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Nguyen Ngoc Hiep_ IELTS

IELTS writing its not a test of intelligence


Recognise that this is a test of English, not a test of intelligence. If you are taking IELTS, you are may well be an academic: if you are an academic, you are probably pretty intelligent: if you are pretty intelligent, you probably want to show that intelligence off. Sorry, there are no prizes for intelligence in IELTS; as I say, it is test of English. In practical terms, this means that you shouldnt really treat the essay as a piece of academic writing. It isnt really. The people marking it are English language professionals, not academics. Also, can you think of any piece of academic writing you produce in 40 minutes and do not redraft? I cant. This is the really practical advice. So read carefully. Most books and websites tell you to spend planning time thinking of ideas. Ignore them. For 90% of IELTS essays you need the same two ideas: I agree and I disagree. Rather, you need to spend your planning time thinking of reasons and examples. If you do this, with a little practice you will produce clear straightforward essays with a range of good language. Examples tend to be easier to think of under pressure and also tend to lead to good precise language. If, however, you ignore me and concentrate on ideas, you could well end up with essays that tend to complexity; and in a pressured exam environment, complexity can only too easily lead to incoherence. A big no-no. Another problem here is that if you get too involved in ideas, there is every chance that you will end up writing about a similar topic and not the task itself. That is a major problem as you will almost certainly get a penalty deduction for task response.

IELTS writing 10 tips


Here are 10 of my top tips for IELTS writing. They focus on the writing process in the exam. Much the most important tip is number 1. 1. Read the question answer the question Rule number 1 is to answer the question: read the question carefully and underline all the information you need to include. This works differently in the essay and the report. In the essay, often you will find background information and the question itself. Make sure you answer the question (eg Do you agree?) and do not write generally about the topic. If you copy another essay you have written on the same topic, you will lose a lot of marks. In task 1, all the information you need to include is in the chart/graph: make sure you identify the key points before you start writing. 2. Dont start writing too soon think and plan! It is important to finish both pieces of writing, but the way to do this is not necessarily starting to write immediately. If you do that, you may get half way through the writing and realise you cannot finish it. Only start writing when you know how you are going to finish.

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In the essay this can mean up to 10 minutes and in the task 1 report it can mean up to 5 minutes. The more you think, the better and more quickly you will write. 2/3 minutes is almost certainly not enough. For more detail on this, try looking at Planning an IELTS essay the 10 minute solution. 3. Write enough words 250 means AT LEAST 250 and 150 means AT LEAST 150. See my post on how many words for more detail on this. 4. Dont write too many words The more words you write, you more mistakes you are likely to make. The more words you write, the less efficient you become and the quality will fall. The ideal is to aim for between 260 280 words in the essay and 160-180 words in the report. 5. Dont copy whole sections of the question If you copy whole sections of the question, the examiner will not include those words in your word count: 260 words can become 230 words if you are not careful. 6. Time is your enemy have a plan and a watch Timing can be a problem. It is important to keep moving and stick to your timing. Dont be tempted to spend more than 40 minutes on your essay you need 20 minutes to answer task 1 properly. 7. Task 1 and task 2 which do you answer first? The essay is worth twice the marks of the report. One idea is to do task 2 (the essay) before task 1(the report), just to ensure you finish the essay. You do need to spend at least 20 minutes on part 1 though. Do not try to answer it in 15 minutes. 8. Check your writing It is important to check your writing for grammatical errors. You need to have a checklist before you enter the exam of what mistakes you typically make. For a little more detail on this, try checking this post about how to check your writing 9. Think about range of vocabulary You should also check your writing for unnecessary word repetition you are graded on the variety of your language. You should note that this does not mean you need to use long, complex words, rather it means you should use precise words. 10. Think about the examiner use paragraphs well The examiner will not spend very long grading your paper. You need to create an immediate good impression and the best way to do this in my experience is to present a well-structured piece of writing with clearly laid out paragraphs. This way the examiner is going to be on your side. If, however, it looks disorganised, the examiner is not going to be impressed.

Task response explained


This article looks at task response in IELTS writing which is one of the 4 grading criteria. In it, I look at what task response means in detail and give examples of common

Nguyen Ngoc Hiep_ IELTS


mistakes that candidates make. Understanding these mistakes should help improve your IELTS writing. There are 4 issues to think about. 1. Answer all parts of the task Often IELTS task 1 and 2 questions will give you 2 or 3 points to consider. If you fail to answer all parts of the question, you will get a penalty. This may mean losing a whole band score. This is a problem in task 1 in particular. In academic writing, you need to include all the key points in the graph/chart, while in the general IELTS letter you need to include all the items asked for. Common mistake: to not spend enough time reading the question and to start writing too soon. In academic task 1 this may mean missing some of the key points in the chart/graph. Solution: You should give yourself plenty of time to read and understand the question. Underline all the detail you need to include. This means making a proper plan and giving yourself enough time to plan. See the 10 minute solution. Common mistake in essays: to not answer the question in the essay task but to write about something similar. This can be a disaster as you may suffer a heavy penalty for this. There are 2 reasons why candidates may make this mistake. They have learned an essay on the topic ( see answering the question) or they try to be too clever and forget it is a language test not an intelligence test ( see intelligence test). Common mistake in task 1: not to include all the relevant detail from the diagram 2. Present a clear position throughout the task This means that it is important to plan the answer well. Use your introduction to state your position and then explain your position in more detail in each paragraph. Common mistake: candidates do not make their position clear or fail to state any conclusions. Solution: Again, the solution is to allow yourself enough time to plan. When you plan you should think about the structure of your essay and the introduction and conclusion in particular. For practice on this, I highly recommend Essay Map. 3. Extend and support main ideas Every IELTS essay question includes language to tell you to support your ideas with reasons and examples from your own experience. Do this. If you do not, you will not be answering the question. Common mistake: to include too many general statements that are not supported by reasons or examples. Solution: think about writing coherent paragraphs. One way to do this in practice is to learn to ask yourself one or two basic questions. Why do I say think that? How can I explain that? What is a good example of that?. 4. Write enough words

Nguyen Ngoc Hiep_ IELTS


The question clearly tells you to write 150 words in task 1 and 250 words in task 2. That means at least 150 and 250 words. If you fail to do this, you will get a penalty. Again, you may lose a whole band score. Disaster. For more on this see my post on how many words. Common mistake: to think that task 1 doesnt really matter and not leave enough time to finish it. Solution: you need to have a clear strategy for timing before you enter the exam. It can often be a good idea to answer the essay (task 2) before letter/report (task 1), but you do need to finish them both.

How many words in IELTS essays?


How many words do you need to write for IELTS? The short answer is 250 for the essay and 150 for the task 1 report. This is essential information because you can lose a whole band score if you do not write enough words. If you are concerned or new to IELTS, I suggest you read through the following points. Repeating the question If you repeat the wording of the question, the examiner may not include those words in the final word count. What this means is that you should not take whole sentences and phrases from the question. You can borrow single words: they may well be the right word to use and it would be pointless looking for another word that was not exactly correct. Lets look at a question to see what you can and cant do: Some people argue that the government should give every unemployed person a mobile phone and should make sure they have access to the Internet. They believe this is the best way of using public money to reduce the problem of unemployment. To what extent do you agree or disagree? Here you could of course repeat the words government unemployed the internet and mobile phone: these are simply the correct terms to use. But what you should avoid is writing I agree that the government should give every unemployed person a mobile phone and should make sure they have access to the internet. This is simple copying. Repeating yourself In the same way, if you repeat large bits of your essay, the examiner may not count those words. The key point to remember is that it is really quality and not quantity that counts do not repeat yourself, just to get to the word limit. All words are words Sometimes people ask what is a word. Small words like a and is are still words. A contracted word like isnt is probably going to be counted as one word and not two. Generally speaking, however, you are not going to use contracted words in your IELTS writing with the exception of a less formal letter in General IELTS. Do not waste time counting words count lines Time is your enemy in IELTS writing. Whatever you do, do not waste time counting all the words you have written, there are far more important things to check. Rather

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what you should do is to count the number of words you normally write in a line and then multiply that by the number of lines you have written. So if you normally write 12 words to the line, you need to write 23/5 lines in your essay. Do not write too many words spend more time planning and checking Some candidates write 300 words or more in their essay. There is no deduction for this, but it is not a good idea unless you are a very high quality candidate. There are no prizes for quantity, only quality. The time you spent writing the extra 30/40 words would be much better spent either planning your essay or checking and improving its quality. A sensible target? Its quality that quantity that really counts. So my suggestion would be to aim for between 250-275 words in the essay and 150 170 words in the report. This means that you have some margin for error.

Planning an IELTS essay the 10 minute solution


How long should you spend planning an IELTS? There is of course no correct answer to this question, but in this post I am going to make a suggestion that you should consider spending up to 10 minutes on the planning process. Really? Yes, 10 minutes is not too long, let me try and explain why.

Timing how long does it take to write 250 words You may not be convinced by 10 minutes: it seems a long time doesnt it? I have three main arguments to put to you:

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Try looking at it this way: the longer you spend planning, the better and the more quickly you will write. To me, it is a given that you will write better once you have thought about your ideas and the language you want to use. More than that, if you spend 10 minutes on the plan, that still leaves you 25/30 minutes to write 250-275 words. Do the sums: thats approximately 9/10 words a minute, or put another way a sentence every 2 minutes. No matter your level, that should be achievable. Try timing yourself and how you use your 40 minutes. Im next to certain that if you start writing before 10 minutes is up, you will find that in the writing process you spend minutes at a time doing little you dont know what to say next or how to express it. Thats wasted time. If you have read Aesop: the tortoise beats the hare. What happens if you dont plan enough: overlong essays Plan more and write less as well as better. Dont spend all your time writing Just recently I have seen a number of essays that are well over 500 words. Some of them are model essays from websites and books and some are student produced essays. 500 words is much much too long: too much time is being spent writing and not enough time is being spent thinking. No matter who you are, in 40 minutes you are going to produce better quality English in 300 words than 500 words. One way to do this is plan more and write less What happens if you dont plan enough: too short essays You dont have time to stop and start again. Plans help you to complete your essay in time Another point to consider is the exam context: for many candidates one problem is timing, you only have 40 minutes to write an essay. What you cannot afford to do is the academic thing and draft and redraft: you have to get it right first time. If you have to go back and rewrite, thats when you really run into problems with time. Indeed, having to stop and start again is one leading cause of the failed IELTS essay. What happens is that the essay ends up only half-finished. How can you avoid this? Planning and planning correctly. What to plan? Ideas, reasons and examples If Ive convinced you to spend more time planning, the next step is to think about how to use that time well. Its no good spending 10 minutes, if theres no end product. And I suspect that one reason why candidates dont spend too much time planning is that when they try it, they dont get any end product. That maybe because they are planning the wrong thing. Dont worry too much about ideas. From classroom practice I find that if I ask students to come up with ideas nothing much happens. Its a difficult process under pressure. Think about reasons and examples instead. For me, in practice, this is much easier to do. If I ask my students Why do you agree? or Can you give me an example of that?, I get an almost immediate response. Try it for yourself, see if it works. What to plan? Vocabulary The next point is to ask yourself what slows you down when you are writing. Is it because you cant find the words? Quite possibly. So to me the answer is fairly

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clear: try planning the vocabulary so that you know what words you are going to use before you start writing so you will write more quickly. There are another two related points here. The first is that if you plan vocabulary, ideas follow: once the words are in your head, you know what to say. The other point is that vocabulary makes up 25% of your mark, so it seems rather misguided not to spend time thinking about it. For more on this, take a look at IELTS essays the planning process Experiment see what works for you The final point I am going to make is this: everyone is different and no one solution can fit you all. Accordingly, I suggest that you should try different solutions and see what works for you personally give my 10 minute plan a go. It can work. Planning IELTS essays and finding ideas This lesson looks at how planning better can help you write better essays. I focus in particular on ideas something that catches many candidates out. The two key points are that the ideas you need to write an IELTS essay are fairly simple and it helps to make a difference between ideas, reasons and examples. You will also find a model essay to download based on this lesson.

