Archives for October 2014

IELTS Speaking Part 1 Model Answers: Topic Walking

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Do you often walk?
Not really. I don’t have a lot of spare time so I mostly use my bike to get around.

Did you walk much when you were a child?
Yes, I did. I had to walk to school almost every day as a child, which took me almost 20 minutes.

Do you think people walk more nowadays than they did in the past?
No, definitely not. In the past, there were few forms of transport to choose from so most people walked everywhere whereas these days hardly anyone walks anywhere. Most people have their own private car or bike which they use pretty much every day to get where they’re going and even if they don’t, there is plenty of public transport to use instead.

Recommended Lessons

IELTS Speaking Video Lesson: Part 1 What’s my favourite…?
IELTS Speaking Video Lesson: Greeting the examiner
IELTS Listening Video Practice: Names for Section 1

Filed Under: IELTS Speaking Tagged With: ,

IELTS Writing Task 2 Video Lesson: Conclusion Linkers

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Learn which are the best linkers to use to start your conclusion paragraphs for your IELTS essay. This lesson will show you which linkers to use and which you must avoid. Any mistakes with linkers will lower your band score so make sure you watch this lesson.

Recommended

How to write an introduction
What to do with the last 5 mins?

Transcript

hello in this lesson

we’re going to look at the best linkers
to use

to start your conclusion for your IELTS
writing

task 2 essay now I have a list

of linkers on the board and I have seen

students using these linkers for their
IELTS

academic essay now are they

good to use well I can tell you some

of these linkers are inappropriate

they should not be used for the
conclusion

in your task 2 essay now

let’s have a look we’ll start off with
this one here

finally now I know your conclusion

is the final paragraph but finally

does not indicate a conclusion

we use this linker to show

the final main point so that means

we use this linker in the last

body paragraph so you have

firstly secondly finally

and after that you have your conclusion

so please do not use this

for your conclusion now another one

let’s have a look at in a nutshell now

in a nutshell the meaning of this
is to summarize all the main points

briefly so the meaning is correct

but this expression

in a nutshell this is informal

and we mainly use this with speaking

or with some informal writing so that
means

it is wrong to use this kind of linker
with an

academic essay for IELTS it’s something that the
examiner

usually notices and it will

be a problem for your band score so
please

don’t to use in a nutshell for you IELTS

academic essay another one

in general again it does not

really indicate a conclusion

so that leaves 3

linkers we’ve got in conclusion to
conclude

to sum up now although

to sum up is OK I

still wouldn’t recommend using if
somebody asked me

for the best linkers to start the
conclusion

of course I would choose these

now a linker at the beginning

of the paragraph is there help

the reader to help the reader understand

the order of information and to

indicate what the information is so when
I am reading an academic essay

and I see in conclusion or

to conclude I understand this is the
conclusion

and that is good for an academic

essay so in conclusion

to conclude please choose one of them

to start your conclusion for your task
2

essay well that’s all for this lesson

I’ll see you again in another IELTS lesson

Filed Under: IELTS Writing Task 2 Tagged With: , ,

IELTS Reading Practice: Sentence Completion

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An exercise for IELTS Reading Sentence Completion. Read the passage below and then answer the questions.

The War on Smoking

Make no mistake, the move to introduce plain packaging is just the latest front in the war against smoking. Over the past decade, there has been a ban on smoking in public places and moves to restrict displays in shops. But one of the issues that has been concerning health experts and ministers is the number of people who continue to take up smoking, particularly young people.
More than 200,000 under-16’s start in the UK each year – helping ensure a viable market remains for manufacturers once the number of people quitting and dying is taken into account. In countries like the UK where there is a ban on advertising, the pack remains the last major vehicle for promotion. Hence the detail and care taken in the design of the packets with their laminated and special print effects, foil decorations and slide openings and bevelled edges. It should come as no surprise therefore to learn that they have become known as the “silent salesman” and “mobile billboard” within the industry. They are that important. (Passage from here)

Questions 1-4

Complete the sentences. Choose no more than two words and / or a number from the passage for each answer.

