TỔNG HỢP

73 LESSONS GIÚP
CHINH PHỤC 7.0 IELTS

Tổng hợp từ www.ieltsbuddy.com

Thông tin chi tiết:

• Tên tài liệu: Tổng hợp 73 Lessons giúp chinh phục 7.0 IELTS
• Nguồn: www.ieltsbuddy.com
• Tổng hợp bởi: Ms Mai Linh – Aland English
• Fanpage: www.facebook.com/aland.edu.vn
• Động 8IELTS – Aland English: www.facebook.com/groups/ielts.aland

MỤC LỤC:
Listening ............................................................................................................. 4
Lesson 1: IELTS Listening Multiple Choice Tips ............................................................................. 5
Lesson 2: IELTS Listening Distractors .............................................................................................. 9
Lesson 3: IELTS Listening Map Labelling ...................................................................................... 12
Lesson 4: Signposting Language ..................................................................................................... 16
Lesson 5: Pre-Listening Activities: Prediction ................................................................................. 18
Lesson 6: IELTS Listening Sentence Completion Strategies ........................................................... 25

Reading ............................................................................................................. 28
Lesson 1: Matching Paragraph Headings ......................................................................................... 29
Lesson 2: IELTS Multiple Choice Practice ...................................................................................... 34
Lesson 3: IELTS True False Not Given ........................................................................................... 37
Lesson 4: IELTS Paragraph Headings ............................................................................................. 41
Lesson 5: IELTS Sentence Completion ........................................................................................... 44
Lesson 6: IELTS Reading Multiple Choice ..................................................................................... 47
Lesson 7: Guessing meaning from context ...................................................................................... 54
Lesson 8: IELTS True False Not Given Reading Questions ............................................................ 59
Lesson 9: IELTS Reading Strategies ............................................................................................... 64
Lesson 10: IELTS Short Answer Questions .................................................................................... 69
Lesson 11: Reading Gap Fill ............................................................................................................ 75
Lesson 12: IELTS Reading True False Not Given Exercises .......................................................... 78

Speaking ............................................................................................................ 87
Lesson 1: IELTS Speaking Part 2 – Extending your answer ........................................................... 88
Lesson 2: IELTS Speaking Questions and Answers ........................................................................ 91
Lesson 3: Speaking About Change .................................................................................................. 93
Lesson 4: Will and Going to ............................................................................................................ 95
Lesson 5: IELTS Mind Map - Speaking Part 2 ................................................................................ 98
Lesson 6: IELTS Speaking Tone ................................................................................................... 101
Lesson 7: Hypothetical Situation ................................................................................................... 103
Lesson 8: Expressing Opinions for IELTS Speaking ..................................................................... 106
Lesson 9: Speaking Questions for IELTS ...................................................................................... 110
Lesson 10: Useful IELTS Interview Expressions .......................................................................... 114
Lesson 11: Personal Experiences in Part 3 of the IELTS Speaking Test ....................................... 118

Writing Task 1 ............................................................................................... 122

Lesson 2: Describing an IELTS Pie Chart ..................................................................................... 127
Lesson 3: IELTS Process Diagram ................................................................................................ 132
Lesson 4: IELTS Bar and Line Graph ............................................................................................ 137
Lesson 5: Describing Graph Trends ............................................................................................... 140
Lesson 6: Bar Chart Exercise ......................................................................................................... 144
Lesson 7: Line Graph Worksheet - Gap Fill .................................................................................. 147
Lesson 8: Compare and Contrast Language for Graphs ................................................................. 149
Lesson 9: IELTS Graphs - A Common Mistake ............................................................................ 153
Lesson 10: IELTS Table ................................................................................................................ 156
Lesson 11: IELTS Task 1 Line Graph ........................................................................................... 160
Lesson 12: IELTS Table Gap Fill Exercise ................................................................................... 164
Lesson 13: Prepositions for graphs ................................................................................................ 167
Lesson 14: A graph in the future .................................................................................................... 169
Lesson 15: IELTS Pie Chart Gap Fill Exercise .............................................................................. 172

Writing Task 2 ............................................................................................... 175
Intro lesson: How to Write an IELTS Essay ......................................................................... 177
Lesson 1: Identify the Topic .......................................................................................................... 182
Lesson 2: Identify the Task ............................................................................................................ 186
Lesson 3: Brainstorming and Planning .......................................................................................... 191
Lesson 4: Essay Writing Coherence .............................................................................................. 195
Lesson 5: Writing an IELTS Essay Introduction ........................................................................... 200
Lesson 6: Writing a Thesis Statement ............................................................................................ 204
Lesson 7: IELTS Band 7 Writing .................................................................................................. 210
Lesson 8: Pronouns & Coherency .................................................................................................. 216
Lesson 9: IELTS Essay Conclusion ............................................................................................... 218
Lesson 10: Transitional Phrases for Essays ................................................................................... 221
Lesson 11: Good Paragraph Writing .............................................................................................. 224
Lesson 12: IELTS Problem Solution Essays .................................................................................. 227
Lesson 13: IELTS Opinion Essays ................................................................................................ 232
Lesson 14: IELTS Music Essay ..................................................................................................... 233
Lesson 15: Personal Pronouns in Essays for IELTS ...................................................................... 237
Lesson 16: IELTS Advantage Disadvantage Essay ....................................................................... 240

Grammar ........................................................................................................ 243

IELTS Grammar .................................................................................................................. 245
Lesson 1: Sentence Clauses ........................................................................................................... 249
Lesson 3: Complex Sentences ........................................................................................................ 258
Lesson 4: Adverbial Clauses .......................................................................................................... 262
Lesson 5: Relative Clauses ............................................................................................................ 269
Lesson 6: Noun Clause .................................................................................................................. 271
Lesson 7: Modal Verbs for IELTS ................................................................................................. 276
Lesson 8: Subject Verb Agreement ................................................................................................ 279
Lesson 9: Gerunds ......................................................................................................................... 284
Lesson 10: Infinitives ..................................................................................................................... 288
Lesson 11: Gerund and Infinitive ................................................................................................... 293
Lesson 12: Parallel Structure ......................................................................................................... 295
Lesson 13: Passive Voice ............................................................................................................... 299

Listening
Lesson 1: IELTS Listening Multiple Choice Tips
In this lesson, learn some tips on how to improve your listening skills for multiple choice
type questions.

Lesson 2: IELTS Listening Distractors

In this lesson we learn more about a common way that you are tricked into writing the wrong
answer. Learn about this so you can avoid the mistake.

Lesson 3: IELTS Listening Map Labelling

Here you can learn more about how to label a map, a task that sometimes comes up in
Section Two of the test. Learn about the language of location and other top tips to score well.

Lesson 4: IELTS Signposting Language for Section 4

Section 4 is the most difficult part of the listening test. Learn useful signposting language to
improve your score for this section.

Lesson 5: IELTS Pre-Listening Activities - Predicting the Answer

Predicting what you are going to hear is a really important skill that can help improve your
listening and increase your score.

Lesson 6: IELTS Listening Sentence Completion Strategies

In this IELTS practice lesson you will learn some strategies to deal with sentence completion
questions.

 Lesson 1: IELTS Listening Multiple Choice Tips
This lesson has IELTS listening multiple choice tips and strategies to improve your score in
the test.

It shows you how to approach this type of question and highlights some aspects that you
should be aware of.

In this type of question you are usually given three choices of answers. It is commonly found
in parts two, three and four of the listening test.

The questions will be harder the further on you get in the sections of the test.

There are certain things in this kind of question that can easily trip you up and lead to
mistakes. Learning about these will improve your ability to listen and identify the correct
answer.

There are several reasons why this type of question can be difficult and we'll now look at
some IELTS listening multiple choice tips to help you understand this.

What are the difficulties with IELTS Listening Multiple Choice

Questions?
Hearing all the words

In this type of question, it is very likely that you will hear ALL the words that you are given
in each choice. Two will obviously not be referring to the answer, so you need to listen very
carefully to make sure you get the correct one.
Similar Choices

Another problem is that you may be given very similar choices. For example, all the choices
may refer to ‘years’, so it is easy to choose the wrong one. Also, the information you hear
about each choice may be quite similar.
Paraphrases and synonyms

Also, sentences and words that you hear in the listening will often be changed in the actual
listening script. The test would be quite easy if you could heard exactly what you see in the
question, but it will be changed in some way.
A different order

The person you hear speaking may not necessarily give you the information or choices in
the same order as the question you see on the paper.

A Real Example of a Question
In this next part of the IELTS listening multiple choice tips, we look at an example to explain
the points above a bit more.

This is taken from a real IELTS test. It is from section 2 of the test, so it will be slightly
easier than a multiple choice that you would get in sections 3 or 4, but the same principles
apply.

Below the question is the section of the listening script that refers to the question.

1. PS Camping has been organising holidays for

A. 15 years
B. 20 years
C. 25 years

____________

Thank you for coming to my talk this evening. It’s nice to see so many people in the audience.
For those of you who don’t know very much about PS Camping, let me start by giving you
some background information about the company.

The company started twenty five years ago. It actually started as a retail chain selling
camping equipment, and then twenty years ago, it bought a small number of campsites in the
UK, and began offering camping holidays. The company grew rapidly and has been
providing holidays in continental Europe for the last fifteen years.

So you should be able to spot some of the difficult things:

• You hear all the words – 25 years, 20 years and 15 years.

• There are similarities in the choices - they are all years with a mix of the numbers
‘twenty’ and ‘five’ in there and they all mention about the company or holidays.
• The question stem has been paraphrased - nowhere does it say “organising holidays”.
Instead you can see phrases like “began offering holidays” and “providing holidays”. This
can be particularly confusing because you have to understand which one fits with the
question.
• The possible answers are in a different order to the audio – you hear ‘25’ first and ‘15’
last.

How do you answer multiple choice questions?

The first thing you need to do is look through the questions. You have 30 seconds to do this
before you hear the audio.

Underline key words in the question stems and look at the choices so you know what to
listen out for.

So in this first one, you may underline “Organised Holidays”. You should focus on the
question stem but also look at the choices and note that you are listening out for ‘years’.

In this case, this sentence should tell you that you have got to the section of the listening
where the answer will be:

The company started twenty five years ago. It actually started as a retail chain selling
camping equipment, and then twenty years ago, it bought a small number of campsites in the
UK, and began offering camping holidays. The company grew rapidly and has been
providing holidays in continental Europe for the last fifteen years.

So when you hear this, make sure you are looking carefully at the question and the choices
and listening extremely carefully.

You need to listen carefully for what is said about each year so that you can identify the right
answer:

1. PS Camping has been organising holidays for:

A. 15 years
[has been providing holidays in continental Europe for the last fifteen years]
B. 20 years
[twenty years ago, it bought a small number of campsites in the UK, and began offering
camping holidays]
C. 25 years
[The company started twenty five years ago]
You can see how the question tries to trick you!

It distracts you from the correct answer by giving other statements that are quite similar to
the correct answer.

The answer is B, but you could easily end up thinking it is A or C if you are not listening
carefully enough.

The company started 25 years ago, but that is NOT when they started offering holidays for
camping.

It later clarifies that they did not start offering / organising holidaysuntil 5 years later (20
years ago) when they bought a campsite.

It is not A because this is just when they starting providing holidaysin Europe, which came
later. That is not what the question asks. The question ask generally.

Another Example
Let’s look at another example, which is the next question, so you further understand the
IELTS listening multiple choice tips presented here:

2. The company has most camping sites in

A. France
B. Italy
C. Switzerland

___________

If you book a camping holiday with us, you'll have a choice of over three hundred sites.
In Italy we have some 64 sites that we either own, or have exclusive use of. France is where
we have the majority of sites, and we currently have a project to expand into Switzerland. We
also have a number of sites in Northern Spain, particularly the mountainous region of Picos
de Europa. We've upgraded all these Spanish sites, and improved them considerably from
their original three-star rating.

The first sentence in red flags up that you have got to question 2, as does the fact that after
this they start talking about countries.

You'll see again that all the countries / choices are mentioned, meaning you have to listen
very carefully to the information about each country.

You should be able to identify that A is the correct answer, and that a paraphrase of 'most
sites' is used: 'majority of sites'.

 Lesson 2: IELTS Listening Distractors
In lesson one we looked at a form of IELTS listening distractors.

This was when you do multiple choice type questions and you hear all of the possible choices
but only one is correct.

You can check out that previous lesson here.

In this lesson we look at another form of distractor which is very common in part one of the
IELTS listening test.

This is when you hear a speaker correct him/herself, or the other speaker will correct them.

Basically, the speaker will give you a piece of information and you will think that is the right
answer.

But the speaker will then correct what they have said, and the new corrected piece of
information will in fact be the right answer.

Examples of Correction Distractors

These two examples of distractors are taken from a real IELTS listening test. The distractor is
in red / italics and the correct answer is in blue / underlined.

Example 1

In this situation, a woman is booking a journey into town for when she arrives at Toronto
Aiport. You have to note down the distance of the town, Milton, from the airport.

Take a look at the information you have to find in the question. Below that is a copy of the
listening script that you would hear.

Question: Distance ….. miles

************

MAN: Hello, this is Land Transport Information at Toronto Airport. How may I help you?

WOMAN: Oh, good morning. I’m flying to Toronto Airport next week, and I need to get to
a town called Milton. Could you tell me how I can get there?

MAN: Milton, did you say? Let me see. I think that’s about 150 miles south-west of here. In
fact it’s 147 miles to be exact, so it will take you at least – say, three to four hours by road.

As you can see, you will likely at first think that the answer is 150 miles, but it is actually 147
miles.

Example 2

Here is another example, further on in the same listening when the woman is arranging to
book a hire car to make the journey when she arrives.

Question: Date of booking _____________

************

MAN: OK, I just have to fill out this form for you. So what date do you want to book this
for?

WOMAN: The 16th of October – oh, no, sorry, that’s my departure date. I arrive on the 17th,
so book it for then, please.

Again, you will likely at first think the answer is the 16th and start to write that down, but she
corrects her mistake and confirms the date she needs the car for is the 17th.

Example 3

Here is another example taken from another real IELTS test. Here, a careers advisor is trying
to help a student to find a part-time job.

Question:

Position available Where Problem

Clerical Assistant ......................... Evening Lectures
************
ADVISOR: But you’d need to be there at 6am. Does that appeal?

STUDENT: Six o’clock in the morning! Oh, that’s far too early for me, I’m afraid. I’d never
make it that early in the morning.

ADVISOR: Mmm…Well – there was a position going in the Computer Lab. for three days a
week that might be OK. Ah, here it is! No, it’s in the Library, not the Lab. Clerical Assistant
required – I think it mostly involves putting the books back on the shelves. Oh no – hang on.
It’s for Wednesday and Friday evening instead.

STUDENT: No, I can't manage that because of the lectures.

In the above example, you think the position is the Computer Lab., but it turns out it is in the
Library.

Example 4

This final example is part of the same test as above.

The advisor is trying to find out the student's room number.

Question: Room number _____________

************

STUDENT: I’m in one of the Halls of Residence for post-graduate students, you know,
International House.

ADVISOR: OK – that’s easy. What’s your room number there?

STUDENT: Room B569 – no sorry B659. I always get that wrong. I haven’t been living
there very long.

ADVISOR: Do you have any other skills? Typing , languages, that sort of thing?

So the room number is 659, not 569.

Tips for Distractors

The most important tip is really just to make sure that you are awareof correction distractors
(which you now are!). They also emphasise the importance of listening very carefully.

Here are some general tips

• Be aware of possible distractors, particulary in Part One where they are common
• Don't assume the first thing you hear as the answer is the actual answer - listen carefully to
what comes after that
• Words such as 'no'and 'sorry' tell you that there may be another answer coming up to
correct the first. Take a look at the examples above - you'll see those words appear in
several of the examples after the first incorrect answer
• Distractors often involve some kind of number, so take particular care when you hear
numbers (though it is not always numbers, as we saw in example 3)
• Always listen very carefully!

 Lesson 3: IELTS Listening Map Labelling
IELTS listening map labelling is common in Section Two of the test, though you may get a
map in any of the sections.

In section two of the IELTS listening test you hear one person speaking. It is quite common
for the map to be related to some kind of tour.

The aim in labelling a map is to connect the information that you hear in the listening to the
gaps in the map.

In some maps you are given a list of words and you have to choose the correct word to fit in
the map.

Other times, you will just be given some gaps and you need to listen and choose the right
word from the listening.

This lesson is an example of the second type - no list of words are given so you have to
identify them yourself.

First, take a look at the map, and then read the IELTS listening map labelling tips.

Tips for IELTS Listening Map Labelling

 1. Read the instructions carefully - this is so you know what you need to do and the
maximum number of words and / or numbers you can use – in this case it is no more
than two words.
2. Know the vocabulary of location - you need to know words commonly used to describe
where things are located (see below).
3. Identify where the numbers start and finish – as you can see from the example, the first
one (15) starts at the bottom, not the top. The numbers (15, 16, 17) will follow the order
of the listening.
4. Understand the context - listen carefully at the beginning as the speaker will give you the
context. (where you are for example) which will help you follow the talk. Also, look
over the map. This will help you identify exactly what you are labelling - note the things
that are already labelled to get a feel for where things are.
5. Predict the answers - as with all the listening test, it helps to predict what the answer
may be. Look at the gaps and see if you can guess what you are labelling - a room,
building, sports facility, street etc?
6. Pay particular attention to things close by - for example, number 15 is by the ‘station’ so
it is quite likely (though not definite) that this will be mentioned just before number 15
7. Pay attention to any other clues in the map - for example, you are given a compass
icon in the corner telling you where ‘North’, ‘South’, ‘East’ and ‘West’ are. This means
it is likely that these phrases will be used to direct you. So listen out for them. You are
also given your location - in the tower.
8. Look at two questions at once - this is something you should always do in the listening
test. If you hear the answer to question 16, you will know you missed 15. Forget about
this and move on. If you are only looking at 15 you could miss both and get lost.

Common Language of Location

There can be various phrases to explain where things are, but below are listed some of the
most common you'll need for IELTS listening map labelling or diagram labelling.

Make sure you understand them all.

• At the top / at the bottom

• On the left / on the right
• Left hand side / right hand side
• South / North / East / West
• Southeast / Southwest / Northeast / Northwest
• To the north / to the south / to the east / to the west
• Opposite / in front of / behind
• In the middle / in the centre
• Above / below
• Inside / outside
• Just beyond / a little beyond / just past
• Next to / alongside / adjoining (= next to or joined with)

Practice
Now take a look at the map again below. Play the audio and answer the questions.

Listening Audio
https://goo.gl/AtmH26

 15.

16.

17.

Click below to see the answers, the script and some further tips for IELTS listening map
labelling.

Answers:

15. car park

16. rose garden
17. cafe
Below is the script for the IELTS listening map labelling audio.

The answers are underlined in bold. Also note the language of location which is highlighted
in red.

The features that are given close to the feature you have to identify are in blue. Remember
that they help you to know when your feature is about to be mentioned.

Well, here we are at the top of the tower, and we're going to look at the view from each direction. Out to the
east, the large buildings about a kilometer away are on the Olympic site. There's an indoor arena for
gymnastics, a stadium for track and field and a swimming pool for races and synchronised swimming and also
diving. If you look carefully down there, you can see the train lines. The Olympic site has its own station to
encourage the use of public transport. There is also a car park, but it only holds a limited number of cars.

The formal park has some specially-created water features. If you look out here to the south, you can see
a circular ornamental pond.

And around to the west, you can relax and sit on a bench to smell the flowers in the rose garden, and
finally up to the north, if you look in front of you now, there's a lake with a small island in the centre. You can
hire rowing boats at the boat shed, which you can't see from here, but if you look through the trees, you can
see the cafe, which has lovely views across the water. OK, let's climb down now. We will go now and have a
look at the nature reserve section of the park, which has opened up natural wetland to the public.

 Lesson 4: Signposting Language
Signposting language is the words and phrases that people use in order to guide the listener
coherently through what is being said.

It is used to make clear what has just happened, and what is going to happen next.

So in other words, it acts as a guide so the listener can follow what you are saying.

Why is this important for IELTS?

In section 4 of the listening you have to listen to a talk in an academic setting, such as a
university.

It is usually a lecture by a professor, a presentation by a student, or a talk by a university staff

member. So it is possible that signposting will be used within this.

This lesson is designed to help you with Section 4 IELTS listeningsthat are a lecture,
though the language for a presentation or talk may be the same or similar.

If you know the type of language that is used to guide you, it will help you to follow the
lecture.

This is particuarly important if your listening skills are weaker than they should be because
you will easily get lost if you don't know where you are.

Also, the lecture may be split into two parts (see for example the section 4 of this lecture).

It may be the case that these two sections follow the sections that the speaker divides their
talk into i.e. two parts. Knowing then the lecture structure and the language the speaker uses
to tell you they are moving onto the second section will help you to follow where you are.

The signposting language we'll look at in this lesson is the words and phrases that introduce
the topics and subsections of the lecture.

Examples of Lecture Signposting Language

This table sets out some of the key language that guides you on the overall topic and
content of the lecture, and when different sectionsof the lecture are being discussed.

The table includes the signposting language to signal the end of the talk. However you are
every unlikly to hear this used in IELTS because as section 4 of the listening is only around
4-5 minutes, you only usually hear the first part of the lecture or presentation.

Remember there are lots of different ways to say these things, so what you hear could be
phrased slightly differently.

 Signposting Examples
Purpose Signpost Language
• Today we are going to talk about…
• The topic of today’s lecture is…
• This morning we are going to take a look at…
Introducing the topic of the lecture • Today I’ll be talking about / discussing...
• What I’m going to be talking about today is…
• The purpose of today’s lecture is…
• The subject/topic of my talk is ...
• In today’s lecture I’m going to cover three
points.
Explaining the lecture structure (sections /
• I’m going to divide this talk into three parts.
subtopics)
• First we’ll look at….. Then we’ll go on to …
And finally I’ll…
• Let’s start by talking about...
• To begin,…
Introducing the first section / subtopic or first
• Firstly,…
of a list of points
• I’ll start with,…
• The first advantage / reason / cause etc. is...
• We've looked at...
Finishing a section
• I’ve talked about….
• Let’s move on to…
• Now, let’s turn to…
• And I’d now like to talk about…
Starting a new section
• The next / second …
• I'd like now to discuss...
• The next issue/topic/area I’d like to focus on …
• To sum up, …
• So it is clear from what we have discussed today
that…
• I'd like now to recap...
To signal the end of the talk / Summing up • Let's summarise briefly what we've looked at...
• In conclusion, …
• To summarise, …
• In summary, …
• Overall, …
• The three main points are …

Practice
Have a listen to the start of this lecture. What is the signposting language used?

So you need to listen and identify the phrases or words you here such as "What I’m going to
be talking about today is…", "I’m going to divide this talk into three parts", "To begin,..." etc.

Write it in the box below.

 Practice One

Listen the audio: https://goo.gl/4nHr3K

1. Phrase or word used to Introduce the topic:

2. Phrase or word used to introduce the first section:
Show / Hide Answer
1. Tonight I'm going to talk to you about that remarkable continent, Antarctica.

2. First, some facts and figures.

Practice Two

Listen the audio: https://goo.gl/DGy7PB

1. Phrase or word used to Introduce the topic:

2. Phrase or word used to explain the lecture strucure:
Show / Hide Answer
1. I have been asked to talk to you today about the urban landscape.

2. There are two major areas that I will focus on in my talk.

Practice Three

Listen the audio: https://goo.gl/wmhi1x

1. Phrase or word used to Introduce the topic:

2 & 3. Two phrases or words used to explain the lecture strucure:
Show / Hide Answer
1. And this morning we're continuing with a look at life in the area called the East End.

2. I'll start with a brief history of the district

3. and then focus on life in the first half of the 20th century.

Lesson 5: Pre-Listening Activities: Prediction

Pre-listening activities are essential to improve your IELTS listening skills and to improve
your score in the test.

This lesson is about predicting the answers in the IELTS listening test.

This skill is an important one to learn as it helps you to get the correct answer.

In this lesson we will look at it in relation to a 'Note Completion' task, which you will often
see in Section 1, the easiest part of the test.

Prediction though can be used for any type of question where you have to fill in a gap, so it
can apply to other parts of the test.

Pre-Listening Activities Practice

Before each listening section, you have some time to look at the questions.

You should use this time to look through the questions and get an idea of what you are going
to be listening for and when it is a gap filling exercise you should try to predict the types of
thing you need to be listening for.

This will help with your listening ability.

Take a look at the notes on Library Membership, and try to predict the information that you
may need.

Which questions may need:

a) a number?
b) a name (of a person)?
c) a place?
d) a date or day/month/year?
e) another word?
In order to prepare you for the listening, write a letter (a, b, c, d, or e)in the box to indicate
what type of information you think you will hear:

Library Membership
Minimum joining age: 18 years

For registration must take:

• Two (1) ___ and

• Two forms of ID e.g. driving licence (2) ___
Cost to join per year (without current student card: (3) ___

Number of items allowed: (member of public) (4) ___

Loan Times: four weeks

Fines start at: (5) £ ___

________________

Computers can be booked up to (6) ___ hours in advance

Library holds most national papers, (7) ___ , and magazines

Need (8) ___ to use photocopier

Creative Writing Class

Tutor is John (9) ___

Held on (10) ___ evenings

Show/Hide Answers
1. e
2. e
3. a
4. a
5. a
6. a
7. e
8. e
9. b
10. d

Other Words
It is not just though about guessing whether it is a number, name etc. You should also try to
predict what some of the 'other words' will be.

You may find you can guess some correctly without even listening (though of course you
must listen to check you are right!).

For example, in question (1) you need two of something along with the ID for registration.

What do you often need to take 'two of' to register for something? You should be able to
guess.

Or for question (2) it will be another form of ID. What kind of things can you use for ID apart
from a driving licence?

Again, you should be able to guess some possibilties without even listening.

Beware of Distractors!

Unfortunately it is never going to be made too simple for you as the aim is to separate those
with weaker skills from those with stronger skills.

As was explained in lesson 2, you need to always be aware of IELTS listening distractors.

For most questions, you are likely to hear two or more possibilitiesfor the answer.

For example, in question (3) you are looking for the cost without a current student card. That
means you are very likely to hear the costwith one as well. So you need to listen carefully to
get the right one.

Again, in question (4) you are asked about the number of items allowed for a member of the
public. So there is probably a different number for a student. You need to get the right
number.

This will be true of probably many of the questions - you will hear more than one choice but
only one will be correct.

If you knew a number was coming up and there was just one number given, it would be too
easy!

Now take a listen and try to answer the questions. Remember:

• read the instructions carefully for the word/number limits for each question
• write the words exactly as you hear them (don't change them)
• make sure your spelling is correct

Questions 1-10
Complete the Notes Below

Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.

(Note: you would normally have some time to look at the questions but this is not included
here because you have already had time to do this).

Audio: https://goo.gl/NxhRGD

Library Membership
Minimum joining age: 18 years

For registration must take:

• Two (1) ___ and

• Two forms of ID e.g. driving licence (2) ___
Cost to join per year (without current student card: (3) ___

Number of items allowed: (member of public) (4) ___

Loan Times: four weeks

Fines start at: (5) £ ___

________________
Computers can be booked up to (6) ___ hours in advance

Library holds most national papers, (7) ___ and magazines

Need (8) ___ to use photocopier

Creative Writing Class

Tutor is John (9) ___

Held on (10) ___ evenings

Show / hide answers

1. (passport) photos / (passport) photographs
2. (a) bank statement
3. 125 (per year)
4. 8
5. 1.50
6. 48
7. local papers / local newspapers
8. (a) card / cards
9. Grantingham
10. Friday

More IELTS Pre Listening Activities Practice

Here is a chance to practice some more.

Following what you learned above, try this note completion. Remember:

• read the instructions

• use the time you are given at the beginning to look at the questions and predict what you
are going to hear
• beware of distractors
• use the exact words you hear
• use correct spelling

Questions 1-10
Complete the Notes Below

Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.

Audio: https://goo.gl/hwijEq

Minton's Car Mart

Make: Lida

Engine size: (1) ___

Model: Max

Type of gears: (2) ____

Preferred colour: (3) ___ blue

FINANCE

Customer wishes to arrange (4) ___

________________
PERSONAL DETAILS

Name: (5) Wendy ______

Title: (6) ____

Address: 20 Green Banks, (7) ____ , Hampshire

Post Code: GU8 9EW

Contact Number: (8) (for ____ only) 0798 257643

CURRENT CAR

Make: Conti

Model: Name (9) ____ , Year: 1994

Mileage: Maximum 70,000

Colour: metalic grey

Condition (10) _____

Show / hide answers

1. 1.4 litres / 1.4 liters
2. automatic
3. light / sky
4. credit
5. Harries
6. Dr / Doctor

 7. Alton
8. messages
9. Lion
10. reasonable

 Lesson 6: IELTS Listening Sentence Completion
Strategies
These IELTS listening sentence completion strategies will help you to improve your score for
the exam.

In this type of question, you are given a sentence taken from the listening, and you have to
decide which word fits in the gap.

Remember though that the sentence will not be exactly the same as what you hear on the
audio - it will be paraphrased (using different words to what you hear).

The listening excerpt from this page is from a real test. It is from Part 4of the test - the most
difficult - so expect to find this exercise hard.

Don't be disheartened if you do not do well - students often score poorly on part 4, but that
does not mean you can't get a good score from doing well in the other sections.

Part 4 is based on a lecture, and for this recording you are going to hear the second part of a
lecture on the luxury end of the hospitality and tourism market.

IELTS Listening Sentence Completion Strategies

• Look through the sentences before you start to get an idea of what you will be hearing.
• Pay particular attention to the words that come before and after the gap to help you notice
when the word is spoken.
• Try to guess what may go in the gap - is it a place, name, number, or something else?
• Remember that the words you see in the sentence may be synonyms of the words from
the audio, so you may be listening out for words with similar meanings.
• Write the exact words, phrases or numbers that you hear in the gap on your question
paper.
• Always check the word limit - your answer will be marked wrong if you exceed the
number of words allowed.

Practice
Now here is your chance to put into practice these IELTS listening sentence completion
strategies.

Take a look through the questions first, then listen to the audio and try and answer the
questions.

You can see the answers and audio below by clicking on the "show / hide" link.

Audio: https://goo.gl/kyoj4g

Complete the notes below.

Write ONE WORD ONLY for each answer

A company providing luxury serviced apartments aims to:

1. Cater specifically for (1) ___ travelers.

2. Provide a stylish (2) ___ for guests to use.

3. Set a trend throughout the (3) ___ which becomes permanent.

Traditional holiday hotels attract people by:

4. Offering the chance to (4) ___ their ordinary routine life

5. Making sure that they are cared for in all respects – like a (5) ___

6. Leaving small treats in their rooms – e.g. cosmetics or (6) ___

Show / hide answers

Answers
1. Business
2. Kitchen
3. World
4. Escape
5. Baby
6. Chocolate
If you look at the transcript you can see how different words and phrases have been used.

For example 'sleek' instead of 'stylish' in question 2 and 'set' instead of 'establish' in question
3.

That's why it's important to look at IELTS listening sentence completion strategies and
strategies for all parts of the test.

 Transcript
However, nothing stands still in this world. One company has come up with the slogan ‘Take
Your Home With You’, and aims to provide clients with luxury serviced apartments. Those in
the business travel industry maintain that these serviced apartments dispense with all the
unwanted and expensive hotel services (1) that business travelers don’t want, while
maximizing the facilities they do want. For example, not only sleeping and living
accommodation, but also (2) a sleek modern kitchen that allows guests to cook and entertain
if they wish at no additional cost.The attractions of such facilities are obvious and it’ll be
interesting to see whether the company manages (3) to establish a trend all over the
world and make a lasting impact on the luxury accommodation market.

Now, finally I want to consider the psychology underpinning the traditional holiday hotel
industry. As a hotelier, how do you go about attracting people to give up the security of their
own home and entrust themselves to staying in a completely strange place and sleeping in an
unfamiliar bed? Firstly, hotels exploit people's (4) need to escape the predictability of their
everyday lives. For a few days people can pretend they are free responsibilities and can
indulge themselves. Secondly, there is something very powerful in our need to be pampered
and looked after, (5) it's almost as if we return to being a baby, when everything was done for
us and we felt safe and secure. And not far removed from this is the pleasure in being spoiled
and given little treats like the miniscule bottles of shampoo tiny bars of soap, (6) the
chocolate on your pillow at night - and we actually forget that we are paying for it all!

Next week I'm going to look at eco-hotels, a fairly new phenomenon but increasingly
popular…

Reading
Lesson 1:
Paragraph Headings

Lesson 2:
Multiple Choice & Scanning

Lesson 3:
True, False, Not Given

Lesson 4:
Matching Paragraph Headings

Lesson 5:
Sentence Completion

Lesson 6:
Multiple Choice / Skimming and Scanning

Lesson 7:
Guessing meaning from context

Lesson 8:
The difference between false and not given

Lesson 9:
IELTS Reading Strategies

Lesson 10:
IELTS Short Answer Questions

Lesson 11:
IELTS Gapped Summary

Lesson 12:
Understanding Not Given Questions

 Reading Lesson 1:
Matching Paragraph Headings
Objective: to practice matching paragraph headings to paragraphs.

A common type of IELTS Reading question will ask you to select headings of paragraphs
and match them to the paragraphs from a text.

On this page there is a full reading text and some practice questions.

At the end of the page, there is a discussion of the answers and how you should have
identified the correct match.

Strategies to answer the questions

1. Quickly read through the paragraph headings so you can see what they say.
2. Then look at the first paragraph.
3. Often only the topic sentence needs to be read carefully because the main idea and
answer are there - you may be able to just skim the rest.
4. Sometimes, however, the answer is not in the topic sentence and the whole paragraph
needs to be read more carefully.
5. If a match is not immediately obvious, move on to the next one.
6. If you are unsure between two answers at first, put them both in. You may be able to
eliminate one answer later if it fits another paragraph better.
7. If at the end you are still stuck between two answers for a question, pick which fits best.

Things to beware of
1. There are always more choices of paragraph headings on the list than paragraphs, so be
careful when matching them.
2. Watch out for synonyms - often words in the paragraphs and paragraph headings will not
be the same; they will be synonyms.
3. Having a noun from a heading that is in the paragraph does not guarantee they match -
you still need to read it carefully to check.

One Paragraph Practice Exercise

Before you do a full reading, we'll have a practice with one paragraph.

This is the first paragraph from the full reading you will do. There are only five choices of
paragraph headings for this first one (less than on the full reading).

Follow the procedure shown above, and click on what you think is the correct answer.
The topic sentence is in red to remind you to focus on that.

Yoruba Towns
A. The Yoruba people of Nigeria classify their towns in two ways. Permanent towns with
their own governments are called “ilu”, whereas temporary settlements, set up to support
work in the country are “aba”. Although ilu tend to be larger than aba, the distinction is not
one of size, some aba are large, while declining ilu can be small, but of purpose. There is no
“typical” Yoruba town, but some features are common to most towns.

1. Match the correct heading to the paragraph.

Town facilities

Colonisation

Urban divisions

Architectural home styles

Types of settlements

Now you know some strategies and have practiced with one paragraph, you can now practice
matching paragraph headings with a full text.

Matching Paragraph Headings - Practice

Read and focus on the topic sentences in the text below and then match the paragraph
headings to their paragraphs.

One has been done for you.

[Please note that if you are on a mobile device, you have to go to 'navigation' or scroll down
to the bottom of the screen to see the questions]

The reading passage has seven paragraphs: A – G.

Choose the most suitable paragraph headings B – G from the list of headings on the right.

Write the appropriate numbers (i –ix) in the text boxes below the headings.

NB There are more paragraph headings than paragraphs so you will not use them all.

Yoruba Town

A. The Yoruba people of Nigeria classify their towns in two ways. Permanent towns with
their own governments are called “ilu”, whereas temporary settlements, set up to support
work in the country are “aba”. Although ilu tend to be larger than aba, the distinction is not
one of size, some aba are large, while declining ilu can be small, but of purpose. There is no
“typical” Yoruba town, but some features are common to most towns.

B. In the 19th century most towns were heavily fortified and the foundations of these walls
are sometimes visible. Collecting tolls to enter and exit through the walls was a major source
of revenue for the old town rulers, as were market fees. The markets were generally located
centrally and in small towns, while in large towns there were permanent stands made of
corrugated iron or concrete. The market was usually next to the local ruler’s palace.

C. The palaces were often very large. In the 1930’s, the area of Oyo’s palace covered 17
acres, and consisted of a series of courtyards surrounded by private and public rooms. After
colonisation, many of the palaces were completely or partially demolished. Often the rulers
built two storey houses for themselves using some of the palace grounds for government
buildings.

D. The town is divided into different sections. In some towns these are regular, extending out
from the center of the town like spokes on a wheel, while in others, where space is limited,
they are more random. The different areas are further divided into compounds called “ile”.
These vary in size considerably from single dwellings to up to thirty houses. They tend to be
larger in the North. Large areas are devoted to government administrative buildings. Newer
developments such as industrial or commercial areas or apartment housing for civil servants
tends to be build on the edge of the town.

E. Houses are rectangular and either have a courtyard in the center or the rooms come off a
central corridor. Most social life occurs in the courtyard. They are usually built of hardened
mud and have roofs of corrugated iron or, in the countryside, thatch. Buildings of this
material are easy to alter, either by knocking down rooms or adding new ones. And can be
improved by coating the walls with cement. Richer people often build their houses of
concrete blocks and, if they can afford to, build two storey houses. Within compounds there
can be quite a mixture of building types. Younger well-educated people may have well
furnished houses while their older relatives live in mud walled buildings and sleep on mats on
the floor.

F. The builder or the most senior man gets a room either near the entrance or, in a two storied
house, next to the balcony. He usually has more than one room. Junior men get a room each
and there are separate rooms for teenage boys and girls to sleep in. Younger children sleep
with their mothers. Any empty room are used as storage, let out or, if they face the street,
used as shops.

G. Amenities vary. In some towns most of the population uses communal water taps and only
the rich have piped water, in others piped water is more normal. Some areas have toilets, but
bucket toilets are common with waste being collected by a “night soil man”. Access to water
and electricity are key political issues.

569 words

Paragraph Headings Answer Discussion

Paragraph B

(vi) - Historical foundations

B. In the 19th century most towns were heavily fortified and the foundations of these walls
are sometimes visible. Collecting tolls to enter and exit through the walls was a major source
of revenue for the old town rulers, as were market fees. The markets were generally located
centrally and in small towns, while in large towns there were permanent stands made of
corrugated iron or concrete. The market was usually next to the local ruler’s palace.

In this first question, the word 'foundation' is in the topic sentence. This does not
automatically make 'vi' the correct answer. However, it is a good reason to flag this up as a
possibility. The heading also refers to 'history', so the reference to '19th century' in the topic
sentence tells us the paragraph is about the history. A quick skim of the paragraph confirms
this.

Paragraph C

(ix) - The residences of the rulers

C. The palaces were often very large. In the 1930’s, the area of Oyo’s palace covered 17
acres, and consisted of a series of courtyards surrounded by private and public rooms. After
colonization, many of the palaces were completely or partially demolished. Often the rulers
built two storey houses for themselves using some of the palace grounds for government
buildings.

The topic setence mentions the palaces, which is where the rulers of Yaruba would likely live,
and the heading mentioned the homes (residences) of the rulers, so it is likely to be ix.
Reading the rest of the paragraph confirms that the whole paragraph talks generally about
the palaces in Yoruna. Don't be tricked by the 'colonisation' heading. This only refers to one
sentence in the paragraph, not the whole paragraph. It is therefore a supporting point rather
than the main idea.

Paragraph D

(iii) - Urban divisions

D. The town is divided into different sections. In some towns these are regular, extending out
from the center of the town like spokes on a wheel, while in others, where space is limited,
they are more random. The different areas are further divided into compounds called “ile”.
These vary in size considerably from single dwellings to up to thirty houses. They tend to be
larger in the North. Large areas are devoted to government administrative buildings. Newer
developments such as industrial or commercial areas or apartment housing for civil servants
tends to be build on the edge of the town.

The answer is first seen in the topic sentence. The word 'divided' should have flagged this up
to you as a possibility. Notice the use of the synonym 'urban' to replace 'town'. It is common
to see synonyms in paragraph headings questions and other IELTS reading questions.

Paragraph E

(iv) - Architectural home styles

E. Houses are rectangular and either have a courtyard in the center or the rooms come off a
central corridor. Most social life occurs in the courtyard. They are usually built of hardened
mud and have roofs of corrugated iron or, in the countryside, thatch. Buildings of this
material are easy to alter, either by knocking down rooms or adding new ones. And can be
improved by coating the walls with cement. Richer people often build their houses of
concrete blocks and, if they can afford to, build two storey houses. Within compounds there
can be quite a mixture of building types. Younger well-educated people may have well
furnished houses while their older relatives live in mud walled buildings and sleep on mats on
the floor.

The topic sentence starts to give you a clue that 'iv' is the correct choice of the paragraph
headings as it discusses houses and their styles. This is then discussed further in the
supporting sentences that follow.

Paragraph F

(vii) - Domestic arrangements

F. The builder or the most senior man gets a room either near the entrance or, in a two storied
house, next to the balcony. He usually has more than one room. Junior men get a room each
and there are separate rooms for teenage boys and girls to sleep in. Younger children sleep
with their mothers. Any empty room are used as storage, let out or, if they face the street,
used as shops.

In this context, 'domestic' means of or relating to the home, so the heading is referring to the
arrangements within the home. Again, just by reading the topic sentence you can see that this
paragraph is discussing home arrangements and skimming through the rest of the paragraph
confirms this.

Paragraph G

(i) - Town facilities

G. Amenities vary. In some towns most of the population uses communal water taps and only
the rich have piped water, in others piped water is more normal. Some areas have toilets, but
bucket toilets are common with waste being collected by a “night soil man”. Access to water
and electricity are key political issues.

'Facilities' is a synonym of 'amenities' so this is the first clue that this could fit this
paragraph, but you need to read on to confirm that the paragraph is discussing the facilities
of the town, which it is.

 Lesson 2:
IELTS Multiple Choice Practice
Objectives:
• To practice IELTS multiple choice questions
• To practice scanning techniques
• To look at the use of synonyms in IELTS reading questions

Strategies to answer the questions

1. Look through the questions first
2. Underline key words from the question
3. Then scan the text for those key words that you have underlined
4. The answer should be found close to that word
5. The answers will be found in the text in the same order as the questions

Things to beware of
• There will be synonyms used in the reading - the words in the IELTS multiple choice
questions may not be the same as in the text

One Paragraph Practice Exercise

Before looking at a longer reading, we'll have a practice with two paragraphs. It is the first
part of the full reading you will do.

Identify the key word in the question first of all. Then scan the text to find it. When you have
done this, read the sentences around this key word and see what information best matches the
three choices you have.

1. What is dry farming?

Preserving nitrates and moisture.

Ploughing the land again and again.

Cultivating fallow land.

Australian Agricultural Innovations:

1850 – 1900
During this period, there was a wide spread expansion of agriculture in Australia. The
selection system was begun, whereby small sections of land were parceled out by lot.
Particularly in New South Wales, this led to conflicts between small holders and the
emerging squatter class, whose abuse of the system often allowed them to take vast tracts of
fertile land.

