IELTS Writing Task 1 + 2: The Ultimate Guide With Practice To Get A Target Band Score Of 8.0+ In 10 Minutes Day (Academic) Rachel Michelle

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INTRODUCTION
IELTS WRITING INTRODUCTION
IELTS WRITING TASK 1
EFFECTIVE SENTENCE STRUCTURES TO GET AN 8.0+
LANGUAGE OF TRENDS: SENTENCE STRUCTURE AND VOCABULARY
TASK 1 WRITING PROCESS TO MAXIMIZE SCORE
TASK 1 MARKING AND ASSESSMENT
ADVICE
USEFUL TIME EXPRESSIONS
LANGUAGE OF ESTIMATION
USEFUL LANGUAGE
USEFUL WORDS FOR PARAPHRASING A SUMMARY
TASK 1 WRITING RULES
MOST COMMON MISTAKES STUDENTS MAKE IN TASK 1 WRITING
FUTURE TENSE (LANGUAGE OF ESTIMATION)
TASK 1 WRITING SAMPLES
LINE CHART
BAR CHART
TABLE
PIE CHART
MAP
MAP LANGUAGE
METHOD FOR WRITING MAP
MAP SAMPLE
PROCESS
MAN-MADE PROCESS
PROCESS SAMPLE
NATURAL PROCESS
NATURAL PROCESS LANGUAGE
NATURAL PROCESS SAMPLE
IELTS WRITING TASK 2 INTRODUCTION
MOST COMMON MISTAKES STUDENTS MAKE IN IELTS WRITING TASK 2
THE LIST OF IMPERSONAL OPINION
THE LIST OF PERSONAL OPINION
LANGUAGE TO INTRODUCE EXAMPLES
LANGUAGE TO ADD MORE POINTS TO THE SAME TOPIC
LANGUAGE TO MAKE CONTRASTING POINTS
LANGUAGE FOR BALANCE/CONTRASTING STATEMENTS
LANGUAGE TO EMPHASIZE A POINT
LANGUAGE TO PROVIDE CAUSE OR REASON
HOW TO MANAGE YOUR TIME IN TASK 2 WRITING
TASK 2 WRITING TYPES
THE ARGUMENT LED (EVIDENCE LED)
THE ARGUMENT LED SAMPLE
THESIS LED ESSAY
THESIS-LED ESSAY STRUCTURE
THESIS-LED SAMPLE
ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES ESSAY
ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES ESSAY STRUCTURE
ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES SAMPLE
2 PART QUESTION ESSAY
2 PART QUESTION SAMPLE
PROBLEM & SOLUTION ESSAY
PROBLEM & SOLUTION SAMPLE
TASK 2 WRITING LANGUAGE
CAUTIOUS LANGUAGE
ADVERBS OF FREQUENCY
ADVERBS OF PROBABILITY
MODAL VERBS
SYNONYMS FOR PARAPHRASING
CONCLUSION
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IELTS Writing Task 1 + 2

The Ultimate Guide with Practice to Get a Target Band Score of 8.0+ In 10

Minutes a Day

-- By Rachel Mitchell --

without permission in writing from the publisher except in the case of brief

quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

Legal & Disclaimer

The information contained in this book and its contents is not designed to

replace or take the place of any form of medical or professional advice; and is

not meant to replace the need for independent medical, financial, legal or

other professional advice or services, as may be required. The content and

information in this book have been provided for educational and

entertainment purposes only.

The content and information contained in this book have been compiled from

sources deemed reliable, and it is accurate to the best of the Author's

knowledge, information, and belief. However, the Author cannot guarantee

its accuracy and validity and cannot be held liable for any errors and/or

omissions. Further, changes are periodically made to this book as and when

needed. Where appropriate and/or necessary, you must consult a professional

(including but not limited to your doctor, attorney, financial advisor or such

other professional advisor) before using any of the suggested remedies,

techniques, or information in this book.

Upon using the contents and information contained in this book, you agree to

hold harmless the Author from and against any damages, costs, and expenses,

including any legal fees potentially resulting from the application of any of

the information provided by this book. This disclaimer applies to any loss,

damages or injury caused by the use and application, whether directly or

indirectly, of any advice or information presented, whether for breach of

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You agree to accept all risks of using the information presented inside this

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You agree that by continuing to read this book, where appropriate and/or

necessary, you shall consult a professional (including but not limited to your

doctor, attorney, or financial advisor or such other advisor as needed) before

using any of the suggested remedies, techniques, or information in this book.

Table of Contents
Introduction
Ielts Writing Introduction
Ielts Writing Task 1
Effective Sentence Structures To Get An 8.0+
Language Of Trends: Sentence Structure And Vocabulary
Task 1 Writing Process To Maximize Score
Structure:
Task 1 Marking And Assessment
Advice
Useful Time Expressions
Language Of Estimation
Useful Language
Useful Words For Paraphrasing A Summary
Task 1 Writing Rules
Most Common Mistakes Students Make In Task 1 Writing
Future Tense (Language Of Estimation)
Task 1 Writing Samples
Line Chart
Bar Chart
Table
Pie Chart
Map
Map Language

Method For Writing Map
Map Sample
Process
Man-Made Process
Process Sample
Natural Process
Natural Process Language
Natural Process Sample
Ielts Writing Task 2 Introduction
Most Common Mistakes Students Make In Ielts Writing Task 2
The List Of Impersonal Opinion
The List Of Personal Opinion
Language To Introduce Examples
Language To Add More Points To The Same Topic
Language To Make Contrasting Points
Language For Balance/Contrasting Statements
Language To Talk About “Reality”
Language To Emphasize A Point
Language To Provide Cause Or Reason
Language To Talk About “Result/Effect”
How To Manage Your Time In Task 2 Writing
Task 2 Writing Types
The Argument Led (Evidence Led)

The Argument Led Sample
Thesis Led Essay
Thesis-Led Essay Structure
Thesis-Led Sample
Advantages And Disadvantages Essay
Advantages And Disadvantages Essay Structure
Advantages And Disadvantages Sample
2 Part Question Essay
2 Part Question Sample
Problem & Solution Essay
Problem & Solution Sample
Task 2 Writing Language
Cautious Language
Adverbs Of Frequency
Adverbs Of Probability
Modal Verbs
Synonyms For Paraphrasing
Conclusion
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INTRODUCTION

Thank you and congratulate you for downloading the book “IELTS Academic

Writing Task 1 + 2: The Ultimate Guide with Practice to Get a Target Band

Score of 8.0+ In 10 Minutes a Day.”

This book is well designed and written by an experienced native teacher from

the USA who has been teaching IELTS for over 10 years. She really is the

expert in training IELTS for students at each level. In this book, she will

provide you all proven formulas, tips, strategies, explanations, structures, task

1 + Task 2 language, vocabulary, reports and model essays to help you easily

achieve an 8.0+ in the IELTS Writing section, even if your English is not

excellent. This book will also walk you through step-by-step on how to

develop your well-organised answers for the Task 1 + Task 2 Writing; clearly

explains the different types of questions that are asked for Task 1 + Task 2;

provide you step-by-step instructions on how to write each type of report and

essay excellently.

As the author of this book, Rachel Mitchell believes that this book will be an

indispensable reference and trusted guide for you who may want to maximize

your band score in IELTS Academic Task 1 + Task 2 Writing. Once you read

this book, I guarantee you that you will have learned an extraordinarily wide

range of useful, and practical IELTS WRITNG strategies and formulas that

will help you become a successful IELTS taker as well as you will even

become a successful English user in work and in life within a short period of

time only.

Take action today and start getting better scores tomorrow!

Thank you again for purchasing this book, and I hope you enjoy it.

IELTS WRITING INTRODUCTION

The IELTS Academic Writing lasts for 60 minutes (an hour). In the 1 hour,

you have to complete 2 tasks, task 1 is a report, and task 2 is an essay. It is

suggested that you should spend about 20 minutes on task 1 and about 40

minutes on task 2. In the IELTS Academic Writing task 1, you are required to

write at least 150 words (10 to 15 sentences) and 220 words maximum. On

the other hand, in the IELTS Academic Writing task 2, you are required to

write at least 250 words (20 to 25 sentences) and 300 words maximum.

Writing task 1 accounts for 1/3 while writing task 2 accounts for 2/3 of your

total writing score.

In the IELTS Writing test, you need to use academic language. It’s not

informal language (it’s not an email to your friend). We need to use academic

language.

IELTS WRITING TASK 1

What are they asking you to do in a report?

They’re asking you to describe the main points of the diagram. When I say

“describe”, I mean you will tell them what the diagram looks like? For

example, I have a diagram that shows fast food consumption, I simply need

to describe that fast food consumption has increased/ has grown/ has risen; I

don’t need to say “fast food consumption has risen because fast food is

delicious and affordable” No, you don’t need to explain, ok?. Explaining is

what you are going to do essays in task 2 writing. Therefore, in task 1

writing, your job is to describe the main points of a diagram.

What is a diagram? You might be asking. That’s a good question. These are

all examples of diagrams.

Diagrams are pictures that convey information, usually numbers. This is a

type of a diagram called flow chart, and a flow chart shows us how to do

something, a method to do something.

Here, this is a type of a diagram called line chart or a line graph. It shows

changes over time/ over a period of time.

And here is a type of diagram called a table. You’re very familiar with

tables. Every time you go to restaurants, every time you’re looking at a menu,

you are looking at the table. Every time you go to the KFC, you’re looking at

a table. Every time you go to the airport, and you see the arrival time, the

departure time, you’re looking at a table. These are very common in our

lives.

Another type of a diagram is a pie chart. We use a pie chart to show a

percentage out of 100. That’s why we use a pie chart.

And right here is a column graph, or a bar graph. This one shows percentages

but over a period of time.

So, what we’re looking at in task 1 writing is all these types of diagrams

including maps.

These are all types of diagrams that you need to be familiar with so you can

describe them in task 1 writing.

All right, when it comes to task 1 writing, there are a few rules you need to

pay your attention to. First of all, task 1 requires 150 words minimum. If

you write fewer than 150 words, you’re going to face a penalty. Therefore,

you should try to write at least 150 words. I will tell you that it will be

difficult for you to get a high score if you’re only writing 150 words. You

probably will need to write 200 or 210 words to get a high score (7.5 - 8.0).

For task 2 writing, it’s larger. It needs 250 words minimum, and the essay

is worth 2/3 of your score. It’s worth twice of task 1. Therefore, I would like

to tell you that you should write task 2 first and spend 40 minutes on it.

Now, we will focus on task 1 writing, we will be describing different kinds of

diagrams.

How are they marking you? How are they assessing you? How are they

giving you a score in task 1 writing?

Let’s look at the IELTS writing task 1 band score descriptors below:

I want you to know that IELTS keeps their scoring very secretive. IELTS

does not tell you how they score your writing. The information that we have

about how they score our writing is we have got pieces of information from

people over the years. They think that we all know about IELTS. Let’s talk

something that you need to know about how they mark your test.

First of all, the IELTS examiner will mark your test according to four

categories:

1. Task Achievement (25%)

2. Coherence and Cohesion (25%)

3. Lexical Resource (25%)

4. Grammatical Range and Accuracy (25%)

Now, what do these things means?

1. Task achievement: this is how well you fulfil your job, how well you

describe something; how much information you have included; how you have

selected information that you put in your writing, and write at least 150

words.

2. Coherence and cohesion: this is how well you chose your paragraphs;

how well you organize your information, and how well it flows from

beginning to end.

3. Lexical resource: this means vocabulary. This is how much vocabulary

you use, and how varied, accurate and appropriate you are with your

vocabulary. Spelling errors will hurt your score, misusing word forms will

hurt your score. If you say “sales increasing”, it’s wrong. Instead, you must

say “sales increased”

4. Grammatical range and accuracy: obviously this means “are you

making grammar mistakes?”, and “are you using complex sentence

structures?” if you’re just doing the same structure over and over, “sales

increased” , then “sales fluctuated” and then “sales plummeted”. Ok, your

grammar is accurate, but all you’re giving me is just past tense, past tense,

and past tense. So you will get a good score for being accurate, but you will

get a low score for using the same structure over and over.

What you should be doing in task 1 is you should practice regularly. 7.0 – 8.0

for task 1 writing is very achievable because the language you use for task 1

writing is very narrow, and very limited. You don’t need to use a huge

range of language.

IELTS is a game after all. It is a test does exactly a game. It is a system for

gaining points and losing points, and there are some rules to test. Therefore,

we need to be sure we understand the rules so that we can avoid the penalty.

In order for us to describe diagrams, I would say grammar helps. Yes, of

course it does. I need you to pay attention to grammar, sentence structures.

You could get an incredibly high score just by knowing these following

structures.

EFFECTIVE SENTENCE STRUCTURES TO

GET AN 8.0+

1. Position statement:

· The price of gas stood at $2.75 per gallon.

· In 2005, the sugar export accounted for about 10% of total exports.

