English Expressions: Eat your Greens!

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This lesson focuses on a great expression for the topic of food when talking about vegetables “eat your greens”. The video tutorial below explains the meaning and how to use it correctly.

Eat Your Greens: Video Tutorial

Comments: This is a flexible use of English for IELTS speaking but not to be used in writing. This expression is always used in the plural “greens” and never used as a singular “green”.

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IELTS Speaking Part 1: Vegetables

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It is possible to get a topic about vegetables in IELTS speaking part 1. Below are some of the possible questions with a model answer and also a link to learn vocabulary for this topic.

  1. Do you like vegetables?
  2. Are there any vegetables you dislike?
  3. Did you like vegetables when you were a child?
  4. Are vegetables popular in your country?
  5. Do most people eat vegetables with their meal in your country?
  6. Are there many vegetarians in your country?
  7. Do you think it is important to eat vegetables?
  8. How can parents encourage their children to eat more vegetables?

Model Answers

  • Question: Do most people eat vegetables in your country?
  • Answer: Yes, they do. Almost every meal has either rice or potatoes and also another vegetable as well, such as cabbage, carrots, green beans or something like that. Quite a lot of people have a small proportion of vegetables to meat but at least they always have some kind of vegetable with their meal.

 

  • Question: Are there many vegetarians in your country?
  • Yes, quite a lot. Many people choose to avoid eating meat and their diet consists of both vegetables and grains. There are quite a few restaurants in my city which cater to vegetarians and offer the most wonderful dishes such as fried aubergine, spinach and potato, onion cakes and things like that. They’re actually very delicious.

Click the link to learn vocabulary for vegetables

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Essay Ideas: Littering in Cities

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Ideas for an opinion essay

Littering in cities is an increasing problem which needs to be dealt with. Some people think that steeper fines is the best way to deal with the problem.

To what extent do you agree?

When you analyse a statement for an opinion essay, it is useful to ask yourself different questions regarding the topic. Think about the questions below and then decide your answer.

Questions for Analysis

  1. What is littering? Answer
    Dropping waste on the ground or in the streets rather than disposing of it correctly by putting it in the bin.
  2. Why do people litter?Answer
    Some litter because they don’t care about the effects and some do it just for convenience.
  3. It is already an offence to throw litter in the streets so why do people continue to do it?Answer
    Most people know it is wrong but they do it because they know they will not be caught.
  4. Would having a bigger fine stop them?Answer
    It is possible that a heavy fine might deter them but only if it is likely they will be caught and the fine imposed.
  5. Is having a bigger fine the best way to stop littering? Answer
    It’s one way to stop people but not everyone agrees that it is the best way.
  6. Are there other ways to stop littering? Answer
    Yes, one way is to put more bins in the streets so that people will use them rather than throw their litter on the floor. Educating children from a young age to dispose of their litter correctly is another way. Some people think that having more police on the streets would be a good deterrent because people will be less likely to attempt to litter the streets.

Now use your ideas and form them into an essay format. That means you should have two or three main ideas which are divided into two or three body paragraphs. After you have your essay ideas planned, check the model  body paragraphs below. Can you write the introduction and conclusion for the model essay below?

Model Body Paragraphs

Body Paragraph A: Having bigger fines is certainly one way to tackle the issue of littering. Increasing the fines will make people take littering more seriously. At present, many people litter the streets because they do not consider this to be a serious offence and for the convenience but by imposing a considerable penalty, people will think twice before they litter.

Body Paragraph B: However, the best way to deal with the problem of littering would be a long-term solution involving educating the younger generation. Littering is common due to the fact that many people are not fully aware of the environmental and health impacts that it has. By raising awareness and building a habit of disposing of waste correctly, this problem can be eradicated in coming generations.

Body Paragraph C: Finally, another possible solution would be to have more litter bins available to the public. The reason being that the majority of people littering the streets do so because there are no bins available to put their waste in and they do not wish to carry their rubbish with them until they find a bin. By having more bins available, it would not only be more convenient for people to dispose of their waste properly but it would also act as a reminder for them to do so.

 

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How to write a line graph for IELTS writing task 1

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Learn how to describe a line graph for IELTS writing task 1. IELTS Line graphs are common in writing task 1 along with bar charts, tables, maps, diagrams and pie charts. This lesson was last up-dated in 2018.

The guidelines below will help you structure your line graph answer and focus on the right aspects for a high score.

