INTRODUCTION TO IELTS

IELTS, shortened from International English Language Testing System, is one of the
English proficiency tests, which can be used to assess your English language skills
in four different skills, such as Listening, Reading, Writing, and Speaking.

IELTS can be used for specific purposes depending on your needs. You should take
the Academic Module if you plan to apply to an international university, whereas the
General Training Module is more suitable if you want to work, live, or study at a
secondary institution in an English-speaking country.

I IE

IELTS consists of four sections that test the full range of English language skills. The
Listening and Speaking tests are the same for both the Academic and General
Training modules, whereas the Reading and Writing tests are different in the
Academic and General Training modules.

The complete IELTS takes approximately 2 hours 45 minutes. The Listening,

Reading, and Writing modules are taken in one sitting. There are no breaks during
the test. The speaking module may be taken after the other modules, usually in the
same afternoon or within two or three days.

For your information, there is no ‘pass’ or ‘fail’ in the IELTS test. The test is scored
on a band scale, which is the level of ability. In each test, you can score anywhere
from a band of 0 (non-user) to a band of 9 (expert user). In the Listening and
Reading modules, a mark is given for each correct answer. This number is then
converted into a band score using a conversion table. Overall score is an average of
all four skills and can be given in whole or half bands.

The following table shows the explanation of each band score in IELTS.

9 Expert user Has fully operational command of the language:

appropriate, / accurate, and fluent with complete
understanding.

8 Very good user Has fully operational command of the language

with only occasional unsystematic inaccuracies
and inappropriacies. Misunderstandings may
occur in unfamiliar situations. Handles complex
detailed argumentation well.

7 Good user Has operational command of the language,

though with occasional inaccuracies,
inappropriacies, and misunderstandings in some
situations. Generally handles complex language
well and understands desired reasoning.

6 Competent user Has generally effective command of the language

despite some inaccuracies, inappropriacies, and
misunderstandings. Can use and understand
fairly complex language, particularly in familiar
situations.

5 Modest user Has partial command of the language, coping

with overall meaning in most situations, though
likely to make many mistakes. Should be able to
handle basic communication in one's own field.

4 Limited user Basic competence is limited to familiar situations.

Has frequent problems in understanding and
expression. Is not able to use complex language.

3 Extremely limited user Conveys and understands only general meaning

in very familiar situations. Frequent breakdowns
in communication occur.

2 Intermittent user No real communication is possible except for the

most basic information using isolated words or
short formulae in familiar situations and to meet
immediate needs. Has great difficulty
understanding spoken and written English.

1 Nonuser Essentially has no ability to use the language

beyond possibly a few isolated words.

0 Did not attempt the No assessable information provided

test
 LISTENING TEST
IELTS Listening test, as its name suggests, will be testing you on your listening skill.
The recordings on various topics ranging from the transactional conversation to the
academic lecture. In the case of this kind of module, both academic modules and
general modules share similar test instruments.

In the listening recordings in IELTS, you may hear different accents such as British,
American, Australian, or New Zealand English.

Recording time 30 minutes

Transfer answer time 10 minutes

Questions 40 questions

Sections 4 sections

The table above briefly explains the duration of the test, along with its section. The
difficulties of the test will be increasing through the sections.

The following table summarizes all parts of the listening test:

Part Discussion focus T pe of Difficulties

conversation

1. This part usually related to the Two ways Easy

conversation about general
information

2. This part usually a conversation Monologue Moderate

related to the social condition in
daily life

3. This part consists of a conversation Two ways Difficult

between 2 or more person

4. This part is applying monologue Monologue Most difficult

which related to the academic topic
As summarized in the table above, you should consider these following facts

1. In part one, the speakers usually talk slowly and regularly making pauses during
the conversation. Furthermore, key information is usually repeated. The trick for
this part is to be sure to focus only on given facts.
2. Part 2 is also considered as the easy one since the speaker talks quite slowly,
however, the difficulties are increasing as the speakers make less pauses than in
part 1. Just like the previous section, you should focus on the given facts.
3. In part 3, the section becomes more challenging compared to the previous parts.
The speakers will be discussing a topic at a faster pace and are likely using
advanced vocabulary. This part requires you to focus on given facts and the
opinions and attitudes of the speakers.
4. Part 4 is the most challenging among all as the speaker discusses a topic quite
quickly and uses a lot of unfamiliar vocabulary. There is no break or pauses
which require you to be 100% focused to deal with the questions. This part
requires you to focus on the facts, key ideas, and speaker’s opinion and
attitudes.

T pes of Questions

There are seven types of questions, which are usually being tested in the IELTS
listening test. Each of the question types has their own strategy to be solved. See
the following question samples.

1. Gap Filling

In this type of question you should start with the quick scan over the text then try
to comprehend the topic. Mark some keywords as you will need to listen to the
recording and read the text again to spot the answer in the recording. Remember
to be aware that the speaker might use paraphrasing in conveying the
information. The following image is the example of the Gap filling type of
question in listening.
2. Multiple Choice

This type of question is considered the most challenging one. The options are
mainly similar or paraphrasing. You need to be in absolute focus to ace this. The
tips are pretty similar to the previous type above. However, you need to be
aware of the changing information from the speaker, which sometimes occurred.
Mark some keywords as well to help you spot the right choice based on the
information being spoken in the recording.

3. Sentence Completion

This type of question requires you to look through the text and questions. Try as
quickly as possible to understand the context or the topic of the recording as you
only have half a minute to do so. Try to mark particular words in every sentence
you read and try to guess the empty gap if possible. Be aware of every synonym
and paraphrases used in the recording which related to the questions. The
following image is an example of sentence completion.
4. Diagram Labelling

This type of question requires you to focus on the image and try to guess the
answer as you listen to the recording. You need to quickly check the image of
the diagram, sometimes in the form of a map. Mark the words in the image to be
used as the keyword. The following is an example of diagram labelling.

5. Matching

This type of question requires you to connect sentences, words, or phrases as it

is designed to assess listening in detail. To ace this, you need to read the
instruction carefully, skim and scan the questions before the recording is played.
Mark some keywords if it's possible and try to predict the answer. Pay attention
to information change and the use of synonyms. The following image is the
example of the matching type of questions
6. Chart/Table Completion

The chart/table completion, based on its name, thin kind of question will be
testing you to comprehend the recording, grasp the information you need to
complete the blank while listening to the recording. The step to ace this is, like
other types of questions, you need to skim and scan the table and chart to mark
the keywords, paying attention to the changing information that would likely
happen during the test and pay attention to instruction. The following image is an
example of table completion.

IELTS Listening Band Descriptor

In light with its assessment, IELTS listening applies band descriptor. The band
descriptors were measured from the lowest band (4) to the highest band (9) which
shows the level of English proficiency. The following table shows the band score of
listening IELTS (Academic Module)
Based on the table of IELTS listening above, you should at least reach band 6 above
to be considered as a proficient user of English.

Things you should consider to ace the IELTS listening

Several suggestions would help you like the preparation before the test as follows:

a. Do not come on time!!!

Most of the test participants think that coming on time for the test is the right
thing to do. But we would suggest you come earlier than the exact time. You
should know that in the IELTS test, listening is the first skill to be tested. Even
the mere lateness of a minute would affect yourself psychologically, which in turn
becomes a blocker to you in terms of maintaining your focus.

b. Face the test with the full concentration

The concentration is one of the keys in acing any test, including the IELTS test.
In the listening test, you should be aware that you should “present” both body
and mind. As this skill is classified as receptive skill, you should listen,
comprehend the information and read the question at the same time as the
recording is played. One misheard or distraction would cost you missing the
information being delivered and in turn, would likely cause you to answer several
questions with incorrect answers or worst.

To deal with the concentration issue, we would suggest you sleep early prior to
the test day and have some nutritious breakfast to keep you up for the test day.

c. Pa attention to the ke words and its s non m

It is important for you to read quickly over the questions mark some keywords
that you predict will likely be mentioned before the recording. You should also
consider thinking about the synonym of the keyword as sometimes the recording
will likely to mention the keyword as they mention the synonym of the word
instead.

Then, the question arises. What is the keyword? Ke words are the word that can
be used to be the signal when we want to locate the information we need to
know as we listen. For example, if the keyword was “good” then you should listen
carefully as the recording is playing, then use them to locate the right answer.
Even if the word does not mention the exact word, they will replace the word with
its synonym such as “decent”. Thus, make sure that you are focused during the
test as the lost focus will cause you to miss the signal words.
d. Marking

Marking is considered as one of the strategies not only for the listening test but
also for the reading test. In listening, you will have approximately half a minute to
read the instruction and questions between every part. Be sure to do a quick
scan over the questions and you can mark several keywords that you think is
possible to be mentioned. You can use a pencil to mark some words as the
keywords if you choose to attend the paper-based test and you mark digitally by
blocking the words if you choose to attend the computer delivered test.

e. Move on!!

It is normal when you can miss some information during the listening test. It can
occur when you could not comprehend some information from the recording due
to the lack of vocabulary of the recording topic. When it happens, be sure to skip
it and proceed to the next question. DO NOT PANIC, move on to minimize losing
more detail of information during the recording being played.

f. Pa attention to the speaker s intonation

As mentioned earlier, the difficulties of the test will be increasing as the recording
is played. In part 3 to 4, the speaking speed is increasing, sometimes using
specialized vocabulary. The speaker will not tell you when the focus of
information will be changed. Besides using keywords to locate the questions
which are related to the recording, the intonation of the speaker will tell you the
transition between the parts and questions.

g. Do not make sill mistakes

Most test-takers who have not familiarized with the IELTS test would likely
commit this. Then, what are ''silly mistakes'’ that you should do? Silly mistakes
are the errors that you could easily avoid as the mistakes are minor but could
have a big impact on your score. one of the errors that usually occurred during
the test of listening is skipping the instruction like the instruction below:
The bolded phrase is the one you would not skip as it will affect your score even
when your answer is correct as the answer will be considered incorrect. For
example, in the instruction you are instructed to write no more than a word and
you write two words in the answer sheet, then the answer will be incorrect even if
the answer is correct.

Another silly mistake that is usually made by the test-taker is typography. This
will also cause you to get a lower band score as your answer will be considered
incorrect even if the answer is correct due to the typo in its writing. This also
included the use of capital letters used for the name of things. Thus, we would
suggest you write the answer with capital letters. This trick will minimize the error
of typography.
 ACADEMIC READING TEST

A. Introduction to Academic Reading

Academic reading test in IELTS consists of three sections with 40 questions. There
are three passages taken from different sources including journals, magazines,
newspapers, and books. The passages deal with a range of academic topics (e.g.
history, astronomy, psychology). However, one thing you should remember is that
the level of difficulty will increase in each passage.

