IELTS Simon

IELTS Grammar: 'by/in contrast' and 'on the contrary'

A few people have asked me about these phrases. Do they have the same meaning? When is each one used?

By contrast / In contrast
I often use these two phrases in both writing task 1 and 2. They are exactly the same, and are used in a similar way to "however" or "on the other hand" to introduce a contrast / comparison. Put "By / In contrast" at the beginning of a sentence, with a comma after "contrast".

Example
Unemployment rose in the UK. By contrast, the number of unemployed people in Canada fell.

On the contrary
I don't think you'll need this phrase for any part of the IELTS test. It doesn't mean the same thing as "by / in contrast". We use "on the contrary" to deny that something is true, and to explain that the opposite is true.

Example
- Person 1: "You had some problems with your hotel, didn't you?"
- Person 2: "On the contrary, the hotel was great, but the airline lost my suitcase."

IELTS Vocabulary: 'less common' phrases

Did you note down the following 'less common' phrases from the description that I wrote yesterday? Could you use these phrases in your own sentences?

• each episode featured
• spectacular footage
• it was broadcast
• the DVD box set
• it was advertised repeatedly
• it was aired (means 'it was shown on TV')
• the trailers were eye-catching
• incredibly beautiful images
• the voice of the narrator
• stunning photography
• global scope
• to film such interesting creatures in so many locations
• opened my eyes to the hidden wonders of our planet

Note:
The phrase 'less common vocabulary' (or 'uncommon lexical items') is used in the examiner's mark scheme. It refers to any vocabulary that examiners don't expect most candidates to use. But this doesn't mean 'difficult' words; it means the kind of 'natural' phrases that native speakers use. A good example is "DVD box set" - this isn't a difficult phrase, but it's something that English learners might not be expected to use.

IELTS Vocabulary: paraphrasing techniques

Here are some techniques that should help you to paraphrase (to say the same thing in different ways):

1) Use a synonym

This is important = This is significant / crucial / vital

2) Use an opposite

I found it difficult = It wasn't easy for me

3) Change active to passive

You should not do this = This should not be done

4) Use a related word (e.g. change the verb into a noun)

The number rose = There was a rise in the number

5) Consider a more formal or informal version

I am worried = I am extremely concerned (formal) / I'm stressed out (informal)

Task:
Try using some of these techniques, and let me know if you think of any others.

IELTS Vocabulary: from my GT answer

The vocabulary below comes from the 'General' IELTS task that I looked at last weekend. I think these phrases could be useful for both General and Academic students.

• available to help
• after-school lessons
• missed the majority of the term
• due to illness
• struggling to catch up
• his problems stem from the fact that
• unable to attend
• he lacks confidence
• are you familiar with...?
• topics that are covered
• perhaps you could also tell me
• build students' pronunciation and conversation skills
• in the late afternoon or early evening
• would be ideal

IELTS Vocabulary: 'easy' theme

Here's my quick brainstorm on the theme of the word 'easy'. I've divided it into a few different categories; you might find it helpful to do this yourself when brainstorming ideas.

Synonyms of 'easy'

• simple, straightforward, uncomplicated, effortless

Informal phrases

• a piece of cake, a walk in the park, a breeze, a doddle

Phrases with opposites

• it wasn't difficult, it wasn't hard, it didn't take much effort, it wasn't very challenging, it didn't present any real problems, I didn't really struggle

Use an example to create context e.g. 'the exam was easy'

• it was fairly simple, I found it quite straightforward, I breezed through it, I could have done it in my sleep, it was easier than I expected

IELTS Vocabulary: brainstorm themes

In yesterday’s lesson I brainstormed the theme of a modern apartment. It’s easy to brainstorm ideas when you focus on a specific word, and I was able to produce a useful list of ideas related to the word ‘modern’.

You can use this technique as a way to prepare for topics and to expand your overall vocabulary knowledge. Just choose a word (your ‘theme’) and brainstorm ideas related to it. You could also use the Internet as a source of ideas. 

Task: Let’s take the word ‘easy’ as our theme. Can you list between five and ten words or phrases related to this theme?

IELTS Grammar: using 'they' with a singular

A student asked me about this page on Wikipedia, which gives three examples of the words "they" and "their" being used to refer to singular nouns:

• Somebody left their umbrella here. Would they please collect it?
• The patient should be told how much they will be required to pay.
• A journalist should not be forced to reveal their sources.

They and their are used instead of he or she and his or her.

This is very common in English, and it is unlikely that someone would say: "Somebody left his or her umbrella. Would he or she please collect it?"

But can we use "they" with a singular in the IELTS test?

