IELTS test in Nigeria and Sri Lanka – June 2014 (General Training)

  

Writing test

Writing task 1 (a letter)

You have been selected for a training course on computer skills that you cannot attend. Write a letter to your employer and say:

- Explain how this training course would help you.
- Why won’t you be able attend it?
- Suggest a way to have that training again.

Writing Task 2 (an essay)

In some countries young people at the age of eighteen are considered adults and can drive a car, vote and get married, while other countries don’t allow it. What age do you think is the best to be considered an adult? Give reasons and examples from your own knowledge and experience.

Speaking test

Interview

- What is your full name?
- Can I see your ID?
- Where are you from?
- Do you work or study?
- Where are you living now?
- Do you like the place?
- Why do you like it so much?
- Do you interact with your neighbours?
- How well do you know them?
- Is your neighbourhood suitable for children?
- Do you like gifts? Why?
- Do you like to give or receive gifts?
- Do you have time for leisure?
- Do you prefer open spaces or gardens?

Cue Card

Describe the school you went to when you were young. Please say

- Where and what school was it?
- Why did you like it?
- Describe a teacher that you liked the most.

Discussion

- Do you think teachers should have psychological skills?
- Do you think young children would benefit from extra classes? Why?
- What do you prefer, smaller or larger classrooms?

IELTS speaking example

Please dont donwlaod now,
this is for testing.
CLICK HERE

Writing tips for the IELTS General module

Right now I am working on a book that will include everything you need to know to ACE The IELTS. But I know that you can’t wait and you’ve got to study RIGHT NOW, so here are some tips to keep you working .
As you know there are 2 parts, the Writing task 1 and the Writing task 2.
In the Writing task 1 you receive a “scenario” and you have to write a letter. Not many people know that there are 4 types of letters in the IELTS test:

Complaint / Request (of information) letter

Formal business letter

Job application letter

Personal letter

In any letter you write IELTS examiners will be looking for these 3 important components: structure, vocabulary and fluency of language.
Structure means that your letter must have paragraphs, at least 3 of them. Every paragraph has its job.

The first one must define the purpose of your letter in one – two sentences.

The second one must explain more about why you are writing this letter.

The third must say what kind of answer you expect.

Vocabulary means that you should use some “smart” words. In case you are writing a Complaint, a Business or a Job application letter you must use formal language, but not for the Personal letter.
Fluency of language means phrases people usually use in letters. The best advice I can give you here is to read every IELTS Sample Letter you can get. This way you develop proper language for any type of letter.
You can find some examples in the right side-bar of IELTS-blog, under “Writing Practice” (or Click Here) and I will continue to add more links to sample letters there.

The IELTS Writing – half-band scores

About a year ago there was a change in the IELTS grading system, when half-band scores were introduced for the Writing and Speaking modules. At first there was so much confusion, until they came up with an explanation of those half-bands, but even now many people write to me asking to explain what can make a difference between a full band and a half-band.
According to the IELTS examiners, it is the quality of your writing that makes that half band of difference. Let me explain. I have written a post explaining how your Writing task gets graded, what things are important and what you can get marks for. So let’s take for example one of categories there, “Selecting what information to present”. If the examiner sees that you attempted to do that, but didn’t do it quite right (for example threw too much information away) – that could mean that you get half of band for attempting but not the full band because you didn’t do a very good job selecting information. Usually messing up in just one category is not enough to cost you half-band; it would take two or three mess-ups of that kind to get the half-band taken away.
Another example – weak grammar and poor choice of words can make the difference between band 5.5 and 6. The work can be written in beautiful English but if it doesn’t follow the IELTS format, you’ll never get beyond Band 7.
So I think the bottom line is – they introduced the half bands to make difference between students that know what IELTS writing rules are, try hard but do a poor job following the rules and students that do a good job in fulfilling all the requirements.

The IELTS Writing – how your band score is calculated

This is the key question of many students: please explain how the band score is calculated. Finally, I decided to try and summarize what I know about the scoring process so this is it – the scoring process in my understanding.
When your Writing Task 1 gets graded (I am talking about the IELTS Academic module here), you can get (or lose) points for:
Filling the requirement of the task
This means writing a report that shows – this student understands what he needs to do and does as we ask.
Selecting what information to present
A bit tricky, you need to be careful not to throw away useful information yet avoid including every little detail.
Presenting an overview
Describing what the graph shows without repeating the task statement (task prompt), in your own words. If you don’t have an overview or copy the task statement it will cost you marks.
Presenting key features
Almost any graph has the most noticeable features, write about them.
Organization of information
This is mostly about paragraphs that should come in a logical order.
Progression
As the examiner reads your report he/she needs to see how you move smoothly on the graph from one thing to another.
Cohesion, reference and substitution
That is to do with the way you present statistics. If you repeat the same structure to mention all the numbers, or choose awkward expressions to do it – it will cost you marks.
Range of vocabulary
Your choice of words can point at limited, normal or wide vocabulary. It also matters if your vocabulary is adequate for the task or not (if it is not wide but enough to write a clear report, that’s fine)
Control over grammar, spelling and appropriate choice of words
No need to explain

The IELTS test score – an important change

As you all know, the IELTS score consists of 4 parts which are the scores for the Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking modules. Until now you could get half scores in the Listening and Reading tests, but for the Writing and Speaking you could only get whole bands (such as 6 or 7, but never a 6.5).
From 1 July 2007, as the IELTS official site www.ielts.org announced, the Writing and Speaking tests will also be graded using half-scores, just like the Reading and Listening. The reason for this change is to give students more accurate information on their skills. They also mentioned that students shouldn’t change a thing in the way they study.
Well, a change like that demands further research – I am going to look for more information about this and once I learn more – I promise to share