Problem 1 not enough ideas This is one of most common reasons for candidates to go wrong in the writing paper. They see a question. Try to think of ideas. Come up empty and panic. You will find part of my solution to this below. For now, I will just say that you need very few ideas to write a good essay and those ideas can be simple ideas too. Dont buy a book on ideas for essays, instead learn this tip: Tip you need only 2 ideas to write an essay and those ideas are often found in the question

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Problem 2 the ideas are confused This is also a very common mistake. There are plenty of ideas to write an essay. The problem is that the reader/examiner does not know what the main ideas are. Tip make sure you have one main idea per paragraph. This should be clear from the first sentence of the paragraph Problem 3 too many ideas Yes, some people do have too many ideas. This is a trap for candidates aiming for a high score. In particular, if they are used to writing academic essays. IELTS is a 250 word essay marked on language. That means it is probably much shorter than you are used to and there are no marks for quality and quantity of ideas. Tip select only enough ideas to write a complete essay that means one per paragraph Finding ideas for essays Step 1 understand the difference between ideas, reasons and examples When I ask my students in a class for ideas, they quite often stare at me in silence. When I ask them the question why or ask them to give me an example, they (normally!) have plenty to say. That should tell you there is a difference between ideas, reasons (why) and examples. The good news is ideas are not the problem in IELTS, what you need are reasons and examples. They are normally much easier to find. A paragraph is one idea: supported with reasons and examples. You only need two ideas. Step 2 learning where to find ideas for essays? The ideas you need for an essay are nearly always found in the question. They are typically so big that you think they are too easy to be a real idea. Thats the trap. What do I mean? Take this example: Human activities have endangered many animal and plant species. Some people think it is too late to save them, while others think

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humans should still take some action. Discuss both views and express your own opinions. This is one of the harder questions I have seen recently, but the ideas you need are simple enough. 1. It is too late to save endangered species 2. It is not too late to save species It is that easy. Those two ideas are your two main topic paras. All you need now are some reasons and examples. Step 3 finding reasons and examples ask yourself questions Here you have different options. One trick is simply ask yourself the questions why? or how? or when? or what? That is often enough. Step 4 thinking vocabulary gives you more ideas This is something else I use with my students a lot. It might also work for you. The concept is that once you have words, then ideas come naturally from those words. Try thinking of planning words and see if it works for you. Organising and selecting your ideas reasons and examples Key concept one idea per paragraph supported by reasons and examples Look at these two sample paragraphs from the essay and see how I use simple ideas from the question: Close Me Much of the argument against taking any action to save these species is that the process is irreversible. Just to take one example, there are now so few Giant Pandas left in the wild, they will in all probability become extinct in the foreseeable future. There are simply too few bamboo forests left in order for them to survive. This is also the case with many other endangered species who have lost, or are losing, their natural habitat. Notes The first sentence outlines what the paragraph is about. It is the idea from the question: Some people think it is too late to save them. The rest of paragraph is an explanation of that idea 1. Giant Pandas arre threatened and will die out (example)

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2. Problem with habitat (extended example) 3. Other species have same pattern (explanation of example) Close Me The opposite view is that it is the responsibilty of mankind to act and try and save these species for posterity. There is a moral aspect to this argument because most of these species are only endangered because of mans actions and it is our duty to make amends. Another consideration is that advances in science, especially in the field of genetics, mean that we may be able to recreate some of their lost habitats. It is no longer the case that the only option is to preserve these species for future generations in zoos and botanical gardens. Notes You should see that this paragraph follows almost the same model. There is one clear and simple idea in the first sentence. It relates back to the question words: while others think humans should still take some action. The rest of the paragraph explains that idea: moral duty because it is our fault (reason why) science can now help through genetics (second reason why) zoos are not the only solution (extended second reason why) Key concept you dont need to include all your reasons and examples My notes for this essay included all this. They are my notes, so you dont need to understand them all. What I want you to see is that I have not included everything. In an academic essay I might have. Here I have selected the ideas that were easiest to write about.

zoos (example) breed in captivity (example extended) preservation (how) giant pandas (example) medical benefits (why) loss of habitat (why) river dolphins (example) biodiversity (reason)

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logging and rainforests (example) dams (example) progress of man (why) deforestation (how) bamboo forest (where) science (why) cloning (example) genetics (example) moral responsibility (why)

Key concept balance your paragraphs There are a number of different possible essay structures. My default (normal) structure is to have 2 paragraphs that balance each other it is surprising how often this structure works. It is good for the coherence of the essay, it also makes it easier to write especially if you are short of ideas. You use the second content paragraph can reflect the ideas in the first paragraph, but from the opposite point of view. Close Me Much of the argument against taking any action to save these species is that the process is irreversible. Just to take one example, there are now so few Giant Pandas left in the wild, they will in all probability become extinct in the foreseeable future. There are simply too few bamboo forests left in order for them to survive. This is also the case with many other endangered species who have lost, or are losing, their natural habitat. The opposite view is that it is the responsibilty of mankind to act and try and save these species for posterity. There is a moral aspect to this argument because most of these species are only endangered because of mans actions and it is our duty to make amends. Another consideration is that advances in science, especially in the field of genetics, mean that we may be able to recreate some of their lost habitats. It is no longer the case that the only option is to preserve these species for future generations in zoos and botanical gardens.

Reviewing your essay part of the process of writing

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Writing an exam essay is different from writing an academic essay or even one for homework you are under time pressure and you have only one chance to get it right In practice, what this means is that very often exam essays do not get reviewed. This, I believe is a mistake and in this lesson I suggest a practical way to review your essays in exams. It is based on 4 ideas: any time spent checking should be focussed -dont look for mistakes, look for particular mistakes dont leave it to the end when it may be too late to help you reviewing what you have written can help you write better checking in stages allows you to keep a clear head I explain these ideas briefly, then suggest a model review plan that you can adapt to your needs. The key idea is that reviewing your essay is part of the process of writing it, not something best left to the end. In the exam,the last thing you do is write your conclusion you will already have reviewed essay before then. Idea one focus on particular problems This idea is simple. Everyone has mistakes that they make: so to use your time efficiently,look for problems/mistakes that you know you make. To do this,you need to review your writing before you get to the exam and have a mental checklist in your head of the type of mistakes you make and how to solve them. A second idea here is only to check for one type of problem at a time: first spelling, then articles etc. This will certainly make you check more efficiently,but this may be too time-consuming under exam circumstances. Idea two check as you write and not just at the end A further suggestion is that you go back and check each part of the essay after you have written it. Too time-consuming? Perhaps. Though with a little practice, it can work for you. Consider these thoughts: time is of the essence in the exam you want to use your 40 minutes efficiently if you spend time reviewing your writing and find no or only few mistakes, that is inefficient it is much easier to check a paragraph than a whole essay there is less to read! You are much more likely to find grammar/vocabulary problems you might otherwise miss this way Idea three make reviewing part of the process of writing essays checking for Task Response and Coherence too I highlight this idea in red as it is in many ways what this series of lessons is about. Your IELTS essay is made up of different parts that require different writing skills. Before you write each part of the essay, you should focus on what you aim to in it. Here the idea is that after you write each part of the essay, you go back and re-read it and then you may find problems with coherence/task response that you can fix there and then, but you cant fix at the end too late! you will get words and ideas for the next part of the essay making your essay flow better and become both more coherent and cohesive

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Idea 4 keeping your head clear and relieving stress This idea is a little different. 40 minutes is quite a long time to concentrate full on. Different people work differently, but one suggestion is to take mini-breaks in the test when you clear your head. For example, if you spend 15 seconds sitting up straight, stretching or rolling your neck, then you may concentrate better when you start writing again. Sometimes 9+9+9+9 is more than 40! If cant force yourself to take mini-breaks, then why not spend that time checking what you have written? It is still a break from writing, but this way you are spending the time doing something useful. A suggested review plan There is nothing necessary about this plan. Every learner is different and it needs to be adapted to your needs. Experiment with it to see how it may work for you and how much time in practice you spend on it. I have deliberately included too much and repeated some ideas in different stages to give you a choice as to what to do and when to do it. In each phase you will check for grammar/vocab issues of course. Step 1. Read and understand the question Generally, you want to check that you understand the question before you write the intro. review ideas: Can I rephrase the question in my own words? How many parts of the question are there? What is the task? Step 2. Introduction Generally, you want to check that your intro matches the question and leads into the essay you want to write. review ideas Have I identified all parts of the question? Have I identified the task? Is my position clear? Have I repeated too much vocab from the question? Step 3. Content paras Generally, you want to make sure that each para is clearly about one main idea, those ideas link back to the intro and fit your essay structure. Reviewing these paras often means looking back at your intro which is a map to your essay. Something I often do with my own essays is to make sure that my language is consistent throughout the essay. You may want to change the words in your intro a little at this stage to match the language of your main paras. review ideas:

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Is the main idea obvious from the first sentence? (This is a common problem and if you have a problem, a quick fix is not to rewrite the whole para but add one sentence at the end to summarise the main idea) Does the first sentence refer back to the introduction? If the content paras make different points is this clear from the introduction? If they make the same point in different ways, is this clear in the intro? Do I repeat one word too much? Step 4. The conclusion Generally, this is the step you are most likely to miss out. You may well be out of time by this stage. My best suggestion is that you review the whole essay before you write the conclusion. review ideas; Do I refer to ideas in both/all 3 content paras in my conclusion? Do I use some of the same language in my conclusion as in the content paras to help cohesion and coherence? Do I explicitly answer the question as it is asked? Does my conclusion mirror what I say in the intro? Footnote sometimes the quick way to edit is simply to delete You dont have much time to spare in an exam. A practical suggestion for when you are stuck on how to edit something is to either rub it out or delete it neatly. You need to make sure that your essay is still complete and what is left makes sense.

Understanding the task in IELTS essays


Perhaps the number 1 rule in IELTS writing is to answer the question. This may sound obvious, but it is surprising how many candidates fail to get it right. Even though their English may be high quality, they wont get the grade they need if their IELTS essay doesnt address the question. Topics and questions The starting point is to recognise that there is in fact a question to be answered and that this is not the same as writing about a general topic. To understand this, read this IELTS essay question: The first cars appeared on the British roads in 1888. By the year 2000 there may be as many as 29 million vehicles on British roads.

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To what extent do you agree or disagree? Alternative forms of transport should be encouraged and international laws introduced to control car ownership and use. Now, the topic is clearly transport and more particularly road congestion or perhaps pollution. But, and I cannot emphasise this enough, that topic is not the question and it is not sufficient to write about that topic in general. Reading the question Remember to identify what the exact task is. Do not confuse this with the general topic of the essay and background information given in the essay question To get this right, it is important to read and think about the question very carefully time spent focussing on the question is never wasted. Helpfully, the essay questions are almost always structured in the same way. Often they come in 3 parts: background information, problem and task 1. Background information Very often, they are introduced with some background information, here: The first car appeared on British roads in 1888. By the year 2000 there may be as many as 29 million vehicles on British roads. This is background information only. Not to be ignored, as it can be a vital source of both ideas and vocabulary. 2. The problem Next comes an opinion based statement which introduces the question and poses a specific problem. In our example: Alternative forms of transport should be encouraged and international laws introduced to control car use and ownership. This is the part to note. The topic may be transport in general; but reading carefully it is more precisely: alternative forms of transport international legislation of transport the relationship between the state and the individual the concept of car use and ownership (not necessarily the same thing) 3. The task The final part of the question is the task itself. It tells you how to write your essay: whether you should be commenting. comparing or arguing. This can help you structure your essay. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

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Reading the question in this way, you should now see how precise they tend to be. The examiner is looking for an equally precise answer: not the repetition of the essay you wrote a few weeks back on a similar looking topic. Moral: read the question the whole question

An editing checklist for IELTS


One problem in IELTS is that there are only 60 minutes to produce 2 pieces of writing. As a result many candidates do not have time to edit their writing, or if they do edit, they do it inefficiently. This article gives practical suggestions on how to check your writing efficiently, so that you can do it in the 60 minutes and improve your score. It looks in brief at when to check, how to check and what to check for. When to check The first step is to decide when to check. There are 3 options here. The conventional advice is to leave 3-5 minutes at the end, but there are other choices. The best advice is to try them all and see what works for you. 1. Check at the end The conventional advice is to leave 3-5 minutes at the end to review your writing. The reason to do it this way is that you can see read the whole essay and check it for coherence as well as grammatical problems. One problem with this approach is that sometimes you run out of time and do not check. Another problem is that it is more difficult to find mistakes when you check a longer piece of writing. If you are a higher level candidate and you have few problems with grammar, this is possibly the approach for you. 2. Check as you write An alternative option is to check as you write: either at the end of each sentence or paragraph. This idea may surprise you, but there is a very significant benefit to this approach: you are much more likely to find grammatical errors if you look at a sentence of 15 words than an essay of 250 words. If you know that you have consistent problems with grammar, you should certainly consider this approach. It really is much easier to find mistakes this way. 3. Check as you write and at the end This is probably the ideal choice as it allows you to find grammatical errors as you write and problems with coherence after you have written. The one difficulty is that it probably takes more time. How to check Here I have two very positive suggestion to make: Check with a pen in hand so that you make sure you look at every word. Its very easy to see what you think you have written and not what you actually wrote. Reading with a pen is a good way of slowing yourself down and makeing sure you read every word.