There were also many positive advances in farming technology as the farmers adapted
agricultural methods to the harsh Australian conditions. One of the most important was “dry
farming”. This was the discovery that repeated ploughing of fallow, unproductive land could
preserve nitrates and moisture, allowing the land to eventually be cultivated. This, along with
the extension of the railways allowed the development of what are now great inland wheat
lands.

To answer this question you should have highlighted the word dry farming.

You should then have been able to scan the two paragraphs to quickly find this word.

Reading the information around it more carefully would the give you the answer:

Cultivating means to improve and prepare (land) by ploughing or fertilizing, for raising
crops.
So the answer was "the ploughing of fallow land...to eventually be cultivated."

Full Practice - IELTS Multiple Choice

1. What is dry farming?
Preserving nitrates and moisture.
Ploughing the land again and again.
Cultivating fallow land.
2. What did H. V. McKay do?

Export the stripper.

Improve the stripper.
Cut, collect and sort wheat.
3. What did the 'stump jump plough’ innovation allow farmers to do?

Cut through tree stumps.

Change the wheels for a traditional plough."
Allow farmers to cultivate land that hadn’t been fully cleared.
4. What did John Custance recommend?

Improving wheat yields.

Revitalising the industry.
Fertilizing the soil.
5. Why was William Farrer’s wheat better?

It was drought resistant.

It wasn’t from England or South Africa.
It was drier for Australian conditions.

Australian Agricultural Innovations:

1850 – 1900
During this period, there was a wide spread expansion of agriculture in Australia. The
selection system was begun, whereby small sections of land were parceled out by lot.
Particularly in New South Wales, this led to conflicts between small holders and the

emerging squatter class, whose abuse of the system often allowed them to take vast tracts of
fertile land.

There were also many positive advances in farming technology as the farmers adapted
agricultural methods to the harsh Australian conditions. One of the most important was “dry
farming”. This was the discovery that repeated ploughing of fallow, unproductive land could
preserve nitrates and moisture, allowing the land to eventually be cultivated. This, along with
the extension of the railways allowed the development of what are now great inland wheat
lands.

The inland areas of Australia are less fertile than most other wheat producing countries and
yields per acre are lower. This slowed their development, but also led to the development of
several labour saving devices. In 1843 John Ridley, a South Australian farmer, invented “the
stripper”, a basic harvesting machine. By the 1860s its use was widespread. H. V. McKay,
then only nineteen, modified the machine so that it was a complete harvester: cutting,
collecting and sorting. McKay developed this early innovation into a large harvester
manufacturing industry centred near Melbourne and exporting worldwide. Robert Bowyer
Smith invented the “stump jump plough”, which let a farmer plough land which still had tree
stumps on it. It did this by replacing the traditional plough shear with a set of wheels that
could go over stumps, if necessary.

The developments in farm machinery were supported by scientific research. During the late
19th century, South Australian wheat yields were going down. An agricultural scientist at the
colony’s agricultural college, John Custance, found that this was due to a lack of phosphates
and advised the use of soluble superphosphate fertilizer. The implementation of this scheme
revitalised the industry.

From early days it had been obvious that English and European sheep breeds had to be
adapted to Australian conditions, but only near the end of the century was the same applied to
crops. Prior to this, English and South African strains had been use, with varying degrees of
success. William Farrer, from Cambridge University, was the first to develop new wheat
varieties that were better able to withstand dry Australian conditions. By 1914, Australia was
no longer thought of as a land suitable only for sheep, but as a wheat growing nation.

422 words

Answer
1. Cultivating fallow land.
2. Improve the stripper.
3. Allow farmers to cultivate land that hadn’t been fully cleared.
4. Fertilizing the soil.
5. It was drought resistant.

 Lesson 3:
IELTS True False Not Given
This lesson explains how to answer True False Not Given questions for IELTS.

Firsly, you will be presented with a list of facts. You then have to look at the text in order to
decide if the facts are true, false, or not given.

Below are some tips and strategies to help you answer this type of question.

Tips
• If the fact you are given is clearly in the reading it is True
• If the reading says the opposite of the fact you've been given it is False
• If it is not true or false, it is Not Given

Strategies to answer the questions

• The questions follow the order of the text.
• Read the question carefully to make sure you fully understand what it is saying.
• Scan the text to find where the answer is using key wordsfrom the question
• When you find where the answer is, read the text carefully to identify if you think it is T,
F or NG.
• The questions will probably use synonyms rather than the words in the text.
• Look out for controlling words such as “only”, “all’, “never” etc. For example, if the fact
in the question says 'some' and the fact in the text says 'all', then it is F.
• Do not spend a long time looking for the answer to one question; it is probably NG, if you
cannot find it.
• Make sure you use the correct code; 'Yes', 'No', 'No Information' is sometimes used (these
question are slightly different and you look for opinions rather than facts).

Example
Look at this statment, taken from the first sentence in the reading below:

Chiles originate in South America and have been eaten for at least 9,500 years.
Here are some example IELTS True False Not Given statements with answers:

1. Chiles come from South America - True

2. People began eating Chiles in the last few centuries - False
3. South Americans were the first people to start eating Chiles - Not Given

Number one is clearly true. Notice the use of the synonym 'come from' used instead of
'originates'. It is common to use different words.

Two is clearly false as it was 9,500 years ago, not a few 100 years ago.

Three is not in the text. Be careful about making assumptions then thinking it is true. It is
quite probable that South Americans began eating Chiles first as they originated there;
however, you can't be sure of that and the text does not tell you that.

IELTS True False Not Given - Practice

Now, read the following text and answer the questions to the right of the reading using the
drop down menu to choose either True, False, or Not Given.

[Please note that if you are on a mobile device the questions can be found in 'navigation' or
by scrolling down to the bottom]

An explanation of the answers is provided below.

Do the following statements agree with the information in the text? Mark them:

True if the statement agrees with the text

False if the statement does not agree with the text
Not Given if there is no information about this in the text

Chilies
Chilies originate in South America and have been eaten for at least 9,500 years. Organised
cultivation began around 5,400 BC. Christopher Columbus was the first European to
encounter chilies, when he landed on the island of Hispaniola in 1492. He thought it was a
type of pepper and called it the “red pepper”, a name still used today. After their introduction
to Europe they were an immediate sensation and were quickly incorporated into the diet.
From there they spread to Africa, India and East Asia.

The reason for the chili’s “hotness” lies in a chemical called Capsaisin. Capsaisin causes
temporary irritation to the trigeminal cells, which are the pain receptors in the mouth, nose
and throat. After the pain messages are transmitted to the brain, endorphins, natural pain
killers, are released and these not only kill the pain but give the chili eater a short lived
natural high. Other side effects include: an increased heart rate, a running nose and increased
salivation and sweating, which can have a cooling effect in hot climates.

The reason for the presence of Capsaisin is thought to be to deter animals from eating the
fruit. Only mammals feel the burning effects; birds feel nothing. As birds are a better method
of distributing the seeds, which pass intact through their guts, Capsaisin would seem to be a
result of natural selection.

The smaller chilies tend to be the hottest. This may reflect the fact that they tend to grow
closer to the ground and are therefore more vulnerable to animals. The heat of a chili is
measured on the Scoville scale. The hottest types such as the Habenero and the Scotch
Bonnet rate between 100,000 and 300,000, the world famous Tabasco sauceÒ rates at 15,000
to 30,000, about the same as the Thai prik khee nu, while the popular Jalapeno is between
5,000 and 15,000. Powdered chili is 500 to 1,000 and the mild capsicins and paprikas can
range between 100 and 0.

325 wds

IELTS True False Not Given - Answers Discussion

Question 1

Chilies became popular as soon as they were brought into Europe - True

After their introduction to Europe they were an immediate sensation and were quickly
incorporated into the diet.
There two statements are clearly saying the same thing. Notice the use of synomyms:

Became popular = sensation

As soon as = immediately
Brought into = introduced
___________________________________________________
Question 2

Capsaisin causes significant damage to the mouth. - False

Capsaisin causes temporary irritation the trigeminal cells.

This is false as the statement says 'significant damage'. This is not the same as a 'temporary
irritation'.

___________________________________________________
Question 3

Chilies can be part of a birds diet - True

Only mammals feel the burning effects; birds feel nothing. As birds are a better
method of distributing the seeds, which pass intact through their guts
This is true as this section in the reading clearly tells us birds feel nothing (when they eat
them) and they distribute them around when it leaves their body. So clearly chilies are eaten
by birds. In other words, they can be a part of a birds diet.

___________________________________________________
Question 4

All large chilies grow high off the ground - Not Given

The smaller chilies tend to be the hottest. This may reflect the fact that they tend to
grow closer to the ground and are therefore more vulnerable to animals.
We are told here that small chilies grow closer to the ground. It can be assumed then that
many of the large ones are higher off the ground.

However, it says 'all large chilies'. We are not given any information to say all of them grow
high off the ground. It's possible some don't, so we don't know which means it is Not Given.

___________________________________________________
Question 5

People breed chilies for their heat - Not Given

The heat of a chili is measured on the Scoville scale.

Again, this is Not Given. We are given some information about heat in this sentence and
those that follow.

But these are just descriptions about how they are hot. We are not told specifically that this is
the reason they are breeding them.

 Lesson 4:
IELTS Paragraph Headings
This lesson provides you with further practice on IELTS paragraph headings matching
type questions.

Imagine you are doing a reading task which involves choosing the correct headings for
paragraphs from a list of possible headings.

It may be very tempting to cross off the headings that you have used as you go.

For example, here is an example of a task that someone is halfway through after choosing
four IELTS paragraph headings.

1. A climate of fear
2. Fan violence returns
3. FIFA's response
4. Cancelling the cup
5. Legal action is taken
6. Not just the fans
7. Violence at the core of Italian football
8. Not to blame
9. Violence back in the news
10. A widespread problem
What is the possible problem with this way of doing things?

The problem with crossing off choices is that it means you no longer consider those options
for any of the remaining paragraphs.

Let's suppose that you have incorrectly chosen heading i for paragraph 1, when
heading i should in fact be used for paragraph 5. If you cross out the options as you go, it
means that when you come to do paragraph 5 you will choose a different incorrect option.

In this way, making one mistake can lead to another. Making two mistakes early on can
easily lead to five or six wrong answers!

A much better idea is just to write down a paragraph number at the end of each option as
you go. For each paragraph consider all the possible headings, and at this stage don't worry if
you have more than 1 paragraph number after each heading.

So you may, for example, have something like this as you go through the exercise:

Paragraph 2 - viii / iv
When you get to the end of the passage you will probably have a single paragraph number
after most of the IELTS paragraph headings. You can now cross off those options. For one or
two perhaps you will have more than one. For each of these go back to the passage and
decide which of your choices is the best; the paragraph you are left over with must need one
of the other headings that you didn't choose.

 Paragraph 2 - viii / iv
We are now going to try this method. You will be reading a short article about the problem
of soccer violence from the Guardian newspaper.

Use the boxes at the side to input your answers. You can put in more than one choice as you
go along if you are not sure, but remember to delete one of them at the end before you submit
your answers.

Don't look below the reading until you have finished as there is a discussion of the answers.

[Please note that if you are on a mobile device you need go to the navigation bar or scroll
down to the bottom to see the questions].

Soccer Violence
1. Fiorentina's exclusion from the UEFA Cup after a match official was injured by a
firecracker thrown during their second-round match with Grasshopper Zurich in Salerno
brought hooliganism back in the media.

2. The Florence club are appealing against the decision, arguing that the object was thrown
by rival Salernitana fans and the ban would set a dangerous precedent. But UEFA will have
borne in mind that Fiorentina were playing so far away from home only because they had
been banned from their own ground for crowd trouble in Europe last season.

3. Whether Fiorentina have been hard done by or not, fan violence is a major problem in the
Italian game. Fighting before Sunday's 1-1 draw between Bologna and Roma left eight
people in hospital, two with stab wounds. After the game a Roma supporters' bus was stoned
and set on fire.

4. But Italy is not the only country suffering from what used to be called "the English
disease". At the weekend police in Bucharest fired tear-gas and made 20 arrests after a pitch
invasion at the Steaua-Dinamo derby, reflecting a marked growth in hooliganism in Romania.
The Greek first division match between PAOK Thessaloniki and Olympiakos Piraeus last
week was abandoned after one of the linesmen was left concussed by home fans furious at a
disallowed goal, a decision which brought 10,000 people on to the streets of Salonika in
protest. In neighbouring Albania, Skenderbeu Korce were fined and docked three points last
month after a brawl involving players, fans and the referee.

5. Hooliganism is taking its toll on the South American game too. An Argentinian judge
suspended all second division matches this month in an effort to combat rising violence. The
same judge halted the first division for two weeks in May for the same reason.

6. Football violence has claimed 37 lives in Argentina in the Nineties and leading clubs
routinely have to dole out free tickets and cash to their gangsterish fans, known as barras
bravas, whose activities include extortion. This is leading to a frightening atmosphere. A
recent survey in Brazil found that 61 per cent of fans said they stayed away from matches
because they were too scared to attend..

7. FIFA is considering the postponement of the Confederations Cup, scheduled for January,
which may persuade the world champions France to take part, a FIFA spokesman said
yesterday.

IELTS Paragraph Headings - Answers Discussion

1. You might have chosen heading ii but this is wrong because we don't know that violence
ever disappeared (it may have been there all the time but just nobody was talking about
it). It has to be heading ix because it's back in the public eye - i.e. in 'the news' / 'the
media' again

2. This should be viii because Fiorentina are claiming that it was not their fault i.e. they are
not to blame.

3. The paragraph describes the major problem in Italy, which means it is at the core of the
game. So it is heading vii.

4. This paragraph describes the situation in a number of European countries, so the answer
must be heading x.

5. You might have wanted to choose heading x here, as it does introduce the problems in
another part of the world. But, you need this heading for the previous paragraph, and this
paragraph talks about the actions of a judge. The answer should be heading v.

6. This paragraph discusses how people are frightened and scared. so you should choose i.

7. Paragraph 7 discusses what action FIFA is considering, in other words, its response.
So iii is the correct answer. You should not choose iv. The paragraph does talk
about postponing the cup, but not cancelling it.

 Lesson 5:
IELTS Sentence Completion
Objectives: to practice how to answer IELTS sentence completiontasks and to examine
paraphrase and synonyms.

Often in the reading the test requires the candidate to complete a sentence.

In this type of task, you are given a sentences from the reading with a gap in it. You have to
fill it with words taken directly from the reading.

Check if the question tells you to use the exact words from the reading - some do not.

When doing this, various factors are important to keep in mind:

• Make sure the answer does not exceed the stated word limit - articles and unneeded
adjectives can sometimes be left out to achieve this.
• Make sure the answer fits into the statement grammatically.
• Be aware that the statement will not use the same words as the text.
As the statement you are given in IELTS sentence completion tasks will not be taken exactly
from the reading, you need to be aware of paraphrasing and synonyms.

These will both be used in the questions. This is what they mean:

Paraphrase: to repeat something written or spoken using different words

Synonym: a word or phrase which has the same or nearly the same meaning as
another word or phrase in the same language
So when you look at the question, you will need to find a paraphrase of that sentence and
probably some synomyms in the reading in order to find the right one, and then work out the
answer.

Practice
Let's have a short IELTS sentence completion practice before completing the task.

Firstly, before you click to show the answer, see if you can find the sentence in the reading
below.

You will need to find paraphrases / synonyms of the words in bold in order to identify it:

Britain decided to send people to live and governAustralia due to a

_________________ factors.
Show/Hide the Answer
Now, using this technique and the tips at the top, read the full passage and do the IELTS
sentence completion exercise below (the reading is shorter than a real IELTS reading).

IELTS Sentence Completion Practice Exercise
European Settlement of Australia
European settlement of Australia began in 1788 when a British penal colony was established
on the east coast. From this starting point Australia grew rapidly and continually, expanding
across the entire continent.

A number of reasons contributed to Britain's decision to colonise Australia. The most

important factor was Britain's need to relieve its overcrowded prisons. Several violent
incidents at overcrowded prisons convinced the British government of the need to separate
unruly elements from the rest of the prison populace.

Additionally, Australia was of strategic importance to Britain, and it provided a base for the
Royal Navy in the eastern sea. Also, Australia could be used as an entry point to the
economic opportunities of the surrounding region. All these points figured in the decision by
Lord Sydney, secretary of state of home affairs, to authorise the colonisation.

To this affect, on May 13, 1787, Captain Arthur Phillip, commanding eleven ships full of
convicts, left Britain for Australia. He successfully landed a full fleet at Botany Bay on
January 18, 1788. However, they left the bay eight days later because of its openness and
poor soil, and settled instead at Port Jackson, a few kilometres north. The ships landed 1,373
people, including 732 convicts, and the settlement became Sydney. Australia Day is now
celebrated on 26 January each year, to commemorate this first fleet landing.

224 words

Questions 1-5
Complete the following statements using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS.

(put your choice into the gaps - use small letters and don't put any spaces after your last
word)

1. Australia was originally founded as a .

2. The major consideration in colonizing Australia was Britain’s .
3. It was thought that could be gained in that part of the world due to the access
provided via Australia.
4. Lord Sydney took every factor into account when he gave official permission for
the of Australia.
5. Botany Bay was abandoned by the settlers due to the lack of cover and .

 Score =
IELTS Sentence Completion - Correct answers:

Paraphrases and Synonyms

These are the paraphrases and synomyms that you would have needed to identify in order to
successfully find the answers:

Synomym / paraphrase from the

Original word from the reading
question
Question 1 began founded
Question 2 most important factor major consideration
entry point access
Question 3
region part of the world
all these points figured took every factor into account
Question 4
authorise official permission
left abandoned
Question 5
openess lack of cover

*Note that "penal colony" would be an acceptable answer for question 1 and "colonization"
(with a 'z' i.e. American spelling) for question 4.

 Lesson 6:
IELTS Reading Multiple Choice
Objective: IELTS reading multiple choice and skimming and scanning practice.

You won't have time in the reading test to carefully read the whole passage all of the way
through, so you need to find the answers in the text quickly.

This lesson shows you how skimming and scanning can help with this.

Identifying the question type

Before you start any reading pasage, you should firstly take a look at the question stems to
get an idea of what you may need to look out for.

So now look at the IELTS reading multiple choice questions below this reading.

If you look at the question stems, you will see that names are often mentioned e.g.James Alan
Fox, John J. DiIulio, Michael Tonry. So this immediately tells you it is a good idea
to underline 'names' as you read the text.

You will then be able to quickly scan the text later to find where the answers are.

Looking at the question stems first also gives you an idea of what the reading is about.

Underline / highlight key words

As you read the text, you should get into the habit of highlighting words that you think may
be important and will help you find answers later.

These are often nouns like names, dates, numbers or any other key words that stand out as
a key topic of that paragraph.

Looking at the IELTS reading multiple choice questions quickly first may help with this.

IELTS Reading Multiple Choice Questions

This type of question follows the order of the text. So when you have found one answer, you
know that the next one will be below, and probably not too far away.

When you start looking at the questions, you should underline key words in the question stem
to help you find the answers in the text.

Look at the IELTS reading multiple choice questions again - as you will see, key words have
been highlighted. You can use these to help you scan the text to find the answers more
quickly.

Reading in detail
When you read the text for the first time, you should focus on the topic sentences, and skim
the rest of the paragraph.

But once you start answering the IELTS reading multiple choice questions and you have
found where the answer is, you will need to read the text carefully in order to identify the
correct choice.

Tip: Do not think that just because you have found some words in the multiple choices (a, b
or c) that match the words in the text that this must be the right answer.

It's usually not that simple so you must read the section where you think the answer is
carefully.

IELTS Reading Multiple Choice - Practice


IELTS Reading Multiple Choice Questions
1. Young children are making criminologists nervous because
(a) they are committing too much crime.
(b) they are impulsive and immature.
(c) they may grow up to be criminals.
2. The general crime rate in the US is

(a)increasing
(b)decreasing
(c)not changing
3. The age group which commits the highest rate of crime is

(a)14 - 17.
(b)18 - 24.
(c)24 +.
4. James Fox believes that the improvement in crime figures could

(a)make us complacent in the fight against crime.
(b)result in an increase in teenage violence.
(c)result in a decrease in teenage violence.
5. According to paragraph 3, the government

(a)is doing everything it can to solve the problem.

(b)is not interested in solving the problem.
(c)is not doing enough to solve the problem.
6. In comparison with James Fox, Michael Tonry is

(a)more pessimistic.
(b)less pessimistic.
(c)equally pessimistic.
7. Jonathan Kozol believes that

(a)there is no solution to the problem.

(b)employment and education are not the answer.
(c)employment and education can improve the situation.
8. Professor DiIulio thinks that spending on social programs

(a) should continue as it is

(b)should be decreased.
(c)is irrelevant to crime rates.

Answer
1. they may grow up to be criminals.
2. decreasing
3. 14 - 17.
4. make us complacent in the fight against crime.
5. is not doing enough to solve the problem.
6. less pessimistic.
7. employment and education can improve the situation.
8. should continue as it is

IELTS Reading Multiple Choice - Discussion

This part discusses the IELTS reading multiple choice answers. The part in italics is the
section from the reading which has the answer.

(1) Young children are making criminologists nervous because

By the year 2005 they will be teenagers--a group that tends to be, in the view of
Northeastern University criminologist James Alan Fox, "temporary sociopaths--
impulsive and immature." If they also have easy access to guns and drugs, they can
be extremely dangerous. (para. 1)
'Children' are not commiting more crime so (a) is not correct.

You may have been tempted to tick (b) because the reading mentions " impulsive and
immature", but this is in reference to when they will be teenagers later in life, not the
children.

(c) is correct because, as per the quote above, the concern is that when they become teenagers
(grown up) they will commit these crimes.

________________________________________________
(2) The general crime rate in the US is

For all the heartening news offered by recent crime statistics...(para. 2)

"Heartening news" means 'good news' - so the general crime rate is obviously falling as this
would be good news. So the answer is (b)

________________________________________________
(3) The age group which commits the highest rate of crime is

...14 and 17, the age group that in the early '90s supplanted 18- to 24-year-olds as
the most crime-prone.(para. 2)
This tells us the 14-17 age group replaced ('supplanted') 18-24-year-olds as the most likely
('prone') to commit crime, so the answer for this IELTS reading multiple choice question is
(a).

________________________________________________
(4) James Fox believes that the improvement in crime figures could

"So long as we fool ourselves in thinking that we're winning the war against crime,
we may be blindsided by this bloodbath of teenage violence that is lurking in the
future." (para.2)
Here James is saying that because general crime figures are falling, we may not notice what
is going to happen in the future with teenage crime, so the IELTS reading multiple choice
answer is (a).

It is not logical that falling crime rates could increase or decrease teenage crime (there is no
connection) so it can't be (b) or (c).

________________________________________________
(5) According to paragraph 3, the government

At the same time, government is becoming less, not more, interested in spending
money to help break the cycle of poverty and crime. (para.3)
You have to be careful with this one. Like the IELTS reading multiple choice question 1 you
may be tempted to pick (b) because it mentions 'the government' and has the words 'less
interested' which matches the question.

But is says the government is 'less interested in spending money'. You cannot assume (guess)
from this that the government is 'notinterested in solving the problem'. It may just want to
commit more money elsewhere, but this does not mean it has no interest in solving the issue.

So the answer is in fact (c) - the government is not doing enough.

________________________________________________
(6) In comparison with James Fox, Michael Tonry is

Michael Tonry, a professor of law and public policy at the University of Minnesota,
argues that the demographic doomsayers are unduly alarmist...."it's not going to be
an apocalyptic effect." (para.4)
Here Michael is saying that those who are concerned about the problem (like James) are
worrying too much ("unduly alarmist") and there will not be the terrible consequences
("apocalyptic") like they claim.

So he is obviously less pessimistic and the answer is (b).

________________________________________________
(7) Jonathan Kozol believes that

We're not creating new jobs, and we're not improving education to suit poor people
for the jobs that exist."(para.5)
In this paragraph, Jonathan makes lots of negative points and finishes by saying jobs are not
being created and education not improved. He is therefore citing these as a cause of the
problems he mentioned.

It thus follows that changing this would improve the situation, so the answer is (c).

________________________________________________
(8) Professor DiIulio thinks that spending on social programs

"A failure to maintain existing welfare and health commitment for kids," he says, "is to
guarantee that the next wave of juvenile predators will be even worse than we're dealing with
today." (para.6)

If you don't 'maintain' something, then you don't keep it working as it is. So he is saying that
if spending on welfare and health (social programs) is not kept as it is, things will get worse.

So the IELTS reading multiple choice answer is (a).

 Reading Lesson 7:
Guessing meaning from context
Guessing meaning from context in the IELTS exam is an important technique that
will improve your reading skills and the speed with which you can read.

Obviously you do not have a dictionary in the exam so there are likely to be a lot of words
from the reading text that you do not understand and you cannot check.

If you come across a word you do not understand, then you cannot spend a lot of time
working out its meaning because you only have 20 minutes for each reading.

Therefore, guessing meaning from context is necessary.

This means work out what it means (or have a good guess at least) from the words that are
around it and from the topic of the paragraph.

Take a look at this example:

It had been raining hard through the night so the ground was saturated.
What does 'saturated' mean?

You may already know, but if you do not, you should be able to have a good guess from the
rest of the sentence.

It had been raining which means the ground must be wet. It was raining 'hard' so this means
the ground is probably very wet.

saturated = completely wet

By doing this you are guessing meaning from context and you should try and use this
technique for words you do not know.

It may not always be clear from the actual sentence and you may have to look at other
sentences around the word.

However, only do this for words that seem important for an understanding of the text. If
it looks like they are not, then leave it and move on with the reading. You probably won't
have time to do it with every word, especially if you are at a lower reading level.

Guessing meaning from context - Practice

Look at the reading below. Some of the words are in italics and bold. They are quite difficult
words so you may not know them.

Try to guess their meaning from the sentence it is in, or sentences around it, and from the
topic of the paragraph.

When you think you have guessed, choose from the words below the reading.

Thai Museum Catalogues Opium Dreams and Nightmares

CHIANG SAEN, Thailand, Wednesday December 04 (Reuters).

1) First reactions to Thailand's giant new opium museum in the Golden Triangle are
confused: pleasant surprise at cool air after the intense tropical heat, but then disorientation,
shock, even fear. Visitors enter the 100-acre complex through a long, dark, mist-filled tunnel,
which winds into the base of a hill past bas-reliefs of distorted human figures before
emerging suddenly into bright sunlight in front of a field of poppies. "This is the mystery, the
contradiction of opium," says Charles Mehl, head of research for the Mae Fah Luang
Foundation, which has just completed the $10 million museum. "Opium is one of the very
best drugs we have for treating chronic pain and bringing relief from suffering. But it can also
be one of the worst, destroying lives if it is used for recreation or exploited for commercial
gain."

2) Built into a hillside by the Mekong River on the northern tip of Thailand, the museum lies
at the heart of the Golden Triangle. Chiang Saen town is about 470 miles north of Bangkok,
overlooking the junction of the borders of Thailand, Laos and Myanmar, formerly known as
Burma. The Golden Triangle is a largely lawless region that last year produced more opium
and heroin than Afghanistan and more synthetic stimulant pills than all the rest of the
laboratories in Southeast Asia put together, drugs agencies say.

3) Western backpackers and busloads of other day-trippers pour daily into the picturesque
Chiang Saen district, in Chiang Rai province, to buy souvenirs on the Mekong's banks. Some
try illicit puffs on opium pipes in nearby villages. The museum, which will open officially
early next year, aims to exploit this tourist business, luring the curious with the promise of
entertainment and impressive audio-visual displays in English and Thai. But as visitors
progress down the labyrinthine corridors that stretch across three floors, the warnings against
narcotic abuse gradually become more powerful. "People think at first they know what they
will see -- a quaint presentation about hill tribes growing opium. But that's only a small part
of the story," said Mehl.

4) Mae Fah Luang has fought a 15-year battle against drug-taking and addiction in Chiang
Rai province, establishing what the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)
says is probably the best anti-drugs crop-substitution program in Asia. Lessons from that
program, which has succeeded in the nearby Thai mountains of Doi Tung in part by offering
farmers of opium poppies a better income from alternative crops such as coffee and
macadamia nuts, are built into the museum. But it also offers a thorough lesson in the history
of opium, its derivatives such as heroin and laudanum, and explains how the drugs trade has
helped change the world for hundreds of years.

Tragedy and Trauma

5) Thought to have been used first along the coast of the Mediterranean, archaeologists say
the earliest evidence of opium was found in Switzerland dating from the Neolithic period. It
was a popular sedative in ancient Egypt and Greece before spreading to northern Europe and
Asia and becoming a key commodity that was exchanged for Chinese tea and other spices by
the British and Dutch. With 360-degree special effects, the museum traces the 19th century

opium wars between Britain and China before looking at prohibition in the 20th century and
official efforts, often spectacularly unsuccessful, to stop the use of illegal drugs.

6) The museum asks visitors to themselves decide what could be the best approach to
narcotics -- prohibition, drug eradication schemes, decriminalisation or legalisation -- but it
pulls no punches on the tragedy and trauma inflicted by drugs on abusers. A final, heart-
wrenching gallery recounts the powerful true stories of victims of drug abuse around the
world through intimate video testimonies by their families.

7) "The feelings which develop through a visit to the museum change toward the very end
when there is evidence of the death and suffering that drug abuse produces," said Antonio
Maria Costa, executive director of the Vienna-based UNODC. "The end message is very
strong, namely that use of drugs should be fought. Society has to use all its instruments,
which means law enforcement for sure, but not only law enforcement. Prevention and
treatment are equally important."

By guessing meaning from context, choose the answer that has the closest meaning to
the word:

1. The word "disorientation" in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to:

a. being introduced
b. total confusion, nothing being clear
c. happiness
d. understanding
2. The word "distorted" in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to:
a. famous
b. extraordinary; very unusual
c. bent; twisted; strange shape
d. unclear
3. The word "poppies" in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to:
a. cattle
b. flowers
c. crops
d. sheep
4. The word "contradiction" in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to:
a. opposite of something else
b. illegality
c. beauty
d. wonder
5. The word "exploited" in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to:
a. firings, loss of jobs
b. promotions, raises
c. used unfairly; developed in a bad way
d. employed
6. The word "synthetic" in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to:
a. fast

b. cheap
c. natural
d. artificial
7. The word "illicit" in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to:
a. unlawful, not allowed
b. free
c. cheap, inexpensive
d. exciting

8. The word "curious" in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to:

a. interested; eager to know
b. middle class
c. bored; disinterested
d. rich and famous
9. The word "narcotic" in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to:
a. drug
b. physical
c. local
d. international
10. The word "addiction" in paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to:
a. sales; export
b. encouragement
c. cruelty; meanness
d. hooked; unable to stop
11. The word "alternative" in paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to:
a. new
b. different
c. fast growing
d. legal
12. The word "prohibition" in paragraph 5 is closest in meaning to:
a. sales
b. banning, stopping, making illegal
c. promoting, encouraging
d. increases, rises
13. The word "eradication" in paragraph 6 is closest in meaning to:
a. making mistakes
b. removing completely, getting rid of
c. explaining, giving information about
d. nuture, propagate, grow
14. The word "tragedy" in paragraph 6 is closest in meaning to:
a. difficulty
b. damage, harm
c. expense
d. great sadness and pain
Answer
1. total confusion; nothing being clear
2. bent; twisted; strange shape
3. flowers
4. opposite of something else

 5. used unfairly; developed in a bad way
6. artificial
7. unlawful; not allowed
8. interested; eager to know;
9. drug
10. hooked; unable to stop
11. different
12. banning; stopping; making illegal
13. removing completely; getting rid of
14. great sadness and pain

 Lesson 8:
IELTS True False Not Given Reading Questions
This lesson provides further practice on IELTS true false not given reading questions.

Before looking at the questions for the reading, you should take a quick look at the reading
passage and get an idea of what it is about.

This will help you tackle the questions.

• Look at the title - what is the reading about?

• Look at the topic sentences - what topics does the reading discuss?

What is the difference between False and Not Given?

Follow this link for some general strategies on IELTS true false not given reading questions.

A particular problem, though, for students is spotting the difference between something that
is 'False' and 'Not Given'.

Firstly see if the statement agrees with what is in the reading. If it does it is true. If not, it is
obviously false or not given.

The important point is that if you can say 100% from what you are given in the text that the
statement you have been given is not true, then it is 'false'.

If the evidence is not there to say that it is false, that means that it could be true or false but
you don't know - you cannot know from the information you have been given.

IELTS true false not given reading questions: Practice

Using these strategies, look at this reading and answer the questions that follow.

UN warns over impact of rapidly ageing populations

The world needs to do more to prepare for the impact of a rapidly ageing population, the UN
has warned - particularly in developing countries. Within 10 years the number of people aged
over 60 will pass one billion, a report by the UN Population Fund said. The demographic
shift will present huge challenges to countries' welfare, pension and healthcare systems. The
UN agency also said more had to be done to tackle "abuse, neglect and violence against older
persons".

The number of older people worldwide is growing faster than any other age group. The

report, Ageing in the 21st Century: A Celebration and a Challenge, estimates that one in nine
people around the world are older than 60. The elderly population is expected to swell by 200
million in the next decade to surpass one billion, and reach two billion by 2050. This rising
proportion of older people is a consequence of success - improved nutrition, sanitation,
healthcare, education and economic well-being are contributing factors, the report says.

But the UN and a charity that also contributed to the report, HelpAge International, say the
ageing population is being widely mismanaged. "In many developing countries with large
populations of young people, the challenge is that governments have not put policies and
practices in place to support their current older populations or made enough preparations for
2050," the agencies said in a joint statement.

The report warns that the skills and experience of older people are being wasted, with many
under-employed and vulnerable to discrimination. HelpAge said more countries needed to
introduce pension schemes to ensure economic independence and reduce poverty in old age.
It stressed that it was not enough to simply pass legislation - the new schemes needed to be
funded properly.

The UN report used India as an example, saying it needed to take urgent steps in this area.
Almost two-thirds of India's population is under 30. But it also has 100 million elderly people
- a figure that is expected to increase threefold by 2050. Traditionally, people in India live in
large, extended families and elderly people have been well looked after. But the trend now is
to have smaller, nuclear families and many of the country's elderly are finding themselves
cast out, says the BBC's Sanjoy Majumder in Delhi.

There are more and more cases of physical and mental abuse, including neglect, suffered by
the elderly at the hands of their families. It is slowly becoming a widespread social problem,
particularly in urban areas, one which India still has not got to grips with, our correspondent
says.

By contrast, the UN report cited the case of Bolivia as an example of good practice in the
developing world. All Bolivians over the age of 60 get a pension that is the equivalent of
about $30 (£19) a month. Bolivia suffers from frequent flooding and landslides, and older
people there have been organised into "Brigadas Blancas" - White Haired Brigades. They
help with preparations for emergencies, and accessing humanitarian aid.

Source: BBC News Website

Questions 1-7
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the reading?

Mark:

TRUE - if the statement agrees with the information

FALSE - if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN - if there is no information on this
1. The growth of the elderly population is going to make it extremely difficult to provide
adequate social service provision

True
False
Not Given
2. Approximately thirty per cent of the population are over 60 years old

True
False
Not Given
3. Developed countries are much better prepared than developing countries for 2050

True
False
Not Given
4. More financing is necessary to ensure new pension schemes are successful

True
False
Not Given
5. Elderly people in India are not always being looked after as well as they were in the past

True
False
Not GIven
6. India is starting to deal with the neglect of its elderly population

True
False
Not Given
7. Bolivian Families tend to look after their elderly relatives better then many other countries

True
False
Not Given

Score =
Correct answers:

IELTS true false not given reading questions:

Answer Discussion

1) The growth of the elderly population is going to make it extremely difficult to provide
adequate social service provision - TRUE

Social services are things such as welfare benefits, pensions and health, so this statement is
the same as this in the reading:

• The demographic shift will present huge challenges to countries' welfare, pension and
healthcare systems.

2) Approximately thirty per cent of the population are over 60 years old - FALSE

30% is not the same as one in nine, so the text contradicts the statement:

• A Celebration and a Challenge, estimates that one in nine people around the world are
older than 60.

3) Developed countries are much better prepared than developing countries for 2050 – NOT
GIVEN

In the reading, we are told that developing countries are not prepared. This does imply that
developed countries are better prepared. However, do you know if they are much better
prepared?

It is quite possible they are much better prepared compared to developing countries so we
can’t say for sure it is false. We don’t know as the information is not given.

• "In many developing countries with large populations of young people, the challenge is
that governments have not put policies and practices in place to support their current
older populations or made enough preparations for 2050," the agencies said in a joint
statement.

4) More financing is necessary to ensure new pension schemes are successful – TRUE

The above statement means the same as this sentence which was written in reference to
pension schemes:

• It stressed that it was not enough to simply pass legislation - the new schemes needed to
be funded properly.

5) Elderly people in India are not always being looked after as well as they were in the past
– TRUE

These parts tell us the same thing as above:

• Traditionally…people have been well looked after. But…many of the country's elderly are
finding themselves cast out.

6) India is starting to deal with the neglect of its elderly population –FALSE

You will often need to understand synonyms in the reading test. ‘Deal with’ means the same
as ‘get to grips with’. This sentence tells us India is NOT dealing with its problems, so the
information in the text contradicts the statement:

• …one which India still has not got to grips with, our correspondent says.

7) Bolivian Families tend to look after their elderly relatives better than many other countries
– NOT GIVEN

You may have chosen ‘true’ here, but the paragraph does not tell you if Bolivian families
look after their elderly better. It explains that they get more pension and are involved in some
community activities:

• All Bolivians over the age of 60 get a pension that is the equivalent of about $30 (£19) a
month. Bolivia suffers from frequent flooding and landslides, and older people there have
been organised into "Brigadas Blancas" - White Haired Brigades. They help with
preparations for emergencies, and accessing humanitarian aid.
Is it possible that Bolivian families tend to look after their elderly relatives better than many
other countries? It’s quite possible but we don’t know. We can’t disprove it from the reading
so it is ‘not given’.

 Lesson 9:
IELTS Reading Strategies
The aim of this exercise is to develop your IELTS reading strategiesin order to find the
answers to questions such as 'short answer' as quickly as possible.

The key to doing this quickly is to recognize the section of the text which relates to the
question.

However, it is usual to find that the question stem will include words that are synonyms of
the words rather than the words from the actual text, or if it is not synonyms there will
be phrases that have the same meaning as a phrase in the text.

If they did not do this it would be too easy to find the answers.

This text is shorter than the texts you will get in the test, but it is just an activity to introduce
you to the idea of using the question to help you find the answer and to provide you with
some IELTS reading strategies that you can put to use in the test.

You won't have questions like this in the actual test.

IELTS Reading Strategies Exercise

Hong Kong takes steps to improve English

a) The Hong Kong government today published proposals to introduce basic English
language competency assessments for primary, secondary and university students as well as
some professionals. The goal is to bolster written English and Chinese as well as spoken
English and Mandarin in the former British colony.

b) The government said it wanted to push students to improve their English, but officials
acknowledged Hong Kong had little chance of competing with rival trading centre
Singapore.

c) English is an official language in both Hong Kong and Singapore, but many more
Singaporeans are fluent in it because it is taught as a first language in schools.

d) "People always compare Singapore's English with our English," said Michael Tien, a
businessman who also serves as chairman of Hong Kong's standing committee on language
education and research.

e) "Don't forget English in Singapore is their first language," he told reporters. "I don't think
it's a fair comparison. With reading and writing Chinese, they are way behind us."

f) Hong Kong's dominant language is the Cantonese dialect of Chinese. Mr Tien said the
territory is also pushing ahead to lift standards of Mandarin, the main dialect in mainland

China. Although Hong Kong was a British colony until 1997 and many residents speak
impeccable English, many more do not. Some critics believe this to be an economic
hindrance because English is the international language of business.

g) Many students in Hong Kong are taught in Cantonese because few teachers are proficient
enough in English. Mr Tien said raising the standard would be a "tall order."

h) "English is challenging," he said. "I don't think we can expect 100% of our people to be
fluent in English, so I'm shooting for university graduates to start with."

Tips
Look at question (1) and compare it with paragraph (a). Which words help you identify the
answer?

Example:

(1) How does the Hong Kong government intend to measure the level of spoken
English?

The ‘Hong Kong government’ indicates that we are looking at the correct paragraph but we
need to find how they ‘intend to measure.’

The word ‘proposals’ is used as a noun in the text, but ‘to propose’ is a verb that means
‘intend’, so we can say that the Hong Kong government intends to introduce basic English
Language competency assessments.

To ‘assess’ means to ‘measure the level’ of something, and in this case we know that they
want to measure peoples’ Basic English Language, so we can answer:

Answer To introduce competency assessments.

Paragraph Indicator “The Hong Kong Government.”

Words that help to identify “proposals” and “assessments.”

So you can use these IELTS reading strategies to help you find answers to questions quickly.

Practice
Now it is your turn to have a practice. It is important to note though that if you choose a
different paragrah indicator, this does not matter as long as it was correct in helping you to
find the right paragraph and answer.

Answer the questions below using NO MORE THAN 4 WORDS

(1) How is English learnt in Singaporean schools?

Answer __________________________

Paragraph Indicator _____________________________

Words that help to identify ______________________________

(2) It what areas are the Hong Kong people ahead of those in Singapore?

Answer ___________________________

Paragraph Indicator ______________________________

Words that help to identify _______________________________

(3) What other areas of language does the chairman want to improve?

Answer ___________________________

Paragraph Indicator ______________________________

Words that help to identify ______________________________

(4) What do a number of people think the poor quality of English is?

Answer ___________________________

Paragraph Indicator ______________________________

Words that help to identify ______________________________

(5) What does the chairman consider to be very difficult due to the lack skilled
instructors?

Answer ___________________________

Paragraph Indicator ______________________________

Words that help to identify ______________________________

IELTS Reading Strategies - Answers

(1) How is English learnt in Singaporean schools?

Answer As a first language

Paragraph Indicator Singapore/schools

Words that help to identify taught

(2) It what areas are the Hong Kong people ahead of those in Singapore?

Answer Reading and writing Chinese

Paragraph Indicator compare Singapore’s English

Words that help to identify behind

(3) What other areas of language does the chairman want to improve?

Answer standards of Mandarin

Paragraph Indicator Mr. Tien/ dominant language is Cantonese

Words that help to identify pushing ahead to lift standards

(4) What do a number of people think the poor quality of English is?

Answer an economic hindrance

Paragraph Indicator many do not speak impeccable English

Words that help to identify some critics believe

(5) What does the chairman consider to be very difficult due to the lack skilled
instructors?

Answer raising the standard

Paragraph Indicator Mr. Tien/ lack of skilled instructors

Words that help to identify tall order/very difficult

 Lesson 10
IELTS Short Answer Questions
This lesson provides advice on IELTS short answer questions and further practice on True,
False, Not Given questions.

• What can you predict from the title?

• Skim read the first paragraph. What is the topic?
• What are the aspects of the topic?
• What type of language do you expect to be in this passage?
• Does the writing include any examples? If so, what are they examples of?

Education Industry Revving Up

1. A recent newspaper investigation into the growing number of foreign fee-paying students
raises some issues for timely reflection. To be blunt, we need to prepare ourselves for a
sudden and major increase in population. This new population will not be permanent but it
will continue to increase in numbers and make itself at home in New Zealand for the main
purpose of intellectual advancement. It will, in effect, be a rotating population but one that
produces an increase in the total population at any one time.

