the sky, our eyes are more sensitive to blue light, and so the sky appears more of a bluish colour. Red, yellow, and green coloured lightwaves bounce around too, but not as much, and more of this light passes through. When these colours are mixed together, they appear a yellowish-white, which is why the sun looks somewhat yellow to our eyes.

So now you know when you look at a blue sky you are actually looking at a portion of sunlight that has been broken up and scattered by billions of tiny particles.

Click here to listen to the recording

IELTS Reading: true, false, not given

Read the following passage about the scientist Michael Faraday.

Michael Faraday, (1791 - 1867) was an English scientist who contributed to the fields of electromagnetism and electrochemistry. Although Faraday received little formal education he was one of the most influential scientists in history, and historians of science refer to him as having been the best experimentalist in the history of science.

The young Michael Faraday, who was the third of four children, having only the most basic school education, had to educate himself. At fourteen he became the apprentice to George Riebau, a local bookbinder and bookseller. During his seven-year apprenticeship he read many books, including Isaac Watts' The Improvement of the Mind, and he enthusiastically implemented the principles and suggestions contained therein.

In 1812, at the age of twenty, and at the end of his apprenticeship, Faraday attended lectures by the eminent English chemist Humphry Davy. Faraday subsequently sent Davy a three-hundred-page book based on notes that he had taken during these lectures. Davy's reply was immediate, kind, and favourable. When one of the Royal Institution's assistants was sacked, Davy was asked to find a replacement, and appointed Faraday as Chemical Assistant at the Royal Institution.

Are the following statements true, false or not given?

1. Many experts regard Faraday as the foremost experimentalist of all time.
2. Faraday educated himself by reading books that were recommended to him by George Riebau.
3. Faraday came to the attention of a famous chemist after he wrote a book based on the chemist's lectures.

IELTS Vocabulary: from Friday's lesson

Here's a list of the good vocabulary from Friday's speaking lesson:

• working in a previous job
• catch an early flight
• a senior member of our department
• had volunteered to
• waiting to be picked up
• look out for his car
• I overslept
• I had set my alarm
• I must have turned it off
• I sprang out of bed
• got dressed in record time
• I splashed some water on my face
• put my shoes on without properly tying the laces
• I was filled with a sense of panic
• walked towards the awaiting car
• I felt so embarrassed
• it was obvious that I hadn’t been ready on time

Note:
These words and phrases might not seem 'difficult' or 'academic'. However, examiners don't often meet candidates who use this kind of natural, native-speaker language.

In particular, phrases like "I sprang out of bed", "I got dressed in record time" and "I splashed some water on my face" would certainly surprise an examiner.

IELTS Vocabulary: phrasal verbs

I used several phrasal verbs (e.g. pick up, look out for, turn off, carry on) in my description in yesterday's lesson.

These verbs look easy, but they are good examples of the kind of natural, idiomatic language that native speakers use. The tricky thing about phrasal verbs is that you have to learn what each one means; you can't understand them by translating the individual words.

For example, I used "pick up" to mean "collect" (I was waiting for my colleague to collect me), but "pick up" can also mean improve, learn quickly, or receive. Have a look at this page on a grammar website. Can you see why phrasal verbs might impress the examiner if you use them correctly?

Back to work!

Thanks to those of you who wished me a nice holiday! I've had a relaxing week away from work, and now I'm trying to get back to normal.

You can see today's blog lesson below, and I'll start to catch up on unanswered emails over the weekend.

IELTS Speaking Part 2: 'hurry' answer

Let's return to the 'hurry' question that I showed you a few weeks ago:

Describe a time when you had to do something in a hurry.
You should say

- what you were doing
- when this was
- why you had to hurry
- and explain how you felt at that time

Here's my sample answer:

• I’m going to talk about a time when I had to hurry to get ready for a trip with some colleagues while I was working in a previous job.
• It was a Monday morning about five years ago. A group of us had to catch an early flight, and a senior member of our department had volunteered to drive us to the airport. I was supposed to be ready and waiting to be picked up from my home at 5.30am, and my colleague had asked me to look out for his car so that he didn’t have to ring my doorbell.
• The problem was that I overslept. I had set my alarm, but somehow I must have turned it off and carried on sleeping. Suddenly, at 5.30am, my doorbell rang and I looked over at my alarm clock. I immediately realised what had happened, and I sprang out of bed and got dressed in record time. I splashed some water on my face, quickly brushed my teeth, and put my shoes on without properly tying the laces. Then I picked up my suitcase and coat, and left the house.
• I can still remember the moment when the doorbell woke me up and I saw the time: I was filled with a sense of panic and fear as I realised that my colleagues were waiting outside. Then, when I left my house and walked towards the awaiting car, I felt so embarrassed because it was obvious that I hadn’t been ready on time.