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Read in complete sentences and not word by word. Very often mistakes happen because all the parts of the sentence are correct, but those parts of a sentence do not fit together. What to check for This is the big one. There are a number of different items you can check for and what follows is a longish list. The key advice is to make a checklist of your own personal mistakes and check for those mistakes. If you look for everything, you may find nothing; if you look for something, you have every chance of finding it, Grammar The main point to note here is that not all mistakes are equal. You will be penalised more heavily for basic mistakes than more complex ones, therefore you should check your basic grammar most carefully. In the same way, you are penalised more heavily for systematic errors: these are errors that you make consistently. Verb tenses: make sure they are consistent and in task 1 that your tenses match the time frame in the graph Articles: this is something for everyone to check for. Articles are the most common words in English and often go wrong. To get band 7 or over most of your sentences need to be correct: this means your articles need to be correct. Subject-verb agreement: this means he does not he do. Even to quite a high level this is a relatively common mistake. The problem being that it is also a basic mistake that examiners will penalise more heavily Parts of speech: this is another relatively low level mistake that is also quite common particularly with Asian language speakers. Check that you use nouns, verbs and adjectives when you need. This is particularly an issue in task 1 when using trend language (a sharp rise, but to rise sharply). Range of sentence structures: this one may surprise you, but it is important if you want band 6 or above to vary your sentence structures. It is not enough always to use simple but correct language. Vocabulary I suspect that this is something that few candidates bother to check. A mistake. Vocabulary is as important as grammar and in a way it is easier to correct. Repetition: under exam conditions looking for repetition is perhaps the area where a candidate can most improve their writing. It is relatively easy for a candidate to see that they have repeated words and to correct this mistake. Repetition (2): check that you have not repeated whole phrases and sentences from the question Spelling: check that you get at least the basic words right Coherence Again, this is another area that sometimes does not get checked. You do need to think about this as it accounts for a large part of your mark. Topic sentences: each paragraph starts with a topic sentence that clearly relates to the question

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Paragraph development: each paragraph is developed with explanations and examples of the topic sentence. In task 1 this includes having enough detailed information and facts. Connecting words:make sure that the connecting words you use are accurate. A frequent mistake is to overuse connecting words. Answering the question If you dont answer the question, the examiner is likely to penalise you very heavily. Really speaking, it is too late to check this at the end, this is something more for the planning stage. Introduction: check that your introduction addresses all parts of the question Conclusion: check that your conclusion gives an answer to the question What not to do count the words Whatever you do, dont count the words. That is a complete waste of exam time. If you are worried, count how many words you write in one line and then count how many lines your writing is. (Words like a and an still count as words). What not to do draft and redraft There is an essential difference between IELTS and academic writing. Academic writing involves drafting and redrafting: IELTS is an exam that takes place in 60 minutes, you do not have time to draft and redraft you need skills that are specific to an exam situation. Summary Make a checklist of your personal mistakes: you need a teacher/expert user for this Practise how and when you are going to edit your writing: try different ideas, see what works best Have an exam strategy for timing: the reason candidates dont check is they run out of time.

The three different types of IELTS essay question


1. The discussion Here you are given a social issue or problem and asked directly to discuss it and very often asked to suggest a solution for it. Two examples In this type of question you are given the problem (here in red) and then told how to discuss it/your task (in blue). In many countries schools have severe problems with student behaviour. What do you think are the causes of this? What solutions can you suggest? and Many universities charge higher fees for foreign students. Why do they do this? Do you believe that it is fair?

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Typical task words Why do they think that? What solutions can you suggest? Typical problems There are 2 typical problems with understanding this type of essay question. You are being asked for your personal opinion: it is not enough to talk generally about the topic. You must give your personal view. Very often you given two tasks: for example, to discuss the causes and the solution. If you discuss only one of these, you will be penalised on Task Achievement. The question does not give you much help with ideas: you may need to spend more time planning and thinking of ideas 2. The proposal Here you are given an opinion about some social issue to discuss. Typically, you are asked whether or to what extent you agree with it. Two examples In this type of question you are given an opinion (in red) and then told how to discuss it/your task (in blue). Sometimes the question is longer and you are given some background information (in green), then the opinion and then the task. Fatherhood ought to be emphasized as much as motherhood. The idea that women are solely responsible for deciding whether or not to have babies leads on to the idea that they are also responsible for bringing the children up. To what extent do you agree or disagree? and 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? Typical task words What is you opinion? Do you agree that To what extent do you agree? Discuss Typical problems There are three typical problems with understanding this type of essay question: The questions are simply longer to read and sometimes harder to understand. Spend plenty of time reading the question and underlining the key words and making sure you understand what words like this and these refer to.

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It can be easy to confuse the background information from the opinion. You must discuss the opinion (the bit in red). If you only discuss the topic (the bit in green), you will be penalised on Task Achievement. You need to discuss the opinion in the question. You cannot only give your opinion. 3. The argument Here you are given a problem or issue and two different solutions or opinions about it. Typically, you are then asked to decide which solution/opinion is the better. Two examples The argument type essay question has two main types. In the first type, you get two different situations or opinions (red) and then your task (in blue) is to decide between them. In some countries people pay different rates of tax depending on their salary, in other countries everyone pays the same rate. Which do you believe is the best system? In the second type, you get a solution (in red) to a situation (in green) and you then your task (in blue) is to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of that solution. Unemployment is one of the most serious problems facing developed nations today. What are the advantages and/or disadvantages of reducing the working week to thirty five hours? Typical task words What are the advantages and disadvantages of this Typical problems There are two typical problems here: The essay discusses the problem generally and doesnt talk about advantages or disadvantages or make a choice between the two options. Again this will be penalised under Task Achievement. The essay only looks at the advantages or the disadvantages. It needs to look at both sides of the question. Other question types I would like to emphasise that you may well find questions that could fall into two different categories. That is not so important. What really matters is learning to look at each question and deciding what precisely it is asking you to do and what possible problems it poses. A checklist This is my very simple checklist to help you decide which type of question you are looking at: 1. Does it ask me what my own opinion is about a topic? Discussion question Use my own opinions

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2. Does it ask me to discuss a particular proposal? Proposal question Discuss that proposal 3. Does it ask me to decide between two different opinions or look at the advantages and disadvantages of a topic Argument question Discuss both sides and come to a decision

Arguments
One type of essay asks you to discuss two sides of a problem. This type of question is phrased in different ways, asking you to discuss: advantages and disadvantages two different opinions two choices These questions are asked in different ways and I have highlighted the key words in bold. Advantages and disadvantages In the future, we will have more and more leisure time as machines replace many of the tasks we do at home and work. Discuss the benefits this will bring and also the problems it will cause. (Academic writing practice) Television has had a significant influence on the culture of many societies. To what extent would you say that television has positively or negatively affected the cultural development of your society? Unemployment is one of the most serious problems facing developed nations today. What are the advantages and/or disadvantages of reducing the working week to thirty five hours? In many countries there is a shortage of housing due to a growing population. Some people argue that new towns should be built in the countryside, others argue for the regeneration of cities. What are the advantages and disadvantages of the building new towns in the countryside? The threat of nuclear weapons maintains world peace. Nuclear power provides cheap and clean energy. The benefits of nuclear technology far outweigh the disadvantages. Do you agree or disagree? Two different opinions Some people believe in the traditional idea that the womans place is in the home, while others say that idea is outdated and that women should play an increasingly important role in the workplace of the future. What is your opinion? People are now living longer than ever before and many old people are unable to look after themselves. Some people believe that it is the responsibility of families to look after the elderly, while others say governments should provide retirement homes for them where they can be looked after properly. Discuss.

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In some countries people pay different rates of tax depending on their salary, in other countries everyone pays the same rate. Which do you believe is the best system? More and more qualified people are moving from poor to rich countries to fill vacancies in specialist areas like engineering, computing and medicine. Some people believe that by encouraging the movement of such people, rich countries are stealing from poor countries. Others feel that this is only part of the natural movement of workers around the world. Give your opinion. (Academic writing practice) In many countries, children are engaged in some kind of paid work. Some people regard this as completely wrong, while others consider it as valuable work experience, important for learning and taking responsibilities. Discuss. (Cambridge IELTS 3) Some people believe that the media, such as the press, TV and Internet should be more strictly controlled. Others feel that controls should be loosened to give people freer access to information. Which opinion do you agree with? Two different options Should museums and art galleries be free of charge for the general public, or should a charge, even a voluntary charge, be levied for admittance? Discuss this issue, and give your opinion. Some people argue that universities should provide students with more practical training for their future career. Should university education be more vocational or academic. Discuss

Proposals
In this form of essay question you asked to discuss one opinion/proposal about a social issue. You are almost always asked whether you agree or disagree with this proposal. In this form of essay you need to come to a conclusion whether the proposal is a good idea or not. The normal format of the question is To what extent do you agree or disagree? Essay titles 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? (Cambridge IELTS 3) Technology can bring many benefits, but it can also cause social and environmental problems. In relation to new technology, the primary duty of governments should be to focus on potential problems, rather than benefits. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement? (Model tests for the IELTS) The increasing role of English in the world today means that the learning of other languages is being neglected. This will have serious results for the continued use of these languages, and of their cultures. To what extent do you agree or disagree? (Essay Writing)

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Fatherhood ought to be emphasized as much as motherhood. The idea that women are solely responsible for deciding whether or not to have babies leads on to the idea that they are also responsible for bringing the children up. To what extent do you agree or disagree ? (Cambridge IELTS 2) The only way to cut the crime rate is build more prisons and make prison sentences longer. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion? Every country needs to remember its past. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement? (IELTS Practice tests with answers) Without capital punishment (the death penalty) our lives are less secure and crimes of violent increase. Capital punishment is essential to control violence in society. To what extent do you agree or disagree? (Cambridge IELTS 2) Young people are said to have lost many of the traditional values of the older generation. This does not matter, because the old values have no relevance in the modern world. We need to develop a whole new set of values. To what extent do you agree or disagree? (Essay Writing) Future plans to design prisons for learning and working, with bigger cells containing computers that will enable study and communication, have been criticized for trying to turn prisons into holiday camps and wasting taxpayers money. To what extent do you agree or disagree? (IELTS Foundation) The government should control the amount of violence in films and on television in order to decrease the violent crimes in society. To what extent do you agree or disagree? (China writing) Improvement in health, education and trade are essential for the development of poorer nations. However, the government of richer nations should take more responsibility for helping the poorer nations in such areas. To what extent do you agree or disagree? (Cambridge IELTS 3) Some people say that the Internet is making the world smaller by bringing people together. To what extent do you agree that the internet is making it easier for people to communicate with one another? Young drivers are careless and overconfident, and too many are killed in accidents. To eliminate this problem, we could teach children the skills of safe driving while they are at school. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement? (IELTS Practice tests with answers) Improvement in health, education and trade are essential for the development of poorer nations. However, the government of richer nations should take more responsibility for helping the poorer nations in such areas. To what extent do you agree or disagree? (Cambridge IELTS 3)

Discussions
In this form of essay you are asked a direct question about a social issue. Very frequently you are asked more than one direct question. The trick here is to make sure you answer both questions. In this form of the essay the emphasis is on your opinion.

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There are 3 types of question you can expect to see: one direct question two direct questions find the solutions One question Some employers reward members of staff for their exceptional contribution to the company by giving them extra money. This practice can act as an incentive for some but may also have a negative impact on others. To what extent is this style of management effective? Are there better ways of encouraging employees to work hard? (IELTS Practice Plus) 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? (IELTS to Success) Crime is nearly always related to the environment in which it occurs. For this reason, international laws and international law courts are unrealistic and will not succeed in reducing crime levels in different countries. Discuss. (Insight into IELTS) Two questions It is said that travel broadens the mind. What can we learn by travelling to other countries? Should we first explore our own countries? Discuss. Many universities charge higher fees for foreign students. Why do they do this? Do you believe that it is fair? There are many different types of music in the world today. Why do we need music? Is the traditional music of a country more important than the international music that is heard everywhere nowadays? Discuss. (Cambridge IELTS 1) Tobacco and alcohol are drugs that cause addition and health problems. Should they be made illegal? Or should all drugs be legalized? (Essay Writing) News editors decide what to broadcast on television and what to print in newspapers. What factors do you think influence these decisions? Do we become used to bad news? Would it be better if more good news was reported? Discuss. (Cambridge IELTS 1) In many countries people working in sport and entertainment earn much more money than professionals like doctors, nurses and teachers. Why do you think this happens in some societies and do you consider it is good or bad? (China Writing) Do young people today make good use of their leisure time? Or do they spend too much time watching television and playing video games, instead of taking part in more productive activities? Discuss. (Focus on IELTS) Space exploration requires vast sums of money. Is the amount of money spent on space research justifiable? Could the money be better spent?

