IELTS Simon

IELTS Writing Task 1: task 1 writing in 'real life'

I'll finish the waste chart question next Thursday, but today I want to show you a 'real' example of some writing in the style of writing task 1.

Here are some sentences from a BBC article about the UK population:

• The UK population was estimated to stand at 65.6 million in 2016.
• 2016 saw the biggest UK population rise for 70 years.
• Over the decade from mid-2016, projected growth in England's population is put at 5.9%, for Northern Ireland the figure is 4.2%, while for Scotland and Wales the percentages are 3.2% and 3.1% respectively.
• The study puts projected UK population growth between 2015 and 2040 at 16%, compared with 10% growth for France and 4% for Germany.
• The study also says that the number of people aged 85 and over will have doubled from 1.6m in 2016 to 3.2m in 2041.

The reason why I wanted to share these sentences is that they are written in a very similar style to the style that I use in my model answers here on the blog. You'll see that I've highlighted some typical task 1 vocabulary.

If you'd like to read the full article, click here. You might even notice a few mistakes in the original article - it was probably written too quickly!

IELTS Writing Task 2: same topic, different angle

Old exam questions are not reused in the writing test. However, there are some common topics that come up again and again. Look at the two questions below, for example:

1) In the developed world, average life expectancy is increasing. What problems will this cause for individuals and society? Suggest some measures that could be taken to reduce the impact of ageing populations.

2) At the present time, the population of some countries includes a relatively large number of young adults, compared with the number of older people. Do the advantages of this situation outweigh the disadvantages?

Can you see how the IELTS writers are looking at basically the same topic here, but from a different angle*?

- Number 1 is a 'problem and solution' question about ageing populations.
- Number 2 is a 'discussion and opinion'** question about younger populations.

You can see my essay for question 1 here. Question 2 comes from Cambridge IELTS book 12, and we'll look at this question over the next few weeks.

*from a different angle = from a different perspective / position
**Write about both sides, but make it clear which side you think 'outweighs' the other

IELTS Listening: diagram gap-fill

Sometimes you have to label a diagram in the listening test. For example, the diagram below comes from Cambridge IELTS book 7.

Many students miss the answers for this type of question because they get "lost" on the diagram. They don't know where to look.

There is one simple technique to avoid this problem: whenever you see a diagram, look for the question numbers. You will always hear the answers in the correct order, so your eyes should go to the first question number first, then move around the diagram following the numbers.

For the question above, your eyes should be looking at the bottom of the picture (question 11) when the recording starts, and your ears should be listening for "stop B".

IELTS Advice: the importance of focus

Here's a piece of advice that I gave in a blog lesson a few years ago. I forgot that I had written this, and I think it's worth repeating:

In my experience, people become good at what they focus on. Are you constantly reading things in English, thinking about English, watching English videos, and making notes of anything new that you learn? If English is your main focus each day, I'm sure you'll improve.

IELTS Advice: before you retake the exam

Before you retake the exam, ask yourself some questions:

• What specific areas have I worked to improve since my last exam?
• How do I know that I have improved?
• Can I get higher scores when I'm practising than the scores I need?

Here's an example of an ideal response to these questions:

Since my last exam, I've been doing a lot of work to improve my 'main body' paragraphs for writing task 2. I now spend more time planning and organising my ideas before I start writing, so my paragraphs are a lot better. My teacher noticed this improvement and gave my most recent essay a band 7. I only need a 6.5.

IELTS Writing Task 1: describing details

Here are my answers to the task that I gave you in last week's lesson:

1) Figures for the two countries that recycle the most

Austria and Belgium are the most environmentally friendly of the fifteen countries, recycling around 60% and 50% of their waste.

2) Figures for recycling and landfill in Greece

By contrast, Greece only recycles 10% of its waste and is the country that puts the highest proportion of refuse (90%)* into landfill.

3) Figures for incineration in Denmark and Luxembourg

Only two countries, Denmark and Luxembourg, incinerate over half of the waste that they produce; more precisely, figures for incineration are almost 60% and roughly 55% in the two countries respectively.

*It's ok to put numbers in brackets, but don't do this more than once or twice in your answer.

IELTS Writing Task 2: choose a method, then practise it

Over the years I've realised that one of the most important tips that I can give my students is this:

Choose one method for writing essays and use this method every time you practise or take the test.