In the reading test, there are several types of questions, which may appear, namely
multiple choice, identifying information (True/False/Not Given), identifying the writer’s
views/claims (Yes/No/Not Given), matching (information, headings, features,
sentence endings), completion (sentence, summary, note, table, flow-chart, diagram,
map label), and short-answer questions.

The reading module lasts for 60 minutes, so you have to be able to find the answer
to all questions and write down the answers in the answer sheet. You will NOT be
given extra time for this like you do in the listening test.

In the scoring, one correct answer is worth one mark, which gives you a ‘raw score’
of 40 in total. This is converted into a ‘band score’ from 0 to 9. Please find below the
table of band descriptors for the reading test.

Source: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-band-scores/
B. Instructions
Switch off your mobile phone and any other electronic devices. You will be
asked to place these with other personal belongings outside the test room.
The Reading test takes approximately 60 minutes to complete all the reading
questions.
Listen to the supervisor carefully and follow the test instructions.
When you get your reading test papers, read the instructions on the cover
before writing anything.
You will not have EXTRA TIME to transfer your answers on the answer sheet.

C. Fast-Reading Techniques
To be able to tackle the reading questions, there are three main techniques you
should practice, which is known as fast-reading techniques. These three different
techniques have different purposes. Let’s take a look at each technique.

Skimming
Skimming is a type of fast reading technique, which aims to look through a text
quickly to get the gist (the general idea of the passage). Thus, you wouldn’t spend
much time to find out the main points, although you don’t know much details.

Scanning
Scanning is another type of fast reading technique, in which you need to be able to
read a text very quickly. Scanning is one of the most important techniques in the
reading test. The purpose of scanning is to find specific words, phrases, and
information in a passage. For example, to find the word ‘expensive’ in the dictionary,
you wouldn’t start at the letter A and read every word. The most efficient way is to
turn to the letter E and then find the words beginning with ex-. This is known as
scanning through the dictionary.

D. Tips and Tricks

Before the Test

Before you take the official IELTS test, make sure that you follow these tips:
1. Be familiar with any type of reading questions because different types of
questions may have different strategies and patterns.
2. Improve your vocabulary by reading English articles or books. In many ways, the
reading test will use synonyms and paraphrase sentences to test how wide your
vocabulary is. To prepare for this, when you see a new word that you don’t
understand, try to guess the meaning from the context. You will be expected to
do this in the test, so you should start practising now.
3. Compile all of your new words in a special notebook for IELTS vocabulary. It
does not only consist of the meaning of the words but also synonyms, antonyms,
collocations, and examples. After that, test yourself and read the notebook
frequently so that you don’t forget.
4. Find your best reading styles because everyone reads and answers questions at
different speeds and styles, so work out what is best for you.
5. Ignore anything you already know about the topic. Remember that in the reading
test, your knowledge of the topic should NOT influence your answers because
you are being tested on your understanding of the text.
6. Practice your time management in the reading test. Do NOT share the time
equally because the level of difficulty will be higher in the last two passages.

During the Test

There are several strategies that you can apply during the reading test:
1. Do NOT try to understand the whole passage because the time is not enough.
Skim the passage by reading the title, any heading, and contents quickly. You
have to try to get a general overview of the passage.
2. Look over the questions directly and read the instructions of each question
carefully. If you do not follow these instructions, you will get the question wrong.
For example, the instruction may state ‘write two words and/or a number’. This
could mean:
One word
One word and a number
Two words
Two words and a number
Another example is in True/False/Not Given questions, do NOT only write T, F,
or NG on the answer sheet because it means you do not follow the instructions.
You should write in full word (TRUE, FALSE, NOT GIVEN) on the answer sheet.
3. Underline the keywords of each question, scan the passage to find the specific
information in the passage, and read the paragraph carefully.
4. When you answer the questions, do NOT spend too much time on the ones you
don’t feel sure about. You can make a guess first and move on to the next
question. If you spend too much time on one question, you will have less time on
the next question.
5. If you have answered all the questions, and you still have extra time, you may go
back and check the questions you are not sure about.
6. As the level of difficulty increases, it is recommended to spend 15 minutes in
Passage 1, 20 minutes in Passage 2, and 25 minutes in Passage 3. However,
some say that you should finish one passage in approximately 20 minutes.
7. Be careful with the SPELLING. Check your answers before collecting the answer
sheets because spelling matters in the IELTS test.
8. Manage your time well in the reading test. Keep focused on the passage
because one hour is a short time to answer 40 questions.
9. Leave no blank answers in the answer sheet. If you don’t know the answer,
make sure you attempt to answer every question because there is no minus
point if you get it wrong.
T pes of Questions

A. Matching Headings

One of the question types in Reading is matching headings, in which you are asked
to match headings (short sentences that summarises the information in a paragraph)
to sections of a text. This question type will assess your ability to understand the
main idea of each paragraph.

Tips:
1. Do this question first so that you will be able to get the general meaning of the
text as a whole.
2. Read the first one or two sentences and the last sentence of each paragraph
because the main idea is usually located in those parts of the paragraph.
3. Identify keywords within each heading.
4. If you are not sure about the more suitable answers, write 2 or 3 headings
beside the paragraph. Identify the differences between each of the headings.
5. The answer will often reveal itself after you finish answering all questions.

Sample of Questions

Choose the correct heading for each section from the list of headings below.
Write the correct number, i-viii, in bo es 1-3 on our answer sheet.

List of Headings

I. Dramatic effects can result from small changes in traffic just as in nature
II. How a maths experiment actually reduced traffic congestion
III. How a concept from one field of study was applied in another
IV. A lack of investment in driver training
V. Areas of doubt and disagreement between experts
VI. How different countries have dealt with traffic congestion
VII. The impact of driver behaviour on traffic speed
VIII. A proposal to take control away from the driver

1. Section A
2. Section B
3. Section C
4. Section D

Answers
1. III
2. I
3. VIII
4. VII
 The Ph sics of Traffic Behavior

A. Some years ago, when several theoretical physicists, principally Dirk Helbing and
Boris Kerner of Stuttgart, Germany, began publishing papers on traffic flow in
publications normally read by traffic engineers, they were clearly working outside
their usual sphere of investigation. They had noticed that if they simulated the
movement of vehicles on a highway, using the equations that describe how the
molecules of a gas move, some very strange results emerged. Of course, vehicles
do not behave exactly like gas molecules: for example, drivers try to avoid collisions
by slowing down when they get too near another vehicle, whereas gas molecules
have no such concern. However, the physicists modified the equations to take the
differences into account and the overall description of traffic as a flowing gas has
proved to be a very good one; the moving-gas model of traffic reproduces many
phenomena seen in real-world traffic. The strangest thing that came out of these
equations, however, was the implication that congestion can arise completely
spontaneously; no external causes are necessary. Vehicles can be flowing freely
along, at a density still well below what the road can handle, and then suddenly gel
into a slow-moving ooze. Under the right conditions, a brief and local fluctuation in
the speed or the distance between vehicles is all it takes to trigger a system-wide
breakdown that persists for hours. In fact, the physicists’ analysis suggested such
spontaneous breakdowns in traffic flow probably occur quite frequently on highways.

B. Though a decidedly unsettling discovery, this showed striking similarities to the

phenomena popularized as ‘chaos theory’. This theory has arisen from the
understanding that in any complex interacting system which is made of many parts,
each part affects the others. Consequently, tiny variations in one part of a complex
system can grow in huge but unpredictable ways. This type of dramatic change from
one state to another is similar to what happens when a chemical substance changes
from a vapour to a liquid. It often happens that water in a cloud remains as a gas
even after its temperature and density have reached the point where it could
condense into water droplets. However, if the vapour encounters a solid surface,
even something as small as a speck of dust, condensation can take place and the
transition from vapour to liquid finally occurs. Helbing and Kerner see traffic as a
complex interacting system. They found that a small fluctuation in traffic density can
act as the ‘speck of dust’ causing a sudden change from freely moving traffic to
synchronized traffic, when vehicles in all lanes abruptly slow down and start moving
at the same speed, making passing impossible.

C. The physicists have challenged proposals to set a maximum capacity for vehicles
on highways. They argue that it may not be enough simply to limit the rate at which
vehicles are allowed to enter a highway, rather, it may be necessary to time each
vehicle’s entry onto a highway precisely to coincide with a temporary drop in the
density of vehicles along the road. The aim of doing this would be to smooth out any
possible fluctuations in the road conditions that can trigger a change in traffic
behavior and result in congestion. They further suggest that preventing breakdowns
in the flow of traffic could ultimately require implementing the radical idea that has
been suggested from time to time: directly regulating the speed and spacing of
individual cars along a highway with central computers and sensors that
communicate with each car’s engine and brake controls.

D. However, research into traffic control is generally centered in civil engineering

departments and here the theories of the physicists have been greeted with some
skepticism. Civil engineers favor a practical approach to problems and believe traffic
congestion is the result of poor road construction (two lanes becoming one lane or
dangerous curves), which constricts the flow of traffic. Engineers questioned how
well the physicists’ theoretical results relate to traffic in the real world. Indeed, some
engineering researchers questioned whether elaborate chaos-theory interpretations
are needed at all, since at least some of the traffic phenomena the physicists’
theories predicted seemed to be similar to observations that had been appearing in
traffic engineering literature under other names for years; observations which had
straightforward cause-and-effect explanations.

B. Multiple Choice

This type of question tests your ability to understand the main ideas contained in a
text and look for specific information. The answer follows the order of the text, in
which when you find one answer, the next question will be after the previous answer.
Your task is to choose the answer from a list of possible choices.

Tips:
1. Read the questions before you read the text.
2. Underline keywords in the question to help you identify the information in the
text.
3. Scan the text to locate which paragraph contains the information.
4. Read that part of the text carefully, thinking about the difference in meanings.
5. The answers are usually in the same order in a text.

Sample of Questions

The general assumption is that older workers are paid more in spite of, rather than
because of, their productivity. That might partly explain why, when employers are
under pressure to cut costs, they persuade a 55-year old to take early retirement.
Take away seniority-based pay scales, and older workers may become a much more
attractive employment proposition. But most employers and many workers are
uncomfortable with the idea of reducing someone’s pay in later life – although
manual workers on piece-rates often earn less as they get older. So retaining the
services of older workers may mean employing them in different ways.
Questions 1 2
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
Write the correct letter in bo es 1-4 on our answer sheet.

1. In paragraph one, the writer suggests that companies could consider

A. abolishing pay schemes that are based on age.
B. avoiding pay that is based on piece-rates.
C. increasing pay for older workers.
D. equipping older workers with new skills.

