IELTS Writing Task 2: Paraphrasing Practice

IELTS writing task 2 paraphrasing practice exercise. To get a good mark in IELTS writing task 2 for the criterion of vocabulary, you need to be able to paraphrase. The exercise below is a chance for you to practice your paraphrasing skills.

The answers for this exercise have now been posted below. No more writing should be posted for this lesson. But you can still learn from completing the exercise on your own and checking your writing with the answers provided.

Paragraph

Paraphrase the words in this paragraph using the words in the box below. Only paraphrase a word if you are sure it is appropriate to do so.

Many people, when driving their cars, go over the speed limit in city centers. As a way of solving this, the government should put more speed cameras on major streets to put people off  speeding. If this is done, more people who speed will be caught and this problem will eventually be solved.

Paraphrasing Options

You do not need to use all the words. You must decide which words to use and which words not to use.

town         an answer            the law           install         motorway         stop        humans         put away         authorities               exceed               deter  from         directly          riding        ought to            key             by doing this            arrested       vehicles               resolved             citizens            large            caught red handed             speed prevention             increasing       urban

Answers and Advice

Please see the answers given below:

 

Answers: Click here

Answer:

Many people, when driving their cars, exceed the speed limit in urban centers. As a way of solving this, the authorities ought to install more speed cameras on major streets to deter people from  speeding. By doing this, more people who speed will be caught and this problem will eventually be resolved.

Common Mistakes and Explanations

  1. Collocation: drive a car, not ride a car. We use the verb “ride” with bicycles.
  2. A town is not a city.  You can write “city center” or “urban center”. A town is much smaller and this essay is not about small towns and villages.
  3. The government can usually be paraphrased with the word “authorities”.
  4. The word “should” can be paraphrased as “ought to”. This is a common paraphrase.
  5. If you are writing about setting up or putting up equipment, you can use the word “install”.
  6. “to deter” is used to put people off committing a crime or an offence. It is actually a better word to use than “put off” for formal essay writing.
  7. “By doing this” and “As a way of solving this” both have the same meaning in this context. You can’t write “As an answer for solving this” – it isn’t correct English even though the meaning is the same.
  8. “people” are people. We rare use the word “citizen” in an essay about transport. However, it would be acceptable to use it in the second sentence which refers to the government.
  9. “people” cannot be paraphrased as “humans” except in one context – please watch the video below to learn. Any student making this mistake is not studying effectively. The video below explains this very clearly so you should not be making this mistake.
  10. “caught red handed” must be written as it is shown. You can never write “caught red”. There are three words in this idiom. However, this expression is mainly for theft or other crimes in which a person is caught face to face by the police. It can’t be used for speed offences caught by camera.
  11. “vehicles” is used when we don’t know what type of transport is being written about or when we refer to different types. This essay is about cars only which means you can’t use the word “vehicle”.
  12. This paragraph is about “streets”. This is not the same as a “motorway”. A motorway is a very large road outside a city which contains two or three lines in both directions for heavy traffic.

Results and Advice

  • If you had one mistakes, it is acceptable for band 7 or 8.
  • If you have two or three mistakes, it is around band 6.
  • If you are making more mistakes, it means you are not being careful enough with your language.
    • More Mistakes = Lower Score
    • You need to learn both the use and meaning of a word.
    • Don’t aim for range until you can achieve accuracy.
    • When you learn a noun or verb, learn the full collocation.
    • When you learn a word, learn when you can and cannot use it.
    • When you learn an idiom, learn if the words can be changed or not.

Best Writing Posted:

Well done to Esmaeil Bahmyari ! You wrote very well indeed but don’t avoid using the word “people”, it is the correct and most appropriate word to use for this essay. You have the potential to well with your level of English.

To all other students, I hope you learn to be careful when paraphrasing. Try to avoid making errors. You can see that a band score 9 student does not paraphrase continuously.

I hope you benefited from this lesson. I will put similar lessons up in the future if you found it useful.

 

Video: Paraphrasing Tips

[su_youtube url=”https://youtu.be/rlsqbSFOBCg”]

 

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Dairy Product IELTS Line Graph Practice Exercise

This lesson is to practice vocabulary for line graphs.