2. If you think, as even some Asian students do, that Auckland is already too Asian (one in
eight Aucklanders is now Asian), be prepared for it becoming too European or too South
American. Our booming education industry still catches some locals by surprise and,
depending on your point of view about racial diversity, it may or may not be of comfort to
know that it has only just begun.

3. The only limitations to its growth will be the decisions and behaviour of organizations
serving these students from overseas who want to study here - whether it is English language
or IT skills. And I do not mean just the education function itself: it includes health, transport,
property and entertainment. The list increases into all aspects of society as more students
arrive from the major continents.

4. My own company has grown 500 per cent in the past four years and our board is
anticipating an even higher rate over the next five years. I see no reason we should consider
industry growth expectations below this. Early next month we will open a new international
language school in Queen St designed to give students internationally accredited English
language skills so they can stay longer and study IT courses. Some will go on to our
universities.

5. This one new school alone will inject an extra $60 million-odd annually into Auckland's
economy. What does this industry growth mean? It could mean a $10 billion (contribution to
gross domestic product) industry by the end of this decade, employing 100,000 New
Zealanders directly and many more indirectly.

6. The conditions which have created this opportunity are many, but underlying them all are
the standards which shape education in this country. Some will argue that whimsical
circumstances, such as a favourable exchange rate or our distance from the troubled areas of
the world, have caused it all. But without the right internationally recognised education
standards we would have no such booming industry.

7. Make no mistake, this is our trump card. As long as we are known for quality education we
can develop what we have started regardless of almost any other change of circumstance.
Undoubtedly, there are financial benefits for society. But we would be blind not to
acknowledge and address the many other implications which the newspaper article began to
identify.

8. The growth opportunity is so good that we must effectively evolve as an industry and fast,
too. We must eliminate the clumsy, experimental mistake-ridden phase of youth.
Fundamentally we must leap from childhood to maturity.

9. But how? Experiences in my company lead me to suggest three main areas to address -
total service, performance regulation and long-term planning. By total service I mean
accepting some responsibility for students inside and outside of campus. Within two years,
my company expects at least 1000 overseas students to be studying at all our six campuses.
We must take some responsibility for this size of customer base, as any normal company
would.

10. This means we must attract other suppliers as dedicated partners with us - property,
insurance, healthcare, transport, social support, the list goes on. Education New Zealand has a
valuable role here.

11. This type of care begins in the students' countries of origin, ensuring they have correct
information about our country and how different it will be in many small and large ways. Our
company, intent on achieving this, is introducing marketing programmes in three continents.
Performance regulation will be vital in our leap to adulthood. We cannot leave it up to the
Government; it will mean a private sector-Government partnership.

12. I am also not surprised to hear calls for the Government to introduce an industry levy -
frankly, just another tax - to "protect" standards. We should keep in mind that foreign
students are happy to come here because of our stable Government, virtually non-existent
corruption, and education standards. For the Government to come to our support with an
extra levy imposition reminds me of an old saying: When a sufficient number of management
layers are superimposed on top of each other, it can be assured that disaster is not left to
chance.

13. Long-term planning usually begins with a vision agreed by the industry and I will support
any immediate efforts in this area. We now have an industry that is arguably our country's
third largest export earner. We need to know where we can take this industry, how it fits with
society and its place in an increasingly systemic world where people move more freely and
technology drives a global economy.

True (T) False (F) Not Given (NG)

Tips
Remember with True, False, Not Given questions, you should first see if the statement given
agrees with the information in the reading.

If it does it is true. Otherwise, it must be false or not given.

If the evidence is not there to say that it is false, that means that it could be true or false but
you don't know - you cannot know from the information you have been given.

Section 1
1. The new residents will stay in New Zealand forever?
choose one T F NG
2. The main reason these people are in New Zealand is to progress academically.
choose one T F NG

3. There are many Vietnamese people living in New Zealand.

choose one T F NG

4. The success of the education industry has been happening for many years.
choose one T F NG

5. People from Auckland are surprised at the number of Asian students there are.
choose one T F NG

6. All students want to study English and IT.

choose one T F NG

7. The writer’s company has increased in size over the last few years.
choose one T F NG

8. The country’s financial situation will benefit from overseas students.

choose one T F NG

9. There will be less jobs for native speakers in the future.

choose one T F NG

10. According to the writer, New Zealand's exchange rate and location underpin the
opportunities available.
choose one T F NG

Go to the bottom of the page for an explanation of these answers.

IELTS Short Answer Questions

Tips
• Read the instructions carefully - these tell you how many words you can use (a maximum
of three in this case).
• In IELTS short answer questions you should use words from the text rather than your
own, and don't change the words.
• Quickly read through all of the questions so you can get an idea of what information you
will have to find in the text.
• Use key words from the question to help you skim the text quickly to find the information.
For example, in the first one, you need to look for "type of care".
• Remember though that synomys will also be used in the text, so you must be careful when
you look for the information.
• Read the section of the text where you know the answer is carefully to see which words
will answer the question.
• Your answer must make sense grammatically to be correct.
Using the above tips and advice, try to answer the following IELTS short answer questions.

You can write your answer in the text box below each question. You can the click at the end
to reveal the answers.

Section 2
Answer the following questions in no more than three words:

11 Where should the type of care the writer discusses initially come from?

12 What will be very important in the education sector's rise to maturity?

13 What does the government want to bring in?

14 Give one reason why students are content to study in New Zealand?

15 What does the ongoing preparation usually start with?

16 How big an export industry is English language teaching?

Show / hide answers

11. The students’ countries

12. Performance regulation
13. An industry levy/tax

 14. A (or 'The') stable government/ virtually non-existent corruption / education
standards
15. A vision
16. The third largest

Answers Discussion for Section 1

1. The new residents will stay in New Zealand forever? F

This new population may not be permanentbut...(para. 1)

2. The main reason these people are in New Zealand is to progress academically. T

...in New Zealand for the main purpose of intellectual advancement. (para. 1)
3. There are many Vietnamese people living in New Zealand. NG

Auckland is already too Asian (one in eight Aucklanders is now Asian), (para. 2) - we
are told Asians are in Auckland but we don't know what country they are from.
4. The success of the education industry has been happening for many years. F

Our booming education industry...to know that it has only just begun. (para. 2)
5. People from Auckland are surprised at the number of Asian students there are. NG

Our booming education industry still catches some locals by surprise.(para 2) - the
word 'surprise' is mentioned here but it is nothing to do with surprise at the number
of Asian students. People could be surprised but we don't know. This information is
not given in the text.
6. All students want to study English and IT. NG

...these students from overseas who want to study here - whether it is English
language or IT skills. (para. 3) - It is possible that ALL students want to study English
and IT, but we are not told whether this is true or not. There could be other subjects
as well.
7. The writer’s company has increased in size over the last few years. T

My own company has grown 500 per cent in the past four years. (para. 4)
8. The country’s financial situation will benefit from overseas students. T

will inject an extra $60 million-odd annually into Auckland's economy. (para. 5)
9. There will be less jobs for native speakers in the future. F

 employing 100,000 New Zealanders directly and many more indirectly. (para. 5)
10. According to the writer, New Zealand's exchange rate and location underpin the
opportunities available..F

...without the right internationally recognised education standards we would have no

such booming industry.(para. 6)

 Lesson 11:
Reading Gap Fill
A reading gap fill is one task you may get in the IELTS test.

You have to fill in the gaps of a summary of part of the text using words from a box.

There may be more words than you need to use so you need to find the part of the reading
that refers to the summary and make sure that you work out which word will fit.

You also need to think about the grammar as the word you put in the reading gap fill must
fit grammatically as well. Here are some general strategies

Strategies for Reading Gap Fill Tasks

Looking at question 1, these are the strategies you can try following:

1. Read through the summary carefully to make sure you understand it.
2. Work out which section of the reading the summary comes from (in this example, the
whole of the text is summarized but in the real test you'll need to look through the
reading to find the right paragraphs).
3. Carefully read the sentence with the first gap and think about what form will fit i.e.
should it be an adjective, noun, infinitive, present participle etc? And what type of
word is needed i.e. is it an amount, a change, an action?
4. You should have worked out that for questions 1 you are looking for a noun because 'an'
comes before it.
5. Then look at the words that are in the box - which ones have the right form to fit and the
right type? There are several nouns.
6. Look at the correct part of the full reading that refers to the reading gap fill section you
are looking at and decide what happened for the first time to do with air rage in the
1940s?
7. Use this information to help you choose the correct word for the reading gap fill..

Reading Gap Fill Practice

Air Rage
The first recorded case of an airline passenger turning seriously violent during a flight, a
phenomenon now widely known as “air rage”, happened in 1947 on a flight from Havana to
Miami. A drunk man assaulted another passenger and bit a flight attendant. However, the
man escaped punishment because it was not then clear under whose legal control a crime
committed on plane was, the country where the plane was registered or the country where the
crime was committed. In 1963, at the Tokyo convention, it was decided that the laws of the
country where the plane is registered take precedence.

The frequency of air rage has expanded out of proportion to the growth of air travel. Until
recently few statistic were gathered about air rage, but those that have been indicate that
passengers are increasingly likely to cause trouble or engage in violent acts. For example, in

1998 there were 266 air rage incidents out of approximately four million passengers, a 400%
increase from 1995. In the same period American Airlines showed a 200% rise. Air travel is
predicted to rise by 5% internationally by 2010 leading to increased airport congestion. This,
coupled with the flying public’s increased aggression, means that air rage may become a
major issue in coming years.

Aside from discomfort and disruption, air rage poses some very real dangers to flying. The
most extreme of these is when out of control passengers enter the cockpit. This has actually
happened on a number of occasions, the worst of which have resulted in the death and injury
of pilots or the intruder taking control of the plane, almost resulting in crashes. In addition,
berserk passengers sometimes attempt to open the emergency doors while in flight, putting
the whole aircraft in danger. These are extreme examples and cases of air rage more
commonly result in physical assaults on fellow passengers and crew such as throwing
objects, punching, stabbing or scalding with hot coffee.

Look at the words in the table and decide which word will fit in the reading gap fill summary.
Type the word into the gap (when you have completed it you can click below to reveal and
check your answers).

predicted rose incident passenger found assault

established occurring hoped increased injury passengers

Summary

The first time that an (1) of air rage was recorded was in the 1940’s, but the passenger was
never actually charged for an offence because there were no clear rules in place to specify
where to prosecute. It was later (2) that it would be the country where the plane is registered.
Air rage has (3) significantly since this time, growing by a staggering 400% from 1995 to
1998. Air rage is (4) to be a major problem in the future as air travel increases, as do levels
of aggression. Angry (5) can put everyone in danger including the pilots, the crew and the
other passengers, with some form of (6) being the most common consequence.

Reading Gap Fill Answers

Show / hide answers

The first time that an incident of air rage was recorded was in the 1940’s, but the passenger
was never actually charged for an offence because there were no clear rules in place to
specify where to prosecute. It was later established that it would be the country where the
plane is registered. Air rage has increased significantly since this time, growing by a
staggering 400% from 1995 to 1998. Air rage is predicted to be a major problem in the
future as air travel increases, as do levels of aggression. Angry passengers can put everyone
in danger including the pilots, the crew and the other passengers, with some form
of assault being the most common consequence.

Reading Gap Fill Answer Discussion
(1) Incident

You should have worked out the this is a synonym for 'case'. The other nouns in the box
would not fit here.

(2) Established

'Establish' can mean to set up something up such as a system of rules. So this word fits here.
You may have thought it was 'found', but this means to discover something. The new
legislation wasn't 'discovered'.

(3) Increased

If you refer to the reading you can see that this is the trend referred to. 'Rose' does not fit
grammatically.

(4) Predicted

The reading and the summary show that the future is being discussed, so this word fits.

(5) Passengers

It must be the plural as it is being used as a general noun. For the singular, an article would
need to have been used.

(6) Assault

If you put 'injury' this is wrong as the reading does not say people are commonly injured, but
it does refer to assaults. You can get assaulted without getting injured.

 Lesson 12
IELTS Reading True False Not Given Exercises
This IELTS Reading true false not given exercise will help you to improve your ability to
answer these types of question.

They always present problems for students, particularly because of the difficulty in
understanding the difference between answers that are 'false' or 'not given'.

In true, false, not given questions you are given some 'factual' statements taken from the
reading and you have to decide if they match what is actually stated in the reading.

Reading in Detail
An important part of doing this is making sure that you read in detailthe part of the text
where you think the answer is.

You can skim the text to find where the answer is, but you must read that part very carefully
to decide if it matches the statement.

This also of course means making sure you read the question / statement carefully. You
must fully understand it in order to find the answer and assess them against each other.

Understanding the Statements

True

If the statement is true then it will exactly match the facts given in the reading. But remember
that does not mean they will be written in exactly the same way.

The statement will be a paraphrase of what is in the text. That's one reason why you have to
read very carefully.

False

If the statement is false that means it contradicts or is opposite to the information given in
the reading.

Not Given

This means that you cannot tell if the statement is true or false from looking at the reading.
The information to make the decision as regards true or false is not there.

Understanding 'Not Given' Questions

These questions are notorious for getting candidates confused.

A not given question does not mean that there is no information in the statement that can be
seen in the text.

You will find something related to the statement in the text and using some of the same
words.

The point is that you won't have the information there to make a decision as to whether it is
true or false.

Take a look at the paragraph below taken from a reading in a real IELTS test, and the
statement below it which is a 'not given' statement connected to the paragraph.

The reading was about the intelligence of ants.

Sample 'Not Given' Question

When we survey Mexico City, Tokyo, Los Angeles, we are amazed at what has been
accomplished by humans. Yet Hoelldobler and Wilson's magnificent work for ant lovers, The
Ants, describes a super colony of the ant Formica yessensis on the Ishikari Coast of Hokkaido.
This 'megalopolis' was reported to be composed of 360 million workers and a million queens
living in 4,500 interconnected nests across a territory of 2.7 square kilometres. Such enduring
and intricately meshed levels of technical achievement outstrip by far anything achieved by
our distant relatives.

Statement:

Ants can build large cities more quickly than humans do.

If you had the whole reading in the test and you skimmed it to find the answer you would
likely be drawn to this paragraph as it talks about 'large cities'. 'humans', and how ants have
'outstripped' (exceeded / done better) anything achieved by humans in the past.

If you rush or don't read it carefully and in detail you may be tempted to mark it 'True'
because a lot of the information that is in the statement is in the paragraph.

But although some of the information from the statement is there it does not say that ants can
build large cities more quickly than humans. It just says that their 'technical achievements'
exceeds that of those humans who build those cities.

You may also be tempted to mark it 'False' as you think of course ants can't build large cities
more quickly than humans!

But again, you can't decide something on your assumptions or what you know or believe to
be true if it isn't in the reading.

Exactly what is in the statement must also be in the reading. If it is not there it is 'Not
Given'.

Tips
These are some general tips for True, False, Not Given questions:

• Read the question / statement carefully to make sure you fully understand it.
• Underline / note any keywords in it that you can use to skim and find where the matching
information is in the text.
• They follow in chronological order so once you have found the first one, the others will
follow (the next could be in the same paragraph, the next paragraph or further on
though).
• Be aware of words that can subtly change the meaning of a sentence such as "many",
"some", "occasionally" etc.
• Don't waste too much time on one question. If you can't find the answer then mark it 'not
given' - you have a one in three chance it will be correct.

IELTS Reading True False Not Given Exercises

Now you can practice this with these IELTS Reading True False Not Given Exercises.

It's not quite the same as a real reading test from IELTS because you are given the question
under each paragraph. This means that the skimming element is missing from this IELTS
Reading True False Not Given Exercise.

In the real test of course, the reading is separate from the questions. The point of it is so you
can focus instead on analysing the statement and text and decide on the correct answer.

When you have made your choice, click the 'show / hide' answer tab and you can see if you
are correct. There is also a short explanation.

The reading is about how women in Sudan are taking weight gaining pills in order to make
themselves more attractive.

The Quest for Beauty

Question 1
While skin bleaching is a long-standing cosmetic staple across Sudan, a newer craze is
sweeping the nation. Many young women are turning to prescription pills in order to gain
weight, and hopefully gain the curvaceous figures they see as the standard of beauty. Away
from the regulation of trained pharmacists, fattening pills are illegally dispensed by the same
small shops which sell topical bleaching creams and other popular beauty fixes. Sold
individually, in small bags and emptied sweet containers, they are completely devoid of any
information about medical risks.

1. People do not get any information about the dangers to their health when they
purchase unregulated weight gain pills.

True
False
Not Given
Show / hide answer
Answer: True

The answer to this question is here:

Away from the regulation of trained pharmacists, fattening pills are illegally dispensed by
the same small shops which sell topical bleaching creams and other popular beauty fixes.
Sold individually, in small bags and emptied sweet containers, they are completely devoid
of any information about medical risks.
It says that when people buy the pills that are not regulated by pharmacists, there is nothing
provided (devoid of) about the medical risks (dangers to their health).

*****

Question 2
It is difficult to estimate how many women in Sudan use these products to gain weight,
because many are reluctant to admit to it. "Pills are handed out in the village like penny
sweets," says Imitithal Ahmed, a student at the University of Khartoum. "I've always been
scared to use them because I've seen family members fall ill and close friends become
dependent on appetite stimulants. My aunt is on the brink of kidney failure and has blocked
arteries from taking too many fattening pills, trying to get a bigger bum. Everyone in the
family knows why she's sick, but she won't own up to it. She's had to stop taking the pills on
doctor's orders."

2. Since a large number of women in Sudan are not willing to reveal that they take the
pills, the exact number of women using them is not known.

True
False
Not Given
Show / hide answer
Answer: True
The answer to this question is here:

It is difficult to estimate how many women in Sudan use these products to gain weight,
because many are reluctant to admit to it.
You need to look out for different language used, as the statement will be paraphrased from
the original.

For example, "not willing to reveal" instead of "relectant to admit it".

*****

Question 3
Pills are often rebranded and given catchy street names which allude to their effects.
From The Neighbours' Shock to Chicken Thighs and My Mama Suspects, the clinical name of
pills are forgotten and replaced by promises of a bigger bottom, shapely thighs and a belly
that will have your mother concerned that you might be pregnant. Tablets range from

standard appetite stimulants to allergy medicines containing the steroid hormone, cortisone.
The side-effects of taking cortisone are now a cash cow for pill peddlers. It is known to slow
the metabolism, increase appetite, trigger water retention and create extra deposits of fat
around the abdomen and face.

3. Promoting the clinical name of the pills helps the sellers to focus on the weight
gaining aspects associated with them.

True
False
Not Given
Show / hide answer

Answer: False
The answer to this question is here:

Pills are often rebranded and given catchy street names which allude to their effects. From
The Neighbours' Shock to Chicken Thighs and My Mama Suspects, the clinical name of
pills are forgotten and replaced by promises of a bigger bottom, shapely thighs and a belly
that will have your mother concerned that you might be pregnant.
The answer is the opposite to the statement. In the statement it says that the sellers use the
clinical name of the pills to sell them. But in the reading it says that they are rebranded using
street names, and then people forget the clinical name.

*****

Question 4
(This question is again from paragraph three, so take a look at it again above)

4. Those selling the pills are making more money on them than other types of pills.

True
False
Not Given
Show / hide answer

Answer: Not Given

This is the information you may have been drawn to in seeking the answer to this question:

The side-effects of taking cortisone are now a cash cow for pill peddlers.
This is saying the weight gained by taking the pills (the side-effects) are making a lot of
money for those selling them.

You may have therefore been tempted to mark it 'True' but it does not say that they are
making more money than they do selling other types of pills.

Maybe they are and this is a good assumption, but you can't answer a question as true on the
basis of an assumption. It must clearly state it in the reading but it doesn't. So it is 'not given'.

*****

Question 5
Using unregulated steroids without supervision can damage the heart, liver, kidneys and
thyroid, says Dr Salah Ibrahim, Head of the Pharmacists' Union in Sudan. He explains that
cortisone is a naturally occurring hormone in the body, helping to regulate vital bodily
functions. But when a man-made, concentrated version enters the body in the form of pills or
topical bleaching creams, the brain gives the body a signal to stop production. If a user
suddenly stops taking the substance, their major organs can spiral into dysfunction.

5. The body's cortisone production will eventually return to normal once a person stops
taking the pills.

True
False
Not Given
Show / hide answer

Answer: Not Given

This is the information you will have been drawn to in seeking the answer to this question:

...cortisone is a naturally occurring hormone in the body, helping to regulate vital bodily
functions. But when a man-made, concentrated version enters the body in the form of pills
or topical bleaching creams, the brain gives the body a signal to stop production. If a user
suddenly stops taking the substance, their major organs can spiral into dysfunction.
This says that cortisone is naturally occuring in the body, but when the pills are taken, the
body stops producing it naturally. Organs can then suffer if the pills are stopped.

That might suggest the statement is false as it talks about a 'return to normal' when taking the
pills ceases. However, the statement says that eventually (so some time in the future) the
production will go back to normal.

It's quite possible this will happen but we really don't know that from the reading. The
reading just tells us what happens to the organs immediately after suddenly stopping taking
the pill. Assuming the person does not die, their production levels may go back to normal.

So as we don't have that information in the reading, it is 'not given'.

*****

Question 6
Young women in Sudan are dying from kidney and heart failure caused by sudden steroid
withdrawal, medical professionals say. Fatalities are especially common among new brides,
who traditionally undergo a month of intense beautification prior to their wedding day and
then abruptly stop using fattening pills and steroidal bleaching creams. Their deaths are put
down to sudden organ failure.

6. Intense usage in the month after marriage followed by sudden withdrawal is resulting
in a high death rate for newly wed women.

True
False
Not Given
Show / hide answers

Answer: False
This is where the answer is:

Fatalities are especially common among new brides, who traditionally undergo a month of
intense beautification prior to their wedding day and then abruptly stop using fattening pills
and steroidal bleaching creams.
The statement says the month after marriage, but the reading says the month prior (before)
marriage.

*****

Question 7
Yet these horrifying beauty trends continue to gain traction. Prescription pill abuse is taking
off in Sudan's conservative society, partly because it lacks the social stigma and pungent,
giveaway odour of alcohol and cannabis. University students flock to buy the potent
painkiller Tramadol, which is sold for 20 Sudanese pounds ($1; 80 pence) per pill. Some of
Khartoum's roadside tea-sellers are even known to drop the painkiller in a cup of tea, upon a
coded request.

7. Sudanise society does not view the absue of prescription pills as negatively as it does
other drugs such as alcohol and cannabis.

True
False
Not Given
Show / hide answers

Answer: True

This is where the answer is:

Prescription pill abuse is taking off in Sudan's conservative society, partly because it lacks
the social stigma and pungent, giveaway odour of alcohol and cannabis.
The statement says the abuse of pills doesn't have the stigma attached to it like alcohol and
cannabis do, so it is 'true'.

*****

Question 8
Awareness campaigns have so far had very little impact. Dr Ibrahim, Head of the Pharmacists
Union, has made numerous appearances on national television to warn of the dangers of
prescription pill abuse. At university level, pharmacists are taught vigilance and trained to act
in keeping with ethics and pharmaceutical law. But in a country where pharmacists and
doctors are paid very little, the temptation to sell pills to illegal vendors is overwhelming for
some. "Last time I went to the beauty shop I go to for my creams, the shop owner brought out
a chocolate box full of different fattening pills," says Ms Ahmed, the Khartoum student.
"Girls are too scared to ask pharmacists and doctors about the pills they buy from beauty
shops, for fear of being publicly shamed."

7. Awareness campaigns are becoming common on national television.

True
False
Not Given
Show / hide answers

Answer: Not Given

This is where you find a similar part to the statement:

Dr Ibrahim, Head of the Pharmacists Union, has made numerous appearances on national
television to warn of the dangers of prescription pill abuse.
However, this is not the same as the statement. This says that Dr. Ibrahim has appeared on
television many times. That does not mean that awareness campaigns more generally are
commonly appearing on television.

We are not told if that is the case or not, so the answer is not given in the reading.

*****

Question 9
(This question is again from the above paragraph, so take a look at it again)

4. The low pay of doctors and pharmacists contributes to the problem of weight pill
abuse.

 True
False
Not Given
Show / hide answers

Answer: True
This is where you find a similar part to the statement:

But in a country where pharmacists and doctors are paid very little, the temptation to sell
pills to illegal vendors is overwhelming for some.
This section clearly states the same thing as the statement, as it states that their low pay
means they are tempted to sell pills to vendors.

*****

Question 10
Police may arrest traders and block smuggling routes, but the profits for rogue pharmacists
keep growing regardless. Fattening pills are poured into the black market, deemed to be the
lesser evil. Sudan isn't the only African society where being overweight is a symbol of
prosperity and power, boosting the "marriageability" of young women. But in this country, it
embodies an ideal. It defines the ultimate Sudanese woman - full-bodied and light-skinned -
epitomising beauty and coveted as a wife. The iconic status of Nada Algalaa, a Sudanese
singer whose looks are widely praised and emulated, is testament in itself. For some women,
it is an ideal to be acquired by any means necessary.

7. Being overweight is a sign of prosperity and power throughout African countries.

True
False
Not Given
Show / hide answers

Answer: Not Given

This is where you find a similar part to the statement:

Sudan isn't the only African society where being overweight is a symbol of prosperity and
power, boosting the "marriageability" of young women.
However, this is not the same as the statement. This does say indicate that other countries
also view being overwight positively (Sudan is not the only country).

But it does not give any information on how many countries actually do view it this way. It
could be a few others, it could be many. We don't know for sure so it is 'not given’

Speaking
Lesson 1: IELTS Speaking Part 2 - Extending Your Answer
In this lesson, learn some tips on how to extend your speaking for part 2 of the speaking test.

Lesson 2: IELTS Speaking Part 1 - Improving your Responses

This lesson uses a quiz to teach you how to best answer questions in part 1 of the IELTS
speaking test.

Lesson 3: IELTS Speaking Part 3 - Describing Changes

You often have to discuss changes in part 3 of the speaking test. This IELTS practice lesson
provides you with grammar tips to answer these questions.

Lesson 4: IELTS Speaking Part 3 - Talking about the Future

You often have to discuss the future in part 3 of the speaking test. This lessons provides you
with grammar tips to answer these questions.

Lesson 5: IELTS Speaking Part 2 - Mind Map: Structuring your talk

This lesson explain how you can use a mind map to help you brainstorm and organise you
talk for part 2 of the test. There is also a sample answer.

Lesson 6: IELTS Parts 1-3 - Formality & Getting the tone right
This lesson explains what tone you should use in the speaking to help you sound natural.

Lesson 7: IELTS Speaking Part 2 - A hypothetical situation

IELTS Practice: speaking about an unreal future situation in part 2 of the IELTS test.

Lesson 8: IELTS Speaking Part 3 - Giving & Justifying Opinions

Learn some useful phrases for giving opinions in part 3 and justifying those opinions.

Lesson 9: IELTS Part 1 - Types of Speaking Questions for IELTS

In this IELTS practice lesson some of the common types of questions that appear in part 1 of
the test are explained. The aim is to improve the accuracy of your answers to questions.

Lesson 10: IELTS Speaking - Useful IELTS Interview Expressions

This lesson provides you with a set of useful expressions that you can use to help you in the
all parts of the speaking test, particularly part 3.

Lesson 11: IELTS Speaking Part 3 - Talking about Personal Experiences

Many students make the mistake of talking about themselves in part 3. This is ok, but only
for examples. Learn more about it here.

 Lesson 1:
IELTS Speaking Part 2 – Extending your answer
In the IELTS speaking part 2, you will be given a topic by the examiner, and you have
to speak for two minutes.

The topic will be one that the examiner chooses and you cannot change it.

They are always things that you should have some experience of and be able to talk about.

However, some students find it difficult to do because you only have one minute to
prepare what you are going to say.

You may also be nervous having to speak for 2 minutes in front of someone.

You don't want to run out of things to say so in this lesson there are some tips to help you
extend your long-turn.

Let's imagine that you are given this IELTS speaking part 2 question:

Describe someone who has had an important influence on your life.

You should say:

• Who the person is

• How long you have known him/her
• What qualities this person has
Explain why they have had such an influence on you

Firstly, you must talk about the topic on the card.

However, if you only talk about the specific questions on the card, you may find that you
finish too soon.

As long as you keep to the topic, it is ok to talk about other things.

Here are two things you can do in the minute you have before you speak to help you find
more to say for the IELTS speaking part 2.

1. Use other ‘question’ prompts

These are question prompts:

Who
What
When
Where

How
Why
When you prepare, write down the other question prompts that are not on the list, and think
of things you can say about those as well.

For example:

When - When did you meet?

Where – Where did you meet?

2. Think of a Story
You can also tell a story about the person, place, event or thing you are discussing.

So in your one minute, think of and note down a quick and preferably interesting story to tell
about the topic.

You can tell the story anywhere in your IELTS speaking part 2, as long as it fits in.

Example IELTS Speaking Part 2

The person I’m going to talk about today is my teacher from high school. (who) Her name
was Miss Chadwick and she taught quite a few subjects at the school. She had been working
there for quite a few years when I met her I think. (where) We met for the first time in my
English class. (more about ‘who’) I remember this well because she was quite young
compared to most of the other teachers in the school so I was surprised that she was a
teacher! In fact she looked more like she could be one of the older students!

(How long) So I met her when I was 15, and that was 10 years ago. I don’t actually know her
anymore as we lost contact soon after I left the school, but I still remember her very well for
several reasons. (What qualities) Firstly, she was very kind. She always treated all the
students very well in the class, and I can’t remember her ever shouting at anyone. Also, she
had a really good sense of humour. She would make jokes in the class which most of the
other teachers never did. The other teachers were very serious all the time. And she made the
classes a lot of fun and very interesting, something that I think is very important otherwise
you start to get bored. Oh, and also she explained things very well and very clearly. Often
teachers are not able to do this in a way that students can understand, especially when it's
complicated subjects.

So those are the qualities that she had. (why such an influence) The reason she had such an
important influence on me is because I was quite a shy person at school and not very
confident, but she helped me to change this. (tell a story) Each year, there was a school play
that would be held in front of all the parents, and that year, when I was 15, Miss Chadwick
was organizing and directing the play. I really didn't want to be in it because I was so shy, but
Miss Chadwick insisted that I take one of the roles, and it was one of the main roles which
meant that I would have to do a lot of speaking! I was so nervous. Anyway, I went ahead and
did it, and on the night I did really well and really enjoyed it. And that really boosted my
confidence and this has helped me to this day.

So my teacher Miss Chadwick is the person who has influenced my life and I will never
forget her.

 Lesson 2: IELTS Speaking Questions and Answers
This lesson is a quiz using IELTS speaking questions and answers to provide you with some
general tips on successfully answering questions for part one of the IELTS speaking test.

In part one of the test, you are asked general questions about yourself - follow this link to
view example part one questions if you do not know what to expect.

You'll be asked about 12 questions in part one of the test, and these will be taken from three
different sets of topics which the examiner will choose.

For example you could be asked about:

1. Your home town

2. Your favourite holiday destination
3. What kinds of books you like to read
So you'll have about four questions on each of these.

Now, take this 'IELTS Speaking Questions and Answers Quiz' to see if you know what is
the best way to respond in this part of the test.

Decide which answer you think is the best, then click on the letter to see if you are right.

Part One IELTS Speaking Questions and Answers - Quiz

Choose the best answer:

1. How many people are there in your family?

There are four. We live in a large house in the north of my country. It gets very cold
there in the winter but it is really nice during the summer months. I try to go back there
often.

There are four. My brother and my parents.

There are four. There's myself of course. Then there's my younger brother, he's fifteen
years old. And I have my mother and father who are both in their late 70s. I have two
grand parents as well, but they don't live with us.

2. Do you know the people who live next door to you?

No, I've never met them. The reason for this is that I'm away most of the time at
university so I've never really had the opportunity. I know my family has met them on a

 few occasions, just for a quick chat, but they don't know them well. I think they like to
keep their privacy.

No, I've never met them.

No, I've never met them. I think my parents have, but I don't know who they are.

3. What kinds of books do you like reading?

I don't like reading. Books are boring. I much prefer to play on the internet or just watch
TV in my free time. Reading books just sends me to sleep.

Although I think books are great ways to learn, and I know some people love to read,
I've never been a great fan of them. I used to read books a bit when I was younger but
not much anymore. I read a lot on the internet actually, articles on various topics. So I do
read, but it's just not usually books.

I don't really like reading, but I did read a book once. I'll tell you the story. It was set in
the 1960's in London. It was about a poor family who were just trying hard to make ends
meet as they had so little money. If followed the life of the boy in the family from when
he was young until he grew up. The first part of the book was about growing up with his
family and his school life...(candidate continues the story)

You should have learnt from these IELTS speaking questions and answers to:

Stay on topic

Listen carefully to the question and make sure you are answering it. Don't talk about
something completely different just so you can talk for longer.
Extend your answers

Give reasons for your answer. This can be a useful way to extend your responses. Always
explain WHY you have given the answer that you have.
Don't speak excessively

Extend your answers but don't go on too much. This will only mean the examiner will have
to keep interrupting you to move onto the next questions.
Be honest but positive

Try to remain upbeat and positive even if you are saying you don't do things or don't enjoy
things you are being asked about. You can always put a positive slant on your answers.

 Lesson 3: Speaking About Change

Questions that will involve you speaking about change are common in part 3 of the IELTS
test.

Therefore you need to make sure that you are the grammar and phrases to be able to do this.

Often you are asked to compare a situation now with the same situation in the past.

Common time periods include; 20 years, 30 years, when your parents were young and when
your grandparents were young.

This lesson will provide you with some useful grammar for speaking about change in the
IELTS test, and how to spot these types of question.

Examples:

• How are the eating habits now in your country different from eating habits in the past?
• Are the types of leisure activities that are popular today the same as those that were
popular when your parents were young?
• How have shopping habits changed over recent years?
• Have the types of transport people use changed much over the last few decades?

_________________________________________________

Used to
One way of describing how things have changed is to use “used to”. We use it to refer to
facts or situations that were true in the past but are not true now. When the change occurred
is not important.

Example:
“Vietnam used to be a colony of France, (but now it is independent)”
“Jimmy Carter used to be the President of the United States, (but now he isn’t.)”
This can, of course be used to give personal information.

“I used to smoke, (but I gave up 2 years ago.)”

“Mike used to be a detective in the CID, (but now he’s a teacher)”
_________________________________________________

Comparatives

In these types of questions the function being tested is “compare”, so using comparatives is
obviously a good way of answering the question and speaking about change.

Example:

"Thirty years ago, the streets were much quieter thannow.”

“I think that reading was much more popular in the past.”
When talking about how things are different now, the present perfectis often used as well as
the present simple.

“The streets have become much noisier.” (Notice, a time is not needed)
“Reading is much less popular than it was in the past.”
_________________________________________________

Speculation
Particularly for some of the longer periods, you may not be sure of exactly how things have
changed and it is all right to speculate.

“Would” can be used for strong speculation.

Example:

“It would have been harder for my grand father to find out about international news,
because there was no radio or T.V in his village.”
“In the past, people would have traveled less often.”
When you are not so sure you can use other words. (perhaps, possibly, might, may, etc.)

“I’m not sure but, perhaps, they might have studiedless science thirty years ago”
“Possibly, in my father’s day, people could have playedmore sport.”
_________________________________________________

Question types
Questions about changes tend to be phrased in ways like these:

“How do you think … is different from thirty years ago?”

“In what ways has … changed from when your parents were young?
“How is … different from twenty years ago?”
Of course, the examiner may choose to word the question in other ways.

 Lesson 4: Will and Going to
Usually in part 3 of the speaking test you will be asked to talk about the future in at least one
of the questions (some of the questions in part 1 may also be about the future).

Will and going to are popular words to do this, so we will look at them, but there are some
other ways too.

It is important to notice when a question is about the future so you can make sure that your
response is also using the future tense.

Here are some example questions:

• Do you think any new national celebrations will come into being in the future?
• How do you think the internet will change people's buying habits in the future?
• Do you think it will be more or less important to have a good education in the future?
Here is an explanation of will and going to and some other useful structures for discussing
the future

Will
There are various uses of ‘will’, but in IELTS part 3 we can use it when we want to talk about
future events that we believe are certain.

‘Will’ is followed by verb 1, or the infinitive.

Education will be more important in the future because as populations increase, there will
be greater competition for jobs.
If you use ‘will’ on its own, this means you believe in what you are saying 100%, or you
have 100% evidence to back up your claim.

You can add in a word like ‘definitely’ if as well if you want to emphasize your certainty
even more:

Education will definitely be more important in the future because as populations increase,
there will be greater competition for jobs.
If you are less certain (which is often the case as we usually don’t have evidence with us)
then we use words such as 'maybe', 'perhaps', 'possibly', 'probably' and ‘likely’.

Education will probably be more important in the future because as populations increase,
there will be greater competition for jobs.

Going to
Will and Going to are used in similar ways. We can use ‘going to’ to talk about a plan we
have, but in the IELTS test part 3 we usually use it when we are making a prediction based
on evidence we know of, often from what we can see in front of us.

‘Going to’ is followed by verb 1, or the infinitive.

 The sky is very black (the evidence we can see). I think it’s going to rain. (not an IELTS
example)
The internet is getting much easier to use and safer (the evidence), so I think it’s going
to be very popular for buying clothes in the future.
The climate is going to become warmer and warmer because the government is not doing
enough to prevent global warming.

Will or going to?

‘Will’ is more common for giving predictions about future events, so if you are unsure of the
difference between them, just use ‘will’.

However, we often use will and going to inter-changeably. For example, in the sentences
above we can swap them without affecting the meaning:

The climate will / is going to become warmer and warmer because the government is not
doing enough to prevent global warming.
Education will probably / is probably going to be more important in the future because as
populations increase, there will be greater competition for jobs.

Modal Verbs
In addtion to will and going to, another way to talk about the future is to use modal verbs
such as ‘may’ and ‘might’.

Again, these are used when you are not certain about something. They have the same
meaning.

I think education may become more important in the future, but it really depends on what
happens to the job market.
The climate might get cooler in the future if we manage to restrict CO2 emissions.

Present Continuous
This is also used to talk about the future.

It is often used when we want to talk about what has been arranged for the future, so it may
be less common for part 3 and more common for part 1, but it is still possible for some things
you may want to say:

Our president is meeting the president of the USA next year, so hopefully they will discuss
the problems of our country.

Will and Going to - Sample Answer

Here is a sample answer to a question:

 How do you think the internet will change people's buying habits in the future?
Buying from the internet is becoming more and more popular. For example, we’ve seen
many book shops close down because people can buy online at cheaper prices from sites
such as Amazon. It makes life much easier if products can be delivered direct to our door,
especially with our busy modern lifestyles. I think this willonly increase in the future as
more people feel safe to buy online and online shops make it easier to purchase this way.
Also, I think our lives are only going to becomebusier, so more people will choose to shop
this way.

 Lesson 5: IELTS Mind Map - Speaking Part 2
This lesson introduces you to the idea of using an IELTS mind map to help you with your
speaking for part two.

There are different methods and techniques you'll come across for preparing for this part of
the speaking test, so you really need to decide which way suits you best.

Mind maps are a way to visually organize information. A single idea is placed in the
middle, with ideas associated with that word around the edge.

A mind map can be useful for IELTS speaking in part two because you can place the main
topic from the cue card in the middle and then brainstorm ideas around it.

You can use other question words such as 'why', 'when', 'who', 'where' etc to help you think
of ideas.

As well as question words you can also add a story as this is a useful way to extend your
answer - click here to view a lesson on how to extend your answers for part 2 and using a
story to help you do this.

You can also add in any useful vocabulary that you think of.

Look at this example cue card, and then look at the mind map that someone has done in order
to answer the question.

Describe a lake, a river or a sea you have visited.

You should say:

• Where the lake, river or sea is

• How often you have visited it
• What activities you do there
Explain why you like this particular place.

Mind Map

As you can see, a story has been added in, and some extra information about 'who', plus some
interesting vocabulary

It's up to you in what order to answer the question. You don't have to follow the card, but you
should try to cover all the points that are on there and your talk must be organized and
coherent.

The mind map or following the card will help with this, plus giving cues to which section you
are on.

For example: "I've visited it many times because..." tells the examiner you are talking about
the 'How often' part.

Here is a sample answer.

Note how all the points are covered, plus some extra information that is not on the card but is
on the mind map.

Sample Answer using a Mind Map - A Lake You've Visited

I’m going to talk about a lake that I’ve visited.

The lake is in the Lake District area which is in the North West of England. As you can guess
by its name, it’s very famous for its many beautiful lakes. The area is also known as ‘The
Lakes’ and it's a National Park.

I’ve visited it many times because I live only a few hours from there. I usually go every
summer, and I’ve been going for many years now – probably since about 1998. We used to
go a lot in my summer holiday when I was at school. Now I’m working I still go, but I’ll go
at weekends. I usually go with my family – that’s my two brothers and my Mum and Dad.
Sometimes we might go with our cousins as well. I've also been with friends quite a few
times.

There are loads of thing to do there. At this lake we go to, there are a lot of water sports and I
really like those. There’s jet skiing, sailing and kayaking for example, but you don’t just have
to do those things – there’s plenty to do even if you don’t like those kinds of activities. You
can go walking around the lake or further out into the areas around the lake because there are
many areas which are really beautiful. There are also some great places to eat good food.

One of the best things I've done is a Kayaking trip. It wasn’t actually on the lake, but in a
river close by. There are some white water rapids, so I went on those with a friend. We
started it with a group of others at a calm part of the river, with a guide as well to make sure
everyone was safe. Some parts then got quite rough with the water and strong currents. It was
scary but really exhilarating as well. I’ll definitely try and go again one day.

The reason why I like this place so much is that although there are lots of exciting activities
that you can do, it’s also surrounded by lots of breathtaking scenery, with stunning views of
the hills and rivers. So it’s still really tranquil and relaxing and a really good way to unwind if
you've had a difficult week at work and just want to get away.

So that’s the lake that I’ve visited and I’m sure I’ll continue to visit there in the future.

Try practicing this method of using a mind map to see if it helps you with your answer.

Here are some cue cards you can practice with.

 Lesson 6: IELTS Speaking Tone
When you do your speaking test, it is important that you get the speaking tone correct.

In this lesson we'll look at how linking phrases can affect the tone.

You are basically having a conversation with someone, so you want to sound natural. Some
candidates think they have to sound very formal and academic.

You obviously do need some good vocabulary to get a higher score on the test, such as that
from the academic word list (used correctly of course!), but language that you would hear
naturally if you had a conversation with your friends is also as important and will get noticed
by the examiner.

Take a look at this question and then the answer by a candidate:

When do you think it is acceptable to be late for appointments?

You should always try to be on time. However, there are some occasions when it is ok to be
late.

Firstly, in my country the traffic is terrible, so sometimes you cannot help but be late because
of that. Furthermore, if you are very ill, this may be another reason that makes you late. You
can’t really help that. Moreover, if an emergency arises because of, for example, a problem
with your child, you will need to take care of that first of course.

What do you think is the problem with the speaking tone? Click to see below.

Show/Hide Answer
The problem with this response is the words linking the ideas, or the transitions. It is not that
they are 'wrong' as such. In theory they can be used as the meaning is clear, but they are very
formal.

