Archives for August 2014

IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Essay

Below is an example of a band score 9 IELTS writing task 2 model essay. The task is a direct questions essay which is quite common in IELTS. Read it carefully and pay attention to the structure of the essay, the linkers and the sentence structures.

Essay Question

Art is considered an important part of a society  as well as an expression of its culture. Do you think it is important for children to be taught art? Do you think children should be encouraged to focus on art rather than other subjects?

Model Answer

It is commonly believed that art plays a fundamental role in society as artists are able to express their thoughts and their culture in their work. In my opinion, children should definitely learn art because they can develop creativity and learn to express themselves in their art work but it should not be taught to the detriment of other subjects.

Firstly, art is an essential subject which children, especially young children, should learn in order to help promote their creativity and imagination. Without the development of imagination and creative thinking, children will struggle to grow into dynamic, individual thinkers when they reach adulthood. Furthermore, some children are particularly gifted in their creative abilities and studying art can help them nurture their talents.

Another important advantage for children when practicing art is that it provides a medium through which they can express their emotions and feelings. In other words, young children do not have the linguistic capabilities to put their ideas into language and thus communicate directly. Therefore, by using art, they are able to convey meaning through pictures and symbols. For this reason, many child psychologists often study the art work of children to gain an insight into what they think and feel.

Finally, however, regardless of how useful the study of art is for children, this should not result in more focus being placed on art rather than other subjects. Children need to have a balance of all subjects so as to facilitate a healthy development both mentally and physically. Thus, ensuring that there is a healthy balance of art, sciences, languages and physical education in the school syllabus is essential.

In conclusion, while art certainly helps a child develop creativity as well as express their thoughts, it should be taught equally alongside all other subjects. A school curriculum should offer a balance of subjects.

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Common English Tenses

Below is a list of common tenses that we use in English  as well as sentences in different tenses. Can you match the tenses with the sentences?

Tenses

  1. Present Simple
  2. Past Continuous
  3. Present Perfect
  4. Present Perfect Continuous
  5. Passive Voice
  6. First Conditional
  7. Second Conditional
  8. Third Conditional

Sentences

A.  If I had known there was going to be a storm, I would have stayed at home.

B.  The book was written by an unknown author.

C.  My favourite time of the year is summer.

D.  I’ve been learning English for over 10 years.

E.  If schools have more sports lessons, children will become healthier as a result of the exercise.

F.  The government has spent a lot of money on improving traffic safety.

G.  He was teaching a lesson on the language acquisition of children.

H.  If people ate a healthier diet, their health would improve as a result.

IELTS Tips

For a band score 6 and above, you should try to use at least 5 different tenses in both your IELTS speaking test and your IELTS writing test.

Answers (click below for answers)

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IELTS Graph Tutorial: Writing a Complex Sentence

Learn how to write a complex sentence for an IELTS line graph. It is common to be given a line graph to describe the main trends of the lines. This video tutorial shows you step by step how to write a complex sentence structure of over 25 words.

If you are aiming for band score 6 or above, you need to use complex sentences for your line graph description. This lesson will help you learn what information to put in your complex sentence. The complex sentence in this lesson is typical of a sentence used in a body paragraph.

Sentence Content

  • subject
  • verb
  • adverb
  • difference of amounts
  • numbers
  • dates

All sentences in the body paragraphs should be complex and must be supported by data. This means the sentences must have numbers and dates if you wish to get a high score.

IELTS Video: How to Write a Complex Sentence

How to form a complex sentence structure for IELTS writing task 1 line graph.

Sorry – this video has been removed in order to remake it. I hope to have it ready next year. Meanwhile, use this video instead: 4 Main Sentence Structures for IELTS writing task 1

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IELTS Speaking Part 2 Topic: A Place to Learn

Here is a topic card for speaking part 2. What place would you choose to talk about? Remember to choose a place that you know well and can easily talk about for 2 minutes. Make sure that the place you choose matches all prompts on the card.

a place to learn 2
Answers: click below to see some ideas of places you could choose

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