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Should wealthy nations be required to share their wealth among poorer nations by providing such things as food and education? Or is it the responsibilities of the governments of poorer nations to look after their citizens themselves? (Cambridge IELTS 1) Newspapers and books are outdated. Why do some people believe this? What is your opinion? Find solutions Overpopulation of urban areas has led to numerous problems. Identify one or two serious ones and suggest ways that governments and individuals tackle these problems. (IELTS Foundation) In many countries schools have severe problems with student behavior. What do you think are the causes of this? What solutions can you suggest? (Cambridge IELTS 4)

Paragraph coherence: linking words


This lesson looks at one simple way to write a good paragraph for IELTS. And the key is simplicity: its as easy as 1 2 3. When you have a list of points to make, Id suggest the best way to do it is to count the points. Firstly, I give you some useful language. Secondly, I explain why it is useful. Finally, I show you how to use it in two sample paragraphs from recent IELTS papers. Useful linking language Here is some suggested language: one point/argument/reason/idea is an additional point/argument/reason/idea is another point/argument/reason/idea is again, firstly/secondly/thirdly finally Isnt this too simple? Shouldnt I use moreover and furthermore The short answer to that is no. Perhaps the best reason to give is that this is the language I use myself and I like to teach the language I use. I dont use moreover and furthermore The second reason is that in the IELTS exam you want to keep your structure language simple. Its a sad truth that too many candidates make mistakes in using moreover and furthermore. I want to emphasise that one real benefit to using this method is that it makes writing easier. Once you have written: One reason.., you know that you are going to begin your next sentence Another reason. Your writing automatically becomes more coherent. How should I use it?

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You need to be slightly careful here as it wont always be appropriate. It works best when you have to write a paragraph and you have several ideas which you cant develop over a sentence. What it does is make your writing more coherent and thats 25% of your marks. Three examples This technique works particularly well in questions such as this recent IELTS writing topic where you are asked to discuss a plural topic: responsibilities. Some people think that paying taxes is enough to contribute to society. Others argue that being a citizen involves more responsibilities. What is your opinion? If you are a strong candidate, you might choose to write a 4 paragraph essay with one paragraph discussing paying tax and the other content paragraph discussing other responsibilities. Here is my version: There are, however, various other responsibilities we owe our society. One is that young people should either do military service or some community work before starting their careers. A second is that in some countries citizens do not just have the right to vote but they are in fact obliged to vote by law. Again, it is arguable that the better off within a society ought to provide for the underprivileged through charity work. This technique is also of use in essays where you are asked to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of an issue. Here is another recent IELTS topic: Some people working abroad bring their family to live with them for a period of time. Do you think it has more advantages or disadvantages? Here is my sample paragraph discussing the disadvantages: Perhaps the most significant disadvantage is cost. Typically, it will be more expensive for people working abroad to support their families in the host country where the cost of living is higher. Another disadvantage is that the childrens education may be disrupted if they need to go to school in another country. Thirdly, it may be extremely difficult for the family to integrate if they are unable to speak the language. The third example comes from my sample essay on compulsory education. There are, however, equally strong arguments against making school compulsory until the age of 18. One such argument is that not everyone is academic and that some people benefit more from vocational training. For instance, someone who wants to become a car mechanic may find better training and more satisfaction in an apprentice scheme. Another related argument is that, in todays world, young people are maturing ever more quickly and are able to make their own life decisions by the age of 16. Notes Each of my paragraphs starts with a short simple sentence: this is an extremely good habit to get into. You may find yourself repeating certain words such as argument: this is in fact a good thing as it helps the coherence of your writing. It is not always correct to vary your vocabulary.

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There is some flexibility in how you can combine these connecting words Each of paragraphs contains 2/3 points. Id suggest that that is about right if you are going to try this technique.

IELTS essays essay coherence


What is coherence? A difficult question with any amount of possible answers. My own answer is that if cohesion is about connecting words, then coherence is about connecting ideas. Put another way, a coherent piece of writing is one where the reader understands why each point has been included and never has to stop and think Why did the writer put that bit there?. Everything flows. IELTS coherence: make it explicit Its a fact of life that IELTS examiners do not spend too much time marking an IELTS essay they are not paid by the minute! Therefore and this is a logical connection it only makes sense to make it easy for them to see that you are being coherent. My personal advice is to give them something to tick: show them clearly that you are being coherent dont try and be clever. How to make your essay coherent a demonstration One way to achieve coherence is to focus on openings. The openings of paragraphs (and sentences) need to connect with something that has come before. If there is no connection, the reader will have to stop and think to work out what the writer is thinking. If that happens, the flow of the writing will be lost and coherence will be damaged. Here is a demonstration of what I mean. Look at the connections in my last paragraph: One way to achieve coherence is to focus on openings. The openings of paragraphs (and sentences) need to connect with something that has come before. If there is no connection, the reader will have to stop and think to work out what the writer is thinking. If that happens, the flow of the writing will be lost and coherence will be damaged. Each sentence opening reflects language from the previous sentence so each sentence flows easily into the next. More than that, there is strong connection between the topics of each sentence: they all relate to coherence. A sample essay coherence between paragraphs Read through this sample essay and note how each paragraph is explicitly connected to previous paragraphs so that the reader can easily identify the progression of the argument.Subjects such as Art, Sport and Music are being dropped from the school curriculum for subjects such as Information Technology. Many people children suffer as a result of these changes. To what extent would you support or reject the idea of moving these subjects from school curriculum? In recent times there has much debate about which subjects should be included on the school curriculum. One particular issue is whether the introduction of more

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modern subjects such as IT for more traditional subjects such as art and music disadvantages the pupils. This essay examines both sides of this issue. There is one major argument in favour of replacing art, music and sport on the curriculum with subjects like IT. This is that the purpose of school is to prepare children for their working life after school, so the subjects on the curriculum should be relevant to their potential careers. From this point of view, IT is much relevant to schoolchildren as they need to be computer literate if they want to survive in the workplace. For example, it is easy to see that word processing and programming skills will impress employers more than the ability to run fast or draw well. There are also, however, strong arguments for retaining the more traditional subjects as part of the curriculum. One significant counter-argument is that the purpose of education is not just to prepare children for later careers, but also to develop their all round culture. It is important that children leave school with some knowledge of art, music and sport as all these are all help develop aspects of young peoples personalities. My own personal point of view is that there is merit in both sides of the debate and that all children should study some IT, art music and sport at least at primary school. At secondary school, however, children should be offered a choice between these subjects so that they can continue to study themif they wish. In this way, no child will be disadvantaged. Explanation Each paragraph contains red language right at its start to show the reader what is going to happen in that paragraph. Anyone reading the essay no matter how quickly is going to see that it is structured. The two content paragraphs contain similar blue language to emphasise the balance of the argument. Paragraph 3 relates to and answers paragraph 2. The green language of the conclusion relates to and answers the green language of the introduction Coherence makes writing easier As I mentioned in the introduction, learning coherence can make the essay writing process easier. This is because in a 4 paragraph argument essay: paragraph 3 borrows and reflects the language of paragraph 2 the conclusion borrows and reflects the language of the introduction What you are doing is repeating language intelligently with the result that you have less to write. The skill is to discover ways of varying the language so that it is not simple repetition. In the sample essay strong argument reflects major argument , pupils"children and so on. With a little practice its surprisingly simple to do.

An introduction to coherence
Coherence is an organisational skill that works at 2 levels.It is the skill of writing paragraphs that develop an idea in a way that the reader understands what the

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main point is and why it is important. (paragraph coherence) It is also the skill of organising your essay so that the paragraphs link together so that the reader understands the connections between the paragraphs and the flow of the essay. (essay coherence) 3 reasons why coherence matters? Coherence is 25% of your IELTS writing score. Enough said. Coherence matters because it can make your writing subjectively much more appealing to the examiner. If your essay is coherent, the examiner will understand what you are trying to say after one reading of the essay when they first decide how to grade the essay. Coherence matters from another point of view as well it makes the essay writing process easier. As you learn to write coherently, you will find that one sentence naturally follows on from the previous sentence. Paragraph coherence a very brief explanation One form of coherence is coherence within a paragraph. To achieve this you need to learn how to structure a paragraph with a topic sentence and to develop that sentence through the appropriate use of explanations and examples. The easy way to think about this is that a paragraph is a series of sentences all related to the same idea. Essay coherence a very brief explanation Another form of coherence is on a larger scale in the essay itself: this is coherence between paragraphs so that the argument of the essay develops in a logical and ordered manner. To achieve this you need to learn how to structure an essay so that the different paragraphs connect to each other. The easy way to think about this is that an essay is a series of paragraphs/ideas that link together to form one coherent point of view.

Paragraph coherence: the PEE model


Coherence is crucial to IELTS writing. Why? It is up to 25% of your score: it is as important to your final score as both grammar and vocabulary. So, as you prepare your writing, you do need to think about it. What I want to do in this post is to show one relatively simple way to achieve it. This may not be exciting, but it is practical in that it will help not just to improve your score, but also make the writing process easier. In truth, I am going to be boring about boring topic sentences, which are something you may have heard before, but at least I am going to do it using pretty colours! Paragraph coherence One form of coherence is coherence within a paragraph. To achieve this you need to learn how to structure a paragraph with a topic sentence and to develop that sentence through the appropriate use of explanations and examples. In this post I am going to suggest a possible model to help you do this by teaching you to PEE something everyone should be able to do quite naturally. It may help, however, first to think about how this works in the reading and speaking papers. Understanding paragraph coherence topic sentences think reading

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In the IELTS reading exam, one very familiar task is to identify the main topic of a paragraph by selecting the correct heading from a list. One way to complete that task is to identify one sentence that gives the main point of the paragraph this is the topic sentence. Your goal in the writing paper is to ensure that each of your paragraphs contains a similar topic sentence. Learn how to write by thinking about reading. Paragraph coherence expanding the topic think speaking You can also learn to write by thinking about speaking. In the speaking exam, one of the goals is not to give very brief answers, but to give extended answers. In the writing the same applies: it is important to expand on the topic to show you have sufficient vocabulary and grammar to say what you want. The mistake is to write very short paragraphs or paragraphs which contain unrelated points. If you dont believe me, you should note that the question almost invariably contains these words: You should use your own ideas, knowledge and experience and support your arguments with examples and relevant evidence. This is telling you that coherence is important. If you do support what you say with evidence and examples, your writing will become coherent. A model Learn how to P-E-E One way to expand your topic sentences is to make the point (P) explain it (E) give an example (E) How it works This is not the only way to be coherent, but it is a good model to folllow in the context of an exam essay for two reasons. Firstly, it impresses the examiner. It also makes the writing easier as most paragraphs can follow the same pattern and planning becomes much easier as you already know the shape of each paragraph before you start writing. Some examples Read through these three paragraphs taken from different IELTS essays and note how they all have a similar structure: Point Explanation Example This is a pattern you can follow in most essays to give coherence to your writing by expanding on one point. I will add that this just a model guideline, it isnt a rule. There will be times when you do not use examples for instance. There are those who argue that the internet has had an extremely positive influence on communication. They say this because in the past it was sometimes impossible

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to call people in other countries on the telephone, but now it is relatively simple to use a program such as Skype to talk to them for free or to send an email. A good example here are the students who go to study abroad and are able to send messages home with no difficulty, when in past they would have had to buy stamps and go to the post office which was much harder and more expensive. A strong argument can of course be made from the opposite position. Part of this argument is that countries and nations need to preserve old buildings in order to preserve their heritage. In addition, however, to this cultural argument, there are positive economic benefits in preserving old buildings. An illustration here is Egypt once again, a country which depends on tourism for much of its national income simply because visitors pay to come from other countries to visit its ancient sites. There are several reasons why it can be argued that television has a negative effect on cultural development. Perhaps the principle argument is the lowbrow nature of many programmes, particularly sitcoms and soap operas. People who watch these programmes do not learn anything, they are simply entertained. The other major argument is that because people watch so much television, they no longer take part in more traditional forms of cultural entertainment. An example here is how traditional dancing and music is becoming much less popular because people are staying at home to watch the television. A suggestion If any of this is new to you, I have a suggestion. For now, dont practise writing essays: go back to the paragraph. This may seem limiting, but again it is practical. Once you can write a good paragraph, the exam essay becomes easy, for it is really little more than 5 paragraphs and if you can write one paragraph, you can write 5.