2. Skill Team is an example of a company which

A. offers older workers increases in salary.
B. allows people to continue working for as long as they want.
C. allows the expertise of older workers to be put to use.
D. treats older and younger workers equally.

Answers
1. A
2. C

C. Information Identification (True, False, Not Given / Yes, No, Not Given)

This type of question requires you to identify if the question statement is true or not
according to the information in the passage. There will be several factual statements,
and you have to check the text to see if those statements are true, false, or not
given.

Tips:
1. Don’t make assumptions about the topic or questions. Your answers should
be based on the text only.
2. Identify any words and verbs that qualify statement (e.g. some, all, often,
always, occasionally, suggest, claim, believe) because these words can
change the meaning of the whole statement.
3. Underline the keywords of the statement, scan the passage to locate the
keywords.
4. Read the appropriate part of the text carefully.
5. If there is no information about the question statement, it is most likely to be
Not Given. Do not waste your time looking for the statement.
6. Answers are usually in the same order in the text.
7. Do NOT only write T, F, NG or Y, N, NG in the answer sheet because it will be
WRONG. Make sure that you write TRUE, FALSE, NOT GIVEN or YES, NO,
NOT GIVEN in the answer sheet.
8. Yes, No, Not Given questions are slightly different because they deal with
opinions of the writers while True, False, Not Given questions deal with facts.
Sample of Questions

The life and work of Marie Curie Marie Curie is probably the most famous woman
scientist who has ever lived. Born Maria Sklodowska in Poland in 1867, she is
famous for her work on radioactivity, and was twice a winner of the Nobel Prize. With
her husband, Pierre Curie, and Henri Becquerel, she was awarded the 1903 Nobel
Prize for Physics, and was then sole winner of the 1911 Nobel Prize for Chemistry.
She was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize.

From childhood, Marie was remarkable for her prodigious memory, and at the age of
16 won a gold medal on completion of her secondary education. Because her father
lost his savings through bad investment, she then had to take work as a teacher.
From her earnings she was able to finance her sister Bronia’s medical studies in
Paris, on the understanding that Bronia would, in turn, later help her to get an
education.

In 1891, this promise was fulfilled and Marie went to Paris and began to study at the
Sorbonne (the University of Paris). She often worked far into the night and lived on
little more than bread and butter and tea. She came first in the examination in the
physical sciences in 1893, and in 1894 was placed second in the examination in
mathematical sciences. It was not until the spring of that year that she was
introduced to Pierre Curie.

Questions 1 3
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1?
In bo es 1-3 on our answer sheet, write:
E if the statement agrees with the information
FA E if the statement contradicts the information
GI E if there is no information on this

1. Marie Curie’s husband was a joint winner of both Marie’s Nobel Prizes.
2. Marie became interested in science when she was a child.
3. Marie was able to attend the Sorbonne because of her sister’s financial
contribution.

Answers
1. FALSE
2. NOT GIVEN
3. TRUE
D. Sentence Completion

In this type of question, there are several sentences which have gaps in them and
you have to complete the sentences with words from the reading passage. This
question type will assess your ability to analyze the kind of words required to
complete the sentences, which are usually the paraphrase of the sentences in the
text.

Tips:
1. Read the instructions to see how many words you can write and whether they
want you to include the exact words from the text or not.
2. Read the incomplete sentences and predict what kind of words can be used.
You should also underline the keywords of the questions.
3. Scan the passage using the keywords to locate in which paragraph that
information is. After you find it, read that part carefully.
4. The answers are usually in the same order.
5. Check your spelling.

Sample of Questions

The ‘birds are dinosaurs’ theory was first developed by English palaeontologist
Thomas Huxley (1825–1895). According to some accounts, one evening Huxley
went to dinner still thinking about a mystery dinosaur bone in his lab. He knew he
was dealing with the lower leg bone (tibia) of a meat-eating, two-legged dinosaur
belonging to the classification known as theropods, but attached to the tibia was an
unidentified extra bone. On the menu, that evening was quail, a small bird similar to
a pheasant, and Huxley noticed the same strange bone, attached to the quail tibia on
his plate. He later realised that it was in fact the bird’s anklebone. More importantly,
Huxley concluded that its forms in both dinosaur and bird skeletons were so similar
that they must be closely related.

Huxley’s idea fell out of favour for fifty years following the 1916 publication of The
Origin of Birds by the Danish doctor Gerhard Heilmann. During this time, Heilmann’s
theory was widely accepted. Heilmann had noted that two-legged, meat-eating
dinosaurs lacked collarbones. In later evolutionary stages these bones fuse together
to form the distinctive ‘Y’- shaped bone in a bird’s neck, known as the furcula.
Heilmann proposed the notion that such a feature could not be lost and then
re-evolve at a later date, so dinosaurs could not be the ancestors of birds.

Then, in the late 1960s, John Ostrom from Yale University in the US, noted 22
features in the skeletons of meat-eating dinosaurs that were also found in birds and
nowhere else. This reset the thinking on bird ancestry and once again Huxley’s ideas
caught the attention of the scientific community. Subsequent work has found up to
85 characteristics that tie dinosaurs and birds together. But what of Heilmann’s
missing bones? It turns out that not only did many dinosaurs have collarbones, these
were also fused together into a furcula. Unfortunately for Heilmann, the fossil
evidence was somewhat lacking in his day, and the few furculae that had been found
were misidentified, usually as belly ribs.

Complete the sentences below.

Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer.
Write our answers in bo es 1-2 on our answer sheet.

1. Huxley formulated his theory while studying a dinosaur belonging to a group called
………...… .
2. Heilmann rejected Huxley’s theory because of the apparent absence of ………..…
in dinosaurs.

Answers
1. theropods
2. collarbones

E. Summar Completion

In this type of question, you will be given a summary of information from the
passage, and there will be some gaps in that summary. There will be a list of words
to fill the gaps or you may be asked to find the answers in the reading text. There will
be more words in the list than required to fill the gaps. The purpose of this question
type is to understand the general meaning of the summary.

Tips:
1. Read the question carefully, check the instructions, and predict the answers
before you look at the options or the text. For example, is the gap filled with a
verb, noun, adjective, or adverb?
2. Skim the summary and try to understand the overall meaning.
3. Identify which paragraph that the summary relates to. Scanning for the
keywords in the synonym will help you do this.
4. After you find the correct answer, check to see if your word makes the
sentence grammatically correct.

Sample of Questions

The instructions accompanying do-it-yourself products are regularly cited as a

source of unnecessary expense or frustration. Few companies seem to test their
instructions by having them followed by a first-time user. Often, essential information
is omitted, steps in the construction process are taken for granted, and some degree
of special knowledge is assumed. This is especially worrying in any field where
failure to follow correct procedures can be dangerous.
Objections to material in plain English have come mainly from the legal profession.
Lawyers point to the risk of ambiguity inherent in the use of everyday language for
legal or official documents, and draw attention to the need for confidence in legal
formulations, which can come only from using language that has been tested in
courts over the course of centuries. The campaigners point out that there has been
no sudden increase in litigation as a consequence of the increase in plain English
materials.

Similarly, professionals in several different fields have defended their use of

technical and complex language as being the most precise means of expressing
technical or complex ideas. This is undoubtedly true: scientists, doctors, bankers and
others need their jargon in order to communicate with each other succinctly and
unambiguously. But when it comes to addressing the non-specialist consumer, the
campaigners argue, different criteria must apply.

Complete the summar below.

Choose E HA D from the passage for each answer.
Write our answers in bo es 1-5 on our answer sheet.

Consumers often complain that they experience a feeling of 1 ………… when trying
to put together do-it-yourself products which have not been tested by companies on
a 2 ………… . In situations where not keeping to the correct procedures could affect
safety issues, it is especially important that 3 ………… information is not left out and
no assumptions are made about a stage being self-evident or the consumer having a
certain amount of 4 ………… . Lawyers, however, have raised objections to the use
of plain English. They feel that it would result in ambiguity in documents and cause
people to lose faith in 5 …………, as it would mean departing from language that has
been used in the courts for a very long time.

Answers
1. Frustration
2. First-time user
3. Essential
4. Special knowledge
5. Legal formulations
F. Short Answer Questions

This type of question is known as ‘comprehension’ questions. The short-answer

questions assess your ability to skim the passage quickly.

Tips:
1. Read the instructions (how many words you can write?) and questions
carefully before you start reading the passage.
2. Underline any keywords in the questions, especially the question word (e.g.
who, what, why, when).
3. Scan the passage to find where that information contains in. Read that part
carefully and identify the answer.

Sample of Questions

As the largest animal in the world, the blue whale also has the most fat. In a 1968
study involving 49 different species of mammal from across the US and Brazil,
researchers deduced that the blue whale had the highest percentage of body fat –
more than 35%. With the whales weighing in at up to 180 tonnes, that’s easily a
record-breaking amount of fat for one animal.

But if we look at things proportionally, you might be surprised by some of the world’s
full-fat species. We’ll begin with blubber, the fat rich tissue belonging to marine
mammals that has myriad benefits for streamlining, buoyancy, defence, insulation
and energy storage.

In waters further north live bowhead whales. To survive in these frosty, remote
waters they have a layer of blubber almost half a metre thick. In his studies, Dr Craig
George found blubber mass ranged from 43% to 50% of the body mass of yearling
whales.

Write E HA D from the passage for each answer.

Write our answers on our answer sheet.
6. Which animal has the most fat? ..................
7. How is called tissue of marine mammals that is rich with fat? ………
8. Which marine animals need a thick layer of fat to survive in cold waters?

Answers
6. Blue whale
7. Blubber
8. Bowhead whales
G. Matching Information

Matching information is a question type that asks you to match features with people,
places, years, and things mentioned in the text. There are various options which will
be presented in a box, and you will match them to the questions. There will be
paraphrased information, and more options are given than needed to complete the
task.

Tips:
1. Read the instructions carefully before you start reading the text. Make sure
you understand what the question is asking you to do.
2. Read the names/places first and scan the text to find the location of those
names/places. They may be mentioned more than once in the passage.
3. Look for the connection between the questions and the names. Be aware of
synonyms and paraphrasing.