Steps: How to write IELTS Line Graphs

  1. Have a clear introduction.
    1. try to include all information from the two axis and the names of categories.
  2. Put all main trends in an overview statement – this should be contained in one paragraph.
    1. do not divide your key points into different paragraphs. Make sure you include the main increases and decreases shown.
  3. Use a range of vocabulary and do not make spelling mistakes.
    1. Use different verbs and nouns
    2. Use a range of adjectives and adverbs
    3. Vary your time phrases
    4. Click here to get a word list: LINE GRAPH VOCABULARY
  4. Don’t always give from … to … for the amounts, sometimes you can give the difference “it increased by double..”.
  5. Put numbers or percentages to support your sentences in the body paragraph. Failure to do that will result in a low score.
  6. Organise your body paragraphs logically so it is easy for the examiner to read.
    1. Leave an empty line between paragraphs to make them easier to see. This is not a rule, it is a strong recommendation.
  7. If the line graph contains many lines and a lot of movement, be selective. You are being marked on your ability to select key features.
  8. Don’t spend more than 20 mins on task 1. You will need a full 40 mins for task 2.
  9. Write 150 words or more. Aim for about 160-190 words. Don’t write under the word count.
  10. Follow well-written model answers.
    1. Click here: IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answers

Line Graph Sample

It is not common to be given only one line in IELTS writing task 1. However, this answer will provide you will an example of vocabulary, layout and general content.

  • Source: IELTS Liz

Line Graph Model Answer

The graph illustrates how many people from the age of 65 and above were reported to have contracted influenza in a particular village in the UK from 1985 to 1995.

Overall, the number of cases of elderly people with influenza increased over the period given. The highest number of people with the illness can be seen in 1991.

In 1985, the number of cases of influenza stood at 40 and then rose steadily over the next three years to reach 55 in 1987. In the following year, 1988, the figure dipped slightly to below 50 after which it rose significantly to reach a high of 75 in 1991.

From 1991, there was a decrease to about 60 in 1993 of the number of reported cases of influenza. From this point, except for a slight increase of about 5 cases, the number remained at about 60 at the end of the period.

151 words

Focus Points:

Take time to read through the model and pay attention to:

  1. the content of each paragraph
  2. the use of verbs, nouns, adverbs and adjectives
  3. the logical order of information in the body paragraphs

Please note: this is a practice exercise lesson. It is rare for IELTS to give a one-line graph. So, use this to practice language and technique.

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Liz

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How should music lessons be funded? Sample Answer

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Below is a student’s discussion essay. Read through the essay and then answer the questions below.

Some people think that the government should fund music, dance and arts lessons for children. Others think that they should be funded by private businesses or by children’s families. Discuss both views and give your own opinion.

Student Essay 

It is argued in the statement that government should contribute in music, dance and arts learning of the children whereas many others think that it is the responsibility of parents or local organisations to support these programs. In my opinion, the above mentioned subjects should be aided by the concerning and governing bodies of a state.


On the one hand, it is often thought by many people that government of a state should contribute in learning of arts and cultural subjects such as music and dance for the children. For example, in some secondary schools, government provides material required in the construction of different art projects or instruments like guitar and keyboard to learn music. This example clearly shows that by providing support to the young students, government could easily promote cultural and traditional values all around the world. Hence, governments are responsible for the growth of arts and music.


On the other hand, according to some people, instead of governing bodies, children’s families or private agencies should participate in the growth and learning of music, dance or other arts work. For instance, students of a single class may not be equally interested in learning music or dance, so funding by the government could be wasted in this manner. Therefore, it is important that parents of interested kids should groom their children by sending them to the private institutions where they can enjoy their preferences. In this way, funds by the government can be utilized well on some other things.


To conclude, I believe that government should provide all the facilities of learning arts and music, as this is the cultural heritage which should be preserved internationally.