Improve coherence in essays: linking your paragraphs


Test yourself Here is the challenge. There are two versions below, which do you prefer? They both contain the same language, both are pretty much grammatically correct. Do you think that one is better than the other though? Read the paragraphs version A Firstly, there are the very poor nations which are suffering from dramatic conditions such as civil war, starvation, dictatorial political systems, no minimal sanitary facilities (contaminated water) and contagious diseases like AIDS. For example, the most unfortunate nations on Earth, such as Somalia or Ethiopia have very basic needs that have to be dealt with. The only way developed countries can help is through very long term and costly programmes, for example, by financing the establishment of NGOs in those countries on a permanent basis. version B Perhaps the most important of these measures is to plan for the long term. This is due to the fact many poor countries are suffering from problems that are so serious that there is no possible short-term solution. For example, problems in many

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countries in sub- Saharan Africa, such as civil war, starvation and the spread of AIDS, need to be tackled methodically over a period of time. One possibility here would be for wealthier governments to fund programmes financing NGOs to provide long-term assistance in the neediest areas. [poll id="7"] Thinking about essay structure and coherence Start your paragraph with a link to the previous paragraph They are both equally possible paragraphs. I would suggest though that one is much better than the other. Let me try and explain why. To do this, you need to read the paragraph that came before and to think about essay structure. The main point are: each paragraph should clearly link to the paragraph before this link should be in the first sentence of the paragraph the aim is to be clear and to help the examiner read the essay. Look at this chain. See how it all links together: separate bits but one thing. That is all coherence is. Separate paras linked into one essay. Now read the previous paragraph From my point of view, the more fortunate nations should engage themselves to combat poverty by taking into consideration two facts: the particular circumstances the target society is facing and its level of development. According to these facts, I would classify actions to be taken in three categories: long, medium and short term measures. This is an excellent introduction. We now what the essay is about and how it is going to be structured. It is about how richer nations can/should help poorer nations. The main idea (thesis) of the essay is that there are 3 ways this should happen: through short, medium and long-term measures. The next paragraph must link to this or the chain is broken. Seeing the problem Now re-read version A again and my notes on it below to understand the problem. It is a problem of coherence and the problem lies in the first sentence: Firstly, there are the very poor nations which are suffering from dramatic conditions such as civil war, starvation, dictatorial political systems, no minimal sanitary facilities (contaminated water) and contagious diseases like AIDS. For example, the most unfortunate nations on Earth, such as Somalia or Ethiopia have very basic needs that have to be dealt with. The only way developed countries can help is through very long term and costly programmes, for example, by financing the establishment of NGOs in those countries on a permanent basis. Notes Firstly: The problems of the poor countries is not the first point at all. It is confusing how this fits in with the previous paragraph

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The only way developed countries can help: this is the main point of the paragraph. This is the first measure to take. Because it is the main point and it relates to the previous paragraph, it should start the paragraph Finding a solution The first sentence gives the main point of the paragraph The solution is fairly easy. To see it, you only need to read the first sentence of version B again. The key being that this is the first sentence. Perhaps the most important of these measures is to plan for the long term. It is a short, simple sentence that does two jobs. It links clearly to the paragraph before (these measures) and tells the reader what this paragraph is about (long-term plans). All you need to do next is explain and exemplify. Learn how to PEE. A simple exercise to improve your skills The best things in lifeare often simple things. Here is what you do: dont practise writing a whole essay find an essay question decide on your structure (for/against etc) write the first sentence of each paragraph try not to write more than 15 words each time each sentence you write should relate to the task the language in each sentence should be similar (the interesting language comes in your reasons and examples) Another simple exercise to test your own skills The idea is simple. Take one of your essays you have written before to see how good your essay organisation really is: copy it if you can cut out one paragraph. try and write out the task in the question If you have written the essay well and if you have organised your paragraph well, you should only have to read a sentence or two. The reason for this is that every paragraph you write immediately and obviously relates to the task. One more simple exercise to do yourself This time you do the same thing only you write out the first sentence from each paragraph. Ask yourself these questions: what order did these paragraphs come in? what was the main point of each paragraph

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Again, if you have written well, each first sentence of the paragraph should tell you this information: how it fits into the essay as a whole and what that paragraph was about.

Using examples to improve your paragraph coherence


A common problem with IELTS writing is that either examples are not used, or they are used poorly. In this lesson you will find a quick test to see how well you understand coherence and the use of examples 4 suggestions on how to use examples well a list of vocabulary to help you do this A reminder about coherence and examples The essential idea of coherence is that the ideas in your writing combine together to form one whole. The goal is to write in such a way that the reader/examiner immediately sees the connections in your writing and understands what you are trying to say. Arguably, a well-written and coherent piece of writing only needs to be read once to be understood. This is where examples come in. Examples can make your writing easier to read by illustrating your main points easier to write, as often it is easier to explain an example than argue a complex idea Not all examples work a little test It is not just enough, however, to use examples. Your examples need to illustrate your main ideas if you want to be coherent. A badly used example can make your writing confused and confusing. Take a look at the two paragraphs below. One example works, the other doesnt. Which is which? Read the paragraphs There are three principal reasons why people commit crimes. The first of these is that they may be career criminals who have made an active choice to make their living illegally. A second reason reason relates to the environment they grew up in: a possible illustration of this is if they have been subject to peer group pressure at an early age to join a gang that terrorised the neighbourhood. Finally, it is sometimes argued that genetic factors play a role and that some people cannot be blamed for their criminal actions because they are naturally predisposed to commit crimes. It is possible to argue that more effective education would lead to a decrease in the crime rate and that prison is an ineffective deterrent. People who argue in favour of prison often claim that it is not only the most appropriate way to punish offenders, it also prevents crimes from being committed. For example, many young people join gangs at an early age due to peer group pressure and they are led into a life of crime in later life because of the choices they made when they were younger. Close Me

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This first paragraph works well. It is a listing paragraph with a clear main point in the first sentence saying there are 3 reasons. The next 3 sentences each state one reason (this is one form of coherence). I have highlighted in red an example that clearly relates to and explains the idea in the second sentence about how environment can affect crime There are three principal reasons why people commit crimes. The first of these is that they may be career criminals who have made an active choice to make their living illegally. A second reason reason relates to the environment they grew up in: a possible illustration of this is if they have been subject to peer group pressure at an early age to join a gang that terrorised the neighbourhood. Finally, it is sometimes argued that genetic factors play a role and that some people cannot be blamed for their criminal actions because they are naturally predisposed to commit crimes. This paragraph does not really work. It has plenty of good language but the ideas and how they relate to each other are not especially clear. The first sentence has two main ideas (always dangerous), one about education, the other about prison being a deterrent.The idea of education is not explained in the paragraph this is incoherent. The other main problem is that the example in red does not clearly relate to the main ideas of the paragraph. This also is incoherent It is not enough to use examples, you need to show how they relate to your main idea. It is possible to argue that more effective education would lead to a decrease in the crime rate and that prison is an ineffective deterrent. People who argue in favour of prison often claim that it is not only the most appropriate way to punish offenders, it also prevents crimes from being committed. For example, many young people join gangs at an early age due to peer group pressure and they are led into a life of crime in later life because of the choices they made when they were younger. Tip one organise your paragraphs around one main idea You can only really write coherent examples if your paragraphs area coherent. What this means in practice is that your paragraphs need to be centred on one main idea almost always stated in the first sentence. The example you choose should relate to that idea. (It is of course possible to include more than one idea in a paragraph. What you need to do here is follow my example above and say in the first sentence that there are different ideas here.) Tip two you dont have to include all your ideas/examples learn to select One reason why paragraphs (and essays) go wrong is that the student tries to include everything s/he knows in an effort to impress the examiner. This does not work in IELTS. It is a language test, not an IQ test, and there is a limit to how many ideas you can fit into a 250-300 word essay. This means that you need to select only the examples that illustrate your main points. Put another way, you may need to leave out ideas that do not fit your main point. This is particularly good advice for high level candidates in the planning stage. Tip three for example is not the best way to introduce an example

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Almost certainly, the most common way of introducing examples is to use for example. My suggestion is that you try some other ways of introducing examples. The key idea is to use a phrase that clearly links the example to the main idea. Look at these: A example of how environmental factors can lead to crime is.. This can be illustrated by clearly illustrates how environmental factors may contribute to crime. One instance that shows how environmental factors may lead to crime is .. The point to note is that in each case the example is introduced so that it links to the point it is supposed to be illustrating. Tip four just say how the example illustrates the main point - P-E-E-P This tip is similar to the previous one. Only the idea this time is that you add a sentence after the example to explain how it links to the main idea. This leads to a model paragraph that goes: Point - Explanation - Example - Point Look at how it can work here. The first sentence and the last sentence of para make essentially the same point and the final sentence links back into the example (This leads to the conclusion). There are many people who believe that longer prison sentences are necessary for repeat offenders. The idea is that people are much less likely to re-offend if they know that they will receive a serious sentence of perhaps 20 years for any further crimes. This would reform the system where many criminals do re-offend simply because they know that the consequences will not be very severe if they are caught. For example, a petty thief who might take the risk of a gaol term of 6 months would not risk 20 years for the same crime. This leads to the conclusion that longer gaol terms for repeat offenders are an effective deterrent.

4 ways to make your paragraphs coherent


Tips Here are some straightforward tips nothing too complex here at all. Think about how you start each sentence Try using connecting phrases and not simple words Consider how you can use vocabulary Think in paragraphs A learner example Here is a sample paragraph from a student essay on People who dont know how to work with Computers would be disadvantaged. Do you agree or not? Secondly, computers play a vital role in education. All academic books are generated electronically. Students are learning their subjects only through computers.

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Computers are also useful for them to present their projects to their peers and professors. Students progress can be tracked through computers. Commentary In some ways it is not too bad at all. I have corrected one or two grammatical errors, but there werent that many in the first place. Again, there is a reasonable range of vocabulary and some good collocations: academic books present projects peers and professors track progress. But, there is a but. The writing doesnt flow at all: it doesnt really read like a paragraph, more like a group of unconnected sentences. An improved version Now take a look at my improved version: using as much of the original as possible: It is also possible to claim that information technology is playing an increasingly vital role in education. One way this happens is that more and more academic books are generated electronically and in consequence many students are using computers to study. An additional point is that computer technology is frequently used by students to make presentations both to their peers and professors. Indeed, it is probably true to say that most courses at university require some level of computer literacy. What have I done to improve it? Actually there is surprisingly little. Taking my tips in turn lets analyse the differences. Openings of sentences: phrases not words The first thing I did was to concentrate on the openings of the sentences. These matter because they provide the link between one sentence and the next. You should see that the red language is what I call structural language and with appropriate variations can be used from essay to essay.

The other point to note is that I am using phrases and not single words to provide the links. The example here is Secondly in the original is replaced by It is also possible to claim that. It is also possible to claim that information technology is playing an increasingly vital role in education. One way this happens is that more and more academic books are generated electronically and in consequence many students are using computers to study. An additional point is that computer technology is frequently used by students to make presentations both to their peers and professors. Indeed, it is probably true to say that most courses at university require some level of computer literacy. Vocabulary The next point on my list is to consider vocabulary. In the original see how often the word computers is repeated: Secondly, computers play a vital role in education. All academic books are generated electronically. Students are learning their subjects only through computers.

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Computers are also useful for them to present their projects to their peers and professors. Studentsprogress can be tracked through computers. This repetition does not work: it makes each sentence seem as if it has no connection to the one that came before: there are 4 sentences each about computers. In my variation I have tried to vary the language by using synonyms. The subject remains the same, but now the language develops. It is also possible to claim that information technology is playing an increasingly vital role in education. One way this happens is that more and more academic books are generated electronically and in consequence many students are using computers to study. An additional point is that computer technology is frequently used by students to make presentations both to their peers and professors. Indeed, it is probably true to say that most courses at university require some level of computer literacy. Paragraphs are wholes: not lists The final step is to think of the paragraph as a whole in the same way as you look at an essay as a whole: something with a beginning, middle and end. In the original the final sentence was not connected to the previous sentences, it was just one more point in a list. In my version, however, it forms a conclusion, by summarising the previous points. One way to do this is to refer back to your first sentence: It is also possible to claim that information technology is playing an increasingly vital role in education. One way this happens is that more and more academic books are generated electronically and in consequence many students are using computers to study. An additional point is that computer technology is frequently used by students to make presentations both to their peers and professors. Indeed, it is probably true to say that most courses at university require some level of computer literacy

An introduction to cohesion
This lesson talks you through the basic idea of cohesion. Its important for at least two reasons: you want a good band score, right? Well, cohesion (with coherence) is worth 25% of your score if you learn to write cohesively, then you should find that the writing process actually becomes easier Youll find a brief test, a basic outline with an example of how cohesion works and a tip on avoiding a common mistake. What is cohesion? Cohesion is how sentences and parts of sentences link together.If your sentences are cohesive, your writing becomes easier to read and you become able to write better English by linking your sentences together. Test yourself first

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To see how well you understand cohesion, try this. There are two texts below. Which one do you prefer? Be careful, the better (and more cohesive text) may not necessarily be the text with the most obvious linking words. How does it work? There are a variety of ways to make your writing more cohesive, here are a few ideas to get you started. Its not meant to be a complete list, rather the aim is to show you that cohesion works in different ways. words like and and but you need to make sure you use these words correctly pronouns: pronouns (it, they, this and that etc) are generally linking words as they link back to nouns vocabulary: another way to link is to use the same or similar word again (here you want to think of balancing synonyms, changing word form and repeating key words) An example of how to do it There are lots of ways of making your writing cohesive. Look at this example the colours show the connections between the different sentences. As you read through this, you should concentrate on how that cohesion is about how you use vocab and pronouns and how you start sentences: it is not just about linking words. There are many people who claim that global warming is the most significant threat facing us today. They argue this because it is a danger not just to the current generation, but also to the generations to come. Indeed, it is this threat to our future that is of most concern. For instance, some research shows that one effect of global warming might be there will not be enough food to feed the world in the near future. If that did happen many people that global warming is claim not just current generation a danger Indeed (linking phrase for further explanation) generations to come global warming there will be not enough food A common mistake future global warming (repetition of technical phrase) that (pronoun) they (pronoun) this (pronoun) argue (synonym) but also (a matching pair) generations to come (repetition) this threat (pronoun + synonym)

One very common mistake is to overuse certain linking phrases such as furthermore and moreover. This can be a problem because they are frequently misused: and to link badly is no better than not linking at all. A secondary problem is that

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by only using such phrases, candidates forget to use pronouns (especially this) for linking. That was the point in the test at the beginning of this lesson.

