A student recently asked if he would be penalised for having written 249 words in his IELTS Task 2 essay. The quick answer is: No. Contrary to what you may have been told by other IELTS teachers, candidates will NOT lose marks for writing just below the word limit. The danger lies in your assessor discovering that […]
Read more "Meeting your word count in IELTS Writing"If you have been following my article on the topic of censorship, you may want to further develop your ideas on this (censorship that is, not banning IELTS!). Here is a video which contains somebody’s view on the topic. You can do two things with this: Gather some ideas to use as points when you […]
Read more "Should the IELTS be banned?"Occasionally, I have heard some IELTS candidates complain about this when they have to give a talk in Part 2 of the IELTS Speaking module. If this happens to you in the real test, the first thing you should remember is not to panic. When you panic, this will reflect in the quality of your speaking: Your […]
Read more "IELTS Speaking Part 2 – I don’t know what to say!"The answer is, it depends. IELTS candidates will have to look at the type of task that they have to do. For example, in Section 1 where you are often required to complete notes, then accurate grammar is not important. Sometimes, you can find this in other sections of the test. Section 1 (Task type: complete notes) overlooking ……………….. […]
Read more "Is grammar important in IELTS Listening and Reading?"Apart from conclusions, IELTS candidates may find that they struggle with starting their essay just as much as they find it difficult it to end it. Like the conclusion, you do not have to write a lengthy paragraph here. Two sentences would do nicely but this does not mean you should paraphrase the task word-for-word. Make […]
Read more "How to write an introduction in IELTS Writing Task 2"IELTS candidates may find that the topic of gender and parental roles may appear quite often in either IELTS Speaking and more frequently, IELTS Writing Task 2. Here are some examples of tasks that may come up in essay writing: “Fatherhood ought to be emphasised as much as motherhood. The idea that women are solely responsible for […]
Read more "Discussing mothers in IELTS Writing and Speaking"See if you can do this IELTS exercise. Listen to the recording. Complete the table below. Write ONE WORD ONLY for each answer. Reason for decrease in water supply Result of decrease in water supply Solution Agriculture for food production for growing cities and industries. Ground water being 1 ……………….. Eat more healthily. The average […]
Read more "IELTS Listening – Complete a table"