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Here are some sentences that people wrote below yesterday's lesson. Can you find and correct the mistakes?
This is an interesting set of questions from Cambridge IELTS book 11:
Let's talk about names...
1) How did your parents choose your name?
2) Does your name have any special meaning?
3) Is your name common or unusual in your country?
4) If you could change your name, would you?
Remembering the advice that I gave last week, try answering these questions (aloud) without hesitating too much. It's fine to give negative answers or to say that you don't know the answer, but you should still explain why.
I've given the following advice several times before on this blog, but I think it's worth repeating in connection with last week's lesson.
A current examiner recently told me that the most common mistake in students' task 1 answers is that there is no overview. This was also true when I was an examiner.
So what makes a good overview? Here are a few tips:
Have another look at the overview paragraphs (paragraph 2) in the task 1 answers that I've written here on the site. Analyse them carefully, and practise writing your own overviews in the same way.
Today's lesson is a little longer than usual, so I'm attaching it as a document. In the lesson, I look at three different essay outlines for the 'extreme sports' question that I shared last week.
There's also a warning about how not to structure your essay.
Here's an easy exercise to illustrate the difference between true, false and not given answers.
Passage:
Redevelopment of the library's main reading room is planned for the first week of November, and it is anticipated that the necessary building work will be completed during that time. All other areas of the library will remain open to the public as normal, but the main help desk will be temporarily located in the entrance hall. Members of staff will be on hand to direct you to books, journals or other materials that have been moved while the reading room is being refurbished.
Question statements (true, false or not given?):
1. The project to redevelop the reading room should take just one week.
2. Access to the rest of the library will be limited due to the building work.
3. Library employees will still be able to enter the reading room to find materials.
A student asked me recently which preposition to use with the word 'spending'. But there isn't an easy answer to this question. Here are a few possible phrases:
- spending on food
- spending by teenagers
- spending in the UK
- spending during the summer holiday
- spending throughout October
- spending in dollars
- spending via mobile phone apps
Correct use of prepositions is one of the most difficult aspects of learning English. However, instead of learning 'rules', I recommend that you simply copy the phrases that you read and hear. This is how native speakers learn to use prepositions.
On a recent course, some of my students were surprised when I told them to give short, easy answers in part 1 of the speaking test.
One student asked: "But how can we get a band 7 with these answers?"
My answer is: you can't! Part 1 of the speaking test is supposed to be easy, and the best thing you can do in this part of the test is demonstrate fluency by answering without hesitation.
In my experience, not many people are able to write a good overview / summary paragraph under exam conditions. They can see specific information, but they find it difficult to see the "big picture".
Let's try looking for the "big picture" in some data. We can then write a good overview or summary.
Percentage of students able to speak languages other than English:
30% - Spanish
15% - French
10% - German
15% - another language (not Spanish, French or German)
10% - two other languages
20% - no other language
(adapted from Cambridge IELTS book 11)
Writing your overview / summary paragraph:
I'm sure you noticed the biggest number straight away (30% - Spanish), and we could certainly mention this in our overview. Many people then look for the smallest number, but I wouldn't do that in this case. I think there is something better that we can mention: the 80% of students who are able to speak at least one foreign language. Did you notice the 80%?
Here's my 2-sentence overview / summary:
It is noticeable that the vast majority of students are able to speak at least one foreign language, as well as English. We can also see that Spanish is the most widely spoken second language among the surveyed group of students.
PS. I don't usually include numbers in my summary, so I wrote 'vast majority' instead of 80%, and 'most widely spoken second language' instead of 30%. We can add the figures in our "details" paragraphs.
(Note: I normally do a listening lesson on Tuesdays, but this week it will be on Wednesday)
Several people sent me this recent IELTS writing task 2 question:
Extreme sports such as sky diving and skiing are very dangerous and should be banned. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this view?
I looked at this question with some of my students here in Manchester, and we wrote the following essay plan.
Tip: The key thing when planning this "completely disagree" answer was to find two separate reasons for the two main paragraphs. We decided to do this by disagreeing with the two ideas that are mentioned in the question: 1) extreme sports are dangerous 2) they should be banned.
Reading can also be good preparation for the writing test. Just search online for a writing task 2 topic, and read some newspaper articles about it.
For example, last week we looked at the topic of "high salaries" in writing task 2. So let's see if we can find something to read about this topic.
Click here to see a newspaper article that I found when I put the phrase "maximum wage" into Google. It's full of great vocabulary for the high salaries topic (e.g. grossly-inflated pay, inequality in the workplace, pay gap), and you might find it interesting that British politicians are debating this issue.
Did you notice that the vocabulary list in yesterday's lesson contained no linking words and no phrases that could be used in any essay?
Instead, all of the vocabulary in the list was what I call "topic vocabulary" - words and phrases that are directly relevant to the specific topic of the question. This is the kind of vocabulary that impresses examiners.
Let's review some of the good vocabulary from this week's task 2 essay. It is this vocabulary that really takes the essay up to band 9 level.
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.
Here's my sample answer, using the vocabulary from last week's lesson:
Note: I missed out the words 'multipurpose' and 'hard-wearing material'. Can you suggest how we could add these words to the description?