2. Movement statements

· There was a decrease in the price of gas/ gas prices.

· There was an increase in the sugar export/ export of sugar/ exported

sugar.

· Gas prices/ the price of gas decreased.

· The export of sugar/ the sugar export/ the exported sugar increased.

· Gas prices/ the price of gas experienced a decrease.

· The export of sugar/ the sugar export/ the exported sugar witnessed an

increase.

3. Time phrases

· From 1990 to 1995

· Between 1990 and 1995

· During/throughout the period from 1995 to 2005

· During a period of 10 years

· Over the (three-month) period (between April and June)

· In 1990

· By 1995

· For 5 years

4. Grammar variations

Connecting sentences together makes your writing more interesting and can

help to improve your band score - but you should aim to vary the way you

link sentences. Here are a couple options to try instead of just using “then”:

· CD sales increased steadily from 2005 until 2010, then fell slightly in

the following year.

· CD sales increased steadily from 2005 until 2010, before falling

slightly in the following year.

· After increasing steadily from 2005 until 2010, CD sales fell slightly in

the following year.

5. Vocabulary variations

Again, these variations increase the range of language you use, which can

make your writing more interesting and benefit your band score.

· There was a slight fall in CD sales in 2010.

· (The year) 2010 saw a slight fall in CD sales.

· CD sales experienced a slight fall in 2010.

6. Giving evidence (data)

When you describe the key information in a diagram, it's extremely important

to include evidence to support your idea. This means you add data: specific

numbers, percentages, etc.

For example:

· CD sales increased slightly from 52 (million) to 70 million units

between 2009 and 2010.

· CD sales increased slightly from 52 million units in 2010 to 70 million

the following year.

· CD sales increased by eight million units from 2009 to 2010.

· During the period from 1990 to 1995, there was a decrease in gas prices

from $2.70 to $2.75 per gallon.

· There was an increase in the sugar export between May and August

from about 10% to over 20%.

· Between 1990 and 1995, the price of gas decreased from $2.75 to $2.70

per gallon.

· The sugar export increased from approximately 10% to more than 20%

between May and August.

· From 1990 to 1995, the price of gas experienced a decrease from $2.75

to $2.70 per gallon.

· The sugar export witnessed an increase between May and August from

around 10% to over 20%.

Vocabulary note

Note the way we use prepositions with numbers and dates:

1998 2000

45% 20%

· In 2000 the number fell to 20%.

· In 2000 the number fell by 25%.

· The number fell/dropped from 45% in 1998 to 20% in 2010.

· The number fell/dropped from 45% to 20% between 1995 and 1997.

You can use a combination of verb + adverb, or adjective + noun, to avoid

repeating the same phrases and to add extra meaning:

· There was a significant increase/rise in the number of X.

· The number of X increased/rose significantly.

Notice that you need a preposition when you use the noun form:

· There was an increase in house prices;

· There was a drop of 10% in the number of male students who studied

abroad.

Those above are all about the unique things when it comes to your task 1

description. This is a suitable range. So, when it comes to the sentence

structures, pay attention to these, and pay attention to the parts of these

structures because that is what you will be doing when it comes to describing.

Understand that the grammar never changes, the verbs never change. They

stay the same. You are dealing with a limited number of words, a limited

number of structures. The only thing that changes is what you are talking

about. We might be talking about the purchase of Honda, or we might talk

about the number of members at a club or we might talk about the dollars

earned or the kilometers travelled or the number of books sold. It doesn’t

matter. That is the only thing that changes. It is very mathematical

When it comes to task 1, you need to use certain kinds of language:

1. COMPARISON AND SUPERLATIVE LANGUAGE: The language we

should use in task 1 writing is the language of comparison and superlative.

We can compare X and Y by using superlatives.

For example: Honda was the most popular motorbike. (Superlative language)

Or: Honda produced the most sold motorbikes.

· Honda was more popular than any other motorbike. (Comparison

language)

· More males than females chose Honda.

· Fewer females than males chose Honda.

· Honda was more popular among males than females.

· Honda was less popular among females than males.

· The most popular means of transport was Honda.

· Honda was more popular than any other means of transport.

· Honda was the most popular means of transport.

· Honda was chosen by more males than females.

· A higher percentage of males chose Honda than males.

· Compared to/with the number of females, the number of males were

considerably higher.

· The number of males were considerably higher compared to/with the

number of females.

2. TREND LANGUAGE:

If we have 2 time points (that could be days/weeks/months/years/decades),

we need to use trend language. We need to talk about “increase”,

“decrease”.

We could talk about 1990 and 2000, or we could talk about January and June,

or we could talk about Monday and Friday. It doesn’t matter.

Note: if they give you a diagram with just one year, all we can do is just to

compare, we cannot use trend language “increase”, “decrease”,

“fluctuated”. In other words, we cannot talk about movement.

On the other hand, if they give you two years, three years, or four years, they

still want comparison, but now they also want trend language. They also

want you to talk about movement. These are really two basic groups of

language that you need to use to describe diagrams: comparison and trend

language.

Let’s build some vocabulary. Here is a list of verbs, adverbs, adjectives and

nouns that you need to use in task 1 writing.

LANGUAGE OF TRENDS: SENTENCE

STRUCTURE AND VOCABULARY

Examples:

The overall sale of the company slightly increased by 10% in 2005.

Note that “plunge” and “plummet” do not take adverbs because what they

mean is a big decrease.

We can say “decreased

considerably/sharply/dramatically/significantly/substantially” or “plunged”,

or “plummeted”.

But, we must not say,

“plummeted considerably/sharply/dramatically/significantly/substantially”

“plunged considerably/sharply/dramatically/significantly/substantially”

No need to use those two verbs “plunge” and “plummet” with an adverb.

Decreased sharply equals plummeted. They mean the same thing.

Likewise, “rocket” does not take adverbs. So to say increased significantly,

rose sharply, they mean the same thing as rocketed. A big/sharp increase, so

no adverbs for rocketed.

There are some things I need you to be aware of here. I want you to know

that steadily and gradually mean the same thing. Slightly is something means

different. Steadily and gradually mean over a period of time. Slightly means

how much deals with amount. Steadily and gradually mean a gradual change

like a child growth; he or she grows gradually/ he or she grows over time.

Levelled off & stabilized

These are flat changes or no changes really, but I want you to be aware that

levelled off and stabilized always happen after another trend. You can say,

for example, “the figure remained the same before increasing/ the figure

remained stable before increasing/ the figure remained unchanged before

increasing/ the figure remained constant before increasing”. However, we

cannot use “stabilized or levelled off” in this case. Stabilized and levelled off

always happen after another trend. For example, sales fluctuated before they

levelled off/ sales fluctuated before they stabilized. Don’t ever use stabilized

and levelled off to start your description.

Fluctuation

You can say fluctuated significantly/ fluctuated wildly (big changes) or

fluctuated slightly (small changes).

The birthday fluctuated significantly/wildly between 2000 and 2005.

Reached a low

“Reach” always happen after a movement. “A high” is always behind a point

of the diagram. We shouldn’t say reached a high, instead we say started at a

high/ began at a high.

We can say reached a low/started at a low/ began at a low

Car sales reached a low of 15.000 in 2000.

Reached a peak

“A peak” is always up and down. A peak can be a high but it doesn’t have to

be. For example, reached two peaks before reaching a high.

The number of people who were unemployed reached a peak of 2000 people

in 2015.

The number of tourists reached a peak of 15 million in 1995.

Stood at

You can use “stood at” at anywhere on the graph you want (at the beginning

it stood at, afterward it stood at, then it stood at”, then it stood at, then it

stood at something else). “Stood at” works for anything on the graph.

The number of sales stood at 4 million in 2010.

The number of people travelling to London stood at 26 million in 2005.

Started at/ began at

You can use “started at/ began at” at the beginning.

In 2000, the figure for Internet users started at approximately 50 million.

The amount of meat consumed weekly began at about 150 grams.

Ended at/ finished at

You can use “ended at/ finished at” at the end.

The figure finished at over 50%.

Dipped/decreased slightly

Expenditure on furniture dipped slightly from 9% to 7% between 2002 and

2005.

Coffee sales decreased slightly between June and August.

Examples:

Coffee sales began at 50 thousand dollars, then decreased slightly to 48

thousand dollars. Subsequently, sales plunged and reached a low of 40

thousand dollars between June and August. Afterwards, coffee sales rocketed

to a high of 70 thousand dollars. Sales remained stable before decreasing

and stabilizing at…

Started at a high…then it fell slightly/declined slightly/ dropped slightly/ fell

steadily/declined gradually…then it levelled off/ stabilized/ remained

unchanged/ remained stable/ remained the same/ maintained the same figure.

Sales soared/rocketed/rose dramatically/grew sharply/increased

substantially.

“Soared” really is the same as “rocketed”.

Increased slightly/increased gradually.

The number of people using the Internet increased slightly between 1995 and

2005.

From 2002 to 2004, CD sales in the UK increased gradually from 3 to 4

million - a rise of 30%.

Experienced/witnessed/saw a decrease/a decline/a rise/an increase

Laptop prices experienced a decrease/a decline.

Laptop prices underwent a decrease/a decline.

The price of laptop saw a fall/decrease/a decline.

The price of laptop witnessed a fall/decrease/a decline.

As far as I know, this method allows you to have a variety while maintaining

accuracy and limiting what you need to learn. I don’t need you to learn

everything. I just need to learn these things. These are simple structures,

because there are no time, and no figure. There are no adjectives or adverbs

here. These are very simple. Let’s look at these again:

The purchase of Honda increased slightly from…..to….

Honda sales grew slightly from nearly…to…..

Honda sales decreased substantially, falling from…to…

Sales of Yamaha rocketed.

Sales of Yamaha soared.

Sales of Yamaha increased substantially.

You don’t need to get creative, this is not poetry. This is a boring technical

writing. You need to recognize the verbs, and then you need to recognize

the nouns, adverbs and adjectives. Just use what I gave you, learn the

simple words here, learn the simple grammar and you will find that you have

an incredible range of words and structures just by using the combination of

the basics I’ve mentioned above.

Other basic language:

A doubling means twice (10% à 20%)

A tripling means three times (10% à 30%)

Rocketed = soared = increased substantially/significantly/dramatically =

plunged = plummeted

Decrease = decline = fall = experience a decrease

So all that you need to know is just some basic things, and you are able to

change the words around a little bit and that’s the key. You don’t need to

learn a ton of grammar. You just need to learn this grammar and how to use

these words. That’s it, and then you will become a master of IELTS task 1

writing. Now, I would like to warn you that the biggest problem my students

have when it comes to task 1 writing is that they don’t believe it’s simple.

When it comes to give you dates and times, and to give you figures, you

don’t need to use prepositions. What prepositions do we need? From, in, to or

maybe at. So, even the prepositions that you need are very limited, you just

need to pay attention and notice what is going to be used in the same

structure over and over again. The only thing that will change will be basic

things here are:

· What happens or happened?

· The figure?

· What’s being measures? (The unit of measurement)

· The dates? (Time)

It’s totally mathematical. It’s a formula. Got it?

Now, how do we put these things together to make a report?

Here is the method.

I don’t want you to be nervous or confused in the exam, I want you to be

more confident like “all right, the first thing is this...next thing is that...and

the next thing is this…..and the next thing is you know how to write a report

excellently”.

TASK 1 WRITING PROCESS TO MAXIMIZE

SCORE

1. Read Summary: What they will be giving you in task 1 writing is they

will give you a diagram with a description. This description is called a

summary. The summary is used to tell you what you are looking at, and it

will tell you exactly that, so you must read the summary carefully before

writing.

Example: “The table below shows how many tourists from five countries

visiting Australia in different years from 1991 and 1999.”

When you look at the diagram, the first step should be asking yourself

· What’s the verb tense? Or what are the verb tenses? (Past tense)

· Look at the summary, look at the diagram and ask yourself

- What is measured? (the number of tourists)

- Unit of Measurement? (thousand)

We need to be accurate about what is being measured and the unit of

measurement.

2. Analyze Trends:

· Look at the general trend. It’s quite easy. You simply look from the

beginning to the end. You don’t need to worry about the middle. You

only should look at the beginning and the end (did it increase?, did it

remain the same?, or did it decrease?)

· After looking at the general trend, you should look at a couple of the

other things. First of all you see if any peaks, any dips, any

fluctuations, anything is going in the middle between the beginning

and the end.

· Superlatives (highest, least, most, fewest). For example, which

country accounted for the most or and which country accounted for

the fewest visitors?

3. What are the main points? The main points are the most important

features (the most important trends, some general comparisons and some

general superlatives).

I should have an idea about what the whole diagram looks like – they’re on

your main points, and when it comes to the main points, I would say

“overall, the number of visitors from all five countries increased, meanwhile

the US and the UK accounted for the most tourists throughout the period” 2

sentences. Now, what I just gave you is going to give you a 7.0+ on the task

achievement. You need to give me general trends and some superlatives.