Tips by an IELTS examiner

I was fortunate to have met a very special person, a former IELTS examiner. He sent me an email and it was filled with GREAT tips, real insider information and, of course, I wasn’t going to keep all of that to myself .
IELTS Writing tips
It is better to write in regular, not very sophisticated English, than to use phrases or structures you don’t fully understand.
If you need Band 6 – no need for complex sentence structure. If your goal is Band 7 – then show advanced sentence structure, language and vocabulary.
Don’t write more than 260-265 words in IELTS Writing 2 task. Why? Not because you will get a lower mark, but because of these 2 reasons:
1) It takes more time
2) More words = more mistakes

If you are told to cover specific points in your essay/letter – cover every point, examiners do actually count them.
Don’t overuse connecting words (like However, Furthermore, Moreover, etc) – examiners are watching for you to do that.
IELTS Speaking – interview tips
Speak until they stop you, don’t just answer the question and stop. Display you best English. Behave as if it was a driving test – keep going straight until told to turn right, left or park.
It is quite possible that you have to speak about something you have never heard of, or have no opinion of. If you don’t know the subject – tell the examiner immediately, so he could ask you another question. If you don’t tell him and start trying to speak, he might think that it is not a knowledge problem, but a language problem.

The IELTS Writing Task 2 explained

I said this many times and I will repeat it again – “to write a good IELTS essay, you need to get into your examiner’s head”. You’ve got to understand what makes you gain or lose marks, because once you do – you can’t go wrong. What I am about to reveal here can be found in the IELTS official site, but I am explaining it in simple English.
This is how they grade your essay: you receive points for Task Response, Coherence and Cohesion, Lexical Resource, Grammatical Range and Accuracy. Looks heavy? Never mind, here comes the simple English version:
“Task Response” means that your essay shows that you understood and covered the topic from all its sides, aspects, etc. Let’s take this topic for example – “Internet: connecting or isolating people?”. Those who chose to write about how Internet connects people – lose marks, those who chose to write about how Internet isolates people – lose marks, those who compare and contrast both sides of the Internet and give arguments for and against – gain marks.

“Coherence and Cohesion” means how well you connected the paragraphs and sentences inside each paragraph. You see, all of your paragraphs need to be logically connected. For example, if paragraph 1 explains the advantages of the Internet, and paragraph 2 explains its disadvantages, then paragraph 1 should have a last sentence saying something like this: “In spite of Internet being such a help in communication, its drawbacks can not be overlooked”. This sentence creates the connection between 1st and 2nd paragraphs. If it wasn’t there, the examiner could have thought that you jumped from advantages to disadvantages without a reason. The same rule applies to sentences inside the paragraph. Every sentence should lead to the next one.
“Lexical Resource” means vocabulary and different types of sentences, simple and complex. You should be able to use words and their synonyms.
“Grammatical Range and Accuracy” means spelling and grammar of sentences. You should be able to spell the words correctly, do not forget the articles “a/an” and “the”, the punctuation is also important, and so on – you get the picture, don’t you?
One more important thing to know: the four criteria are equally weighted. It means that if you forgot about the “Coherence and Cohesion” in your essay, you will lose 1/4 of your essay points.
It is quite possible that after reading this explanation you still couldn’t write a good IELTS essay. This is where “Ace The IELTS” book comes in. It has a full chapter dedicated to IELTS essays, which explains from A to Z the whole process of essay writing and makes it so easy that a child could do it.

Tips for the Writing Task 1 of the IELTS Academic test

As I promised to many of you, this is what you need to know about the Academic IELTS Test Writing Task 1.
The task here is to describe a graph in a report. The report is intended for a university lecturer, so the language you use should be appropriate.
There are several different graphs you could see in a Writing Task 1:

Single line graph – see example

Double line graph – see example

Bar graph (Single, Double or Triple bar graph) – see example

Pie chart – see example

Table – see example

Process

No matter what graph, diagram or table you are describing, you shouldn’t break these rules:

Your report must be of at least 150 words written in 20 minutes.

You shouldn’t write your opinion or copy words from the task prompt – rephrase and use synonyms instead.

Never use bullets, write as if you were writing an essay or a letter.

When your Academic Writing Task 1 is graded by IELTS examiners, they look for this structure:
Introduction
Body
Conclusion
The Introduction should describe the purpose of your report and say what overall trends you see.
For example, if the graph is climbing up or dropping down, you should mention that.You need to remember that you are describing a graph to someone who doesn’t see it. Write what the graph is about, its dates and location.
The Body should describe the most important trends, while all information is summarized to avoid unnecessary details. For example, if there is a graph that has 2 peaks, you should mention them; tell when those peaks appeared and what the peak values are. Notice how many distinctive features the diagram has and divide information into paragraphs, one paragraph per feature. You should link the paragraphs by sentences that logically connect them to one another.
Important! You need to write about all the periods of time and all the subjects of graph. If it shows several years (1992, 1993, 1994) – write about all of them, if it is about men and women – write about both. Remember, summarizing doesn’t mean throwing away information. The secret here is to select what’s important, organize it, compare and contrast.
The Conclusion should sum up the global trends shown on the graph and compare them if possible.

More Writing tips for the IELTS General module

Let’s continue with the Writing tips, because I have more of them for you.
By the way, for those of you who can’t wait to read “Ace The IELTS” book – it is coming, I will release it very soon. In the meantime – you’ll have to settle for these tips .
In the Writing Task 2 you will receive a topic and you will have to write an essay of 250 words.
This task has more weight than the Writing task 1. It also takes longer – 40 minutes, whereas Writing task 1 takes only 20 minutes.
The topic of an essay can be one of 3 possible types: a description of an opinion, an argument or a social problem.
Any essay you write on any topic must have structure – you can receive (or lose ) points for it. Structure means having at least 4 paragraphs (5 is better). The first paragraph is introductory, the next two or three are the actual essay body, and the last one is the conclusion.
The first thing to do is to understand what kind of topic is before you.
Next:

for an argument – you need to explain both sides and agree with one of them

for an opinion – you need to present another point of view and say which one you agree with and why

for a problem – you need to explain it, discuss and offer a solution and discuss it too.