The graph below shows the consumption of four types of dairy products in the USA from 1970 to 2010.

cheese-dairy-consumption-graph

Source: IELTS Liz did not design the above graph.

Questions 1-6

Complete the details using no more than three words for each gap.

The amount of cheese eaten by people from the USA (1)…………….. (2)…………………….. from about 7 pounds in 1970 to reach a (3)…………… of over 20 pounds in 2010. Likewise, the consumption of yoghurt (4)………………. from just over 0 to just under 10 pounds in the final year. There was (5)………………… in the amount of full-fat ice cream eaten of about 2 pounds to reach about 9 pounds in 2010. The consumption of low-fat ice cream(6) …………. at around 4 pounds over the period given.

Answers
  1. rose / climbed / increased / went up
  2. steadily / significantly / considerably
  3. peak
  4. rose / climbed / increased / went up
  5. a decrease / a fall / a decline / a drop  /  a slight  fall / a marginal decrease / a minimal drop
  6. fluctuated

 

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How many paragraphs for an IELTS essay?

How many paragraphs in an IELTS Writing Task 2 Essay?

Paragraphs are marked by the examiner in IELTS writing task 2. The criterion of Coherence and Cohesion, which is 25% of your writing marks, is about linking and paragraphing. See this page for more band score information & tips

All essays will have an introduction and conclusion – that is 2 paragraphs already. The body of the essay MUST be divided into different body paragraphs (usually either 2 or 3). That makes 4 or 5 paragraphs in total.

Can I have one body paragraph?

No, you can’t. You are being assessed on your ability to separate ideas into different body paragraphs. To get band score 7 in coherence and cohesion, you must have a central idea in each body paragraph with supporting points. You will be marked down if you put all your ideas in only one body paragraph.

Can I have 4 or 5 body paragraphs?

It is not advisable to have so many body paragraphs. To get a high score in IELTS writing task 2, you must develop and extend your main points. This means that each body paragraph must contain enough supporting points. Having 4 or 5 body paragraphs will not give you enough words to develop ideas properly for a high score.

What is the right number of body paragraphs?

Either 2 or 3 body paragraphs is enough to develop ideas and show your ability to organise paragraphs. With 2 or 3 body paragraphs, you can get a high score. When you read your essay question, you plan your ideas and then decide how many body paragraphs to have (2 or 3). You should not decide this before you enter the test. The number of body paragraphs will be decided by the type of question and your ideas. See my model essays on this page: IELTS Writing Task 2 Tips & Model Essays

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IELTS Reading: Using Online Translations for Medical Purposes

This exercise is based on matching paragraph information for IELTS reading. This reading exercise is not difficult and could be classed as medium in level. It’s a useful practice lesson.

Skim read the article and then look through the statements below. Take time to think about the information in the statements and consider possible paraphrases for vocabulary before you attempt to locate information.

Using Web Based Translations in Medical Communication

A)  A complex medical and treatment discussion with patients whose knowledge of the local language is inadequate remains challenging. After treating a child whose parents did not speak English, we resorted to the use of a web based translation tool. We were unsure as to whether Google Translate was accurately translating our complex medical phrases. We aimed to evaluate the accuracy and usefulness of Google Translate in translating common English medical statements.

B)  Ten commonly used medical statements were chosen by author consensus. These were translated via Google Translate to 26 languages. Translations only were sent to native speakers of each language and translated back into English by them. The returning English phrases were compared with the originals and assessed for meaning. Minor grammatical errors were accepted but not if the meaning was altered.

C)  The results showed that of the ten medical phrases translated by Google translate and then translated back into English, 57.7% were correct and 42.3% were wrong. Out of the 26 languages used, Africa languages scored the lowest, followed by Asian languages. Western European languages were the most accurate. However, there were some serious errors discovered. For instance, “Your child is fitting” translated in Swahili to “Your child is dead”. In Polish “your husband has the opportunity to donate his organs” translated to “your husband can donate his tools”. In Mathi “your husband has had a cardiac arrest” translated to “your husband had an imprisoned heart”.

D)  The conclusion drawn is that in today’s world “just google it” is considered to be the answer to everything, but for health related questions this should be treated with caution. Google Translate should not be used for taking consent for surgery, procedures, or research from patients or relatives unless all other avenues to find human translators have been exhausted and the procedure is clinically urgent.