  1. …………………… is the most recent strategy to tackle the problem of smoking.
  2. The large number of new smokers, particularly under 16’s, makes certain that cigarette companies will always have a ……………………………….. .
  3. In some countries, packaging is the only method that cigarette companies have for ………………….
  4. Packets are seen as being the ………………………………….. in the cigarette industry.

Answers

Click below to reveal the answers.

Answers
1. plain packaging
2. viable market
3. promotion
4. silent salesman / mobile billboard (you should choose one answer. If you put both, it is an incorrect answer

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

Liz

VocabBuilder
  • the latest front = the most recent development
  • to establish = to introduce
  • makes certain = helps ensure
  • only method of = the last vehicle for
  • edge = side
  • are seen as being = have become known as
  • come as no surprise = be expected

 

Filed Under: IELTS Reading Tagged With: ,

IELTS Frequently Asked Questions

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 IELTS Test Information

What does IELTS mean? Answer

IELTS stands for: International English Language Testing System.

How many skills are tested in the IELTS test? Answer

There are 4 skills tested: listening, reading, writing and speaking.

Does the IELTS test accept American English? Answer

Yes, it does. It is an international test of English. However, most examiners in speaking are English or Australian and may not be familiar with very modern American terms.

Which skills do I take on the same day? Answer

Listening, reading and writing are all taken on the same day. The speaking test can be taken either before, after or on the same day as the other skills.

Is there a break between the reading and writing test? Answer

No, there is no break between the listening, reading and writing test. They are all taken together and take a total of 2 hours and 40 minutes. So, make sure you eat and drink well before you take your test

Can I use a pen in my IELTS Test? Answer

Yes, you can use a pen or pencil for your IELTS writing test. However, for your listening and reading test, you must use a pencil (don’t forget to take an eraser with you).

Test Results Information

How long does it take for my test results to arrive? Answer

Your results will be posted to you 13 days after you have taken your test. It is possible to get your results by sms or online at some test centers. Contact them to find out.

How long are my IELTS results valid? Answer

Your IELTS results are valid for 2 years.

How can I find my score for listening and reading? Answer

Here is a list of band scores for both listening and academic reading (they may vary so click here for the official scoring)

  • band score 6 = 23 correct answers out of 40
  • band score 7 = 30 correct answers out of 40
  • band score 8 = 35 correct answers out of 40

Can I get my IELTS test remarked? Answers

Yes, you can. In 2014, it costs around 100 usd to get your test remarked. It is the same price for all 4 skills or just one. You should contact your local IELTS test center to get the form for remarking.If your results change and your band score goes up, you will get your money refunded.

You have 6 weeks after taking your test to get your test remarked. Your test will be remarked by a different examiner. It takes about 6 to 8 weeks for the results of your remark to arrive. Alternatively, you could take your test again.

Ask me a question: click here.

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Academic vocabulary

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Improve your academic vocabulary. Which of the following words are safe to use for your IELTS writing task 2 essay? The meaning for each word is given in brackets

  • Dissonance (discord / difference of opinion)
  • Gist (general idea / essence)
  • Latent (concealed / hidden)
  • Quack (fake / swindler)
  • Falter (hesitate)
  • Partially (not completely / to a degree)
  • Prattle (chatter)
  • Orate (make a speech)
Answers
There is only one word which cannot be used in an academic piece of writing and that is the word “quack”. This is slang and is inappropriate to use in formal writing. However, although the other words are acceptable to use, the word “prattle” is unlikely to be used but of course it does depend on the topic of the essay . Furthermore, the word “gist” can be used in formal writing, for example ” the gist of the argument was …” but be careful of other ways of using this word.
Filed Under: Vocabulary Tagged With:

IELTS Discussion Essay Video Lesson: Useful Language

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Learn expressions to use in your discussion essay for IELTS writing task 2 with this video lesson. It is important to use a variety of language to express both sides in your essay. Being able to have flexible language for giving other people’s opinions is a good way to increase your vocabulary band score.

Transcript

Hello in this lesson I’m going to look at some expressions that you can use for a discussion essay for IELTS writing task 2. Now when you have a discussion essay you have to support two different sides and this is not about your opinion this is about what other people think, other people’s opinion and you have to support what they think. so here are some very useful expressions to help you show other people’s thoughts and opinions.