No matter what type of essay you are writing, you must provide some facts, evidence and information. When you explain the problem – evaluate it; say when/where/who for it is especially difficult. If you present an idea of solution – discuss it; say what its good and bad sides are. Add examples from your own experience to support what you’re saying.
In any essay the logical sequence of information is very important. Jumping from one idea to another is very bad for you score, all ideas must be connected logically. Another important thing is “smart” words – try to use them as much as you can, because this also affects your score. Punctuation is important too. Take a look at some Examples Of Writing Task 1 and Writing Task 2 here. This file is from the IELTS official site – it can be trusted.
That’s all for today – keep up the good work!

The IELTS Writing test – How to avoid getting your essay penalized or disqualified

Did you know that in IELTS your marks are taken away for writing an essay, a letter or a report that is too short? The length of your essay dictates how many marks you may lose. Let me explain: if you have written 240 words (instead of the required 250 for an essay), you will lose fewer marks than if you have written only 200 words.

The lesson here is this: even if you don’t have enough time to write 250 words, try to write as much as you can, because then you will lose fewer marks. Obviously the best is to aim at 250-265 words to avoid penalty for underlength.

Did you know that if you write an essay/letter/report but not on the topic you were given, your work can be disqualified? Yes, that’s true and here is another sure way to lose all the marks for writing: memorizing. The examiners are not fools; they are trained professionals and can easily spot a memorized work. 

Free Writing Samples

Writing samples for the General Training test
This sample includes letters and essays, all with examiner’s comments, as follows
1) A letter of Band 5
2) A letter of Band 7
3) An essay of Band 5
4) An essay of Band 8
Click here to view the samples
This sample is a Letter topic – click here to view
This sample is an essay topic – click here to view
Writing samples for Academic Module
This sample includes 4 reports and 4 essays, all with examiner’s comments, as follows
1) A report of Band 5
2) Two reports of Band 6
3) A report of Band 7
4) Two essays of Band 5
5) An essay of Band 6
6) An essay of Band 7
Click here to view the samples

Task 1 – Sample bar graph, click here to view
Sample essay topic #1, click here to view
Click here to see what a real Answer Sheet for the Writing section looks like.

9 Academic IELTS Writing tips from Phuong on how to get Band 7

Writing tips
This isn’t, in fact, my weakness. But this skill is difficult to self-study. You need to go to an English center where there are teachers who are willing to check your writing. Here are some suggestions I can think of, it maybe can’t help you out. But do your best, you will be fine.1. Before writing an essay, you must know its basic structure. A book about essay writing might show you this.

2. Do Task 2 first, because it is worth more marks and is easier.

3. Don’t waste too much time on Task 1. Learn all the specific writing structure for each type of task 1. In the real test, you just have to apply that structure with new data and suitable verb tenses. Read sample essays and take note of the ones with good structure to have a wide range of academic structures for task 1. Some structures might be used in the task 2 as well.

4. You must complete both tasks. I don’t care how difficult the test is, I don’t care how little time you have got. You MUST complete your test at any cost. If you don’t, you will be penalized.

5. Again, practice writing. Do both 2 tasks in one hour. You can focus only on task 1 or task 2, but before the test, you should practice writing both tasks to get familiar with time limits.

6. Practice makes perfect. In writing, this statement is completely true. But it is better if there is someone to check your writing for you and so you can learn from your mistakes.

7. Writing requires wide academic vocabulary. You also have to buy a dictionary to work on and enrich your vocabulary.

8. Avoid all informal ways of writing. There are some rules of writing you should follow. For example: no abbreviations, no 1st and 2nd pronoun or possessive (I, you, me, my, your), except in conclusion where you have to state your opinion.

9. Each body paragraph has to include: the topic sentence, supporting sentences (2-3 sentences), development sentences (evidence: example, experience, data). In many languages (English included), there are many ways to develop a body paragraph, which results in a situation where that topic sentence is not the first sentence. But you are advised to put the topic sentence at the beginning of each body paragraph. Don’t be creative in this case.

That is all I can think of. I hope you will be lucky in your exam and what I wrote will help you in one way or another. But REMEMBER, to reach success, you MUST make an effort. You should have a clear motivation and a strong will to overcome difficulties. When I did practice tests, I was exhausted. But no success comes easily. Practice is the only way to gain success. Don’t just wait for a lucky break, it will never come if you don’t know how to grab it.

And the final point I want to mention is:
Relax before the test!
Attempting to do one or two practice tests before the real test won’t help you increase your score. On the contrary, it will make you feel stressed and less confident.
I took IELTS 2 times:
The first time: no relaxing, I tried to do more practice tests right before the test day. As a result, I couldn’t concentrate on the test and the result is: L:5.5 ; R:7.0 (don’t mention about W and S here because it depends mostly on examiners)
The second time: 2 weeks after the first time, that means when I received the first result, I had to take the test the day after. But this time I felt relaxed since I knew I got 6.5 overall in the first test. And here is the second result: L:6.5 ; R:7.5
I believe in a short period of time (two weeks), I couldn’t improve that much. Moreover, the second test was considered to be more difficult. So what makes the difference is the relaxation. There are more examples I could mention to prove this point, but it would be wasting your time.
In brief, you must relax before any tests. Forget about them to relax, and believe in yourself. 

Spelling in IELTS: British or American?

Not everyone knows that there is a British and an American way of spelling words, and they are different. The question about the acceptable spelling came up a lot lately and I found out that many students are unsure how to spell words in the IELTS Listening, Reading and Writing tests – the British or the American way.

