Prepare properly for IELTS

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Hi guys,

This video is a free video lesson about how to prepare for IELTS. It is posted on my home page but I feel many students are not finding it. So, here is your chance to watch it and think about the points given.

In the video, it mentions about knowing your level of English. Let me explain:

  • Band 5 = frequent errors
  • Band 6 = some errors
  • Band 7 = few errors
  • Band 8 = most sentences are error free

I am sure you all know how many errors you make on average. You don’t need a teacher to tell you. You can use spell check and grammar check in ms word doc. You should also review your vocab frequently and your understanding of grammar tenses. You can also review your range of grammar tenses by recording your speaking answers and playing it back to check. Or writing a task 2 essay and underlining each grammar tense you use.

IELTS Video Lesson: How to Prepare

[su_youtube url=”https://youtu.be/2TAhwbB8GKM”]

 

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Answers to Dinosaur Reading Questions

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Hi guys,

Yesterday I posted a reading exercise on pterosaur dinosaurs and now you can find the answers. If you didn’t finish the reading exercise, please do it now: TFNG questions pterosaur dinosaurs

Answers

Click below to reveal the answers:

Answers, Explanations & Tips

Answers

  1. Question = Pterosaurs were the first creatures to be able to fly by creating lift

Answer: F

Passage Information: “They were also the first animals after insects to evolve powered flight—not just leaping or gliding, but flapping their wings to generate lift and travel through the air.”

Explanation: the word creatures refers to both animals and insects. The passage shows that animals (pterosaurs) could fly after insects. This means insects were first. Creating lift relates to “generating lift”.

The reading passage for this lesson was taken from the American Museum of Natural History. You can read the full information about pterosaurs on their website: AMNH pterosaurs.Some students have comments on “flapping wings”.  You can read about insect flight on this page: WIKI Insect Flight  or check directly with AMNH about their article.

2. Question = Pterosaurs were able to fly as high as modern aeroplanes.

Answer: NG

Passage Information: ” Some were as large as an F-16 fighter jet, and others as small as a paper aeroplane.”

Explanation: You can see that the passage does not give information about how high the dinosaurs could fly. No mention of height is given. The passage only mentions “F-16 fighter jet” – not a range of modern planes. This means the answer is Not Given.

3. Question = The shape and the size of pterosaurs varied over time.

Answer: T

Passage Information: “Over time, the earliest pterosaurs—relatively small flying reptiles with sturdy bodies and long tails—evolved into a broad variety of species. Some had long, slender jaws, elaborate head crests, or specialized teeth, and some were extraordinarily large.”

Explanation: You can see from the passage that at the beginning all pterosaurs were quite small. But then they changed and some of them grew to be very big. The word “evolved” indicated natural evolution which happens over a period of time and also the confirmation “over time”. The passage also mentioned the shape of the pterosaurs = “Some had long, slender jaws, elaborate head crests”. The word “some” means that some had this shape and others had a different shape.

Tips

The answer might not be in one sentence. Once you locate the information, read the sentences before and after to locate more information. You will often have to read 4 or 5 sentences in the passage in order to decide your answer.

You can see that I posted the passage information and explanation. You should do this when you practice full reading tests at home. After you finish the test, review each question and answer -write down the explanation for the answer so you can see your mistakes more clearly in order to learn and develop.

Message from Liz

Most of you got the answers spot on – well done 🙂 If you got one or two wrong, I hope you can understand why from my explanations above.

I will try and post more lessons soon.

Liz

 

 

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Reading Practice Question

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Below is a short reading passage with questions to help you practice your IELTS reading TFNG. This topic was reported in the test this month, July 2017.  This is an IELTS Liz reading exercise, not a test paper.

Tips:

  • True = the passage shows the statement is correct
  • False = the passage shows the statement is incorrect
  • Not Given = not enough information is given to know if it is correct or incorrect

Reading Exercise: Pterosaurs

Neither birds nor bats, pterosaurs were reptiles, close cousins of dinosaurs who evolved on a separate branch of the reptile family tree. They were also the first animals after insects to evolve powered flight—not just leaping or gliding, but flapping their wings to generate lift and travel through the air. They evolved into dozens of species. Some were as large as an F-16 fighter jet, and others as small as a paper airplane.