Sample of Questions

The invention of rockets is linked inextricably with the invention of 'black powder'.
Most historians of technology credit the Chinese with its discovery. They base their
belief on studies of Chinese writings or on the notebooks of early Europeans who
settled in or made long visits to China to study its history and civilisation. It is
probable that, some time in the tenth century, black powder was first compounded
from its basic ingredients of saltpetre, charcoal and sulphur. But this does not mean
that it was immediately used to propel rockets. By the thirteenth century, powder
propelled fire arrows had become rather common. The Chinese relied on this type of
technological development to produce incendiary projectiles of many sorts, explosive
grenades and possibly cannons to repel their enemies. One such weapon was the
'basket of fire' or, as directly translated from Chinese, the 'arrows like flying leopards'.
The 0.7 metre-long arrows, each with a long tube of gunpowder attached near the
point of each arrow, could be fired from a long, octagonal-shaped basket at the same
time and had a range of 400 paces. Another weapon was the 'arrow as a flying
sabre', which could be fired from crossbows. The rocket, placed in a similar position
to other rocket-propelled arrows, was designed to increase the range. A small iron
weight was attached to the 1.5m bamboo shaft, just below the feathers, to increase
the arrow's stability by moving the centre of gravity to a position below the rocket. At
a similar time, the Arabs had developed the 'egg which moves and burns'. This 'egg'
was apparently full of gunpowder and stabilised by a 1.5m tail. It was fired using two
rockets attached to either side of this tail.

It was not until the eighteenth century that Europe became seriously interested in the
possibilities of using the rocket itself as a weapon of war and not just to propel other
weapons. Prior to this, rockets were used only in pyrotechnic displays. The incentive
for the more aggressive use of rockets came not from within the European continent
but from far-away India, whose leaders had built up a corps of rocketeers and used
rockets successfully against the British in the late eighteenth century. The Indian
rockets used against the British were described by a British Captain serving in India
as ‘an iron envelope about 200 millimetres long and 40 millimetres in diameter with
sharp points at the top and a 3m-long bamboo guiding stick’. In the early nineteenth
century the British began to experiment with incendiary barrage rockets. The British
rocket differed from the Indian version in that it was completely encased in a stout,
iron cylinder, terminating in a conical head, measuring one metre in diameter and
having a stick almost five metres long and constructed in such a way that it could be
firmly attached to the body of the rocket. The Americans developed a rocket,
complete with its own launcher, to use against the Mexicans in the mid-nineteenth
century. A long cylindrical tube was propped up by two sticks and fastened to the top
of the launcher, thereby allowing the rockets to be inserted and lit from the other end.
However, the results were sometimes not that impressive as the behaviour of the
rockets in flight was less than predictable.

Look at the following items and the list of groups below.

Match each item with the group which first invented or used them.
Write the correct letter A-E in bo es 1-4 on our answer sheet.
NB You ma use an letter more than once.

1. black powder
2. rocket-propelled arrows for fighting
3. rockets as war weapons
4. the rocket launcher

First invented or used b

A the Chinese
B the Indians
C the British
D the Arabs
E the Americans

Answers
1. A
2. A
3. B
4. C
 ACADEMIC WRITING TEST

A. Introduction to Academic Writing

The academic writing consists of two tasks. It is recommended that the candidates
spend about 20 minutes on Task 1, which requires them to write at least 150 words,
and 40 minutes on Task 2, which requires them to write at least 250 words. One
thing you need to remember is that Task 2 contributes twice as much as Task 1 to
the overall Writing score.

There are two types of writing tasks as shown in the table below.

No. Aspects Task 1 (33%) Task 2 (67%)

1 Number of words > 150 words > 250 words

2 Questions Data (bar chart, pie chart, Essay (discussion,

line graph, table, diagram, opinion, problem-solution,
maps, flow chart) advantage)

3 Time allocation 20 minutes 40 minutes

4 Writing style Factual Opinion-based

There are four main aspects, which will be assessed in your writing by the examiners,
summarized as follows:

1. Task Achievement (TA, Task 1) / Task Response (TR, Task 2)

Each task achievement and task response is worth 25% of your overall writing
score. The examiner will check your answer to the question, main ideas, and the
development of main ideas. Your score will be higher in this aspect if:

1. Pay attention to ALL issues in the essay question

2. Write about the specific issues rather than just a general topic
3. Answer the essay question with relevant main points
4. Plan your supporting points, so they don’t go-off topic
5. Write over 250 words
2. Coherence and Cohesion (CC)
Coherence and cohesion are worth 25% of your overall writing score. The
examiner will check the organisation of your essay, the paragraphs, and use of
linking words. Your score will be higher in this aspect if:

1. Have approximately 3 to 5 paragraphs, not more and less

2. Have just one main idea in each body paragraph
3. Organise your ideas logically
4. Use a range of linking words (e.g. while, however, and others)

3. Le ical Resource (LR)

Lexical resource is worth 25% of your overall writing score. The examiner will
check your vocabulary, paraphrasing, and spelling mistakes. Your score will be
improved in this aspect if:

1. Pay attention to collocations (which verb matches which noun)

2. Paraphrase carefully
3. Spell words correctly
4. Avoid using informal language (e.g. already)
4. Grammatical Range and Accurac (GRA)
Grammatical range and accuracy are worth 25% of your overall writing score.
The examiner will check the sentence structure, tenses, and grammar of your
essay. Your score will be higher in this aspect if:

1. Use different grammar tenses (e.g. perfect tense, passive)

2. Use a range of sentence structures
3. Use the correct punctuation (e.g. full stops, comma)
4. Avoid errors in grammar (e.g. articles, plural nouns, uncountable nouns)

B. Instructions

Switch off your mobile phone and any other electronic devices. You will be
asked to place these with other personal belongings outside the test room.
The Writing test takes 60 minutes to complete both writing questions.
Listen to the supervisor carefully and follow the test instructions.
When you get your writing test papers, read the instructions on the cover
before writing anything.
You can use either a pen or pencil to write down your answers.
C. Tips and Tricks

Plan your writing before start writing make the outline of the essay
Practice counting your words (150 words for task 1; 250 words for task 2)
Recommended to do the writing task 2 first (40 minutes) followed with task 1
(20 minutes)
Give one blank space between paragraphs so that the examiner can read
your writing easily
Do NOT copy the question statement which means that you should
paraphrase the questions by finding synonyms or changing the word order
ALWAYS plan your answer sheet before start writing
Use pencil 2B instead of pen to avoid many mistakes
Use a range of LINKING WORDS (e.g. while, however, although, etc)
NO need to have an interesting idea in the essay. In other words, ideas will
not determine your writing score because the examiner will look at whether
you have focused ideas and develop it with your supported ideas.

Writing answer sheet

D. Writing Task 1

In writing task 1, you are asked to describe some forms of visual information, which
may be contained in a graph, table, chart, or diagram, and present it in your own
words. You should write in a range of 160 to 200 words. You should remember that
writing task 1 is worth about 33% of your total writing marks.

1
Task 1 report should have a clear structure so that the reader and examiner can
understand your ideas easily and clearly. In general, task 1 report consists of three
parts shown in the figure below.

1. Introduction
Introduction is the description of the data, which introduces what the data shows. In
the introduction, you need to paraphrase the questions words with your own words. It
usually consists of one to two sentences.

Starting Presentation T pe Verb Description

The/ the given diagram / table / shows / represents / the comparison of…
/ the illustration / flow depicts / illustrates / the differences…
presented / chart / picture/ pie presents/ gives / the changes...
the shown / chart / bar chart/ line provides / describes / the number of…
the provided graph / process / compares/ indicates / the amount of…
map gives data on / information on...
demonstrates data about...
the percentage of...
how the...
Sample of Introduction: The graph gives information about the percentage of
people who owned a computer-based on the education level in 2002 and 2010.

2. Overview
Overview paragraph is the most important part of your whole Task 1 report
consisting of the key features or main trends of the graph. The overview can be
written after the introduction. Overview should be written based on the types of
data. If the data have shown is static, or collected from one year, the main
overview should be about the highest, the lowest, or the most significant
difference between categories. However, if the data obtained is d namic or from
a certain period of time (e.g. 1990-2000), your main overview should be about
the changes between those years (e.g. did the data increase or decrease?).

Vocabular for the overview

In general,....
Overall,...
It is evident that…
It can be seen that…
At first glance,....
What are the key features of this bar chart? This bar chart is an example of static
data, which means that the overview should focus more on the highest, the lowest,
and the most significant difference. Therefore, find out these answers:
Which country spent more money than the other country, overall?
The highest point for both countries? The lowest point for both countries?
Usually have comparatives and superlatives (the most)
Usually 2 to 4 ke features.

Sample of Overview
Overall, the expenditure of the UK was higher than the expenditure of France. Both
the French and the British spent the most money on cars, while in the UK the least
amount of money was spent on perfume compared to cameras in France.
Furthermore, the most significant difference between the two countries was on
cameras.

3. Body paragraphs
In writing task 1, you should write at least 2 body paragraphs. In writing body
paragraphs, you need to give more specific details about the graphs or charts by
comparing and contrasting the data. You should also mention the actual data by
giving the numbers, percentages, dates in the report and arrange your body
paragraphs logically and easy to follow.
Look at the above bar chart. There are many ways that you can choose to write the
body paragraphs for this bar chart. You can choose any ways that you feel easier to
write. In this module, take a look at the following two different ways:

A. Highlight the highest to the lowest amount of money spent

B. Divide based on the country with higher amount of goods
T pes of Questions
You may find different types of data in writing task 1. Therefore, you need to be
familiar with any kinds of data so that you can easily write down the report of all data
within the required time.

Bar Chart
Bar charts are one of the most common types of data in writing task 1 IELTS. A bar
chart can show a static or dynamic data, so you need to pay attention to the year to
determine whether you should use the language of change or the language of
comparison and contrast.

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

B E 2004
2007.

Write at least 150 words.

Line Graph
Line graphs can be used to show how information or data change over time. If you
get a line graph in writing task 1, you need to use the language of changes in your
report.

T pe of Change Adverb Form Adjective Form

Rapid change Dramatically / rapidly / Dramatic / rapid / sharp /

sharply / significantly / significant / considerable
considerably

Moderate change Moderately / gradually Moderate / gradual

Steady change Steadily Steady

Slight change Slightly / slowly Slight / slow

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The line graph shows thefts per thousand vehicles in four countries between
1990 and 1999.

Summari e the information b selecting and reporting the main features and
make comparisons where relevant.

Write at least 150 words.

Pie Chart
Pie charts are quite common to appear in writing task 1 IELTS. As the total
percentage is always 100%, you can talk about the proportion of each category in
the body paragraphs. In the body paragraphs, you can also use fractions and start
from the largest to the smallest proportion.

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The pie chart shows the amount of mone that a children's charit located in
the USA spent and received in one ear, 2016.

Summari e the information b selecting and reporting the main features and
make comparisons where relevant.

Write at least 150 words.

Revenue Sources and E penditures of a USA Charit in 2016.

Table
Tables are another way of visually displaying comparative data. The numbers or
percentages are clearly written on the table, so what you need to do is group the
data to help you to write a well organized response.