You need to have a general idea of trends and comparisons in your main

points.

4. The next thing you should be doing here is you need to organize your

paragraphs

I’ll tell you to do 3 paragraphs here: your introduction, your overview, and 2

body paragraphs.

Your introduction should be a paraphrased summary.

Your overview should be the main points that have trends and some

comparisons.

You can use some expressions for your overview as below:

- The graph shows (information about) /indicates /illustrates /highlight (the

data about)…

- As the graph shows

- It is clear from the graph (that)

- As is shown by the graph

- It can be seen from the graph (that)

- As can be clearly seen from the graph,

- From the graph, it is clear (that)

- As is illustrated by the graph,

You will get marks on your main points. If you don’t include any main points

in your overview paragraph even though your grammar and vocabulary are

perfect, you are not going to get higher than a 5.0 in task achievement

because there is no clear overview. If you want to get a 7.0+ in task

achievement, you need to add the main points that have trends and some

comparisons.

Your body paragraphs need to be organized logically. For example, if we

have 5 countries to look at. We may organize the body paragraphs by their

figures (3 countries have the highest figures, we will describe them in one

paragraph, and with the smallest figures, we will describe them in the other

paragraph)

STRUCTURE: Paraphrase Summary...Main Point...Describe

Once you figure out the verb tense, what is measured? Unit of measurement.

Once you analyzed and looked at the general trends, and you figured out the

main points. Now you can describe these things in 15 minutes. It will be

good.

So, the tough part in IETLS writing task 1 will be practicing, looking at

enough diagrams that you can look at things quickly and go to take notes and

figure out what’s happening, and practicing the grammar and vocabulary

enough, you will become automatic. If you do that, task 1 will be easier for

you to deal with your IELTS test. I promise. Because it’s a boring stuff, there

is no creativity at all. It’s just looking at what they are giving you, making a

few corrections, a few grammar changes. And the grammar changes you are

making is that you just change verbs, nouns, adjectives and adverbs. These

are simple stuff.

TASK 1 MARKING AND ASSESSMENT

· Organize, present, and compare data...do you describe the most important

points?

· Use English grammar and vocabulary

· Use appropriate style and content

· Write in a way that the reader can follow

ADVICE

· Of course, grammar helps, but you should also focus on using various

sentence structures! Don’t use the same sentence structures over and over.

· Read as much as possible, you will understand how to be a more effective

writer by observing other writers.

· Write as much as you can.

· You have to choose your information carefully (which figures do you want

to get without talking about every little change?)

· Practicing going from verbs, adverbs to nouns, adjectives as well as

practice changing your noun forms. For example, I want to talk about the

production of films, and coffee from Viet Nam. We want to get rid of the

preposition so that the noun will become the adjective. So we have the

production of films will become film production (film in this case is an

adjective so it is a singular form), and likewise, coffee from Viet Nam will

become Vietnamese coffee; or fell gradually will become there was a

gradual fall. You need to switch between nouns and adjectives, verbs and

adverbs, and you need to say “the development of the new products” will

become “new product development”, “number of theme park visitors” will

become “theme park visitor numbers”; “sugar import” will become

“imported sugar”; “quality of food in super market” will become “super

market food quality”; “investment in research” will become “research

investment”; “the level of unemployment” will become “the unemployment

level”

· One more thing is that you need to do some simple comparison words.

You’ll need to be able to have flexibility to use comparison structures.

Note: Even a graph that shows you something going from the past, through

the present, in the future, I would still say that you don’t need to use present

perfect in your writing. I would say you’d better just need to focus on using

past tense and future tense. If you want to get a higher vocabulary and

grammar score when you are dealing with the future tense, you can start

talking about future perfect. It’s a lot easier to use and a lot more natural

sounding.

Don’t talk about many trends, just two trends for three points.

USEFUL TIME EXPRESSIONS

- (In) the period from…..to……/ between……and ((in) the period from

January to April... between January and April...)

- During (during the first two years...)

- In the first/ last three months of the year

- Over the period from…….to……..

- Over the next...for the following... (for the following five years... Over the

next five years...)

- Over a ten-year period

- After that/ then

- Until

- Throughout the year/ throughout the period/ each month of the year

- Subsequently

- For the rest of the year

- In January/ it began the year/ at the beginning of the year/ at the beginning

of the period

- In December/ the end of the year

You should pay attention to how you are using them. Keep your sentences

short but clear by using those kinds of phrases. Notice that your sentences

should be relatively short. You don’t need to write long sentences to impress

people. Long sentences tend to get grammar problems. What easier to read is

a three line sentence or two line sentence. What is easier to remember, a 100

page book or 10 page book? Of course, a 10 page book. So, keep things short

and use the proper linking phrases to allow your overall sentences to connect.

That’s the key.

LANGUAGE OF ESTIMATION

· Just over

· Nearly

· About

· Around

· Almost

· Approximately

· Just about

· Very nearly

· Just over

· More than

· Less than

USEFUL LANGUAGE

As the graph shows, in January, the figure stood at more than 1500.

Regarding novel sales, in January, the figure stood at just over 1500 before

declining steadily to a low of nearly 90,000.

USEFUL WORDS FOR PARAPHRASING A SUMMARY

Original sentence: The chart below shows…

Paraphrased sentence: the line graph/ the line chart

indicates/depicts/reveals/illustrates…

· Sales = income = revenue = turnover = how much money was made.

· The income rate = the income level = the level of income = the rate of

income = the level of revenue = the revenue rate = the revenue level

· New York City bookstore = bookstore in New York City

· Proportion = percentage = rate

· The proportion of = the percentage of = the figure for.

· From 2000 to 2005 = between 2000 and 2005 = Over a period of (5)

years.

· The elderly = elderly people = senior citizens.

· Spending = expenditure.

· Information = data

· Levels of unemployment = Unemployment rate.

· Poverty rate = Level of poverty.

· Production = manufacture = be produced = be made = be

manufactured

Note:

The examiner doesn’t care about what you say, they care about how well

you use English

The figure for X

What is X? Whatever you are talking about.

For example: the figure for novel sales, the figure for action films, the figure

for whatever it said on the diagram. This works all the time. If you find in the

exam that you have 10 minutes, you don’t have time to be killed with your

vocabulary. “The figure for” works.

Or you can use “X’s figure”. For example, romance film’s figure

The contribution of X

“Contribution” means how much do you give to something, how much do

you give to the whole/ the total. “Contribution” works when we talk about

percentages because “percentage” is looking at the whole (100%). So, here I

can say:

The contribution of romance films stood at more than 50% in 1990.

Romance film’s contribution stood at more than 50% in 1990.

Romance film contributed more than 50% in 1990.

What another word for “film types”?

Film kinds = film types = film genres

A genre is a type of something. For example, action/horror is a genre of film,

romance is a genre of film, etc.

Examples: three kinds of films = three genres of films = three types of films

(NOT three film types or three film kinds)

TASK 1 WRITING RULES

1. You must write 150 words minimum, 220 words maximum. If you write

more than 220 words, you will face a penalty. You won’t have enough

time to complete your task 2 writing.

2. You must skip lines between paragraphs. This allows you to do a

couple of important things here. Skipping lines is going to make your

writing neater. That is important. Remember that the writing test, we are

dealing with the human being. Who is the human being? The examiner,

and we need to make this guy happy. Right away, I want the examiner

when they have a pile of writings in front of them, and they might not feel

well, they might be hungry, they might have had an argument with their

boyfriend or girlfriend; they might just be sick of a pile of writings. When

they turn to look at your writing, and I want the first thing they think about

when they see your writing is that you are a neat organized student. I want

you to give them the first positive impression. They often have to choose

between a 5.5 or 6.0; 6.5 or 7.0; I want them to have all reasons to give

you a 7.0, not 5.5 or 6.0, so you should make your examiner happy and be

neat.

3. Keep it simple: you should use exactly the list of task 1 vocabulary,

sentence structures that I have given you in this book. Do not get

creativity. Trust me, you are probably wrong if you are creative. My

experience of over four years of teaching IELTS for many different levels

of students. They do not do well with creativity when it comes to IELTS

writing task 1. Please do what I tell you to do. It’s simple, but it will give

you a high score.

4. Corrections: it’s great that some of you do your writing, and then you

look at it, you think about it and you fix things/mistakes in your writing.

That’s awesome! If you catch your mistakes before your teacher catch

them, you are doing a learning. Who need to do a learning? You or your

teacher? You. I very highly encourage you to write these kinds of reports

using your knowledge, taking your time, being careful and then walking

away from the reports. Go and take a nap, watch TV, have some coffee,

whatever, just forget about your homework, and then come back with your

fresh eyes and fresh mind, then read your writing out loud. I promise to

you that your ears will catch grammar mistakes because you hear a lot

more English than you ever read. Don’t you? Yes, same thing with the

native speakers.

MOST COMMON MISTAKES STUDENTS

MAKE IN TASK 1 WRITING

1. Adverb vs adjective

A slight increase/decrease. (NOT a slightly increase/decrease).

2. Copy the summary

This just means you do not paraphrase the summary enough. That’s a big

problem. Be sure you paraphrase the summary as much as you can.

3. Misusing words or phrases.

You might say: Sales levelled off and then decreased (it’s wrong, because we

always use “levelled off” after another trend.)

So, levelled off is misused in this case.

Or, you might say: sales reduced. (We don’t use “reduced” this way)

Instead we say sales decreased/declined

4. Question mark

No question mark in task 1 writing. This means either a confusing word, a

phrase, may be a sentence or may be a whole paragraph. The examiner will

not know what you are talking about. The grammar is so stuffed that they

cannot understand what you are trying to say, and they cannot easily fix your

grammar.

So what are you going to do with this kind of sentence?

First, don’t try to fix the mistakes that you have. Don’t look at back your

grammar over and over again. Instead, look at what you are saying and ask

yourself what you were trying to say. You wrote it, so you know what you

are trying to describe, then look at back the task 1 language, words, and

phrases I gave you above, and start writing that sentence, or whole paragraph

over. Don’t try to fix what you have, take what you have and throw away and

put something new in there.

5. Wrong verb tense use.

Pay your attention to the verb tense.

6. Don’t use figures in your introduction and overview (no need to give

numbers in your main point)

7. Capital letters and lowercase letter.

8. Redundant or needlessly repeat word phrases or information. It creates

extra words but it doesn’t give new information. Therefore, you don’t need to

keep saying a word or a phrase over and over again. Instead, you can use “it”,

“this”, “this figure” to replace that word or phrase.

9. Collocation issues

You don’t put words together properly.

10. Your main point lacks either comparison or trend language, and you

cannot get a 7.0+ in task achievement without it.

TIPS:

Go home and rewrite the task 1 reports that they are already fixed by your

teacher. Just take 15 -20 minutes to rewrite it. Try to change every sentence

structure that you wrote in your report with a new structure. Practice using

different structures because in the exam that will help you a lot. You will

have a variety, you will have accuracy and make your report well organized.

And of course you will get a high score.

FUTURE TENSE (LANGUAGE OF

ESTIMATION)

STRUCTURE 1:

The prediction/expectation/projection/forecast/anticipations/likelihood +

shows/reveals/indicates/is that there will be a dramatic increase in the number

of car users.

The anticipation shows/reveals/indicates/is that there will be an increase in

the price of food from 20 dollars in 2005 to 25 dollars in 2025.

The forecast shows/reveals/indicates/is that the price of food will

undergo/witness/experience an increase from 20 dollars in 2005 to 25 dollars

in 2025.

STRUCTURE 2:

It is predicted/expected/projected/estimated/ anticipated/forecast/likely that

the number of car users will increase dramatically.

It is predicted/expected/anticipated/forecast/estimated that the price of food

will increase from 20 dollars in 2005 to 25 dollars in 2025.

It is predicted/expected/anticipated/forecast/estimated that the price of food

will undergo/witness/experience an increase from 20 dollars in 2005 to 25

dollars in 2025.

STRUCTURE 3:

The number of car users are predicted/expected/projected/estimated/

anticipated/forecast to increase dramatically.

The price of food is predicted/expected/anticipated/forecast/estimated to

decline from 20 dollars in 2000 to 10 dollars in 2025.

The price of food is predicted/expected/anticipated/forecast/estimated to

experience a decline from 20 dollars in 2000 to 10 dollars in 2025.

FUTURE PERFECT: WILL + HAVE + PAST PARTICIPLE

Let’s talk about future perfect. I will not talk about future continuous, I will

only talk about future perfect because usually my students find it hard to give

me a range of structures as well as another verb form.

What is future perfect?

Future perfect is a verb form that we use to indicate a completed action at

some time in the future.

So if I say “tonight I will eat dinner”. This means some time in the evening,

I’ll be eating. It’s not clear.

But if I say “by 9 o’clock I will have eaten dinner”. That means at night

o’clock, I have finished my dinner. I’m done. The action is completed.

Note: with future perfect, we always need a time.