First, for those who have no idea what I’m talking about, let me explain: if you ask someone from the USA and someone from the UK to spell a word such as color, the American will spell “color” and the person from the UK will spell “colour”. There are many other examples:

favorite (USA) – favourite (UK)

honor (USA) – honour (UK)

memorize (USA) – memorise (UK)

check (USA) – cheque (UK)

There is no point in listing all of the differences here, you can see the whole list on this page.

As to the question, what is the right way to spell words in IELTS, the American or the British, the answer is both. You can use either form and it will be accepted, no penalties.

The important thing is to choose one particular way and stick to it.

2 assumptions you shouldn’t make about your IELTS exam

This post is basically a common mistake alert. As you know I’m receiving many emails from IELTS test takers and they tell me about their exams, what went right, what went wrong, and we analyze the situation and what should have been done differently.
And here is a point regarding the latest exam. As you know it was identical in many countries and apparently many people had the same problems, because they weren’t mentally prepared.




Assumption # 1
People assumed that Task 1 in the Academic IELTS will be a chart or a graph – and when they were given a diagram, it came as a complete shock. As a result, it took them longer to get their heads around the task and they spent over 30 minutes only thinking what they are going to write in their reports. Then it’s a chain accident – if the first task takes you longer, you don’t have enough time for your essay and you are stressed, so the performance goes down the drain.
This could have been easily solved by practicing beforehand. Guys, when you practice – don’t choose just graphs, prepare for diagrams as well, it’s important to be prepared for whatever they throw at you and not things you think are likely to appear. If you’re under time pressure and have only a week to study – that’s fine, do just one or two diagrams, but at least try yourself at it.

Assumption # 2
I don’t know why, but people assume that IELTS questions never repeat – when this blog is a proof to the fact that they do, and quite often. I’ve got an email from a student that said: “You know what is really ironic? I saw my speaking question the night before my exam on IELTS-Blog, but thought I will never get the same question and didn’t practice it.”
Do yourself a favor – go through the list of recent exams and familiarize yourself with the latest questions. The best chances to get the same questions as before are, of course, in the Speaking test, however in the Writing test we too have seen that the questions were repeated over time.
And above everything else – good luck with your preparation and I wish you an easy exam!

IELTS Writing: connective words (part 4)

This is the post about connective words and here you will find words to use in sentences referring to examples, describing reasons or sequencing events in time.
Time

for instance

There are many schools in many countries where you could study, for instance the schools in London or Birmingham.

one example

One example of how to get better at cooking would be to start reading recipes.

for example

just as

I wanted to be home already just as much as a thirsty man in the desert wanted water.

in particular

I am referring to my exams, in particular, IELTS and TOEFL.

such as

namely

My friends, namely Andy and Cindy, have told me about this new exhibition in the city.

to illustrate

Reason

since

Since you asked, I’d like to tell you my story

because (of)

due to

Due to the teacher’s illness this lecture is canceled.

owing to

the reason why

in other words

leads to

This assumption leads us to believe that …

cause

The cause of this unfortunate accident was…
Time

before

since

Since 2005 I have been working in …

as

until

Until now I wasn’t able to find anything like it.

meanwhile

Meanwhile, I would like to ask you to be patient.

at the moment

At the moment I am experiencing financial difficulties.

when

whenever

Whenever I call him, he appears to be very busy.

as soon as

just as

IELTS Writing: connective words (part 3)

Continuing the topic of previous posts (part 1 and part 2), here are some more connective words to use in your IELTS essay, letter or report. The headings in bold are the purpose for which you are using the connective words.
Certainty

obviously

I was very disappointed, obviously because my expectations were too high.

certainly

I will certainly let her know your opinion.

plainly

You are plainly wrong

of course

undoubtedly

She is undoubtedly very beautiful

Condition

if

unless

I won’t be able to participate, unless we schedule the meeting in the morning.

whether

Whether you like it or not, this is the truth.

provided that

I can guarantee a good result, provided that you study.

so that

I can send you the documents so that you would have proof.

depending on

We can have a picnic this weekend, depending on the weather.
Summary

in conclusion

in summary

lastly

finally

to sum up

To sum up, I strongly support the efforts of our society to help the environment.

to conclude

to recapitulate

in short

IELTS Writing: connective words (part 2)

I was going to post more connective words again, if it wasn’t for an email that gave me another good idea.

These connective words are awesome, but they won’t help you if you are seeing them for the first time and don’t know how to use them in a sentence. So now, I am repeating the whole list – with examples, where appropriate.Addition

in addition

In addition, I would like to point out that my neighbor is disturbing me late at night.

and similarly

Your life will change forever and similarly, your whole family will feel the change.

likewise

Some people have little time for a hobby, and have likewise little will to get one.

as well as

Beauty, as well as smarts, is a remarkable quality

besides

We aren’t friends. Besides, I don’t feel it’s my place to set him straight.

furthermore

Computers are getting faster and faster these days; furthermore, their cost is getting lower and lower.

also

moreover

I’ve been wanting a change for a long time, moreover, I feel I deserve one.

and then too

not only … but also

Not only this product is good for your hair, but also it may soften your skin
Sequence

first(ly) initially

Initially, you would start putting a plan together.

second(ly)

to begin with

To begin with, you will need to commit a portion of your time to studying.

then

next

earlier/later

Later on there comes a stage when your skills are put to a test.

after this/that

following this/that

Consequence

as a result

I studied well and as a result, I got a high score.

thus

so

therefore

I was younger and therefore less experienced.

consequently

it follows that

thereby

I upset my friend, thereby causing her pain.

eventually

then in that case

admittedly

Admittedly, he is the smartest person I know.
Contrast

however

The book is expensive, however it is worth it.

on the other hand

She says she feels fine, but on the other hand, her face is pale and she doesn’t look healthy.

despite

in spite of

In spite of the difficulties, the task was completed.

though

He still insists, though he knows that won’t do any good.