Pterosaurs were an extremely successful group of reptiles. They flourished all through the age of dinosaurs, a period of more than 150 million years. Over time, the earliest pterosaurs—relatively small flying reptiles with sturdy bodies and long tails—evolved into a broad variety of species. Some had long, slender jaws, elaborate head crests, or specialized teeth, and some were extraordinarily large.

This passage is from amnh.org (American Museum of Natural History) See the full reading passage: What is a Pterosaur?

Questions: Are the following statements True/ False or Not Given according to the information in the passage?

  1. Pterosaurs were the first creatures to be able to fly by creating lift.
  2. Pterosaurs were able to fly as high as modern aeroplanes.
  3. The shape and the size of pterosaurs varied as they evolved.

Answers

The answers are now available. Click to see answers: Answers to pterosaur reading exercise

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Look at your Notes in IELTS Speaking Part 2

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Many students ask me if it is ok to look at your notes during your IELTS speaking part 2 talk. Let me explain…

Looking at your Notes

It is important to look at your notes during your talk. You can’t remember everything and this is the reason why you have 1 mins to plan and write notes.

Checking your notes will make sure you keep a logical order and also make sure you don’t forget to talk about something.

Does it lower my score to look at my notes a lot?

No, it doesn’t. You will not get a lower score if you look at your notes a lot.

Of course, it is good to have eye contact with the examiner because it shows confidence. But it won’t affect your score. Your score is based only on your level of English language: fluency, vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation.

Liz’s Advice

Keep checking your notes during your talk. But also look at the examiner. When students talk with their head in their notes, they often lose intonation and don’t speak naturally. So, try to aim for a balance – look at your notes as often as you need but also make sure you speak naturally by looking up at the examiner.

IELTS Speaking Tips & Answers

See my page of speaking tips and model answers for IELTS speaking: IELTS Speaking Main Page

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Dreams Topic for IELTS Speaking Part 1

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Model Answers for the Speaking Part 1 Topic: Dreams. I’ve written a few model answers for each question so you can see the usual length of answers. You do not need to concern yourself too much with the length of answers in part 1. Just keep talking and allow the examiner to interrupt you when the examiner wants to move to the next question. Allow the examiner to guide you through the test.

I’ve also written a list of useful vocabulary for Dreams Topic below.

Dreams – IELTS Speaking Part 1 Questions

  1. Do you often have dreams?
  2. Do you usually remember your dreams?
  3. Do you think we can learn something from dreams?

Model Answers for Dreams IELTS Speaking Part 1

  1. Do you often have dreams?
    1. Yes, I do. I have quite vivid dreams about things that are going on in my life at the time and I even have nightmares sometimes.
    2. No. I usually sleep very deeply and so I don’t dream at all.
    3. I used to dream all the time but in the last few years I’ve hardly had any dreams at all.
    4. I usually have dreams when I’m upset about something. I guess it’s my subconscious trying to work things out. But other than that, I don’t often dream.
  2.  Do you usually remember your dreams?
    1.  No, they’re usually very vague and I only remember the odd thing or image. But I can never remember the entire dream as they are too abstract.
    2. No, luckily I don’t remember them as they are almost always nightmares.
    3. Yes, I do. I remember almost every dream I have. I keep a dream diary so that I can analyse them later.
  3. Do you think we can learn something from dreams?
    1. No, I don’t. I think dreams are nonsense and not based in reality so I don’t think people should waste their time trying to find a meaning in them.
    2. No, I don’t. I think most people dream because they are not relaxed enough and are not able to enter deep sleep. I don’t think there’s any meaning in what people dream.
    3. Yes, I do. I think our subconscious is trying to figure things out and we can find clues by analysing our dreams.
    4. Yes, I do. I think dreams can reveal hidden messages if we know how to interpret them correctly.
    5. Yes, I do. I know dreaming of a snake means that enemies are close. And if you dream of your teeth falling out, it means a big change will happen in your life. I think dreams are very symbolic.

Useful Vocabulary for Dreams Speaking Topic:

It is possible to get this topic in Speaking part 2 and part 3. So, use this vocabulary list to help you prepare.