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The table illustrates the proportion of monthl household income five

European countries spend on food and drink, housing, clothing and
entertainment.

Summari e the information b selecting and reporting the main features and
make comparisons where relevant.

Write at least 150 words.

The Proportion of household income five European countries spend on food

and drink, housing, clothing and entertainment

Food and Housing Clothing Entertainme

drink nt

France 25% 31% 7% 13%

German 22% 33% 15% 19%

UK 27% 37% 11% 11%

Turke 36% 20% 12% 10%

Spain 31% 18% 8% 15%

Diagram
Diagrams illustrate a process of something. Although diagrams are less common to
appear in writing task 1, you still need to understand how to tackle this type of data.
One thing you should note in explaining diagram is that passive voice should be
used when you describe a process diagram in IELTS because we do not refer to the
person who does the action.

E amples of passive sentence:

She drinks milk (active)
Milk is drunk by her (passive)

In describing diagram, you can use these words to help the examiner understand the
process easily.
First / Firstly / Second / Secondly / Third / Thirdly
Next / After that / Then, Following that / Followed by / Subsequently /
Subsequent to that / Finally/ Lastly
Where / From where / After which / After that / Afterward
When / As soon as / Immediately, Just after that
At the beginning, In the end, Just after the beginning, Just before the end...

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

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

Summari e the information b selecting and reporting the main features and
make comparisons where relevant.

Write at least 150 words.

Maps
When describing a map, you should focus on describing the location of each point or
place. Language such as ‘to the left’, ‘next to’, ‘north of’, ‘behind’ will be important to
use. In describing maps, you need to understand directions.

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

Below is a map of the cit of Brandfield. Cit planners have decided to build a
new shopping mall for the area, and two sites, S1 and S2 have been proposed.

Summari e the information b selecting and reporting the main features and
make comparisons where relevant.

Write at least 150 words.

Map of Brandfield with two proposed sites for a shopping mall

Mi ed Charts
It is uncommon to get two graphs to describe at the same time in the IELTS test.
However, when you find two different charts in writing task 1, you have to describe
one chart in one paragraph and another chart in the next paragraph. You will also
need to select the information carefully because there may be a lot of information.

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The pie chart shows the percentage of women in povert and the bar chart
shows povert rates b se and age. The are from the United States in 2008.

Summari e the information b selecting and reporting the main features and
make comparisons where relevant.

Write at least 150 words.

E. Writing Task 2

In writing task 2, you will have to write an essay of 250 words to answer a question
within 40 minutes. The question might be from various topics including education,
culture, law, health, technology, environment, and arts.

The structure of task 2 essa

The structure of task 2 essay is quite similar to the structure of task 1. As seen in the
following figure, each part has its own content in the essay.

1. Introduction paragraph
In the introduction paragraph, you need to paraphrase the questions or you can
also write a general statement relevant to the topic; this is usually known as
background statement.

After the background statement, you should write the thesis statement to
introduce your position or main ideas. Thesis statement is the most important
part in your writing task 2 because it contains the main ideas of your essay. You
should note that if the essay asks your opinion, then you have to give your main
opinion in the thesis statement. In contrast, if the essay does not ask your
opinion, just mention the main points in your essay.
 Some phrases which can be used in the thesis statement:
In my opinion,
In my view,
I think,
I believe that…
I agree/disagree that...
I support the opinion that…

Let’s look at an example of an IELTS thesis statement:

Question: There is a good deal of evidence that increasing car use is contributing
to global warming and having other undesirable effects on people’s health and
well-being. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
Thesis statement: In my opinion, I agree that increasing use of motor vehicles is
contributing to rising global temperatures and certain health issues.

Question: Computers are being used more and more in education. Some people
say that this is a positive trend, while others argue that it is leading to negative
consequences. Discuss both sides and give your opinion.
Thesis statement: In my view, I support the opinion that the growing use of
technology by educators is a positive development because of several reasons,
which will be explained further in the essay.

2. Body paragraphs
Each paragraph should only have one main point or topic sentence with several
supporting ideas (e.g. examples, previous experience). Make sure that you have
answered all the questions in the essay.

A paragraph is a group of sentences about a single idea. Generally, a paragraph

should have three basic parts including:
The topic sentence contains the main idea of the paragraph which is usually
the first sentence of a paragraph. This is also the most general sentence of
the paragraph.
The supporting sentence explains the topic sentence in more detailed ideas.
The concluding sentence is usually the last sentence of a paragraph. It
contains the final comment about the topic.
3. Concluding paragraph
In the concluding paragraph, you need to restate your opinion and summarize
the main points explained in the essay. There are some keywords that you can
use to start the concluding paragraph including in conclusion, to conclude, and to
sum up.
How to paraphrase the questions?
Paraphrasing means rewriting a phrase or sentence with your own words so that it
has the same meaning. Paraphrasing is one of the most important skills in writing.
There are some main methods that you can use to paraphrase sentences. Ideally,
you should try to use all of them or just some of them.

a. Use synonyms
Synonyms are different words that have the same meaning. In this method, words
are replaced with words which have the same meaning to produce a new sentence.

E ample:
My car needs petrol.
My vehicle requires fuel.

As you can see from the above sentence that the sentence has different words
although both sentences have the same meanings.

b. Change the word order

Changing the word order also allows us to paraphrase a sentence effectively, but be
careful because it may affect the grammar of the sentence. Changing the word order
may have to add a word, subtract a word, or change the word form.

E ample:
Learning to manage time is one of the essential aspects of adult life.
Learning to manage time is one of the aspects to adult life that is essential.

c. Change the word form

There are many different forms of words including nouns, verbs, adjectives, and
adverbs. Changing the word form would allow us to paraphrase effectively, but make
sure that your changes do not affect the grammatical sense.

E ample:
Longer life spans of older people suggest that people over the age of sixty-five can
continue to live full and active lives.
Longer life spans of older people are suggesting that people over the age of
sixty-five can continue living full and active lives.

d. Change from active to passive

Passive voice is often used in academic writing. Only verbs with an object can be
turned into the passive.

Example:
People say that global warming is caused by the burning of fossil fuels (active).
Global warming is said to be caused by the burning of fossil fuels (passive).
T pes of Questions

In writing task 2, there are five types of questions which may appear. Each type of
question requires you to do something different, so it is important to analyze the
question carefully to know what they ask you to do.

A. Discussion essa

Discussion essays are one of the most common types of questions in writing task 2.
It requires a different approach than opinion essay because you have to discuss both
sides rather than just argue in favour of one side. In this type of question, you
typically have to state two opinions and give your own opinion. Make sure you do
these things in the essay. If you only discuss both views and fail to give your opinion,
you will lose marks.

Some people think that the best wa to reduce crime is to give longer prison
sentences. Others, however, believe there are better alternative wa s of reducing
crime. Discuss both views and give our opinion.

In this essay, you can have three choices:

1. You support the first opinion,
2. You support the second opinion, or
3. You do not support any of these opinions.

B. Opinion essa

Opinion essays are one of the most common on the IELTS writing. Opinion essay
questions ask you whether you agree or disagree with one statement.

In some countries an increasing number of people are suffering from health

problems as a result of eating too much fast food. It is therefore necessar for
governments to impose a higher ta on this kind of food.
To what e tent do ou agree or disagree?

Some people believe that unpaid community service should be a compulsory part of
high school programmes (for example working for a charity, improving the
neighborhood or teaching sports to younger children).
Do you agree or disagree?

With this type of essay, you have two choices:

1. You agree with the statement, or
2. You disagree with the statement
C. Problem-solution essa

Problem-solution essays is one of the most common writing task 2 questions.

Despite being very common, many students fail to do well in these questions.

Global warming is one of the biggest threats humans face in the 21st Centur and
sea levels are continuing to rise at alarming rates.
What problems are associated with this and what are some possible solutions.

The structure of problem-solution essays might have two different ways including:

Paragraph 1: Introduction
Paragraph 2: Problems
Paragraph 3: Solutions
Paragraph 4: Conclusion

Or

Paragraph 1: Introduction
Paragraph 2: Problem - Solution
Paragraph 3: Problem - Solutions
Paragraph 4: Conclusion

D. Advantage-disadvantage essa

Advantage-disadvantage essay questions generally give you a statement and ask

you to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the statement. However, there
are 3 different types of advantages-disadvantages essays, and they require a
different approach.

Type 1
In some countries oung people are encouraged to work or travel for a ear between
finishing high school and starting universit studies.
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages for oung people who decided to do this.

In type 1, the question asks you to discuss the advantages and disadvantages, so
you do not need to give your opinion in the essay.

Type 2
Some e perts believe that it is better for children to begin learning a foreign
language at primar schools rather than secondar school.
Do the advantages of this outweigh the disadvantages?
In type 2, the word ‘outweigh’ means that you have to determine whether there are
more advantages than disadvantages. If you think that there are more advantages,
you should mention that in the thesis statement clearly, and vice versa.

Type 3
Computers are becoming an essential part of school lessons.
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages and give our own opinion.

Type 3 is more like an opinion or discussion essay because in addition to discussing

the advantages and disadvantages, you should also have a clear position and
include your opinion about the issue.

E. Direct question / two-part essa

In this type of essay, there will normally be a statement, and they will then ask you to
answer separate questions.

As most people spend a major part of their adult life at work, job satisfaction is an
important element of individual wellbeing. What factors contribute to job satisfaction?
How realistic is the e pectation of job satisfaction for all workers?

The structure of this essay should look like this:

Introduction
Body paragraph 1 answer the first question directly
Body paragraph 2 answer the second question directly
Conclusion
 SPEAKING TEST
Speaking skill is considered as the most challenging skill for some people. The
reason behind its difficulty is because of the characteristic of speaking itself, which
requires immediate feedback in its process. As speaking occurs in real-time
situations, the speaker should think and speak almost at the same time. The speaker
is also needed to master the turn-taking to maintain the speaking flow. Those
characteristics will also be tested in the speaking IELTS. During the speaking test,
you will be interviewed by a native speaker which to some people would be terrifying.
But do not need to worry, with good preparation you can easily ace the test with
confidence.

In the IELTS Test, you will be asked several questions which divided into three parts
as follows:

1. Part 1 (Introduction and Interview)

This part consists of several questions which are related to the general
information about the test-taker such as family, school, job, hobbies etc. You will
spend approximately 5 minutes on this part. Remember that the interviewer will
begin the session with an introduction, then proceed to the questions. This part
of speaking is mainly considered as the easiest one as the questions are usually
familiar with the daily life of the test takers.

