Below you will find the answers to the lesson about using vocabulary: fat, overweight & obese. If you have not completed this lesson, please do so before looking at the answers – click here: Obese Vocab Lesson.

Remember that that your aim in IELTS writing is to produce accurate English without mistakes. Your vocabulary score goes up when you are more precise on your meaning and have less mistakes.

Answers

1. Many people who have a sedentary lifestyle are overweight because they do not participate in regular exercise.
   1. It requires more than just a sedentary lifestyle to become obese. The word “fat” is informal and not suitable for this sentence.
2. My next door neighbour got quite fat when she went to live in America for a year. I think she ate fast food most the time.
   1. This is an informal sentence and the word “fat” is most suitable. The sentence is gossipy in tone which is why the word “fat” fits – it is not a flattering word to use.
3. 14 million children worldwide under the age of 5 were either overweight or obese in 2016.
   1. As you see, the word “overweight” has already been used which means the other word must be “obese”. We do not use the word “fat” when quoting official stats in a formal manner.
4. Worldwide obesity has nearly tripled since 1975.
   1. In this answer you need the noun. “worldwide obesity” is a global issue.
5. It is easy for people to become overweight if they do not eat a healthy diet.
   1. It is possible to use the word “fat” in this sentence, but the word “overweight” is more appropriate. It would depend on whether you were speaking informally or not, and whether you cared about being polite. Remember, the word “fat” is not polite to use when referring to people’s weight.

Useful Link: IELTS Writing Task 2 Lessons, Tips & Model Essays

Below you will find the transcript and answers for the Multiple Choice listening lesson about turtles. If you have not completed this lesson, please do so before looking at the answers below. Click here to complete the lesson: MC Listening Turtles

Transcript for MC Listening Turtles

You can use the transcript in 3 ways when reviewing your answers:

1. You can use it to improve your awareness of your listening ability.
2. You can use it to improve your pronunciation.
3. You can use it to review your answers and see which keywords you missed.
4. I’ve added the audio below so you can read and listen at the same time:

The volunteer program is aimed at helping to conserve and protect the population of Olive Ridley turtles in Costa Rica, although other species of turtles are also involved. The program is run at Ostional beach which has been an active conservation area for the last 40 years. Volunteers can sign up for any length of time from 2 to 12 weeks. All volunteers will be housed with local families near the beach – do not expect luxury, this is basic at best . Have your dictionary ready because English is not usual in local families. It is possible to sign up as a group or just as an individual without prior experience but we do have an age requirement of over 18. A health check and police check will also be required. The main involvement in this program is with recording data, helping with tagging, removing debris from the beach to ensure clear passage for adult and baby turtles and also to assist in egg relocation. This is a unique experience for anyone interested in turtles and conservation.

Answers to Questions 1-5

1. C
   1. “is aimed at helping to conserve and protect the population of Olive Ridley turtles in Costa Rica, although other species of turtles are also involved”
   2. The above part of the sentence shows that it was not exclusively Olive Ridley turtles because other types of turtles were in involved. This means if you continued to listen, you find that answer B is not possible.
   3. Also this part of the sentence does not state that ALL turtles (100% of all turtle species) were involved. This means the answer cannot be A.
2. B
   1. “Volunteers can sign up for any length of time from 2 to 12 weeks.”
   2. This means that option A is not possible because there is definitely a time limit. And option C is not possible because the minimum time is 2 weeks, not 1 week.
3. C
   1. “All volunteers will be housed with local families near the beach – do not expect luxury, this is basic at best”
   2. This means that it is not luxury (A). Also it is not B. Option is there to make sure you are not trying to match words ie the word “best”.
4. C
   1. “It is possible to sign up as a group or just as an individual without prior experience but we do have an age requirement of over 18.”
   2. The keyword in the question is “MUST” . This means you are listening for a requirement of the programme.
   3. A is not the answer because it is not a requirement to be an individual – groups are also possible.
   4. B is not the answer because experience is not a requirement.
5. A
   1. “The main involvement in this program is with recording data, helping with tagging, removing debris from the beach to ensure clear passage for adult and baby turtles and also to assist in egg relocation.”
   2. The answer A can only be recognised if you are good with paraphrasing. The word “rubbish” is a synonym of “debris”. Also “to clear the beach” is a paraphrase for “removing debris to ensure a clear passage”.
   3. B is not the answer because the recording shows that eggs are relocated (not baby turtles). This option is checking to make sure you are not trying to match words “relocation”.
   4. C is not possible because at no time are turtles assisted in being able to move.

I hope you found this lesson useful 🙂

Hi guys,

I want to give you a link to “On the day” IELTS test tips. The page covers basic tips to prepare the day before and the morning of the test. It also covers last minute tips for listening, reading, writing and speaking. It is one of the most important pages to read before your test.

Click here: IELTS Test Tips On the Day

Good luck!

