Archives for September 2014

IELTS Writing Task 1: Bar Chart

A free video lesson on an IELTS writing task 1 bar chart.

Describing a Bar Chart Step by Step

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IELTS Bar Chart Sample Answer

Below is a band score 9 sample answer for an IELTS  bar chart in writing task 1. Below the model is a link to a video lesson about how to describe an IELTS bar chart. Watch the video to learn essential tips for each paragraph for a high score bar chart.

IELTS bar chart

The bar chart illustrates how many children, divided by gender, played six kinds of sports (tennis, badminton, cycling, swimming, football and hockey) in a town in England in 2012.

Overall, the number of  boys playing sport exceeded that of girls in the given period and the sport with the most significant difference between the genders was football. Football was also the most popular sport for boys while the majority of girls preferred swimming. Furthermore, both males and females least preferred playing hockey.

There were four sports in which boys participated more than girls. While 60 boys played football, the number of girls playing that sport was considerably lower (around 20).  With regards to tennis, the figure for boys who played that sport was 50 as opposed to just under 40 for girls. Similarly, more boys cycled than girls (approximately 35and 20 respectively). The difference, in terms of hockey, was minimal with only about 5 more boys playing that sport than girls.

On the other hand, more girls took part in the two remaining sports which both showed a difference of about 10 between the genders. As many as 50 girls preferred swimming in comparison to 40 girls for badminton.

Recommended Lessons

Essay Ideas and Structure: Public Services

The topic below was just reported in the IELTS academic writing task 2 last week. Take a look at the topic and see some ideas and vocabulary below to help you.

Some people think that the government should spend more money on public service rather than wasting money on the arts. To what extent do you agree.

Public Services:  Schools, Health Care, Public Transportation etc

The Arts:  Museums, Galleries, Theatre etc

One Side Essay Structure:

Introduction: Direct Answer: I disagree that money should be taken from the arts for public services. (this approach gives a clear position on one side and therefore the essay can only give information supporting that side)

Body Paragraph 1: Art is important because all societies need to express their culture through art.

Body Paragraph 2: The arts are often poorly funded and therefore if money were directed away from the arts for any reason, even for public services, it would likely fail entirely.

Body Paragraph 3: Public services do not require more funding because…

Conclusion: restate your opinion and summarise main points.

Balanced Approach Essay Structure

Introduction: Direct Answer: I agree that public services such as health care and transportation need more funding but not at the cost of the arts which are still very important. (this approach gives a clear position and allows you to write about both sides.)

Body Paragraph 1: Health care system – give reasons why this needs more funding.

Body Paragraph 2: Public transport – give reasons why this should be improved.

Body Paragraph 3: Explain that the arts are still important and why money should not be diverted away.

Conclusion – restate your opinion and summarise main points.

Steve, thanks for letting us know about the topic. Good luck with your results!

Main IELTS Pages

Develop your IELTS skills with tips, model answers, lessons, free videos and more.

Answers for Matching Paragraph Information

Below are the answers to the Matching Paragraph Information – Hobbies for the Elderly – which I posted yesterday. Before you check the answers, here are some words to help you with the reading lesson.

  • complicated = difficult
  • absorbing = interesting
  • rewarding = satisfying
  • via = through

Answers

1. C
New methods of communication is a paraphrase for the information contained in the last sentence of section C.
2. B
Socialise means ‘to meet and be with people’. This is a paraphrase for the last sentence of section B.

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

Liz

IELTS Reading Practice: Matching Paragraph Information

Matching paragraph information question in IELTS reading requires strong skills of paraphrasing. This lesson will help you understand the need to paraphrase the sentences given before you try to locate the information in the paragraphs. It’s a good lesson for both GT and academic students, even though the level of this reading is more similar to the GT test. This is an easy practice lesson to help you get started with matching paragraph information questions.

Hobbies for Elderly Parents

A. Card Making

This has become an increasingly popular hobby, as it’s very easy to start and cards can be as simple or complicated as skills allow. Designs can be from templates or completely unique to the person making them. Best of all, it’s a beautiful form of communication with an added personal touch. All family members will relish receiving these personalised cards from someone they love.

B. Art

This can be done at your parent’s home, or in a local art class. It can be painting, drawing, sculpture, or pottery. It does not matter how skilled your parent is, as there are opportunities for all levels. Just give it a go. The creative process is very absorbing and rewarding and it is a great way for your elderly relative to meet new people.

C. Getting Online

If your aging parent likes the look of new technology, but has never learned how to use it, the internet is very easy once someone has shown them how. It opens up a whole new world of information and they will be able to keep in touch easily with children and grandchildren via email, apps, groups and many more exciting options.

D. Playing Cards

What a great way to socialise and have fun at the same time. Playing cards helps keep your brain sharp by remembering strategies and keeping up the cards already played. These games are played in a group and your parent will be paired with another player. This is a great way to form lasting bonds with other elderly people.

E Dance

This is a great way to spend an afternoon or evening. The dance sessions are run by a professional dancer who also have experience in teaching elderly people. This is a chance for them to experience dances from their youth with other likeminded people. And it’s never too late to bring a bit of spice and romance into someone’s life through dance.

Questions 1-6: 
Which paragraph contains the following information? Write the correct letter (A-E) as your answer. Each letter may be used more than once.

  1. Offering new methods of communication.
  2. It’s good to bring the past to life.
  3. Keeping mentally astute helps elderly people.
  4. Tapping into one’s inventiveness through various forms.
  5. It might be possible to find a life partner.
  6. Individualised ways to send tell someone you are thinking of them.

