Archives for March 2015

Housing and Trees in Urban Areas: IELTS Essay Question

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Here is a recently reported essay question for IELTS writing task 2 and below are some ideas to help you with this topic.

Some people think that planting trees in open spaces in cities and towns is more important than building houses. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Reasons for Using City Space for Trees

  • Trees and green areas create a peaceful living environment which promotes a better living standard and better mental health.
  • Trees produce oxygen which can counteract against heavy pollution in cities and create a better quality of air.
  • Heat in cities can be better controlled by having more trees which filter the sun’s heat and offer shade. This ultimately lowers the temperature.
  • Planting more trees in urban areas brings nature into cities which is beneficial to people without access to rural areas.
  • Noise levels can also be reduced by planting trees which can act as a buffer against sound.
  • Planting more trees can make the living environment more pleasant which is thought to reduce crime to some extent. Trees encourage people to enjoy their neighbourhood and be more active in it which deters petty crime.
  • Trees offer urban wildlife a better environment to live in and play a part in the ecosystem of a city.

Reasons for Using City Space for Housing

  • Lack of affordable housing can lead to rising crime rates. Thus by having more housing, there are more opportunities for everyone to get housing.
  • Without more housing, a city is unable to grow and develop which is essential in a world with an increasing population.
  • Housing is also essential for any country which is hoping to develop its economy as workers must have access to affordable homes.
  • Shelter is a basic requirement for life.
  • Urban space is limited and priority should be given to shelter rather than creating pleasant parks.
  • Without enough homes, people can become homeless which can leads to alcoholism and drugs or slums can develop which can be detrimental to any country.

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Filed Under: IELTS Writing Task 2 Tagged With: ,

Recent IELTS Essay Question: International Aid

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This essay question was reported on March 21st. Below is the essay question and ideas to help you write about both sides.

Some people think that famous people’s support towards international aids organisations draws attention to problems, while others think that celebrities make the problems less important. Discuss both sides and give your opinion.

Ideas for and against the involvement of famous people’s involvement in aid work:

Support for famous people’s involvement

  • Famous people draw media attention wherever they go which helps to highlight the aid organisation and the problem.
  • Charities or causes can be made more popular by celebrity involvement.
    • Take Princess Diana as an illustration, she championed the problem of land mines and brought enormous international attention to an otherwise forgotten problem.
  • Celebrities are able to bridge the gap between a tragedy that has occurred in a distant place and bring it into people’s sitting rooms, making the problem seem more real and less remote.
  • Famous people’s words often have more reach and more global identity. They are able to influence people in different countries and cultures all over the world.
  • People are more likely to give donations when they are called to action by their favourite actor or football star. Fans follow the work of their favourite stars and like to get involved in whatever they are doing.
  • Famous voices calling people to action have more power and influence than someone the public have never heard of. In other words, a familiar voice is often more trustworthy and more compelling.

Against famous people’s involvement

  • More media attention may be given to the famous person’s involvement than the actual aid organisation and can draw attention away from the problem itself.
  • Celebrity involvement can make the message shallow coming from a famous star who does not directly work with the charity.
  • Using famous people to draw attention to particular global problems helps to promote world inequality which should be avoided.
  • If the famous person’s image is damaged in the media for any particular reason, it could have repercussions on the charity and the problem. This means the charity becomes dependent on the famous person maintaining popularity which cannot always be guaranteed.
  • Some people may be put off the aid organisations if they do not like that particular famous person.
  • People may lose interest in a charity if the famous person stops their involvement.

Please note that these ideas must be adapted so that they connect directly with the issues in the essay question. You should not copy these ideas word for word. Instead you should take these ideas, write them in your own words and apply them to the specific essay question.

All Essay Ideas for Writing Task 2

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IELTS Vocabulary: Paraphrasing Tips

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This lesson focuses on IELTS vocabulary and paraphrasing problems. Many students try so hard to paraphrase a word that they are actually making too many mistakes which will lower their band score. This lesson explains how to be careful with paraphrasing and avoid losing marks.

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IELTS Speaking Part 1: Camping

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Below are some questions and a vocabulary for the topic of camping for IELTS speaking part 1. This topic can come in any part of the test although it is most common in part 1. This is a subtopic from the the topic of holidays.