IELTS essay conclusions


Conclusions are a vital part of IELTS essays: the last thing the examiner reads tends to be the first thing they remember. So how do you go about writing better conclusions? This post focusses on the importance of making sure that your conclusion actually answers the question. It also shows you how to do this by balancing the conclusion with the introduction. Practice It is important to practise this before the exam, as very often when you get to write the conclusion you are short of time. With a little practice, you should be able to write the conclusion more quickly letting you spend more time on the content paragraphs of the essay. To help you do this, you will find practice suggestions and sample conclusions on my conclusions page. The conclusion is your answer to the question The danger is that in your conclusion you dont answer the question, or you only answer part of the question. Look at these 2 examples from my sample essay on salaries. The question is: In many countries people working in sport and entertainment earn much more money than professionals like doctors, nurses and teachers. Why do you think this happens in some societies and do you consider it is good or bad? Conclusion 1. In my opinion it is unjust that a sports star such as David Beckham earns far more money than a doctor whose work is invaluable in saving peoples lives. The principle reason for saying this is that the doctor clearly makes a much more valuable contribution to society than someone who is involved in the entertainment industry. Conclusion 2. I personally believe that in the ideal world someones income would relate to their value to society. However, in the modern world, it is almost unavoidable the famous will have the highest incomes because of their media exposure. Which do you prefer? For me, conclusion 2 is much better as it clearly answers both halves of the question; conclusion 1 only looks at the authors beliefs. Tip: before you write your conclusion, check the wording of the question and be particularly careful with questions that have 2 halves. The conclusion balances the introduction An essay can be seen as a sandwich. The content is the tasty bit in the middle and the introduction and conclusion are the two pieces of bread that structure the essay. Ideally, they should balance each other. There are different ways of doing this. Here are 2 main possibilites in each case you should see how the introduction somehow balances the conclusion:

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1. The balanced essay Here you discuss the question in the introduction, outline the different viewpoints without giving your own opinion. In the conclusion, you summarise the issue and then provide your own viewpoint. Typically, this approach is going to be most relevant when you are asked to look at both sides of an issue. Intro One very complex issue in todays world is the funding of museums and art galleries. While there is an argument that they should be free to the general public and funded by governments, there is also a case for saying that they should charge an entrance fee like other attractions. Conclusion My personal position is that there is no clear answer to this question as there are such strong arguments on both sides. Perhaps it is possible for some museums and galleries to charge fees and for others not to. It will depend on the situation of the individual museum or gallery. This approach has the benefit of simplicity. It follows the standard pattern of raising a question in the introduction and answering it in the conclusion. The danger with this approach is that you may not establish your own point of view clearly. 2. The opinion led essay In this essay, you clearly state your own opinion in the introduction and in the conclusion you restate it in different language with supporting detail from the main body of the essay. Intro It is often said that if you want to succeed in life, you need a proper education. I would agree with this, but it is debatable whether having a proper education means staying at school until you are 18. Conclusion To my mind, everyone should be encouraged to stay at school until 18. However, I believe that it would be a mistake to make this compulsory. This approach has the benefit of clarity in that you determine your own point of view early on which is something that most examiners like. The difficulty is that it can sometime be hard not to repeat yourself when you write the conclusion. Typically, this approach is going to be most relevant when the question asks you for your own opinion. Tip: whichever approach you choose, go back and read your introduction before you writing your conclusion. It is also a good idea to make a note of key vocabulary and try and find some variations so you do not repeat language unnecessarily in the introduction and conclusion

IELTS Writing Task 2: using the ebook


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A few people have asked me how to use the ebook. One way is to practise writing paragraphs using the ebook ideas. Some ideas from the ebook about the benefits of mobile phones:

The mobile phone is the most popular gadget in todays world. We can stay in touch with family, friends and colleagues wherever we are. Users can send text messages, surf the Internet, take photos and listen to music. Mobiles have also become fashion accessories. Mobile phones have revolutionised the way we communicate.

By linking these ideas (and adding a few things) I can write a paragraph: The mobile phone has become the most popular gadget in todays world. The reason for this is that it is portable and versatile. Mobile phones are now carried at all times by most people, allowing us to stay in touch with family, friends and colleagues wherever we are. Furthermore, they now have many more functions than a standard telephone; mobile phone users can send text messages, surf the Internet, take photos and listen to music, as well as making calls. Mobiles have become fashion accessories, and they have revolutionised the way we communicate. IELTS Writing Task 2: idea and paragraph My students and I followed the advice in last week's lesson to write a paragraph for the topic below. The number of plants and animals is declining. Describe the problem and suggest some solutions. Ideas for describing the problem:

over-farming, land needed for crops and animals cutting down trees destroys natural habitats, animals become extinct industrial waste in rivers, sea chemicals kill fish and plants, interrupt natural cycles / food chain

It seemed that we had 2 main ideas, so we wrote a 2-idea paragraph: There are two main reasons why plants and animals are disappearing. Firstly, in many parts of the world trees are being cut down to make way for farmland on which to grow crops and keep animals. The result of this is that natural habitats are being destroyed, and in some cases whole species of animals are becoming extinct. Secondly, human activity is also responsible for the destruction of aquatic life as domestic and industrial waste is pumped into rivers and seas. This chemical waste kills plants and fish, interrupting natural cycles and having a devastating effect on food chains. (99 words)

IELTS Writing Task 2: from ideas to paragraph


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I always tell my students to plan ideas for their main body paragraphs. Let's look at how to put some ideas together to make a paragraph. Here's the question: The main reason people go to work is to earn money. To what extent do you agree or disagree? Ideas for one main paragraph:

agree that money is the main reason people work people look at salary first, they rarely take a salary cut need to live, pay bills, food etc. look after our families, save for the future otherwise, most people would probably choose not to work

Full paragraph using the ideas above: I agree that the majority of people work in order to earn money. Before taking any other factors into account, it is normal to first consider the salary that a particular post offers, and it is rare to hear of a person who happily takes a cut in pay when beginning a new job. We all need money to pay for our basic necessities, such as accommodation, bills and food. Many adults also have families who depend on the wages they earn, and at the same time they are conscious of the need to save for the future. If we no longer needed money, I doubt most of us would choose to continue in our jobs. (116 words) . IELTS Writing Task 2: how to answer any question Today I want to show you what happens in my brain when I see any IELTS Writing Task 2 question. Here are my thinking steps: 1. I read the question very carefully, maybe three times. I ask myself "What's the topic? What is the question asking me to write about?" 2. I underline the key things that must be included in the essay. I always answer every part of the question. 3. Now I think about my 4 paragraph structure. I can write any type of essay in 4 paragraphs; I just need to decide what to put in each paragraph. 4. If I need to give my opinion, I think "What is the easiest opinion to explain? What good vocabulary could I use?" 5. Then I write down some vocabulary ideas that are related to the topic. 6. I try to write 2 sentences for the introduction: I introduce the topic, then give a simple answer (including my opinion if the question asks for it). 7. I write short 'topic sentences' to start each paragraph, then develop my ideas by explaining and supporting with examples.

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8. I look at the question from time to time in order to check that I'm answering every part of it. 9. I know that I write about 10 words per line; I can quickly check the approximate number of words that I've written. 10. If I need more words (to reach 250), I expand one of my examples in the main body paragraphs. If necessary, I draw an arrow to show where I want to add the extra words.

"Band 7 Vocabulary" When I say "band 7 vocabulary", I'm really talking about vocabulary that could help you to get a band 7 or higher. Examiners are looking for "less common" words and phrases, correct and relevant collocations, and maybe some idiomatic language. I've written the following paragraph using some of the ideas from the lesson below. I've underlined the band 7 (or higher) vocabulary. Advantages of studying abroad: Many students choose to study abroad because there are greater opportunities in a particular foreign country. Foreign universities may offer better facilities or courses. They may also be more prestigious than universities in the students own country and have teachers who are experts in their fields. Therefore, by studying abroad, students can expand their knowledge and gain qualificationsthat open the door to better job opportunities. A period of study abroad can alsobroaden students horizons. In the new country, they will have to live and work with other students of various nationalities. Thus, overseas students are exposed to different cultures, customs and points of view. (106 words) PS. I'll send some extra paragraphs on this topic to everyone on my email list. .

IELTS Writing Task 2: how to use your 40 minutes


You have 40 minutes for task 2, so try organising your time in the following way. Please note that these are suggestions, not rules. First 10 minutes Read the question and make sure you understand what it is asking you to do. Write a plan for a 4-paragraph essay (introduction, 2 main paragraphs, conclusion) and spend most of the 10 minutes thinking of ideas for the 2 main paragraphs. 5 minutes Write your introduction: 2 sentences are enough.

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20 minutes Spend 10 minutes on each of your main body paragraphs. These are they most important part of your essay, and the key to a high score. Last 5 minutes Write a quick conclusion then check your work. IELTS Writing Task 2: four question types Here are 4 questions that illustrate the different types of task 2 question. Can you name each type? Can you explain the big difference between the first and the second type? 1. Some people think that the only purpose of working hard is to earn money. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion? 2. Some people believe that punishment is the only purpose of prisons, while others believe that prisons exist for various reasons. Discuss both views and give your opinion. 3. The number of plants and animals is declining. Explain this problem and suggest some solutions. 4. Many people around the world are choosing to move to live in cities. What problems do people experience in big cities? Should governments encourage people to move to smaller towns? I'll explain the differences in detail next Wednesday, but feel free to discuss your ideas in the "comments" area below.

IELTS Writing Task 2: question types


Here are the four types of question from last week's lesson: 1. 2. 3. 4. Opinion Discussion + opinion Problem + solution 2-part question

Important points to remember: 1. An 'opinion' question asks for your view, not the views of other people, and you don't have to give both sides of the argument. Just make your opinion clear in the introduction, then explain it in the rest of the essay. 2. A 'discussion' question requires you to write about both sides of the argument, and you should write a similar amount for each view. If the question also asks for your opinion, you don't need an extra paragraph. Just make it clear in the introduction and conclusion which of the two views you agree with.

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3. Type 3 is easy. Simply write a paragraph explaining the problem(s) and a paragraph explaining the solution(s). Some questions ask about 'causes' or 'effects': these would be part of the 'problem' paragraph. 4. For type 4, just answer the two questions. Write one paragraph about each.

IELTS Writing Task 2: both sides or one side? Can you see the difference between the two questions below? A) Explain the positives and negatives of this development. B) Is this a positive or negative development? and these two questions: A) What are the advantages and disadvantages? B) Do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages? and these two questions: A) Discuss both views and give your opinion. B) To what extent do you agree or disagree? Answer: The difference is that for all of the (A) questions you must explain both sides of the argument, whereas the (B) questions can be answered by giving both sides or by supporting only one side, depending on the view that you express in your introduction. This is still the most common confusion that students ask me about. Make sure you understand the difference between the questions above; if you're still unsure, look through all of my task 2 lessons to see further advice and examples.

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IELTS Writing Task 2: higher education


Some people believe that studying at university or college is the best route to a successful career, while others believe that it is better to get a job straight after school. Discuss both views and give your opinion. Here's my full introduction and conclusion, as well as some ideas for the main body paragraphs: Introduction When they finish school, teenagers face the dilemma of whether to get a job or continue their education. While there are some benefits to getting a job straight after school, I would argue that it is better to go to college or university.

