IELTS Reading: gap-fill summary
Read the following passage about animal migration.
(Source: National Geographic)
Large migrations are some of nature's greatest spectacles. Wildebeest and zebra chase the rains through the Mara ecosystem every year, monarch butterflies trace a path from Mexico to Canada and back, and tiny songbirds fly nonstop for days at a time. And now scientists are starting to figure out how they know...
IELTS Reading: another keyword table
Here's a table of key vocabulary from the last five or six reading exercises here on the blog.
Remember: The aim of these tables is to highlight paraphrasing. The more you practise recognising paraphrasing, the better you'll get at the IELTS reading test.
IELTS Reading: which books to use
If you want to do some realistic IELTS reading practice, the only books that I recommend are Cambridge IELTS books and the two 'Official Practice Materials' books.
Here are some problems that I've seen in other 'unofficial' books:
Tests can be too easy or too difficult.
Topics may be covered that would never appear in a real test. For example, a passage...
IELTS Speaking Part 3: follow the steps (in your head)
When answering questions in part 3 of the speaking test, you should have three (or maybe four) steps that you follow.
Practise checking off these steps in your head as you answer:
Give a direct answer to the question
Explain with a reason or reasons
Give an example (e.g. a personal example)
Explain the opposite or an alternative (you don't...
IELTS Speaking Part 3: four-step answer
Let's try using all four of the steps that I recommended in last Friday's lesson. Here's another question from IELTS speaking part 3, with my answer below it.
Do you think it's ever worth hiring a professional photographer?
(Direct answer) Yes, for certain special occasions I definitely think it's best to pay a professional to take photos. (Explain) A professional photographer is likely to have...
IELTS Speaking Part 1: simplify
Your priority in part 1 of the speaking test should be to demonstrate fluency, not difficult grammar or vocabulary. You'll speak more fluently if you keep your part 1 answers simple.
Here are some examples of how I would simplify students' answers.
Note: the students' answers contain some mistakes.
Student's answer:
Logically people from different generation will have taste variation. Depending upon the maturity,...
IELTS Writing Task 2: ‘different perspectives’ paragraph
A nice alternative to the "firstly, secondly, finally" type of paragraph is to look at the question from different perspectives.
As an example, let's plan some ideas for paragraph 2 from this lesson.
Topic: reasons why children should read books and study historical events of their own countries
The child's perspective: young children like learning about where they live, it makes sense to...
IELTS Writing Task 2: follow the numbers!
If you've written a good plan, it should be relatively easy to write a good paragraph. Simply follow the numbers to write your five sentences.
For example, look at my 5-sentence plan in last week's lesson, then read my 5-sentence paragraph below. I've highlighted the key idea in each sentence.
Note: this is just one paragraph, not a full essay.
There are several reasons why...
What is the IELTS test?
IELTS is the world’s most popular English language test. There are two versions of the IELTS test – Academic and General training. The Academic test is for students who want to study in an English speaking university or international course. The General Training test is for people want to move to and/or work in an English speaking country. The...
IETLS Cue Card Sample: Describe A Decision You Disagreed With
Read Sample Answers for IELTS Speaking Part 2 to learn new vocabulary, collocations, idioms, phrasal verbs, etc and know how to answer the examiner effectively.
Describe a decision you disagreed with
You should say:
what the decision was
who made that decision
if you told this person that you disagreed
why you think it was a wrong decision
It was a few...