They are suitable for an academic essay, but you will not often hear someone use these words
when they are speaking with you.

So if you use these it will make what you say sound very forced and unnatural.

Here is the same answer but the speaking tone is more natural:

When do you think it is acceptable to be late for appointments?

You should always try to be on time, but having said that, there are some occasions when it is
ok to be late.A particular problem in my country is the terrible traffic jams, so sometimes you
cannot help but be late because of that. Also, if you are very ill for an unexpected reason, again
there is nothing you can do about that. Another good reason is if an emergency arises because
of, for example, a problem with your child, you will need to take care of that first of course.

As you can see, this sounds more natural and will sound more fluent. It will also seem less
'mechanical'.

So get into the habit of improving your speaking tone by forming linking phrases that are not
too mechanical or formal.

 Lesson 7: Hypothetical Situation
Sometimes in part 2 of the speaking test you are asked to describe things that involve a
hypothetical situation.

If something is hypothetical, then it is an unreal situation in the future. It is just an idea or

imagined.

The grammar for this is connected to conditional type II 'if clauses'. Take a look at this:

Question: If you won the lottery, what would you do?

Answer: I’d buy a large house in the countryside.
Of course the person has NOT won the lottery – so it is just an imagined or unreal situation.

In the ‘if’ part of the clause, you’ll notice that the past simple (won) is used, even though the
imagined future is being referred to. ‘Would’ is used in the second part.

For the IELTS task card, you'll just be seeing the 'would' part.

Take a look at this sample task 2 question:

Describe an interesting job you would like to have

You should say:

• What the job is

• Who normally does this job
• What skills are needed for the job
Explain why you would like this job.

So when you talk about a hypothetical situation, you need to make sure you use the correct
grammar.

Remember that ‘I would…’ is usually shortened to ‘I’d…” when we are speaking.

Take a look at this model answer. The uses of 'would' are in red.

Model Answer
I’m going to talk about a job I’d like to have.

Ok, if I could choose any job, it would be an air hostess. They are the people who take care of
customers who are travelling on planes - serving the food, making sure the travellers board
and depart the plane safely, and taking care of any other issues.

This type of job can be done by men or women, but there are usually certain requirements.
For instance, you have to be at least 19 years old in most cases when you first apply and
usually a certain height, not too small. Also, your weight needs to be in proportion to your
height. So in other words, not overweight unfortunately. They also really prefer people who
are younger. So not just anyone can do it. Those who do the job usually want to travel as

much as they can to see the world, or maybe to make money as in some developing countries
it is a lot better paid than many other jobs.

Regarding the skills, one of the most important things to be is outgoing. I think you need to
be very confident and happy to chat with anyone! You also need to be patient as I’m sure you
can sometimes get passengers who complain, but you still have to continue to be nice to
them. For qualifications, you have to have good GSCE marks. I think that is it.

The reason that I’d like a job like this is because I’d really like to see the rest of the world and
I’d like to meet lots of new people from different cultures and countries. It’s actually
something I’ve wanted to do for a very long time, since I was young, which is why I know so
much about the requirements. I’m quite a confident person and very outgoing, so I think I
have all the qualities that are needed for such a job.

If I was given the chance to do this job in the future, I’d be very happy. It’s my dream so
hopefully one day it will come true.

As you'll notice, only a few parts of this response are using 'would'. The amount you use it
will depend on what you are saying.

In much of the response the candidate is talking about facts regarding the job, which are
always true, so the present simple is being used. She's not referring to the future.

She only refers to a hypothetical situation a few times in her response.

Here are some examples for you to practice with:

Example Hypothetical Situation Speaking Card 1

Describe a beautiful place in your country that you would like to visit.

You should say:

• Where it is
• Who you would go with
• When you would go
Explain why you would like to visit this place.

Example Hypothetical Situation Speaking Card 2

Describe a house you would like to buy in the future.

You should say

• What kind of house it would be

• Where you would like it to be
• Who you would like to live there with
Explain why you would like to buy a house like this

 Lesson 8: Expressing Opinions for IELTS Speaking
Expressing opinions or giving your thoughts is an important part of the IELTS speaking test,
especially in part 3 when you have a 2-way discussion with the examiner.

You will also need to justify your opinion or explain why you have that opinion.

By justifying your opinion you will be extending your response and making sure you are
having a proper discussion with the examiner which you need to do in part 3.

In this lesson we'll look at some ways to express your opinions and justify them.

To do this we usually use adverbial phrases at the start of the sentence.

Here are some ways of expressing opinions or saying what you think about a topic:

______________________________________________

Expressing Opinions
Expression Meaning Example

Clearly Easy to understand or

Obviously Clearly, the economy is not going to improve this year.
see

Showing that it is your Personally, I don't think the legal drinking age should be
Personally
opinion reduced. Others may disagree.
Usually, or in most Generally, the trains are a lot more reliable than the buses
Generally
situations in my country.
Unexpectedly or in a Surprisingly, the government prohibited smoking in all
Surprisingly
way that is unusual public places last year. I never thought this would happen.
In a way that cannot be I didn't study much. Inevitably, I didn't get the score I
Inevitably
avoided needed.
Predictably, problems are now occurring in the city
Predictably As expected
because of overpopulation.
Frankly, I wish I'd waited before taking the IELTS test as
Frankly To be honest and direct
I'm not ready!

Sadly
Regrettably Unhappy, sad or sorry Regrettably, my family could never return to their country
Unfortunately about something because of the civil war.

And after expressing your opinions, here are some ways that you can justify them:

Justifying Opinions

 Across one sentence
+ Subject Verb:
...as the government has invested a lot of
money into the system.

...because the government has...

...since the government has...

...due to the fact that the government has...

+ Noun Phrase:
Generally, the trains are a lot more reliable than the
buses in my country... ...because of the government's investment of
money into the system.

...due to the government's investment of...

...as a result of the government's investment

of...

...as a consequence of the government's

investment of...

Across two sentences

+ Subject Verb:
The reason for this is that the government...

This is because the government has...

This is due to the fact that the government

has...

+ Noun Phrase:
Generally, the trains are a lot more reliable than the
buses in my country. This is due to the government's investment of...

This is because of the government's investment

of...

This is as a result of the government's

investment of...

This is as a consequence of the government's

investment of...

Expressing Opinions - Practice
Now it's your turn.

In questions 1-5, choose which adverbial phrase should go in the gap. Look carefully at the
rest of the sentence. Is it something surprising? Sad? Obvious? Predictable? Typical?

________________________________

1. ___ (Personally; Generally; Predictably), people get married quite late in my country.
2. ___ (Clearly; Sadly; Surprisingly, we must try and lift people out of poverty to improve
standards of living.
3.___ (Generally; Predictably; Personally), I don't think climate change is caused by
human actions.
4.___ (Inevitably; Frankly; Clearly), crime is increasing in my city because the government
did not increase the number of police like they said they would.
5. ___ (Generally; Predictably; Regrettably), many children are unable to get the education
that they need so they end up in low-paid work as adults.
________________________________

In the next 5 questions, choose the correct justifying phrase to go in the gap. Again, look at
the sentence.

You need to decide which one will fit grammatically. Is it followed by a noun or a subject and
a verb?

________________________________

6. Predictably, temperatures are continuing to rise ___ (due to; because; since) a lack of
action by governments.
7. Sadly, more refugees are fleeing the country ___ (as a result of; as; due to the fact) the
war is continuing.
8. Obviously, the failure rate in schools is high ___ (since; as a consequence of; due to the
fact that) the low numbers of teachers.
9. Generally, people are having children later in life. ___ (This is due to; This is as a result
of; The reason for this is that) many more women are now working.
10. Personally, I don't believe that unemployment will fall. ___ (This is because of; As a
result of; This is due to the fact that) the unwillingness of companies to hire new staff.
________________________________

Expressing Opinions - Correct answers:

1. Generally

2. Clearly

3. Personally

4. Inevitably

5. Regrettably

6. due to

7. as

8. as a consequence of

9. The reason for this is that

10. This is because of

 Lesson 9: Speaking Questions for IELTS

You can get various types of speaking questions for IELTS so it is important to understand
how to reply to them properly.

This lesson is particularly important if you are at a lower level of English, as those with
weaker speaking skills often show that they have misunderstood the question when they give
their answer.

Giving the wrong answer could also come from not concentrating properly.

This could be due to nerves, so you miss exactly what the examiner has asked. So you have
to listen carefully.

Take a look at this example question:

IELTS Examiner: How important do you think it is to learn English language?

Candidate: Oh, I really like learning English. I think it will really help with my career.
This candidate has shown that they did not listen properly, or simplymisunderstood the
question.

These are the kinds of answers that would be expected.

• It's very important because...

• It's extremely important...
• It's fairly important because..
• It's quite important because...
• I don't think it's very important because...
So in this case it is an adverb of degree that would be expected as they commonly
follow how questions that ask for an opinion about something.

That is not to say that there are not other possibilities, but this directly answers the question,
unlike the other reponse which was incorrect.

Now try this speaking questions for IELTS exercise to see if you know the meaning of other
common question phrases.

Link the question phrase to its correct meaning.

Types of Speaking Questions for IELTS Part 1 - Practice

1. How important...?

2. How often...?

 3. How do you...?

4. Would you rather...?

5. What kind of...?

6. When...?

7. Where...?

8. Why...?

9. Who...?

Choose one
Date or time; Frequency of something; Methods / procedures; Opinions about
something; Person or institution; Places; Preferences; Reason; Types

Speaking Questions for IELTS - Correct answers:

1. Opinions about something

2. Frequency of something

3. Methods / procedures

4. Preferences

5. Types

6. Date or time

7. Places

8. Reason

9. Person or institution

Of course you have to be careful how you answer each question.

There can be many different types of question using these phrases and many different
answers, but below are some examples on the topic of food based on part 1 of the test.

Note how the answers, though, to these speaking questions for IELTS directly relate to the
question.

Also, notice how the answers are extended by giving reasons, which is important for part 1.

Examples of Types of Speaking Questions for IELTS

Food
How important is having breakfast to you?

Not very important really. I often miss it as I never feel that hungry when I first wake up.
Lunch is often the first meal of the day for me.

Would you rather eat out or eat at home?

I prefer to eat in as I like home cooked food. You know for sure what is in the ingredients,
whereas at a restaurant you can never be sure of what is in the food and whether it is healthy
or not.

How often do you eat out?

About once or twice a week. Mostly I eat in because I get back from work late and don't have
time to get to a restaurant.

What kind of restaurants do you like to go to if you do eat out?

Usually it is small family run places. They have a better atmosphere than those big chains and
often the price if more reasonable too. You can also get to know the owner which is nice.

When did you last go to a restaurant?

Oh, it was probably about a week ago, last weekend. I went to a place called Chino's, down
the road from me. It does great Italian food.

Where is the best place to shop for groceries?

I think the supermarkets are good to get cheap things, such as the everyday items like tinned
food and toiletries, but local stores are better for meat and vegetables because they are always
fresh.

How do you get to the shops when you go for food?

I usually go by car, but occasionally by bike if the weather is ok and I don't need to buy too
much. The car can obviously be better if it's the weekly shopping and you need to purchase a
lot.

Why do you think there is a problem with obesity in many countries?

I think it is principally to do with diet and time. People don't have a lot of time so they eat fast
food. The lack of time also means that people don't do enough exercise.

Who should be dealing with obesity?

The government should do something, such as making producers label food packaging
clearly, but individuals also have to take responsibility for their own weight and life-style.

Follow up activity
Try writing your own part 1 speaking questions for IELTS and then practice them with a
partner.

 Lesson 10: Useful IELTS Interview Expressions

In this lesson we will look at some useful IELTS interview expressions.

You need to make sure that you have adequate vocabulary and phrases to explain your
position in the speaking test.

You may need to ask for clarification if you don't understand something, or for something to
be repeated if it was said too fast for you.

It is also good if you have a variety of phrases to give your opinion. It is common in part
three of the IELTS test, for example, to be given an opinion or view and to say what you
think about it.

So you will need to say if you agree or disagree, or partially agree. Or maybe you think
it depends on the circumstances.

Or you may need to give yourself some thinking time before you can answer a question.

Knowing and practicing some useful phrases will help you in this respect.

Below are a list of phrases to help improve your IELTS speakingand under the table is
some further explanation for some of the phrases.

Most of these phrases and the examples below are more relevant to part 3 of the speaking test
because this is where you are asked your opinion more than part 1, and you are more likely to
misunderstand a question or need further clarification because the questions are more
difficult.

USEFUL IELTS INTERVIEW EXPRESSIONS

What I'm trying to say is...

In other words...

Saying something in another way To put it another way...

What I mean is...

Perhaps I should make that clearer by saying...

Yes, I agree...

Agreeing with an opinion That's my view exactly.

I would tend to agree with that.

 I couldn't agree more.

No, I disagree.

I'm afraid I disagree.

I see things rather differently myself.

Disagreeing with an opinion
I wouldn't say that is necessarily true.

I tend to disagree.

I'm not so sure about that.

I don't entirely agree. It is true that......however...

Partially agreeing with an opinion That is partly true, but...

I agree with that to an extent. However...

What do you think?

What's your view / opinion?

Getting asked an opinion (by the
examiner) What are your views on...?

How do you feel about...?

That depends...
Saying your opinion could vary I think it really depends...
according to the situation
That depends on how you look at it.

Could you please explain what ...(word)... means?

Sorry, I don't understand the question. Could you explain?

Asking for clarification(part 3 only) Sorry, I'm afraid I didn't understand the question.

Sorry, can I just clarify what you mean. Are you asking me
...(say what you believe you have been asked)...

Sorry, would you mind repeating the question?

Asking for repetition Sorry, I didn't quite catch that. Could you repeat the
question?

 So all in all...

Summing up To sum up...

To conclude...

When do I use these phrases?

1) Saying something in another way

People use these phrases to further clarify what they have said. In other words, to make it
clear exactly what they mean.

So you are saying the same thing you have just said but in a different way. Maybe you felt
you did not explain something properly to the examiner and it is better to say it again but
differently or you just want to emphasize your point, as in this example:

Examiner: Some people think that children should not be allowed to watch anything they like
on television because some programmes can negatively affect their behaviour. What do you
think?

Candidate: I tend to disagree. I think children should be given the freedom to decide what is
right for them to watch and not be told by parents what they can and cannot see. In other
words, it's up to the child, not the parent.

2) Getting asked an opinion / agreeing with an opinion / disagreeing with an opinion

You may use these phrases if the examiner asks you for your opinion on a topic. For
example:

Examiner: Some people think that children should not be allowed to watch anything they like
on television because some programmes can negatively affect their behaviour. What do you
think?

Candidate: I wouldn't say that is necessarily true. Most children are mature enough to
understand that television is not real and so I don't believe that it causes them any harm. I
think children should be given the freedom to decide what is right for them to watch and not
be told by parents what they can and cannot see.

3) Partially agreeing with an opinion

You may not fully agree with the opinion and wish to explain this further.

Examiner: Some people think that children should not be allowed to watch anything they like
on television because some programmes can negatively affect their behaviour. What do you
think?

Candidate: I don't entirely agree. It is true that some programs cause harm to children. For
example, programs with very violent behaviour, so parents must ensure children don't watch
these kinds of programs too much. However, there has to be a balance. Children have to be
given some responsibility to make their own decisions to and it is simply not possible for the
parents to monitor their children's TV habits all the time.

4) Saying your opinion could vary according to the situation

It is very often the case that an opinion is never that simple or straightforward that you can
just 'agree' or 'disagree'.

It usually depends on the context, particular situation or person. It is common to say 'depends'
when this is the case.

Examiner: Some people think that children should not be allowed to watch anything they like
on television because some programmes can negatively affect their behaviour. What do you
think?

Candidate: I think it really depends on the way the child has been brought up. Some children
are brought up well by their parents and they know what is right and wrong and I don't think
watching some programmes that have violence or similar things will change that. Other
children aren't given the care or attention they need by their parents and they may have
personal problems. Watching violence on TV may make them even worse if they already have
a bad behaviour, so they probably do need to be monitored.

Answering part 3 questions using 'depends' is quite effective as it shows you can analyse a
situation well rather than simply agreeing or disagreeing, and it also gives you a chance to
say more than if you just agree or disagree.

Lesson 11: Personal Experiences in Part 3 of the IELTS
Speaking Test
This lesson is about using personal experiences in Part 3 of the IELTS Speaking Test

Students often make a mistake in part 3 of the IELTS test as they talk only about their
personal experiences.

This is usually the sign of a weaker candidate.

Parts 1 and 2 of the speaking test are very much about YOU.

In Part 1, they ask questions about anything from your studies to your favourite types of
clothes.

In Part 2, you have to talk for two minutes about such things as a place you've been to or
someone you know.

However, Part 3 is not so much about you. It is about topics more generally, and how they
affect everyone, rather than just you personally.

Here are some example questions from part 3 of the speaking test on a variety of topics:

Food:

• Describe the type of food that people eat in your country

• How are the eating habits now in your country different with those in the past?
• How healthy is your country's food?
Education:

• What do you think about the way languages are taught in schools in your country?
• How do you think a poor university education can affect career success?
• What changes do you think will happen in the classroom in the near future?
Leisure:

• Why are some activities more popular than others?

• How do the types of leisure activities popular now differ from those popular when your
parents were young?
• What types of leisure activities may become more popular in the future?

If you look carefully at the questions, you will see that they are not about YOU, they are
about people generally in your country or around the world.

A common mistake for some students is that they make the topic only, or mostly, about
themselves or people they know rather than talking more generally.

Here are examples of good and bad answers to two of the above questions. What is wrong
with the 'bad' answers?

Example 1

Describe the type of food that people eat in your country.

Bad answer:

I might try some other dishes occasionally, such as Korean food as I like that, but I always
tend to eat Japanese food. At home my mum will always make Japanese food too. My brother
will eat much more western food than I do, but he will go out to buy this rather than getting it
at home.

Good answer:

There are a lot of different types of food in Japan if you are in big cities like Tokyo, such fast
food outlets, Italian restaurants, Korean food, and of course a lot of Japanese restaurants.
But most local people tend to eat Japanese food, even in these big cities when there are other
choices, but especially in smaller towns and villages.

Example 2

What do you think about the way languages are taught in schools in your country?

Bad answer:

In my school we learned English and it was taught really badly. I think it's firstly because the
teachers themselves were not native English people, and their English was not perfect. So
they taught us to say some things incorrectly, and also they could not always say things
clearly so we could not learn good pronunciation off them.

Good answer:

In most schools in my country, English is the main language taught. I think it is actually
taught quite badly because many of the teachers are not native English teachers. A good
example is at my school. The teachers themselves were nearly all Korean, not native English
people, and their English was not perfect. So they taught us to say some things incorrectly,
and also they could not always say things clearly so we could not learn good pronunciation
off them.

As you will have noticed, in the bad answers, the candidate just speaks about their personal
experience and nothing general. In the good answer, the candidate talks about society in
general.

However, this does not mean that you cannot refer to your own experiences, but this should
be done to illustrate your general response in order to further explain what you mean.

You can see an example of this in the good response about education. Notice how the
candidate starts with a general answer but then explains it further with their own experience
(in red):

In most schools in my country, English is the main language taught. I think it is actually
taught quite badly because many of the teachers are not native English teachers. A good
example is at my school. The teachers themselves were nearly all Korean, not native English
people, and their English was not perfect. So they taught us to say some things incorrectly,
and also they could not always say things clearly so we could not learn good pronunciation
off them.

So it is ok to talk about your own experiences, but these should just support your general
ideas about society – the whole answer should not just be about your experience.

Here are some more examples of some good answers that are supported with personal
experience (in red):

How do you think a poor university education can affect career success?

II don't think that is does have to affect it because many people manage to become successful
without a higher education. It is more down to your confidence and motivation than anything
else. For example, I've got two brothers. The older one went to university, but the most
successful of the two is actually my younger brother who started working straight after
school. He is now the head of one of the biggest companies in Italy, and this was down to his
drive and enthusiasm for his work and his ability to get on with people well.

How healthy is your country's food?

It's not really that healthy I would say. A lot of Thai food is cooked in fat and oil, especially
the street food which is often cooked in fat that is reused many times. MSG is also added a
lot. Also, there are now a lot of fast food restaurants that people eat at because it is
convenient. My younger cousin already has diabetes and he is only 23 and I'm sure that is
due to diet. And my father has a bad heart which is from too much cholesterol which I think
has also been caused by the food.

So to sum up, in part 3 of the speaking, make sure that you are talking generally rather than
about personal experiences.

However, you can use personal experiences, but these should just be used to illustrate your
general points.


Writing Task 1

Intro Lesson: How to Write an Academic IELTS Task 1

This starter lessons tells you in simple steps how to structure and write a basic IELTS Graph.

Lesson 1: Describing a Graph Over Time

This important lesson shows you what you must do to properly describe a graph or chart that
has a period of time.

Lesson 2: Describing an IELTS Pie Chart

In this lesson you'll learn how to write about a pie chart, with tips on how to best organize
your answer and advice on the language to use.

Lesson 3: Describing an IELTS Process

In this lesson you'll learn how to describe an IELTS process diagram, with information about
organizing your answer and using the passive voice.

Lesson 4: Describing two graphs together

Sometimes you get two graphs to describe together. This lessons shows you how to organize
your answer if you do.

Lesson 5: Common Language of Change

This lesson explains some useful sentence structures using some common language of change
and you can practice the words with a gap fill.

Lesson 6: Gap Fill - Bar Chart

This lesson is a gap fill in order to help you practice the language of comparison, contrast and
percentages.

Lesson 7: Gap Fill - Line Graph

This IELTS practice is a gap fill that helps you practice the language of change, which is
commonly needed for IELTS task 1.

Lesson 8: Common Language to Compare and Contrast

Compare and contrast language is needed for most graphs and diagrams so it is important to
learn and practice it.

Lesson 9: Describing IELTS Graphs: A Common Mistake

This lesson takes you through a mistake that is common when describing graphs in Task 1.

Lesson 10: Describing IELTS Tables

This lesson provides you with IELTS practice for tables. It shows you that tables are not that
different from other types of graph.

Lesson 11: Different ways to organize a graph
Find out about how there is more than one was to organize a task 1 graph, and learn how to
write about a graph divided into 'age groups'.

Lesson 12: Gap Fill - Tables

Broaden your vocabulary knowledge and flexibility with this IELTS table gap fill exercise

Lesson 13: Using Prepositions

Learn how to use the right prepositions when you are using the language of change in a graph
over time.

Lesson 14: Describing graphs in the future

Sometimes you may be given a graph to describe that is predicting what will happen in the
future. View some strategies on how to approach a task 1 like this.

Lesson 15: Gap Fill - Pie Charts

Broaden your grammar and vocabulary with this IELTS pie chart gap fill exercise

 Lesson 1: Decribing a graph over time

How to Write an IELTS Writing Task 1

On the following pages there are lessons to teach you how to write an academic IELTS
writing task 1.

There are examples of all the different types of task which include line graphs, pie charts,
tables, processes, diagrams and maps.

Answers will always vary depending on the type of graph or diagram, and the type of
language will vary, but there is a certain structure that they all follow.

First, on this page, you’ll get an overview of how to answer a task 1.

Once you have studied the general structure, you can view other examples by looking at the
model graphs that are on this site.

Alternatively, follow on with these lessons to a variety of strategies and tips to achieve the
writing score you need.

How do I answer an IELTS writing task 1?

To analyse this, we’ll look at a line graph. Look at the following question and the graph.

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The line graph below shows changes in the amount and type of fast food consumed by
Australian teenagers from 1975 to 2000.

Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make
comparisons where relevant.

Write at least 150 words.

There are three basic things you need to structure an IELTS writing task 1.

1. Introduce the graph

2. Give an overview
3. Give the detail
We’ll look at each of these in turn.

1) Introduce the Graph

You need to begin with one or two sentences that state what the IELTS writing task 1 shows.
To do this, paraphrase the title of the graph, making sure you put in a time frame if there is
one.

Here is an example for the above line graph:

The line graph compares the fast food consumption of teenagers in Australia between 1975
and 2000, a period of 25 years.
You can see this says the same thing as the title, but in a different way.

2) Give an Overview
You also need to state what the main trend or trends in the graph are. Don’t give detail such
as data here – you are just looking for something that describes what is happening overall.

One thing that stands out in this graph is that one type of fast food fell over the period, whilst
the other two increased, so this would be a good overview.

Here is an example:

Overall, the consumption of fish and chips declined over the period, whereas the amount of
pizza and hamburgers that were eaten increased.

This covers the main changes that took place over the whole period.

You may sometimes see this overview as a conclusion. It does not matter if you put it in the
conclusion or the introduction when you do an IELTS writing task 1, but you should provide
an overview in one of these places.

3) Give the Detail

You can now give more specific detail in the body paragraphs.

When you give the detail in your body paragraphs in your IELTS writing task 1, you must
make reference to the data.

The key to organizing your body paragraphs for an IELTS writing task 1 is to group
data together where there are patterns.

To do this you need to identify any similarities and differences.

Look at the graph – what things are similar and what things are different?

As we have already identified in the overview, the consumption of fish and chips declined
over the period, whereas the amount of pizza and hamburgers that were eaten increased.

So it is clear that pizza and hamburgers were following a similar pattern, but fish and chips
were different. On this basis, you can use these as your ‘groups’, and focus one paragraph on
fish and chip and the other one on pizza and hamburgers.

Here is an example of the first paragraph:

In 1975, the most popular fast food with Australian teenagers was fish and chips, being
eaten 100 times a year. This was far higher than Pizza and hamburgers, which were
consumed approximately 5 times a year. However, apart from a brief rise again from 1980
to 1985, the consumption of fish and chips gradually declined over the 25 year timescale to
finish at just under 40.
As you can see, the focus is on fish and chips. This does not mean you should not mention
the other two foods, as you should still make comparisons of the data as the questions asks.

The second body then focuses on the other foods:

In sharp contrast to this, teenagers ate the other two fast foods at much higher levels. Pizza
consumption increased gradually until it overtook the consumption of fish and chips in
1990. It then levelled off from 1995 to 2000. The biggest rise was seen in hamburgers as
the occasions they were eaten increased sharply throughout the 1970’s and 1980’s,
exceeding that of fish and chips in 1985. It finished at the same level that fish and chips
began, with consumption at 100 times a year.

Full Model Answer:

The line graph compares the fast food consumption of teenagers in Australia between 1975
and 2000, a period of 25 years. Overall, the consumption of fish and chips declined over the
period, whereas the amount of pizza and hamburgers that were eaten increased.

In 1975, the most popular fast food with Australian teenagers was fish and chips, being eaten
100 times a year. This was far higher than Pizza and hamburgers, which were consumed
approximately 5 times a year. However, apart from a brief rise again from 1980 to 1985, the
consumption of fish and chips gradually declined over the 25 year timescale to finish at just
under 40.

In sharp contrast to this, teenagers ate the other two fast foods at much higher levels. Pizza
consumption increased gradually until it overtook the consumption of fish and chips in 1990.
It then levelled off from 1995 to 2000. The biggest rise was seen in hamburgers as the
occasions they were eaten increased sharply throughout the 1970’s and 1980’s, exceeding
that of fish and chips in 1985. It finished at the same level that fish and chips began, with
consumption at 100 times a year.

(194 words)

Lesson 2: Describing an IELTS Pie Chart

This lesson will provide you with tips and advice on how to write an IELTS pie chart for
task 1.

To begin, take a look at the pie chart below, and then answer the quiz questions.

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The pie charts show the main reasons for migration to and from the UK in 2007.

Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make
comparisons where relevant.

Write at least 150 words.

IELTS Pie Chart Quiz

1. What is the best way to organize your answer?
Write one paragraph about immigration and one about emigration

Write about the pie charts together, comparing each of the reasons

2. What tense should you use to write about the IELTS pie chart?
Past

Present

3. Can you talk about ‘increases’ and ‘decreases’ when describing the information?
Yes

No

Now take a look at a model answer:

The pie charts illustrate the primary reasons that people came to and left the UK in 2007. At
first glance it is clear that the main factor influencing this decision was employment.

Having a definite job accounted for 30 per cent of immigration to the UK, and this figure was
very similar for emigration, at 29%. A large number of people, 22%, also emigrated because
they were looking for a job, though the proportion of people entering the UK for this purpose
was noticeably lower at less than a fifth.

Another major factor influencing a move to the UK was for formal study, with over a quarter
of people immigrating for this reason. However, interestingly, only a small minority, 4%, left
for this.

The proportions of those moving to join a family member were quite similar for immigration
and emigration, at 15% and 13% respectively. Although a significant number of people
(32%) gave ‘other’ reasons or did not give a reason why they emigrated, this accounted for
only 17% with regards to immigration.

173 words

_________________________________________

As you can see, the pie chart description is easy to follow. Here are some key points in
organizing your answer.

Choose the most important points to write about first

These will be the largest ones. As you can see in the model answer, definite job, looking
for work, and formal study were all written about first, in order of importance, as these are
the main reasons that were chosen for moving.

Items such as ‘other’ are usually less important and account for small amounts, so can be left
till the end.

Make it easy to read

When you write a task 1, you should always group information in a logical way to make it
easy to follow and read.

With an IELTS pie chart, the most logical thing to do is usually to compare categories
together across the charts, focusing on similarities and differences, rather than writing about
each chart separately.

If you write about each one separately, the person reading it will have to keep looking
between the paragraphs in order to see how each category differs.

Vary your language

As with any task 1, this is important. You should not keep repeating the same
structures. The key language when you write about pie charts
is proportions and percentages.

Common phrases to see are "the proportion of…" or "the percentage of…"

However, you can also use other words and fractions. These are some examples from the
model answer:

A large number of people

over a quarter of people
a small minority
A significant number of people
less than a fifth
This table presents some examples of how you can change percentages to fractions or ratios:

Percentage Fraction
80% four-fifths
75% three-quarters
70% seven in ten
65% two-thirds
60% three-fifths
55% more than half
50% half
45% more than two fifths
40% two-fifths
35% more than a third
30% less than a third
25% a quarter

 20% a fifth
15% less than a fifth
10% one in ten
5% one in twenty
Practice these phrases in a quiz
If the percentages are not exact as above, then you can use qualifiers to make sure your
description remains accurate. Here are some examples:

Percentage Qualifier
77% just over three quarters
77% approximately three quarters
49% just under a half
49% nearly a half
32% almost a third

This table presents some examples of how you can change percentages to other phrases:

proportion / number / amount / majority /

Percentage
minority
75% - 85% a very large majority
65% - 75% a significant proportion
10% - 15% a minority
5% a very small number
Practice these phrases in a quiz
The words above are interchangeable, though number is for countable nouns and amount is
for uncountable nouns.

Follow this link to the writing pages to see another IELTS pie chart:

Sample IELTS Pie Chart

 Lesson 3: IELTS Process Diagram
It is less common in the writing test, but sometimes you will get an IELTS process
diagram to describe.

This should follow the same format as any task 1:

1. Introduce the diagram

2. Give an overview of the main point/s
3. Give the detail
Follow this link about how to write a task 1.

However, there are different types of task 1 (line graphs, pie charts, maps etc) and each
requires knowledge of a certain type of language.

This lesson will look at how to write an IELTS process diagram for task 1.

What is an IELTS Process Diagram?

To begin, look at this question:

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The diagram illustrates the process that is used to manufacture bricks for the building
industry.

Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make
comparisons where relevant.

Write at least 150 words.

A process will have a number of stages that are in time order. So you should start at the
beginning, and describe each stage through to the last one.

In the example above, this is fairly clear. It begins with the digging of the clay, and ends with
delivery.

Processes are not always this clear, and you may have to look more carefully to spot the
beginning, and there may also be two things happening at the same time.

So it is important that you look at other sample processes to get a good understanding of
how they can vary.

Introduce the Diagram

As with any task 1, you can begin by paraphrasing the rubric:

The diagram explains the way in which bricks are made for the building industry.

As you can see, this has been taken from the question, but it has not been copied. You need to
write it in your own words.

Highlight the Main Points
An IELTS process diagram is different to a line, bar, pie chart or table in that there are not
usually key changes or trends to identify. However, you should still give an overview of
what is taking place.

The ‘public band descriptors’ state that to achieve a band 6 or more for ‘task response’ the
student must provide an overview in a task 1.

As there are no trends to comment on, you can make a comment on, for example,
the number of stages in the process and how it begins and ends:

Overall, there are eight stages in the process, beginning with the digging up of clay and
culminating in delivery.

Give the Detail

Now you need to explain the IELTS process diagram, and there are two key aspects of
language associated with this:

1) Time Connectors
A process is a series of events, one taking place after the other. Therefore, to connect your
stages, you should use ‘time connectors’.

Here is the rest of the answer with the time connectors highlighted (notice that you simply go
from the beginning to the end of the process):

To begin, the clay used to make the bricks is dug up from the ground by a large digger. This
clay is then placed onto a metal grid, which is used to break up the clay into smaller pieces.
A roller assists in this process.

Following this, sand and water are added to the clay, and this mixture is turned into bricks
by either placing it into a mould or using a wire cutter. Next, these bricks are placed in an
oven to dry for 24 – 48 hours.

In the subsequent stage, the bricks go through a heating and cooling process. They are
heated in a kiln at a moderate and then a high temperature (ranging from 200c to
1300c), followed by a cooling process in a chamber for 2 – 3 days. Finally, the bricks are
packed and delivered to their destinations.

These connectors are the same you would use to write a graph over time when you explain a
series of changes.

These are some common IELTS process diagram connectors:

To begin
Following this
Next
Then
After
After that
Before**
Subsequently
Finally

** If you use before, this means that you will be mentioning a later stage before an earlier
stage, so you need to use it carefully. If you can use it properly though, it will get noticed.

Here is an example using stages four and five:

Before being dried in the oven, the mixture is turned into bricks by either placing it into a
mould or using a wire cutter.

2) The Passive

When we describe an IELTS process, the focus is on the activities, NOT the person doing
them.

When this is the case, we use the passive voice, not the active.

This is a brief explanation of how to use the passive voice, but if you are new or unsure about
using it, you should do some further study and practice.

Most sentences use this structure:

• Subject + Verb + Object

• A large digger digs up the clay in the ground.
In the active voice (as above), the digger is doing the verb i.e. the digger is doing the digging.

When we use the passive voice, we make the object (the clay) the subject, and make the
subject (the digger) the object. We also add in the verb ‘to be’ and the past participle (or Verb
3).

• (S) The clay in the ground (V) is dug up (O) by the digger.
So throughout most of your description for your IELTS process diagram, you should be using
the passive voice.

This is difficult as some verbs cannot take the passive. For example, 'to go' cannot be passive,
so it is kept in the active voice:

• ...the bricks go through a heating and cooling process.

This is why you need to make sure you practice the passive so you know exactly how to use
it.

Also, as you will see from the description, it is more usual to to comment on who or what is
doing the action so the 'by...." phrase is excluded.

Here is the same example description with uses of the passive highlighted:

To begin, the clay (which) is used to make the bricks is dug up from the ground by a large
digger. This clay is then placedonto a metal grid, onto a metal grid, which is used to break
up the clay into smaller pieces. A roller assists in this process.

Following this, sand and water are added to the clay, and this mixture is turned into bricks
by either placing it into a mould or using a wire cutter. Next, these bricks are placed in an
oven to dry for 24 – 48 hours.

In the subsequent stage, the bricks go through a heating and cooling process. They are
heated in a kiln at a moderate and then a high temperature (ranging from 200c to 1300c),
followed by a cooling process in a chamber for 2 – 3 days. Finally, the bricks are
packed and delivered to their destinations.

Varying your Language

Sometimes it may be appropriate just to use the same language that you are given in the
IELTS process diagram to describe it, but you should try to vary it.

You may be able to use nouns from the diagram as your verbs. For example, the
noun packaging in stage seven becomes:

Finally, the bricks are packed…

Follow this link from the model task 1 pages to see a full IELTS process diagram model
answer for this process.

 Lesson 4: IELTS Bar and Line Graph
This is an example of an IELTS bar and line graph together. It is not uncommon to get two
graphs to describe at the same time in the IELTS test.

It can look a bit scary at first. However, when you look more closely, you'll see it is probably
no more difficult than having one graph.

Take a look at the question and the graph:

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The line graph shows visits to and from the UK from 1979 to 1999, and the bar graph
shows the most popular countries visited by UK residents in 1999.

Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make
comparisons where relevant.

Write at least 150 words.

These are the steps you need to take to describe a bar and line graph together (or any two
graphs) that may differ slightly from when you describe one graph.

Introduction
When you state what the graph shows, mention both of them. Here is a sample first sentence
of the introduction:

The line graph illustrates the number of visitors in millions from the UK who went abroad
and those that came to the UK between 1979 and 1999, while the bar chart shows which
countries were the most popular for UK residents to visit in 1999.

Remember to write this in your own words and not to copy from the question.

Next you need to mention the key points from the graph. When you do this, mention the
most interesting things from each:

Overall, it can be seen that visits to and from the UK increased, and that France was the
most popular country to go to.

Body Paragraphs
If there are two graphs and a lot of information, you will have to be careful not to describe
everything as you may then have too much information.

Also, the examiner is looking to see that you can select the important things and not
describe every single detail.

So the key skill when you have two graphs is being able to pick out the important information
or summarize things in a concise way, otherwise you will end up writing too much and
probably run out of time.

Here is an example description for the bar and line graph:

To begin, the number of visits abroad by UK residents was higher than for those that came to
the UK, and this remained so throughout the period. The figures started at a similar amount,
around 10 million, but visits abroad increased significantly to over 50 million, whereas the
number of overseas residents rose steadily to reach just under 30 million.

By far the most popular countries to visit in 1999 were France at approximately 11 million
visitors, followed by Spain at 9 million. The USA, Greece, and Turkey were far less popular
at around 4, 3 and 2 million visitors respectively.

As you can see, the first paragraph discusses the line graph, and the second the bar chart.

You will not usually need to mix up the descriptions. This will only make things complicated
and difficult to follow. Writing about the first one and then the second one is ok.

As with any task 1, you will need to make sure you use the right language, make
comparisons, and group data appropriately.

Follow this link to to the models graphs pages to view the full graph with its model answer.

 Lesson 5: Describing Graph Trends
This exercise introduces some common vocabulary and grammar needed for describing graph
trends.
The language that can be used for describing graphs in IELTS is extensive.
This lesson introduces some of the most common language used.
It also shows you how it can be used grammatically in sentences.
Vocabulary for Describing Graph Trends
Word Part of Speech
verb: to increase, is increasing, has
increased, increased
increase
noun: an increase of$5,554m
an increase in spending of $5,554m
verb: to decrease, is decreasing, has
decreased, decreased
decrease
noun: a decrease of 0.7%
a decrease in spending of 0.7%
verb: to rise, is rising, has risen, rose
rise
noun: a rise of $5,554m
a rise in spending of $5,554m
verb: to fall, is falling, has fallen, fell
fall
noun: a fall of 0.7%
a fall in spending of 0.7%
verb: to drop, is dropping, has dropped,
dropped
drop
noun: a drop of 0.7%
a drop in spending of 0.7%
After an introductory clause that includes
-ing some analysis; e.g. 'Spending rose in all
forms three years', an '_ing' form can be used to
describe numbers and dates.
Example Sentence
Total expenditure increased from $33,611m
to $39,165m from 1995 to 1996.
From 1995 to 1996 there was an increase
inexpenditure of $5,554m.
Expenditure on primary
education decreasedfrom 22.2% to 21.5%
from 1995 to 1996.
From 1995 to 1996 there was a decrease
inexpenditure of 0.7%.
Total expenditure rosefrom $33,611m to
$39,165m from 1995 to 1996.
From 1995 to 1996 there was a rise
in expenditure of $5,554m.
Expenditure on primary education fell from
22.2% to 21.5% from 1995 to 1996.
From 1995 to 1996 there was a fall
in expenditure of 0.7%.
Expenditure on primary
education dropped from 22.2% to 21.5%
from 1995 to 1996.
From 1995 to 1996 there was a drop
in expenditure of 0.7%.
Spending rose in all three
years, increasing from 17.6% to 18% from
1995 to 1996, and then risingagain to 18.2%
in 1997-8.
Practice
Have a look at the table below.

Then, to help you with describing graph trends, decide which word should go in the gap in
the example answer.

Expenditure on Education in Hong Kong 1995 to 1998

Breakdown of spending 1995-6 1996-7 1997-8

Total expenditure ($ million) 33,611 39,165 45,315
As % of government budget 17.6% 18% 18.2%

% spent on

• primary education 22.2% 21.5% 21.6%

• secondary education 33.7% 33.2% 33.5%
• tertiary education 35.9% 36.7% 35.9%

Describing Graph Trends - Gap Fill

Public expenditure on education in Hong Kong (1) _____________continuously from 1995

to 1998. In academic year 1995-6 it (2)_________________ HK$33,611
million, (3)______________ to $39,165 million in 1996-7 and $45,315 million in 1997-8. As
a percentage of the government’s budget spending on education also (4)______ each year,
from 17.6% to 18% and then to 18.2%.

However, the percentage of expenditure spent on primary, secondary and tertiary education
did not show the same consistent (5)_______. In 1995-6 expenditure on primary education
was 22.2% of the education budget, 33.7% (6)_________ on secondary, and 35.9% on
tertiary.

In 1996, (7) ____________ of 0.8% in spending on tertiary education was financed by

a (8)_________ in spending of 0.7% in primary and 0.5% in secondary schooling.

In 1997-8 tertiary spending as a percent of the education budget (9)_________ to its 1995-6
level. The percentage spent on primary education (10)__________ to 21.6% and that on
secondary to 33.5%, both figures being less than 1995-6 levels.

Choose the correct word to fit in the gap

1. increases

increased

 increasing

2. was

rose to

reached

3. increased

dropping

rising

4. an increase

increased

increasing

5. rise

rose

rising

6. spent

spending

was spent

7. an increase

increase

was increased

8. increase

drop

dropped

 9. dropped

increased

returned

10. rised

rose

increase

This lesson will hopefully have helped you with the basics of describing graph trends and
some of the different structures you can use.

Remember though this example has only used a few of the words possible for describing
change.

It's important to vary your language so look around the IELTS buddy site, for example on
the model graphs, to see what other language you can use.

 Lesson 6: Bar Chart Exercise

This bar chart exercise is a gap fill to give you pratice with the language of comparison,
contrast and percentages.

Look at the graph and then read the model answer.

Choose the right word to go in the gap.

Bar Chart Exercise - Gap Fill

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The chart shows the percentage of drugs taken by girls and boys in a school in New
Zealand.

Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make
comparisons where relevant.

Write at least 150 words.

Place the right word into the space. Make sure you write (or copy and paste) the
word exactly as it appears in the box, otherwise it will get marked as wrong.

Don't look below the exercise otherwise you will see an answer key.

at approximately 8% / the least /

school children / are similar / gender /

in percentages / more than / equal /

at the same level / percentages for /

at only 5% / around 33% / is exactly /

4% for / bar chart illustrates

The 1. information on the quantity of drugs 2. in New Zealand take, divided by 3. and
measured 4. . Overall, it is immediately apparent that hashish or marijuana is used 5. any of
the other drugs, whereas LSD and medical drugs are used 6. . At first glance we can see that
boys take more drugs than girls for 6 out of 7 of the drugs listed, however an 7. number of
boys and girls take cocaine.