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Paragraph 1: benefits of getting a job The option to start work straight after school is attractive for several reasons. (IDEAS: start earning money, become independent, gain experience, learn skills, get promotions, settle down earlier, afford a house, have a family) Paragraph 2: benefits of higher education (my opinion) On the other hand, I believe that it is more beneficial for students to continue their studies. (IDEAS: some jobs require academic qualifications, better job opportunities, higher salaries, the job market is very competitive, gain knowledge, become a useful member of society) Conclusion For the reasons mentioned above, it seems to me that students are more likely to be successful in their lives if they continue their studies beyond school level. IELTS Writing Task 2: sample discussion essay Here's an example of how I write a 4-paragraph essay for "discuss and give your opinion" questions. Notice that I give my opinion in 3 places (introduction, paragraph 3, conclusion). Some people believe that studying at university or college is the best route to a successful career, while others believe that it is better to get a job straight after school. Discuss both views and give your opinion. When they finish school, teenagers face the dilemma of whether to get a job or continue their education. While there are some benefits to getting a job straight after school, I would argue that it is better to go to college or university. Paragraph 1: benefits of getting a job 1.The option to start work straight after school is attractive for several reasons. (IDEAS: start earning money, become independent, gain experience, learn skills, get promotions, settle down earlier, afford a house, have a family) The option to start work straight after school is attractive for several reasons. Many young people want to start earning money as soon as possible. In this way, they can become independent, and they will be able to afford their own house or start a family. In terms of their career, young people who decide to find work, rather than continue their studies, may progress more quickly. They will have the chance to gain real experience and learn practical skills related to their chosen profession. This may lead to promotions and a successful career. 2.On the other hand, I believe that it is more beneficial for students to continue their studies. (IDEAS: some jobs require academic qualifications, better job opportunities, higher salaries, the job market is very competitive, gain knowledge, become a useful member of society)

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On the other hand, I believe that it is more beneficial for students to continue their studies. Firstly, academic qualifications are required in many professions. For example, it is impossible to become a doctor, teacher or lawyer without having the relevant degree. As a result, university graduates have access to more and better job opportunities, and they tend to earn higher salaries than those with fewer qualifications. Secondly, the job market is becoming increasingly competitive, and sometimes there are hundreds of applicants for one position in a company. Young people who do not have qualifications from a university or college will not be able to compete. For the reasons mentioned above, it seems to me that students are more likely to be successful in their careers if they continue their studies beyond school level. (271 words, band 9) .

IELTS Writing Task 2: introduction without opinion


My normal advice for task 2 introductions is this: write two sentences - one to introduce the essay topic, and one to give a basic answer to the question. But what should you put in the second sentence (basic answer) if the question doesn't ask for your opinion? Here are two example questions: 1. Many people believe that an effective public transport system is a key component of a modern city. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of public transport. 2. Crime rates tend to be higher in cities than in smaller towns. Explain some possible reasons for this problem, and suggest some solutions. Here are two sample introductions: 1. Officials in many cities are keen to develop efficient public transport systems. While public transport has many benefits, there are also some drawbacks which are worth considering. 2. Cities generally experience higher levels of criminality than towns or villages. There are various reasons for this, but measures could be taken to tackle the problem. Hopefully you can see that it's quite easy to write an introduction for these types of question. The approach is the same (topic + basic answer) whether the question asks for your opinion or not. .

IELTS Writing Task 2: 'technology' essay


Several people have asked me about this question from Cambridge IELTS 8. I wrote the essay below with the help of some of my students. A few simple linking features are highlighted.

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Nowadays the way many people interact with each other has changed because of technology. In what ways has technology affected the types of relationships that people make? Has this been a positive or negative development? It is true that new technologies have had an influence on communication between people. Technology has affected relationships in various ways, and in my opinion there are both positive and negative effects. Technology has had an impact on relationships in business, education and social life. Firstly, telephones and the Internet allow business people in different countries to interact without ever meeting each other. Secondly, services like Skype create new possibilities for relationships between students and teachers. For example, a student can now take video lessons with a teacher in a different city or country. Finally, many people use social networks, like Facebook, to make new friends and find people who share common interests, and they interact through their computers rather than face to face. On the one hand, these developments can be extremely positive. Cooperation between people in different countries was much more difficult when communication was limited to written letters or telegrams. Nowadays, interactions by email, phone or video are almost as good as face-to-face meetings, and many of us benefit from these interactions, either in work or social contexts. On the other hand, the availability of new communication technologies can also have the result of isolating people and discouraging real interaction. For example, many young people choose to make friends online rather than mixing with their peers in the real world, and these virtual relationships are a poor substitute for real friendships. In conclusion, technology has certainly revolutionised communication between people, but not all of the outcomes of this revolution have been positive. (257 words, band 9)

IELTS Writing Task 2: different introductions


Some people think the main purpose of schools is to turn children into good citizens and workers, rather than to benefit them as individuals. To what extent do you agree or disagree? Here are 3 different introductions. Notice that the opinion is clear in each one. Agree: People have different views about what the main purpose of schools should be. Personally, I agree that a school's role is to prepare children to be productive members of society. Disagree: Many people argue that the main role of schools is to prepare children for their future

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jobs. However, I believe that the purpose of education should be to help children to grow as individuals. Balanced view: To a certain extent I agree that the role of schools is to prepare children to be productive members of society. However, I also believe that the education process has a positive impact on us as individuals.

IELTS Writing Task 2: introductions


Here are some example introductions for 3 different types of essay. My technique is to write 2 sentences: 1. A sentence to introduce the topic 2. A sentence giving a general response to the question or instruction Problem & Solution Essay: It is true that children's behaviour seems to be getting worse. There are various reasons for this, and both schools and parents need to work together to improve the situation. Discussion (& Opinion) Essay: People have different views about how children should be taught. While there are some good arguments in favour of teaching children to be competitive, I believe that it is better to encourage co-operation. Opinion (Agree / Disagree) Essay: In recent years it has become more common for women to return to work after having a child. However, I do not agree that this has been the cause of problems for young people. My advice: Keep your introduction short. Main body paragraphs are more important.

IELTS Writing Task 2: conclusions


Several people have asked me about conclusions for IELTS Writing Task 2. The main body paragraphs are much more important, so don't worry too much about the conclusion; make it short, simple and fast. Here are some example conclusion phrases for different types of question: 1. Opinion For the reasons mentioned above, I believe that... (+ repeat your opinion). 2. Discussion (+ Opinion)

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In conclusion, there are convincing arguments both for and against... (topic), but I believe that... (if the question asks for your opinion). 3. Advantages and Disadvantages In conclusion, I would argue that the benefits of... (topic) outweigh the drawbacks. 4. Problem and Solution In conclusion, it is clear that there are various reasons for... (topic), and steps need to be taken to tackle this problem. .

IELTS Writing: to what extent do you agree?


A good way to answer this question is: To a certain extent I agree that... However, I also think that... By saying that you agree to a certain extent (not completely), you can now talk about both sides of the argument. Example question: People visiting other countries should adapt to the customs and behaviours expected there. They should not expect the host country to welcome different customs and behaviours. To what extent do you agree or disagree? My introduction: To a certain extent I agree that visitors to other countries should respect the culture of the host country. However, I also think that host countries should accept visitors' cultural differences. After this introduction, you can write one paragraph about each view. . IELTS Writing Task 2:

how to write an introduction

For IELTS Writing Task 2, keep your introduction short and simple. Don't waste time writing a long introduction; the main body paragraphs are more important. A good IELTS Writing introduction needs only 2 things: 1. A sentence that introduces the topic 2. A sentence that gives a short, general answer to the question Here is an example of an IELTS Task 2 question: As computers are being used more and more in education, there will soon be no role for the teacher in the classroom. To what extent do you agree or disagree? Here is my introduction:

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It is true that computers have become an essential tool for teachers and students in all areas of education. However, while computers are extremely useful, I do not agree with the idea that they could soon replace teachers completely. 1. In the first sentence I introduce the topic of computers in education. 2. In the second sentence I answer the question and make my opinion clear. Don't wait until the conclusion to give your opinion. Remember, do a simple introduction, then you can focus on the main paragraphs.

IELTS Writing Task 2: topic sentences


A good way to start a paragraph is with a short, simple sentence that introduces the main idea of the paragraph. Teachers often call this a topic sentence. I normally write my topic sentences by thinking about how many points I want to mention in the paragraph: 1. If I only have one point or idea, I usually state it straight away: In my opinion, junk food is the main cause of childhood obesity. (then explain this opinion and give examples in the rest of the paragraph) 2. If I have two or three points or ideas, I dont usually mention them directly in the topic sentence: There are two main causes (or several causes) of childhood obesity. (then explain using firstly, secondly... or something similar) Have a look through the essays that youve written in the past, and compare them with some of mine. Did you begin your main paragraphs with good topic sentences?

IELTS Writing: 5 sentence paragraphs


When writing main body paragraphs for IELTS writing task 2, try to aim for five sentences. For example: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Topic sentence (e.g. There are several reasons why I believe...) First reason Example Second reason Third reason

Another example: 1. Topic sentence (e.g. Many people believe that...)

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2. 3. 4. 5. Explain why Explain in more detail Example Explain why they disagree with the opposite view

Before you start writing it's a good idea to make some notes. Try to organise your notes according to this 5-sentence paragraph structure. IELTS Writing Task 2: example paragraph Here's a 5-sentence paragraph using the second plan from last week's lesson: Many people believe that sports professionals earn too much money. They argue that sport is a form of entertainment rather than a vital public service. We could easily live without sportspeople, yet other professionals who contribute much more to society are undervalued and underpaid. For example, football players can earn enormous salaries by simply kicking a ball, while doctors, nurses and teachers earn a fraction of the money despite being essential for our health and prosperity. From this perspective, sports stars do not deserve the salaries they currently earn.

IELTS Writing Task 2: 'sports salaries' topic


As I've said before, you can't get a high score for IELTS writing task 2 if you don't have good ideas about the question topic. Here are some ideas from my ebook about the following question: Some people believe that the salaries paid to professional sportspeople are too high, while others argue that sports salaries are fair. Discuss both views and give your opinion. View 1: sports salaries are too high

Sports professionals earn too much money. They do not provide a vital service. Football players earn enormous salaries by simply kicking a ball. We could all live happily without professional football. We should value professionals such as nurses and teachers more highly.

View 2: sports salaries are fair


It is fair that the best sportspeople earn a lot of money. Sport is a multi-million-pound industry. There is a large audience of sports fans who are willing to pay. Televised games or events attract many viewers. Being a top sportsperson requires hours of practice.

It is true that successful professional athletes earn more than those in other professions. While it can be argued this is unfair for non-sports people, I believe it is justifiable for

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those successful athletes. On the one hand, it is not fair for professionals like engineers and doctors to earn less than athletes for many reasons.Firstly, everybody gets sick and requires medical assistance.People cannot live without a doctor and care less about people who make money by simply shooting or kicking a ball . Thus, physicians are truly important. Secondly, engineers are also needed in countries that seek improvements in their infrastructures. They can attract more investors to build huge industries. Therefore, there comes an increase revenue. More importantly, the lives of people lie in their hands because if a doctor makes a mistake in performing a surgical procedure, it could kill a patient. Also, if an engineer building a bridge provides a weak structural foundation, it might collapse and lead to the loss of human lives. On the other hand, there are reasons why sports superstars receive a considerable amount of salary. One is that it requires a lot of practice to become a professional player like those in National hockey league. Many people aspire to play in a professional field but only few are chosen. Another is that big companies are willing to pay them to advertise their products.As a result, it provides job opportunities for people who work in the field of sports such as personal assistants, coaches and sports' hosts. In conclusion, although other professionals like doctors and engineers are significant in our country, I still completely agree that it is justifiable for successful and great sports people to make more money than them. ...........................................................................................................................................

IELTS Writing Task 2: idea, explain, example


A good way to write main body paragraphs is this: Start with an idea; Explain it in detail; Give an example Here's an example of how I 'build' a paragraph using the above method: A sense of competition is necessary for success in life, and should therefore be encouraged. Competition motivates children to get good grades at school or become better at sports, while adults compete to climb the career ladder. In a job interview, for example, candidates compete to show that they are the most qualified, hard-working and competent person for the post. Note: What's the topic of the paragraph above? What do you think the question was?

IELTS Writing Task 2: band 9 paragraph


Below is a 'band 9' paragraph about the benefits of zoos. I took the vocabulary ideas from this lesson (click here) and organised them in the following way: 1. Simple topic sentence.

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2. The main benefit is that... 3. Another advantage of zoos is that... 4. From a personal point of view,... I've underlined the band 9 vocabulary. Zoos have several benefits. The main benefit is that zoos play an important role in wildlife conservation. They help to protect endangered species, such as pandas or rhinos, and allow scientists to study animal behaviour. Another advantage of zoos is that they employ large numbers of people, therefore providing job opportunities and income for the local area. Also, the money that zoos make can be used for conservation projects. From a personal point of view, zoos areinteresting, educational and fun. They are entertaining for families, and teach children to appreciate wildlife and nature.