although

but

on the contrary

The music didn’t lift her spirit, on contrary, it made her feel weak and vulnerable again.

otherwise

yet instead of

He felt unwelcome, yet instead of leaving, he stayed.

rather

Eggs for breakfast is not a good idea, I would rather have some toast.

whereas

He was her true love, whereas for him she was just another girlfriend.

nonetheless

While they didn’t trust each other, nonetheless they worked together for many years.

even though

compared with

in contrast

alternatively

IELTS Writing: connective words (part 1)

Since many of you have been asking me for tips in Writing, I though a useful collection of connective words would help. It was kindly shared by a student and I am sure that using those words in your essays, letters and reports will positively affect your score.
This is part 1, part 2 is coming tomorrow.Addition

in addition

and similarly

likewise as well as

besides further more

also moreover

and then too

not only … but even

besides

Sequence

first(ly) initially

second(ly) etc.to begin with then

next earlier/later

after this/that

following this/that

Consequence

as a result

thus

so

therefore

consequently

it follows that

thereby

eventually

then in that case

admittedly

Contrast

however

on the other hand

despite

in spite of

though

although

but

on the contrary

otherwise

yet instead of

rather

whereas

nonetheless

even though

compared with

in contrast

alternatively

IELTS writing: using transitional phrases

This post was contributed by Mr. Nipun Jain, the head of Benchmark – our evaluation team. On behalf of all the readers I would like to thank Mr. Jain and all the fine teachers of Benchmark.

Transitions

Transitional words and phrases are what gives your essays coherence, we need them to join sentences and thoughts together. Look at the lists below. These are transitional phrases that you can memorize and keep in your arsenal for the IELTS writing module.

AGREEMENT: also, plus, in addition, further, furthermore, moreover, additionally, to add to that, next, in accordance with, accordingly, in agreement, finally, for instance, for example, in exemplification, exemplifying that, in fact, factually speaking, in terms of, and so forth, looking at the nexus between, in coordination with, along those lines, collectively speaking, generally speaking, indeed, undoubtedly, obviously, to be sure.

CONTRAST: however, contrastingly, in contrast, on the contrary, on the other hand, To put it into perspective, from a different angle, nonetheless, nevertheless, but, yet, a catch to this is, sadly enough, as a hindrance, looking at the holdups, oddly enough, instead, in direct opposition, still, and rather.

RESULT: as a result, as a consequence, consequently, thus, therefore, hence, thereby, resulting in, ultimately, in the end, finally, in the overall analysis, in hindsight, in retrospect, retrospectively, vicariously, the long term effect, as a short term result, significantly, as a major effect, effectively, heretofore, hereafter, thereafter, in short, generally, over all, concluding.

The IELTS Writing test: a common mistake

Before we begin, there is something else you need to know. In the recent post about the difference between the formal and informal writing styles there was a mistake. Although it was caught and fixed almost immediately on the website, the erroneous version was sent to your emails before we could stop it. To clarify, the words “children”, “many” and “much” are formal equivalents of informal “kids”, “a lot of” and “heaps of”. My apologies, if the previous email confused you.

And now to the common mistake in the IELTS Writing test. As you may know, there are 2 tasks, Writing Task 1 and Task 2, and in both Academic and General Training modules Task 1 is shorter (150 words) than Task 2 (250 words). Often people decide to write the Task 2 first, before writing Task 1. No problem so far, but we are getting to the really important bit.

It is essential that you pay attention to the Answer Sheet and write your answers in the right places. There are 2 marked spaces on the Answer Sheet that you get in the Writing test, one says “Task 1″ and the other says “Task 2″. To avoid confusing the examiner who will check your work, you need to make sure that the the essay is written under “Task 2″ and the report (for Academic) or the letter (for General Training) – under Task 1.


If worse comes to worst and you’ve mixed the two spaces, don’t panic. First, finish writing your tasks – wherever you’ve started to write, don’t worry about the wrong spaces, just take care of the contents and the paragraphing as usual. After the Writing test is over you can ask staff at the test center to affix a note to your work explaining where each task is. It will help the examiner locate the right task and your score won’t suffer.

Good luck with your exam!

The IELTS Writing test: telling the difference between formal and informal

Many of you have asked me about the difference between the formal and informal writing in IELTS and this tells me that it’s a common problem. So here is what you need to know about the styles of writing in the IELTS test.

If you are preparing for the Academic IELTS module, both Task 1 and Task 2 in the Writing test are formal. For the General Training candidates, Task 2 in Writing is always formal, and Task 1 can be formal or informal.

As you know, Task 1 for the GT module is a letter, and if the topic asks you to write to someone you know, that is an informal letter – as opposed to writing to someone you don’t know, which should be formal.

The difference between formal and informal styles is mainly in the vocabulary. Informal words are the ones used in everyday conversations and formal are used in books, contracts, business letters and essays. If the task requires formal writing – avoid using informal vocabulary. If the task requires informal writing, such as a letter to a friend, avoid using formal ‘heavy’ words.


Apart from the vocabulary in formal writing it is best to avoid words like “I”, “you”, “we”, unless you are expressing an opinion. For example in an essay instead of writing “You would find it difficult to get a job without proper qualifications”, write something like “One would find it difficult to find a job without proper qualifications”, or you could write “Finding a job without proper qualifications would be rather difficult”.

For those of you who don’t live in an English speaking country and don’t speak English on daily basis it may be difficult to tell the difference between the formal and informal vocabulary, which is why I compiled this short list of words. You could memorize it and use in your writing while practicing – this way the chances you will use the correct word in the real exam increase.

Formal	Informal
Inform me	Let me know
Cancel	Drop
Contact	Get in touch
Obtain	Get
Apologise	Say sorry
Postpone	Delay
Request	Ask for
Compensate	Make up
Establish	Set up
Discover	Find out
Handle	Deal with
Investigate	Check up on
Tolerate	Put up
Increase	Go up
Children	Kids
Many / Much	A lot of
Many / Much	Heaps of

Essay Writing

As an IELTS writing instructor, I am often asked by my students what the secret is to successful essay writing. When I tell them ‘lots of practice, lots of guidance and lots of patience’, they usually look at me a bit disappointed as though my answer was too obvious. 