To begin with, boys use more hashish or marijuana than girls at 8. and 29% respectively.
Following this, boys take heroin, opium or morphine 9. but girls 10.

On the other hand, the 11. amphetamines and solvents 12. for both boys and girls at 2% and
3% for girls and 13. both drugs for boys. Next, the pattern for LSD and medical
drugs 14. the same for both genders at 1% for girls and 3% for boys. Finally, boys and girls
take cocaine 15. 4%.

Bar Chart Exercise - Answer

The 1. bar chart illustrates information on the quantity of drugs 2. school children in New
Zealand take, divided by 3. gender and measured 4. in percentages. Overall, it is
immediately apparent that hashish or marijuana is used 5. more than any of the other drugs,
whereas LSD is used 6. the least. At first glance we can see that boys take more drugs than
girls for 6 out of 7 of the drugs listed, however an 7. equal number of boys and girls take
cocaine.

To begin with, boys use more hashish or marijuana than girls at 8. around 33% and 29%
respectively. Following this, boys take heroin, opium or morphine 9. at approximately 8%,
but girls 10. at only 5%.

On the other hand, the 11. percentages for amphetamines and solvents 12. are similar for
both boys and girls at 2% and 3% for girls and 13. 4% for both drugs for boys. Next, the

pattern for LSD and medical drugs 14. is exactly the same for both genders at 1% for girls
and 3% for boys. Finally, boys and girls take cocaine 15. at the same level, 4%.

 Lesson 7: Line Graph Worksheet - Gap Fill
This line graph worksheet helps you with the language of change that is very commonly
needed to write about graphs, bar charts and tables in IELTS task 1.

Firstly, take a look at the graph and check you understand it.

• What does it show?

• What are the main trends?
• What are some important details?
Then look at the line graph answer and carefully work out which word from the drop down
menu fits in the gap.

Line Graph Worksheet - Gap Fill

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The line graph illustrates the amount of spreads consumed from 1981 to 2007, in grams.

Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make
comparisons where relevant.

Write at least 150 words.

Gap Fill - Choose the correct word

The graph shows the quantity of margarine, low fat spreads and butter consumed between
1981 and 2007. The quantities are measured in grams. Over the period 1981 to 2007 as a
whole, there was 1.___ in the consumption of butter and margarine and a 2.___ in the
consumption of low fat-fat spreads.

Butter was the most popular fat at the beginning of the period, and consumption 3.___ of
about 160 grams in 1986. After this, there was 4.___ .

The consumption of margarine began lower than that for butter at 90 grams. Following this,
in 1991, it 5.____ that of butter for the first time, but after 1996 there was 6.___ in the
amount consumed, which seemed set to continue.

Low–fat spreads were introduced in 1996, and they saw 7.___ in their consumption from that
time, so that by about 2001 they were 8.___ than either butter or margarine.

Choose the correct word for each blank space:

Reach a peak; a steady downward trend; a marked increase; more popular; a sharp decline; a
significant decrease; a significant rise; exceeded

IELTS Line Graph Worksheet - Full Answer

The graph shows the quantity of margarine, low fat spreads and butter consumed between
1981 and 2007. The quantities are measured in grams. Over the period 1981 to 2007 as a
whole, there was 1. a significant decrease in the consumption of butter and margarine and
a 2. a marked increase in the consumption of low fat-fat spreads.

Butter was the most popular fat at the beginning of the period, and consumption 3. reached a
peak of about 160 grams in 1986. After this, there was 4. a sharp decline.

The consumption of margarine began lower than that for butter at 90 grams. Following this,
in 1991, it 5. exceeded that of butter for the first time, but after 1996 there was 6. a steady
downward trend in the amount consumed, which seemed set to continue.

Low–fat spreads were introduced in 1996, and they saw 7. a significant rise in their
consumption from that time, so that by about 2001 they were 8. more popular than either
butter or margarine.

 Lesson 8: Compare and Contrast Language for Graphs
The purpose of this lesson is to introduce you to compare and contrast language which is
needed to write about graphs.

To begin, take a look at the graph below.

1. Which country has the highest level of pollution?

2. Which country has the lowest?

The country with the higest level of pollution is USA and the country with the lowest is New
Zealand.

Comparative and Superlative Adjectives

Being able to compare and contrast data is an essential skill for IELTS writing, especially in
Task 1. Comparatives and superlatives are one common way to do this.

Comparatives are used to compare two things:

Leopards are faster than tigers.

Superlatives are used to compare one thing against a group of others:

The leopard is the largest of the four big cats.

Here are the basics of how they are formed:

Example
Comparative Superlative
Word
Words with one syllable high higher the highest

 more productive the most productive
Words with three syllables or more productive
less productive the least productive

Words ending in –y wealthy wealthier the wealthiest

Short words ending with a
hot hotter the hottest
consonant/vowel/consonant
Irregular good better the best

Other Important Language

Comparatives and superlatives are useful to compare and contrast, but they won't be enough.

Here are some other useful words and structures:

Transitions

1. The Middle East produces high levels of oil; however, Japan produces none.
2. The USA produces large amounts of natural gas. In contrast, South Korea produces
none.
3. European countries make great use of solar power. On the other hand, most Asian
countries us this method of power generation very little.
Subordinating Conjunctions

1. The Middle East produces high levels of oil, whereas / whileJapan produces none.
2. Whereas / While the Middle East produces high levels of oil, Japan produces none.
3. Although the Middle East produced 100 tons oil, Japan produced none.
Other Structures

1. Developing countries are more reliant on alternative energy production than developed
countries.
2. Solar power accounts for far less of the total energy production than gas or coal does.
3. Hydropower is not as efficient as wind power.
4. Like Japan, South Korea does not produce any natural gas.
5. The Middle East produces twice as much oil as Europe.
6. Western countries consume three times more oil than the Middle East.
7. Russia consumes slightly more oil than Germany.
8. The UAE produced the same amount of oil as Saudi Arabia.

Using Approximate Data

When you compare and contrast, you also need to learn phrases so you can refer to data that
is not exact.

For example:

7.1
“just over 7 million tonnes”
“approximately 7 million tonnes”

65.6
“nearly 70 million tonnes”
“almost 70 million tonnes”

Compare and Contrast Language Practice

Look at the table below. What is being compared?

Natural Gas Consumption and Production, 2001

Consumption* Production*
Country

The USA 588.9 500.0

The United Kingdom 86.1 97.3

The Former Soviet Union 7.1 0.4

The UAE 30.0 35.9

Australia 19.1 28.0

Japan 68.6 0

New Zealand 4.9 5.1

South Korea 18.9 0

China 24.3 25.0

*in millions of tonnes

Look at the compare and contrast language in the drop down box and choose the correct
word to complete the sentences.

1. New Zealand consumed the___ gas at approximately 5 million tonnes.
2. The former Soviet Union produced the ___ than amount at 0.4 million tonnes.

3. The USA was the ___ consumer and producer of gas at 600 million tonnes and 500
respectively.

4. The USA consumed and produced ___ natural gas than any other country.

5. South Korea consumed 18.9 millions tonnes of gas; ____, it produced none.

6. China’s consumption and production of oil were ___ at 24.3 and 25.0 respectively.

7. The USA, the Former Soviet Union, Japan and South Korea all consumed more gas ___
they produced.

8. Australia consumed four ___ gas than New Zealand.

9. ___ Zealand produced 5.1 million tonnes of gas, South Korea produced none.

10. New Zealand consumed ___ 5 million tonnes of gas.

Choose correct word for each blank space:

times more; nearly the same; lowest; however; biggest; While; least; far more; just
under; than

Answer:

1. least

2. lowest

3. biggest

4. far more

5. however

6. nearly the same

7. than

8. times more

9. While

10. just under

 Lesson 9: IELTS Graphs - A Common Mistake

Look carefully at the IELTS graphs below and their titles. Underneath each is a brief
descriptive sentence about the graphs.

What is wrong with them?

From 1975 to 2000, hamburgers increased dramatically from 10 to 100 times per year. At
the same time, fish and chips fell significantly to just under 40.

 While buses fell from just over 25% to around 16% in 2000, cars increased dramatically to
over 35%. Meanwhile, bikes fell over this time frame.

Did you find what the errors were?

Can hamburgers increase and fish and chips fall? Can a car increase, or a bus and a bike fall?

No, but the consumption of hamburgers or fish and chips can fall or rise, and the use of a
car, bike or bus can increase or decrease.

There are a number of ways that the sentences in the IELTS graphs could have been written
correctly, but here are some possibilities:

From 1975 to 2000, the consumption of hamburgers increased dramatically from 10 to 100
times per year. At the same time, the number of times that fish and chips were eaten fell
significantly to just under 40.

While bus usage fell from just over 25% to around 16% in 2000, cars as a mode of
travel increased dramatically to over 35%. Meanwhile, the use of bikes fell over this time
frame.

Check Your Subject

When you are analysing your task 1 before you write about it, look very carefully to identify
what the subject is i.e. what is it exactly that is being measured?

A common mistake when writing about IELTS graphs in task 1 of the test is to get the subject
wrong.

• The first graph is about the consumption of fast foods.

• The second graph is about the use of four types of transport.
Getting this wrong will significantly detract from your response to the task.

Practice
Below are some examples of sentences taken from IELTS graphs where the subject is wrong.
At the end of the sentence in brackets is a word which is missing.

Have a go at writing the corrected sentence in the box using the word (you may have to add
in some more information such as 'the number of' or change the form of the missing word).

There are different ways that it can be corrected, but view some possible answers by clicking
on the link below each question.

1. Cinema's increased from 2000 to 2005. (attendance)

Show / hide answers

Cinema attendance increased from 2000 to 2005.

The number of people attending / who attended the cinema increased from 2000 to 2005.
_____________________________________________

2. Saudi Arabia fell significantly to 270 million barrels a year. (oil production).

Show / hide answers

Oil production in Saudi Arabia fell significantly to 270 million barrels a year.
The amount of oil produced in Saudi Arabia fell significantly to 270 million barrels a year.
Saudi Arabia's oil production fell significantly to 270 million barrels a year.
_____________________________________________

3. 2000 to 2010 saw DVDs drop from 70% to 60%. (purchased).

Show / hide answers

2000 to 2010 saw the number of DVDs puchased drop from 70% to 60%.
2000 to 2010 saw the purchase of DVDs drop from 70% to 60%.
_____________________________________________

There are only a few examples here, but the key point is to make sure you look at what you
are being asked to describe in the graph very carefully.

 Lesson 10: IELTS Table
Describing an IELTS table is similar to describing charts or graphs. The same structures
of comparison and contrast are used or language of change if the table is over time.

A table is just another way to present information.

It does not require that you learn a new type of language or a new way to organize things.

For example, take a look at this table showing the quality of life in four countries presented in
a table:

Country GNP per head Daily calorie Life expectancy Infant

(1982: US supply per at birth (years) mortality (per
dollars) head 1000 live births

Bangladesh 140 1877 40 132

Bolivia 570 2086 50 124
Egypt 690 2950 56 97
Indonesia 580 2296 49 87
USA 13160 3653 74 12

If we wanted, we could present this same information as a bar chart:

However, as you'll notice, it is better presented as a table because of the huge difference
between the USA and the others - this is not very clear on a bar chart.

So a table looks better, but they would both be described in exactly the same way.

Analysing the IELTS Table

As with all graphs and charts, when describing tables:

• Do not describe all the data presented - present the main points of each feature (you
should make sure you mention each feature though)

• Look for significant data; e.g. the highest, the lowest etc

• Try and group the data. This may require you to use some general knowledge about the
world, such as recognising developed and developing countries

Practice
Look at the IELTS table that you looked at above and answer the questions that follow:

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The following table gives statistics showing the aspects of quality of life in five countries.

Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make
comparisons where relevant.

Write at least 150 words.

Table: The Quality of Life in Four Countries

Country GNP per head Daily calorie Life expectancy Infant

(1982: US supply per at birth (years) mortality (per
dollars) head 1000 live births

Bangladesh 140 1877 40 132

Bolivia 570 2086 50 124
Egypt 690 2950 56 97
Indonesia 580 2296 49 87
USA 13160 3653 74 12

• What is the table measuring?
• What type of language do you need to use (Change? Comparing and contrasing?)
• What tense would you use?
• Which country has the best quality of life and which has the worst?
• What information could you use for an overview / conclusion?
• How could you group the information?
• How many paragraphs would you have and what you would write about in each one?

Making a Plan
You should always ask yourself these kind of questions before you write your task one. You
can then use the answer to these questions to make yourself a quick plan.

Here are some notes made by a student during the planning stage:

PLAN
Topic – standard of living, 5 countries

Language – comparison

Time / tense – 1982 = past

Overview – USA far higher

Groups –

USA = highest
Egypt, Indo, Bol = similar
Bangladesh = very low

Now, take a look at this IELTS table model answer and notice how the organization matches
the plan. The groups chosen that are similar are grouped together into paragraphs.

The language is focused on the language of comparison and contrast as the table is not over
time. The compare and contrast structures have been highlighted so you can see how they are
used.

Is it similar to the way you would have organized the information?

Model Answer

Country GNP per head Daily calorie Life expectancy Infant
(1982: US supply per at birth (years) mortality (per
dollars) head 1000 live births

Bangladesh 140 1877 40 132

Bolivia 570 2086 50 124
Egypt 690 2950 56 97
Indonesia 580 2296 49 87
USA 13160 3653 74 12

The table uses four economic indicators to show the standard of living in five selected
countries in 1982. Overall, it can be seen that the quality of life in the USA was far higher
than the other four countries.

To begin, the USA, which is a developed country, had the highestGNP at 13,160 dollars per
head. It also had a much higher daily calorie intake and life expectancy, and the lowest rate
of infant mortality.

The other developing countries had quality of life ratings that were significantly lower. The
range of indicators for Egypt, Indonesia and Bolivia were similar, with Egypt having the
highest quality of life amongst the three. However, the infant mortality rate in Egypt’s
was slightly higher than Indonesia’s at 97 deaths per 1000 compared to78 in Indonesia.

Bangladesh had by far the lowest quality of life in all the indicators. Its GNP was one
hundred times smaller than the USA’s. Its calorie intake and life expectancy were about
half those of the USA, and its infant mortality rate was 10 times greater.

Words 178

 Lesson 11: IELTS Task 1 Line Graph

In this lesson we'll look at an IELTS task 1 line graph in order to help you understand how to
deal with 'age groups' and to show you how it is possible to organize an answer in
different ways.

There is usually more than one way to write about a graph. Each person may view it in a
different way and decide on a different way to present the information.

One way is not necessarily better than another. However, if one way is difficult to follow,
then this is obviously not the best choice.

What is important when you plan a task one is to think about how you can organize your
graph in the most logical and clear way.

This often means grouping the information in some way, and you can do this by looking for
patterns - look for similarities and diffferences.

This sample IELTS task 1 line graph is divided up into age groups.

Although a graph like this is not over time as such, it can still be viewed in this way as it is
showing how something changes over different ages - in this case, how certain factors in a
neighbourhood when choosing a new home vary over age.

Take a look at the following question, the graph below, and the model answers.

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The line graph shows the percentage of people of different age groups and how they rate
a set of factors in terms of importance when buying a new home.

Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make
comparisons where relevant.

Write at least 150 words.

Model Answer 1 - Organizing by Factors
The line graph illustrates the importance, measured in percentages, that four ages groups
place on five different factors when they move to a new home. It is immediately apparent that
a low crime rate is the most important variable across all the age groups.

Of all the factors, the desire for a low crime rate is by far the most important. Amongst the all
the age groups this figure stands at around 80%, with the middle aged and elderly viewing it
as slightly more important. Next, schools are seen as very important by a significant
proportion of 25 to 44 year olds although the percentages drop markedly as people get older,
with just under 25% of 55 to 64 year olds viewing this as important.

Shopping facilities, being chosen by around 13%, are not viewed with such importance as
schools and crime by the younger age groups. However, as people get older, this increases in
importance to approximately 30%, and, as would be expected, is actually more important
than schools to those over 55. Finally, although increasing in importance with age, neither
parks nor public transport are viewed to be as important as the other factors by any of the
groups.

Comments
As you can see in this answer to the IELTS task 1 line graph, the candidate has organized the
answer mainly around the 'factors'.

Each one is described in turn, starting with the most important, low crime. Less is said about
those that are not viewed as so important (parks and public transport).

Notice that the graph does not talk about each factor in isolation, but makes
comparisons across the factors and groups. For example:

Of all the factors, the desire for a low crime rate is by far the most important.

Shopping facilities are not viewed with such importance as schools and crime by the
younger age groups.

With an IELTS task 1 line graph you should always avoid simply discussing each point on a
graph with no reference of how it relates to the other points.

Model Answer 2 - Organizing by Age Groups

The line graph illustrates the importance, measured in percentages, that four ages groups
place on five different factors when they move to a new home. It is immediately apparent that
a low crime rate is the most important variable across all the age groups.

The factors that are very important when purchasing a new house are very similar for the first
two age groups. A low crime rate represents the greatest percentage of these groups at around
80%, though it is slightly higher for those aged 35 to 44. Schools as a factor is again very
similar at around 60% for the younger age group, but dropping to around 45-50% for 35 to 44
year olds. A much lower percentage rate shopping, parks and public transport as important.

Turning to those aged over 45, low crime accounts for the largest proportion at approximately
80%, similar to those of a younger age. In contrast to the younger groups though, schooling
was far less important, falling to below 25% for those aged over 55. This older group rate
them as less important than shopping facilities. In fact, shopping facilities, parks and public
transport all become more important factors as people get older.

Comments
This IELTS task 1 line graph has been organized primarily around the age groups.

The candidate has decided that the first two age groups are fairly similar and so can be
grouped together, and the second two age group have similarities.

The differences between the under 44s and over 44s have also been highlighted. For
example:

Turning to those aged over 45, low crime accounts for the largest proportion at
approximately 80%, similar to those of a younger age.

Summary
This lesson has been about how to write about age groups and examples of how answers may
be organized differently.

Although this was about an IELTS task 1 line graph, it applies to any graphs or charts in task
1, such as bar graphs or pie charts.

You need to make sure that you spend a few minutes analyzing the graph and deciding on the
best way to organize it so it will be easy to follow when the examiner reads it.

 Lesson 12: IELTS Table Gap Fill Exercise

The aim of this lesson is to use an IELTS table gap fill exercise to improve your vocabulary
knowledge and flexibility when you are describing a table.

However, although the information is presented here as a table, this is the same language
were it to be presented as another type of graph such as a bar chart or pie chart.

So it provides you with practice generally for writing about graphs that are not over time.

Read the question and look at the table. Then decide which word should be placed in the gap.

IELTS Table Gap Fill Exercise

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The table illustrates the proportion of monthly household income five European
countries spend on food and drink, housing, clothing and entertainment.

Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make
comparisons where relevant.

Write at least 150 words.

Proportion of household income five European countries spend on food and drink,
housing, clothing and entertainment.

Food and drink Housing Clothing Entertainment

France 25% 31% 7% 13%

Germany 22% 33% 15% 19%

UK 27% 37% 11% 11%

Turkey 36% 20% 12% 10%

Spain 31% 18% 8% 15%

Word choices:
it is evident that However shows a quarter on the largest
the remaining ranging between respectively while much less on

 The table 1.___ the amount of household income that five countries in Europe spend per
month on four items. Overall, 2. ___ all five countries spend the majority of their income on
food and drink and housing, but 3. ___ clothing and entertainment.

Housing is 4. ___ expenditure item for France, Germany and the UK, with all of them
spending around one 5. third of their income on this, at 30%, 33% and 37%, ___. In contrast,
they spend around 6.___ food and drink. 7. ___ , this pattern is reversed for Turkey and
Spain, who spend around a fifth of their income on housing, but approximately one third on
food and drink.

All five countries spend much less on 8. ___ two items. Regarding clothes, France and Spain
spend the least, at less than 10%, 9. ___ the other three countries spend around the same
amount, 10. ___ 12% and 15%. At 19%, Germany spends the most on entertainment, whereas
UK and Turkey spend approximately half this amount, with France and Spain between the
two.

Choose correct word for each blank space:

it is evident that; However; shows; a quarter on; the largest; the remaining; ranging between;
respectively; while; much less on

Show / Hide a model answer:

Proportion of household income five European countries spend on food and drink,
housing, clothing and entertainment.

Food and drink Housing Clothing Entertainment

France 25% 31% 7% 13%

Germany 22% 33% 15% 19%

UK 27% 37% 11% 11%

Turkey 36% 20% 12% 10%

Spain 31% 18% 8% 15%

The table 1. shows the amount of household income that five countries in Europe spend per
month on four items. Overall, 2. it is evident that all five countries spend the majority of
their income on food and drink and housing, but 3. much less on clothing and entertainment.

Housing is 4. the largest expenditure item for France, Germany and the UK, with all of them
spending around one third of their income on this, at 30%, 33% and 37%, 5. respectively. In

contrast, they spend around 6. a quarter on food and drink. 7. However, this pattern is
reversed for Turkey and Spain, who spend around a fifth of their income on housing, but
approximately one third on food and drink.

All five countries spend much less on 8. the remaining two items. Regarding clothing,
France and Spain spend the least, at less than 10%, 9. while the other three countries spend
around the same amount, 10. ranging between 12% and 15%. At 19%, Germany spends the
most on entertainment, whereas UK and Turkey spend approximately half this amount, with
France and Spain between the two.

 Lesson 13: Prepositions for graphs
It is very important that you know how to correctly use prepositions in the IELTS writing
task 1.

Certain prepostions go with certain words when you use the language of change.

If you put them in the wrong place or use the wrong preposition you may confuse what you
are trying to say.

First, take a look at this graph model answer and notice how some of the prepositions are
used. They have been highlighted.

Sample Task 1 Answer

The line graph compares the number of car thefts for every thousand vehicles in four
countries from 1990 to 1999. Overall, it can be seen that car thefts were far higher in Great
Britain than in the other three counties throughout the whole time frame.

To begin, car thefts in Sweden, France and Canada followed a fairly similar pattern over the
first five years, all remaining at between 5 and 10 per thousand. The general trend though for
France and Canada was a decline in the number of vehicles stolen over the period, with
both at around 6 in 1999. In contrast, Sweden experienced an upward trend, starting the
period at approximately 8, and finishing at just under 15.

 Interestingly, car thefts in Great Britain started at 18 per thousand, which far exceeded that of
the other countries. It then fluctuated over the next nine years, reaching a peak of 20 thefts
per 1000 in 1996, and ending the period slightly lower than where it began, atapproximately
17 per thousand.

Practice
Now, take a look at the sentences below. Decide which prepostion from the box should go in
the gap and write it in.

Write in small letters and do not leave any gaps or your answer may get marked as wrong.

with at in by at
to between from to of

1. In may, the price of gold rose slightly___$1,500.

2. Holidays to foreign destinations remained constant ___ about 85,000 per month for the last
two months of the year.

3. Profits increased ___ 4 million dollars to 6 million dollars last year.

4. From 2001 to 2010, the price of electricity has increased ___ 125%.

5. Bike sales reached a peak ___ 20,000 in September.

6. There is a sharp increase in traffic levels from 8am to 9am, ___ nearly 3000 cars traveling
on the road.

7. The last decade has seen a steep increase ___ the number of people diagnosed with
diabetes.

8. At the start of the year, the turnover of the company stood ___ £1.3 million.

9. During the summer, student numbers at the school fluctuate ___ 150 and 170 per week.

10. Following this, the number then fell ___ a low of 20 per month.

Correct answers:
1. to 2. At 3. From 4. By 5. Of 6. With 7. In 8. At 9. Between 10. To

 Lesson 14: A graph in the future

Sometimes you may have to write about a graph in the future.

When you are presented with a line graph to analyze (or a bar graph if it is over time) you
should always look carefully to check what time frame is being referred to.

If you get the time frame wrong, this could have a very negative impact on your score as a lot
of the information will then be presented incorrectly.

Take a look at the line graph below.

1. What is the timeframe?

2. What tenses will you use?

As you will see, it runs from 2012 until 2022.

In some graphs you may be given a time frame that includes the past and the future (or
possibly only the future). In this case you need to be very careful that you are using the past
tense when appropriate and the future tense when appropriate.

These are some common phrases you can use to discuss the future in a graph:

• will + infinitive
• is/are expected to + infinitive
• is/are predicted to + infinitive
Now take a look at the line graph and the model answer.

In order to see clearly how the past and future time frames have been used, the past is in red,
and the future is in green.

Graph in the Future - Model answer
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The line graph shows the past and projected finances for a local authority in New
Zealand.

Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make
comparisons where relevant.

Write at least 150 words.

The line graph illustrates the financial position of a New Zealand local authority from 2012 to
2022. It is measured in millions of New Zealand dollars. Overall, it can be seen that while
rates revenue and user charges are predicted to increase over the period, borrowings
and grants and subsidies will remain much lower.

Rates revenues and user charges will follow a very similar pattern over the time
frame. Rates revenue stood at just under 1.5 billion in 2012, which was the highest of
the four criteria. Though they remained stable until 2013, they are expected to climb to
approximately 2.4 billion dollars in 2022. Like rates revenues, use charges are predicted
to continuously increase. They began the period at 1 billion and will stand at twice this
level by 2022.

Borrowings, on the other hand, are expected to show considerable fluctuation. Although
having initially increased,they will drop to a low of 600 million in 2016, before reaching
a peak of just under 1.5 billion in 2020. Borrowings will finish the period at around the

same level that they began. Grant and subsidies were the lowest of the four, at under
500 million in 2012. Despite moving up to exceed borrowing briefly in 2016, this low
level will continue until 2022.

(209 words)

 Lesson 15: IELTS Pie Chart Gap Fill Exercise
This IELTS pie chart gap fill exercise gives you the chance to practice the language for this
type of chart.

This will help to improve your vocabulary knowledge, range and flexibility when you are
describing a pie chart.

It will also help to improve your grammar.

There is no time change in the chart, so the focus is on the language of comparison and
contrast.

Although the information is presented here as a pie chart, it is similar to language you would
use for other charts where you compare or contrast.

Some language that is particularly common to pie charts though is using the the proportion
of.

When you learn language for a task 1, it is a good idea to look at 'chunks' of language rather
than single words, or in other words collocations.

This will improve your writing skills.

So for example, you would learn the phrase accounted for rather than just accounted or the
proportion of rather than the proportion.

Read the question and look at the table. Then decide which word should be placed in the gap.

You can also follow the link at the bottom to see the full chart and model answers and to do
some more quizzes to improve your writing

IELTS Pie Chart Gap Fill Exercise

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The pie charts show the electricity generated in Germany and France from all sources
and renewables in the year 2009.

Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make
comparisons where relevant.

Write at least 150 words.

 Words choices:
was lower was very different at approximately the remaining compare
the proportion of was far higher accounted for one fifth whereas

IELTS pie chart gap fill exercise

The four pie charts 1. ___ the electricity generated between Germany and France during
2009, and it is measured in billions kWh. Overall, it can be seen that conventional thermal
was the main source of electricity in Germany, 2. ___ nuclear was the main source in France.

The bulk of electricity in Germany, whose total output was 560 billion kWh, came from
conventional thermal, at 59.6%. In France, the total output 3. ___ , at 510 billion kWh, and in
contrast to Germany, conventional thermal 4. ___ just 10.3%, with most electricity coming
from nuclear power (76%). In Germany, 5. ___ nuclear power generated electricity was
only 6. ___ of the total.

Moving on to renewables, this accounted for quite similar proportions for both
countries, 7. ___ 15% of the total electricity generated. In detail, in Germany, most of the
renewables consisted of wind and biomass, totaling around 75%, which 8. ___ than for
hydroelectric (17.7%) and solar (6.1%). The situation 9. ___ in France, where hydroelectric
made up 80.5% of renewable electricity, with biomass, wind and solar making up
10. ___ 20%.

Correct answers:
1. compare
2. whereas
3. was lower
4. accounted for
5. the proportion of
6. one fifth
7. at approximately
8. was far higher
9. was very different
10. the remaining

Writing Task 2
Intro Lesson: How to Write an IELTS Essay
This starter lessons tells you in simple steps how to structure and write a basic IELTS essay.

Lesson 1: Analysing Essay Questions Part 1 - Identifying the Topic

Learn how to identify the topic of an essay question in order to help you answer it correctly.

Lesson 2: Analysing Essay Questions Part 2 - Identifying the Task

This IELTS practice will help you identify the task of an essay question. The most important
thing to make sure you answer the question.

Lesson 3: Brainstorming and Planning an Essay

In this IELTS lesson, learn how brainstorm ideas for your essay and how to extend those
ideas and create a plan.

Lesson 4: Improving Essay Coherency with Transitions

Your writing must be coherent, and this lesson shows you how transitions can help you to do
this.

Lesson 5: Writing an IELTS Essay Introduction

This lesson explains how you should approach writing an introduction for an IELTS Task 2
essay.

Lesson 6: Writing a Thesis Statement

The thesis statement is an important part of your essay, so this lesson explains how to write
thesis statements for different essay types.

Lesson 7: How to get an IELTS Writing band 7

There is no quick way to achieve this, but this lesson provides some general guidance on
what is required to get an IELTS band 7 in the writing module.

Lesson 8: Improving Essay Coherency with Pronouns

Your writing must be coherent, and this IELTS practice lesson shows you how pronouns can
help you to do this.

Lesson 9: Writing an IELTS Essay Conclusion

Learn how to write a quick conclusion for an IELTS essay.

Lesson 10: Transitional Phrases for Essays

Learn about useful phrases that can be used to improve the sophistication of your writing in
argumentative essays.

Lesson 11: Good Paragraph Writing

Writing clear and well-organized paragraphs is essential for your essay, so here you will learn
about the basic elements that make up a good paragraph.

Lesson 12: How to write Problem Solution Essays

Learn how to write a problem solution essay for the IELTS test - a quick method that will
produce a well-organized answer.

Lesson 13: Understanding IELTS Opinion Essays
Get an overview of the various types of essay that ask for your opinion in the test.

Lesson 14: Answering a more complex essay question

This lesson shows you how to answer a more complex IELTS essay question that does not
have a straightforward 'task' given to guide you.

Lesson 15: Personal Pronouns in Essays

Can you use personal pronouns such as 'I', 'our' and 'we' in IELTS essays? Find out more in
this lesson.

Lesson 16: Advantage Disadvantage Essay

This lesson shows you how to write an IELTS advantage disadvantage essay that requires
you to give an opinion.

 Intro lesson: How to Write an IELTS Essay
In this introductory lesson you will find some guidance on how you should write an IELTS
essay.

There are then more lessons on the following pages for different types of essay and different
questions, with lots of tips and strategies for achieving a high score.

It is important to learn about IELTS essays because there are different essay types, and these
will require different ways to answer them.

However, as you will see from the guidance on this page, they can all follow the same basic
structure.

These are some of the types of IELTS essays you can get in the test:

• Agree / disagree
• Discuss two opinions
• Advantages & disadvantages
• Causes (reasons) & solutions
• Causes (reasons) & effects
• Problems & solutions
Not every essay will fit one of these patterns, but many do.

You may get some of these tasks mixed up. For example, you could be asked to give your
opinion on an issue, and then discuss the advantages or disadvantages of it.

The golden rule is to ALWAYS read the question very carefully to see exactly what you
are being asked to do.

The second lesson explains more about analysing essay questions.

How do I Write an IELTS Essay?

In order to answer this, lets first look at a sample question:

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.

Write about the following topic:

In the last 20 years there have been significant developments in the field of information
technology (IT), for example the World Wide Web and communication by email. However,
these developments in IT are likely to have more negative effects than positive in the
future.

To what extent do you agree with this view?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own experience
or knowledge.

Write at least 250 words.

An IELTS essay is structured like any other essay; you just need to make it shorter. There are
three key elements:

1. Introduction
2. Body Paragraphs
3. Conclusion
We will look at each of these in turn, using the essay question above as an example.

1) Introduction
You should keep your introduction for the IELTS essay short. Remember you only have 40
minutes to write the essay, and some of this time needs to be spent planning. Therefore, you
need to be able to write your introduction fairly quickly so you can start writing your body
paragraphs.

You should do just two things:

• State the topic of the essay, using some basic facts (that you may be able to take from the
question)
• Say what you are going to write about
Here is an example introduction for the above essay question about IT:

The last two decades have seen enormous changes in the way people's lives are affected
by IT, with many advances in this field. However, while these technological advances have
brought many benefits to the world, it can be argued that these developments in IT will
result in more negative impacts than positive.
As you can see, the first sentence makes sure it refers to the topic (IT) and uses facts about IT
taken from the question. Note that these are paraphrased - you must not copy from the rubric!

The second part then clearly sets out the what the essay will be about and confirms the
writers opinion (some questions may not ask for your opinion, but this one does).

View this lesson for more advice on writing IELTS essay introductions.

2) Body Paragraphs
For an IELTS essay, you should have 2 or 3 body paragraphs - no more, and no less.

For your body paragraph, each paragraph should contain one controlling idea, and have
sentences to support this.

Lets look at the first paragraph for the essay about IT. The essay is about the benefits and
drawbacks of IT, so these will need to be discussed in separate paragraphs.
Here is the first body paragraph:

 To begin, email has made communication, especially abroad, much simpler and faster,
resulting in numerous benefits for commerce and business. Furthermore, the World Wide
Web means that information on every conceivable subject is now available to us. For
example, people can access news, medical advice, online education courses and much more
via the internet. It is evident that these improvements have made life far easier and more
convenient for large numbers of people and will continue to do so for decades to come.
The controlling idea in this first paragraph is the 'benefits of IT', and there are two
supporting ideas, which are underlined. No drawbacks are discussed as the paragraph would
then lose coherence.

Most of the essay will focus on the negative aspects of IT, as the writer says there are more
negative effects in the introduction. So the next two paragraphs are about these.

The topic sentence in the next paragraph therefore tells us we are changing the focus to the
negative points:

Nevertheless, the effects of this new technology have not all been beneficial. For example,
many people feel that the widespread use of email is destroying traditional forms of
communication such as letter writing, telephone and face-to-face conversation. This could
result in a decline in people's basic ability to socialize and interact with each other on a
day-to-day basis.
The final body paragraph gives the last negative effect:

In addition, the large size of the Web has meant that it is nearly impossible to regulate and
control. This has led to many concerns regarding children accessing unsuitable websites
and viruses. Unfortunately, this kind of problem might even get worse in the future at least
until more regulated systems are set up.

3) Conclusion
The conclusion only needs to be one or two sentences, and you can do the following:

• Re-state what the essay is about (re-write the last sentence of your introduction in different
words)
• Give some thoughts about the future
Here is an example:

In conclusion, developments in IT have brought many benefits, yet I believe developments

relating to new technology are likely to produce many negative effects in the future that
must be addressed if we are to avoid damaging impacts on individuals and society.

The full IELTS Essay:

The last two decades have seen enormous changes in the way people's lives are affected by
IT, with many advances in this field. However, while these technological advances have
brought many benefits to the world, it can be argued that these developments in IT will result
in more negative impacts than positive.

To begin, email has made communication, especially abroad, much simpler and faster,
resulting in numerous benefits for commerce and business. Furthermore, the World Wide
Web means that information on every conceivable subject is now available to us. For
example, people can access news, medical advice, online education courses and much more
via the internet. It is evident that these improvements have made life far easier and more
convenient for large numbers of people and will continue to do so for decades to come.

Nevertheless, the effects of this new technology have not all been beneficial. For example,
many people feel that the widespread use of email is destroying traditional forms of
communication such as letter writing, telephone and face-to-face conversation. This could
result in a decline in people's basic ability to socialize and interact with each other on a day-
to-day basis.

In addition, the large size of the Web has meant that it is nearly impossible to regulate and
control. This has led to many concerns regarding children accessing unsuitable websites and
viruses. Unfortunately, this kind of problem might even get worse in the future at least until
more regulated systems are set up.

In conclusion, developments in IT have brought many benefits, yet I believe developments

relating to new technology are likely to produce many negative effects in the future that must
be addressed if we are to avoid damaging impacts on individuals and society.

(287 words)

Improve your Information Technology Vocabulary

Comments

The IELTS essay introduction talks in general about the increasing use of IT, thus
introducing the topic well. The thesis then clearly sets out the writers opinion.

The following paragraph mentions the present benefits of these developments, but the
opening sentence in the third paragraph is a qualifying statement (Nevertheless, not all the
effects...), so the writer can now focus on the negative elements.

The fourth paragraph provides two other negative examples (lack of regulation, viruses).
Both paragraphs suggest that these problems will continue in the future.

The essay concludes with a clear opinion that agrees with the statement.

Overall, it is a well-balanced text that mentions the present situation (...this has made life...)
but importantly, also refers to the future of IT (...likely to increase..., might get worse...).

 Lesson 1: Identify the Topic

In the writing for task 2, one of the first things you need to do is identify the topic of the
essay.
If you write about the wrong topic or go off topic when you write your answer, this is likely
to substantially reduce your band score.

How do I identify the topic?

Remember, in IELTS writing, you are usually presented with some issue or problem that is
currently affecting society and you need to discuss it.

So you need to read the question carefully and identify what the issue is. You will normally
only be looking for one or two key words.

Have a look at the following question. What is the issue?

The crime rate among teenagers has increased dramatically in many countries.

Discuss some possible reasons for this increase and suggest solutions.

You should have identified teenage crime as the topic.

The crime rate among teenagers has increased dramatically in many countries.

What if I identified ‘crime’ as the topic?

Your essay would be wrong if you wrote about crime generally. When you have a topic, it
may require you to talk about a particular area, group of people or place.

In this case, the question specifically wants you to address the issue of TEENAGE crime.

When you identify the topic, always look carefully to see if it is being narrowed down to a
particular area that you need to focus on.

Identify the Topic - Practice

Have a look at the following essay questions and choose the best answer to identify the topic.
Remember, this is not a full analysis of the question - you are just looking for the broad topic
area.

Sometimes more than one answer may be possible. In this case, when you identify the topic,
choose the most precise.

1. 'Telecommuting' refers to workers doing their jobs from home for part of each
week and communicating with their office using computer technology.
Telecommuting is growing in many countries and is expected to be common for
most office workers in the coming decades.
How do you think society will be affected by the growth of telecommuting?
Working from home
Telecommuting

Computer technology

2. To what extent is the use of animals in scientific research acceptable?

Animal research
Animals

Scientific research

3. We are becoming increasingly dependent on computers. They are used in

businesses, hospitals, crime detection and even to fly planes.
What things will they be used for in the future? Is this dependence on computers a
good thing or should we be more suspicious of their benefits?
The benefits of computers
Computers in businesses, hospitals, crime detection, and flying.

Computer dependency

4. In what ways has information technology changed work and working practices in
the past 10 years?
Information technology and work
Information technology

Working practices

5. Blood sports have become a hot topic for debate in recent years. As society develops
it is increasingly seen as an uncivilized activity and cruel to the helpless animals
that are killed. All blood sports should be banned.
Discuss the main arguments for this statement and give your own opinion.
Animal cruelty

 Blood sports

Blood sports and uncivilized activity

6. A growing number of people feel that animals should not be exploited by people
and that they should have the same rights as humans, while others argue that
humans must employ animals to satisfy their various needs, including uses for food
and research.
Discuss the arguments in favour of both these positions and state your own position
on the issue.
Satisfying human needs
Animals and humans

Animal rights

7. Forests are the lungs of the earth. Destruction of the world's forests amounts to
death of the world we currently know.
To what extent do you agree or disagree?
The Earth
Deforestation

Death of the world

8. The idea of going overseas for university study is an exciting prospect for many
people. But while it may offer some advantages, it is probably better to stay home
because of the difficulties a student inevitably encounters living and studying in a
different culture.
To what extent do you agree or disagree this statement?
Studying abroad
Studying

Living in a different culture

9. Zoos are sometimes seen as necessary but not poor alternatives to a natural
environment.
Discuss some of the arguments for and/or against keeping animals in zoos.
Natural environments
Alternatives to zoos

Keeping animals in zoos

10. Many countries are currently witnessing an increase in criminal activity among
young people.
Discuss reasons for this phenomenon and suggest ways to deal with the problem.
Youth crime

 Criminal activity

Increases in crime

 Lesson 2: Identify the Task
Once you have identified the topic for your essay, you need to identify the task.

The ‘task’ is the part of the question that tells you what you have to doto answer it.

This is one of the most important things you will have to do when you analyze the essay
question because 25% of your grade for the essay is based on ‘Task Response’ - how you
have responded to the task.

How do I identify the task?

In order to grade your task response, the examiner will be looking to see if you
have answered the question.

If you have only partially answered the question, this will decrease your grade for this
criteria.

Let’s look at the same essay question we looked at in lesson 1 when you identified the topic:

The crime rate among teenagers has increased dramatically in many countries.

Discuss some possible reasons for this increase and suggest solutions.

In the previous lesson, we identified the topic for this question as‘teenage crime’.

The task - or ‘what you have to do’ - is usually at the end of the prompt.

As you can see, you are being told to ‘Discuss some possible reasons for this increase and
suggest solutions’.

It’s very common in task 2 IELTS essay questions to get asked to do two things, and this
question is a good example of this:

1. Why teenage crime has increased

2. Ways to solve this problem
You MUST discuss both those things to ensure you have fully answered the question and you
must write roughly equal amounts about each part.

Doing any of the following things will reduce your score for task response, and hence may
reduce your overall score:

1. Only writing about reasons or only solutions

2. Writing most of your essay about reasons and only a small part on solutions (or visa
versa)
3. Writing about the reasons and solutions for crime in general, and not referring
to teenage crime (the topic)
4. Writing about neither reasons nor solutions
This is why it is so important to spend some time at the beginning making sure you identify
the task so that you know what you have to write about.

A Common Mistake
It is a common mistake for students to rush at the beginning to start writing as they are
worried about not finishing, and then write about the wrong thing.

For example, when you have finished identifying the task, you will brainstorm your ideas.
You may come up with reasons for an increase in crime such as ‘lack of parental
supervision’ and ‘boredom’.

However, I have seen students come up with problems of teenage crime, such as ‘more
young people being put in prison' and ‘stress for their parents'.

This particular task asks you to write about ‘reasons’, not ‘problems’(though being asked to
write about 'problems and solutions' is common).

So if you do this you will not be answering the question. This comes from rushing and not
taking enough time to identify the task properly.

Other Question Types

The previous question was fairly easy, so to identify the task was hopefully not too difficult.

Some questions, though, will take more thought in order to identify what you need to write
about.

Here is another example:

Advances in technology and automation have reduced the need for manual labour.
Therefore, working hours should be reduced.

To what extent do you agree?

Again, look to the end of the prompt to identify the task.

You have to say if you agree or disagree with working hours being reduced, or, in other
words, automation (machines) taking over from some human’s duties.

You must also say how much you agree or disagree ("to what extent").

Let’s assume you want to look at both sides of the issue. You therefore need to discuss the
reasons why you agree, and the reasons why you disagree. Or put another way:

1. The advantages of reducing working hours

 2. The disadvantages of reducing working hours
And of course in the introduction or conclusion you need to make it clear what your opinion
is.

If you do all of these things then you will have answered all parts of the prompt. If you find
more reasons to agree than disagree, then you can write more about this side of the argument,
or visa versa.

Identify the Task - Practice

Now you can have a practice identifying the task for some IELTS essay questions.