IELTS Writing Task 2: plan your main paragraphs


Before you start writing your task 2 essay, you need a plan: 1. First, think about how you could write 2 main body paragraphs. What would be the main idea/topic of each one? 2. Then make some notes for the first main paragraph. Your notes could follow this formula: Idea, Explain, Example. 3. Do the same thing for the second main paragraph. Here's an example question with a few ideas below: People nowadays work hard to buy more things. This has made our lives generally more comfortable, but many traditional values and customs have been lost and this is a pity. To what extent do you agree or disagree? 1. I can see two clear ideas in this question: 1) buying things has made our lives more comfortable. 2) traditional values and customs have been lost. I agree with both of these points, so I'll write one paragraph explaining why I agree with the first point, and another paragraph explaining the second point. 2. Idea: buying things has made life more comfortable. Explain/Examples:we buy appliances like microwave ovens and dishwashers; we use computers to shop online; more people own a car. 3. Idea: traditional values and customs have been lost. Explain/Examples:people buy microwave meals rather than cooking traditional dishes; traditional local shops disappear and are replaced with online shopping;

IELTS Writing Task 2: main body paragraphs


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Here are my 2 main body paragraphs for last week's question. I tried to use an "Idea, Explain, Example" structure for the first paragraph, and a "Firstly, Secondly, Finally" structure for the second. Main body paragraphs: On the one hand, having a defined career path can certainly lead to a satisfying working life. Many people decide as young children what they want to do as adults, and it gives them a great sense of satisfaction to work towards their goals and gradually achieve them. For example, many children dream of becoming doctors, but to realise this ambition they need to gain the relevant qualifications and undertake years of training. In my experience, very few people who have qualified as doctors choose to change career because they find their work so rewarding, and because they have invested so much time and effort to reach their goal. On the other hand, people find happiness in their working lives in different ways. Firstly, not everyone dreams of doing a particular job, and it can be equally rewarding to try a variety of professions; starting out on a completely new career path can be a reinvigorating experience. Secondly, some people see their jobs as simply a means of earning money, and they are happy if their salary is high enough to allow them to enjoy life outside work. Finally, job satisfaction is often the result of working conditions, rather than the career itself. For example, a positive working atmosphere, enthusiastic colleagues, and an inspirational boss can make working life much more satisfying, regardless of the profession.

IELTS Writing Task 2: main body paragraphs


After you introduction (see last week's lesson) you need to write 2 or 3 main body paragraphs. This is the most important part of your essay. If you have been following this blog for a while, or if you have bought my ebook, you may have seen today's paragraph before. However, I'm reusing it for 2 reasons: 1. It's a great example of how to write an "advantages" paragraph using a "firstly, secondly, finally" structure. 2. There are some excellent comments from students below this lesson. If you read them carefully, you will learn a lot. Main body "advantages" paragraph (band 9): There are several advantages to using computers in education. Firstly, students learn new skills which will be extremely useful for their future jobs. For example, they learn to write reports or other documents using a word processor, and they can practise doing spoken presentations using PowerPoint slides. Secondly,technology is a powerful tool to engage students. The use of websites or online videos can make lessons much more interesting, and many students are more motivated to do homework or research using online resources. Finally, if each student has a computer to work on, they can study at their own pace.

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IELTS Writing Task 2: rules for introductions


Many people decide on a career path early in their lives and keep to it. This, they argue, leads to a more satisfying working life. To what extent do you agree with this view? What other things can people do in order to have a satisfying working life? In today's lesson I just want to look at how to write an introduction for this type of question. My simple rules for task 2 introductions are: 1. Write 2 sentences: introduce the topic, then give a general answer. 2. Mention everything that the question mentions. 3. Don't save any surprises for the conclusion; give your opinion in the introduction if the question asks for it. Here's an example introduction: It is true that some people know from an early age what career they want to pursue, and they are happy to spend the rest of their lives in the same profession. While I accept that this may suit many people, I believe that others enjoy changing careers or seeking job satisfaction in different ways.

IELTS Advice: argument or discussion?


Many people ask me about the difference between an argument essay and a discussion essay. Here's an easy way to think about the difference:

When you argue, you are trying to persuade the other person to agree with your point of view. You might even get angry! When you discuss, you consider different points of view, and nobody gets angry.

The question should make it very clear what it wants you to do. If it asks you to "discuss", you should write about advantages and disadvantages or two different views. If the question asks whether you "agree or disagree", it's asking for your view. For this type of question, give your opinion in the introduction and support it in the rest of the essay. Try to persuade the reader to agree with you.

IELTS Writing Task 2: balanced opinion


Last week I said that it's often easier to have a strong opinion and only support one side of the argument. Today I'm going to contradict myself! Let's look at a 'balanced opinion' essay.

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In the last century, the first man to walk on the moon said it was "a giant leap for mankind. However, some people think it has made little difference to our daily lives. To what extent do you agree or disagree? For this question, I would write that "I partly agree" or that "I agree to some extent". Then I would write one main paragraph about each side of the argument:

1. Introduction: I partly agree. Make it clear that you have a balanced opinion. 2. One side: In practical terms, sending a man to the moon has not changed most
people's lives. We have not benefited in terms of our standard of living, health etc. In fact, governments have wasted a lot of money that could have been spent on public services. 3. Other side: On the other hand, putting a man on the moon was a huge achievement that still inspires and interests people today. It showed us that we can achieve anything we put our minds to. 4. Conclusion: The fact that man has walked on the moon might not have had a direct effect on our daily lives, but it was an inspiring achievement.

IELTS Writing Task 2: strong or balanced opinion


The following question asks for your opinion. You can either have a strong opinion or a more balanced opinion, but make it clear in your introduction. Governments should not have to provide care or financial support for elderly people because it is the responsibility of each person to prepare for retirement and support him or herself. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion? Introduction (strong opinion): People have different views about whether or not governments should help senior citizens. I completely disagree with the idea that elderly people should receive no support from the state. Introduction (more balanced opinion): People have different views about whether or not governments should help senior citizens. Although I accept that we all have a responsibility to save money for retirement, I disagree with the idea that elderly people should receive no support from the state. Note: After the first introduction, try to write 2 paragraphs that both explain why you disagree. The second introduction allows you to discuss both sides (which might be easier).

IELTS Writing Task 2: have a strong opinion


If the question asks whether you agree or disagree, it's often easier to have a strong opinion (completely agree or completely disagree) rather than trying to be "in the middle". Here's an example question:

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Families who do not send their children to public schools should not be required to pay taxes that support universal education. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement? I don't think there is a "middle answer" to this question: either you think that the parents should not pay tax (agree), or you think they should pay tax (disagree). When you have a strong opinion, you don't need to mention the opposite view. Here's my plan for a 4-paragraph essay: 1. Introduction: 1 sentence to introduce the topic, 1 sentence to make your opinion clear (e.g. I completely disagree...) 2. Main paragraph: support your opinion with a reason 3. Main paragraph: support your opinion with another reason 4. Conclusion: repeat/summarise your opinion 100% Agree(Keeping animals in cages is cruel) INTRODUCTION: It is true that one of the most important issues that many people of today society are very concerned for is the roles of zoos in protecting wildlife. The question whether keeping animals in captivity is cruel or not is a controversial one. In my opinion, I totally agree with this idea. In the following paragraphs, I would give some reasons to support my argument. (65 words) BODY (3 body paragraphs x 5 lines) ( 1 paragraph= 1 idea + 1-2 example/explanation) One of the strongest arguments in this case is that animals need freedom to enjoy their life and develop as much as humans do. For example, when animals are confined in small places which are different from their natural habitat, they are more likely to suffer from stress and physical problems. Another point to help the convincing level of the statement is that many zoos are not used for their main function as a source of education. More specifically, a lot of people visit zoos for a picnic or camping; thus, they learn nothing much about animals kept in cages. The situation can become even worse when some of these animals have to perform circus shows to entertain visitors. We also need to take into consideration of the fact that breeding programs for endangered species do not always work out. One reason for this is that not all animals can perform well in captivity. For instance, the infant mortality rate of Polar bear is extremely high with 65%. This means that a zoo with modern facilities and good medical care is not the answer to this problem (186 words) CONCLUSION:

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In short, there are many ways to look at different sides of a matter and there have also been opposite opinions on this particular topic. However, the idea that confining animals in captivity is cruel and there should be no zoos in the 21st century is more likely to be agreed with. Moreover, it still depends on the government of each country to have appropriate policies in improving the peoples awareness of wildlife protection. (74 words) (total: 335 words) 100% Disagree INTRODUCTION: It is true that one of the most important issues that many people of today society are very concerned for is the roles of zoos in protecting wildlife. The question whether keeping animals in captivity is cruel or not is a controversial one. In my opinion, I totally disagree with this idea. In the following paragraphs, I would give some reasons to support my argument. (65 words) BODY (3 body paragraphs x 5 lines) ( 1 paragraph= 1 idea + 1-2 example/explanation) One of the strongest arguments in this case is that zoos can provide animals with sufficient protection and create an easier life for them. For example, people supply them food and give them necessary medical treatment. Moreover, they can be safe in cages without potential threats from hunters and predators. Another point to help the convincing level of the statement is that many zoos are good sources of education, especially for children. More specifically, thanks to the zoos, little kids can have more chances watch with their own eyes, touch and learn about the animals that they can only see in textbooks or on television. We also need to take into consideration of the fact that breeding programs for endangered species play a very important role in preventing extinction. For instance, the number of pandas in the world has increased significantly with the success of this program in China. (149 words) CONCLUSION: In short, there are many ways to look at different sides of a matter and there have also been opposite opinions on this particular topic. However, the idea that zoos should be maintained in the 21st century is more likely to be agreed with. Moreover, it still depends on the government of each country to have appropriate policies in improving the peoples awareness of wildlife protection. (65 words) (total: 279 words) 50% Agree 50% Disagree INTRODUCTION: It is true that one of the most important issues that many people of today society are very concerned for is the roles of zoos in protecting wildlife. The question whether keeping animals in captivity is cruel or not is a controversial one. In my opinion, an intermediate position can be taken. In this essay, I will give some arguments for and against the maintenance of zoos and present my position. (71 words) BODY (5 body paragraphs x 8 lines) ( 1 paragraph= 2 ideas + 1 example/explanation for each idea+1 ideas)

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From one side, those who are in favour of zoos must have some reasons to support their stand. For one thing, these places can provide animals with sufficient protection by supplying them food and give them necessary medical treatment. In addition, many zoos are good sources of education, especially for children. For instance, thanks to the zoos, little kids learn more about the animals that they can only see in textbooks or on television. Moreover, some breeding programs have successfully prevented many species from extinction. From the other side, there are still people who do not quite advocate this demonstration above and they are also able to come up with arguments to support their position. Firstly, animals need freedom to enjoy their life and develop as much as humans do. For example, when animals are confined in small places, they are more likely to suffer from physical problems. Secondly, many people do not consider zoos as a source of education since they visit zoos merely for a picnic or camping. Finally, not all animals can perform well in captivity, so the breeding programs do not work out. (188words) CONCLUSION: In short, there are many ways to look at different sides of a matter and there have also been opposite opinions on this particular topic. However, the idea that zoos should be maintained in the 21st century is more likely to be agreed with. Moreover, it still depends on the government of each country to have appropriate policies in improving the peoples awareness of wildlife protection. (65 words) (total: 324words)

IELTS Writing Task 2: use related words


Look again at last week's question: Some people think that museums should be enjoyable places to entertainpeople, while others believe that the purpose of museums is to educate. Discuss both views and give you own opinion. Let's forget about the whole question. Just try to list some words that are related to the 3 main ideas. Museums:

exhibition, exhibit (verb, like 'show'), an exhibit (noun, 'item'), artifact, object, collection, history, science, art, culture, visitors, members of the public, public viewing...

Entertain:

entertainment, entertaining, enjoy, enjoyment, enjoyable, have fun, interesting, fascinating, spectacular, impressive, leisure time, free time, a day out, tourist attraction...

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Educate:

education, educational, teach, learn, explain, understand, know, gain/expand/pass on/transmit knowledge, skills, experience, open your mind, broaden your horizons...

Making lists of related words is a good way to generate ideas. You might not have time to do this in the exam, but it's a useful study technique.

People have different views about the role and function of museums. In my opinion, museums can and should be both entertaining and educational. On the one hand, it can be argued that the main role of a museu m is to entertain. Museums are tourist attractions, and their aim is to exhibit a collection of interesting objects that many people will want to see. The average visitor may become bored if he or she has to read or listen to too much educational content, so museums often put more of an emphasis on enjoyment rather than learning. This type of museum is designed to be visually spectacular, and may have interactive activities or even games as part of its exhibitions. On the other hand, some people argue that museums should focus on education. The aim of any exhibition should be to teach visitors something that they did not previously know. Usually this means that the history behind the museums exhibits needs to be explained, and this can be done in various ways. Some museums employ professional guides to talk to their visitors, while other museums offer headsets so that visitors can listen to detailed commentary about the exhibition. In this way, museums can play an important role in teaching people about history, culture, science and many other aspects of life. In conclusion, it seems to me that a good museum should be able to offer an interesting, enjoyable and educational experience so that people can have fun and learn something at the same time. (253 words, band 9)

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