Imagine a tennis player who decides to change her / his serving action, or a guitarist who experiments with a new way of holding the instrument, or an artist who decides to paint in a new style. In each case, the person's performance will probably get worse before it gets better.

But this is what I see happening with many IELTS students. Some of them keep trying new ways of writing, while others haven't thought about having a 'method' at all - they write each essay in a different way without realising it. Consequently, their scores either fluctuate or stay the same.

The only way to hone* your writing skill is to choose a method or way of writing and then practise it as much as possible.

*hone = to perfect, refine, improve, sharpen

IELTS Listening: don't get stuck!

Perhaps the biggest danger in the listening test is that you get stuck on a difficult question, and consequently you miss some of the following questions too. In some cases, one question can cause people to lose their place completely and make a mess of the whole section.

Here are three tips that should help you to avoid this situation:

1. Use the breaks to read ahead and underline keywords in each question.
2. While you're listening for the answer to one question, try to keep an eye on a keyword from the next question too.
3. If you miss an answer, forget about it and immediately move on to the next question. Don't guess the answer at this stage - you can guess any answers that you missed in the 10 minutes that you are given at the end of the test.

Remember: There will be some difficult 'band 8 and 9' questions in every listening test. It's not a problem if you miss these questions or get them wrong. But it is a problem if you get stuck and also miss some easy questions that followed the difficult ones.

IELTS Vocabulary: band 7-9 phrases

Here are the best words and phrases from Wednesday's essay. Note them down, and try to use them in your own sentences - perhaps you could even try rewriting the essay using the list below to help you.

• household waste
• new legislation
• just one possible way to tackle the problem
• a legal obligation
• householders
• fail to adhere to this law
• prison sentences for repeat offenders
• act as a deterrent
• encourage people to obey
• improved behaviour of homeowners
• a clean, waste-free environment
• put education at the centre of a recycling campaign
• the environmental impact of household waste
• Another tactic that governments could use
  
• create stricter regulations
• packaging for household products
• recycling facilities and systems
• waste is processed more effectively
• dispose of their waste more responsibly

Quick message for students in Beijing, China

A colleague of mine, who is also an ex-examiner, has recently moved to Beijing and is planning to offer IELTS lessons for small groups of students in the city.

If you're interested, email me ([email protected]) and I'll forward your message to my colleague.

IELTS Advice: part 1 speaking technique

Did you notice how I answered each question in yesterday's lesson? Here's the first part of each of the four answers:

- No, not at all.
- Yes, definitely.
- Yes, unfortunately it does.
- Yes, many times.

After answering with these short phrases, I then explained my answers in more detail, using full sentences.

I think this is a nice technique that you could try. Start with a short "yes or no" answer (e.g. yes I do, no we don't, yes it certainly is...), and then explain your answer fully. Perhaps this technique will give you a few extra seconds to think before you give your full answer.

IELTS Writing Task 1: describing numbers correctly

The key skill in writing task 1 is to be able to describe numbers correctly. If you can't write a correct sentence that describes a number, you're unlikely to get a good score in this part of the test.

Look again at the following chart, and try the exercise below it.
...

...
Can you describe the information below, using one full sentence for each point?

1. Recycling percentages for Austria and Belgium, mentioning that they are the most environmentally friendly countries.
2. Figures for landfill and recycling in Greece, mentioning that it is the country that puts the highest proportion of waste into landfill.
3. Figures for incineration of waste in Denmark and Luxembourg, mentioning that only these two countries incinerate over half of their waste.

IELTS Writing Task 2: recycling essay

Here's my full sample essay for the recycling topic that we've been working on.

Some people claim that not enough of the waste from homes is recycled. They say that the only way to increase recycling is for governments to make it a legal requirement.

To what extent do you think laws are needed to make people recycle more of their waste?

It is true that we do not recycle enough of our household waste. Although I accept that new legislation to force people to recycle could help this situation, I do not agree that a recycling law is the only measure that governments should take.

In my view, a new recycling law would be just one possible way to tackle the waste problem. Governments could make it a legal obligation for householders to separate all waste into different bins. There could be punishments for people who fail to adhere to this law, ranging from a small fine to community service, or even perhaps prison sentences for repeat offenders. These measures would act as a deterrent and encourage people to obey the recycling law. As a result, the improved behaviour of homeowners could lead to a clean, waste-free environment for everyone.