Pick the one that you think best describes what you would write about in order to fully
answer all parts of the question.

1. The rising levels of congestion and air pollution found in most of the world cities
can be attributed directly to the rapidly increasing number of private cars in use.
In order to reverse this decline in the quality of life in cities, attempts must be made
to encourage people to use their cars less and public transport more.
Discuss possible ways to encourage the use of public transport.
Why people have been using cars more and public transport less

How to get people to use public transport more

The causes of increasing congestion and air pollution.

2. Do the benefits of study abroad justify the difficulties? What advice would you
offer to a prospective student?
(a) A discussion of the benefits versus the challenges of studying abroad (b) Strategies
to cope with studying abroad

(a) The benefits of study abroad

(a) The benefits of study abroad (b) the difficulties of studying abroad

3. Fresh water has always been a limited resource in some parts of the world. Today,
however, growing worldwide demand has made this a global problem.
What are the causes of the increased demand and what measure could governments
and individuals take to respond to this problem?
(a) The problems with using too much water (b) Government solutions (c) Individual
solutions

 How (a) Governments and (b) Individuals can solve water shortage problems.

(a) Reasons for increased demand for water (b) Government solutions (c) Individual
solutions

4. As global trade increases, many goods including those we use on a daily basis are
produced in other countries and transported long distances.
Do the benefits of the trend outweigh the drawback?
(a) The benefits of this (b) The disadvantages of this (c) Your opinion on whether it is
more beneficial or not

(a) The benefits of this (b) Your opinion on whether is is more beneficial or not

(a) The disadvantages of this (b) Your opinion on whether it is more beneficial or not

5. Some people feel that animals should have the same rights as humans, but others
think they are not as equal or intelligent as us so should not have the same rights.
Discuss both opinions and give your opinion.
(a) The arguments for giving animals rights (b) The arguments against this

(a) Arguments for having animal rights (b) The arguments against this (c) Your opinion

(a) The reasons why animals are not as equal or intelligent as humans

6. Currently there is a trend towards the use of alternative forms of medicine.

However, at best these methods are ineffective, and at worst they may be
dangerous.
To what extent do you agree with this statement?
(a) How alternative medicine differs from Conventional medicine

(a) The dangers of alternative medicine

(a) The benefits of alternative medicine (b) The drawbacks of alternative

medicine (c) Your opinion

7. Overpopulation of urban areas has led to numerous problems.

Identify one or two serious ones and suggest ways that governments and individuals
can tackle these problems.
(a) Problems of overpopulation in urban areas (b)Government solutions (c) Individual
solutions

(a) The problems of overpopulation (b) The solutions

(a) How governments can tackle urban overpopulation (b)How individuals can tackle
urban overpopulation.

 8. Computers should never have been invented.
To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?
(a) The reasons why computers were invented (b) The benefits of computers (c) Your
opinion.

(a) The problems with computers (b) Solutions to these problems.

(a) The benefits of computers (b) The drawbacks of computers (c) Your opinion

9. Unemployment has become an increasing problem in the recent past.

What factors contribute to an increase in unemployment and what steps can be
taken to solve the problem?
(a) The causes of increasing unemployment (b) How to solve this problem

(a) The problems with increasing unemployment (b) How to solve this problem.

(a) The reasons why unemployment is increasing.

10. Some people think that young children should be allowed to do paid work, while
others think that this should be illegal.
Discuss both opinions and give your opinion.
(a) The advantages of allowing children to do paid work (b)Your opinion.

(a) The advantages of allowing children to do paid work (b)The disadvantages

this (c) Your opinion.

(a) The problems of allowing children to do paid work (b)The benefits of allowing them
to do paid work.

 Lesson 3: Brainstorming and Planning

Once you have analysed the question in the IELTS test you need to brainstorm some ideas
to include in your answer.
Lets look at the same question we looked at in the first two lessons:

The crime rate among teenagers has increased dramatically in many countries.

Discuss some possible reasons for this increase and suggest solutions.

Brainstorming is an important part of the planning process.

In order to get a good score it will not be enough just to put a list of ideas - you need
to extend and explain those ideas.

If you look at the IELTS prompt, it says this:

"Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own
experience or knowledge".
So you need to support your ideas using reasons and examples.

Developing Focus Questions

For this question, you need to write about reasons for the increase in teenage crime
and solutions.

In order to make sure you fully answer the question it is a good ideas to develop some focus
questions i.e. questions that will help you focus on what you need to write.

These are possible focus questions for this essay question:

• Focus question 1: Why has teenage crime increased?

• Focus question 2: What can be done about it?
You then need to brainstorm answers to these questions:

Why has teenage crime increased?

• Breakdown in the nuclear family

• Lack of things to do
What can be done about it?

• Government - Provide better support for families & stricter punishments

• Individuals – take responsibility

[Nuclear family is a term used to define a family group consisting of a pair of adults and their
children, as opposed to single-parent families].

Extending and Supporting your Ideas

However, you now need to think about how your are going to extend and support those ideas
you have brainstormed. In other words, you need to ask yourself further questions about each
of your ideas. For example:

Why has there been a breakdown in the nuclear family?

What is the effect of this?
What is a good example of it?
Answering questions like these will make sure you have fully supported and explained all
your points.

For example:

Why has there been a breakdown in the nuclear family?

- high divorce rates
What is the effect of this?
- no male role model; boys go astray & may commit crime

Planning
When you have extended your main ideas, this then provides the basis for your plan.

Here is an example of the brainstormed ideas with further support, which has now become
the plan for the essay:

Essay Plan

Why has teenage crime increased?

1) Breakdown in the nuclear family

- high divorce rates = no father as ‘role model’
– boys go astray, drugs & crime
2) Lack of things to do
- e.g. TV has shown nothing to do

 – children see crime as entertainment
What can be done about it?

1) Govt - Provide better support for families

- e.g. more youth centres
– guidance and activities, sport

2) Parents – take responsibility

- provide loving environment, relative as role model

The essay can now be written. Here is an example essay written from the plan, with the main
supporting ideas highlighted in bold:

Sample Essay
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.

Write about the following topic:

The crime rate among teenagers has increased dramatically in many countries.

Discuss some possible reasons for this increase and suggest solutions.

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own experience
or knowledge.

Write at least 250 words.

Model Answer
Over the last decade there has been a massive rise in the level of crime committed by
teenagers in a number of countries. It is important to establish why this has happened and to
look at ways to solve the problem.

One reason is the breakdown in the nuclear family. The high divorce rates have meant
many children have been brought up in one-parent families with no father to act as a role
model which is detrimental to their development. This is particularly important for boys,
who without this guidance are easily led astray by bad influences such as drugs and
crime. Another factor is the lack of things to do for the young. For example, in the UK,
many television programs about this issue have shown that teenagers hang around in the
evenings with little to do. When this happens, the boredom means they will find their own
entertainment, which is often crime.

There are, however, ways to tackle these problems. Firstly, the government should provide
more support for families. They could, for instance, invest more into building and staffing

youth centers which would provide guidance through the youth workers and also enable
teenagers to focus their attention on sport and other activities. Parents should also be
encouraged to take more responsibility for their children. Ultimately, the onus is on them
to ensure their children are brought up in a loving environment which would make them less
likely to turn to crime. They could, for example, find a male relative to act as a role model.

Therefore, it is clear that there are various reasons for this rise in crime, but solutions are
available. If we begin to tackle the issue now, we may be able to prevent the situation from
declining further.

(294 Words)

A common mistake is to have lots of ideas that are not explained properly.

However, you can see that as a result of brainstorming some key ideas and making sure you
have explained each of them, you have a fully supported and well organized essay.

 Lesson 4: Essay Writing Coherence

Your writing coherence is important because you are marked on this as part of the IELTS
grading.
Your work is coherent if it is easy to read and follow your ideas.

One way to improve the coherency of your writing is to use transition words to guide the
reader through what you are saying.

Here are examples of common transition words that will improve your writing coherence,
and their meanings:

COMMON TRANSITION WORDS

Listing Points to Show New Ideas:

Firstly,
First of all,
To begin,
Secondly,
Finally,
Furthermore,
In addition,
Also,
Moreover,

Showing an Example:

For example,
For instance,
To illustrate,
A case in point,

Showing Contrast:

However,
On the other hand,
In contrast,

Showing a Result:

Therefore,
As a result,
Consequently,
Thus,

Showing time: (commonly in essay introductions)

These days,
Nowadays,
At present,

To introduce concluding comments:

To conclude,
In conclusion,
In brief,
All in all,,

Here is an example of them in use in an essay:

Some people believe the aim of university education is to help graduates get better
jobs. Others believe there are much wider benefits of university education for both
individuals and society.

Discuss both views and give your opinion.

These days, more and more people are making the choice to go to university. While some
people are of the opinion that the only purpose of a university education is to improve job
prospects, others think that society and the individual benefit in much broader ways.

It is certainly true that one of the main aims of university is to secure a better job. To begin,
the majority of people want to improve their future career prospects. Attending university is
one of the best ways to do this as it increases your marketable skills and your attractiveness to
potential employers. For example, in Europe, further education is very expensive for many
people, so most would not consider it if it would not provide them with a more secure future
and a higher standard of living. Also, universities have their reputation to consider. They
definitely want to ensure that their students are going to get the best jobs as this will affect
future funding and university applications.

However, there are other benefits for individuals and society. Firstly, the independence of
living away from home is a benefit because it helps the students develop better social skills
and improve as a person. Many students, for instance, will have to leave their families, live
in halls of residence and meet new friends. As a result, their maturity and confidence will
grow enabling them to live more fulfilling lives. Secondly, society will gain from the
contribution that the graduates can make to the economy. We are living in a very competitive
world, so countries, especially developing countries, need educated people in order to
compete and prosper.

To conclude, I believe that although a main aim of university education is to get the best job,
there are clearly further benefits. If we continue to promote and encourage university
attendance, it will lead to a better future for everyone.

How to use the words in sentences
As you now know, transition words are used to guide a reader through your writing and to
make it more coherent. The better your writing coherence, the easier it will be to follow your
arguments in your essay.
One important point though before we go on. If you over use transitions they can make your
writing look slightly mechanical as very good writers will need to use them less as they will
have the ability to cleverly guide someone through their writing without them.

It is quite a high level skill though. So it really depends on your ability. If you are at a lower
level of writing, you should make more use of them as they will make it easy for the
examiner to follow your ideas.

If you have more sophistication in your writing, you may not want to use them too much or it
could affect your style.

If you are unsure, it probably means you need to be using them! We'll now go on to look
further at how some of them are used.

Most of these transition words are used in the same way in sentences and are followed by a
subject and verb.

1) Full-stop, capital letter, comma

There are many ways to improve congestion. For example, some cities in The Netherlands
have pedestrian only city centres.

Many countries have now reduced their CO2 emissions. As a result, there is now less
pollution.

OR
2) Semi-colon, small letter, comma

There are many ways to improve congestion; for example, some cities in The Netherlands
have pedestrian only city centres.

Many countries have now reduced their CO2 emissions; as a result, there is now less
pollution.

Varying Position and Use of Transition Words

However, you do not want to use these words too ‘mechanically’ so you should vary their
position, and don’t repeat the same word too often. You can vary the position with the
following transitions:

1) Giving Examples

You can vary your use of ‘for example’ and ‘for instance’ by moving them to after the first
phrase of the sentence or to after the subject or verb.

There are many ways to improve congestion. Some cities in The Netherlands, for
instance, have pedestrian only city centres.

There are many ways to improve congestion. Some cities in The Netherlands have, for
instance, pedestrian only city centres.

2) Giving a Contrast or Result

Similarly, you can place contrast or result transitions further down the sentence:

Tokyo now has a Sky Train. Traffic problems, as a result/therefore/as a consequence, have
decreased significantly.

These can also be joined to the previous sentence with the conjunction 'and’:

Tokyo now has a Sky Train, and, as a result/therefore/as a consequence, traffic problems
have decreased significantly.

Note: you cannot join it to another sentence without ’and’:

Tokyo now has a Sky Train, as a result, traffic problems have decreased significantly. - this
is incorrect.

3) Listing Points

These can also be varied. For example:

Firstly, an advantage of a new public transport system is that it will reduce traffic
congestion.

Again, to improve your writing, you should vary the way you use these. They can be
changed so they are no longer a transition but become part of the subject:

The first advantage of a new public transport system is that it will reduce traffic congestion.

This lesson has shown how you can use transitions to improve your writing coherence.

Make sure you find out more about these transitions so you know how to use them correctly,
then practice using them in your writing.

 Lesson 5: Writing an IELTS Essay Introduction

In the writing for task 2, you must write an IELTS essay introduction, but you only have 40
minutes.

In this time you need to analyze the question, brainstorm ideas to write about, formulate an
essay plan, and then write your response.

Even for a native writer of English, this is a lot to do in 40 minutes!

So you need to use your time carefully. You need a good IELTS essay introduction, but one
thing you do not want to do is spend too long writing it so that you end up rushing your
paragraphs.

Your paragraphs are the most important thing as they contain all your supporting
arguments and demonstrate how good you are at organizing your ideas.

You therefore need a method to write your IELTS essay introduction fairly quickly. When
you write an introduction, you should make sure you do two things:

1. Write a sentence introducing the topic and giving some background facts about it

2. Tell the reader what you are going to be writing about

How you do this will vary depending on the question, but here is an example:

Example 1:

Question:

Blood sports have become a hot topic for debate in recent years. As society develops it is
increasingly seen as an uncivilized activity and cruel to the helpless animals that are
killed. Blood sports should be banned.

To what extent to you agree or disagree?

Sample IELTS essay introduction:

Despite the fact that killing animals for sport is popular in modern society, it remains a
contentious issue. I believe that blood sports are cruel and uncivilized and so should be
banned as soon as possible.
As you can see, the first sentence consists of the topic plus some background facts on the
topic which have been taken from the rubric.

The second sentence then gives the writers opinion and tells us that in the essay the writer
will be arguing the reasons why it is cruel.

The topic does not have to be in the first sentence, but it should be made clear somewhere in
the introduction. You must always have a thesis.

Paraphrasing
Another important point - don't copy from the question! You must paraphrase (put it in
your own words). To do this you can use synonyms and move the order of the sentence
around.

Using some of the same words is acceptable, but don't copy whole phrases.

You can see how the question above has been paraphrased. All the information is from the
question, but it has been written in a different way and has not been copied.

You can also check out a short video on this lesson:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTZkncOJifU

Further Examples
Example 2:

Question:

Science and technology have helped the world make many advances. The Arts, such as
painting, theatre and dance, to name just three examples, however, are also valuable.

What things do the Arts provide to the world that Science and Technology do not?

Sample IELTS essay introduction:

Societies have developed rapidly over time due to the many advances in science and
technology. However, the arts are also very important and provide our world with many
things that science and technology cannot.

Example 3:

Question:

According to a recent study, the more time people use the Internet, the less time they spend
with real human beings. Some people say that instead of seeing the Internet as a way of
opening up new communication possibilities world wide, we should be concerned about the
effect this is having on social interaction.

How far do you agree with this opinion?

Sample IELTS essay introduction:

A recent study has shown that as people use the Internet more, they are spending less time
with human beings. I believe that although this has increased the communication around
the world in positive ways, it has also led to negative effects on the day-to-day social
interaction of human beings.

Example 4:

Question:

Unemployment has become an increasing problem in the recent past.

What factors contribute to an increase in unemployment and what steps can be taken to
solve the problem?

Sample IELTS essay introduction:

Over recent years, the level of unemployment has been increasing at an alarming rate in
many countries around the world. This essay will discuss the reasons for this increase and
consider what practical solutions are available.

Example 5:

Question:

Some people think children in secondary school should study international news as part of
the curriculum. Others think that this would be a waste of time as there are already too
many subjects for children to concentrate on.

Discuss both views and give your own opinion.

Sample IELTS essay introduction:

While some people are of the opinion that it would be useful to include international news
as a subject in the school curriculum, others believe that this is a waste of students time
because they are already overloaded with subjects to study. This essay will examine both
sides of the issue.

 Lesson 6: Writing a Thesis Statement
In this lesson we will look at what thesis statements are, and how you can vary the way you
write it according to the question.

They are a crucial part of writing an introduction.

What is a thesis statement?

Very basically, it tells the person reading your essay what will be in it. It may also give your
opinion if the question asks you for this.

It is the last sentence of your introduction.

Don't get it mixed up with the topic of your essay - this is usually at the beginning of your
introduction.

How do I write a thesis statement?

In order to make it effective, you must have first identified the task of the essay. If you are
unsure about this, check out this lesson on identifying the task.

The task is what you have to do, and is usually at the end of the rubric. For example, look
at this IELTS essay question:

As global trade increases, many goods including those we use on a daily basis are
produced in other countries and transported long distances.

Do the benefits of this trend *outweigh the drawbacks?

What you have to do (the task) is explain whether you think, overall, an increase in the
production of goods in other countries and their subsequent transportation over long distances
is more advantageousor disadvantageous.

So your essay is obviously going to be discussing the advantages and disadvantages of this
issue, and this is what needs to be made clear in your thesis statement.

It is also an opinion essay as it is asking you to make a decision on whether you think there
are more advantages or disadvantages. So you need to make this clear as well.

Here is an example introduction, with the thesis in bold:

Due to the increase in global trade, many of the goods that we consume every day are made
in a different country and then transported over a long distance in order to reach us. In my
opinion, this trend has more disadvantages than advantages.

You would then go on to write about the advantages and disadvantages of global trade
(focusing more on the disadvantagesas you think there are more of these).

*Just a quick note on the word 'outweigh'. This word often confuses students and they end up
writing a thesis statement opinion that contradicts what they write in the essay.

The simple answer - don't use the word! It is just asking you if there are more advantages
than disadvantages. So just state what you think in the thesis without using the word, as in the
example.

How does the thesis statement change with different types of

question?
We will now look at how thesis statements can vary with different question types. However,
you should not try to learn set phrases or sentences to fit certain essays.

There are some broad types of essay question that are common to see, but they can all vary
slightly.

The golden rule is to always read the question very carefully (never rush this as you may
not fully answer the question) and work out what you have to do.

Your thesis statement will then follow on from this, depending on what you have decided you
need to write about in order to answer the question.

So below are some suggestions of what you could do for certain common kinds of essay
question, but this is not to say these are right and other ways are wrong. There are numerous
ways to write good thesis statements and these are just possibilities.

1) Writing about Two Opinions

Some questions ask you specifically to discuss two opinions and to give your opinion.

Some people think that young children should be allowed to do paid work, while others
think that this should be illegal.

Discuss both opinions and give your opinion.

There are various ways you could choose to write an introduction and thesis for this.

Example 1

You could begin by paraphrasing the two opinions, then stating in the thesis what you will
do:

Some people believe that it is acceptable for young children to undertake jobs that they are
paid for, whereas others believe that this is wrong and should be illegal. This essay will
discuss both sides of the issue.

This is quite simplistic but it makes it very clear what you are going to do.

You will obviously need to give your opinion as well in the essay, but stating this in the
thesis ("This essay will discuss both sides of the issue and then give my opinion") sounds
awkward so it is better without it.

Here is a sample essay with a similar thesis statement.

Example 2

Another possible way to do it is by having a sentence to introduce the topic first, and then
paraphrasing the two opinions to make them your thesis:

At present, more and more young children are becoming involved in paid work. Whilst some
people are of the opinion that this is an entirely acceptable practice, others believe that this
is completely wrong and should be made illegal.

This is fine as your thesis will match with your essay - you go on to discuss the first opinion
and then the second one.

Here is another model essay using such a thesis statement.

Example 3

Or of course you could modify this slightly to include your opinion:

At present, more and more young children are becoming involved in paid work. Whilst some
people are of the opinion that this is an entirely acceptable practice, I believe that this is
completely wrong and should be made illegal.

As long as you go on to discuss both sides of the argument, this is fine.

2) Agreeing or Disagreeing

Another type of question is when you are asked to agree or disagreewith one opinion.

Currently there is a trend towards the use of alternative forms of medicine. However, at
best these methods are ineffective, and at worst they may be dangerous.

To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?

For this type of question, you need to state what your opinion is in the thesis statement.

Although you could feasibly do this in the conclusion, I think it is better to do it first so it is
clear to someone reading the essay what your opinion is upfront. It is not wrong though to put
it in the conclusion - this is your choice.

Your thesis statement here will depend on whether you agree, disagree, or partly agree. Here
are some examples of each:

A thesis statement that agrees with the opinion:

Alternative medicine is not new. It is accepted that it pre-dates conventional medicine and it
is still used by many people all over the world. However, I strongly believe that this form of
medicine does not work and is possibly a danger to those using it.

A thesis statement that disagrees with the opinion:

Alternative medicine is not new. It is accepted that it pre-dates conventional medicine and it
is still used by many people all over the world. I am unconvinced that it is dangerous, and
feel that both alternative and conventional medicine can be useful.

A thesis statement that partly agrees with the opinion:

Alternative medicine is not new. It is accepted that it pre-dates conventional medicine and it
is still used by many people all over the world. I agree that for certain conditions this type of
medicine is ineffective and could even be dangerous, but for some illnesses it is a good
alternative choice.

These examples illustrate why it is important to ananlyze the question carefully and
brainstorm your ideas first so you have a clear idea of what you will be writing and what your
opinion is.

Here is a model essay answering the question.

3) Other Essays

Some other essays may not ask you for your opinion specifically, but may ask you to discuss,
for example, problems and solutions, causes and effects, advantages and disadvantages.

If you are asked to do this, then you should just clearly state that you will be discussing these
two things in your essay. Here are some examples:

Problems and solutions:

Overpopulation of urban areas has led to numerous problems.

Identify one or two serious ones and suggest ways that governments and individuals can
tackle these problems.

Sample thesis in bold:

Many countries of the world are currently experiencing problems caused by rapidly growing
populations in urban areas. Both governments and individuals have a duty to find ways to
overcome these problems.

View model answer for this essay.

Causes and Effects:

The percentage of overweight children in western society has increased by almost 20% in
the last ten years.

Discuss the causes and effects of this disturbing trend.

Sample thesis in bold:

Over the last ten years, Western societies have seen close to a 20% rise in the number of
children who are overweight. This essay will discuss some reasons why this has occurred
and examine the consequences of this worrying trend.

View model answer for this essay.

Advantages and Disadvantages:

In order to solve traffic problems, governments should tax private car owners heavily and
use the money to improve public transportation.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of such a solution?

Sample thesis in bold:

Traffic congestion in many cities around the world is severe. One possible solution to this
problem is to impose heavy taxes on car drivers and use this money to make public transport
better. This essay will discuss the benefits and drawbacks of such a measure.

View model answer for this essay.

This lesson has provided you with some broad guidance on writing a thesis statement for
different types of essay.

It is important to stress again though that questions can vary so you must always analyze if
carefully and identify exactly what you need to do and what should therefore be in your
thesis statement.

Remember, a thesis statement is just telling the reader what the focus of your essay
is and giving your opinion if necessary.

 Lesson 7: IELTS Band 7 Writing

A question asked many times is how to score IELTS band 7 writing.

If you need a band 7 and you are not getting it, it is almost impossible to tell you why without
seeing samples of your writing.

So the aim of this lesson is to look more generally at what is required to get a band 7 in the
writing test.

If you want to know specifically where you are going wrong, then you will need to discuss
your work with an experienced IELTS instructor.

The frustration is normally for those who are stuck at a band 6 or 6.5 but just don't seem to be
able to get that 7!

It can be quite a jump to go from a 6.5 to a 7, so this lesson will explain what is required for
an IELTS band 7.

We'll focus on essay writing rather than task 1, but the criteria and principals are more or less
the same. There is some clarification of some of the differences between the marking of task
1 and 2 at the end.

The Marking Criteria

To explain this, we'll begin by looking at the IELTS band descriptorsfor a band 7.

This is not a secret. This information is taken from the IELTS public band descriptors and is
freely available from a test centre or you will find it if you search on the internet.

You are given a band score for each of the criteria, and the ones in this table in the
descriptors column are those that are specifically needed for an IELTS band 7.

Criteria IELTS Band 7 Descriptors

• Addresses all parts of the task
Task Achievement • Presents a clear position throughout the response
• Presents, extends and supports main ideas, but there may be a
tendency to over-generalize and/or supporting ideas may lack focus
• Logically organizes information and ideas; there is a clear
progression throughout
Coherence & Cohesion • Uses a range of cohesive devices appropriately although there may be
some under-/over-use
• Presents a clear central topic within each paragraph

 • Uses a sufficient range of vocabulary to allow some flexibility and
precision
• Uses less common lexical items with some awareness of style and
Lexical Resource
collocation
• May produce occasional errors in word choice, spelling, and/or word
formation
• Uses a variety of complex structures
Grammatical Range • Produces frequent error-free sentences
and Accuracy • Has good control of grammar and punctuation but may make a few
errors

When you are graded, you will be given a score for each of these, and this will then be
averaged.

So if you are getting a 6.5, that means you must not be meeting the standard required as
shown in the table for one or two of them.

For example:

Task acheivement = 7
Coherence and Cohesion = 7
Lexical Resource = 7
Grammatical Range and Accuracy = 6
Overall writing band = 6.5
As previously stated above, you'd have to show some of your writing to an experienced
IELTS teacher to get some advice on which ones you are not achieving in and to find out if it
is always the same criteria.

If you find out, you can then work on this to improve your score.

We'll now just have a look at each of them in a bit more detail to highlight some common
areas where you may possibly be going wrong.

Task Achievement
Very bascially, this is an assessment of whether you have fully answered the question and
provided good support for your ideas.

To address all parts of the task, you must respond to everything that is asked in the
question.

To take an example, look at this question:

Some people think that the best way to reduce crime is to give longer prison sentences.
Others, however, believe there are better alternative ways of reducing crime.

Discuss both views and give your opinion.

The task is to discuss both the opinions and to give your opinion.

So, for example, if you only wrote about one of the opinions or did not give your opinion,
you will not have addressed all parts of the question so you can't get an IELTS band 7 for
task achievement.

Or if you only wrote a small amount on one of the opinions, this may not be seen as fully
answering the question either.

There is a lesson here that explains the importance of identifying the task to make sure you
fully answer all parts of the question.

You must also have a clear position throughout. So if your opinion is not clear and you
seem to change it during the essay, then this could be a problem for achieving an IELTS band
7 in this criterion.

You also need to fully extend and support your ideas. So it is not enough just to put lots of
ideas down - fewer ideas are better that are explained properly with reasons and examples.

Look at some model essays to see how a clear position is presented throughout and how only
a few ideas are presented but they are fully explained and supported.

Coherence and Cohesion

Very basically, this is how you organize and present your ideas, and how easy your work
is to read.

So you will need to know how to organize an essay properly in terms of paragraphing and
having ideas that logically and clearly go from one to the next to get an IELTS band 7.

Another key point here is that you have to have a clear central topic within each
paragraph.

To take a simple example, if you are writing about the advantages and disadvantages of
something, then you may want to have one paragraph about each. Each paragraph will then
have a clear central topic - either advantages or disadvantages.

If you mix them up, this may not be clear.

Again, look at some of the model essays to see how each body paragraph clearly has one
central topic.

You also need a mix of cohesive devices. These are the things that join and link your ideas,
sentences and paragraphs. For example, transitions such as 'however', 'firstly', 'moreover', and
other general linking words within sentences such as 'and' and 'because'.

You will need a variety and mix of these for an IELTS band 7, and you'll need to be able
to use them effectively with some flexibilityrather than mechanically.

Lexical Resource
Your lexis is basically your vocabulary, and as it says in the descriptors, you'll need to show
that you know some less common words and be able to use them precisely.

Its in the accuracy that is needed for your vocabulary that problems can often occur with
regards to getting an IELTS band 7.

As you can see, you can only make occasional errors in your word choice, word formation
and spelling. This means the majority need to be correct!

This is obviously no easy achievement and so you'll need to be a fairly skilled writer to be
making only occasional errors with your lexis.

You can find some useful and less common vocabulary by following this link, but you need
to learn how to use the words correctly otherwise you may make more mistakes with word
forms.

Using lots of new words that you don't know how to use properly could make your writing
worse, so be careful! Only use words you know how to use properly.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy

As will be clear from the title, this one is assessing your level of grammar.

You will need to show you can use a wide range of sentence structures and have a high
level of accuracy.

Just having a few complex sentences with words such as 'because', 'if' and 'although' may not
be enough. You'll need to have an awareness of some more complex structures.

Again, like the lexis, this can often be where students struggle to get an IELTS band 7. You
need to have frequent error-free sentences.

In other words, the majority of your sentences can't have grammar errors. This is not easy, so
like with the lexis, you will need to be a fairly skilled writer.

Task 1
The last three criteria are more or less the same for task 1. The differences are in the task
achievement as obviously you are being given a different task.

This is what the public descriptors have for task 1 (academic):

• Covers the requirements of the task

• Presents a clear overview of trends, differences or stages
• Clearly presents and highlights key features/bullet points but could be more fully extended
The first point is obviously stating that you must do what you were asked in the question.

The second point means that at some stage in your writing you must clearly give an overview
of the main things that are occuring in the graph or diagram.

See this lesson on writing a task 1 for more information on this.

Finally, to acheive in the last point you must be able to show that you can notice and write
about the important things that are happening in the graph, and make comparisons between
the data.

Again, the lesson above will help you with this.

Some final tips...

This lesson then has shown you how to get an IELTS band 7 in your writing, or what is
required.

Unfortunately there is no magic bullet that is suddenly going to move you up a band. But
there may be things you can improve on that will help if you think you are making errors in
what what is needed in the criteria.

For example, are you always spending some time at the beginning analyzing the
question carefully to make sure you are answering all parts of it and writing a plan /
outline?

If not, you may be making errors by not fully answering the question or by not organizing
your essay or ideas well.

Most of my students that I check are failing to get the majority of the sentences error-free or
the majority of the lexis correct. So this may well be where you are falling down if you are
getting a 6.5.

In this case you'll need to work on improving your grammar and checking your work very
carefully for mistakes. If you have a writing teacher obviously this will help as they can
check your work.

But again, planning first can help with this because if you plan then you will be able to
write quicker. You will then have more time to be more careful and more time to check your
grammar and lexis whilst you write and at the end.

 Lesson 8: Pronouns & Coherency
In Writing Task 2 Lesson 4, we looked at improving your coherency with trasition words.

Another way to improve your coherency is with pronouns. You should make use of these so
that you do not keep repeating nouns or ideas.

You can use personal pronouns:

I, you, he, she, it, we, they, one, them

Batteries are not bio-degradable, so people should not dispose of them in normal
household waste.
Or demonstrative pronouns:

this, that, these, those

People dispose of batteries in their normal household waste. This causes environmental
damage.
Pronouns refer back to a noun or noun phrase that you have mentioned before. Always
make sure it is clear which noun it refers back to. It will usually be the last one you
mentioned.

If another noun comes in between the noun you are referring to and the pronoun it may get
confusing.

Have a look at how they are used in this essay taken from the 'model essay' pages.

The word in red is the pronoun, and the word in brackets in green is the word or idea / phrase
it refers to.

Animal Rights Essay

Some people believe that animals should be treated in the same way humans are and have
similar rights, whereas others think that it is more important to use them (animals) as we
desire for food and medical research. This essay will discuss both points of view.

With regard to the exploitation of animals, people believe it is acceptable for several reasons.
Firstly, they (people) think that humans are the most important beings on the planet, and
everything must be done to ensure human survival. If this (ensuring human survival) means
experimenting on animals so that we (humans)can fight and find cures for diseases,
then this (experimenting on animals) takes priority over animal suffering. Furthermore, it is
believed by some that animals do not feel pain or loss as humans do, so if we (humans) have
to kill animals for food or other uses, then this (killing animals for food or other uses) is
morally acceptable.

However, I do not believe these arguments (the previous arguments - though this is made
clear by the noun repeated after it in this case) stand up to scrutiny. To begin, it has been
shown on numerous occasions by secret filming in laboratories via animal rights groups
that animals feel as much pain as humans do, andthey (animals) suffer
when they (animals) are kept in cages for long periods. In addition, a substantial amount of
animal research is done for cosmetics, not to find cures for diseases, so this (animal

research for cosmetics) is unnecessary. Finally, it has also been proven that humans can get
all the nutrients and vitamins that they(humans) need from green vegetables and fruit.
Therefore, again, having to kill animals for food is not an adequate argument.

To sum up, although some people argue killing animals for research and food is ethical, I
would argue there is sufficient evidence to demonstrate that this (the arguments that killing
animals for research and food is ethical) is not the case, and, therefore, steps must be taken
to improve the rights of animals.

Repeating the noun again

You will have noticed that two words were in blue. This is just to highlight an important
point.

You should not just mention the noun once at the beginning of the essay, and then not again.
Get a balance of nouns and their pronouns, not too much of one or the other.

Have a look at the essay and you'll see that sometimes the noun is used and sometimes the
pronoun.

And you should always mention the noun again when it is a new paragraph or a new point
you are making.

As you can see with the words highlighted in blue - nouns should be used here as they
represent a new paragraph and new points. If you used pronouns it may not be clear which
noun you are referring to.

Pronouns and Coherency Practice

Now practice with the paragraph below - choose the correct pronoun.

Preserving certain old buildings is important for several reasons. Firstly, ___ (these;
this; they) structures provide an insight into the history of our countries, showing us how
people many centuries ago lived their lives. Without ___ (it; this; them), ___
(we; them; she) could only learn by books, and it would undoubtedly be sad if ___
(these; this; it) became the only way to see ___ (it; them; they). Many of ___
(those; these; them) buildings are also very beautiful. Take for example the many religious
buildings such as churches and temples that ___ (we; they; it) see around the world. Not only
___ (them; those; this), but on a more practical level, many of ___
(them; these; that) buildings provide important income to a country as many tourists visit ___
(them; those; this).

Correct answers:

1. these 2. them 3. we 4. this 5. them 6. these 7. we 8. this 9. these 10. them

 Lesson 9: IELTS Essay Conclusion
For an IELTS essay conclusion, many students write too much.

It is only a short essay, so the conclusion does not need to be too long.

You should also have a formula for writing the conclusion quickly so you can focus your
time on developing your ideas and supporting them in your body paragraphs.

You should do three things in your conclusion:

1. Use a concluding phrase

2. Restate the thesis statement in different words
3. Give some personal opinions, hopes, fears, or recommendations about the future
Take a look at this essay question and introduction. The thesis statement is in red:

Question:

Blood sports have become a hot topic for debate in recent years. As society develops it is
increasingly seen as an uncivilized activity and cruel to the helpless animals that are
killed. Blood sports should be banned.

To what extent to you agree or disagree?

Sample IELTS essay introduction:

Despite the fact that killing animals for sport is popular in modern society, it remains a
contentious issue. (thesis) I believe that blood sports are cruel and uncivilized and so
should be banned as soon as possible.
Sample IELTS essay conclusion:

In order to write the first sentence of the IELTS essay conclusion, you can paraphrase your
thesis statement - remember to use a phrase to make it clear it is a conclusion.

To conclude, it is clear that blood sports must be prohibited as no civilized society should
allow the pain and suffering of animals simply for fun.
For your final sentence, you can give some personal opinions, hopes, fears, or
recommendations about the future.

I hope that governments around the world discuss this issue with haste and forbid this
inhumane type of sport as soon as possible.
This then, is the full IELTS essay conclusion:

To conclude, it is clear that blood sports must be prohibited as no civilized society should
allow the pain and suffering of animals simply for fun. I hope that governments around
the world discuss this issue with haste and forbid this inhumane type of sport as soon as
possible.

Further IELTS Essay Conclusion Examples
Question:

Currently there is a trend towards the use of alternative forms of medicine. However, at
best these methods are ineffective, and at worst they may be dangerous.

To what extent do you agree with this statement?

Introduction:

Alternative medicine is not new. It is accepted that it pre-dates conventional medicine and it
is still used by many people all over the world. I am unconvinced that it is dangerous, and
feel that both alternative and conventional medicine can be useful.
Conclusion:

To sum up, I strongly believe that conventional medicine and alternative therapies can and
should coexist. They have different strengths, and can both be used effectively to target
particular medical problems. The best situation would be for alternative therapies to be
used to support and complement conventional medicine.

Question:

Some people believe the aim of university education is to help graduates get better jobs.
Others believe there are much wider benefits of university education for both individuals
and society.

Discuss both views and give your opinion.

Introduction:

These days, more and more people are making the choice to go to university. While some
people are of the opinion that the only purpose of a university education is to improve job
prospects, others think that society and the individual benefit in much broader ways.
Conclusion:

 All in all, I believe that although a main aim of university education is to get the best job,
there are clearly further benefits. If we continue to promote and encourage university
attendance, it will lead to a better future for individuals and society.

Question:

Global warming is one of the most serious issues that the world is facing today.

What are the causes of global warming and what measures can governments and
individuals take to tackle the issue?

Introduction:

Probably the most worrying threat to our planet at the present time is global warming. This
essay will examine the reasons why global warming is occurring and discuss some possible
solutions.
Conclusion:

To conclude, although global warming is a serious issue, there are steps that governments
and individuals can take to reduce its effects. If we are to save our planet, it is important
that this is treated as a priority for all concerned.

 Lesson 10: Transitional Phrases for Essays
This lesson shows you transitional phrases for essays in order to help you present other
people’s arguments in your IELTS writing essays for part 2.

This is when you want to make it clear those arguments are NOT your own.

This lesson is aimed more at those who are wanting a band 7 or higher as this page will
show you a more sophisticated way of presenting arguments.

When you write an argumentative essay, it is likely that you will want to present two sides of
an argument.

Take a look at this paragraph from an essay (which was recently posted as a model essay on
this site) which is in answer to this question:

University education should be free to everyone, regardless of income.

To what extent do you agree or disagree?

The person is presenting the side of the argument about why education should not be free:

Firstly, students should be charged because education is becoming more expensive to fund as
universities grow in size. Consequently, making students pay may maintain standards and
ensure the quality of the teaching. In addition, students benefit from university in terms of
higher paid jobs, so it is fair that they pay for at least some of the cost, especially given that
the majority of students attending university are from the middle classes. Last but not least,
in many countries, there is a shortage of people to do manual jobs such as plumbing and
carpentry, so making university more expensive may encourage people to take up these jobs.

The paragraph is fine but it does look like the opinions being presented are the writers own
views.

What if you want to make it clear that they are not your opinions, but those of someone
else because you intend to disagree with it in your next paragraph or because you don't want
to make it clear which side of the argument you agree with until the end?

The paragraph has now got some transitional phrases for essays in red / bold that make it
clear that they are not your arguments, but another person's:

One argument put forward in favour of charging students is that education is becoming
more expensive to fund as universities grow in size. Consequently, making students pay may
maintain standards and ensure the quality of the teaching. In addition, it is argued that most
students benefit from university in terms of higher paid jobs, so it is fair that they pay for at
least some of the cost, especially given that the majority of students attending university are
from the middle classes. Last but not least, in many countries, there is a shortage of people
to do manual jobs such as plumbing and carpentry, so making university more expensive may
encourage people to take up these jobs.

The last point “Last but not least, in many countries…” has not been changed, but this would
be overdoing it. It is clear by this point that all the arguments the writer is presenting are
other people’s.

In your next paragraph, you may then want to present your arguments. So you may begin
your paragraph with something like:

However, I do not believe these arguments stand up to scrutiny. Firstly,...

Alternatively, you may want to present another paragraph with other people's ideas, that
shows the opposite side of the argument. So your second paragraph may begin:

However, some people oppose these views. Firstly, they claim that...

And then you would let the reader know in your conclusion your position on the matter.

Here are some examples of transitional phrases for essays that can be used:

It has been argued that…

Some people claim / argue / believe / think that…

An argument commonly put forward is that…

Those that support (topic) argue / believe / claim that…

Proponents of (topic) argue / believe / claim that…

These arguments have been critisized for several reasons...

These are just some examples. There will be some other ways.

I suggested these as band 7 and above as it is a more difficult skill to place them in your
essay.

They can't just be stuck in front of an idea and used like a transition such as "Firstly,..." in the
hope of getting a band 7!

They create a certain register or tone that you are writing with so you need to make sure the
rest of your essay fits with this style.

Check out the transitional phrases for essays in this model essay: Animal Rights Essay

Some people believe that animals should be treated in the same way humans are and have
similar rights, whereas others think that it is more important to use them as we desire for food
and medical research. This essay will discuss both points of view.

With regard to the exploitation of animals, people believe it is acceptable for several reasons.
Firstly, they think that humans are the most important beings on the planet, and everything
must be done to ensure human survival. If this means experimenting on animals so that we
can fight and find cures for diseases, then this takes priority over animal suffering.
Furthermore, it is believed by some that animals do not feel pain or loss as humans do, so if
we have to kill animals for food or other uses, then this is morally acceptable.

However, I do not believe these arguments stand up to scrutiny. To begin, it has been shown
on numerous occasions by secret filming in laboratories via animal rights groups that animals
feel as much pain as humans do, and they suffer when they are kept in cages for long periods.
In addition, a substantial amount of animal research is done for cosmetics, not to find cures

for diseases, so this is unnecessary. Finally, it has also been proven that humans can get all
the nutrients and vitamins that they need from green vegetables and fruit. Therefore, again,
having to kill animals for food is not an adequate argument.

To sum up, although some people argue killing animals for research and food is ethical, I
would argue there is sufficient evidence to demonstrate that this is not the case, and,
therefore, steps must be taken to improve the rights of animals.

(Words 290)

 Lesson 11: Good Paragraph Writing
This lesson will give you the basic tips on paragraph writing.
You should follow the same structure that you would for writing any paragraph when you
write an IELTS paragraph, though it may be shorter because of the limited time that you
have.

This limited time and space means that you have to get your ideas across as clearly and
succinctly as possible.

If you have planned well before you write, then you should be well on your way to being able
to write your paragraphs quickly and clearly.

The following has all the components of a good paragraph.

Read it through and identify why this is.

Studying Abroad
Studying abroad has two main benefits. Firstly, people who study abroad can get a better job
when they return to their home country. This is because their qualifications and experience
mean that they tend to get jobs that are higher paid, and they can also gain promotion quickly.
Another advantage of studying abroad is the independence students can gain. For example,
students have to cope with the challenges of living alone and meeting new people from
different cultures. As a consequence, they will become more confident in their life and in
their relationships with others. All in all, it is clear that studying abroad is a beneficial
experience.

The Three Parts to Good Paragraph Writing

The 'text book' structure for a paragraph is as follows:

• Topic sentence
• Supporting sentences
• Concluding sentence
1. Topic Sentence

The topic sentence states what the paragraph will be about. It gives the topic of the
paragraph, and it also restricts the topic to one or two main ideas which can be explained
fully in the space of one paragraph. The controlling idea is the specific area that the topic is
limited to:

topic controlling idea

Studying abroad has two main benefits

2. Supporting Sentences
Supporting sentences explain and develop the topic sentence. Specifically, they discuss the
topic sentence by explaining the main ideas and discussing those more fully using reasons,
examples, facts, results, statistics, or anything else that proves your ideas are true.

The supporting sentences that explain the benefits of studying abroad are:

People get a better job when they return home (1st supporting idea)
• Better qualifications & experience mean better pay and promotion (reason)
• Now has a high standard of living (result)
Students gain independence (2nd supporting idea)
• Students have to cope with the challenges of living alone and meeting new people from
different cultures.(example)
• Students will become more confident in their life and relationships (result)

3. Concluding Sentence (Optional)

A concluding sentence can be used to signal the end of the paragraph. It tells the reader the
important points to remember. It is often a paraphrase of the topic sentence.