The simple answer is yes, but my own preference is a little more complicated. When speaking, I naturally use "they" with singular nouns from time to time. But I tend to avoid doing this in written essays, as I prefer to stick to the normal grammatical conventions. For example, I used "he or she" in the sentence below, which comes from this essay.

Firstly, it is hard for a person to be happy if he or she does not have a safe place to live and enough food to eat.

IELTS Vocabulary: range and flexibility

If you take lessons with an English teacher, I recommend that you ask yourself this question at the end of each lesson:

Did I learn some new language in this lesson, or did I become better at using some language that I already knew?

In other words, you are asking yourself whether you worked on your vocabulary range (new words and phrases) or on your flexibility (becoming better at using the language that you already knew).

Note: examiners are looking for range and flexibility when they assess your vocabulary in the writing and speaking tests.

IELTS Vocabulary: paraphrasing practice

Paraphrasing = expressing the same idea in a different way.

Here are some phrases from Friday's speaking lesson. Can you find a different way to express each idea?

1. I was never much of a singer.
2. I was always a little shy.
3. This happens once a week or less.
4. I prefer to listen to a variety of music.
5. Singing contests are hugely popular at the moment.

IELTS Grammar: subject + verb

Question: Which of the following is a correct sentence?

1. Learning a foreign language.
2. Firstly, learning a foreign language in order to improve your career prospects.
3. For example, learning a foreign language by living in a country where that language is spoken, and communicating with native speakers on a daily basis.

Answer: None of these are correct sentences. None of them has a main verb.

To make a sentence, you need a subject (noun/noun phrase) and a verb:

1. I am learning a foreign language. OR, Learning a foreign language is useful.
2. Firstly, many people learn a foreign language in order to improve their career prospects.
3. For example, some people learn a foreign language by living in a country where that language is spoken and communicating with native speakers on a daily basis.

Some students really need to work on writing correct "subject + verb" sentences. Missing the verb in a sentence is a serious mistake that will definitely affect your score.

IELTS Vocabulary: are you a collector?

In my opinion, a good language learner is someone who collects words and phrases. But the best learners don't simply store their collections and allow them to get dusty; they use them.

How about you? Are you a language collector? Did you collect any good phrases from the essay that I shared on Wednesday? Did you note them down? Do you regularly review your collection and try to use it?

IELTS Vocabulary: review of the week

Here's a list of some of the good words and phrases that I've used in my blog lessons this week:

• certain special occasions
• is likely to have (meaning 'probably has')
• you would hope that (common expression meaning 'hopefully')
• the end result
• a set of stunning photographs
• thinking back to... (this is a nice way to give a personal example)
• knew exactly what he was doing
• the bride, groom and guests
• (can't) trust an amateur
• a once-in-a-lifetime event
• a shift towards eating fast food less frequently
• restaurants = outlets = establishments
• at the other end of the scale
• the weekly fast food habit
• became a monthly or twice monthly habit
• historical events
• a sense of continuity across the generations
• passing down knowledge
• a consistent curriculum
• limits to the teaching scope
• visit key locations

IELTS Grammar / Vocabulary: correct the mistakes

Here are some of the sentences that people wrote below last Sunday's lesson. They all contain grammar mistakes or 'unnatural' use of vocabulary. Can you correct and/or improve them?

1. I’m in the dilemma of whether to get a job or continue my education.
2. I am uncertain about to a get a job or go to university.
3. I am thinking about to get admission in university or to start work.
4. I am undecisive of going to a university or getting a job.
5. I am a bit confused if I get a job or go to university.
6. I haven't decided if I should step into society or enrol in tertiary education.

IELTS Vocabulary: the paraphrasing skill

How good are you at finding different ways to communicate the same message? Let's practise using the following sentence from yesterday's lesson:

I am considering whether to get a job or go to university.

How many different ways can you find to communicate this idea? You don't need to change all of the words in the sentence, and it doesn't matter if your suggestions are less (or more) formal than the original. Just practise the paraphrasing skill.

Here's one example:
I'm not sure if I should look for work or apply to university.

IELTS Grammar: whether

Look at the two sentences below. Both are normal and correct.

A)  I am considering whether to get a job instead of going to university.
B)  I am considering whether to get a job or go to university.

Now look at this sentence from the introduction in Wednesday's lesson:

People have different opinions about whether schools should prioritise the teaching of national literature and history, instead of taking a more global view of these subjects.

Task: Can you change the sentence above into a type 'B' sentence?

IELTS Grammar: opinion + conditional

Try this useful technique for IELTS writing and speaking:

Give an opinion, then follow it with a conditional sentence.