Liz

Hi guys,

I’ve posted the answer below. If you have not completed this reading lesson, please do so before looking at the answers. Click here to complete the lesson: IELTS Reading Choose a Title

Answers

The correct answer is A

The opening paragraph and closing line both stress the same point which is about the popularity of coffee. While the first line alone or the last line alone might not themselves indicate aim, to have them both stressing the same point with so much detail in the first paragraph is something you can’t ignore.

There are no fixed rules about choosing a title. But you must remember that information for all options will be given in the passage. So, your aim is not to match information, but to decide what the whole aim of the passage is. You need to ask yourself – Why did this author write the passage? What was the aim of writing the passage? What was the key message that the author wanted to deliver?

So in this lesson, information about the producers and consumers was just extra information given in the passage for interest. But the main aim was to explain the popularity.

I hope you found this useful 🙂

For more reading lessons, go to the main reading section on this site – you access this through the RED BAR at the top of the website.

All the best

Liz

Hi guys,

Below are the answers for the synonyms practice based on the reading passage about Birds and Dinosaurs. If you haven’t completed the lesson, please do that before looking at the answers – click here: Synonyms Practice Lesson

I hope you found the practice lesson useful. Being able to spot paraphrases and synonyms is really important in IELTS reading.

Answers

1. meat-eating = carnivorous
2. a group / set = a suite
3. stance / position = pose / posture
4. resemblance = similarity
5. persuasive = compelling
6. feathers = plumage
7. ancestor = predecessor
   1. Another answer in terms of meaning could be “forebears” – but note that it does come after the answer to number 8. 
8. characteristic / quality = attribute
   1. “features” is another possible answer in terms of meaning, but please note it comes before the answer to number 7.

If you would like more reading practice lessons, click here: IELTS Reading Tips & Lessons

Number 6 above was the most difficult. If you are aiming for band 7, you should have got the rest correct.

Below is a reading exercise to practise synonyms. As you know, being able to spot paraphrases and synonyms is essential in IELTS Reading. This lesson will help you develop skills which will improve your ability to tackle IELTS Reading questions successfully.

Reading Passage: Did Birds Evolve from Dinosaurs?

Evidence that birds evolved from, dinosaurs, the carnivorous predators that ruled the Mesozoic ecosystems is plentiful. Traditionally, the prime source of evidence in support of this scientific view was the similar shape of the bones of birds but spectacular new discoveries have added other lines of evidence to the table. One of these involves a suite of features from the eggs of these dinosaurs. A host of fossils have shown that not only did maniraptoran dinosaurs resemble birds in the way they laid their eggs but that these eggs also looked like the eggs of birds. Another line of evidence involves fossils of animals in a brooding pose or in a resting postures also show a startling similarity with the behaviours we see among living birds. Yet, perhaps the most compelling new line of evidence comes from the discovery of soft tissues associated with the skeletons of these predatory dinosaurs, many fossils of these creatures are now known to have been covered by plumage. All this evidence has highlighted the fact that many features that were previously thought to be exclusively avian – from feathers to a wishbone – have now been discovered in the immediate dinosaur predecessor of birds. Even flight is likely to have been an attribute inherited by birds from their dinosaurian forebears! If the new wealth of fossils has clarified the old controversy of the origin of birds, many other fossils have provided a vivid testimony of the early phases of avian evolution. Hidden in these fossils are the clues to how birds perfected their flying abilities and how they evolved warm bloodedness.

Source: Article adapted from Natural History Museum

Questions 1-8: Find the following synonyms in the passage above. Answers come in order.

1. meat-eating
2. a group / set
3. stance / position
4. resemblance
5. persuasive
6. feathers
7. ancestor
8. characteristic / quality

Answers

The answers are available on the following page: click here Answers to Synonyms Practice Lesson

All the best

Liz

Note: This type of question does NOT come in the IELTS reading test. This is a practice lesson to help you review your knowledge of synonyms.

Hi guys,

I’m just checking if you are getting my new posts. Can you let me know if you receive this post in your email. I think something might be wrong with my subscription and emailing system.

Also check my latest lesson to practice synonyms. Click here: Synonym Practice

All the best, Liz

My “Ideas for IELTS Essay Topics” E-book is now available to purchase. Below is a sample chapter and a link to my Online Store.

The e-book covers ideas for over 150 key essay topics that frequently appear in IELTS writing task 2. The ideas are presented as vocabulary exercises. The e-book comes in pdf form and also comes with a free introduction video helping you understand more about using ideas in your essay.

Below is a link to a sample chapter. Click to purchase: IELTS Liz Online Store

Download Sample Chapter

The sample chapter below is for the topic of Family in IELTS writing task 2. Each section of this topic is based on typical IELTS essay questions.

Download: Ebook Ideas for Topics Sample Chapter

Answer Key for Sample Chapter

Click below to reveal the answers to this sample chapter:

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Click for Ideas E-book: IELTS Liz Online Store. You can also find my Advanced Writing Task 2 lessons in my store.

All the best

Liz