Questions for Camping Speaking Part 1

  • Do you like camping?
  • Did you ever go camping when you were a child?
  • Is camping popular in your country?
  • Where do most people like to go camping?
  • Why do you think people like to go camping?
  • Do you think camping is popular for both men and women?
  • Why do you think children like to go camping?

Model Answers

Two different ways to answer the same question. Both answers offer the examiner a range of vocabulary suitable for the topic.

  • Question: Do you like camping?
  • Answer: Yes, I do. There’s something really exciting about being out in the forest, sleeping in a tent and cooking food over the campfire. It’s lovely to feel so close to nature. Unfortunately, I don’t get much chance to do it.
  • Answer: No, I don’t. I hate the idea of sleeping in a cramped tent and eating awful camp food. I would much prefer to sleep in a hotel where I had my own bathroom with a power shower. I honestly don’t know why people enjoy it.

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Camping Vocabulary

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Essay Ideas about Salaries

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The essay question below is currently being used in IELTS writing task 2 and was reported last weekend.

In many countries in the world, some people earn extremely high salaries. Some people think that this good for a country. Others think that the government should not allow salaries above a certain level. Discuss both views and give your opinion.

Why some people earning high salaries is good for a country:

  • people who are highly skilled and talented should be rewarded with high salaries.
  • high salaries are an incentive for others to work harder.
  • high salaries are important to entice people to do dangerous or unpleasant work.
  • having high salaries is a sign of a country’s wealth.
  • high salaries is a way for a country to express their gratitude for a person’s experience or expertise.
  • high salaries deter skilled or talented people leaving a country.

Why the government should not allow salaries above a certain level:

  • the government should ensure that wealth is evenly distributed throughout a country.
  • limiting high salaries would bring more equality.
  • it can be disheartening for some to receive a low salary while others receive a high salary without much justification.
  • capping high salaries will prevent the rich from gaining unfair control over certain aspects of society.
  • limiting high salaries will mean more funding for public services which will benefit all people in society.

See all writing task 2 lessons, tips and model essays: IELTS Writing Task 2

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Practice Exercise for IELTS Diagrams

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Below is a practice exercise to help you improve your IELTS diagrams. You need to fill in the gaps in the paragraph below with the appropriate article or correct form of the noun (a / an / the / nothing / plural). These are the most common mistakes that students make with IELTS diagram descriptions.

The  diagram below shows how hydro-electric power is generated.

ielts diagram practice

Source: the diagram above was not designed by IELTS Liz. Source unknown.

Questions 1-10

This exercise is to develop accuracy with grammar. Complete the paragraph below by either adding an article (a/an/the/nothing) or by having a plural noun. Here is an example to help you understand :

Example

(1) ……..(Electricity)  is generated by (2) ………..(water)  passing through(3) ………….(turbine).  Answers

  • Electricity (no article and no plural)
  • water (no article and no plural)
  • a turbine (we must use an article here as this is a countable noun and we are introducing it for the first time)

Diagram Exercise

It can be seen that (1) ……………………(evaporation) is caused by (2) ………………….(sun’s heat) and results in (3) …………….(cloud formation) which later leads to (4) …………….. (rain). As rain falls, it is collected in (5) ………………… (reservoir) which is controlled by (6) ………….(dam). The flow of the water from (7) ……………(dam), is controlled by (8) ………….. (valve) which opens and closes to allow water to flow to (9) ………….. (turbine) below for (10) ………… (production) of electricity.

Answers

Click below to reveal the answers:

Answers

It can be seen that (1) evaporation is caused by (2) the sun’s heat and results in (3) cloud formation which later leads to (4) rain. As rain falls, it is collected in (5) a reservoir which is controlled by (6) a dam. The flow of the water from (7) the dam, is controlled by (8) a valve which opens and closes to allow water to flow to (9) a turbine below for (10) the production of electricity.

 

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The Function of Schools Essay Ideas

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Here is an essay title about the function of schools in the development of a child:

Some people think that schools are merely turning children into good citizens and workers, rather than benefiting them as individuals. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

You can use the ideas below to help you answer the essay question.

Schools merely turn children into good citizens or workers:

  • schools teach discipline which turns children into effective workers.
  • children learn what is right and wrong in school.
  • schools instill the cultural values that are shared by society.
  • skills that enable children to succeed in the job market can first learned in school.