Look at these examples:

1. In my opinion, governments should invest more money in public transport. If rail and bus services were more reliable, fewer people would need to drive.
2. Schools have an important role to play in children's health. If schools banned junk food, they would help to reduce the problem of childhood obesity.
3. In the future I think more people will do their shopping online. But if Internet shopping becomes more popular, many traditional shops will lose customers.

I've underlined the conditionals. Examples 1 and 2 are second conditionals, while 3 uses the first conditional.

Practice:
Prepare your own "opinion + conditional" ideas for different topics. Having a few of these ideas ready could help you in the writing and speaking tests.

IELTS Vocabulary: from yesterday's lesson

Have a look at the following phrases from yesterday's lesson. There is some interesting vocabulary here, even if you're not doing the General IELTS test.

• the unacceptable state of
• the neglected and shabby state of
• carry out maintenance work
• in all that time
• paint is peeling off the walls
• floor tiles are cracked
• there is mould and mildew growing
• we are being treated like farm animals
• putting our health at risk
• the customer experience
• address the issue
• as a matter of urgency
• a full refurbishment
• consider some form of compensation
• tolerate a situation

IELTS Vocabulary: essay review

Here's a quick review of the 'band 7 to 9' vocabulary in the essay that I shared on Wednesday:

• shoulder a huge responsibility
• raising children
• by no means an easy task
• attend parenting courses
• take a parenthood preparation course
• prospective parents
• busy schedules
• may not be willing or able to
  
• this raises the question of
• to enforce the idea
• compulsory training
• what good parenting entails
• to suit everyone
• without formal help
• official interference
• the surrounding culture
• learn by instinct
• learn by trial and error
• try different strategies
• a badly-behaved child
• develop an understanding
• a taught course
• such a scheme
• unworkable and largely pointless

What connection do you see between the list of vocabulary above and the advice in yesterday's speaking lesson?

IELTS Grammar: conclusion mistakes

The following sentences come from conclusions that people shared below this lesson. Can you improve them by correcting mistakes or by choosing more natural phrasing?

1. Organising a same parenting course for mothers and fathers with different family, culture and education background is impractical.
2. I do not see it as applicable to force parents to attend special courses.
3. That is a hard journey with fully challenges.
4. I disagree with the need for parents attending a mandatory parenting course.
5. I disagree with the view that parents should be made to undertake a parenting course instead these factors should rather be taken into consideration.

IELTS Vocabulary: from the 'money' topic

Here are some good phrases from the answers in Friday's speaking lesson:

• in the long term
• save for retirement
• have a certain amount of money saved
• deal with unexpected problems
• in the less distant future
• put some money aside (= save some money)
• to come in useful
• be in the red / go into the red (be / become overdrawn)
• there's no need for
• I remember being given money
• I don't see any reason why
• or vice versa
• summon the willpower

Note:
The phrase 'in the red' means overdrawn (i.e. your bank account is showing negative numbers). Do you know what the opposite of 'in the red' is? Click here to find out.

IELTS Grammar: 'onto' or 'on to'?

In Thursday's lesson I wrote this: "Traffic will be diverted on to a dual carriageway".

But why didn't I write 'onto' as one word? Do you know when to write the single word 'onto' and when to write 'on to' as two separate words?

Here's the answer:

• When the meaning is 'to a position on the surface of', we can use the single word 'onto' e.g. The child climbed onto the chair.
• But if the meaning is 'onwards' or 'towards', we should use the two words 'on to'. In my example ("on to a dual carriageway"), the meaning was 'towards', not 'to a position on the surface of'.

IELTS Vocabulary: if you use an idiom...

Look at these two phrases from yesterday's lesson. Are they correct?

• save something for the rainy day
• save something for rainy days

The answer is no. Both phrases contain a mistake.
The correct form is this: save (something) for a rainy day

If you use an idiom, you need to get it exactly right. Even a small mistake in an idiomatic expression makes it sound strange and completely wrong.

IELTS Grammar: passives with 'will be' and 'being'

Here are some more examples of the construction in yesterday's lesson:

There is a danger that this will be misunderstood. =
There is a danger of this being misunderstood.

Employers should assess the risk that staff will be affected by stress. =
Employers should assess the risk of staff being affected by stress.

What is the likelihood that the project will be completed by Friday? =
What is the likelihood of the project being completed by Friday?

IELTS Grammar: passive with 'being'

A student asked me about the use of 'being' in the following sentence.

"There is a danger of nuclear weapons being obtained by terrorists."