All in all, it is clear that studying abroad is a beneficial experience.

Concluding sentences are optional and paragraphs often do not have them. You won't get
marked down if you do not have a concluding sentence in IELTS, but it is a good way to add
coherence to your paragraph.

Unity and Coherence

For good paragraph writing, there must also be unity and coherence. The examiner will
assess your IELTS paragraphs on their unity and coherence, which is clearly shown in the
IELTS public band descriptors under "Coherence and Cohesion" for what is required for a
band 7:

• logically organises information and ideas; there is clear progression throughout

• uses a range of cohesive devices appropriately
• presents a clear central topic within each paragraph
1. Unity

Unity means that you discuss only one main (central) topic area in a paragraph. The area that
you are going to cover is usually introduced in the topic sentence, and your supporting
sentences should only be used to develop that.

For the topic sentence above, you could discuss only two benefits of studying abroad. You
could not discuss three benefits, or start discussing the disadvantages of studying abroad. If
you did, your paragraph would not have unity.

Even if there is no specific topic sentence (more advanced writers do not always have an
obvious topic sentence), the paragraph should still have one central topic area so it retains
unity.

2. Coherence

Another element of good paragraph writing is coherency. This means your paragraph is easy
to understand and read because

(a) The supporting sentences are arranged in a logical order and

(b) The ideas are joined by appropriate transition signals.
(a) Logical Order

For example, in the paragraph about studying abroad, there are two main ideas: People who
study abroad can get a better job, and they will become more independent. Each of these
ideas is discussed, one after the other, with examples, reasons and results to support
them. This is logical order.

(b) Transition Signals

Furthermore, the relationship between the ideas is clearly shown by using appropriate
transition words and phrases such as first of all, for instance, the result of this, another
advantage, as a consequence, all in all. Using such words and phrases will guide the
reader through your paragraph, making it coherent and, therefore, easy to understand.

 Lesson 12: IELTS Problem Solution Essays
Sometimes in the IELTS task 2 you will be given a problem solution essay.

In this type of essay you need to discuss the problems with regards to a particular topic and
then suggest possible solutions to these problems.

One of the first things you want to make sure that you are able to do is identfy one of these
questions when it arises.

Here are some examples of this type of question.

Problem Solution Essay Questions:

Overpopulation of urban areas has led to numerous problems.

Identify one or two serious ones and suggest ways that governments and individuals can
tackle these problems.

Nowadays many people have access to computers on a wide basis and a large number of
children play computer games.

What are the negative impacts of playing computer games and what can be done to
minimize the bad effects?

The internet has transformed the way information is shared and consumed, but it has
also created problems that did not exist before.

What are the most serious problems associated with the internet and what solutions can
you suggest?

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.

An important note. Some essays ask for reasons and solutions, not problems and solutions.
Writing about a reason (or cause) is not the same as writing about a problem.

Check these model essays to see the difference.

Problem Solution Example Essay

In order to understand these types of problem solution essays further and how to organize
your writing, we'll look at a problem solution example essay:

The internet has transformed the way information is shared and consumed, but it has
also created problems that did not exist before.

What are the most serious problems associated with the internet and what solutions can
you suggest?

The enormous growth in the use of the internet over the last decade has led to radical changes
to the way that people consume and share information. Although serious problems have
arisen as a result of this, there are solutions.

One of the first problems of the internet is the ease with which children can access potentially
dangerous sites. For example, pornography sites are easily accessible to them because they
can register with a site and claim to be an adult. There is no doubt that this affects their
thoughts and development, which is a negative impact for the children and for society.
Another major problem is the growth of online fraud and hacking. These days, there are
constant news stories about government and company websites that have been hacked,
resulting in sensitive information falling into the hands of criminals.

It is important that action is taken to combat these problems. Governments should ensure that
adequate legislation and controls are in place that will prevent young people from accessing
dangerous sites, such as requiring more than simply confirming that you are an adult to view
a site. Parents also have a part to play. They need to closely monitor the activities of their
children and restrict their access to certain sites, which can now be done through various
computer programs. Companies must also improve their onsite IT security systems to make
fraud and hacking much more difficult by undertaking thorough reviews of their current
systems for weaknesses.

To conclude, the internet is an amazing technological innovation that has transformed

people’s lives, but not without negative impacts. However, with the right action by
individuals, governments and businesses, it can be made a safe place for everyone.

(285 words)

Writing about Problems

From the problem solution essay, look at the problems paragraph, and answer the following
questions (then click on the link below to see the answers):

1. How many problems are discussed?

2. What are they?
3. What expressions are used to introduce the problems?
4. How are the problems illustrated further?
5. What results are discussed for each problem?
Show / hide answers

Your answers to these questions should tell you a lot about how to plan and organize a
problem paragraph.

You only need two or three problems as remember you do not have much time and you need
to explain the problems.

When you brainstorm your ideas for problem solution essays, think about (a) what the
problem is (b) how you will explain it (c) and what the effect is. Your paragraph will then
follow this pattern.

Here is an example of the brainstorming for this paragraph:

Problem 1: children can access potentially dangerous sites

• Explanation / Example: Pornography sites

• Result: Affects thought & development - negative for children & society
Problem 2: growth of online fraud and hacking

• Explanation / Example: Evident from the constant news stories

• Result: Criminals get sensitive information
Here they are illustrated in the paragraph, with the introductory expressions underlined:

One of the first problems of the internet is the ease with which children can access
potentially dangerous sites. For example, pornography sites are easily accessible to them
because they can register with a site and claim to be an adult. There is no doubt that this
affects their thoughts and development, which is a negative impact for the children and for
society. Another major problem is the growth of online fraud and hacking. These days,
there are constant news stories about government and company websites that have been
hacked, resulting in sensitive information falling into the hands of criminals.

Writing about Solutions

Answer the following questions about the solutions paragraph:

 1. How many solutions are given?
2. What are they?
3. What three different groups of people does the writer say are responsble for these
solutions?
4. How would the solutions be implemented?
5. What three modal verb structures are used to make the suggestions?
Show / hide answers
Your answers to these questions provide you with some key tips on writing a solutions
paragraph. Some of these points are now explained further.

a) The people involved

When you come to brainstorm your solutions, think of the key 'actors' who are involved. It is
usually governments and individuals in some way or another.

There may be another group specifically realted to the topic. For example, in this case it is
companies and parents. If you are discussing crime it could be the police. If it is violence on
TV it could be TV and film producers.

You can then brainstorm your ideas under each 'group' and organize them in the same way.

b) Developing your solutions

Also, try to make sure your solutions are not too simplistic. It's all too easy to make sweeping
generalizations about what people can do. For example, look at this idea:

The government should introduce stricter laws.

It it common to see such statements in IELTS problem solution essays with no further
explantion. Give more detail about how or why this would work. For example:

Governments should ensure that adequate legislation and controls are in place that will
prevent young people from accessing dangerous sites, such as requiring more than simply
confirming that you are an adult to view a site.
Some specific detail has now been given on how this solution could work.

b) Modal Verbs

Modal verbs can be used to make suggestions in problem solution essays. These are usually
found in solutions paragraphs.

Check out this grammar lesson if you are unsure how to use modal verbs.

Here again is a plan for the problem solution essay for the solutions paragraph:

Solution 1: Governments

• Idea: Adequate legislation and controls for young people

• How: More complex website access criteria
Solution 2: Parents

• Idea: Monitor children and restrict access

• How: Use a computer program
Solution 3: Companies

• Idea: Improve IT security systems

• How: Review current systems in place
Here is the paragraph again. Note how it follows the plan and the clear topic sentence that
tells the reader the essay is moving on to discuss solutions (modals verbs are underlined):

It is important that action is taken to combat these problems. Governments should ensure
that adequate legislation and controls are in place that will prevent young people from
accessing dangerous sites, such as requiring more than simply confirming that you are an
adult to view a site. Parents also have a part to play. They need to closely monitor the
activities of their children and restrict their access to certain sites, which can now be done
through various computer programs.Companies must also improve their onsite IT security
systems to make fraud and hacking much more difficult by undertaking thorough reviews
of their current systems for weaknesses.

 Lesson 13: IELTS Opinion Essays
IELTS opinion essays are very common in the exam.

It can be a bit confusing, especially if you are new to IELTS, to work out the different types
of essay.

Some people talk about 'argumentative essays', 'thesis-led essays', 'discussion essays', which
can get quite confusing and it is usually not necessary to know this.

The important thing is to analyze each question as you see it and answer it.

The aim of this lesson is to give you a brief overview of the common types of essay that ask
for your opinion.

Of course not everything will fit this pattern as there are a variety of ways a question can be
worded, but the types below are common ways to be asked about your opinion in the test.

Task 2 IELTS Opinion Essays can broadly be put into three types:

1. Discuss ONE opinion

Advances in technology and automation have reduced the need for manual
labour. (opinion) Therefore, working hours should be reduced.
To what extent do you agree or disagree?
With these essays you are normally given ONE opinion, and then asked specifically if you
agree or disagree with it, or to what extent you agree or disagree. You must make it clear
whether you agree, disagree or partly agree and give your reasons why.

2. Discuss TWO OPPOSING opinions

(opinion one) A growing number of people feel that animals should not be exploited by
people and that they should have the same rights as humans,(opposing opinion) while
others argue that humans must employ animals to satisfy their various needs, including
uses for food and research.

Discuss both views and give your opinion.

With these essays you have TWO opinions that oppose each other. You have to discuss
BOTH of them and also give your opinion. Your essay will get a lower mark for 'task
response' if you don’t discuss both of the opinions or you don’t make your opinion clear.

3. Advantages and Disadvantages
The number of old people around the world is increasing dramatically.

Could this have more positive or negative effects on society? or…

Do the advantages of the trend outweigh the disadvantages? or…

Is this a positive development?

In these questions you are given a fact or facts and then you have to look at the positive and
negative sides of this. They are all asking for your opinion so you must state this. In the first
two you will need to look at both sides as the question is clearly implying there are both
positive and negative impacts.

Don't mix this up with a basic advantage and disadvantage essay like this:

What are the advantages and disadvantages of this trend?

Although your organization, ideas and body paragraphs may be similar, this one is not asking
for your opinion so you don't need to give it. It is simply asking you to present both sides of
the issue.

This has been a quick and broad overview of some common IELTS opinion essay question
types and it should be particularly helpful if you are fairly new to IELTS or if you have been
studying for a while but are still unclear about the various types of essay.

Take a look at the model essays page and you can browse through some examples of these
types of essays and how they can be answered by clicking on the links on the right of the
page.

Look for these types of IELTS opinion essay:

1. agree / disagree
2. discuss two opinions
3. advantages and disadvantages

Lesson 14: IELTS Music Essay

In this lesson we’ll look at an IELTS music essay in order to explain how to approach a
more complex IELTS task 2 question.

Many questions have a clear task.

For example, the task may clearly state that you need to agree or disagree, offer solutions to
a problem, or give the reasons why a problem exists.

Some though may have more general questions.

Take a look at the example below:

There are many types of music in the world today. Why do we need music? Is the
traditional music of a country more important and should it be preserved or is
international music that is heard everywhere nowadays more useful to a society?

This is quite complex - the IELTS music essay question is long and ‘music’ is quite an
abstract topic.

Understanding the Question

When you get a more complex IELTS task 2 question like this you should make sure
you underline important words and carefully break it down into its different parts.

This will make sure that you do not miss something when you answer the question.

When you have done this, you should hopefully end up with something like this:

• Why do we need music?

• Why is traditional music important?
• Should it be preserved?
• Why is international music important?
• Which is the most important?
You need to discuss all these things as they are all within the IELTS music essay question. If
you address all of these points then you will be fully answering the question.

These kinds of question are usually asking your opinion in some way, and this question is no
exception.

All of the points listed are asking for your opinion, but most importantly you MUST make it
clear which type of music, traditional or international, you think is more important/useful (if
indeed you do think one is more important than the other - you may think they are equally
important).

Planning and Organizing your Answer

You can use these questions to brainstorm and plan your answer.

With a question like this there is no ‘fixed’ way to organize it. There could be many different
ways. But you must ensure that, as always, it is logical and covers everything.

One clear way would be to discuss why we need music first, then go on to discuss/compare
the relative importance of traditional and international music, ensuring that you finish by
stating your opinion (or restating your opinion if you already gave it in your introduction).

Now, take a look at the IELTS music essay model answer.

IELTS Music Essay Model Answer

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.

Write about the following topic:

There are many types of music in the world today. Why do we need music? Is the
traditional music of a country more important and should it be preserved or is
international music that is heard everywhere nowadays more useful to a society?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own experience
or knowledge.

Write at least 250 words.

Music exists in some form or another in every culture around the world and it provides
enjoyment to millions of people. However, some people are concerned that traditional music
is being lost because of the popularity of international music.

Without a doubt, music is a necessity. Firstly, music is important as it provides enjoyment

and pleasure in daily life. People listen to music to relax at home, to relieve the boredom of
long journeys, and to dance to in the evening at clubs. Not only this, music is also an
expression of culture, often being an essential part of religious ceremonies such as weddings
and funerals or yearly festivals. It is also now common in educational development as
children learn to play music at school.

In considering which kind of music is the most important, international music is certainly
useful to society because it can be argued that it helps us to understand and relate to other
people, cultures and countries as we all listen to the same songs. This has occurred as
globalization means Western music is heard around the world. However, it is critical that this
is not at the expense of traditional music. It should be a priority to preserve this since it
teaches people about their history, and helps societies remember and retain their national and
cultural identity.

To conclude, I would argue that one type of music is not more important or useful than
another. Traditional music is vital and should be preserved as it is part of a country’s cultural
identity, but both are needed as they provide enjoyment to people in different ways.

(270 words)

Comments
As you can see, the IELTS music essay answer is 270 words.

There is a lot more you could have written about this topic and I could have made the answer
longer, but this is to show you that you can address quite a few points in a short space.

If you are a good writer and you can write more then that is fine, but most people cannot
write much more if they have to brainstorm, plan and check their grammar as well as write
the answer.

The question has quite a few points to discuss and they are all within the essay.

 Lesson 15: Personal Pronouns in Essays for IELTS
Whether to use personal pronouns in essays for IELTS is a question that often comes up often
with students studying for the test.

Personal pronouns are words such as "I", "you", "we" and "they".

Some people believe that these words should not be used in IELTS essays because IELTS
essays are 'academic' and it is not usually advised to use such personal words in academic
writing.

This is true, but IELTS is not the same as writing an essay at university or writing a research
article for a journal.

When you write an essay at university, you will have books and journals that you will refer to
and you will need to use citations and references.

In an IELTS essays you don't have any of these sources - you only have your own experience
(and 40 minutes!).

And as the rubric states in every question, you are expected to make use of this experience
and knowledge:

"Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your
own experience or knowledge"

It would not be written in this way if you were forbidden to use personal pronouns in essays
for IELTS.

So you may wish to give an example from your own country, or even your own personal
experience if it is relevant.

Also, some of the tasks asking for your opinion are personal:

"To what extent do you agree or disagree?"

"Discuss both opinions and give your opinion"

So although an IELTS essay does need to be in an academic style, it is not quite the same as
your average piece of academic writing and it can be more personal with the use of personal
pronouns.

Where can I use personal pronouns in essays and how often?

So it is ok to use personal pronouns in essays for IELTS, but you should not overdo it. If you
start using them all the way through, your essay will be in danger of losing its academic style.

But using them a few times when needed is not a problem. For example, you may want to use
them in the thesis statement in the introduction to give your opinion:

"In my opinion, students should not have to wear school uniforms".

"I do not believe that students should wear school uniforms".

"I agree that wearing school uniforms is necessary for the following reasons".

Another advantage of using personal pronouns in essays for IELTS is that it makes your
opinion very clear.

The examiner will expect to be able to clearly see what your opinion is (in opinion essays).
There is a possibity that if you use impersonal language the examiner will not realise it
is your opinion.

This is not to say you have to use personal pronouns as you certainly don't, but if you are a
lower level writer it makes it very clear what your opinion is so there are no
misunderstandings.

Look at this example conclusion - it is very clear what the writers position is and there will
be no misunderstanding:

On balance, I would argue that although it is not realistic to remove all opportunities for
privately funded research, governments should have the main responsibility for the
monitoring and controlling of this. Strong checks and balances need to be in place to ensure
future research is ethical and productive.

What about in body paragraphs?

Again, as explained above, you may wish to use personal pronouns in essays as you are told
you can give examples from your own experience and you are asked for your opinion. A few
times is ok, but don't use them too much as your essay may start to look too informal.

Take a look at this example essay where personal pronouns have been used effectively and
they do not detract from the style of the essay or the answer:

Many old buildings protected by law are part of a nation’s history. Some people think
they should be knocked down and replaced by news ones.

How important is it to maintain old buildings?

Should history stand in the way of progress?

Most nations around the world have at least some, or possibly many, old buildings such as
temples, churches and houses in their cities, villages and surrounding areas which have

historical significance. In my opinion, it is very important to maintain these, but this does
not mean progress should stop.

Preserving certain old buildings is important for several reasons. Firstly, these structures
provide an insight into the history of our countries, showing how people many centuries ago
lived their lives. Without them,we could only learn by books, and it would undoubtedly be
sad if this were the only way to see them. Many of these buildings are also very beautiful.
Take for example the many religious buildings such as churches and temples that can be seen
around the world. Not only this, but on a more practical level, many of these buildings
provide important income to a country as many tourists visit them in great numbers.

However, this certainly does not mean that modernization should be discouraged. I
believe that old buildings can be protected in tandem with progress. For example, in many
circumstances we see old historic buildings being renovated whilst maintaining their original
character, and being used for modern purposes. Also, in no way does history hinder progress,
and in fact it is the opposite. By studying and learning about our history, a greater
understanding is gained about the world we live in, and this helps to build a better future.

To conclude, in my view it is very important to protect and preserve old buildings as we can
learn about our history as can others from other countries. Such knowledge can also
help us to understand how to modernize our countries in the best way.

You will likely not use personal pronouns in essays for IELTS to this extent as this question
is particulary suitable for it more than some others, but it shows you that it is not necessarily
a problem.

This is a good essay and it would not lose marks because of the use of personal pronouns.

Summary
So to sum up, it is ok to use personal pronouns in essays for IELTS, but don't overuse
them as it may start sounding too informal.
Certainly make use of them in opinion essays in your introduction and / or conclusion as this
will make your opinion very clear.

You are less likely to use them in your body paragraphs, but it is not wrong to do so.

As you saw in the essay above, using personal pronouns did not detract from the style of the
essay. You may also have a particularly good example from your experience that means you
need to use a personal pronoun.

 Lesson 16: IELTS Advantage Disadvantage Essay
This lesson is about IELTS advantage disadvantage essay questions when you are told to
assess whether the benefits of something outweigh the drawbacks.

The topic of the essay which is used as an example is about the trend to live and work abroad.

Take a look at the essay question we are going to analyse:

People now have the freedom to work and live anywhere in the world due to the
development of communication technology and transportation.

Do the advantages of this development outweigh the disadvantages?

Understanding the Task

When you have this type of advantage disadvantage essay it is important to distinguish
between this and one that asks you to discuss advantages and disadvantages but does not ask
your opinion.

If you are asked “What are the advantages and disadvantages of…..” you are not being asked
your opinion. You simply have to discuss the benefits and drawbacks.

You could do this in two body paragraphs – one discussing the positive points, the next
discussing the negative points.

However, if you have the word “outweigh” or “Will this trend have more positive or negative
effects?” then you are being asked for your opinion and you must say which there are the
most of – positive or negative impacts.

If you do not do this then you may get your score reduced on ‘Task Response’ for not fully
addressing the question.

If you look at the IELTS public band descriptors (available to download if you do an internet
search or available from your local IELTS centre), you will see that this could reduce your
band to a 5 for this criteria (it would not necessarily affect the other three criteria).

(Check this lesson on IELTS Band 7 for an overview of the criteria for getting a band 7 if you
are unsure of what the criteria are).

Take a look at these examples:

People now have the freedom to work and live anywhere in the world due to the
development of communication technology and transportation.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of this trend?

This advantage disadvantage essay is not asking for your opinion. You could simply write
one paragraph on the advantages and another on the disadvantages.

However, this one does:

People now have the freedom to work and live anywhere in the world due to the
development of communication technology and transportation.

Do the advantages of this development outweigh the disadvantages?

OR

Will this have more positive or negative impacts?

'Outweigh'
Another point to be careful of is using the word ‘outweigh’. It is common for IELTS students
to get mixed up when they write the thesis statement, and actually say the opposite to what
they write in the essay!

For example, they will say the drawbacks outweigh the benefits, but then give more benefits
in the essay. This makes no sense.

So if you are not sure you can use the word correctly, I would recommend not using it in this
type of IELTS advantage disadvantage essay. You can just say what your opinion is, as in the
thesis in the model answer:

I believe that this has more benefits than drawbacks.

This will avoid any mistakes.

Writing your Thesis

You then need to think of 3 supporting ideas. One for one side and two for the other side.

So you will then have three body paragraphs, one with the drawback / benefit and two with
the advantages / disadvantages.

It is common academic practice to start with the opposing opinionto yours, so you can start
with the point that you have one idea for.

As explained above, it is very important, especially if you are looking for a band 7 or higher,
that your opinion reflects what is in your essay. So if you have said there are more benefits,
then you would have two benefits and one drawback.

Now take a look at the advantage disadvantage essay model answer.

Model Advantage Disadvantage Essay

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.

Write about the following topic:

People now have the freedom to work and live anywhere in the world due to the
development of communication technology and transportation.

Do the advantages of this development outweigh the disadvantages?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own experience
or knowledge.

Write at least 250 words.

These days many people choose to live or work in other countries, which has been made
possible because of the convenience of air travel and modern communications. I believe that
this has more benefits than drawbacks.

The disadvantage of this development is the distance that is put between family members. If a
person moves away it is true that air travel and devices such as skype mean that
communication and contact can be maintained. However, it is likely that a person will only
be able to return one or two times a year during holidays, and speaking on skype or via email
is not the same as face-to-face contact.

Despite this, there are significant advantages it can bring to people’s lives. Firstly, it means
that people have the opportunity to see other parts of the world and the way people live. For
example, people from the West often go to work in Asia or the Middle East and visa-versa.
This enriches many people’s lives as they get to learn about other languages, traditions,
cultures and different ways of working from their own country.

In addition to this, on a wider level it may also benefit other countries. If someone moves
abroad for work, it is usually because their skill is required there. To illustrate, nurses and
Doctors often move to work in hospitals in other countries when there is a shortage, so this is
very valuable to the place they move to.

I would therefore argue that although there are disadvantages of the current trend to live and
work abroad, they are outweighed by the advantages. It can enrich people’s lives and lives of
the people in the countries that they move to.

(283 Words)

Comments
As you can see in the essay, the writer believes there are more benefits so the essay is biased
towards this opinion, giving more advantages than disadvantages.

The opinion is very clear, and repeated in the conclusion, and the body of the essay reflects
this opinion so there will be no confusion when someone reads it.

Other Ways to Answer the Question
This is not to suggest that this method is the only way to answer this type of question. There
could be other ways.

For example, some people advise to write two body paragraphs - one on the advantages and
another on the disadvantages, then in the conclusion state which one outweighs the other.

You can do this, but it can look at bit odd if you write about them equally, but then say there
are more of one than the other! A conclusion can be cleverly worded to make this work, but
that is a high level skill that many candidates do not have.

You could write only about the advantages or only about disadvantages and argue that one
vastly outweights the other. However, the fact that the question uses 'outweigh' or 'more' is
suggesting that there are both benefits and drawbacks.

The benefit of organising your advantage disadvantage essay as illustrated in this lesson is
that by looking at both sides, you will have more ideas to brainstorm. And importantly,
your opinion is clearand this is reflected in the essay, which is balanced to reflect and
support your opinion.

A model answer for this essay will be posted shortly so watch this space, or sign up using
the form on the right to be notifed when there are updates to the site.

Practice
Now you can have a practice.

Try to answer this advantage disadvantage essay question:

More and more students are choosing to study at colleges and universities in foreign
countries.

Do the benefits of studying abroad outweigh the drawbacks?

IELTS Grammar

Lesson 1: Sentence clauses

Lesson 2: Sentence structure

Lesson 3: Complex sentences

Lesson 4: Adverbial Clauses

Lesson 5: Relative Clauses

Lesson 6: Noun Clauses

Lesson 7: Modal verbs

Lesson 8: Subject Verb Agreement

Lesson 9: Gerunds

Lesson 10: Infinitives

Lesson11: Gerund or Infinitive?

Lesson 12: Parallel Structure

Lesson 13: Passive Voice

 IELTS Grammar
These pages are here to help you with your IELTS grammar, mainly for writing.

However, it can obviously help with your speaking and also with your reading as it is easy to
misunderstand what you have read if you are confused by different sentence structures.

All grammar for IELTS is important, but there are some specific things that are directly
related to IELTS.

The explanations and exercises will highlight these so you can see how they are relevant.

Why is grammar important?

There is no actual grammar test section in the IELTS test, but you are still graded on this by
the examiner in the speaking test and writing test.

These are specifically what you are graded on in each test:

Writing:
• Task Achievement / Response
• Coherence and Cohesion
• Lexical Resource
• Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Speaking:
• Fluency and coherence
• Lexical Resource
• Grammatical Range and Accuracy
• Pronunication

So as you can see, grammar makes up 25% of each test.

However, it is also important for the 'lexical resource' part. This is your use of such things as
your vocabulary, idiomatic vocabulary, and collocations.

You will be marked down on this if you are making mistakes with such things as word
forms (e.g. using a noun form instead of a verb form) so this is also grammar related.

This is not to suggest that you should focus only on grammar as the other elements such as
fluency in your speaking and your ability to answer the question and organise your response
in the writing are a major part of the marking.

But it is clearly important to work on improving your IELTS grammar, and this is often
the part candidates have the most problems with and the thing that brings their score down.

Worried about your grammar for IELTS Writing?

Problem Solved!

This grammar eBook is packed full of grammar explanations and practice exercises.

It focuses on advanced grammar as you need to use complex grammar to get a higher score.

Check it out here

How is the grammar for IELTS writing marked exactly?

In order to work on improving your IELTS grammar, it is useful to understand how it is
marked.

For each of the parts of the exam highlighed above, you are given a band score (so you get
four scores) and these are then averaged to get your overall score for your writing.

For example:

Writing:

• Task Achievement / Response - band 6
• Coherence and Cohesion - band 6
• Lexical Resource - band 6
• Grammatical Range and Accuracy - band 5
Overall score = 5.5

The table below shows the two sections on lexis and grammar. These are adapted from the
public band descriptors and show you what the examiner is looking for.

The column on 'grammatical range and accuracy' is exactly as from the public band
descriptors, but the 'lexical resource' column just picks out the parts related to grammar.

Writing Band Descriptors for Grammar

Band Lexical Resource
Sophisticaled control of lexical features;
9 flexibility and accuracy; rare minor errors
rare minor 'slips' occur
Produces rare errorsin spelling and / or •
8
word formation
Occasional errors in word choice,
7
spelling, and / or word formation
Some errors in spelling and / or word
6 formation, but they do not impede
communication
Noticeable errors in spelling and / or
5 word formation that may cause some
difficultyfor the reader
Limited control of word formation and /
4 or spelling; errors may cause strain for
the reader
3 Errors may severely distort the message
Grammatical Range & Accuracy
• Uses a wide range of structures with full
occur only as slips.
• Uses a wide range of structures
The majority of sentences are error-free
• Makes only very occasional errors or
inappropriacies
• Uses a variety of complex structures
• Produces frequent error-free sentences
• Has good control of grammar and punctuation
but may make a few errors
• Uses a mix of simple and complex sentence
forms
• Makes some errors in grammar and
punctuation but they rarely reduce
communication
• Uses only a limited range of structures
• Attempts complex sentences but these tend to
be less accurate than simple sentences
• May make frequent grammatical errors and
punctuation may be faulty; errors can cause
some difficulty for the reader
• Uses only a very limited range of structures
with only rare use of subordinate clauses
• Some structures are accurate but errors
predominate, and punctuation is often faulty
• Attempts sentence forms but errors in grammar
and punctuation predominate and distort the
meaning

 Essentially no control of word formation • Cannot use sentence forms except in
2
and / or spelling memorised phrases
1 Can only use a few isolated words • Cannot use sentence forms at all

Understanding the descriptors

If you study the table you will notice phrases near the top such as 'rare', 'occasional' and 'few'
in reference to word form and grammatical errors.

Near the band 6 range are phrases such as 'some', and then 'noticeable' and 'causing difficulty'
as you go down lower.

You can also see that it is important to be:

• Getting your word forms right

• Understanding how to write complex sentences
• Expanding your range of grammatical structures you can use
• Using grammar accurately (i.e minimising your error density).
So the pages you'll find here link to explanations and exercises on IELTS grammar to help
you improve your score and your grammar.

 Lesson 1: Sentence Clauses
In this grammar lesson we'll look at sentence clauses.

As you will see from the IELTS writing band descriptors, you need to be able to
write complex sentences in order to score higher for your grammatical range - and write
them correctly so you don't get marked down on your accuracy!

The building blocks of sentences are 'clauses' though, so the first step is understanding these.

For example, a band 4 makes only "rare use of subordinate clauses" according to the public
band descriptors.

This implies you must be making good use of subordinating clauses to get a higher score,
so you need to know first what sentence clauses are.

What is a clause in a sentence?

A clause is a group of words with a (s) subject and a (v) verb.

For example:

(s) Computers (v) are important.

= 1 sentence with 1 clause.

We can have two clauses though i.e. two groups of words with a subject and a verb:

Computers are important, but they are dangerous too.

= 1 sentence with 2 clauses.

How about three sentence clauses?

Computers are important, but they can be dangerous too, so we must be careful.

= 1 sentence with 3 clauses.

Now let's add a fourth!

Computers are important, but they can be dangerous too, so we must

be careful when we use them.

= 1 sentence with 4 clauses.

You'll have noticed then that a sentence is not the same thing as a clause.

A sentence is the group of words that comes between two full-stops and it must be
a complete thought that makes sense.

So sentence clauses are what build a sentence, and one sentence can have a number of
clauses.

What if there is no subject and verb?

If there is no subject or verb in part of the sentence, then this may be a phrase.

For example:

(p) In many countries around the world, flooding is becoming more common.

A phrase is a group of words without a subject and verb (a phrase on its own obviously
cannot be a sentence because every sentence has a subject and a verb!).

You should now know the difference between a sentence, a clause and a phrase. Time to
practice!

Sentence Clauses Practice

Look at the sentences with clauses below, and put a check in the correct box to say how many
clauses each sentence has.

Look carefully for the subjects and verbs. This will help you identify the clauses.

1. I'm going out tonight so I must get ready soon.

1
2
3
4

2. Global warming is a major problem, but it can be solved if we take action now.
1
2
3
4

3. Obesity is getting worse now in developing countries.

1
2
3
4

4. I don't know when I will be able to stop studying because I have many more exams.

1
2
3
4

5. It's cold outside so I'm going to stay in.

1
2
3
4

6. Although cars are essential, they cause a lot of pollution, so governments must take action
soon, and individuals also need to play a role.

1
2
3
4

7. Why were you so late?

1
2
3
4

8. He said that he will come to see me tomorrow.

1
2
3
4

9. It is important to be on time, but it is ok to be late when you have an emergency.

1
2
3
4

10. I felt unwell when I ate the food, so I'll probably not eat at the restaurant again, but I think
my friend will.

1
2
3
4
Answers
1. 2
2. 3
3. 1
4. 3
5. 2
6. 4
7. 1
8. 2
9. 3
10. 4

 Lesson 2: Sentence Structure
This page about sentence structure will focus on the differences between simple sentences,
compound sentences, complex sentences and compound-complex sentences.

You must know how to correctly write these sentence types for IELTS as the examiner will
be looking for them when they grade you for your 'grammatical range'.

Clauses are the buliding blocks of sentences.

So, before you go any further, make sure you understand what clauses are by looking at the
previous lesson.

Sentence Types
There are four types of sentence:

1. Simple
2. Compound
3. Complex
4. Compound-Complex

1. Simple Sentences
A simple sentence is one clause with a subject and verb.

Computers are important in the modern world.

Formula = SV
However, it can have more than one subject and verb:

2 subjects:

Computers and other technological devices areimportant in the modern world.

Formula = SSV
2 Verbs:

I search for information and play games on my computer.

Formula = SVV
2 subject and 2 verbs:

My brother and I search for information and play games on our computers.
Formula = SSVV

2. Compound Sentences

A compound sentence consists of 2 or 3 clauses. It is when simple sentences are joined
together.

In this sentence structure, the clauses are joined with the following coordinating
conjunctions:

F = for
A = and
N = nor
B = but
O = or
Y = yet
S = so
The word 'fanboys' is an easy way to remember the different conjuntions that make up
compound sentences. Obviously the most common are 'and', 'but', 'or' and 'so'.

Here are some examples of compound sentence structure:

Computers are important, but they can be dangerous too.

Formula = SV but SV
Computers are important, but they can be dangerous too, so we must be careful.
Formula = SV but SV so SV.
Avoid writing too many clauses as the sentence may get difficult to follow, and
you cannot use each one more than once in a sentence to join clauses.

This is wrong:

Computers are used widely in most countries now, andthey are a sign of
progress, and we must ensure everyones has access to them.
Incorrect formula = SV and SV and SV. X
Two possible corrected versions:

Computers are used widely in most countries now, andthey are a sign of progress.
We must ensure everyones has access to them.
Formula = SV and SV. SV.
Computers are used widely in most countries now, andthey are a sign of
progress, so must ensure everyones has access to them.
Formula = SV and SV so SV.
Using semicolons

There is an instance when you can have a compound sentence structure without a
coordinating conjuntion, and this is when you join two clauses with a semicolon. It is used
when two ideas are related.

For example:

 Computers are used widely in most countires; they are a sign of progress.

3. Complex Sentences
Complex sentences are more complicated (which is maybe why they are called 'complex'!).

This type of sentence structure is important for IELTS because to get awarded a band 6 or
higher for your 'grammatical range and accuracy', you need to demonstrate that you are able
to use them.

The more varied and the more accurate your complex sentences are, the higher the band
score for this.

There are different types of complex sentences and these will be looked at in more detail
later, so here you are just provided with the basics.

Complex sentences are two (or more) clauses joined together, but they are not joined by
'fanboys' (coordinating conjuntions). They are joined by subordinating conjuntions.

These are subordinating conjunctions:

after even if unless

although even though until
as if when
as if in order to whenever
as long as in case whereas
as much as once where
as soon as since wherever
as though so that while
because that
before though

For example:

People take natural health supplements even thoughthey may not have been tested.
Our children may not be properly educated if we don't spend more on schools.
I went to bed as soon as he left because I was tired.
These are all adverbial clauses. In these types of complex sentence, the second clause can be
used to start the sentence.

In this case, a comma is needed in the middle.

Even though they may not have been tested, people take natural health supplements.
If we don't spend more on schools, our children may not be properly educated.
As soon as he left, I went to bed because I was tired.

Noun clauses and relative clauses are also a type of complex sentence structure, but these
will be looked at later.

4. Compound-Complex Sentences
Compound-complex sentences are the same as complex sentences but they also have a simple
(or compound) sentence before or after the 'complex' part.

For example:

I ate a lot when I got home, but I was still hungry.

The part that is underlined is the complex sentence. As you can see, it also has a simple
sentences connected to it. It can also have a full compound sentence attached to it:

I ate a lot when I got home, but I was still hungry, so I went shopping to buy some
more food.
These are compound-complex sentences.

Sentence Structure Quiz

Now have a practice in the quiz. Identify what type of sentence each is.

1. I was late for work.

Simple

Compound

Complex

Compound-complex

2. He failed the test because he did not study hard enough.

Simple

Compound

Complex

Compound-Complex

3. Even though pollution is widespread, people are doing little to prevent it.
Simple

Compound

 Complex

Compound-Complex

4. Animals should not be killed for their fur, but this is still occuring, so action must be
taken.
Simple

Compound

Complex

Compound-Complex

5. I came to study in the UK because I wanted to improve my English, so I talk to as many

English people as possible.
Simple

Compound

Complex

Compound-Complex

 Lesson 3: Complex Sentences
Understanding complex sentences and knowing how to write them is crucial for IELTS.

The examiner will not award you above a band 5 for 'grammatical range and accuracy' if
you cannot write them or if you have a very limited ability to write them.

This is the marking criteria for a band 6 for grammar:

• Uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms

• Makes some errors in grammar and punctuation but they rarely reduce communication
So you must have a mix of complex sentence forms, though some errors in them are
acceptable.

If, for example, you learned a couple of complex structures and used the same ones
throughout your essay, this would not demonstrate a 'mix'.

For the higher band scores, you will need to show a greater range and more accuracy.

In order to understand a complex sentence, you need to

understand independent and dependent clauses (look at this previous lesson on clauses if
you are unsure what they are).

What are independent and dependent clauses?

A clause is a group of words with a subject and verb. This is a dependent clause:

...because it was raining so hard.

If something or someone is 'dependent' then it needs or relies on something else for aid,
support, life etc.

For example, a baby is dependent on its mother. Without the mother the baby cannot survive.

In a similar way, a dependent clause cannot 'survive' on its own. It relies on something else.
The clause above "....because it was raining so hard" cannot be used on its own as a sentence
because it does not make sense.

In order to function, it needs an independent clause. An independent clause can function on

its own as a sentence:

I took my umbrella.
This has meaning so is ok on its own. It makes a simple sentence.

If we now join this independent clause with the dependent clause, we have a complex
sentence that has meaning:

 I took my umbrella because it was raining so hard.

Types of complex sentence

Complex sentences have three types:

1. Adverbial Clauses
2. Relative Clauses
3. Noun Clauses
In the following sections, there is a brief explanation of how to construct each of these with
some examples.

However, they are complicated, so lessons explaining them in more detail will follow later
on.

1) Adverbial Clauses
Adverbial clauses answer questions such as how? why? when? where?

They are made by connecting an independent clause and a dependent clause with
a subordinating conjunction.

Here are some common subordinating conjunctions that make complex sentences:

because while

although when

if even though

until as

For example (the subject is in green and the verb in blue).:

Some experiments on animals give us the wrong result because animals’ bodies are not
exactly the same as our own.

SV subordinating conjunction SV

Some experiments on animals give us the wrong result

 ------ INDEPENDENT CLAUSE ------

...because animals' bodies are not exactly the same as our own.

------ DEPENDENT (SUBORDINATING) CLAUSE ------

In adverbial clauses, however, it is possible to put the dependent clause before the
independent clause. In fact, more often than not, this is the case.

When you do this though, you MUST put a comma after the dependent clause (a comma is
not needed when the independent clause comes first):

Because animals’ bodies are not exactly the same as our own, some experiments on
animals give us the wrong result.

subordinating conjunction SV, SV

Here are some further examples. Notice how in some sentences the dependent clause comes
first, in others it is second. This is your choice:

Even though he arrived late, he did not apologize.

Pollution will get worse if car emissions are not reduced.
While the number of people going to Japan increased, the number going to the UK
decreased.
I don't know when he will arrive.

2) Relative Clauses
Like adverbial clauses, relative clauses are made up of an independent clause and a
dependent clause.

However, these clauses have a different use. Relative clauses are used to modify a noun. In
other words, to give more information about it.

The relative pronouns who, which, that and where are used to do this, and the relative clause
is placed after the noun it is modifying.

For example:

Animal experimentation, which is legal in most countries, should be banned.

Animals experimentation should be banned.

------ INDEPENDENT CLAUSE ------

which is legal in most countries

------ DEPENDENT (RELATIVE) CLAUSE ------

Unlike adverbial clauses, the dependent clause (which is the relative clause) can break up the
independent clause - the dependent clause just needs to go after the noun, wherever that is.

Notice also that there are two Subject-Verb combinations. This will always be the case with
complex sentences as there are two clauses.

Here are some more examples. The dependent (relative) clause is in red, the independent
clause is in bold, and the noun being modified is underlined.

A library is a place where you can borrow books.

Global warming is a problem that must be solved.
Obesity, which is the condition of being overweight, affects millions of children.
A person who breaks the law must face serious penalties.

3) Noun Clauses
Noun clauses are probably the most difficult to master of the complex sentences, so we'll
focus here on the most common and easiest form which you will probably have used many
times. We'll look at them in more detail later.

A noun clause answers the question 'who?' or 'what?'. Unlike relative clauses, which come
after the noun, noun clauses come after the verb.

For example:

What do you think about corruption?

I think that corruptions is wrong and that those guilty of it should be punished.
In this example, there are two noun clauses, and they are the objectof the verb 'think'.

The noun clauses are the dependent clauses because they do not make sense on their own.
They need the independent clause "I think...".

 I think

------ INDEPENDENT CLAUSE ------

that corruption is wrong

that those guilty of it should be punished

------ DEPENDENT (NOUN) CLAUSE ------

Here are some more examples. The dependent (noun) clause is in red, and the independent
clause is in bold:

I agree that capital punishment must be abolished.

I hope that the government intervenes to resolve the situation.
I believe that experimentation on animals is unethical.
It is common to omit 'that' when speaking. For example, we can say:

I believe experimentation on animals is unethical.

However, in formal writing such as IELTS, or academic writing generally, you should
include it.

There are further rules and possibilities to use these adverbial, relative and noun clauses, but
we will look at them in more detail later.

This lesson provides you with the basics on how they are used.

IELTS and Complex Sentences

To achieve a good score for your grammatical range, you would need to be able to use a mix
of these types of complex sentences, and to use them fairly accurately for a band 6, and very
accurately for a band 7 or higher.

For band 7 or higher you will also need to try and use these structures in more complex ways,
such as reducing your relative clauses and using nominalizations.

We will look at these in another lesson.

Lesson 4: Adverbial Clauses

In this lesson we will look in more detail at adverbial clauses.

These clauses are a type of complex sentence, so it is essential that you are able to use them
in your writing and speaking if you want to achieve a good band score.

 The examiner will be monitoring your speaking and writing closely to assess how well you
know them.

In the table below you can see the most common types of adverbs used to make adverbial
clauses.

You can also see what they are used for and some example sentences.

Types of Adverbial Clause

Time Clauses

In reference to a period of time or another event

He arrived before I did.

After I have finished studying, I intend to work abroad.
As the climate gets hotter, sea levels will rise.
I will keep learning English for as long as it is necessary.
While I am studying, I usually listen to the radio.
Rates of obesity increase when too much junk food is eaten.
Since I started going to fitness, I have lost 5 kilos.
I will keep learning English until I am upper intermediate.

Conditional Clauses

Expressing a hypothesis or condition, real or imagined

If we clone humans, it may have terrible consequences.

What would you buy if you won the lottery?
Our food will not be safe unless GM crops are banned.

Reason Clauses

To explain why

My English is not improving because I am not studying enough.

Since the govenment cut spending, poverty has increased.
Pollution is increasing as there are too many cars.

Purpose Clauses

To show the purpose of doing something

I am studying IELTS in order to attend university abroad.

He went to the gym so that he could lose weight.

Concession Clauses

To show contrast between two statements, or surprise.