Here's a full essay that I wrote with my students for the question below.
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.
People have different views about whether governments should introduce a maximum wage. While in some ways it may seem reasonable to allow people to earn as much as companies are willing to pay, I personally believe that employee remuneration should be capped at a certain level.
There are various reasons why it might be considered beneficial to allow people to be paid extremely high salaries. If companies offer excellent pay packages, they can attract the most talented people in their fields to work for them. For example, technology companies like Google are able to employ the best programmers because of the huge sums that they are willing to pay. Furthermore, these well-paid employees are likely to be highly motivated to work hard and therefore drive their businesses successfully. In theory, this should result in a thriving economy and increased tax revenues, which means that paying high salaries benefits everyone.
However, I agree with those who argue that there should be a maximum wage. By introducing a limit on earnings, the pay-gap between bosses and employees can be reduced. Currently, the difference between normal and top salaries is huge, and this can demotivate workers who feel that the situation is unfair. With lower executive salaries, it might become feasible to introduce higher minimum wages, and everybody would be better off. One possible consequence of greater equality could be that poverty and crime rates fall because the general population will experience an improved standard of living.
In conclusion, it seems to me that it would be better, on balance, for governments to set a limit on the wages of the highest earners in society.
(274 words, band 9)
Click here to watch my latest video lesson. In this lesson I go through some basic information about the IELTS listening test, and I give a few key tips. Next week I'll add a video with some practice exercises.
If you are unsure about the correct way to use a word, Google can often solve the problem. Here are two examples:
Google and Wikipedia are two of the best tools for improving your vocabulary and grammar. Try them the next time you have a language problem.
A student asked me whether it's best to only use the 'official' IELTS practice tests i.e. the Cambridge IELTS books. Or should you also do tests in books by other publishers?
Here's my advice: Do the official practice tests first. If you have finished all of them, then I think it's fine to use 'unofficial' books; just don't expect them to give you a realistic idea of your score.
In my video lessons for IELTS speaking part 2, I recommend that you prepare vocabulary 'themes' for common topics. Let's look at an example.
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.
The first idea that came into my head was to describe my coat. And the first idea that I had about this coat was to say that it is useful or practical. So my 'theme' is useful / practical, and I've brainstormed other words and phrases related to this theme.
Ideas related to the theme of a useful / practical coat:
Maybe you could brainstorm ideas in the same way, using the theme of a comfortable or stylish piece of clothing.
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.
Here's my essay skeleton (basic framework) for the question above:
Introduction
People have different views about whether governments should introduce a maximum wage. While in some ways it may seem reasonable to allow people to earn as much as companies are willing to pay, I personally believe that employee remuneration should be capped at a certain level.
Paragraph 2 topic sentence
There are various reasons why it might be considered beneficial to allow people to be paid extremely high salaries.
Paragraph 3 topic sentence
However, I agree with those who argue that there should be a maximum wage.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it seems to me that it would be better, on balance, for governments to set a limit on the wages of the highest earners in society.
Here's the transcript for the listening exercise from last week's lesson. I've left a few gaps for you to fill.
(It) turns out that more than 10% of people, or about 10%, are left-handed. If both parents are right-handed, there's about a 2% chance your child is going to be a _____. If one parent is left-handed, it's about 17%, and if both parents are lefties, there's about a 50% chance your child is also going to be left-handed, with guys _____ twice as often left-handed as girls.
So how do you tell what your child is going to be? (Well) when your baby is about six months of age, he or she may _____ to reach with their right hand, but very quickly will bring out their left hand, and it's not until a baby or a _____ is two years of age that we can really determine hand preference.
Read the following passage about the history of the computer.
The history of the computer can be traced back around 2000 years to the birth of the abacus. However, construction of the first digital computer is usually attributed to the French inventor Blaise Pascal. In 1642, Pascal built a mechanical calculating machine which added numbers entered with dials. In the early 19th century, Charles Babbage, an English mechanical engineer, originated the concept of a programmable computer. His ‘Analytical Engine’ incorporated an arithmetic logic unit, control flow in the form of conditional branching and loops, and integrated memory, making it the first design for a general-purpose computer that could be described in modern terms.
The era of modern computing began with a flurry of development before and during World War II. The ‘Z2’ was one of the earliest examples of an electro-mechanical relay computer, and was created by German engineer Konrad Zuse in 1939. In the same year, electro-mechanical devices called bombes were built by British cryptologists to help decipher secret wartime messages. The initial design of the bombe was produced by Alan Turing, who was the first scientist to describe the principle of the modern computer. He proved that a machine would be capable of performing any conceivable mathematical computation if it were representable as an algorithm.
The Manchester Small-Scale Experimental Machine, nicknamed ‘Baby’, was the world's first stored-program computer. It was invented by Frederic Williams and Tom Kilburn, and ran its first program in 1948. Although the computer was considered "small and primitive" by the standards of its time, it was the first working machine to contain all of the elements essential to a modern electronic computer.
Which scientist or inventor...
Choose your answers from the following list:
A - Blaise Pascal
B - Charles Babbage
C - Konrad Zuse
D - Alan Turing
E - Frederic Williams and Tom Kilburn