2. Part 2 (Individual Long Turn)

This part will require you to read the question card which will be given by the
interviewer a minute earlier. You will be given a minute to read and comprehend
the questions and make a note if it is necessary, then you will be asked to talk
about the given topic for 2 minutes. Thus, the total time you will spend on this
part is 3 minutes. This part however, is considered as the most challenges one to
those who are new in IELTS test as they will have to answer all the questions
while also managing the time as they speak. But for those who are familiarized
with the IELTS test, they will be easily accustomed to this part as they practice
for more.

3. Part 3 (Two-Wa Discussion)

This part is the final part of the speaking test. The questions of the test are the
development of questions in the previous part. There will be follow-up questions
based on the response you give in answering the question. This part is a
discussion part which will take 5 minutes to complete. As this is the final part of
the questions, this part is also considered as the top in terms of its difficulties.
Speaking Assessment

IELTS speaking measures your skill in oral communication using 4 abilities; Fluenc ,
Le ical Resource, Grammatical Range and Accurac , and Pronunciation. Each of
the ability will be measured by scale or so-called band score of 1 (the lowest) to 9
(near-native). All of the score is then divided with 4 to get the total band score.

a. Fluency & Coherence

Generally, there are few things you should consider in how the examiner will take
into account

- Fluent
What your examiner will look at in this part is how fluent you are. This includes
how much you speak, how you maintain the flow of vocabulary, thought, and
ideas altogether, how can you maintain your hesitation, how much repeating
and self-correct you commit.

- Speaking Naturally
This part is also noteworthy as the examiner will see how natural you sound
when you speak. To sound natural during speaking you should use the proper
vocabulary and connect then in proper order in the sentences. The connecting
word is the key to do so. The following examples are the connecting words
that you can use in your speaking:
First, Second, third, ..
Ne t .
Moreover ..
In line with ..
Then
Another Thing
Well, I believe etc.

Those examples are some of the connecting words that you can apply in your
speaking to make your speaking become more natural. Take some more time
during your preparation to get some more connecting words to be applied in
your speaking practices.

b. Lexical Resource

In the descriptor lexical resource covers the collection of words you already have
and the synonym, idioms, and expressions.

- The Vocabulary
One of the highest considerations during the speaking test is your collection of
words. The kinds of words which make your idea clear, the words which are
understandable using appropriate and relevant to the topic.
 - Paraphrasing, idiomatic language and less common language
Using paraphrasing, synonyms, Idioms, and expressions is the skill in
speaking that you should master to ace the lexical resource part. Using
uncommon vocabulary to paraphrase the common one and using idiomatic
language will help you to make your speaking become richer. However,
practice will make you accustomed to applying them appropriately.

c. Grammatical Range & Accuracy

You should bear in mind that in terms of Grammatical range and accuracy, the
examiner will see the following focuses:

- Sentence and structure variation

This part covers speaking with the proper use of the sentence by building the
proper structure. You should also consider using the simple, compound, &
compound-complex sentence to get more score.

- Number of error
It is commonly known that in speaking tasks, grammar can be the most
challenging one for many test-takers. As you are going to be measured
through the number of errors, we would suggest you practice using proper
grammar to increase the chance of getting a good band in speaking.

d. Pronunciation

As its name, pronunciation will make sure the sentence which spits out from you
could be easily understandable. The examiner will be paying attention to how
easy you use the language and whether you could pronounce the sentence
without making any error which causes the misunderstanding and in turn making
you speaking test unsuccessful.

To be more specific, you can log on to this link;

https://www.ielts.org/-/media/pdfs/speaking-band-descriptors.ashx?la=en
Some of the Important e pression in speaking

The following phrases should help you in your speaking. We suggest you be
familiarized with them

Introductor Phrases Giving Opinions

I am going to talk about ... Giving Opinions

I would like to talk about ... I think (that)…

I want to talk about ... I believe (that) …

I’m going to describe ... What I think is …

What I’m going to talk about is ... As far as I’m concerned …

In my opinion …

It seems to me that …

If you ask me ….

I strongly believe that …

In my view ….

Giving Strong Opinions Developing Phrases

In my honest opinion … First of all ...

I’m convinced that … Secondly ...

I really think that … Additionally ...

Frankly speaking … Another thing ...

I strongly believe that … Another reason why ...

I’m absolutely certain that … Furthermore ...

I’m positive that …

It seems clear to me that …

I would definitely say that …

… without a doubt …

Giving Weak Opinions/Expressing Background Phrases

Uncertainty

I’m (pretty) sure it’s … It happened ...

If what I read (online) is right, … It took place ...

It could/might/may/must be … It’s been going on for/since ...

I (would) guess/I (would) imagine/I At that time ...

suppose …

I don’t remember very well, but …

If I remember correctly, …

This is just a guess but …

It’s something like …

It’s very difficult to predict the future but

…

It could/might/may/must have been …

Impression Phrases Talking About Things You Like

... impressed me I like … most of all

... motivated me I enjoy …

... moved me I love doing ...

... touched me deeply … really appeals to me because …

... had an effect on me I take great pleasure in …

... affected me

... influenced me

... disturbed me

Generalizing Talking About Personal Experience

In general … I have …

Generally … I have personal experience of this.

The vast majority of people … (Just) the other day…/A couple of weeks
ago …
People in my generation …
A few years ago, …
People my age …
A memorable experience I had was …
There are exceptions of course but …
An experience of this which stands out
… tend to … is …

In most cases … I had a bad experience with this.

I have found that …

I have only experienced this once but …

I once …

I will never forget the time when …

I’d like to share my experience of …

In my (limited/substantial) experience, …

My first/last experience of this was …

My own experience of this is …

One day, …

Something happened to me when …

When this happened to me …

When I was in my (early/ mid/ late)

teens, …

I was affected by this when …

Expressing Preferences Giving Examples

My favourite … is … To give an example of what I mean, …

I prefer … to … For example, …

I’m really into … For instance ….

I’m quite fond of … I’m not sure if this is a good example,

but …
I really don’t like …
The best way of explaining what I mean
I don’t really like … is with the example of …

I (absolutely) adore … The first thing/person/place that comes

to mind when I think of this is …
I hate …

I detest …

Pausing For Thought Comparing and Contrasting

Well … It’s (exactly/almost exactly/more or less)
the same as …
Let me think.
It’s very similar to …
Let me see.
more … than …/ less … than …
I’ve never really thought about that
before. (not) (nearly) as … as …

That’s a difficult question. Compared to …, …

Let me think about it for just a moment. Unlike …, …

I’ve never thought about that before. …, whereas …

I can’t think of the word (in English) but In contrast, …

it’s a kind of …

Let me have a look at the question

again.

What else was I supposed to say? Oh

yes, …

What was the last point again? Oh yes,

…

Asking for Confirmation Checking That You Have Answered the

Question

“Sorry, what was the question again?”

I’m sorry but could you explain this word
here? “Does that answer your question?”

Can you say that another way? “What’s the other thing I was supposed
to talk about? Let me see.
Are you asking me about …?
Here it is …”
Can I (double) check (if you mean …)?

Can you repeat the question/ the first

part/ the last word?

Can you say it again one more time

(more slowly)?

Did you say … or …?

Do you mean … or …?

Does that mean ....?

Does the question mean …?

Does … count as …?

Excuse me. Can I ask what one word

means?

I didn’t catch the first/ middle/ last part

(of …)

I didn’t understand the last word/ last

part of the question.

I guess/ suppose you mean … Is that

right?

It depends what you mean by …

I’m not quite clear about …

Sorry, I’m (still) not quite sure what you

mean.

Should I talk about … (or …)?

Correcting Yourself

I meant to say …

Let me try to answer that again. I …

I mean …

Let me start again.

That’s wrong. What really happened

was …

I’m not sure that I’ve explained myself

properly …

I said … but in fact …

Predicting The Future

Not Answering The Question

Sorry, I still don’t really understand what I hope that …

you mean.”
It’s possible that …
“I’m afraid I really don’t know.”
I can see that …
“I can’t really remember.”
If possible, I’d like to see …

We should plan to …
 It might be that …

We can assume that …

Probably, …

I expect that …

Ending The Talk

“I think I’ve answered all the questions.”

“That’s all I can think of to say on the

topic.”

“That’s the end of my presentation

 List of vocabular based on the topic

Holida s

Accommodation: a room or building in which you stay during holidays or

live. While I'm travelling, m favourite t pes of accommodation are hotels.
All holiday: a time after you lost your job. He lost his job esterda . Now it s
all holida for him.
All-inclusive: a hotel deal where the price includes accommodation, meals
and drinks at any time. I've never thought that hotels with all-inclusive
service are so comfortable! You can grab a piece of cake at 6 a.m. or get a
cocktail at midnight.
Half-board: if you request 'half-board' at a hotel, breakfast and dinner would
be included in the hotel price (as part of the package). John and Lil liked
their tour with half-board service. The spent breakfasts and dinners in the
hotel and bought lunches in the nearb cafes.
Full-board: if you request 'full-board' at a hotel, that would include all three
meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner) in the price of your accommodation.
Self-catering: a holiday deal where meals are not provided. Mar thinks that
self-catering is neither pleasant nor efficient.
To book (something): to arrange and confirm a place on a flight, a room in a
hotel or a ticket for an event in the future. If ou book our plane tickets in
advance, the will be much cheaper.
Breathtaking view: an amazing view. I ve seen man breathtaking views
during m journe to Paris.
Busman's holiday: when you spend your free time similarly to the time when
you work. This expression comes from the idea that a bus driver would
spend his holiday traveling somewhere on a bus. Unfortunatel , man
people spend a busman s holida nowada s.
Charter flight: a cheap regular flight. Due to our modest budget, we had to
take a charter-flight.
Check-in desk: the place at the airport where you register for your flight and
deposit your luggage.
Far-off destination: a distant place. Australia is a far-off destination,
nonetheless I want to visit it.
Getting away from it all: escaping in order to rest from a daily routine. After I
passed m e ams, I wanted to get awa from it all for at least a couple of
da s.
Go off the beaten track: to visit an uncommon place. Unlike m brother, I
prefer to go off the beaten track.
Guided tour: a tour in which a group of people is guided by an expert.
Guided tours are a great wa to learn about different places of interest.
Head for: go in a direction for. I m heading for France for m ne t holida .
holiday brochure: a publication with details of holiday. Our guide gave us a
great brochure about our hotel.
holiday destination: where you go for a holiday. We chose New York as
our holida destination for the ne t summer.
holiday of a lifetime: a very special holiday, once in a lifetime. Last ear me and
m famil had a holida of a lifetime in Ital .
holiday resort (tourist resort): a place where lots of people go for a holiday.
Last ear m famil went on a journe to London. We lived in a great tourist
resort.
 hordes of tourists: crowds of tourists. Hordes of tourists can be seen during
summer near the cit park.
in the middle of nowhere: in a place that is far away from where most
people live. M grand-mother lives in the middle of nowhere, but she loves
her old little village.
local crafts: thighs made in the region. M sister bought some ama ing local
crafts on her trip to India.
out of season: not within the main holiday period. I decided to go on a
journe with m friends out of season.
passport control: a place where you get your passport checked. I spent a few
hours waiting in line for passport control.
package tour: a holiday at a fixed price in which the travel company arranges
your travel, hotels, and sometimes meals for you: We bought a cheap package
tour to Ital and sta ed in a big hotel b the sea.
picturesque village: a nice, beautiful village. M grandparents live in a
picturesque village.
places of interest: memorable and honorable places. M native cit has a
variet of places of interest.
short break: a little holiday. M father had a short break this ear, I hope he ll
be able to rela some more.
stunning landscape: a beautiful countryside. Stunning landscapes are onl
one of man reasons wh I want to visit Africa.
to go sightseeing: to go visiting sights of interest. Toda we went
sightseeing with m friends.
to travel on foot / horse When I'm in a small town I prefer to travel on foot.
to travel by bus / plane / car / bicycle / motorcycle Although I usuall travel b
car, when I decided to visit Paris I had to travel b plane.
tourist attractions: places which tourists tend to visit. Despite not being a tourist
attraction, the new fountain is ver popular among the locals.
tourist trap: place with many tourists. We've visited man tourist traps latel .
travel agency: a shop that specializes in booking holidays. I've bought tickets
for m trip through a travel agenc
wildlife safari: an observational holiday, mainly in Africa. I d love to go on a
wildlife safari sometime.
youth hostel: a cheap hotel. During our trip we sta ed in a hostel, because we
didn t have enough mone for a hotel.