Questions 1-7

In which paragraph (A-D) is the following information found. Letters may be used more than once.

  1. When calculating the results, slight mistakes in language, possibly related to syntax or structure of language, were admitted.
  2. It is believed that most information and help can be found on google.
  3. The aim was to test whether Google Translate could be used reliably for medical communication.
  4. Significant mistakes were found in the translations which were web based.
  5. The research was conducted after a situation in which a patient’s relatives did not speak English.
  6. The translate function is not admissible to get people’s permission for operations.

Answers

Click below for answers.

Answers
  1. B
    1. “The returning English phrases were compared with the originals and assessed for meaning.” This is about analysing results.
    2. “Minor grammatical errors were accepted but not if the meaning was altered.”. This means that errors, such as syntax and structure of language would be fine because they weren’t related to meaning.
    3. Remember, you aren’t aiming to find the sentence word for word in the passage. Your aim is to understand the content of the sentence and locate similar information with the same intent in a paragraph. The difficulty with this question is the word “syntax”, which is similar to word order.
  2. D
    1. “The conclusion drawn is that in today’s world “just google it” is considered to be the answer to everything”
  3. A
    1. “We aimed to evaluate the accuracy and usefulness of Google Translate in translating common English medical statements.”
  4. C
  5. A
  6. D

Adapted and edited from BMJ article by Patil and Davies, December 2014 publication

All reading exercises on ieltsliz.com have been written by myself to help you prepare for your IELTS test for free.   

Liz

Vocab Builder
  • inadequate = lacking / deficient / not enough
  • resort to = turn to  / make use of
  • evaluate = assess / appraise
  • consensus = agreement
  • minor = small / insignificant
  • donate = give
  • cardiac arrest = when the heart stops / ceases to function
  • the conclusion drawn = the conclusion derived
  • other avenues = other possibilities
  • exhausted = finished 

 

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Can you use quotes or idioms in your IELTS essay?

Will I get a higher score using idioms or quotes in my IELTS essay?

The answer is clear – no. Idioms, such as “it cost an arm and a leg” are informal which means they are not suitable for IELTS writing task 2 academic or general training essays. However, idioms are only one type of idiomatic language. There are other forms more suitable to IELTS writing, for example “the key to this issue” means the solution not a key you can buy in a shop or use in a door. That is an acceptable type of idiomatic language for a high score in IELTS.

Regarding quotes, the examiner will give you a score based on your own level of English language, not the words you remember from another person. While quotes are suitable for academic essays at university, they will not help your band score for IELTS. Instead, use the idea from the quote and write it in your own words.

What about proverbs in writing?

I would also recommend avoiding proverbs as well. Most proverbs are not appropriate for academic writing. Here’s an example of an inappropriate proverb in writing “all that glitters is not gold”. While the meaning might be perfect for your essay, it would be better to write “people should not be deceived by appearances because they can be deceptive” The latter sentence has a much better variety of appropriate vocabulary for a high score.

Can I use quotes, idioms or proverbs in my IELTS speaking test?

Proverbs and quotes are not usually academic and for that reason are better suited to speaking. However, don’t lose your fluency score because you are trying to remember an idiom. You get a high score when you use appropriate, natural language in the right context. So, don’t try to fill your answers with idioms or proverbs. Using quotes is not really suitable for IELTS because they are not your own words.

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Maths: Reported Speaking Topic in May 2015

Maths was a reported IELTS speaking topic this month (May). It is quite common to be asked about your school days and also about the subjects you studied. Below are some questions for this topic for you to prepare and also some useful vocabulary to help you talk in more detail. This topic could also be called “calculations” or “mathematics”.

IELTS Speaking Part 1 Questions: Maths

  • Are you good at maths?
  • Did you like mathematics when you were at school?
  • What was your teacher like?
  • What kinds of things did you learn in maths?
  • Did you use a calculator when learned maths?
  • Do you find it difficult to do calculations?
  • How do you calculate difficult sums?
  • Do you think maths is an important subject for children to learn?
  • Why do you think children should learn maths?