Instead of saying “the price of food is expected to decline to 20 dollars in

2020”

We can say “the price of food is expected to have declined to 20 dollars by

2020”

Or “the price of food is expected to have experienced a decline to 20 dollars

by 2020”

Or “it is expected that the price of food will have declined to 20 dollars by

2020”

Try to give a variety of structures, be accurate, use a variety of verbs, use the

future perfect, you will get a higher score.

Understand that we can use a combination of past and future tenses.

In 2010, the figure stood at… (Past tense)…, but it’s expected to increase

slightly to… (Future tense).

“Respectively” & “in turn”

Jack and Jill are tall and fat respectively.

Who is tall?

Answer: Jack

Who is fat?

Answer: Jill

My first and second pair of shoes are red and white respectively.

What is the color of the second pair of shoes?

Answer: white

What is the color of the first pair of shoes?

Answer: red

So, we always use “respectively” and “in turn” to talk about two things that

we talk about in a sentence.

CORRELATION

We use “as” and “while” to show two things happening at the same time.

As I watched TV, I ate dinner.

While I drove my motorbike, I listened to music.

While I swam in the ocean, my family sat on the beach.

MAJORITY

What is the majority?

“The majority” means more than 50%.

How about 51% & 49%?

The difference between 51% & 49% is so slight.

51%: a small majority of (NOT huge majority).

>75%: a vast majority of

We use the definite article “the” + majority when we have only one majority.

49%: a minority/ just under half

11%: a small/tiny minority of

We use the indefinite article “a” + minority when we don’t have the only one

minority. Besides 49%, we also have 40%, 25%, etc.

Examples:

32% of all tourists = nearly a third of all tourists.

47% of cars = just under half of cars.

63% of all funding = nearly two-thirds of all funding.

TASK 1 WRITING SAMPLES

LINE CHART

The graph below shows the differences in wheat exports over three different

areas. Write a report for a university lecturer describing the information

shown below. Write at least 150 words.

ANSWER:

The line graph compares three regions in terms of exports of wheat between

1985 and 1990.

Overall, the three regions experienced different trends in the time period.

While the wheat export in Canada and European countries rose with some

fluctuations, the export in Australia fell over time.

As the graph shows, Australia's wheat export figure started at 15 million tons

in 1985 followed by a small increase to around 16 million tons in 1986. Then,

it declined steadily until it fell to just over 10 million tons in 1990. Regarding

Canada's exports, in 1985 they shipped approximately 19 million tons of

wheat. This figure fell to about 17 million in 1986, but then their exports

experienced considerable growth to 25 million tons in 1988. Afterward, the

figure plunged to below 15 million in 1989, but then subsequently rose to just

under 20 million in 1990.

By contrast, the wheat exports from the European Community experienced an

increase in the six year period. In 1985, nearly 16 million tons were exported,

but this number fell to about 14 million in 1986. Then, the exports increased

to exactly 15 million tons in 1987 and 1988 before witnessing steady growth

to 19 million and 21 million tons in 1989 and 1990, respectively.

(209 words)

BAR CHART

SAMPLE 1:

The chart below shows the amount of leisure time enjoyed by men and women

of different employment status.

Write a report for a university lecturer describing the information shown

below.

You should write at least 150 words in 20 minutes for this task.

ANSWER:

The bar chart compares the amount of free time per week that males and

females of five categories of employment status had between 1998 and 1999.

It is clear that men enjoyed more hours of leisure time per week than women

in three out of five categories. However, only figures for women are shown in

two categories, namely employed part-time and housewives.

Regarding the full-time employed, obviously men had slightly more leisure

time than women, with approximately 45 hours of free time per week,

compared to around 38 hours for women. Obviously, unemployed and retired

people of both genders enjoyed the most hours of leisure time. Moreover, the

figures for retired males and females were exactly the same as those for the

unemployed, at around 85 and 78 hours of free time per week, respectively.

Housewives enjoyed 50 hours of spare time, a little more than part-time

working women who had just over 40 leisure hours each week. No data is

given for men in either of these categories.

169 words.

SAMPLE 2

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The following bar chart shows the different modes of transport used to travel

to and from work in one European city in 1960, 1980 and 2000.

Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features and

make comparisons where relevant.

Write at least 150 words.

ANSWER:

The bar chart illustrates the information about the proportion of travelers who

used different types of vehicles to commute to work in a European city

during a period from 1960 to 2000.

Overall, the percentage of commuters who used cars rose steadily over the

period, while the proportion of people who travelled by other means of

transport fell.

In 1960, approximately 35% of people commuted to work on foot, compared

to only about 5% of people travelled by car. The percentage of those who

used bikes and buses were around 25% and 18% respectively. However, in

1980 travelling by bus was by far the most popular transport mode,

accounting for over 25% of total travelers, whereas only 17% of people

travelling on foot. The figures for bike and car were around 20% and 22%

respectively.

At the end of the period, more than 35% of commuters used cars to commute

to work in this city in 2000, which was much higher than the figure for bus

users, at around 16%. The percentage of those who travelled to work on foot

and by bike fell to 9% and 6% respectively.

189 words

TABLE

The table below gives information about the average annual spending of

university students in three different countries.

The given table compares the percentage of expenditure which college

students from 3 countries spend on different living expenses each year.

Overall, the total spending of students in country A was higher than the

expenditure of students in countries B and C. In all the countries, students

spent the highest proportion of their budget on accommodation and food.

In country A, the total spending of students is highest, at 5000$ per year,

compared with $4500 and $1500 for students in countries B and C

respectively.

Accommodation accounts for 45% of the total expenditure of students in

country A, while the proportions were lower for students in country B at

35%, and country C, at only 30%. However, in term of food, students in

country C spend the largest percentage of their money on it, accounting for

36%. The figures for country A and B are only 22% and 28% respectively.

Students in country C also spent a high percentage of their budget on books,

at 21%, compared with 9% for students in country B and just 3% for students

in country A. By contrast, students in countries A and B spent 22% and 23%

respectively of their budget on leisure, while students in country C spent only

12% of their total money on this category.

196 words.

PIE CHART

The pie charts below show the average household expenditures in Japan and

Malaysia in the year 2010.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and

make comparisons where relevant.

ANSWER

The pie charts compare the average household spending in Japan and

Malaysia in terms of five important categories in 2010.

Overall, it is clear that Japanese and Malaysian people spent the largest

proportion of their budget on just three categories, namely housing, food and

other goods and services. Moreover, the expenditures on healthcare and

transport in Japan were double the figures for Malaysia.

In Malaysian households, the greatest proportion of spending was on

housing, which represented 34% of the total expenditure, while in Japan, the

figure for this category was just 21%. Japanese householders spent the largest

amount of their income on other goods and services, at 29%. Meanwhile, the

rate of spending on this category in Malaysia was slightly lower, at 26%. In

terms of food, the percentages of expenses for both nations were relatively

similar, at 27% for Malaysia and 24% for Japan.

In both countries, the smallest proportion of spending was on health care. In

Malaysia, this accounted for 3% of the total household expenses, while the

figure for transport represented 10%. These figures were exactly doubled in

Japan which were 6% and 20% respectively.

188 words.

MAP

MAPS are becoming a lot more common. The language that we use to

describe graphs like bar charts, tables, line graphs, would not be used to

describe maps. We should need to use new language to describe maps.

MAP LANGUAGE

LANGUAGE OF DIRECTION:

In the north: within an area. (California is in the west of the United States/

Phu My Hung is in the south of HCM city.)

To the north: to be used for comparison/ outside an area (China is to the

north of Vietnam/ Cambodia is to the west of Vietnam.)

In the southwest: Florida is in the southeast of the United States.

To the southwest: The entrance was moved to the southwest of the building.

LANGUAGE OF LOCATION:

Be located/situated in: The shopping mall was located/situated in the center

of the city was knocked down to make way for a new university.

Opposite: A restaurant has been built on the opposite side of the road where

the shop used to be.

Next to: A new car park has been constructed next to the hotel.

Along: there was a new sidewalk along the river.

Across from: The park is across from the school.

GRAMMAR:

The grammar for Map is quite simple that you should use passive voice in

paste tense.

VERBS TO DESCRIBE MAP:

Buildings: Demolished, knocked down, constructed, built, erected

The apartment was demolished.

The school located in the south of the city was knocked down/ demolished to

make way for a car park.

The building was erected on the bank of the river.

Areas:

A new residential area was built in place of the park.

A golf course was constructed to the west of the airport.

The park disappeared.

An airport appeared.

Trees: cut down/chopped down, removed, uprooted

In the north of the river all trees were cut down/chopped down.

All the trees were removed/uprooted and replaced by a factory.

Factories/facilities: established, installed, placed, put in

An airport was established/installed.

Don’t say: a house was installed/ established.

Areas and zones:

An urban area = a city

A rural area = a countryside

An industrial area = factory, manufacturing, processing

Residential area = houses

Recreational area & Entertainment area

We use recreational areas to usually talk about things like parks or other

green areas that people do activities.

Entertainment area is actually part of a commercial area. When you go to

sing karaoke, or when you go and watch a film at the theater, you are in the

area that the focus is money.

General main points: More urban, less rural, more developed, more modern.

METHOD FOR WRITING MAP

Pick a side of the town. Divide the town into two parts, the north and the

south or the east and the west. Find the way to divide the town.

On the west side of the river, in the north, trees were cut down/chopped

down and replaced by a stadium by 2010. In the south, an apartment

building/complex was constructed between some private homes and the river.

Looking at/To the east, a hotel was built/erected in the north, along the

river. (To the) east of this, an industrial area/zone was demolished and

replaced by / made way for / made way for the development of / transformed

into / converted into a golf course. In the center/central area, an airport was

established. Just to the west of the lake, by 2010, a residential area was

developed after trees were removed.

“To the north of this/next to the railway station, the residential area was

transformed into an industrial area.”

Noted: transformed into and converted into: this means to change something.

We cannot say “the apartment was transformed into the factory”

We cannot say “the trees were transformed into the airport”, we cannot

change a tree into an airport. Instead, we can say “the trees were chopped

down and replaced with the airport.”

We only can use transformed into and converted into when we are talking

about an area.

Ex: the park was transformed into the airport (because a park is an area of

land)

We can transform a rural area into an urban area.

The neighborhood was transformed completely.

The old houses were rebuilt.

Very few trees remained.

Trees were chopped down/ uprooted/ cleared/ cleared away.

The area was removed, but remained vacant/ remained undeveloped.

ARTICLE:

We use “a” for new, and “the” for old

Ex: in the south, the residential area was replaced by a warehouse (it’s new).

In the north, the residential area was removed to make way for the

development of a stadium (it’s new).

Don’t say “the left/right side of town”. But it’s ok for you to say “on the

left/right side of the map”

Apartment building = apartment complex

MAP SAMPLE

The maps show changes that took place in Youngsville in New Zealand over a

25 year period from 1980 to 2005.

ANSWER:

The maps illustrate the developments which took place in the coastal town of

Youngsville between 1980 and 2005.

Overall, a comparison of the two maps reveals a complete transformation

from a largely rural to a mainly urban area.

In the year 1980, the town was a much greener residential area with a large

number of trees and individual houses, but during the next 25 years, the town

saw a number of significant changes. The most noticeable is that all of the

trees in the south of the River Alanah were chopped down, with all the

houses along the railway line being demolished to make way for skyscrapers.

Moreover, a new industrial zone with warehouses and factories sprang up

around the school and airport.

In contrast, only a few trees in the north of the river remained. The woodland

was cleared and converted into a golf course, a park, and car parting facilities.

Further developments were the construction of a stadium next to the north-

east corner of the lake and the extension of the railway line from the river

running directly to the north. A Marina was also constructed at the mouth of

the river.

194 words.

PROCESS

Type 1: Man-made process: how things are made, how things are produced,

how things are manufactured, how things are done.

Type 2: Natural process: it’s the most difficult to learn and to teach because

there is no clear and exact way to teach you about the language. I could spend

a week talking about the natural process and still not feel prepared for the

exam.

One of the really nice things about man-made process report is the fact that

the grammar is very simple, what you need to do with your sentence structure

is very simple, however, there is a big challenge with these kinds of report.

The big challenge is you don’t know anything about how to make a chocolate

candy/brick…, and the vocabulary can be a little bit difficult.

Let’s learn about easy things about process reports. With process reports we

will be asked to analyze and illustrate a diagram and describe a man-made

process…how to do something, how to make something. For example, they

may show you how to bring water from the city to the countryside…

MAN-MADE PROCESS

1. You will be using passive present tense (is/are + V3). This is different

from what we have with MAPS. Maps we use with passive tense. Remember

we use passive tense because we don’t want to focus on the actor or the

subject of the sentence, we want to focus on the action or verb of the

sentence. We don’t care that the investors built the house, we only care about

how the house was built. Likewise. For man-made process, you may use

passive tense, but present tense (is/are, NOT was/were) because we don’t

care about who made the chocolate, we only care about how the chocolate is

made. You will be using passive present tense for your verbs to talk about

what happens.