ANSWERS

Click below for the answers:

Answers

Please remember that in the real IELTS test, if you are asked to write a letter, you must write the letter and not the word. Always following instructions very carefully for IELTS.

  1. C
  2. E
  3. D
  4. B
  5. E
  6. A

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

Liz

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Recommended Lessons

IELTS Reading: All Lessons & Tips

 

IELTS Speaking Part 1: What’s your favourite…?

Learn some useful tips for improving and developing your answer to one of the most common questions in IELTS speaking part 1.

In this lesson you will find out what mistake many students make when they answer this question as well as how to create a higher band score answer by adding more information to your answer.

IELTS Video Lesson Speaking Part 3 Question: Urban vs Rural Life

Ideas and vocabulary for a common type of question in IELTS speaking part 3 – How to compare urban and rural life. The ideas and language can also be used in your IELTS writing task 2 essay.

Recommended IELTS Speaking Video Lessons:

How to improve your speaking at home
What’s your favourite…? Part 1 question tips

Transcript

hello welcome to another IELTS

lesson in this lesson we’re going
to look at a very common topic

for IELTS for the speaking test and that is
the topic of

can you guess it’s the topic of homes and
today I’m standing outside a beautiful

old English country home it’s
really lovely here

now my question for you is from speaking
part 3

so that means it’s going to be more
difficult are you ready for your

question

do you think it is better to live

in the countryside or in

a city I would like you to answer that
question

I want you to take your telephone record
your answer and then

check your answer and see how you
can improve that and please do this

before you continue with the video

because now I’m gonna go to the white
board

and I’m gonna give you some vocabulary
and ideas to improve your

answer so record your answer and I’ll see
you

in a minute here is your question

do you think it’s better to live

in the countryside or in a city

have you recorded your answer I hope so

now let me give you some

ideas for the countryside and

for the city and you need to think of
advantages

to living in one up those places let’s
look

at the countryside and see what
advantages

there are the first one is

of lower pace of life

and this means that life

in the countryside often moves more
slowly

than in the city it’s often

more relaxed less stressful

and some people believe pleasanter

so that’s one benefit to country
life

another advantage is less

pollution and also less noise

the pollution is generally air pollution

now less air pollution and less noise in the
countryside

is because there is less industry

there’s less traffic less building work

than in a city and therefore

it is considered healthier to live

in the countryside so that really is a

a big positive point another

plus point to life in the countryside

and that is stronger communities

now what does that mean exactly

well in the countryside people often

live in a town for their whole life

and families live

in the town generation after generation

and that means that they know each other
very well

and therefore the community is quite
close

and neighbours have a good relationship
with each other

this means that the countryside

often gives people a good support
network

because the community is so close

so that is definitely a plus point

the next advantage now that depends

on which country you live in but

in England for example in the
countryside

houses are cheaper than in a city

so that means that they can have bigger
houses

bigger gardens there’s more space you
remember the beautiful house

from the beginning of the video that was
an English

country house over 150 years old

so the owner of that house couldn’t

have the same building if they lived

in a city so those are four

plus points four advantages to

country life now let’s look at cities

maybe you prefer living in the city
now one

definite advantage about that the city has

over country life is

there are more amenities

in a city what are amentities

well another word for amenities is

facility now the facilities and
amenities

that we’re talking about are things like
better restaurants

better sports facilities more leisure
centres for example

also the transport is better a

the roads are better there are so many

more things that you can do

their cinemas shopping malls opera houses

many many more amenities and
facilities

in a city than living in the countryside

in a small town or village

now let’s check the pronunciation of these
words

the first word is amenity

so that four syllables

A Men I Ty

this is ah ah

sound amenity

here is the stress amenity:

amenities so

singular amenity and plural

amenities the next one

facilities Fa

Cil I Ties

this also is ah fa

and the stress of is here

in the second syllable facilities

so the city has more facilities

and amenities to offer than the
countryside

the next positive point

to city life and that is in the city there
are often

better prospects do you know that word

well prospects often mean opportunities

there are more opportunities for people
in the city

the word prospects we often use with

employment and this means that when
there

are better prospects it means

that it’s easier to get a good job

so there are more jobs available in the
city

more prospects and more opportunities
to do what you want to do

and advance get promotion

and improve your life

the next advantage is very clear

better public transport there are more buses
and

trains and undergrounds in

cities and of course in the countryside

there’s often very little public
transport

people need their own transport to get
around

but in the cities if you don’t have
your own transportation

you can still get around and you can
travel using

public transport and the last

advantage again this depends on which
country you live in

but in many countries there is better
education

in the cities than in the countryside

nearly all universities are in

cities often the facilities

at school in the city

they are better than in the countryside

so for example city schools have better
technology

more laptops and computers and high
technology for their students

and the standard of education is often
higher

better teachers so

there are 4 clear positive points to

city life now before we finish

there’s something I want to tell you about
this question

obviously you need to choose

living in the country or living in

city and when you choose one

you really need to compare it with

the other because when you use

a language of comparison when you give a
comparative

sentence it will help your IELTS

speaking results the examiner does need to
hear

a range up different grammar

so we say less and

more well better

say for example there is less pollution
and noise

in the countryside than in

a city there are often better

prospects for work in a city

compared to the countryside

so remember when you give some ideas that
you need to compare them

now these are only 4 ideas for each one

maybe you’ve got some more ideas if you
have

let me know it’s always good to share
ideas

for IELTS well that’s all for this lesson
I hope that was useful and I will see
you again

in another IELTS lesson

here are some more useful IELTS lessons

to help you prepare for your IELTS test

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Answers for All About Rice multiple choice reading.

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