Useful language:

  • calculate numbers / data / figures
  • adding up / addition (2 + 4 = 6)
  • subtraction / taking away (6 – 2 = 4)
  • multiplication  / multiplying numbers (multiplying = 2 x 3 = 6)
  • the multiplication table
  • division / dividing (dividing = 6 / 3 = 2)
  • long division (12,000 / 1,500 = 8)
  • estimating powers and roots for positive numbers
  • learning about decimals and fractions (decimal = 0.333 & fraction =  1/3)
  • algebra = learning about using letters and symbols in formulas
  • geometry = calculating angles in triangles or relationships between points on graphs or maps
  • proportions and rates of change
  • maths teaches people how to solve problems
  • maths teaches people how to interpret and understand data
  • maths teaches people how to do simple and complex calculations needed for everyday life

Model Answers

  • Question: Did you like maths when you were at school?
  • Answer: I enjoyed maths at the beginning doing just simple sums but I didn’t like it as much once we progressed on to complex calculations and doing algebra and things like that.
  • Question: Did you use a calculator at school for studying maths?
  • We weren’t allowed a calculator for doing sums or long division and things like that. But we were allowed to use one for geometry and other complex calculations.

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Lack: vocabulary and sample sentences

This lesson looks at the word “lack” and gives the meaning with sample sentences. Many IELTS students make mistakes using this word. Although many students understanding the meaning, they make mistakes with how to use it accurately. The more mistakes you make, the lower your score will be. So, make sure you read this lesson carefully.

Word Form and Meaning

  • lack (n) = being without / not having enough
  • lack (vb) = being without / being deficient
  • synonyms = shortage, scarcity, loss, shortfall
  • antonyms = sufficiency, enough, abundance, plenty

Please remember that a synonym has a similar meaning but may not always be used in the exactly the same way. You must learn both meaning and how to use words to avoid mistakes in IELTS.

About the word “lack”

  • Students mainly confuse verb and noun as well as how to use prepositions: “a lack of” (n) or “it is lacking in” (vb).
  • This word can be used for both IELTS speaking and writing task 2.

Sample Sentences with “lack”

  1. Due to the lack of employment opportunities in the countryside, a large number of workers are moving to cities to find work.
  2. Under developed countries are often lacking the adequate infrastructure needed for the development of the economy.
  3. Many children are struggling with weight problems due to the lack of physical exercise and a diet rich in fat and sugar.
  4. Many modern films have a lot of special effects but are lacking in quality dialogue and character development.
  5. One of the benefits of living in the countryside is the lack of noise.
  6. Lack of sleep can really affect my mood. It sometimes makes me impatient and irritable.

Error Correction

Find the mistakes in the sentences below for the word “lack”. This exercise will help you develop the accuracy needed to use this word correctly.

  1. Some people lacking the imagination needed to become a good writer of children’s books.
  2. Many major cities have lacking of public transport which can result in more people using their own private vehicles.
  3. Young leaders are often lack of the experience needed to make the right decisions for successful companies.
Answers

Here are some possible options for how to write the above sentences correctly.

  1. Some people lack the imagination needed to become a good writer of children’s books. / Some people are lacking the imagination needed to become a good writer of children’s books.
  2. Many major cities lack public transport which can result in more people using their own private vehicles. / Many major cities have a lack of public transport which can result in more people using their own private vehicles.
  3. Young leaders often lack the experience needed to make the right decisions for successful companies. / Young leaders are often lacking in the experience needed to make the right decisions for successful companies.

 

Never memorise sentences to use in your IELTS test. 

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Listening Practice for Addresses

IELTS listening practice for addresses. It is common to be asked to write down addresses in IELTS listening section 1. This exercises offers you a chance to practice.

Listening Practice: 10 Addresses

  • Listen to 10 addresses
  • Write down what you hear
  • Not all addresses will be spelled
  • Only street names which are difficult will be spelled

Before you listen, do you know the different types of streets in England? For example, road, lane, street, avenue… How many do you know? Be prepared for addresses that might be new for you.

 

Answers
  1. 150 Church Street
  2. 68C Bridge Lane
  3. 52 Burlington Road
  4. 3 West Street
  5. 94A Notts Way
  6.  Flat 2, 24 Sleet Street
  7. 63 Green Avenue
  8. 54 Station Road
  9. 102 Seaview Crescent
  10. 41 Drummond Square

See this page about using capital letters and for other test information: IELTS Exam FAQ

 

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