2. You will be using sequencers. Sequencers are words telling us about

“when” or “how long” or “how often”. For example, these kinds of words are

sequencers:

First, you do something; then, you do something else; next, you do

something; before you do something else, you do something (before I boil the

water, I open the tea bag/ I boil the water until the chicken is ready…)

What about the words like “repeatedly”, or “twice”, or “several time”? These

words tell us that we are doing something more than once. So you might have

sequencers that tell you “when” like first, next, then, finally…or sequencers

tell you about “how long” such as “until/before” or words that tell you “how

often” like repeatedly, several times, twice. This is used to tell you several

things about time.

3. Finish the purpose by using non-defining relative clauses. These are used

to add extra information about whatever you want to tell. In this case, the

extra information will be the purpose, tell us about “why” for example, why

are we melting the chocolate?, why are we crushing the rocks?. …which kills

the bacteria, or….which prepares the tea.

Try to use more academic words to talk about a reason for something like “in

order to kill the bacteria”, or “so as to kill the bacteria”, or “to make sure/

to ensure the bacteria is killed”.

We can use non-defining relative clauses to show where something is. For

example “next, the milk is sent to the factory, where it will be turned into the

cheese and ice cream”

These are very useful, I want you to know that the process report contains

something similar to the main point. Give the summary of what other steps

are. That only can work if you give a brief list of steps. Don’t give a big list

of steps.

The grammar is easy: your sentences in man-made process should contain

sequencers, passive present tense, non-defining relative clauses and indefinite

purpose, so that’s easy.

The tough part is the verb, you don’t know how to do these things. IELTS

knows that you don’t know how to make chocolate...so they are going to give

you all the information you need in the form of these diagrams, they are

going to give you the illustration and the verbs and the words, nouns and all

that information. You need to look carefully at each step and think exactly

what is happening. Take the verb that they give you and put it into your own

word. Think about exactly what they are showing you. Think about some

logic, use logic “why do we heat things? – to melt, to cook, to warm”

Look at all these steps, make sure that you take notes on each step and give

your own ideas about what is happening, the verbs and why it is happening.

PARAPHRASING:

Paraphrase the main things in the process:

Ice cream = frozen yogurt

Fruit is picked by hand = fruit is manually collected

Manually collected = collected by hand

Fruit quality checking = the fruit is checked for quality = the fruit is checked

to ensure it’s free of bruises and not rotten.

PROCESS SAMPLE

The diagram illustrates the process that is used to manufacture bricks for the

building industry.

Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features and

make comparisons where relevant.

The flow chart shows the way in which bricks are made for the building

industry.

Overall, there are 7 stages in the whole brick producing process, beginning

with the digging up of clay and ending with the delivery of the bricks to the

customers.

To begin, the clay used to make the bricks is dug up from the ground by a

large digger. This clay is then placed onto a metal grid, which is used to

break up the clay into smaller pieces. A roller assists in this process.

Following this, sand and water are added to the clay, and this mixture is

turned into bricks by either placing it into a mould or using a wire cut. Next,

these bricks are placed in a drying oven to dry for 24 – 48 hours.

In the subsequent stage, the bricks go through a heating and cooling process.

They are heated in a kiln at a moderate and then a high temperature (ranging

from 200c to 1300c), followed by a cooling process in a cooling chamber for

48 – 72 hours. Finally, the bricks are packed and delivered to their

destinations.

(188 words).

NATURAL PROCESS

This type of process relates to nature. This may come up in the exam, life

cycle, water cycle, an animal, a plant. You might have to describe something

related to the climate, weather pattern…

Natural process: one of the things about natural process that makes it

challenging is they do expect you to have some basic science knowledge

about these natural processes, they do expect that a natural process that you

understand.

In the man-made process you can talk about the beginning and the end (the

1st step, the 2nd step, the final step). However, most natural processes are

typically a cycle. So, if you are describing a natural process, you will not say

the 1st step…2nd step… you should figure out which place to start. Natural

processes usually use active voice, not passive voice because people are not

usually involved in the natural process, so actions are not being done by

somebody. It could be used passive tense sometimes for example “clouds are

flown by the winds”, but most of the time we use active tense for natural

processes.

We use the non-defining relative clauses, sequencers (instead of using the

first step, the second step, next and then,…we might use structures like

gradually, overtime, eventually, other things related to process time such as,

overtime, the plants grow…eventually, it produces…)

In terms of the purpose, we might use indefinite purpose “in order to, so as

to…” but not often because in nature, it’s difficult to say why something

happens.

An introduction contains two pieces of information: a paraphrase of the

summary and the main point.

The summary is what they give you in the diagram. The summary tells you

what you are looking at. You paraphrase the question and you are changing

the words.

What is the purpose of the main point?

It tells you something specific about the diagram, but it does not tell you

about something so specific like “snow moves down the mountain sides..”

If you don’t know anything about the water cycle, it’s quite difficult for you

to do the reports natural process.

What is the purpose of the introduction?

It tells the readers this is what we are talking about, and this is something we

can expect to give details in the coming paragraphs.

Task 1 writing whether that is a map, a pie chart, a man-made process, a

natural process, it doesn’t matter. In task 1 writing, you need to write “the

main points”. If you don’t give the main points in your report, you will not

get a band score higher than 5.0 even your vocabulary and grammar are

perfect in task achievement; and really, it’s quite easy for you to get a 6.0 or

even 7.0 if you give the main points in your report.

Two body paragraphs

Writing 2 separate body paragraphs detailing each stage of the natural

process.

NATURAL PROCESS LANGUAGE

SEQUENCERS

· Gradually,

· In order to,

· As a result of this,

· Having completed all of these steps,

· The step after this,

· The final stage of the cycle is when,

· At this point in the cycle,

· Overtime,

ORDERING

· The first stage is when + noun + verb

· To begin with

· The process commences with

MIDDLE STAGES

· Eventually,

· This step involves verb-ing

· After this stage is complete,

· The next step is when + noun + verb

· By this stage,

· The step after this + verb

· At the same time,

· While/as

· Once A has finished, B is able to start

LAST STAGE

· Once the final stage has been completed,

EXPRESSING PURPOSE

· A is done (so as) to produce B

· A is done so that/in order that B can be produced

EXPRESSING CAUSE AND RESULT

· As a result,

· This results in + noun

· A results from B/in B

· A happens, which results in B

· A happens, which leads to B

· A happens, which causes B

· A happens, with the result that B happens

NATURAL PROCESS SAMPLE

Life Cycle of a Frog

The flow chart illustrates the development of a frog from egg during its life

cycle.

Overall, it is clear that there are six distinct stages illustrated in the process,

commencing with producing eggs in the water and ending with the

development of a mature frog.

The first stage is when the eggs, shown as frogspawn, float on the surface of

the lake. The next step after this is the emergence of the small tadpole after

the frogspawn hatches. At this point in the cycle, the small tadpole has a

small body with a long tail. Over time, the tadpole grows and its body

becomes bigger while the tail becomes longer. At the same time, the legs

begin to form so as to prepare the tadpole’s future life on land. Eventually,

the tadpole starts to grow into a young frog with a wider mouth, a shorter tail

and larger legs although it continues to live in the water. Gradually, the frog

becomes mature, ready to leave the water and moves onto the land. When

being on land, it starts to breathe air and loses the tail. The final stage of the

cycle is when the adult frog finds a mate in order to lay eggs. Having

completed all these steps, the lifecycle will then begin again.

(215 words)

IELTS WRITING TASK 2 INTRODUCTION

In task 2 writing, you have to write 250 words minimum. If you write fewer

than 250 words, you will lower your score because you will not explain your

ideas very well. You should need to be a super hero, try to produce a lot of

good words. If you write 340 words, you are not being organized. Also, the

longer your essay is, the more grammar mistakes you might make, and the

less time you have to write your task 1 writing, and what easier for the

examiner to follow and read? A shorter essay or longer essay? Of course, the

shorter essay will make them easier to follow. There is no benefit to write

supper long essays. Task 2 writing is worth 2/3 your overall score, and you

spend 40 minutes on it.

In task 2 writing, we will focus on 4 types here:

The four most common types are argument, thesis led, problem solution

essays, two-part questions essay. The language and organization are super

important, just like task 1 writing. The organization is huge for task 1 and

task 2. In task 1, I gave you the language that you need, I gave you the

grammar that you need. The language and grammar you need for task 1

writing are relatively short; and for the ideas, you don’t need any ideas for

task 1 writing. Everything is available from graphs or diagrams. Task 2 is

different, the language and grammar you need for task 2 writing are more

complicated. The big thing here is to pay attention to the sentence structure

(concession & contrast; cause and effect statements; this may lead to, as a

result…), pay attention to the structures that you’ve learned for task 1

writing, because you will use a lot of those structures for task 2 writing. What

the big deal here? The big deal is that the overall thing you need to

understand is “every sentence has its own purpose”. These are going to the

engineer of your piece of writing. You need to plan them, you need to make

sure every piece fits together, and everything is close. You can still get a high

score if you make grammar mistakes. Try to be clear, be organized, be

concise, and write at least 250 words, and done.

MOST COMMON MISTAKES STUDENTS

MAKE IN IELTS WRITING TASK 2

1. Do not use (...) (etc) when writing a list. Instead, lists of examples should

follow the pattern; (A and B), (A, B, and C), or (A, B, C, and D). For

example: one of the biggest problems in big cities is unemployment, crime

and pollution.

2. No question mark in your essay: Do not ask the reader any questions in

your essays. For example; “How do you think we can solve the problem of

over-crowding in cities?”

3. Do not use exclamation points in your essays. Don’t yell at the reader.

For example; “In my opinion, it's the best solution to over-crowding in

cities!”

4. Phrases like “more and more”, “bigger and bigger”, “greater and

greater” are too informal, and only good for speaking, not good for

academic writing. Instead of writing “more and more people are driving cars

these days”, you could use trend language in task 1 writing to write this

sentence like “increasing numbers of people are using cars these days” “a

significantly larger number of people using cars these days” “a growing

increase in the number of people using cars these days”, “nowadays, the

number of people who own cars has increased”; “increasing numbers of

students are going abroad for university study”; “the number of cities that

suffer from pollution has increased tremendously in recent decades”. That’s

much better than “more and more”. In addition, instead of using the

structure such as “much more”, you can say “a great deal larger”. Also,

“big” is too informal for reports and essays, we should use “large”

“sizeable” “significant” instead.

5. Do not begin sentences with “And”, “But”, “Or”. Instead use linking

phrases that sound more academic such as “In addition/Furthermore”,

“However”, “Since”, “As a result”.

6. The first sentence of each body paragraph should be a topic sentence, it

should define the content of the paragraph in general terms. The number one

job of the topic sentence is to tell the readers what they are going to read in

that paragraph. It’s a signal to the readers. A topic sentence can do other

things, but its number one job is to send the signal to the readers.

7. “Most/almost”: “Most” is an adjective (usually) which means the greatest

quantity, amount, measure, degree or number of something. It is followed by

a noun, prepositional phrase or adjective: “Most people", “the most popular”

“most of his time”, “most of my friends study abroad”.

“Almost” is an adverb which means very nearly (a language of

estimation), it means close, but NOT totally. Examples: “We’re almost

home.”, “almost finished”, “almost every house”, “almost never” “almost

all of the students”.

8. Manage your time well. Task 1= 20 minutes. Task 2=40 minutes. A

poorly written essay for the report will receive a higher band score than an

incomplete one. Task 1 = 150 words, Task 2 = 250 words. Make sure you

write the minimum number of words.

9. Subject-verb agreement: He, she, it....plays, does, receives, negotiates,

etc. This is a rule you learned in elementary grammar. You cannot still be

making this mistake on the IELTS test. If you make this mistake in your

essay, you can forget about getting a good band score.

10. Use the correct verb tenses. This is another elementary mistake that will

keep you from getting a good band score. Pay attention to every verb you

write and consider what tense you should be using. Particularly, present

tense. Most of the time, the vast majority, the overwhelming majority of the

time, you are using the present tense. I would say that really no need for past

tense, maybe some future, maybe modal verbs, but most of the time, you are

using the present tense (present simple, present perfect, present continuous).

That’s what something you should be thinking about.

11. Articles (a, an, the, no article): The last of the three biggest elementary

mistakes. Maybe because you have articles in your own language. It’s a

foreign concept to you. The other thing is you don’t read them out, and you

usually use articles in theories whereas the best way on how to use articles is

by looking at a lot of proper accurate writings. Review the rules about articles

and apply them to every noun you write.

12. Singular/Plural, Countable/Uncountable: When speaking in general

about something, use the plural form. For example: “People use computers

in their offices every day. (Don’t say: people use a computer in their office

every day); or: people need a lot of money for their lives (don’t say: people

need a lot of money for their life.)