Here's my (updated) explanation:

• First, imagine that the simplest version of this sentence is this: "There is a danger of x" (in which x is a noun).
• Now we can consider "nuclear weapons being obtained by terrorists" as a big noun phrase.
• The "being obtained" part of this phrase can be called a passive gerund. It is not a verb or verb phrase, so the word "are" (are being) is not missing and cannot be added.

Note: When we use the phrase "there is a danger of...", there is a future implication. So, "there is a danger of x" means "there is a danger that x will happen".

Therefore, our sentence really means this:
- There is a danger that nuclear weapons will be obtained by terrorists" OR
- There is a danger that terrorists will obtain nuclear weapons.

Thanks to Morteza and Oleg for pushing me towards a better explanation!

IELTS Grammar: I'm agree or I agree?

In the comments below a recent lesson, I noticed that several people had written "I'm agree with you". This is incorrect.

You can't say "I'm agree" in English. You must say "I agree".

I think this mistake is caused by people translating from their own languages. For example, I know that in French and Spanish, the verb 'be' is used when people want to say that they agree, so it looks something like "I am agree" or "I am agreed". It's not the same in English.

In English, we simply use 'agree' as a normal verb: I agree, I prefer, I like...

IELTS Vocabulary: when do we use 'soar' and 'plummet'?

In Thursday's lesson I told you not to use words like soar, rocket, shoot up, creep up, dive and plummet in IELTS writing task 1.

But what's wrong with those words?

The problem with those words is that they are too figurative for writing task 1. Think about the normal use of these verbs (e.g. the bird soared into the air, the climber plummeted to his death). If you use these words to describe figures on a graph, it seems too sensational or exaggerated. This is why I prefer to stick with increase, decrease, rise and fall.

So can we ever use these words to describe figures?

If you're writing for a newspaper, yes you can! You'll often see phrases like this in newspapers: house prices soared, share prices plummeted, the price of petrol crept up. Newspapers and magazines love idiomatic and descriptive language, but this style does not suit academic graph descriptions.

IELTS Vocabulary: from speaking part 2

Here's a list of the good phrases from Friday's speaking lesson. See if you can use them in your own description of a maths lesson.

• multiplication tables
• times tables (informal)
• the penultimate year
• as far as I remember
• we gradually worked our way through
• learnt the answers by heart
• learn by rote
• keen to get good marks
• ingrained into my mind
• do quick calculations without having to think
• the answer just popped into my head
• another instance that I can think of
• bill payments, earnings and savings over a 12-month period
• teachers were so insistent about

IELTS Vocabulary: from this week's essay

Here's a list of the good 'topic vocabulary' from Wednesday's essay:

• in the modern workplace
• dress codes
• should be seen as irrelevant
• in many work contexts
• certain professions
• technology giants like Google and Facebook
• create relaxed office environments
• encouraged to dress casually
• are rarely seen wearing anything other than...
• produce work of outstanding quality
• global dominance
• in the technology sector
• a practical or safety function
• identify the person's position or role in society
• to portray an image of
• authority, trustworthiness and diligence
• smart, formal attire
• not applicable to all occupations
• sectors of the economy

IELTS Grammar / Vocabulary: correct or improve

The following sentences (and parts of sentences) come from the 'comments' area below Thursday's lesson. Can you correct the mistake(s) in each one?

1. The number of participants at hospital emergency care departments...
   
2. People in the age of 75 and over were the most visitors’ emergency care.
3. In overall, there was an increase in the proportion of patients.
4. ...proportion of patients who went for a visit in the ER department...
5. The infants and elderlies suffered delicately illness than the other groups.
6. Obviously, a period of one year from December 2016 until December 2017 is observed upward trend in the need for hospital service.

IELTS Grammar: lowest, least, minimum

Look at this sentence from Thursday's lesson:

"The lowest number of attendances was recorded in the 5 to 15 age group."

Can you explain why we can't use "least" or "minimum" instead of "lowest" in this sentence? Note: there's a different problem with each of these two words.

IELTS Vocabulary: collocations and phrases

There were some really good collocations and phrases in the letter that I wrote last Sunday. Note them down, even if you're not doing the General Training test.

• recommend someone for something
• work closely with someone
• provide a reference
• highly qualified
• have significant (sales, teaching, management) experience
• to be given a post / job / position
• demonstrate skills
• exceptional skills
• organisation skills
• team building skills
• describe someone as (dedicated, hard-working, enthusiastic)
• professionalism in (e.g. in the classroom, in her job, in the workplace)
• commitment to something
• the perfect candidate ('ideal candidate' is another common collocation)
• If you have any further questions
• do not hesitate to contact me