Friends

Fair-weather friend: someone who is your friend only when you are cheerful and
successful. A lot of John's friends turned out to be fair-weather friends. The
were with him when he was rich and left him when he went bankrupt.
Friends are like a second family: that is to say your friends love you and make
you feel comfortable.
Get in touch with somebody: to contact somebody. I plan to get in touch with m
friends when I return home.
Near and dear to someone: very important to someone. Her parents are the onl
people who are near and dear to her.
 Shoulder to cry on: someone who is always ready to listen to your problems. I'm
so glad m bo friend is so kind and s mpathetic, it's good to alwa s have a
shoulder to cr on.
To be through thick and thin: to have some good times and difficult times
together. Your parents are married for 15 ears, the must have been through
thick and thin together.
To be well-matched: to be similar to somebody in interests. The are
well-matched.
To break up: to end a relationship. It is hard to believe that Jacob and Sarah
broke up. The were dating since high school.
To drift apart: to become less close to someone. As ears went b , school
friends drifted apart.
To fall for someone (to fall in love with someone): to start loving somebody. The
were childhood friends, and he fell for her!
To fall out with: to quarrel, to have a conflict. He left the part after falling out with
his girlfriend.
To get on like a house on fire: people get on like a house on fire when they like
each other's company and become friends very quickly. I like m new roommate!
We have a lot of the same interests and get on like a house on fire.
To get on well with somebody: to have a good relationship with somebody. I'm
an outgoing person, and I easil get on well with new people.
To get to know someone: to become acquainted with someone. I thought Jenna
was selfish until I got to know her and understood her real character
To have a lot in common: to have similar interests.
To have friends in high places: to have friends in powerful positions in business
or government. Joe owes his fast career growth to his friends in high places.
To hit it off with somebody: to quickly become close friends with somebody. I
could not imagine that Laura would hit it off with D lan! The are so different.
To keep in touch with someone: to maintain contact with someone. I keep in
touch with m friends from high school although we graduated five ears ago.
To lose touch with someone: to lose contact with someone. I lost touch with Mar
since she moved to Canada.
To see eye to eye: to agree. I think it's better to live in a big cit , but m brother
doesn't see e e to e e with me about it.
To strike up (a conversation, a relationship): to start. I feel awkward when I strike
up a conversation with unknown people.
Ups and downs: a mixture of good and bad things that happen. We've been
friends for almost 30 ears! Surel , we've had our ups and downs.

Technolog
Computer age: the period in modern history characterized by rapid technology
development and widespread computer use. Living in a computer age has man
benefits.
Computer buff: a user who is good at working with a computer. Mike is a
computer buff. He got an A+ on his programming e am.
Computer fatigue: a syndrome of tiredness resulting from long computer usage.
About 60% of IT specialists are affected b computer fatigue.
Cutting-edge: something innovative and leading. Cutting-edge technolog .
Desktop PC: a personal computer that remains on a desk. I have an old desktop
PC that I use for surfing the net when I m home.
Digital editing: a process of changing digital materials like audio or video files.
Being good at digital editing is essential in our time.
Download (podcasts): to save a copy of a file from the internet to your own
device. Yesterda , I downloaded a few films that I plan to watch during the
weekends.
Essential: something you can’t imagine your life without. The Internet is an
essential piece of technolog for man people.
Gadget: an advanced piece of technology, like smartphone. Nowada s, almost
ever bod owns a gadget.
Geek: someone who is obsessed with technology, especially computers. M
friend is a real geek. He owns a bunch of computers and other gadgets.
Hold the line: wait a minute. She told me to hold the line because she had to
open the door.
Large screen: a big-sized monitor. A few da s ago, I decided to renew m
computer, so I bought a large screen for it.
Light years ahead: very far away from. Modern computers are light ears ahead
of those which people used in the 90s.
On the cutting edge: at the forefront of progress. Paul's new laptop is on the
cutting edge of technolog .
Operating system: the most important program that runs the computer. I chose to
bu a laptop which is based on the Windows operating s stem.
Out of steam: tired, exhausted. Due to toda 's intense workda , I am out of
steam, so I won t be able to work tomorrow.
Rocket science: a very complicated subject for someone. Biolog is a rocket
science for me. I don t understand an thing in it.
Send an attachment: send an email with an added file. M brother sent an
attachment with his homework to the professor.
Silver surfer: an old person, who uses the Internet. Uncle Bob is a silver surfer.
He uses the Internet ever da although he s almost 70.
Social media: media used to interact with other people. Facebook is the biggest
social media in the world.
Time-consuming and inefficient: something that takes too much of your time and
isn’t rational to do. I find watching football time-consuming and inefficient.
To access websites/email: to visit websites/email. John accessed his email toda
to see if he had received an letters.
to back up files: to make a copy of files in case of a computer problem. I had to
back up files on m computer because I was going to reinstall m operating
s stem.
To be stuck behind a computer: to use a computer for a long period of time. A
lot of teenagers are stuck behind their computers all da .
To boot up: to start a computer. I booted up m computer as soon as I got
home.
To browse websites: to search for websites. I spent a few hours browsing the
websites toda , until I found what I was looking for.
To crash: to suddenly stop working. M computer crashed when I was writing
m essa .
To go online: to use the Internet. Millions of people go online ever da .
To navigate a website: to find what you need on the website. Navigating a
website is not ver eas , especiall if the website is poorl designed.
To pull the plug: to end an activity. After being stuck behind a computer all da , I
decided to pull the plug.
 To push someone's buttons: to do specific things to irritate somebody (usually
intentionally). I became so angr because he pushed m buttons b adding
pepper to m ice cream!
To surf the web: to look through websites, searching for something you need, or
simply for entertainment. I was surfing the web esterda for three hours
because I had nothing else to do.
To upgrade: to renew software or a piece of hardware. Thanks to the new
program for students, I updated m computer for free.
Well-oiled machine: something that works perfectly well. M computer, despite
being 7 ears old, is still a well-oiled machine.
Widespread computer use: to say people use computers very often.
Wi-Fi hotspots: a public place where you can access the Internet. Our universit
has a Wi-Fi hotspot. It is ver convenient.
Wireless network: a network where users can access the Internet without using
any cables. We have installed a wireless network at home.
Word processing: writing, editing and producing words on a computer, using
special programs. There are tons of word processing programs.

Sport

Athletics track (running track): a track for running, usually used for athletic races.
The 9-lane running track is equipped to cope with competitions of all levels.
Barbell: a weight-lifting gear
Blow the competition away: win the competition easily. After training for seven
ears, he blew the baseball competition awa .
Brisk walk (brisk walking): a sport in which people walk fast, but not as fast as a
full run. Brisk walking is a great e ercise for those who want to lose weight.
To build muscle: to gain muscle mass. John was ver skinn five ears ago, but
now he has built muscle and looks reall strong.
Fitness program: a timetable of activities to keep you in good shape.
Football fan: someone who adores football.
Football pitch: the surface on which you play football.
Football season: a period when football is played.
Jogging: a form of running at a slow pace.
Jeep-fit exercises: exercises that help you to keep your body in a good shape
Personal best: an achievement in sport that is better than anything you have
achieved before. Toda I ran 100m in 12 seconds! That is m personal best.
Personal trainer (sports coach): a person that helps you to train on a
one-to-one basis. It's much easier to train with a sports coach than alone.
Sports centre (fitness centre): a specific building where people can do
different sports. I practise fencing at a local sports centre.
Sports facilities: the equipment and services needed to do a sport. I chose
this g m because it offers a wide range of sports facilities.
Sports meeting (athletics meeting): an event at which a number of athletic
contests are held. The ne t athletics meeting will be held in November
and will include javelin, pole vault, hurdles and steeplechase.
Squash/tennis/badminton court: the surface where you play these sports.
Strength-training strategy: set of exercises to build muscles. M dad
advised me on a wonderful strength-training strateg .
 Strenuous exercise: exercise that needs a lot of physical effort. It is
recommended to drink a lot of water after strenuous e ercises.
Strong swimmer: an experienced swimmer.
Swimming pool: a place filled with water made specifically for swimming.
That's the way the ball bounces: used to say that things don't always go
as planned, but there is nothing we can do about it. Dave didn't win the
game as he e pected, but he never minds - that's the wa the ball
bounces.
To be keen to do something (to be keen on doing something): to be very
interested in doing something. I'm keen on c cling.
To be out of condition (to be out of shape): to be in bad physical condition,
to lose strength. Lil hasn't been training for ears, she is out of condition
now.
To be saved by the bell: to be saved from losing by a timely interruption.
Evan would lose this round, if he wasn't saved b the bell.
To build muscle: to gain muscle by working out.
To get into shape: to become fit. Paul started training in the g m because
he wanted to get into shape.
To keep fit: to stay in good shape. I practise dancing to keep fit.
To run the marathon: to run a distance of 42.195 kilometres.
To set a record: to achieve the best result in a sport. A new record in pole
vault was set two ears ago.
To take up doing something: to start doing something new (usually sport).
I took up dancing last week.
To train hard: to train with effort and passion.
To warm up: to perform light exercises to prepare for a hard workout. A
good warm-up readies our bod for hard training.
To work out: to exercise in the gym.