When it comes to Countable & Uncountable, it’s a bit challenging here

because there aren’t rules what is countable and what is uncountable. I would

say keep a little list of words that are countable and uncountable. I don’t want

to see equipments, knowledges, advises, informations, etc. these are common

mistakes students make.

13. In essays, no personal opinions in the body paragraphs (NO I think, I

believe, in my mind, in my opinion, as far as I am concerned, for me, to me,

etc.), only in the introduction (for thesis-led) or conclusion. Use impersonal

opinions in the body paragraphs such as “some people think, other people

believe, many people claim that, as far as some people are concerned”. Try to

give other people’s opinions, not your opinion in your body paragraphs.

14. Write your essays from a global perspective, because the questions are

asked from a global perspective. Try to avoid relating the essay question only

to your country. It should be about the world in general. If you say “traffic in

the city is a serious problem when you are traveling down Madison Avenue at

rush hour”, it’s very specific. Instead, you should say: “when people travel

down busy streets in urban areas during rush hours…” now you are not

talking about problems of a specific city, you are talking about problems that

every city faces. That’s what you want. You want to be general.

15. Use linking words and transition phrases at the beginning of all body

paragraphs, and the conclusion. Keep your sentences short and well linked.

It’s a key if you want to improve your grammar. It will help your grammar

and your organization as well. For example: Firstly, on the one hand, on the

other hand, in summary.

16. No contractions; for example: “shouldn’t” = should not, can’t = cannot,

wouldn’t = would not, shouldn’t = should not, etc.

17. Keep pronouns out of the essay body paragraphs. Words such as, you,

we, I, us, should be omitted or written as people, students, society, etc. For

example, instead of saying “when you go abroad, you will have a chance to

experience new cultures”, you should say “when a student goes abroad, they

will have a chance to experience new cultures”

18. Active tense can be changed to passive tense to omit the pronoun.

19. Effect is a noun. Affect is a verb.

20. In the introduction, do not tell the reader what you’re going to do.

For example: “In this essay I will discuss the advantages and disadvantages

of studying abroad”. No need. The way that I will teach you how to give an

introduction is going to be incredibly clear, and incredibly high level. I’m not

just teaching you how to write essays for a 5.5 in the exam, I’m teaching you

how to write essays that will be good for any university in the world. So, my

method is incredibly clear, but helps you with your organization. So, instead

you could write a concise thesis statement like “This essay will show both the

positive and negative benefits of studying abroad”.

21. Avoid using absolutes such as; all, every, none, only, always, never,

completely, totally. For example: when everyone goes abroad, they always

suffer home sickness. Be careful of using 100% and 0% statements.

22. Don’t use the word “thing” to name the object or action you're writing

about. For example, instead of writing “when students go abroad, they have

opportunities to experience many different things”, you should write “when

students go abroad, they have opportunities to experience many different

things, such as new cultures and make new friends”. That’s ok, because you

are giving two specific examples about what things you are talking about.

Review this list. When you’ve done with your first essay, go through the list

to make sure you are not making some of these mistakes.

THE LIST OF IMPERSONAL OPINION

· It cannot be denied that: It cannot be denied that money plays an

important role in people’s lives.

· It is often claimed: It is often claimed that money cannot buy

happiness.

· People often claim that: People often claim that children cannot grow

up perfectly without a parental present.

· Some people argue that: Some people argue that it is more important

to have an enjoyable job than to earn a lot of money.

· Many argue that: Many argue that old workers should be permitted to

work even after reaching the retirement age.

· It is true to say that: It is true to say that the global warming is caused

by pollution and other environmental damage.

· It is undeniable: It is undeniable that watching TV programs has both

positive and negative effects on people.

THE LIST OF PERSONAL OPINION

· In my opinion/view: In my opinion/view, men and women should have

the same educational opportunities.

· To my mind: To my mind, everyone should be encouraged to stay in

school until 18.

· To my way of thinking: To my way of thinking, there are various

reasons why people decide to live in big cities.

· As far as I am concerned: As far as I am concerned, shopping online

is very convenient.

· It seems to me that: It seems to me that death penalty is essential to

prevent human from committing serious crimes.

· I believe that: I believe that it is more beneficial for children to have

homework.

LANGUAGE TO INTRODUCE EXAMPLES

· For example: ... For example, I'm going to buy a new suit for the party

tonight.

· For instance: …. For instance, a father who has good skill in sports

would have children with good skills in sports as well.

· ...such as: Some countries in Europe such as the UK, Italy, and

France,....

· ...namely: Minor crimes, namely pick pocketing and traffic offenses,

should not have the same penalty as serious crimes, such as

manslaughter and murder.

· ...particularly: This course is particularly suitable for science

students, particularly those in engineering.

LANGUAGE TO ADD MORE POINTS TO

THE SAME TOPIC

· What is more: ……What is more, I think the most important benefit of

visiting a new place is that you could develop your understanding of

the world.

· Furthermore: …. Furthermore, children expect to be taken on holiday

when they are off school during the summer.

· Moreover: ….. Moreover, the shortage of state budget may cause the

lack of investment in upgrading schools' equipment and

infrastructure.

· In addition: ... In addition, TED helps to keep people informed with

the latest technology…

· ...as well: ….international tourism has disadvantages as well.

· Not only...but also...: The nicotine in cigarettes not only causes

cancer but also leads to several other serious diseases.

LANGUAGE TO MAKE CONTRASTING

POINTS

· However,…: We live in a technological age. However, technology

cannot solve all the world's problems.

· While/whereas: Males spend 30 minutes a day doing the cooking

while/ whereas females spend 65 minutes a day on this activity.

· Nonetheless/Nevertheless: While they don’t trust each other,

nonetheless/nevertheless they have worked together for many years.

· Though/although: Although/though Tom has a lot of money, he lives

in a small, old house.

· In contrast/By contrast: In contrast/by contrast, the percentage of

people who walked to/from work decreased.

· Despite the fact that... Despite the fact that he studied hard, he

couldn't pass the test.

LANGUAGE FOR

BALANCE/CONTRASTING STATEMENTS

· While it is true to say that..., in fact/actually...: While it is true to say

that the city is noisy, dirty and overcrowded, in fact/actually, it is a

very interesting place to visit.

LANGUAGE TO TALK ABOUT “REALITY”

· Indeed: Indeed, traditional culture is slowly being wiped out by the

strong current of technology.

· Actually: Actually, it's quite an old, historic town.

· In fact: In fact, my brother and I don't have much in common at all.

· As a matter of fact: As a matter of fact, exchanging gifts is not our

traditional practice.

· The fact of the matter is (that): the fact of the matter is that the

number of old workers has increased these days.

LANGUAGE TO EMPHASIZE A POINT

· Of course: Of course, the most effective way for you to improve your

writing skill is through practice.

· Obviously: Obviously, this method can help people reduce stress and

negative feelings.

· Needless to say: Needless to say the number of criminals increases in

many countries nowadays.

· Essentially: Essentially, unemployed people need to find a way to

make a living.

LANGUAGE TO PROVIDE CAUSE OR

REASON

· This is because: A vast majority of people prefer cycling. This is

because riding a bicycle to work is healthier than driving.

· This may be caused by: ….. This may be caused by the effects of

global warming.

· This can be explained by: This can be explained by the fact that

movies have been considered to be fashionable and entertaining.

This can be explained by a huge amount of homework assigned by

teachers.

· The reason for this is that: The reason for this is that happiness means

different thing to different people.

LANGUAGE TO TALK ABOUT

“RESULT/EFFECT”

· Cause: The unlimited use of cars may cause many problems.

· May/Might lead to/result in: Urbanization might lead to crime, traffic

congestion, and pollution in cities.

An increase in the number of the elderly in recent years may lead to

an aging population.

Qualifications and skills may/might result in promotions.

· As a result: As a result of tourism and the increasing number of

people traveling, there is a growing demand for flights.

· Consequently: He forgot to pay his phone bill. Consequently, they

turned off his service.

· One result of this is that: One result of this is that these individuals

prefer driving cars rather than walking for exercise

HOW TO MANAGE YOUR TIME IN TASK 2

WRITING

Time management is difficult but very important in the writing exam. It's

quite easy to spend too long on one task, or even on one part of a single piece

of writing. This certainly will lead to having serious consequence. This

prevents you from finishing both 2 tasks of your writing within 60 minutes.

The best way to avoid this is to divide your time wisely and strictly as

following:

Planning stage (10 mins):

a) Read the question.

b) Decide your overall opinion.

c) Note down ideas: both arguments and evidence.

Writing stage (30 mins):

a) Write the introduction. (5 mins)

b) Write the first body paragraph. (10 mins)

c) Write the second body paragraph. (10 mins)

d) Write the conclusion. (5 mins)

Checking stage (5 mins):

Read through your writing. Look for mistakes and correct them.

It might seem odd if you spend so long preparing at the beginning. Instead,

you should spend only 25 minutes or so writing your essay - but remember

the most important stage is actually the amount of time you are going to

spend on planning before writing your essay.

If you use this time wisely to generate plenty of good ideas, you will be able

to write a good essay quickly. In contrast, if you start writing too early, there

is a possibility that you will misunderstand the question, organize your

information badly, fill your essay poorly or run out of ideas. Any of these

things will definitely result in a low band score.

Remember that if you follow the timings above, you only need to write at a

speed of ten words per minute to reach the minimum word count.

TASK 2 WRITING TYPES

Let’s talk about the basic organization: the two most common essay types we

have here. One of them is called THE ARGUMENT LED (EVIDENCE

LED), and the other one is called THE THESIS LED. There are very clear

differences and very clear similarities between these two types of essay. Let’s

talk about them.

The first rule is that they won’t tell you what type of essay to write. IELTS

does not say “write the thesis led”. No, they will give you a topic, and you

need to decide what the best way to organize the essay. There is some

flexibility there. Sometimes, you can write the thesis led, or write the

argument led. It’s up to you.

But, right now, let’s understand the difference:

THE ARGUMENT LED (EVIDENCE LED)

I want you to think about you are a judge in a court room. What you are

going to do is you are going to hear an argument between two sides. How

does it work?

Well, you are going to give an introduction that contains some very clear

information. First of all, your first sentence is going to introduce the topic. It

is going to be a general statement, this is not having an opinion, but it is a

general and true statement that tells the reader what the topic is? So you

might say something like:

“Nowadays, nuclear energy is a popular way to provide electricity.”

“In modern society, playing video games has become very popular for

teenagers.” Is that true? YES.

So, when you read that sentence, you know “hey, this essay is about

technology and teenagers” it tells the readers what the essay is going to be

about.

“In recent times, increasing numbers of students go abroad for university

study.” Is that true? YES.

Reading that context statement tells the reader this is what the essay is about.

After you give the context to the reader, you need to introduce that there are

two sides to this context. So, you could say something like “nowadays, going

abroad for university study is increasingly popular. Some people think this

brings a lot of disadvantages. However, other people claim it brings a lot of

benefits” I just draw up a topic, and I’m bringing up that some people think

this, other people think that. No personal opinions. If you read an essay and

it gives you 2 impersonal opinions, you don’t expect that it focuses on one

side. You expect that it tells you “I don’t know what my opinion is. I’m

looking at both sides.” If I wrote an essay that in the introduction it said

“smart phones are very popular nowadays. I think Apples make the best

smart phones.” Do you think I’m spending the whole paragraph talking about

how great Samsung is? No. When I give you a clear personal opinion, you

know I’ve already made my decision and I’m going to talk about that

decision. On the other hand, when I give you 2 impersonal opinions. When I

say “nowadays, smart phones have become very popular. Some people really

like Samsung. However, a lot of people like apples.” Do I have a clear

personal opinion here? No, you don’t know what my opinion is, you don’t

know what I think. Therefore, I’m signaling to you that I don’t know what I

think. I’m going to spend my essay talking about both of these things.

So exactly that, in the introduction, you are basically giving me the context

and 2 main ideas. What the first one is, and what the second one is. You are

signaling what the main ideas are.

Now I expect in the body paragraphs. In the body paragraphs, you are going

to give the reader the supporting ideas to support the main ideas, and that’s

exactly what you are going to do. You are going to write 2 body paragraphs.

One body paragraph will be talking about the reasons for one opinion. The

other body paragraph will be the reasons for the other opinion. And they will

look a lot like part 3 speaking. The same structure that you use for part 3

speaking, you will use for task 2 writing.

Conclusion. What do you do? It’s easy. You can certainly remind the reader

of what the topic was. You can paraphrase yourself basically, you will

paraphrase the sentence you wrote in the introduction. The first sentence of

the introduction might look very similar, but not identical to the first sentence

of your conclusion. Then you rephrase and summarize the two opinions.

Example: “In conclusion, studying abroad is very popular these days. Some

people claim that causes home sickness and it’s too expensive, while other

people think it creates opportunities for education and personal

development.” You just told me the two main ideas from the both sides.

THE ARGUMENT LED SAMPLE

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.