So I tell them, ‘just follow the 4 Cs.’

‘The 4 Cs?’ they ask with new interest.

Yes, the 4 Cs: conciseness, cohesion, coherence and composition. Each needs to be employed properly if you want to score well on your Task 2 essay. In this short article, which I am writing exclusively for ielts-speakingtest.blogspot.com, I would like to touch on each of the 4 Cs and describe how you can use these powerful ideas to heighten your IELTS score.

So let’s begin with conciseness. Unlike other languages which prize long and very elaborate sentences, proper written English is language that says a lot in few words. Students often falsely believe that the longer a sentence is the more academic it sounds.

Writing longer sentences in your response is problematic for 2 reasons. The first is it heightens the chances of errors related to coherence. The second is it makes it more difficult for you to control the grammar of the sentence, leading to silly grammatical mistakes. Too often, students receive disappointing marks on their IELTS essay simply because their long sentences led them to issues with coherence and grammar.

So how long should a sentence be? Including cohesive phrases (the second ‘C’ in our list), typical sentences are somewhere between 8 and 15 words. 

Now let’s take a look at how to write these cohesive phrases.

Cohesion refers to words and phrases that help ideas link together. Cohesive phrases include wordings like…

Because of this, …

As this shows, …

As can clearly be seen from this example, …

It is clear that…

Thus, the idea that…

To illustrate this, …

After analyzing both points of view, …

To provide a summary, …

Without a doubt, this causes…

What I always suggest to students is to commit many of these phrases to memory and learn how to use them properly. When you get to your examination, you can use these phrases with confidence, which will not only save you time but also reduce the chances of grammatical mistakes.

Our third C is coherence, which is the notion that all ideas you present in your essay should be easily understood by your reader. As you can probably guess, using the cohesive phrases above correctly can really help to boost the coherence in your essay as they clarify your ideas. Coherence is also greatly improved by proper grammar, so make an effort to brush up on this prior to your examination.

Our final C, composition, refers to employing a proper essay structure. This means including a thesis (in the case of an argument essay), at least 2 supporting ideas, real-life examples, proper discussion of those examples as well as some kind of summary and finally a reasoned conclusion. To break it down, an argument essay is most likely going to contain 15 sentences partitioned into 4 paragraphs and follow a pattern something like this:

Introduction paragraph

A background sentence giving some background information on the essay topic.

A more detailed sentence linking the background sentence to the thesis.

A thesis that presents your point of view on your given topic.

An outline sentence declaring the 2 points you are going to use to support your thesis.

Supporting paragraph 1

A topic sentence illustrating the first point you will be presenting to support your thesis (this point taken from your outline sentence).

A sentence showing a real-life example of this topic in action.

A discussion sentence that shows how your example links or proves your topic sentence.

A conclusion sentence that links this entire paragraph back to your thesis. 

Supporting paragraph 2

A topic sentence illustrating the second point you will be presenting to support your thesis (this point taken from your outline sentence).

A sentence showing a real-life example of this topic in action.

A discussion sentence that shows how your example links or proves your topic sentence.

A conclusion sentence that links this entire paragraph back to your thesis.

Conclusion paragraph

A summary sentence that briefly states the 2 points you discussed in your supporting paragraphs.

A restatement of your thesis using different words.

A prediction or recommendation based on the topic you have been given.

By employing a logical structure like this you fulfill your essay’s requirement for proper composition.

So, in a nutshell, the 4 Cs make up the essential elements in a successful essay. Conciseness keeps sentences brief, cohesion helps the sentences link together, coherence maintains understanding in the essay and composition links all parts of the essay together logically. 

Make an effort to use the 4 Cs properly and I guarantee your IELTS written mark will improve.

Good luck on your exam!

This article was written by Ryan Higgins, an online IELTS instructor, blogger and author. For more of his free IELTS resources, visit his blog.

IELTS Essay Samples of Band 8

Here you can find IELTS Essay samples of Band 8, written by students and graded by an IELTS teacher.

The topic of each essay appears when you hold the mouse over the link. Every essay is checked, marked, has comments and suggestions. Hold the mouse over underlined words in blue to see suggested corrections. The teacher’s summary is at the bottom of each essay.


IELTS writing – sample essay 1

IELTS writing – sample essay 2

IELTS writing – sample essay 3

IELTS writing – sample essay 4

IELTS writing – sample essay 5

IELTS writing – sample essay 6

IELTS writing – sample essay 7

IELTS writing – sample essay 8

IELTS writing – sample essay 9

IELTS writing – sample essay 10

IELTS writing – sample essay 11

IELTS writing – sample essay 12

IELTS writing – sample essay 13

IELTS writing – sample essay 14

IELTS writing – sample essay 15




Note: the essays are checked by an IELTS teacher, not an IELTS examiner or examiner trainer.All the bands are approximate.

IELTS writing – sample essay 15

IELTS essay, topic: the development of technology causes traditional skills to die out, agree or disagree?

When a country develops its technology, the traditional skills and ways of life die out. It is pointless to try and keep them alive.To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?

Nowadays, technological advances and their rapid and wide applications are having a significant impact on a nation’s traditional skills and ways of life. Some argue that such impact is so extraordinary that it would make conventional skills and life styles obsolete. However, I believe they would continue to thrive by providing alternatives to modern ways of life, and innovative ideas for modern technologies.