Food
Dine in: dine at home. We're dining tonight.
Dine out: dine at a restaurant. We're dining out tonight.
Fussy eater: someone who is very picky about the food and doesn't eat
everything. M husband is a fuss eater, and he's never pleased with m
cooking
Home-cooked food: food cooked at home, usually implies that food is
healthy. Preparing home-cooked food is a good wa to make a balanced
meal.
In a walking distance of: close to. I usuall dine at a restaurant that's in a
walking distance of m home.
Italian cuisine: traditional Italian food. You can also say French cuisine,
Russian cuisine, Chinese cuisine and so on. I adore pasta, pi a and
Italian cuisine in general.
More of a chore than a pleasure: something you do rather unwillingly. I
think that cooking is more of a chore than a pleasure.
Mouth-watering: delicious, appetizing.
My mouth is watering: that is to say you find something very appetizing.
People use this expression when they see/smell food that looks very
delicious. M mouth is watering ever time I think about m grandmother's
apple pie.
Nutritious products: products rich in calories. A nutritious breakfast is a
great wa to start the da , as it gives our bod the nutrients and ou get
enough energ .
Processed food: food that has been modified in an undesirable or
unhealthy way to achieve its current state. Tr to avoid processed foods
like flavored nuts and cereal bars. It is much healthier to eat organic food.
Quality justifies the bill: when a product is worth buying due its good
quality, even if it's expensive. I first thought those strawberries were too
e pensive, but when I tasted them I understood that their qualit justified
the bill.
Quick snack: a light and quick meal, usually unhealthy. Eating a quick
snack instead of the main meal can be harmful for the stomach.
Ready meal: a meal that you buy already cooked, which only requires
reheating to be eaten. I had no desire to cook, so I bought a read meal in
a nearb supermarket.
Restrain one's hunger: to avoid eating when you really want to. Usually
practiced during diets. John couldn't restrain his hunger an more and
went to the nearest fast-food restaurant.
Slap-up meal: a quick and fatty meal. To slap up means to cook
something very quickly. I feel like making a slap-up meal tonight.
starving hungry: to be extremely hungry. I woke up starving hungr esterda
and ate the whole roast chicken.
Take-away: a meal prepared in a café/restaurant and eaten at home. I'm going
to ring the Japanese restaurant and order a takeawa .
The main meal: the most important meal of the day.
To be dying of hunger: an exaggerated way of saying you are really hungry. I
haven't eaten all da . I'm d ing of hunger!
To be full-up: to eat to the point that you can't eat anymore.- Would ou like
more chips? - No, thank ou, I'm alread full-up!
To be ravenous (to have ravenous appetite): to be really hungry, starving,
voracious. After working all da , I had a ravenous appetite.
To be starving hungry: an exaggerated way of saying you are very hungry.
To bolt something down: to eat a large amount of food very quickly. Don't bolt
our food down like that, it's ver rude!
To catch a snack: to eat a little portion of food very quickly.
To eat a balanced diet: to eat correctly and in time.
To eat like a horse: to always eat a lot. She's so thin, et she eats like a horse.
To follow a recipe: to cook a meal using instructions. Although she had never
cooked a jugged hare before, she followed a recipe and made a fantastic
meal.
To foot the bill: to pay the bill. You paid for dinner last time. Let me foot the bill
for lunch toda .
To grab a bite to eat: to eat something quickly. I won't eat the whole cake, just
let me grab a bite to eat.
To have a sweet tooth: to enjoy eating sweet food. Dave eats cand all the
time. He must have a sweet tooth.
To overeat oneself: eat too much, eat immodestly. If ou overeat, ou're bound
to get fat.
To play with your food: to push food around the plate without eating it.
To spoil your appetite: to do something that would hinder your desire to eat.
Stop talking about the snails, ou're spoiling m appetite!
 To tuck into: to eat something greedily and with pleasure. After not eating the
whole da , he tucked into the ham like a savage.
To wine and dine: to banquet, to "entertain with good food". If you wine and
dine someone, you usually take him out to dinner at a fancy restaurant. The
compan wined and dined us, hoping to convince us we should accept the job.
To work up an appetite: to do something that will lead to hunger. He must have
worked up an app

Education
A for effort: a good mark, which is given to someone for trying hard rather than
for success. Although I'm not the smartest in m group, I often get an A for
effort because I tr hard.
Bachelor's degree: an undergraduate course which usually lasts 3 or 4 years. I
will receive m bachelor's degree in two ears.
Bookworm: a term to describe someone who really likes to read and spends a
lot of time on it. I'm a real bookworm. I won't stop until the book is read.
Distance learning (e-learning): education that takes place remotely, usually via
the Internet. Distance learning is more fle ible than traditional education
because students don't have to attend classes and can schedule their
timetables as the want.
Eager beaver: an enthusiastic and hard-working person. M friend is an eager
beaver. He studies ever thing with pleasure and gets great marks.
Face-to-face classes: a traditional way of studying - in a classroom with a
teacher. When I was a kid, face-to-face classes had no alternatives, but
nowada s a m riad of educational establishments offer online courses and
individual tuition.
Higher education: education that is followed after high school. I plan on getting
higher education after finishing school.
hit the books: begin studying hard. I'm in m third ear in universit , it is time to
finall hit the books.
Individual tuition (private tuition): instruction received individually or in a small
group. Individual tuition is sometimes more effective than group work.
Intensive course: a course that offers longer and more frequent classes. A few
ears ago, I took an intensive French course in the universit .
Internship: a temporary position which students usually take to get work
experience and practical knowledge. Before I went into the design industr , I
took an internship in a compan .
Master's degree: a graduate course, which follows after bachelor's degree.
Master's degree is often important to find a job with a higher salar .
To attend classes: to visit classes. In m college, students need to attend
classes five times a week.
To fall behind with studies: to progress less quickly than others. Mar was ill
for two weeks, so she fell behind with her studies.
To give feedback: to give some information or criticism on a subject. I
launched a project a couple of da s ago, and I want m friends to give me
some feedback.
To goof around: spend time doing nothing important. Sometimes I like to goof
around although m parents scold me for that.
To learn something by heart: to memorize something. Last ear, I had to learn
a ver big poem b heart for m literature class.
 To meet a deadline: to finish something within a time limit. Unfortunatel , we
weren't able to meet the deadline for our project.
To pass with flying colours: to pass easily and with excellent results. I'm
stud ing hard and I will pass IELTS with fl ing colours.
To play truant: to skip classes without permission. During m school ears, I
often pla ed truant with m friends.
To pursue studying: to continue studying. Lora would like to pursue stud ing in
the future to become a professor.
To set aside some time: to take some time. I need to set aside some time to
collect m thoughts.
To sit an exam: to take an exam. Tomorrow, I'll have to sit a two-hour math
e am.
To take a year out: to spend one year working or traveling before studying in
the University. M friend took a ear out and went traveling to the UK.
Tuition fees: money you pay for your education. I had to pa tuition fees this
summer

Weather
warm and pleasant. The weather in m countr is mild in spring.
chilly: cold. It's chill toda , so I think ou should wear a coat.
freezing cold: very cold. I wanted to go ice skating on New Year da , but it was
free ing cold and I decided to sta home.
Degrees Celsius: used to measure the temperature. In the autumn, the
average temperature here is 15 degrees Celsius
To go below zero: to become negative (about temperatures). The temperature
often goes below ero in the winter.
gloomy: weather with dark clouds and dull light. Personall , I don t like gloom
weather. It makes me feel depressed
clear: without clouds. I adore clear weather when there are no clouds in the
sk .
To clear up: when clouds and rain disappear. After a long rain, it finall cleared
up.
To be drenched (to the skin): to be completely soaked with water. I forgot to
take an umbrella and was drenched in the rain.
Gentle rain: light rain.
Drizzle: a light rain that falls in very small drops. It often dri les in the
morning.
Downpour: a heavy fall of rain. What a downpour! We are drenched to the
skin.
To pour down: to rain heavily. I like rain weather. When it pours down, we sit
at home with m famil , talk and drink hot tea.
Humid: containing a high amount of water. In m countr , the climate is
generall cold and humid, especiall in the north.
Snow-covered: covered with snow. In the winter, m famil and I go skiing to
the snow-covered hills of Swit erland.
Heavy snow: when a lot of snow falls. Children went to school in spite of the
heav snow.
Frosty: cold. Continental climate implies hot summers and frost winters.
Snowstorm: large amounts of wind and snow. I don t like winters because of
frequent snowstorms.
Hail: when small balls of ice (hailstones) fall from the sky. After the hail, we
found hailstones that were the si e of golf balls!
 Sunshine: the heat and light of the sun. I love summertime because of the long
da s and bright sunshine.
Dry: with no rain. Summers in Turke are often hot and dr .
Heat stroke (sun stroke): a serious heat illness because of being too long in
hot weather. It s often boiling hot in m cit in the summer and a lot of people
suffer from heat stroke.

List of Discourse Markers

Discourse markers are considered noteworthy when it comes to the fluency and
coherence in speaking skill. It allows you to solve a problem of long pauses when
you need to retrieve some information you are going to deliver during the speaking
ability.

Here are some examples of discourse markers which commonly used in speaking
band 7 and above:

Well, that is an interesting question,

Basicall , I am a person who loves photograph .
Apparentl , she is the reason wh I came here
Actuall , the class was over an hour ago but, ..
Honestl , I never meant to sa that
An wa , she is read to
Well, I would like to introduce .
The bag is eas to deliver. I mean, I could just send them. She is alright. Besides,
she could take care of herself
On the contrar , the learning abilit of the student doesn t seem to ..
For this reason, I have decided to come to the cit to .
On the other hand, the cit development was .
In m opinion, smoking is not a main cause of Cancer disease.
To be honest, I don t reall know what is going
on.
Frankl speaking, I don t think he knows what is happening.
As far as I am concerned, the onl reason wh the earth is getting hot is because
of
 REFERENCES AND USEFUL WEBSITES

Cambridge University Press and UCLES. (2017). Cambridge IELTS 12

Academic Student s Book with Answers: Authentic E amination Papers
(IELTS Practice Tests). Cambridge English, UK.

Cambridge University Press. (2018). Cambridge IELTS 13 Academic

Student s Book with Answers: Authentic E amination Papers (IELTS
Practice Tests). Cambridge English, UK.

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Veza, Ibham. (2015). IELTS Tips dan Trik. Jakarta: Aras Media.