MODEL ANSWER:

Right after finishing high school, teenagers often wonder whether they ought

to continue their education or get a job. While many people believe that

keeping on studying at a college or university will be the best way to

guarantee a successful career, others claim that working straight after school

is a better option.

Start working straight after graduation is beneficial for several reasons.

Firstly, by working, young people will be able to start earning money as soon

as possible. As a result, they will be mature enough, and be able to live

independently on their own income. Secondly, a person who decides to look

for a job rather than pursuing higher education is likely to have a chance to

obtain a lot of real experience and practical skills. This may lead them to

progress more quickly in their chosen profession.

On the other hand, some people argue that it is more beneficial for young

people to continue their studies after high school. Firstly, a college education

prepares students to meet academic qualifications, which most employers

require nowadays. Consequently, university graduates usually have

opportunities to earn higher salaries than those without qualifications. In

addition, the job market is becoming increasingly competitive since hundreds

of applicants often chase one position in an organization. Having a degree is

an obvious advantage that university graduates have. In many countries,

students who graduate with an engineering degree are highly paid and have

an easy time getting a good job.

In conclusion, it is true to say that both working straight after high school and

continuing higher-level studies each has their own unique advantages.

(270 words)

IELTS EXAMINER COMMENTS

+ Task response:

You wrote 270 words, which is long enough! Aim for 260-290 words to be

safe. Less than 250 words will lose lots of marks. Your first paragraph

paraphrases the whole question. Your points are all relevant and well

supported with examples and explanations

+ Coherence and cohesion:

There is a clear overall progression in the writing and ideas are well

organized. Paragraphs and sentences are very well constructed. Good topic

sentences. You have used a range of linkers throughout the essay.

+ Lexical resource:

The range of vocabulary is very good and there is flexibility in use. “Good

vocabulary” guarantee a successful career, to live independently, pursuing

higher education, to obtain a lot of real experience, progress rapidly, to meet

academic qualifications

+ Grammatical range and accuracy:

You use a range of structures accurately and there is a good range of

structures. No errors detected.

THESIS LED ESSAY

The thesis-led essay is different. You are a lawyer, not a judge. You are not

looking at both sides. You are only looking at one side. Likewise, give the

reader the context of the background. The first sentence of these essays

(argument led and thesis led) could look exactly the same. But where it is

different in the thesis led is that we need a personal opinion. We need to

know that you’ve already made a decision about what you think. Can you

give the reader an impersonal opinion? Can you give one? Yes, you can, but

you have to make sure that you will give me a personal opinion. So it is ok

for you to say “some people think going abroad brings advantages. However,

I believe that it causes a lot of problems.”

Then, what do you do? Body paragraphs will be a little bit different. In an

argument led, you will have 2 paragraphs. One is about advantages, the other

one might be about disadvantages. If we talk about the advantages of

studying abroad, we might talk about education, we can talk about new

cultures, and we can talk about the chance to be more mature. You can talk

all of those in one body paragraph in an argument led. However, in a thesis

led, each one of these is going to become a supportive paragraph, a smaller

paragraph but a supportive paragraph. So, a little bit different. You might see

one introduction paragraph, two body paragraphs, and one conclusion

paragraph.

Conclusion: rephrases, paraphrase yourself. Rephrase and summarize your

points.

“In conclusion, going abroad is becoming very popular. I think it’s a good

idea for children to go overseas because it increases the chances of getting a

better education, gain access to different cultures, and becoming more

mature.”

Do you need to give examples in your essay?

No need, if you are a very good writer with over 300 words in 40 minutes,

you can give examples in your essay. However, if you have a hard time

writing over 300 words in 40 minutes, and being accurate with your

grammar, I would say that you should avoid many specific examples.

When it comes to the introduction. No surprise here:

“In recent decades, there has been tremendously economic development (is

that true? YES). However, the gap between the rich and the poor nations

remains considerable (is that true? YES).”

What structure am I using here? Concession & contrast

It’s true that people make more money. However, there are still a lot of poor

people in the world. So I’m saying something is true; however, something

else is true.

You can use concession & contrast in your introduction, your body

paragraphs as well as in your conclusion, you can use it everywhere.

Don’t try to show the reader how smart you are. Don’t write like a writer.

Try to be clear.

Why should you use might, may, could, can?

To show something that can happen. Don’t make a statement sound like

100% or 0%, show that things are possible by saying “maybe it could/

maybe it can.”

A system of a wealthy nation could be very beneficial……. because it may be

the best chance to develop.

The first sentence of each paragraph, we should tell the reader what the topic

is; tell the reader what you think about the topic.

Keep your ideas short, clear and well linked, and well signal “because, for

instance, moreover” it helps everyone understand your writing.

THESIS-LED ESSAY STRUCTURE

Remember there is no big difference between thesis-led and argument-led.

The only difference is the organization and where the information is. The first

paragraph will be obviously the introduction.

INTRODUCTION:

What do we want to have in the introduction?

The context: Personal opinion usually be written following the impersonal

opinions

BODY PARAGRAPHS: no personal opinion in the body paragraph

· Body paragraph 1: 2-3 points

· Body paragraph 2: 2-3 points

CONCLUSION:

Restate the context in the introduction.

THESIS-LED SAMPLE

Some people say that what children watch influences their behavior. Others

believe the amount of time they spend on television influences their behavior

most.

Discuss both views and give your opinion.

MODEL ESSAY:

While it is true that watching TV affects children, it is difficult to determine

whether it is the content of the programs or the length of time spent watching

them that has a more significant impact on children. It seems to me that

although the amount of time does affect youngsters, it is the content of the

programs that has a more marked influence on them.

On the one hand, the consequences of watching TV for long periods of time

can be deleterious. Firstly, the longer children are exposed to TV programs,

the more likely it is for them to become addicted to watching television.

When children become over-reliant on television for entertainment, they

might neglect engagement in outdoor activities. This may result in a

sedentary lifestyle that is highly detrimental to their physical health. More

importantly, excessive TV watching impairs children’s communication

abilities, so they find it hard to play or live in harmony with others. As a

result, children would feel discouraged from having real interactions with

people around them if they spent a huge amount of time in front of the

screen, which may hinder their development of social skills.

On the other hand, it is the broadcasted images that have the most direct

effects on young viewers. Firstly, in most countries the majority of TV shows

present glamorized depictions of inappropriate materials such as violence,

drug abuse or casual sex, thus youngsters may adopt unhealthy habits and

improper behavior. For example, they might fall under the impression that the

use of alcoholic drinks is fashionable without being aware of the health risks

they carry and later end up consuming these substances. Besides, in our

modern consumer society, commercials also affect how children behave.

Unwary young viewers could be easily swayed by captivating advertisements

for junk food or video games, products whose target audience includes

children, and so may pester their parents to buy these goods impulsively.

In conclusion, although both factors have their own implications, I believe

the element with more considerable impacts on children is the content.

Hence, parental involvement is essential in controlling children’s TV viewing

habits and in shaping a child’s values to help them enter adult life with a

healthy mind.

360 words

IELTS EXAMINER COMMENTS

+ Task response:

This was an interesting task question, and you answered the question fully. I

cannot improve on the technique which you used. You stated your position

clearly in the introduction and consistently throughout the essay. The

beginning of paragraph 3 and your conclusion were the ideal places to restate

your opinion. All the points which you mentioned were relevant and fully

developed and I have to give a score of 8.5 for this section.

+ Coherence and cohesion:

Your paragraph structure was, as I have already mentioned, clear and logical.

I then looked at your topic sentences. These indicated expertly the central

idea in each paragraph. I, therefore, scored 9

+ Lexical resource:

The language meets the criteria (natural and appropriate). The essay

contained some good topic vocabulary: become addicted to watching

television, become over-reliant on television for entertainment, engagement

in outdoor activities, find it hard to play or live in harmony with others, feel

discouraged from having real interactions, etc.

+ Grammatical range and accuracy:

You certainly used a good range of grammar, including adverb clauses,

relative clauses, conditional forms, comparatives and other useful

constructions. So, this section again achieves a maximum score.

SAMPLE 2

Some people believe that people have the right to university education, and

government should make it free no matter what their financial background.

To what extent do you agree or disagree?

MODEL ESSAY:

It is true that some people argue for the universal right to free university

education. While I accept that this may suit many people, I believe that it is

impractical for governments to implement such a policy.

On the one hand, it is not a practical dream to expect government authorities

to fund higher education for those poorer sections of society, with low

incomes and no savings. Without such funding, people from poor

backgrounds would be unable to attend university. As a result, they would be

excluded from many well-paid careers as engineers, doctors or lawyers.

Social inequalities would be perpetuated and society as a whole would suffer,

since those from low-income backgrounds would have no opportunity to

develop their talents. The example of the US, during the struggle for civil

rights for blacks and other minorities, shows the folly of denying equal

educational opportunities for the poor.

On the other hand, there would be an enormous strain on government budgets

if free access to university were a right for everyone. At its simplest, people

from rich families can afford to pay tuition fees and for their own

maintenance during their studies. Attendance at university is a privilege, not a

right, and if students can afford to pay for their studies, they should do so. In

practical terms, governments cannot pay for the rich as well as the poor.

Governments are faced with practical decisions on how to allocate their finite

budgets, and funding free higher education for everyone would mean less

money to spend on pressing issues such as health care or the environment.

In conclusion, I disagree with the view that free higher education should be a

right for everyone in society, and funding should be limited to those who

otherwise could not afford to attend university.

297 words

SAMPLE 3

Schools should not force children to learn a foreign language. To what extent

do you agree with this statement?

MODEL ESSAY:

It is true that some people argue that a foreign language should not be one of

the compulsory subjects studied in schools. While I believe that it is useful

for schoolchildren to learn a foreign language, I completely agree that they

should not be forced to do so.

On the one hand, it will benefit the education of most children if they are

encouraged to learn a foreign language during their school years. Firstly,

through studying the language they will learn about the culture of that

country, and some schools even arrange exchange visits, to enable students to

briefly immerse themselves in the culture of the foreign country whose

language they are learning. Secondly, children can access information in

another language. For example, if they are studying English, they can enjoy

websites which are only available in English on any topic in which they are

interested. Finally, children can be encouraged to learn a foreign language

through the range of enjoyable and fun materials available nowadays,

especially interactive online learning.

On the other hand, it would be counterproductive to forcibly oblige

schoolchildren to learn a foreign language. One reason is that children will

not learn effectively through compulsion alone. They must be motivated to

do so and this is only achieved through enthusiastic teachers who select

stimulating language-learning activities. Another reason is that

schoolchildren will be reluctant to learn a foreign language if they cannot see

why it might be relevant to their present or future lives. For example,

individual Vietnamese pupils should not be forced to learn English if they are

certain that they will never need or want to use it in the future.

In conclusion, I would argue that schools should encourage, but not compel,

children to learn a foreign language.

292 words

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES

ESSAY

You might also see a question in the exam that asks you to discuss the

advantages and/or disadvantages of a topic. For example:

· People in the community can buy cheaper products nowadays. Do the

advantages outweigh the disadvantages?

· New technologies have changed the way children spend their free

time. Do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages?

· In many countries nowadays, young single people no longer stay with

their parents until they are married, but leave to study or work

somewhere else. Do you think this trend has more advantages or

disadvantages?

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES

ESSAY STRUCTURE

INTRODUCTION:

Introduce the topic of the essay

Say what the discussion is about (i.e. what the two different sides believe

(advantages and disadvantages) )

BODY PARAGRAPH 1 (2-3 Advantages):

A topic sentence to say what the paragraph is about

Argument 1

Evidence 1

Argument 2

Evidence 2

BODY PARAGRAPH 2 (2-3 Disadvantages):

A topic sentence to say what the paragraph is about

Argument 1

Evidence 1

Argument 2

Evidence 2

CONCLUSION:

Summarise key arguments (paraphrasing them)

Your conclusion should contain no new information.

Note:

Arguments are introduced by using impersonal opinions.

Evidence can include examples, explanations, facts or consequences. When

giving evidence, it is often helpful to start general, then go more specific.

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES

SAMPLE

International travel has many advantages to both travelers and the country

that they visited. Do Advantages outweigh the disadvantages?

MODEL ANSWER:

It is true that the growth of the international travel industry has brought many

benefits to both travelers and the host nations which receive them. While

there are serious negative consequences of this development, I would argue

that these are outweighed by the advantages.

On the one hand, there are some aspects of international travel. Principally

the tourist trade, which raises cause for concern. In terms of the tourists

themselves, they often arrive at an overseas destination only to find that the

prices of everything are grossly inflated. They may be overcharged for

everything from a taxi, a meal in a restaurant or buying a souvenir. In terms

of the host country, the problems of waste disposal, pollution and unregulated

construction of hotels and tourist attractions often result in permanent

damage to the environment. Many beach resorts in Thailand and Malaysia,

for example, have become “concrete jungles” of high-rise hotels and

apartments to accommodate mass tourism from Europe.