First of all, traditional skills and ways of life are becoming an alternative solution to the problems caused by “mainstreamed” ways of life which are greatly influenced by modern technologies. For instance, a cozy restaurant where traditional, home-brewed beer is served, offers another experience to people who are bored with branded beers that have the same flavor and come out of mass production with new technologies. It is in such a venue where traditional skills are preserved, people become relaxed and educated. Providing diversity and thus enriching modern ways of life, such traditional skills and ways of life would continue to have their place.

Furthermore, conventional skills provide innovative ideas to the development of modern technologies. For example, sparkled by how the word “Love” is traditionally knitted into a sweater by some ethnic minority women in some parts of Asia, some business managers from textile industry have developed some production lines by applying the traditional skills to Computer-Aided Designs (CAD). The products have boosted the companies’ sales which in turn have increased their investment in preserving traditional skills for further developing their technologies.

To conclude, traditional skills and life styles are increasingly becoming a useful alternative to the homogeneity brought by global applications of modern technologies. However, the evolution of technologies is a selection process, whereby some would become obsolete, but there is no doubt that some would thrive when their roles are appreciated.

This is a good essay. The requirements of the task statement are covered, the arguments make sense and are presented in a coherent, easy to follow way, the range of vocabulary is wide enough and the writer shows fluency and flexibility. There are only a few errors (mouse over the words underlined in blue shows suggested corrections). Overall this looks like an IELTS Band 8 essay.

IELTS writing – sample essay 14

IELTS essay, topic: Why do criminals commit another offence after being punished?

Many offenders commit more crimes after serving the first punishment. Why is this happening, and what measures can be taken to tackle this problem?

It is true that some criminals commit crimes again after they have been punished. While there are several reasons for this alarming trend, some effective measures can be taken by governments to tackle this problem. 

There are two main reasons for re-offenders. Firstly, the prison system can make the situation worse. Criminals put together in prison and they make friends with other offenders. While they are locked up in prison, they do not have much to do there, and they would exchange information about what they have done before they came to the prison or they may plan crimes with other inmates. Secondly, offenders often do not have any other means of earning money. They are poor, uneducated and lacking skills needed to maintain a job. Also, a criminal record makes finding a job difficult as people usually avoid hiring ex-convict.

To solve this problem, governments should focus on rehabilitation of criminals rather than punishment. Above all, prisons need vocational training which makes inmates to prepare for life outside the prison. They can learn practical skills such as computer programming, car maintenance and graphic design. In this way, they can be hired for a position that requires this certain knowledge and skills. Community service is another way to reform offenders. Rather than being locked up in prison with other inmates, offenders can help society and become useful to their local community, and these activities would eliminate the negative influence that prisons can have. 

In conclusion, it is true the re-offenders are one of the problems in our community; it can be solved by focusing rehabilitation rather than punishment itself.

This is a good essay. The requirements of the task statement are covered, the reasoning is logical and presented in a coherent, easy to follow way, the range of vocabulary is wide enough and the writer shows fluency and flexibility. Some minor errors in this essay include word choice and preposition errors (mouse over the words underlined in blue shows suggested corrections). Overall this looks like an IELTS Band 8 essay.

IELTS writing – sample essay 13

IELTS essay, topic: Schools should select students by their academic abilities, agree or disagree?

Some people think that schools should select students according to their academic abilities, while others believe that it is better to have students with different abilities studying together. Discuss both views and state your own opinion.

Some people contend that mixed ability classes are more beneficial for children’s development than streaming them on the basis of judgement about their academic abilities. However, from my perspective, I disagree with this contention.

Admittedly, mixed ability classes provide a better environment for children’s all-round development. In such classes, children with different abilities study together and in turn they can learn from one another. From example, a student, who is good at academic study but weak in dancing or painting, can learn how to dance or paint form his peers. In this sense, mixed ability classes allow students to develop their abilities in different subjects instead of only academic abilities.

Despite the argument above, I believe streaming students brings more benefits to teachers and students. As for teachers, separating children with better academic abilities from others facilitates effective teaching. This practice helps teachers to control their students more conveniently and easily. Compared with mixed ability in which teacher should consider students’ differences when they are using teaching methodologies, streaming makes this situation simpler. To be more specific, students are at the same level of academic ability in a class, and in turn teachers can use the same methodologies for them all. In this way, the narrower the spread of ability in the class, the more convenient the teaching can be.

On top of this, steaming enables students to learn in an effective way. According to students’ different abilities, they are taught in different ways that are more suitable for them. In the top streams, students use more difficult materials, therefore, they can learn more. In sharp contrast, teachers can explain the material more slowly to those in bottom streams. Under this circumstance, students with different academic abilities can study effectively and efficiently.

In the final analysis, mixed ability classes are beneficial for students’ versatile development, but in my opinion, segregating students based on different academic ability is better for both teachers and students.

The writer presented a balanced discussion of the topic, effortlessly delivered in a form of a fluent, well-written IELTS essay. The arguments and reasoning are laid out in a coherent, logical way. A wide range of vocabulary is used in this work. There are very few spelling errors that could have been caught in an additional round of proofreading (mouse over the words underlined in blue shows corrections). Keep up the good work! Overall, this essay seems worthy of IELTS Band 8.

IELTS writing – sample essay 12

IELTS essay, topic: Children these days are suffering from obesity, why and how can it be solved?



Modern children are suffering from the diseases that were once considered to be meant for adults only. Obesity is a major disease prevalent among children. What are its causes and what solutions can be offered?

Nowadays, the increasing rate of overweight children and adults is a worldwide health issue. Obesity is a major problem which is increasing day by day in school going children. There are various reasons behind it. This essay will discuss the causes of obesity and offer some solutions.

The first cause of obesity is junk food. It is often seen that mostly children are fond of burgers, pizzas, noodles and coke. These types of foods are easily available to them in school canteens. Children love to purchase chips, chocholates, - ice-cream for lunch. Moreover, in this modern era, parents are working and they do not have time to cook at home. Parents often buy dinner for their children instead of preparing food at home. This calorie-rich diet is making children obese. This problem can be solved by teaching children to cook healthy foods for themselves and banning junk foods and fizzy drinks in schools. This diet can be replaced by milk, juice and fruits for lunch.

