Preparation for the IELTS Exam
Free tips, advice and lessons for IELTS writing, speaking, listening and reading.
Model Answer: Bar chart about fast food restaurantsBar charts are pretty common in IELTS writing task 1 academic, many people panic when they see them but they get easier the more you practice. The most important thing to bear in mind is that the report should be concise, so you must be selective. This means that you should never write about every single detail in the chart. Aim for around 170 to 190 words.
I have heard this question so many times.I get so many people who email me asking me why they can’t hit Band 7 or Band 8 or whatever score they need and are stuck at Band 5 or 6. They all seem puzzled as to why they cannot raise their score. Usually it is to do with their writing as this tends to be the hardest part of the test.
There are 2 main types of register that you will need for IELTS general writing task 1, that is either formal or informal. If it is a letter to a friend then it will always be informal. If it’s to your boss, ex boss, a company, or some kind of business situation then it’s formal. Pretty simple really.
Read moreModel answer for a letter to a friend: Selling a laptop
Here is an interesting task 1 question below. Be prepared as something similar could appear in writing task 1 academic. It’s not a map or a process diagram, it’s a floor plan. You will also notice it has two time periods. The present and plans for the future.
It is essential to analyse the task and it’s main features and then plan your writing before starting your report. Total planning for task 1 should be around 4 or 5 minutes. Remember that you need to paraphrase the introduction and give an overview.
Read moreIELTS academic writing task 1: Lesson for a floor plan
Useful IELTS academic writing task 1 vocabulary.To get a good score in IELTS writing task 1 academic, you need to have a good range of grammar and vocabulary. In this lesson we will look at 5 words that can be used in various ways. Those words are : Number, Total, Amount, Period and Figure. Try the exercises at the end of the lesson to test your knowledge then click the green buttons to see the answers. The key to learning is to practice, so think about how you can apply these words to your academic task 1 reports, especially for graphs and trends.
Read moreWriting Task 1: How to use ‘number, total, amount, figure, period’
Is IELTS reading driving you crazy?After studying this lesson it should be much clearer and you will have a much better idea of how to hit your target score.
Actually, the IELTS reading test is not really about reading, it’s more like a vocabulary test. That’s why you should work on your vocabulary, however, this takes time and there are no shortcuts. Another point is to never read the whole text or try and understand every single word, you will not have time. Understanding how paraphrasing works is crucial to getting a good score, therefore you need to have a good range and understanding of vocabulary. Never learn lists of words either , that will work against you.
Pronouns help with overall coherence and cohesion.Having a cohesive and coherent essay is very important for your overall Band score In both writing tasks in IELTS , especially writing task 2. You should always make your writing as easy as possible for the reader to follow and it should be easy to understand. In the IELTS exam, the reader will be the examiner.
One way to improve your cohesion is to use pronouns to reduce repetition, this is mentioned in the marking criteria for writing under ‘Referencing’.
In the last lesson about process diagrams, I looked at the grammar and vocabulary needed to write about them. Click here to see the grammar needed. This type of task sometimes appears in IELTS academic writing task 1, so I advise practicing this kind of task as it could appear in the exam.
Overall, the passive voice grammar is used when describing a process, you will also need sequencers to show a step by step process. The structure needed is: an introduction, an overview and 2 body paragraphs. Word count is 150 words minimum, aim for around 170 to 180 words.
I often get asked questions like: Should I use a pen? Can I use cursive writing? Should I use the IELTS answer sheet? Do I lose marks for bad handwriting? How do I separate the paragraphs? Do I get a higher band score for a very long essay? ..and so on.
This post should clear up any confusion regarding these questions. Handwriting must be clear to the reader and I highly recommend using the answer sheet to practice. I also recommend using a pencil because it is easier to erase mistakes in the exam. The official IELTS answer sheet for writing task 1 and 2 can be downloaded here…click to download the answer sheet
Read moreHandwriting, Paragraphing and the IELTS Answer Sheet
Tips and points to consider for learning new vocabulary in IELTS.I often get asked about the best way to learn new words that can be used in IELTS essays or the speaking section. I have not given any word lists on my website because I believe that vocabulary building is your responsibility, it is something that you will have to work on over a period of time.
One of the worst things you could ever do when studying IELTS is to just memorise lists of words and then randomly put those words into your writing, the same goes for speaking.