Although e-readers are popular, most people still prefer books.

The Minister wants to incease taxes though his party disagrees.
Even though I studied every day, I didn't get the score I needed (surprising)
Internet usage increased, while phone usage decreased.*
Whereas you have a lot of time to study, I do not.*

Place

To talk about location of position

Wherever he goes, I will go.

I am not sure where I put my pen.

Rules for Adverbial Clauses

Remember that adverbial clauses are made up of two clauses - an independent clause and
a dependent clause (look at these lessons on sentence clauses and complex sentences again
if you are not sure what clauses are).

1) Switching the Clauses

The first thing to note is that the independent and dependent clauses can be switched around:

After I have finished studying, I intend to work abroad.

(Dependent Clause + Independent Clause)
I intend to work abroad after I have finished studying.
(Independent Clause + Dependent Clause)
In all of the sentences in the table above, the clauses can be switched around.

2) Commas

Note though that if you switch them around and put the dependent clause first, a
comma must come at the end of the dependent clause:

After I have finished studying, I intend to work abroad.

(Comma)
I intend to work abroad after I have finished studying.
(No Comma)

This might seem like a minor point but it is quite important in your writing. Complex
sentences can sometimes get confusing if commas are missing as it can become unclear
where one clause ends and the other begins.

If any of your sentences are confusing, this will definitely reduce your score.

*'While' and 'Whereas' are execptions to this rule because they dohave commas even when
they appear in the middle of the sentence.

3) Meanings

Even though certain adverbs have been grouped together in the adverbial clauses table, this
does not mean that they are all synomyms for each other.

Some you can interchange with each other without changing the meaning. For instance,
'since', 'as' and 'because' all have the same meaning and you can choose which one you want
to use. But some you cannot.

For example, look at these conditional adverbs:

I will go if you go.

I will go unless you go.
The word 'unless' does not work in the second sentence. It has to be changed:

I won't go unless you go.

Now it has the same meaning.

Similarly, 'although', 'even though', and 'though' are all synonyms of each other and can be
interchanged, but 'while' and 'whereas' canot always be swapped with them.

So you need to practice each individual word and check how it is used.

A Common Mistake
A common mistake with adverbial clauses (and other complex sentences) is to
write fragments.

A fragment is an incomplete sentence:

My English is not improving. Because I am not studying enough.

A dependent clause (the second one in this case) cannot be a sentence on its own. By placing
a full-stop after "improving", this has turned the second clause into a sentence fragment.

A dependent clause must have an independent clause attached to it:

My English is not improving because I am not studying enough.

When you check your work, you should check your complex sentences and check that you
have not written any fragments.

Examples in Context
Look at this sample essay. The adverbial clauses are coloured, with the independent clauses
in green (and italics) and the dependent clauses in red (and underlined). The adverbs are
shaded in yellow.

Some people believe the aim of university education is to help graduates get better jobs.
Others believe there are much wider benefits of university education for both individuals
and society.

Discuss both views and give your opinion.

These days, more and more people are making the choice to go to university. While some
people are of the opinion that the only purpose of a university education is to improve job
prospects, others think that society and the individual benefit in much broader ways.

It is certainly true that one of the main aims of university is to secure a better job. The
majority of people want to improve their future career prospects and attending university is
one of the best ways to do this as it increases a persons marketable skills and attractiveness to
potential employers. In addition, further education is very expensive, so most people would
not consider it if it would not provide them with a more secure future and a higher standard
of living. Thus job prospects are very important.

However, there are other benefits for individuals and society. Firstly, the independence of
living away from home is a benefit because it helps the students develop better social skills
and improve as a person. A case in point is that many students will have to leave their
families, live in halls of residence and meet new friends. As a result, their maturity and
confidence will grow enabling them to live more fulfilling lives. Secondly, society will gain
from the contribution that the graduates can make to the economy. We are living in a very
competitive world, so countries need educated people in order to compete and prosper.

Therefore, I believe that although a main aim of university education is to get the best
job, there are clearly further benefits. If we continue to promote and encourage university
attendance, it will lead to a better future for individuals and society.

It is good to have a variety of sentences types. and as you can see, there are a mix of
adverbial clauses which demonstrates that the candidate has a good grammatical range.

Try writing your own essay. When you have finished, go through your work and highlight the
adverbial clauses, identifying the adverb and the dependent and independent clauses.

Is there a mix? Are they used correctly with subjects and verbs present in each clause and no
fragments?

Adverbial Clause Practice Exercise

In the following exercise, choose which adverb fits in the gap in order to make correct
adverbial clauses.

1. Much of the food we eat would not actually last that long ___ (unless; if; though) it were
not for the chemicals they contain
2. ___ (In order to; Since; Whereas) have robust evaluation procedures in the future, both
formal exams and continual assessment should be used to assess students during their
education.

3. ___ (Where; Because; Although) chatting online can be beneficial, it is certainly not the
same as real interaction with human beings.

4. Long prison sentences should remain for assault or murder ___ (while; even
though; as) justice for the victim and their family should take priority.

5. It is important that the government financially assists theatres ___ (in order to; so
that; until) they can continue to provide entertainment to the public.

6. I will keep studying hard ___ (because; until’ wherever) I pass the exam.

7. I will continue to use my bike ___ (as long as; unless; even though) petrol prices remain
high.

8. ___ (While; Whereas; Even though) he practiced the guitar every day, he was still not very
good.

9. Global warming will not slow down ___ (unless; until; as long as) governments take
serious action soon.

10. I used to live ___ (since; where; until) you can now see that office block. They knocked
my house down to build it.

Correct answers:

1. if

2. In order to

 3. Although

4. as

5. so that

6. until

7. as long as

8. Even though

9. unless

10. where

 Lesson 5: Relative Clauses
Relative clauses are a type of complex sentence.

It essential that you know how to write complex sentences if you want to do well in the
IELTS writing test.

Here are some examples used in an IELTS task 1:

Consumption of pizzas was far higher than hamburgers, which were consumed
approximately 5 times a year.
Community contributions, which were the second largest revenue source, brought in 10.4%
of overall income, and this was followed by program revenue, at 2.2%.
Here are some examples from task 2 essays:

CO2, which damages the ozone layer, comes from several sources, but the most
problematic are those coming from the burning of fossil fuels from power plants.
Email and social networking sites such as Facebook and MSN have created online
communities that are global in scale.
Relative clauses can refer to:

People = who / that

Things = which / that
Places = where
Below are some essential rules about these types of clauses that you must know.

The rules refer to independent and dependent clauses, so make sure you understand these
first.

8 things you must know about relative clauses:

1) Relative clauses modify nouns, and they must come after the noun they are modifying:

noun relative clause

The car, which is my father’s, is in the garage.
noun relative clause
The car is in the garage, which is locked.
In the first sentence, the relative clause is referring to "the car", so it comes after that noun.
In the second sentence it is referring to "the garage".
__________________________________________________
2) There must be an independent and dependent clause:

Ind Clause Dep Clause Ind Clause

The car, / which is my father’s, / is in the garage.
__________________________________________________

3) As there are two clauses, there must be a subject and verb in each:

S S V V
The car, / which is my father’s, / is in the garage.
This is because a relative clause is two simple sentences joined together. In other words:
S V
The car is in the garage.
S V
The car is my fathers.
__________________________________________________
4) If you miss part of one of the clauses out, or one of the subjects or verbs, you will create
a fragment (an incomplete sentence):

S S V
The car / which is my father’s.
This is incorrect as there must be a full dependent and independent clause.
__________________________________________________
5) The verb in the relative clause must agree (i.e. singular subject takes singular verb) with
the noun it is modifying:

Subj (sing) verb (sing)

The car, / which is my father’s, / is in the garage.
__________________________________________________
6) If the information is ‘extra’ information, there are commas:

The car, which is my father’s, is in the garage.

The relative clause is not identifying the noun, it is just extra information about who owns
it.
__________________________________________________
7) If the information is ‘essential’, there are no commas:

The car which is in front of the house is mine.

This is identifying which car, so it is essential. There are probably other cars, so without
the relative clause we will not know which car is being talked about.
In other words, if you said "the car is mine", this would not help us. Which car?
__________________________________________________
8) With ‘essential’ relative clauses, ‘that’ can replace ‘who’ or ‘which’:

The car that is in front of the house is mine.

The police have not found the person that stole my car.

 Lesson 6: Noun Clause
A Noun clause is another type of complex sentence that you are likely to use when you do
any form of writing or speaking, so you need to be aware of them for IELTS.

And remember that to score at a band 6 or above for the grammatical range and
accuracy criteria in the IELTS writing marking, you must show that you are able to use
complex sentences with at least some accuracy.

For a band 6 you may still make some errors with them, but errors are a lot less likely for
someone scoring a band 7 or higher.

This of course does not mean you have to them in your writing! There are lots of other types
of complex sentence, but it is likely you will use some.

For your speaking too, you need to be able to use a mix of complex structures with some
flexibility.

What is a Noun Clause?

If you don't know what a noun or a noun phrase is, you should check these out before you
continue with this lesson.

Also, make sure you know what sentence clauses are and check out this lesson on complex
sentences if you are not sure of the difference between dependent and independent clauses.

This is a noun clause definition:

A group of words (which do what a noun does) with a subject and a verb that can be a
subject, an object, or an object of a preposition.
Here are 4 common types of noun clauses (NC):

1. Subject NC
2. Direct Object NC
3. Object of Preposition NC
4. Subject as Complement NC
It is a dependent clause which means it must also have an independent clause, but we will
look at this further when we analyse each type.

Before we look at these in turn, let's look at how this type of clause begins.

 Starting the Clause
They start with a relative or adverb pronoun. These are the words that commonly
commence such a clause:

where why if that when whether

who whom which what how how (adj)
- "ever" words
wherever whomever whenever whatever
whichever whoever however however (adj)

Types of Clauses
Now we'll look at the different types. Before we do this, take a look at these noun clause
examples (the whole clause is in bold and the relative or adverb pronoun is in red). Each
different type is shown:

Subject NC

How governments are fighting global warming is being scrutinised by the media.

Direct Object NC

Most people believe that obesity cannot be reduced just by reducing calorie intake.

Object of Preposition NC

He talked with whichever person arrived first.

Subject as complement NC

It is important that the individuals do everything they can to help educate their children.

1. Subject Noun Clauses

For these explanations, the subjects will be in green, the verbs in blue, and the objects in
red.

In this type of sentence the NC (underlined) is the subject of the sentence:

What causes so many difficulties in the IELTS test is the writing section.

So looking at the whole sentence above, we have a subject, a verb and an object.

But remember that a NC is a 'clause', so it too must have a subject and a verb (and possibly
an object):

What causes so many difficulties in the IELTS test is the writing section.

In the above example, the adverb pronoun ("what") is the subject. It does not have to be as in
this example, where "I" is the subject:

Whether I go or not is up to me.

Important: Note that the verb "is" is singular. A NC is counted as a singular subject, so it
takes a singular verb.

You can learn more about subject verb agreement here.

2. Direct Object Noun Clauses

When the clause is the direct object, then it comes after the verb in the independent clause:

This history book describes how England became the first industrialised nation.

Again, remember that the NC has a subject and a verb (and possibly an object):

This history book describes how England became the first industrialised nation.

A common NC you will know from IELTS is the "that" clause, following verbs such as
"think", "believe" and "feel", for example as in this Task 2 essay question:

A growing number of people feel that animals should not be exploited by people and that
they should have the same rights as humans, while others argue that humans must employ
animals to satisfy their various needs, including uses for food and research.

Discuss both views and give your opinion.

And you may then give your opinion:

Personally, I do not believe that it is necessary to exploit animals for our own satisfaction.

Note that if you are speaking it is fine to leave "that" out of the sentence (this is then
a reduced noun clause).

I believe students should not have to wear a uniform.

But for formal writing such as you do in IELTS you should keep the "that" in the sentence.

I believe that students should not have to wear a uniform.

3. Object of the Preposition Noun Clauses

In this case, the NC comes after a preposition:

My Aunt is very chatty. She speaks to whoever will listen!

And here it is with the subject and verb of the NC highlighted:

My Aunt is very chatty. She speaks to whoever will listen!

4. Subject as Complement Noun Clauses

These type of sentences have the following structure:

 It + be + adjective + (NOUN CLAUSE: that + S + V)

It is important that the government tackles obesity.

It is essential that children have enough leisure time.

Some exercises will be added shortly so you can practice with these types of clauses, so keep
an eye on the page.

 Lesson 7: Modal Verbs for IELTS
This IELTS lesson is about modal verbs and how they can be used to improve your writing
(though of course they are also used in your speaking in the same way).

You are likely to use these a lot in your academic writing for task 2, particularly if you are
writing an essay which needs to give solutions to a problem.

They are also important to help in clarifying the certainty with which you are making a point,
which is important for your writing.

The examiner will expect you to be competent in using these to award you a higher band
score.

What are they?

Modal Verbs are used commonly in English to add further information to the main verb.

They are auxiliary or 'helping' verbs, which means they cannot be used on their own but must
be used with the main verb.

Modal Verbs Main Verb Sentence Examples

(Bare Infinitive)

May
Might
Can • She can swim
Could • Can she swim?
Shall go • She can not swim
Should
Will
Would
Must

‘Semi’ Modal Verbs (Infinitive) Sentence Examples

• She has to go
Ought
• Does she have to go?
Need
to go • She doesn’t have to go
Have

How are they used?

These verbs are used with a main verb and are followed by the bareinfinitive (bare means no
“to”).

The exceptions are ‘ought’,’ need’ and ‘have’ which are followed by the infinitive (with
“to”).

Common Use in IELTS Task 2
Three important functions of modal verbs when you are writing or speaking for IELTS are:

1. discussing degrees of certainty

2. making suggestions.
3. hypothetical situations

1) Degrees of Certainty
Will, may, might and could are common to make logical deductions about a situation or the
future, which you often need to do in task 2:

Children with no father as a role model will become criminals. (100%)

Children with no father as a role model may become criminals. (Possible)

Children with no father as a role model could become criminals. (Possible)

Which of these sentences do you think is incorrect?

Hopefully you worked out that the first one is wrong. This is a common mistake to see in
IELTS essays.

The grammar is ok, but it is not possible to conclude that all children with no father as a role
model will become criminals!

Be careful when you are making assessments in this way.

‘Will’’ is 100% going to happen, so avoid using it to make generalizations about

everybody/everything unless you know it is 100% true. (There are other ways to make it less
certain e.g. “will possibly”).

When you are writing IELTS essays, it's unusual that you will have evidence with you or that
you can use to show 100% what you are saying is true.

So the second two are better in this situation.

2) Suggestions
Must, should, ought to, have to and could are often used to make suggestions for solving a
problem. It is common in task 2 to get a question asking you to discuss a problem and
suggest solutions.

Governments must/have to/need to take action to tackle global warming. (strong
obligation)

Parents should/ought to stop their children watching too much television. (Strong
suggestion)

Individuals could recycle more (possibility).

Take a look at this model essay on global warming and note how modal verbs are used in the
second body paragraph to discuss the solutions.

3) Hypothetical Situations
It is common to use would and could to discuss hypothetical situations.

If something is hypothetical, this means in effect it has not happened. You are discussing an
unreal situation in the future or imagining something.

For example:

If the government spent more money on hospitals, people would be healthier.

It is something that has not happened and you don't know if it will.

See this model essay on human cloning and notice the use of wouldand could throughout the
essay.

Cloning of human beings has not happened yet, so it is a hypothetical situation

It may also be used in your speaking - see this lesson on hypothetical situations for part 2 of
the speaking test.

 Lesson 8: Subject Verb Agreement
It is important to understand subject verb agreement for IELTS.

If you are making errors with this in your writing or speaking, it will be very noticable as it is
a very basic error.

For example, take a look at this paragraph which has errors with subject verb agreement:

Some people argue that leaving people in prison for a long time mean that they will mix with
other criminals and so their character will not improve. The alternative are community
service. This gives an offender the opportunity to give something positive back to society, and
so it may improves their character. Also, the government could focus its resources on the
causes of crime, which would leads to less crime in the future.

The Basic Rules

These are the basic rules of subject verb agreement:

1) For a singular third person (he / she / it) in the present tense, the verb must have an -
s ending:

Singular Plural

I take We take

You take You take

He / She / It takes They take

Singular: He takes the bus to work every morning.

Plural: His family take the train.
2) Different formations are used for the irregular verb 'to be', but an -s is still used for the
third person singular

Present
Singular Plural

I am We are

You are You are

He / She / It is They are

Past
Singular Plural

I was We were

 You were You were

He / She / It was They were

Singular: He was on the bus by 9am

Plural: His children were on the train by 9.30am.
However, these are just the basic rules.

There are other things that are important to understand in order to ensure you are using
subject verb agreement correctly in all contexts and some things that are confusing.

We'll look at some of these now.

There is and There are

When you use there is and there are, 'there' is never the subject. The subject is the word that
comes after the verb.

Therefore, you need to look at that word to decide if the verb is singular or plural.

There are several reasons why we must tackle the problem of global warming.
There is one main reason we must tackle global warming.
What sometimes confuses people is when there are several nouns after the verb. It is common
to make the mistake of using a plural verb. In fact, the verb should agree with only the first
noun.

Take a look at this simple example:

There is a pen, some pencils, and a rubber on the table.

There are pens, one pencil and some rubbers on the table.
In each of these examples, you just need to look at the first noun to decide if the subject is
singular or plural - you can ignore the ones after this.

Separated Subjects
Another common mistake is when the subject is separated from the verb by a prepositional
phrase, relative clause, or reduced relative clause.

 A mistake is to make the verb agree with the last noun in the phrase or clause rather than the
subject of the sentence:

Incorrect: Improving the situation of people in cities arevery important.

Correct: Improving the situation (of people in cities) is very important.
It should not agree with 'cities' as this is part of the prepositional phrase.

Here are some more examples of correct subject verb agreement (the phrase or clause that
should be ignored for purposes of agreement is in brackets):

Obesity (in children) is a growing concern.

The decision (made by the country's leaders after numerous meetings) was definitely the
right one.
The new roads (which the government has built) have not reduced congestion.

Expressions of Quantity
Another difficult area with subject verb agreement is dealing with quantities.

When a quantity word is followed by a prepositional phrase, it can follow the rules above i.e.
the verb agrees with the subject (the quantity):

One of the new teachers is from India.

None of the candidates is likely to get my vote. (in spoken English the plural form is
commonly used - 'are likely')
Five of my freinds are coming with me on holiday.
However, for some quantity phrases you do need to refer to the noun in the prepositional
phrase to decide if the verb is singular or plural:

Singular Plural
A lot of... A lot of the meat isfresh. A lot of the vegetables are organic
All of the... All of the meat is fresh. All of the vegetables are organic
Some of the... Some of the meat isfresh. Some of the vegetables are organic
One-half (third etc) One-third of the cars on the road use unleaded
One-half of the room isempty
of... fuel.

Neither and Either

With these phrases, the verb must agree with the noun that is closest to the verb:

Neither the child nor her parents are at the school.

Neither the parents nor their child is at the school.

 Either my brother or my sisters usually help me.
Either my sisters or my brother usually helps me.

Indefinite Pronouns as subjects

A common mistake is made in subject verb agreement with indefinite pronouns as people
often assume they must take a plural verb because they refer to more than one thing.

Here are some common examples of indefinite pronouns:

every- some- any- no-

everyone someone anyone no one
everybody somebody anybody nobody
everything something anything nothing
Everyone seems to be nervous about the exam.
Something needs to be done about the increasing rate of crime.
Accoring to the news, Nobody is directly responsible for the problems.

Modal Verbs
Modal verbs are always followed by the bare infinitive, so in this case the third person
singular no longer takes a singular verb:

Incorrect: He will takes the bus to work.

Correct: He will take the bus to work.
Incorrect: It would seems that she is unwell.
Correct: It would seem that she is unwell.

Gerunds
Gerunds (verbs that function as nouns by adding -ing) always take a singular subject.
Remember to look at the gerund, not the noun that may come between the gerund and the
verb:

Feeding the poor in developing countries is what most aid is used for.

 Running my businesses takes up most of my time.
Typing is a skill that I have not yet mastered.

Now check your knowledge in this quiz:

Subject Verb Agreement Quiz

1. There ___ (is; are) too much oil and gas being used around the world.
2. There ___ (is; are) many solutions to the problem.

3. The tourists who arrived by bus ___ (were; was) very tired as they did not sleep much.

4. The constant robbery of tourists ___ (upsets; upset) many local people.

5. One of the cars ___ (belong; belongs) to my father.

6. One-third of the population __ (do; does) not have enough to eat.

7. Neither my aunts nor my uncle ___ (enjoys; enjoy) socializing.

8. Everybody ___ (is; are) confused by the new rules.

9. He must ___ (take; takes) the exam next week.

10. Giving away all my medals ___ (were; was) the worst thing I ever did.

Correct answers:

1. is 2. are 3. were 4. upsets 5. belongs 6. does 7. enjoys 8. is 9. take 10. was

 Lesson 9: Gerunds
Gerunds are an important grammar form to understand and to be able to use effectively in the
IELTS test and in your English more generally.

They are nouns and they are formed by adding -ing onto a verb.

Take a look at this paragraph - the gerunds are in red.

Learning vocabulary is very important for the IELTS test. Though it is important not to
neglect the other skills of speaking, reading, writing and listening, knowing a broad range of
words will help you with all the other parts of the test. Unfortunately, many students
dislike spending the time that is needed to fully understand each word, but
not takingvocabulary seriously could be a big mistake.

Here are examples of the words before and after they are changed:

Verb Gerund

Learn Learning
Speak Speaking
Read Reading
Write Writing
Listen Listening
Know Knowing
Spend Spending
Take Taking

How are they used?

As a subject

• Walking is a good form of exercise

Notice that a gerund takes a singular verb ('is' in this case). You must use the singular verb,
even if there are multiple objects:

• Eating bananas, apples and oranges everyday is good for you.

However, if there is more than one, then the plural verb is used:

• Walking and swimming are both good forms of exercise.

To make the sentence negative, 'not' is placed before the gerund.

• Not exercising regularly is dangerous for your health.

 As a direct object

• Some people like swimming to keep fit.

As subject complements after the verb "to be"

• A good way to improve your English is watching American TV series.

This sentence is also commonly written this way:

• Watching American TV series is a good way to improve your English.

Objects of prepositions
In this usage, it is after the preposition:

• Another method of learning English is to read lots of fiction books.

Common verbs before gerunds

If you wish to put two verbs together, then the second verb will need to be a gerund and / or
infinitive.

For example, you can't say this:

We always finish eat very late.

We always finish to eat very late.
If "finish" is followed by another verb, it needs to be a gerund.

We always finish eating very late.

There is no grammatical reason for this as such, so you just need to learn the verbs and
practice writing some sentences with those verbs.

Remember, certain verbs should be followed by an infinitive, not a gerund, and some verbs
can be followed by either. For example:

I like to swim (verb + infinitive)

Or
I like swimming (verb + gerund)
Go to the infinitives grammar lesson to learn more and the gerund and infinitive lesson to
learn about verbs that take both.

Here is a list of verbs that are very commonly followed by a gerund (not an infinitive):

Verbs Commonly Followed By A Gerund

VERB EXAMPLE SENTENCE

appreciate I appreciate you taking the time out to see me.
avoid You should avoid drinking sugary drinks.
consider The government considered banning fox hunting.
delay I delayed paying the fine for speeding.
deny He denied committing the crime.
discuss We discussed sending the children to another school.
dislike Most people dislike getting up early.
enjoy I enjoy having a day off.
finish We always finish eating very late.
involve My job involves moving around the country a lot.
miss I miss seeing my family everyday.
postpone We postponed marrying until we had the money.
practice He practiced hitting the ball against the wall.
quit I will quit smoking next month.
recall I can't ever recall shouting at my children.
recommend This book recommends studying for IELTS everyday.
resent I resent my manager firing me from my job.
risk I wouldn't risk taking IELTS before you are prepared.
stop If you stop worrying, you will perform better.
suggest She suggested studying in Australia.

A Verb After a Preposition

If you place a verb after a preposition, the gerund form is used.

Here are some examples:

I am interested in learning a new language.

There are many advantages of taking a sabbatical from work.
I passed my exams without trying too hard.
I'm worried about sitting for the IELTS test.
I got a band 7 by studying very hard.
I was shocked upon hearing the news.
I'm sorry for talking so loud.
The best way to learn these is to understand collocations - words that commonly go together.

For example, we always talk about being "interested in" something, or the "advantages of"
something.

Talking about an activity
We also use them to talk about an activity with the word 'go'.

For example:

I wanted to go jogging but my friend said he'd prefer to goswimming instead.

With reduced adverb clauses

They are also used to make reduced adverbial clauses. Below are some examples.

However, there are various rules for reducing adverbial clauses so you should make sure you
understand these rules before attempting them.

We will look at the rules for this in another lessson.

While I study, I listen to music.

Reduced: While studying, I listen to music
Before I went out, I turned the lights off.
Reduced: Before going out, I turned the lights off
I locked the doors after I got home.
Reduced: I locked the doors after gettinghome.
Because I was tired, I could not study any longer.
Reduced: Being tired, I could not study any longer.
As mentioned above, you should avoid using them until you have studied and practiced them,
otherwise you may make mistakes.

 Lesson 10: Infinitives
Infinitives are created by to + verb.

It is important that you can use them correctly in your IELTS speaking and writing or when
you use English more generally.

We have already looked at gerunds, which are verbs ending in –ing(which makes them
nouns).

Take a look at this paragraph. The infinitives are in red.

To improve my IELTS score, I joined a writing class in a college in my home town. I

wanted to make sure that my grammar was as good as it could be. The teachers helped me to
understand some complex grammatical points. It is impossible to know everything in a short
time, but I improved lot, and I would really like to thank them for what they did. To help me
like this was very kind.

All these are being used in different ways. In this lesson we'll examine them further.

The Grammar
The infinitive form of the verb means that it does not take a tense. It is the bare form of the
verb, but with 'to' before it.

Here are some examples

to go
to see
to wait
to manipulate
to consider
to amend
A common mistake in writing is to think of it like a finite verb (a verb that has a subject and
takes a tense). It does not change its form.

Here is an example of a common mistake with the infinitive:

It took me five hours to reached the destination.

The person has made the infinitive verb, reach, in the past tense. Only the main verb (take in
this case) can be given a tense.

This is how it should be written:

 It took me five hours to reach the destination.

How are they used?

The table below explains some of their common uses. This is followed by some tables with
examples.

As direct objects
When an infinitive is used as a direct object, it is placed after the verb:

I wanted to make sure that my grammar was as good as it could be.

I decided to study abroad, but my parents are refusing to pay.
To show purpose
They are sometimes used as a reduction of the phrase 'in order to'.

In order to improve my IELTS score, I joined a writing class in a college in my home town.
To improve my IELTS score, I joined a writing class in a college in my home town.
I joined the exercise class in order to lose weight.
I joined the exercise class to lose weight.
As a subject
To help me like this was very kind.
To get involved in charity work is a very noble cause.
However, note that the use of the gerund in these structures is much more common:

Helping me like this was very kind.

Getting involved in charity work is a very noble cause.
If you do see an infinitive at the beginning of a sentence, it is much more likely to be
showing purpose i.e replacing in order to.

With phrases beginning with 'it' (it + be + infinitive)

It is impossible to be perfect in a short time.
(Adjective + Infinitive)
It could be a mistake to leave my job.
(Noun + Infinitive)
With the verb 'take' (it + take + noun + infinitive)
It took me five hours to reach the destination.
It takes a lot of concentration to read this book.

 After certain adjectives
My brother was surprised to see me.
I was careful not to speak too loudly.

Common Verbs before infinitives

If you wish to put two verbs together, then the second verb will need to be an infinitive and /
or gerund.

For example, you can't say this:

He hoped see me again.

He hoped seeing me again.
If "hope" is followed by another verb, it needs to be an infinitive:

He hoped to see me again.

Remember, certain verbs should be followed by an infinitive, not a gerund, and some verbs
can be followed by either. For example:

I like to swim (verb + infinitive)

Or
I like swimming (verb + gerund)
Follow this link to see the lesson on gerunds or learn when you can use the gerund and
infinitive.

Here is a list of verbs that are very commonly followed by an infinitive (not a gerund):

Verbs Commonly Followed by an Infinitive

VERB EXAMPLE SENTENCE
afford I can't afford to pay for IELTS lessons.
agree He agreed to postpone his test.
appear Obesity appears to be getting worse.
ask He asked me to go with him.
claim She claimed to have the answer to the question.
decide My partner and I decided to move house next year.
demand I demand to see the manager!
deserve I didn't deserve to get a 7.5 as I studied very little.
expect She expected to get a band 5 but she got a 6.
fail Her son failed to win the race, but he came second.

 forget I forgot to take the rubbish out last night.
hesitate She wouldn't hesitate to help a friend in need.
hope I hope to leave by 7pm.
intend The government intends to hold an election in June.
learn I've learnt to take each day as it comes.
manage She managed to change her doctors appointment.
mean Sorry, I didn't mean to arrive so late.
need I need to get a band 7 to get into Australia.
offer I offered to drive her to the airport.
plan I plan to emigrate to the UK this year.
prepare He's prepared to risk everything by investing in gold.
pretend The boy pretended to fall over.
promise The army general promised not to stage a coup.
refuse He is refusing to take the medicine.
seem She seemed to be ok yesterday, but now she is worse.
tend I tend to find that warmer weather makes me feel better.
threaten The country threatened to invade its neighbour.
wait I can't wait to go on holiday.
want The teacher wanted the students to pass.

The next tables show you some common ways that adjectives and nouns are used with the
infinitive.

Common adjectives preceded by it + be and followed by

infinitive
ADJECTIVE EXAMPLE SENTENCE
bad It is bad to gossip about your friends.
dangerous It is dangerous to drive too fast.
difficult It was difficult to do well in the IELTS reading test.
easy It is very easy to forget important grammar points in a test.
fun It isn't always fun to learn English.
hard It is always hard to remain focused on your goals in life.
important It is important to believe in your abilities.
impossible It will be impossible for the charity to help everyone.
interesting It is interesting to find out about another country.
necessary It is sometimes necessary to change your plans.
relaxing It is relaxing to lie in the sun.

 Common nouns preceded by it + be and followed by infinitive
NOUN EXAMPLE SENTENCE
a good idea It isn't a good idea to study late at night.
a bad idea It is a bad idea to spend too long on IELTS Task 1.
a mistake It is a mistake to say very little in the IELTS speaking test.
a pity It was a pity to leave so early.
a shame It was a shame to break up.
a waste It will be a waste to throw the food away.

Common adjectives followed by infinitives

ADJECTIVE EXAMPLE SENTENCE
ashamed I'm ashamed to admit that I stole the bike.
bound He is bound (certain) to arrive late - he always does.
careful He was careful not to wake the baby.
excited I'm excited to join the local football team.
glad I'm glad to hear that you are feeling better.
happy The developer was happy to reduce the price of the house.
lucky I'm lucky to have so many friends.
pleased The nurse was pleased to know he was well again.
proud She was proud to be seen with her father.
relieved The police were relieved to arrest the criminal at last.
reluctant I'm reluctant to take the IELTS test again.
sad He was sad to see his brother leave.
shocked I was shocked to find out he had been fired.
sorry We'll all be sorry to see you go.
surprised They were surprised to hear he is 50 years old.
sure He's sure to win first prize.
willing I'm willing to bet you can get a high IELTS score.

Test yourself in a quiz - gerund and infintive exercises

 Lesson 11: Gerund and Infinitive
Choosing between the gerund and infinitive when they are the object of the sentence can
cause a lot of difficulties for students of English.

If they are the object of the sentence, that means they come after the verb.

Make sure you look at the previous lessons on gerunds and infinitives to see which one to use
after which verb.

As you will remember from those lessons, some verbs can only be followed by the
gerund (not the infinitive) and some verbs can only be followed by the infinitive (not the
gerund).

Here are some examples but go to the gerund and infinitive lessons for more examples:

Examples of verbs that are Examples of verbs that are

followed by a gerund followed by an infinitive

I kept to phone the office. They agreed signing it.

I kept phoning the office. They agreed to sign it.

We appriate to hear from you. He expected losing.

We appreciate hearing from you. He expected to lose.

He denies to take the phone. She managed getting a promotion.

He denies taking the phone. She managed to get a promotion.

They avoid to debate the subect. We pretended laughing.

They avoid debating the subject. We pretended to laugh.

Verbs followed by either infinitives or gerunds

However, in some cases you can use either the gerund or the infinitive. Here are some
common verbs that can be followed by either:

VERB EXAMPLE SENTENCE

I attempted to wake up early.
attempt
I attempted waking up early.

 I usually begin to feel tired at 10pm
begin
I usually begin feeling tired at 10pm
The government ceased to talk about the war.
cease
The government ceased talking about the war.
The police continued to harrass him.
continue
The police continued harrassing him.
I hate to go to work.
hate
I hate going to work.
Most people like to travel abroad.
like
Most people like traveling abroad.
They love to eat at nice restaurants.
love
They love eating at nice restaurants.
The electorate prefers to vote in September.
prefer
The electorate prefers voting in September.
I propose to delay the company merger until next year.
propose
I propose delaying the company merger until next year.
I will start to study next week.
start
I will start studying next week.
The children tried to reduce their intake of sugar.
try
The children tried reducing their intake of sugar.

 Lesson 12: Parallel Structure
Parallel structure is when you balance the grammatical structures of words, clauses,
sentences, or phrases in your writing.

They are important for any kind of writing and speaking in order to maintain coherency.

In this particular lesson we'll look at parallel words and phrases.

We make words or phrases parallel when we are writing things in a list or series, and each
word must have the same grammatical form.

For words, nouns are balanced with nouns, adjectives with adjectives, verbs with verbs,
gerunds with gerunds, and so on.

For phrases, prepositional phrases are balanced with prepositional phrases, infinitive phrases
with infinitive phrases, and gerund phrases with gerund phrases.

The coordinating conjunction ‘and’ is usually used to connect the parallel items, but other
coordinating conjunctions such as ‘or’ and ‘nor’ may be used.

Correlative conjunctions such as 'both/and', 'neither/nor' and 'whether/or' are also used as
connectors.

Examples of Parallel Structure

Infinitives / Gerunds

She wants to go to England and studying at the London School of Economics. (WRONG)
She wants to go to England and study at the London School of Economics. (CORRECT)
The first sentence is wrong because the first item in the list, to go, is an infinitive, but the second
item, studying, is a gerund. In order to correct it, studying has been changed to an infinitive.

Adverbs

John ensured that he gave his two minute talk confidently, effectively and persuasive. (WRONG)
John ensured that he gave his two minute talk confidently, effectively and persuasively. (CORRECT)

 The first sentence is incorrect as the last item in the series, persuasive, is an adjective, whereas the
first two items are adverbs. The second sentence has been corrected by changing persuasive to the
adverb, persuasively.

Adjectives

The room was comfortable, airy, and it was not dirty.(WRONG)

The room was comfortable, airy, and clean. (CORRECT)
The first sentence is incorrect, since the first two items in the series, comfortable and airy, are
adjectives, whereas the last item, it was not dirty, contains a verb. The second sentence has been
corrected by changing it was not dirty to the adjective clean.

Infinitive Phrases

I can't decide whether to take a bus or riding my bicyle to work. (WRONG)

I can't decide whether to take a bus or (to) ride my bicyle to work. (CORRECT)
The first sentence is wrong because an infinitive and gerund phrase have been mixed together. The
second is correct because they are both infinitive phrases.

Prepositional Phrases

He climbed the rock, up the wall, and onto the roof.(WRONG)

He climbed over the rock, up the wall, and onto the roof.(CORRECT)
The first sentence is not parallel since the first word, the rock, does not have a preposition, but the next
two words in the list have. It can be corrected by placing the correct preposition, over, before climbed.

Now practice what you have learned in this parallel structure quiz.

Parallel Structure Exercises

1.The scenery was spectacular, exciting, and looked beautiful.

Correct
Incorrect
2. They studied quickly, quietly, and carefully.

Correct
Incorrect
3. To get the score you want in IELTS quickly you must both learn fast and work hard.

Correct
Incorrect
4. I like neither to wash up dishes nor mopping the floor.

Correct
Incorrect
5. She walked out of the changing rooms, climbed onto the diving board, and into the
swimming pool.

Correct
Incorrect
6. He cleaned under the sink and behind the cooker.

Correct
Incorrect
7. I'll return in June, July or in August.

Correct
Incorrect
8. I usually spend my evenings watching TV and surfing the internet.

Correct
Incorrect
9. The manager did not like one of his employees because he always arrived late for work,
made mistakes in his duties, completed projects carelessly, and his motivation was low.

Correct
Incorrect
10. It was both a long meeting and very boring.

Correct
Incorrect
11. You must either arrive on time or not come at all.

Correct
Incorrect

12. For him, success is defined not by wealth but by how happy you are.

Correct
Incorrect
13. The salad was fresh, crisp, and tasted delicious.

Correct
Incorrect
14. He was not sure whether to move to Australia or stay in Japan.

Correct
Incorrect
15. The quarter finals involves the English, the Spanish, French, and Germans.

Correct
Incorrect
Correct answers:
1. Incorrect
2. Correct
3. Correct
4. Incorrect
5. Incorrect
6. Correct
7. Incorrect
8. Correct
9. Incorrect
10. Incorrect
11. Correct
12. Incorrect
13. Incorrect
14. Correct
15. Incorrect

 Lesson 13: Passive Voice
In this grammar lesson we will look at the passive voice.

You may wonder why this is important for IELTS. Well firstly of course any grammar is
important for IELTS.

Whenever you speak or write, or try to understand reading passages, you need to have the
ability to use and understand a good range of grammar.

However, a way that the passive is specifically needed for IELTS is if you get a process
diagram in Academic IELTS Task 1. In this case you will use it throughout your explanation
of the process.

So first we'll take a look at how to use the passive voice generally, then we'll see how it is
used in a Task 1.

What are the Active and Passive?

When we use the active voice, the subject is doing the action of the verb:

When we use the passive voice, the person or thing receiving the action becomes the subject:

Active Passive
The dog bit the boy The boy was bitten by the dog

What are the Passive Voice Rules?

To make a sentence passive, we do three things:

1. Move the object of the sentence, and make it the subject. The object thus becomes the
subject (often we exclude the object because it is not important to the sentence).

2. Add in "by" before the new object (if you are including it in the new sentence)

3. Add the verb "to be" to the front of the verb, and change the verb to the past participle.
You then have a passive voice verb. Remember to keep the tense the same.
Active Passive

The dog (subject) bit (verb) the The boy (new subject) was bitten (new verb form) by the
boy (object) dog (new object).

 The boy (subject) was bitten (verb).

In this case the verb "bit" is in the past simple, so when it is made passive, the verb "to be"
must be the past simple - "was".

Passive Voice Examples

These are examples of how we form it with different tenses (without the object in the
passive):

Tense Active Passive

Present I eat the food The food is eaten
Present Continuous I am eating the food The food is being eaten
Present Perfect I have eaten the food The food has been eaten
Past I ate the food The food was eaten
Past Continuous I was eating the food The food was being eaten
Past Perfect I had eaten the food The food had been eaten
Future I will eat the food The food will be eaten
Future Perfect I will have eaten the food The food will have been eaten
I can eat the food The food can be eaten
Present Modal I should eat the food The food should be eaten
I may eat the food The food may be eaten
I could have eaten the food The food could have been eaten
Past Modals I should have eaten the food The food should have been eaten
I may have eaten the food The food may have been eaten

Gerunds and Infinitives

We can also use the passive voice for infinitive and gerund structures:

Tense Infinitive Gerund

Simple to + be + Past Participle Being + Past Participle

She wanted to be taken care of Being taken care of was wonderful.

Perfect to + have been + Past Participle having been + Past Participle

 She was happy to have been chosen She celebrated having been chosen

Transitive and Intransitive Verbs

However, you cannot use the passive with intransitive verbs.

Transitive verbs have to take an object. For example, you cannot say "He discovered". This is
a transitive verb so it needs an object: " He discovered a cure".

So this can be made passive: "A cure was discovered".

Intransitive verbs are not followed by an object. For example, you can say "He died". Or it
could be followed by an adverb: "He died yesterday".

But we cannot say: "He was died" or "Yesterday was died he".

When do we use it?

It is much more common to use the active than the passive, so you should only use it if there
is a specific reason. Below are are the reasons that we use it.

Remember that this is usually a matter of choice for you, depending on the context in which
you are writing.

1. When you think the receiver of the action is more important than the doer of the action

Interested in the doer Interested in the action

The farmer harvested the corn in September The corn was harvested in September

2. When you think it is obvious who the doer is so it does not need to be mentioned

An obvious subject Omitting the doer

The police arrested the burglar The burglar was arrested

3. When the doer of the action is unknown or we don't want the doer to be known

A known doer An unknown doer

Jonathan stole Peter's phone Peter's phone was stolen

4. When you think the doer is irrelevant

You feel it is relevant You feel it is irrelevant

 The manager will close the shop at 3pm The shop will be closed at 5pm

5. When you are writing for certain genres, such as science reports or for academic journals

Referring to the researcher Anonymising the researcher

Several conclusions can be drawn from the
I can draw several conclusions from the results
results

When do we use the passive voice for IELTS?

As it is just a part of general grammar, you may use it at any point in the speaking or writing.

The time when you will really be in trouble if you don't know how to use it is if you have to
write about a process in Task 1 of Academic IELTS.

Here is an example of a process diagram, where you have to describe the process of making
chocolate:

When we describe a process such as this, we are not interested in who does the activity, the
"doer", we are interested in the activity itself.

So in order to emphasize this, the activities are used as the subjects. Check out this model
answer - the passive voice has been highlighted.

To begin, the cocoa comes from the cacao tree, which is grown in the South American and
African continents and the country of Indonesia. Once the pods are ripe and red, they are
harvested and the white cocoa beans are removed. Following a period of fermentation,
they are then laid out on a large tray so they can dry under the sun. Next, they are
placed into large sacks and delivered to the factory. They are then roasted at a temperature
of 350 degrees, after which the beans are crushed and separated from their outer shell. In
the final stage, this inner part that is left is pressed and the chocolate is produced.

You can view some more examples of process diagrams here:

Brick Manufacturing Process

Tea Manufacturing Process

Passive Voice Excercise
You can now test yourself with the passive voice.

In the quiz, the sentence given is active. Write the passive sentence below.

DO NOT include the object i.e. "by ...", unless you are asked to do so. If you do it will get
marked as incorrect. Include everything else.

Don't put a space or full-stop (period) after your sentence as it will also appear as incorrect,
and start the sentence with a capital letter.

Here is an example:

Active: I have read the book

Answer: The book has been read

Passive Quiz
1. John cancelled the meeting
2. The van takes the meat to the market

3. I will take the medicine

4. The police interviewed the suspect

5. The canteen was serving lunch

6. His grandfather looked after him. (use an object)

7. The boss will fire him tomorrow

8. I can still use this pen

9. My uncle raised me. (use an object)

10. I will paint the room next month

Score =
Correct answers:

1. The meeting was cancelled

2. The meat is taken to the market

3. The medicine will be taken

4. The suspect was interviewed

5. Lunch was being served

6. He was looked after by his grandfather

7. He will be fired tomorrow

8. This pen can still be used

9. I was raised by my uncle

10. The room will be painted next month