However, I believe that governments should do more than simply introduce a recycling law. It might be more effective if politicians put education, rather than punishment, at the centre of a recycling campaign. For example, children could be taught about recycling in schools, and homeowners could be informed about the environmental impact of household waste. Another tactic that governments could use would be to create stricter regulations for the companies that produce the packaging for household products. Finally, money could also be spent to improve recycling facilities and systems, so that waste is processed more effectively, regardless of whether or not people separate it correctly in the home.

In conclusion, perhaps we do need to make recycling a legal requirement, but this would certainly not be the only way to encourage people to dispose of their waste more responsibly.

(279 words, band 9)

IELTS Listening: how to speak well

Here's another great talk from ted.com. It gets more interesting and funnier towards the end; I especially like the part about warming up your voice.

Let me know if you decide to try out the speaker's advice!

IELTS Reading: more keywords

Have you been noting the keywords every time you do an IELTS reading exercise? Here's a table showing keywords from the last two exercises here on the blog:

IELTS Advice: some ideas for repeated practice

In last Saturday's lesson I asked you to think about the power of repetition in terms of developing your English skills. Here are a few ideas:

• Listening: Listen to the same recording several times, but focus on something different each time you listen. I explained this idea here.
• Speaking: Compile a list of questions, and practise answering them every day. Record yourself so that you can listen for mistakes, and make notes about how you could improve. The aim is to 'master' your list of questions before you move on to anything new.
• Reading: If you've done all of the tests in the official Cambridge IELTS books, do them all again, and again! It doesn't matter if you remember some of the answers; you'll still learn something new each time you do the tests. If you can 'master' every reading test in the Cambridge books, I guarantee you'll get a high score in the test (but you'll only master them if you repeat each test several times).
• Writing: Instead of writing four different essays (which will probably all get the same score), try rewriting the same essay four times. Each time you rewrite the essay, try to improve one aspect of it. For example, for the first rewrite you could work on grammar, then the second time you could try to add more detailed explanation, then for the third rewrite you could improve the vocabulary or the coherence.

Repetitive exercises might seem like boring hard work, but I believe that you can use them as a form of 'training' to develop both your English skills and your exam skills.

Course in London tomorrow

If you live in the UK and you need help with IELTS writing and reading, there's still time to register for the course that I'm teaching in London tomorrow. The course is aimed at medics who need band 7 or 7.5, but other people are welcome too.

Visit this page to find out more.

IELTS Writing Task 1: a more general overview

Last week I showed you a "highest and lowest" overview, but I also said that a more general overview would have been better.

Let's look at the chart again:

Instead of writing about the "highest and lowest" figures, let's describe something more general. For example, landfill seems to be the most popular form of waste management overall, and only two countries (Austria and Belgium) recycle at least 50% of their waste.

So, here's an overview using the observations above:

If we look at the fifteen EU countries as a whole, it is clear that more waste goes to landfill sites than to any other refuse management facility. In fact, while around half of the countries put the majority of their waste into landfill sites, only two countries recycle at least half of the waste that they produce.

IELTS Writing Task 2: from ideas to paragraph

Following on from the paragraph about a recycling law in last week's lesson, we need to write a paragraph about other measures that governments could take to encourage recycling.

Here's my plan for a 5-sentence paragraph:

1. Topic sentence: other measures, instead of a recycling law
2. First idea: educate people with a recycling campaign
3. Example: teach children in schools, inform homeowners too
4. Second idea: regulations for companies that produce packaging
5. Third idea: invest in recycling facilities to process waste better

Here's a paragraph using the ideas above:

However, I believe that governments should do more than simply introduce a recycling law. It would be far more effective if politicians put education, rather than punishment, at the centre of a recycling campaign. For example, children could be taught about recycling in schools, and homeowners could be informed about the environmental impact of household waste. Another tactic that governments could use would be to create stricter regulations for the companies that produce the packaging for household products. Finally, money could also be spent to improve recycling facilities and systems, so that waste could be processed more effectively, regardless of whether people had separated it correctly in the home.