Now there’s quite a lot of expressions you can use. I will run through each one but I will tell you now there are two expressions here that you shouldn’t use. can you see which ones? well I’ll tell you at the end of the lesson let’s have a look the first one. “Many people believe that ” this is a very common expression to use for IELTS It is not high band score but its clear and its academic so don’t worry, please use it. The next one “it is commonly believed that” this is a very nice expression because you can see here “is believed” that is the passive and it’s very good to give the examiner some passive tense in your essay. It will improve your band score and you can see this word here “commonly” that means many people so it has the same meaning as this sentence and this word we can change, we could say “it is frequently believed that” or we could say “it is often believed that”. So we could put a different adverb of frequency here. The next one “some people think that”  again it’s very simple but it is academic and its clear. “It is often thought that” here we’ve got another passive, so very nice to use. But “on the side of” or “the other side of the coin is” this is the other opinion, the other side. “It is considered by many that” this is a very nice expression is very academic. It’s very good to use for IELTS and again you have a passive here and you can change this word if you want and you could say “it is considered by some that”. The next one here “many argue that” is very nice very clear. You don’t need to say “many people”, you could say “many argue that “. Another one, “it is argued by some that”, again here we’ve got the passive and you can change this word, “it is argued by many that”. “On the one hand” and”On the other hand”, so that’s the one side of the argument, on the other hand that’s the other side of the argument. The last one “some people support the opinion that” again this is very nice, very academic.

So can you see the 2 expressions that you shouldn’t use? Well, it is these 2 here this one is not very academic, we use it more for speaking, and this one many students love to use this because it is an idiom however it is very informal and we don’t usually use that for an academic essay for IELTS so please don’t use that one in your discussion essay. But all the others are great and when you’re writing your discussion essay it’s very important that you give the simple tense and then sometimes a passive as well and you can keep changing that through your essay to show flexibility. Well that’s all for this lesson I’ll see you again in another IELTS lesson

Discussion Essay Model Answer

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Answers for Summary Reading

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Answer for yesterday’s IELTS reading lesson for the summary “The Importance of Sleep”. Before you check the answers, here is some useful vocabulary to help you:

  • adolescents = teens(not academic) = teenagers
  • promotes = helps support
  • chronic = long term – continual – unending
  • lack of sleep = sleep deficiency
  • have an impact on = can affect
  • important aspects of our lives = think, react, work, learn & get along with others

Answers

Click below to reveal the answers.

Answers
1. quality
2. growth (any order)
3. development (any order)
4. chronic

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

Liz

 

Filed Under: IELTS Reading

IELTS Reading: Summary Exercise

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This IELTS reading practice lesson focuses on completing a summary. It is a common question type in IELTS reading. First, read the passage below and then fill in the summary.

The Importance of Sleep

Sleep plays a vital role in good health and well-being throughout your life. Getting enough quality sleep at the right times can help protect your mental health, physical health, quality of life, and safety.
The way you feel while you’re awake depends in part on what happens while you’re sleeping. During sleep, your body is working to support healthy brain function and maintain your physical health. In children and teens, sleep also helps support growth and development.
The damage from sleep deficiency can occur in an instant (such as a car crash), or it can harm you over time. For example, ongoing sleep deficiency can raise your risk for some chronic health problems. It also can affect how well you think, react, work, learn, and get along with others.

Questions 1-4
Complete the summary below.
Choose no more than two words from the passage for each answer.

Why sleep is important

Physical and mental health is at risk without enough 1. ……………………….. sleep. Furthermore, for adolescents, sleep promotes 2. ………………………….. and 3. ……………………….. Lack of sleep can be the cause of 4. ………………. health problems which can also have an impact on important aspects of our lives.

Click to see: Answers and vocabulary

Passage taken and adapted from here.

Recommended Lessons

IELTS Reading Practice: Multiple Choice
IELTS Reading Practice: Sentence Completion
IELTS Reading Practice: Matching Paragraph Information

Filed Under: IELTS Reading Tagged With: ,
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