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

Hi guys,

Below are the personal tips from Sujata who scored overall band 8.5 in the IELTS test.

People taking the academic IELTS test can still benefit from these tips. The listening and speaking test is the same for all candidates.

Sujata’s IELTS Results

• Listening = 9
• Reading = 9
• Writing = 7.5
• Speaking = 7.5

My Personal Tips for IELTS Band 8.5

LISTENING
I practised a lot of tests for almost 3 months and that was very helpful. I could understand the pattern of questions clearly and knew what to expect on the test day.- Underlining the key points in the questions really helps to predict the answer before even hearing the recording.- While doing practice tests, one should mark oneself strictly to get an idea about one’s actual score rather than ignoring small mistakes and becoming falsely optimistic about their scores.- Practice tests should be timed like the IELTS in order to get real scores and also to prevent anxiety during the actual test.

READING
I practised a lot of reading tests as well but I restricted myself to doing General tests only because I was going to take GT test.- I frequently used the dictionary and thesaurus to look up the words that I didn’t understand while doing the passage, even if there was no question related to the word. It immediately improved my vocabulary and it undoubtedly helped me in achieving the perfect score.- Timing oneself is equally important in this section as well.

WRITING
Though I did not get a perfect score in this part, I was able to achieve a decent score because I practised writing letters and essays from your website and that too while timing myself. While writing the exam I felt that time was the limiting factor as opposed to lack of ideas and paraphrasing, as many students say. If I had more than an hour, I could have written a better letter and essay on the same topic. So for me, the most challenging part about writing was the time limit. – I did not go through a lot of sample letters and essays as I felt that they limited my ideas, which would be counter-intuitive in the long run. However, I went through one type of sample letter and essay for each question type on your website to get a general idea but that was all.- I can’t stress enough how important paragraphing is while writing task 1 and 2. Liz’s website provides clear information in that regard and one should follow the instructions to the t.

SPEAKING
For me, the speaking part was fun and I remember walking out of the exam like I had just had an informal discussion with a new friend. I hesitated a bit while speaking in the second part which was probably why I did not get a better score.- I had practiced recording some of my answers to time myself and realized that I was giving too long answers to most questions. So I would suggest that one should record themselves to evaluate one’s answers and also the check for grammatical mistakes.

“I came to ieltsliz.com in the first place because it came first when I searched for IELTS exam preparation on google. I must confess that although I had referred to other websites for tips on cracking the IELTS exam, yours was the one I kept coming back to. I think the reason is that you provide a purely informative interface as opposed to other sites which give a lot of irrelevant information as well. Also, the information in your website is clearly demarcated and easy to follow. A person who wishes to learn about the intricacies of the listening part only can go straight to the listening page without being distracted by tips about the other parts of the exam. “

Hope these tips help other aspirants.

Message to Sujata: Very well done with your results!! And thank you for sharing your tips and experience with everyone. I’m sure it will inspire many people 🙂

Below are a list of tips that will help you in speaking part 1.

I want to thank you for posting your concerns on the Research Page for Speaking Part 1. All your concerns will help me create a strong Advanced lesson for part 1.

IELTS Speaking Part 1 Tips

1. Part 1 will last between 4 to 5 mins. Not more and not less.
2. You will know when part 1 starts because the examiner will turn on the recording device.
3. In part 1, you will be asked questions on three everyday topics, such as home, hometown, work, studies, weather, hobbies, family, happiness, parks, sport, cooking, computers, school, food, flowers etc.
4. You cannot ask the examiner to change the topic.
5. The topics are chosen randomly by the examiner from a long list.
6. Just because you don’t like or know much about a topic doesn’t mean you can’t talk about your past, your memories, your hopes, your likes, your dislikes, what people in your country like or what is popular.
7. You will be asked a total of about 12 questions in part 1 based on the three topics.
8. The questions will be about your memories, your childhood, your future hopes, your life, your family, your friends and sometimes about what people think or feel or like in your country. 
9. The examiner will indicate the topic by saying “Let’s talk about X”.
10. Your answers will usually be between 1 – 2 sentences.
11. Always answer directly to show correct use of grammar – Q. Do you like swimming? = A. Yes, I do.  But…
12. You must always add more to your answers = A. Yes, I do. I swim mostly at weekends though because I don’t have much time during the week due to my work commitments. 
13. Never give two or three words as an answer. If you don’t show the examiner your English, you won’t get a good score. Always add more as explained in tip 12.
14. Let the examiner decide when to move to the next question. Keep talking until he or she asks the next question.
15. It is normal to have your answer interrupted – you should be prepared for that. It doesn’t not reflect your score or the strength of your answer. It is just part of the testing system. 
16. Part 1 sometimes feels like a rapid fire question section. Be ready for that.
17. It is fine to give a negative answer. Q. Do you often go to the cinema? = A. No, I don’t. To be honest, I rarely have time. I think the last time I went to the cinema was about two years ago.
18. Some questions might require a longer answer because they need  more explaining. Q. Do you think men and women like similar movies? = A. Well, it’s hard to say. I suppose that it is common for men to prefer movies that are more action based with more special effects, while women generally go for romantic movies and comedies. Of course, that’s an over-generalisation, but I guess you could say that.
19. If you are asked about your hometown, this means the town where you spent most of your childhood. If you were brought up in more than one place, you can choose which place to describe.
20. If you are asked about your neighbourhood, it means the street and streets around where you live now.
21. If you are asked Q. Do you work or do you study?,  just be honest and direct in your answer = A. I work /  I study /  I am a housewife / I don’t work or study at the moment. The examiner will then ask you about your work, about your studies or the examiner will change the topic if you do neither. This is the only time the examiner might change the topic based on your answer.
22. The questions are not because the examiner wants information about your life. The questions are just to give you an opportunity to show your English. Your ideas are not marked. Go to the main speaking page (link given below) to learn about the marking criteria and other information about the speaking test.
23. Some examiners are not as friendly or encouraging as others. You should be ready for that and make sure it does not affect your performance.
24. Your aim in the test is to speak naturally and confidently. Be chatty. Be ready to share your life, your thoughts and your feelings. Be polite, but remember it is informal. Each question is a chance to show the examiner your English. 
25. If you want more tips on preparation, topics & questions for each part, and model answers for IELTS speaking, please go to this page: IELTS Speaking Main Page.
26. If you have taken your test already – feel free to share your experiences and tips in the comments box below.

I hope you find this list useful. Make sure you follow the link to the main speaking page and get lots of free lessons and tips 🙂 Main pages for other sections of the IELTS test can be found through the RED BAR at the top of the website. There are over 300 pages of tips, lessons etc on this site – use them all.

All the best

Liz

Hi guys,

I’d like to ask you about your worries and concerns for IELTS speaking part 1.

I’m starting to prepare an Advanced Video Lesson which will be a Crash Course in IELTS Speaking. To ensure I cover all your concerns as thoroughly as possible, I’d like you to share them with me on this page.

1. What are you worried about most in part 1?
2. Are there any types of questions you struggle with in part 1?
3. Are there any part 1 topics that you find difficult?
4. Is there anything you specifically wish to know about part 1?
5. What would you most like to learn about part 1?

Answers

I have posted tips for speaking part 1.

You can still post your concerns to help me with my e-book. But if you need to know something about part 1, click below:

Click here: https://ieltsliz.com/quick-tips-for-ielts-speaking-part-1/

All the best

Liz

Hi guys,

I have posted a list of problems for the candidate’s letter and also a model letter with notes to help you see what you need to do. This is all posted back on the original page. Click here: Improving an IELTS Letter

All the best

Liz