The second cause of obesity is sedentry life style. It is true that the use of computers and television is increasing in children. They spend most of their time watching television or playing video games on a computer. This technological advancement has reduced the level of physical activity in this specific age group. This issue can be resolved by encouraging children to do physical exercises. Parents can take their children to park to encourage playing with friends. Furthermore, schools can add sports in their curriculum to maintain physical fitness in their students.

To sum up, it is clear that main causes of obesity are unhealthy eating and not enough physical activities. This ailment can be prevented and treated by healthy eating habbits and physical exercises.

This is a good essay. There are only a few minor errors that could have been easily prevented by proofreading this essay one last time before submission (mouse over the words underlined in blue shows corrections). Overall, this work seems worthy of IELTS Band 8. Keep up the good work!

IELTS writing – sample essay 11

IELTS essay, topic: Public libraries should only provide books, not videos or DVD, agree or disagree?

Public libraries should only provide books and should not waste their limited resources on expensive high-tech media such as software, videos or DVDs. Do you agree or disagree?

With the proliferation of high-tech media, some people hold that the public libraries would be rendered obsolete if they do not offer software, videos or DVDs to their users while other assert it’s only a waste of limited resources and the libraries should offer books only.

High-tech media is, in many ways, indeed superior to the books in terms of entertainment, attraction, and functionality. For instance, videos and DVDs function as a visual means to assist people to have a first-hand experience even though those people have not physically visited or seen the objects which are introduced in the books. Also, despite the audio-visual equipment would be prohibitive to install, the capital cost would be lowered by appealing to a sizable number of users. 

More importantly, software could assist the library goers to access the Internet to update their knowledge on a daily basis; in contrast, books typically take multiple months to be published, which in turn render their contents outdated to some extent. In addition, upon learning that the computer literacy has become an essential skill recently, public libraries should take on the responsibility to educate its users how to operate a computer. 

Furthermore, it is a common practice for most public libraries to share their resources via the Internet. In this way, even if one book of interest cannot be found in one library, the borrower still could locate the book from other libraries and then request the librarians to transfer the book to that particular library.

In conclusion, public libraries would benefit in multiple ways if they are equipped with the high-tech media.

This is a good essay. There are only a few errors indicating that the writer needs to take care with verbs, prepositions and sentence formation (mouse over the words underlined in blue shows corrections). Overall, this work seems worthy of IELTS Band 8. Remember to always proofread your essay before submitting it. Keep up the good work!

IELTS writing – sample essay 10

IELTS essay, topic: Children should be engaged in paid work, agree or disagree?

In many countries children are engaged in different kinds of paid work. Some people regard this as completely wrong, while others consider it a valuable work experience, important for learning and taking responsibility. What is your opinion?

The issue of whether or not children should be engaged in some paid work has sparked a heated debate. While some argue that having some employment experience is conducive to a child’s learning and development, I contend that it would bring harm to the child’s heath and learning.

First of all, a workplace designed for adults is normally shortage of child-friendly facilities. Desks and chairs are too high for a child; the light switches are installed on the walls unreachable by children; also emergency training and facilities such as phones are only provided to adults. Furthermore, various hazards such as polluted air and chemical fumes are still produced in factories and farms. Undoubtedly young people would suffer in such workplaces. 

Also, children would find it frustrating when they are not properly inducted before starting a job. A child working in a cement factory would feel a setback when he could not get immediate support while struggling with the procedures of recording different raw materials that is required by the job. Further, without sufficient support, a child’s misunderstanding or inappropriately communicating with adults would only disappoint him and prevents him from active learning and interacting with other people.

To conclude, a child’s paid employment experience would lead to a negative impact on their health and active learning. However, recognizing the importance of children’s learning and their awareness of responsibility, it is advisable to encourage them to be involved in some volunteering opportunities where they can meaningfully learn and interact with other people with sufficient care and support in place for such jobs.

This is a good essay. There are only a few errors (mouse over the words underlined in blue shows corrections), but otherwise this work seems worthy of Band 7.5 or 8. Remember to always proofread your essay before submitting it. Keep up the good work!

IELTS writing – sample essay 9

IELTS essay, topic: Should people spend a lot on weddings and birthday parties?

Some people think that spending a lot on holding wedding parties, birthday parties and other celebrations is just a waste of money. Others, however, think that these are necessary for individuals and the society. Discuss both views and give your opinion.

Throwing parties can be expensive. While some people do not find these fancy parties worth what they cost, others believe parties are important to both individuals and the society.

People choose to throw parties for a number of reasons. For starters, parties can make better teams. Project kick-off parties are good opportunities to break the ice and help team members to know each other better. Victory parties create a sense of success and belonging. Companies do not see parties as wastes of money and allocate budget to support such events. Moreover, parties often leave good memories. From our own experiences, we all have happy memories of our birthday parties when we were little. Every family has great photos took on family parties in their album. In addition, contrary to what some people believe that spending on parties is a waste of social resources, parties actually create value, either by employing people in the party planning business or by offering people better party experiences.

The popularity of parties, however, causes some tension in the society. Parties are hard on introverted people who find themselves uncomfortable in parties. This is a clinic symptom which psychologists call it “social anxiety disorder”. There are other ways to celebrate important events that may have greater value for their cost. For instance, companies could send out gifts after successful projects and parents could take their children on family trips to celebrate birthdays. 

In my opinion, while a party is a form of social event that brings many benefits to individuals and the society, other choices should also be considered, either to cut spending or to relieve the stress of those who are not fond of parties.

This is a very good essay. Other than minor inaccuracies there are no problems (mouse over the words underlined in blue shows corrections). Seems to be worth IELTS Band 8.