  • disturbed sleep / disrupted sleep
  • deep sleep
  • peaceful sleep
  • nightmares
  • daydreams
  • vivid dreams
  • vague dreams
  • abstract dreams
  • subconscious thinking / subconscious mind
  • symbolic meaning
  • to analyse our dreams
  • nonsense
  • dream diary
  • reveal messages
  • interpret dreams
  • dreams represent conflicted emotions or thoughts
  • dreams associated with past memories and current concerns
  • sleep cycles – people go through various cycles of sleeps during the night. Vivid dreams mostly happen during the REM cycle.
  • to fall asleep / struggle to get to sleep / struggle to stay asleep / wake up during the night

Recommended for you:

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IELTS Speaking Part 1 Topic

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Hi guys,

A speaking part 1 topic this summer is the topic of Dreams. Below you will see some questions for this topic.

Instructions

In speaking part 1, you will be asked about 12 questions in 4 to 5 mins. This means you will probably be able to give about one or two long sentences for each answer. Always answer directly and always add a bit more information so that the examiner can hear your English.

Questions

  1. Do you often have dreams?
  2. Do you usually remember your dreams?
  3. Do you think we can learn something from dreams?

Answers

I have posted model answers on this page: Model Answers to Dream Questions

 

IELTS Speaking Tips

Get all my IELTS speaking tips: IELTS Speaking Tips & Model Answers

IELTS Recent Exam Questions

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Answers to IELTS Writing Task 1 Synonyms Exercise

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Hi guys,

Here are the answers to yesterday’s exercise about using synonyms in IELTS writing task 1. I think it was a good exercise because I see many students have different answers and are unclear about collocations. Mistakes in vocabulary will lower your score.

Let me know if the lesson was useful 🙂

Questions

Are the verbs correct in the sentences below? Are they Right or Wrong?

  1. More boys than girls enjoyed sport.
  2. Fewer girls participated in tennis than boys.
  3. Almost twice the number of boys played cycling.
  4. More girls took part in swimming compared to boys.
  5. The majority of boys engaged in football.
  6. More girls competed in badminton than boys.

Answers

  1. W = Wrong. The chart is about playing sport but about enjoying it. The chart does not give information about how boys or girls felt. This would be marked as a mistake.
  2. R = Right. The verb “participate in” works well as a synonyms for “play” when referring to sport.
  3. W = Wrong. The verb “play” is not possible with the noun “cycling”. This is a mistake with vocabulary – an incorrect collocation. When writing or talking about cycling, we can use the verb “do”.
  4. R = Right. The verb “take part in” works well as a paraphrase for “play” in this context.
  5. W = Wrong. The verb “engage” is incorrect when writing about sport.
  6. W = Wrong. The verb “compete” is about competitions. This chart is about playing sports, not competing in sports. This would be marked as a vocabulary mistake.

Comment

You can see that paraphrasing is about deciding if nouns and verbs match. It is about understanding the context. It is about choosing correctly.  Some words will be repeated – this is normal in English.

Paraphrasing Video

Watch this video to learn more about being careful with paraphrases.

 

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IELTS Writing Task 1 Synonyms Practice Exercise

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It is important to use synonyms in IELTS writing task 1. Paraphrasing will help you get a higher band score for writing task 1. However, you need to be careful not to make mistakes.

Look at the chart below and then answer the questions.

IELTS Bar Chart Synonyms

Synonyms Practice Exercise

The bar chart above is about “playing sport”. The list of sports are: tennis, badminton, cycling, swimming, football and hockey.  The verbs below are in past tense as the date is 2012.

Decide if the following synonyms are Right (R) or Wrong (W).

  1. More boys than girls enjoyed sport.   (enjoyed sport = Right or Wrong?)
  2. Fewer girls participated in tennis than boys. (participated in tennis = R or W?)
  3. Almost twice the number of boys played cycling. (played cycling = R or W?)
  4. More girls took part in swimming compared to boys. (took part in swimming – R or W?)
  5. The majority of boys engaged in football. (engaged in football- R or W?)
  6. More girls competed in badminton than boys. (competed in badminton = R or W?)

Answers

See the answers: Click here: Answers to this Exercise

To see model answers and tips for IELTS writing task 1, click: IELTS Writing Task 1 Page

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