Schools benefit children as individuals:

  •  schools help children discover their potential.
  • children are able to choose the subjects that best suit them.
  • teachers are trained to help children understand their strengths and improve their weaknesses.
  • children can develop confidence as a person either through lessons or extra curricular activities.
  • through school education, children are able to develop an understanding about the world in which they live.

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IELTS Reading Practice: Ebola

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Develop your skills for matching paragraph information for IELTS reading with this reading exercise. Skim read the passage to get the gist of the article. Then spend time reading the questions before you try and locate the answers. The more time you spend analysing the meaning and vocabulary in the questions, the easier it will be. This is a similar level to the academic reading paper.

Reading Passage: Ebola

The questions are listed at the end of the passage. However, because this is a long passage, I have also put the questions at various points in the passage as well ( Q’s).

About Ebola

A) The Ebola virus causes an acute, serious illness which is often fatal if untreated. Ebola virus disease (EVD) first appeared in 1976 in 2 simultaneous outbreaks, one in Nzara, Sudan, and the other in Yambuku, Democratic Republic of Congo. The latter occurred in a village near the Ebola River, from which the disease takes its name.

B) The current outbreak in west Africa, (first cases notified in March 2014), is the largest and most complex Ebola outbreak since the Ebola virus was first discovered in 1976. There have been more cases and deaths in this outbreak than all others combined. It has also spread between countries starting in Guinea then spreading across land borders to Sierra Leone and Liberia, by air (1 traveller only) to Nigeria, and by land (1 traveller) to Senegal. The most severely affected countries, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia have very weak health systems, lacking human and infrastructural resources, having only recently emerged from long periods of conflict and instability. On August 8, the WHO Director-General declared this outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. Qs

  1. Information about possible medicine.
  2. How medical staff can contract the disease through interaction with infected people.
  3. How it came to be called Ebola.
  4. Information about precautionary procedures.
  5. The way Ebola crossed the species barrier.
  6. A description of Ebola.

C) It is thought that fruit bats of the Pteropodidae family are natural Ebola virus hosts. Ebola is introduced into the human population through close contact with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected animals such as chimpanzees, gorillas, fruit bats, monkeys, forest antelope and porcupines found ill or dead or in the rainforest. Ebola then spreads through human-to-human transmission via direct contact (through broken skin or mucous membranes) with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected people, and with surfaces and materials (e.g. bedding, clothing) contaminated with these fluids. Health-care workers have frequently been infected while treating patients with suspected or confirmed EVD. This has occurred through close contact with patients when infection control precautions are not strictly practised.

D) Supportive care-rehydration with oral or intravenous fluids- and treatment of specific symptoms, improves survival. There is as yet no proven treatment available for EVD. However, a range of potential treatments including blood products, immune therapies and drug therapies are currently being evaluated. No licensed vaccines are available yet, but 2 potential vaccines are undergoing human safety testing. Qs

  1. Information about possible medicine.
  2. How medical staff can contract the disease through interaction with infected people.
  3. How it came to be called Ebola.
  4. Information about precautionary procedures.
  5. The way Ebola crossed the species barrier.
  6. A description of Ebola.

E) Health-care workers caring for patients with suspected or confirmed Ebola virus should apply extra infection control measures to prevent contact with the patient’s blood and body fluids and contaminated surfaces or materials such as clothing and bedding. When in close contact (within 1 metre) of patients with EBV, health-care workers should wear face protection (a face shield or a medical mask and goggles), a clean, non-sterile long-sleeved gown, and gloves (sterile gloves for some procedures).

Questions 1-6

Which paragraphs contain the following information?

  1. Information about possible medicine.
  2. How medical staff can contract the disease through interaction with infected people.
  3. How it came to be called Ebola.
  4. Information about precautionary procedures.
  5. The way Ebola crossed the species barrier.
  6. A description of Ebola.

Answers

Click below to reveal answers and vocabulary.

Answers

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

Passage taken from WHO

 Vocabulary

  • acute = critical, serious
  • outbreaks = bursts, epidemics
  • emerged from periods of conflict = come out of a time war or instability
  • fruit bat
  • secretion = discharge, emission
  • contaminated = polluted
  • rehydration = the process of restoring lost water
  • proven = confirmed, sure, certain
  • sterile = germ-free, hygienic, sanitary

 

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