On the other hand, despite such grave issues, these are not insurmountable

and must be considered against the advantages of the growing international

travel industry. Firstly, there is ever-greater competition among tour

operators to provide value for money holidays, so that holiday-makers can

enjoy their experience of a foreign country and culture to the full. Secondly,

the influx of foreign tourists brings money to the host country through the

provision of jobs and services for the developing hotel and construction

industries. Employees in these sectors generally benefit from higher wages

and improved living standards.

In conclusion, I believe that the advantages of international travel for both

travelers and host countries are greater than the drawbacks, serious though

these are.

277 words

2 PART QUESTION ESSAY

Money is important to most people’s lives (fact)

They will ask you 2 specific questions based on that topic. When it comes to

organization, your answer must include the introduction, and your

introduction will have at least three pieces of information in it.

INTRODUCTION: tell the reader what you are writing about. You are

going to answer:

Question 1: you need to give your personal opinion in the introduction.

Question 2: you need to give your personal opinion in the introduction.

BODY 1: Answer questions 1 in detail

BODY 2: Answer questions 2 in detail

CONCLUSION: Repeat the opinion given in the introduction.

2 PART QUESTION SAMPLE

In many countries, more and more people choose to buy imported food rather

than food produced locally. Why do people buy imported food? What could

be done to encourage people to buy local food?

MODEL ANSWER:

It is true that the consumption of imported food has increased in recent years.

There are some factors which help to account for this trend, but measures can

be implemented to encourage more people to eat food which is grown locally.

In many countries, people are buying more imported food and there are a

number of reasons to explain why this is happening. Firstly, the attractive

marketing and presentation of imported food products give them an appealing

and appetizing appearance. Consumers then come to expect certain high

standards of packaging, so that food looks tasty, safe, hygienic and, in the

case of some products, easy to prepare. Secondly, the availability of a wide

range of imported food enables people to vary their diet and experiment with

new recipes. This may provide a welcome change from eating the same meals

every day, which inevitably becomes tedious and no longer stimulates the

taste buds.

It is possible, however, to take steps to encourage the consumption of locally

produced food. Local growers should ensure that their products always look

clean and fresh. In Vietnam, for example, all the fruit and vegetables, meat

and fish on display at local markets must be presented in scrupulously

hygienic conditions, protected by plastic wrapping to keep away dust or flies.

The government should enforce strict food safety regulations. Another

measure could be to increase the variety of food produced by local farmers,

which would then eliminate the need to import those foods from other

countries. This would stimulate the local economy and reduce the

environmental costs of transportation known as food miles.

In conclusion, while are some obvious reasons to explain the rise in

popularity of imported food, some simple measures should be adopted by

local food growers to meet this challenge.

294 words

SAMPLE 2:

Today, more people are traveling than ever before. Why is this the case?

What are the benefits of traveling for the traveler?

MODEL ESSAY:

It is true that in many countries the number of people traveling has increased

over recent years. There are reasons which can be identified to account for

this trend and travelers undoubtedly benefit from the chance to travel more

frequently and to visit even the most far-flung destinations.

At least two important factors help to explain why an increasing number of

people are now able to enjoy domestic and international travel. Firstly,

growing prosperity and a rise in living standards in many countries have

enabled people to enjoy things which they could never have before. With

greater disposable income, family luxuries such as holidays have now

become affordable. Secondly, competition among tour operators has reduced

the cost of traveling. Only a few decades ago, for example, budget airlines

did not exist, but now they are used by millions of passengers each year.

In my view, in the case of both domestic and international travel, there are

clear advantages for travelers. People now have a wide choice of places to go

and things to see and do. They are now able to experience other parts of their

own countries or to enjoy the richness of unfamiliar and, sometimes, exotic

destinations. Thailand, for instance, is immensely popular with tourists from

all over the world, including Vietnam. Visitors enjoy not only the unique

cuisine but also the rich historical heritage of Thai temples and traditions.

Another advantage for many people, now that travel is less costly, is the

chance to be reunited with family members who have moved abroad because

of work, study or simply in search of a better life. Family ties can be

maintained and strengthened thanks to the greater opportunities to travel.

In conclusion, there are clear reasons why more people are traveling and

there are obvious advantages for travelers.

299 words

IELTS EXAMINER COMMENTS

+ Task response:

This is an excellent essay with a lot of strong points. It is a very interesting

one. In paragraph 2, you suggested two very relevant reasons for this trend.

You explained both of them fully and you supported your second point with

an example. In paragraph 3, you focused exclusively on positive impacts.

You argued both point convincingly and at length, again giving real-life

examples to support your ideas. My score for task response is 9

+ Coherence and cohesion:

The topic sentences were ideal. You identified your arguments perfectly in

paragraph 2 and paragraph 3. As your sentences were also linked very

smoothly, and for coherence/cohesion, my score is 9.

+ Lexical resource:

I think that one of the strong points is this essay is your awareness of words

which combine together well (“collocations”): far-flung destinations, have a

wide choice of places to go, to be immensely popular with, etc.

+ Grammatical range and accuracy:

You use a range of structures both simple and complex. As with lexis, this

area of your writing is strong.

PROBLEM & SOLUTION ESSAY

Let’s talk about problem & solution essay

The language that we use for part 3 speaking is really the same as the

language we use for the essay (cause and effect, comparison, conditionals…)

INTRODUCTION:

Your first sentence is going to be a context. There are two ways you can do

this:

You can present the problem and the context (nowadays, traffic in cities is

becoming a serious problem.../ nowadays/in recent times, the number of

vehicles in cities has increased tremendously (context). As a result, the

pollution from these vehicles is causing a serious problem. This problem is

leading to respiratory illness for urban residents and visitors.)

If you tell the reader your introduction, you will bring up a problem (the

reader will expect that you will be explaining the problem, and then they

need you to give some solutions to solve the problem.)

Using conditionals:

· If A…., then B… (If the government invest in public transportation,

then pollution level will decline…)

· B….if A (pollution level will decline if the government invest in

public transportation.)

· Unless A….not B (unless governments invest in public transportation,

there won’t be a reduction in pollution).

· Not A…unless B (there won’t be a reduction in pollution unless

governments invest in public transportation.)

BODY PARAGRAPHS:

1st STRUCTURE:

BODY 1:

Problem 1 + Problem 2

BODY 1:

Solution 1 + Solution 2

2nd STRUCTURE:

BODY 1:

Problem 1 + Solution 1

BODY 2:

Problem 2 + Solution 2

CONCLUSION:

Give the context, summarize what the problem is? And what the solutions

are?

If you want or if you have time, you can make a prediction.

So in your conclusion, you are very much going to be repeating what you

said in the introduction (remind the reader of the problem; remind the reader

of the solutions you suggested; and if you want/ if you have time, give a

prediction).

In conclusion, the large number of vehicles are reducing people’s mental and

physical health. Governments should/ought to/ need to spend more money on

public transportation, and people must actually use them. Unless people take

the environment more seriously, and governments start investing in this

problem, it’s likely that we won’t see any reduction in this issue. (A 4-

sentence conclusion: a context + problem + solution + prediction).

PROBLEM & SOLUTION SAMPLE

The gap between the rich and the poor is increasingly wide, as rich people

become richer and poor people grow poorer. What problems could this

situation cause? What are the solutions to address those problems?

MODEL ESSAY:

It is true that the gap between the rich and the poor is growing wider in many

regions of the world. While the problems that result are complex,

fundamental solutions based on expanding education should be adopted to

tackle this problem.

Increasing levels of poverty and rising wealth inequalities impact on the

economic growth of a country and the security of its citizens. In economic

terms, the existence of a large mass of unemployed or low-paid workers

directly affects domestic businesses, such as local shops and factories. As

nobody has money to buy their products, they are themselves forced to close,

creating further unemployment. In terms of public security, without the

means of obtaining money through work, the poor may turn to crimes such as

drug trafficking, prostitution, robbery and violent attacks on others. Youth

unemployment has, in particular, been linked with rising crime rates.

Governments must, therefore, expand educational opportunities to benefit all

their citizens, in order to reduce the gap between the rich and the poor. The

provision of a better standard of schooling in slum areas of cities and in poor

rural regions would enable children to reach a higher level of educational

attainment. Grants and scholarships could be used to help students to remain

in education for longer and gain qualifications. In particular, technical

education could be expanded, helping poorer children to learn trades. In

construction, engineering, and agriculture, a highly-educated workforce will

be needed in the future, and skilled workers will be able to command high

salaries and enjoy a decent standard of living. As work opportunities

improve, crime rates will fall.

Thus, dealing with the problem at its roots, by expanding educational

opportunities, the authorities would be able to reduce the gap between the

wealthy and poor sectors of society.

293 words.

IELTS EXAMINER COMMENTS

+ Task response:

Certainly, this essay meets most of the criteria for a very high band score. I

would characterize your response as “well-developed, with relevant, extended

and supported ideas”. Correctly, you did not try to discuss too many reasons

for the problem [you focused on two important reasons in paragraph 2].

+ Coherence and cohesion:

As always, you provided a well-organized essay. The logical paragraph

structure is supported by precise topic sentences and clearly identified

arguments. Sentences were well-linked.

+ Lexical resource:

There is some excellent vocabulary too: Increasing levels of poverty and

rising wealth inequalities impact on the economic growth of a country and

the security of its citizens/ the poor may turn to crimes such as drug

trafficking, prostitution, robbery and violent attacks on others….

+ Grammatical range and accuracy:

As with lexis, this area of your writing is strong. There is no problem with the

range of grammar structures, which included a second conditional sentence,

relative clauses and the consistently correct use of modal auxiliary verbs

TASK 2 WRITING LANGUAGE

CAUTIOUS LANGUAGE

When do we use “therefore”? When we use cause and effect.

For example: it’s very cold. Therefore, I put my jacket on.

The ticket was very expensive. Therefore/so, I had saved money for many

months.

You are showing a relationship.

Something causes something else. Therefore, I think (a personal opinion)

Something that is a cause. Therefore, there is a fact.

Clear signals: It cannot be denied

that/moreover/also/meanwhile/nevertheless/I am of the opinion that.

If you want to make a statement/claim that you are harder to prove it wrong,

you need to make a weaker statement.

For example: email may cause extra work and stress. I’m not saying it does,

because if it does, it’s a fact….so be cautious.

ADVERBS OF FREQUENCY

Obviously, you can use adverbs of frequency.

If I say “globalization is an effective mean to stimulate economic growth.”

(This is a 100% statement)

Every time globalization is involved, it boosts economy. (This is a 100%

statement.)

It’s better if I say “globalization is usually/frequently/often/sometimes an

effective mean to stimulate economic growth.” (I am making a weaker claim,

it’s not a strong one. It’s not a 100% statement, but it is a lot harder for you to

prove me wrong).

ADVERBS OF PROBABILITY

Adverbs of probability: Reading my book leads to an 8.0 (sounds like a

promise/guarantee). It’s dangerous to say something like that.

It’s much better if you say:

Reading my book is likely to lead to an 8.0

Reading my book possibly leads to an 8.0

Reading my book perhaps leads to an 8.0

Reading my book probably leads to an 8.0

IMPERSONAL VERB FORMS

It seems…

It appears….

This just tells the reader that you are not an expert. You don’t have all of the

facts, but the facts that you do have make you think about this.

It appears that all Vietnamese adults ride motorbikes (NOT all Vietnamese

adults ride motorbikes)

MODAL VERBS

Email can/could/may/might lead to extra work and stress (we use modal

verbs to show a possibility or unclear future).

SYNONYMS FOR PARAPHRASING

· Enough: to be sufficient, to be adequate

· Not enough: to be insufficient, to be inadequate, a shortage of…, a lack

of….

· Many: numerous, various, a variety of, large number of, a range of, an

increasing number/ amount, countless

· Things: objects, matters, issues, sectors, items, concern

· Big: tremendous, significant, considerable, substantial, immense, vast,

profound

· Important: principal, crucial, major, essential, critical, vital

· Get: obtain, receive, acquire, gain

· Have: possess, encounter, undergo, experience,

· Give: provide, supply, contribute, offer, present

· Do: participate, conduct, perform, undertake, engage to, be involved in,

implement

· More: further, additional, added

· Too much: an excess of, to be excessive

· Important people: leading, powerful, influential, well-known, prominent,

famous, supportive.

CONCLUSION

Thank you again for downloading this book on “IELTS Academic Writing

Task 1 + 2: The Ultimate Guide with Practice to Get a Target Band Score of

8.0+ in 10 Minutes a Day” and reading all the way to the end. I’m extremely

grateful.

If you know of anyone else who may benefit from the useful strategies,

structures, tips, task 1 + task 2 language in this book, please help me inform

them of this book. I would greatly appreciate it.

Finally, if you enjoyed this book and feel that it has added value to your work

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Furthermore, if you write a simple REVIEW with positive words for this

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Thanks again for your support and good luck!

If you enjoy my book, please write a POSITIVE REVIEW on Amazon.

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