IELTS Advice: more about 'highest and lowest'

In Thursday's lesson about IELTS writing task 1, I wrote that it's ok to describe the highest and lowest figures in your 'overview' paragraph. However, thanks to a comment by Erika, I've realised that I should add some extra advice or some warnings about this:

• First, it's important to remember that the best type of overview is one that describes overall trends, rather than specific details. The highest and lowest figures on a chart are normally considered to be specific details, so they shouldn't be your first choice for the overview.
• If you can't see a clear general trend, it's ok to describe the highest and lowest, but don't mention any numbers.
• Look for the highest and lowest category overall, rather than a single highest or lowest point. For example, if you're writing an overview about a line graph, it's fine to say that one of the lines was highest for most of the period, but don't describe any specific peaks (save them for the 'details' paragraphs).

The overview that I wrote on Thursday was fine because the main aim of the chart was not to show trends. Picking out the most and least environmentally friendly country made sense in this particular case, and I didn't mention specific numbers.

However, I want to make it clear that describing the highest and lowest should not be your first choice method for writing the overview. Look for overall trends first.

Task:
Next Thursday I'll show you an alternative overview paragraph for the "waste chart" question. Can you suggest which "main or general points" about the chart I could include, instead of describing the highest and lowest?

My last course in London this year

I'm teaching my last one-day course of the year in London on Sunday 12th November, and there are still a few places left. Click here to find out more or to register.

Note: Although this course is run by "IELTS Medical", anyone can attend. It isn't just for doctors and nurses.

IELTS Advice: the power of repetition

I've been thinking about the power of repetition (in the sense of practising the same thing many times) this week.

Young children (the best language learners!) love watching the same cartoon or reading the same book again and again. But as adult language learners we rarely do this; we move on to the next thing too quickly.

Let's think about how we can build some repetition into our IELTS practice. I gave you some ideas yesterday and on Tuesday, but what else can we do? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below, and I'll give you my tips next weekend.

IELTS Speaking: pauses and hesitations

A student asked me for advice about avoiding pauses and hesitations in the speaking test. So here are some tips:

• First, don't worry too much about this. It's normal, even for native speakers, to pause or hesitate to some extent. The more you worry, the more likely you are to hesitate.
• Don't "overthink". If you're thinking about grammar, linking or using "difficult" words, you're more likely to hesitate. Just focus on answering the question with the first idea that comes into your head.
• Slow down. Many candidates speak too quickly; hesitation or repetition occurs because their brains can't work fast enough to keep up.

But here's the main piece of advice: practise!

Make yourself a collection of IELTS speaking questions (from this site or from the Cambridge books), and practise answering them without hesitating.

And don't just practise this once. Go through your list of questions many times (every day if necessary), and you'll find that you gradually improve, both in terms of the quality of your answers and in terms of fluency and lack of hesitation. Maybe you could even record yourself, perhaps once a week, so that you can analyse your own performance.

IELTS Writing Task 1: overview, highest and lowest

Look again at the chart below, and think about what you would write in your 'overview' paragraph. Choose two main or general points.

Here's a tip:
I normally suggest that you look for something very general, like an overall trend, for the overview. However, if you're stuck, it's ok to choose the highest and lowest. In this case, I would choose the highest and lowest figures for recycling (i.e. Austria and Greece).

Here's a 2-sentence overview using the tip above:
It is noticeable that Austria is the most environmentally friendly country, in the sense that it recycles the largest percentage of waste. By contrast, Greece stands out as the country that recycles the least and puts the highest proportion of its waste into landfill.

Note:
I'll say a bit more about choosing the highest and lowest in Sunday's lesson.

IELTS Writing Task 2: easy opinion, not real opinion

You don't need to give your real opinion in your task 2 essays. Just choose an opinion that is easy to explain and support. For example, read the paragraph below.

..........

In my view, a new recycling law would be just one possible way to tackle the waste problem. Governments could make it a legal obligation for householders to separate all waste into different bins. There could be punishments for people who fail to adhere to this law, ranging from a small fine to community service, or even perhaps prison sentences for repeat offenders. These measures would act as a deterrent and encourage people to obey the recycling law. As a result, the improved behaviour of homeowners could lead to a clean, waste-free environment for everyone.

..........

Look at the phrase that I've highlighted in bold italic letters. Do I really believe that people should be sent to prison for failing to separate household waste properly?

The answer is no. I simply chose an easy opinion, and I explained it in a logical way, building an argument that, I admit, becomes a little extreme! But the examiner will not judge my opinions as extreme; he or she will only judge the coherence of the paragraph and the language used. The 'prison sentence' idea will not bring my score down. In fact, it will probably help my score because I've expressed the idea using some nice vocabulary.