Questions

  1. Does the student give a clear opinion? What is their opinion? Answer
    The answer is given quite well. The student believes the government should pay for the lessons. However, the vocabulary is not completely clear “the concerning and governing bodies of a state.” The word “concerning” is irrelevant and is slightly confusing. The thesis statement should be very clear and vocabulary 100% accurate so only write about the government.
  2. Is the information in the introduction relevant?Answer
    Yes, the information given is mostly relevant. There is no unnecessary information given. There is a background statement and a thesis statement. However, the introduction could be improved by using more precise vocabulary. For example, the students wrote “government should contribute in music, dance and arts learning” but this essay is about money and funding not just contributing. Again in the thesis statement the student writes “should be aided” but this essay is not about giving help, it’s about money. “The student is trying to avoid repeating the word “funding” but it should be repeated – you can get a band score 9 even with that word repeated. Another way to say it is “pay for”.
  3. What reasons are given in the essay for the government to fund lessons in school? Can you think of other reasons?Answer
    The ideas are not completely clear but they are that the government can pay for equipment and can help in the growth of the arts. This could be written more clearly “One reason for government funding is that the government has more financial resources to pay for expensive equipment needed to run top quality classes. Another benefit of state funded lessons is that they can help promote these subjects on a wider scale.” Thes e are the main reasons. 
  4. What reasons are given in the essay for lessons to be privately funded? Are they correct? Can you think of more?Answer
    The reasons are that students are not all equally interested in art or music and another reason is that students can enjoy their preferences in private lessons. These are good reasons but in this paragraph there is also disadvantages of government funding – that is not needed in this paragraph. This paragraph should be about private funding only. Other reasons why privately funded lessons are better – 1. teachers can adapt lessons to suit the individual learner 2. the time and length of lesson is more flexible 3. classes are either individual or one-to-one so there’s more feedback and support
  5. Can you find an example of non academic words?Answer
    Yes, the word “kid”. This student is worried about repeating the word “children” and it over paraphrasing. Children are children – the word will be repeated. “kid” is not academic. Also the word “like” used as a linking device is not academic. 
  6. What band score would you give this essay?Answer
     The essay structure is excellent. The ideas are mostly relevant. It would probably get about 6.5. It could get band score 7 if the vocabulary was more accurate and the student wrote about funding rather than helping.
  7. What advice would you give this student to improve?Answer
    Don’t try to paraphrase all words. Decide which words can and cannot be paraphrase accurately. Also don’t change the meaning of the essay. Over paraphrasing is as problematic as under paraphrasing. This essay is about funding not about contributing or aiding. Underline the key words in the essay question and always make sure you are answering them.

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IELTS Short Answer Questions: Reading Practice

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IELTS Reading Short Answer Questions: Essential Tips and Practice Lesson. This question type requires you to locate a word, words or numbers in the passage which are precise answers to a given question. These are not the most common form of question you can get in IELTS reading, but still well worth preparing for. Each point you win counts so make sure you are fully prepared.

IELTS Reading Short Answer Question Tips

I’ll keep the tips short for this type of question because they are very easy to understand. For matching headings and TFNG questions, you’ll find a long list of tips because they are quite unusual questions, specific to IELTS. However, these questions are simple so just a few tips will be enough for you.

  1. You must locate information in the passage which is the answer to a question.
  2. This is the type of question that most of you will be familiar with.
  3. Spend time preparing the questions.
    1. Look for keywords that can help you locate the information in the passage
    2. Note keywords that help you know what type of answer you are looking for – such as a noun.
    3. The answers for short answer questions always come in order in the passage.
  4. Your answer will be a word or words from the passage. Do not change the word – it must be as it is written in the passage.
  5. The instructions will tell you how many words/numbers you can have for your answer.
  6. Spelling counts – if you spell the word incorrectly, your answer is wrong.

IELTS Reading Short Answer Question Practice 

Please note: I am not trying to promote a religion with this topic. It is just an interesting topic about painted eggs. Like IELTS, I try to keep my work non-religious and non-political. 

Reading Passage: The History of Painted Eggs

Easter eggs, aka Paschal eggs in some parts of the world, are special eggs that are often given to celebrate Easter or springtime. The practice of decorating eggshell dates back thousands of years. Ostrich eggs with engraved IELTS Short Answer Practice Lesson: Easter Eggsdecoration that are 60,000 years old have been found in Africa. As far as historians know, the act of egg decoration did not have any religious origin and was just decorative. In Persian culture, eggs were sometimes painted by the whole family as they sat together preparing for the arrival of Spring and their New Year. And even today, people enjoy painting eggs without being at all religious.

Eventually, eggs which often symbolised Spring become connected to the celebration of Easter. In Europe, it was traditional to use dyed and painted chicken eggs at Easter, but a modern custom is to substitute chocolate eggs, or plastic eggs filled with confectionery such as jelly beans. Easter eggs are a widely popular symbol of new life in Bulgaria, Poland, Romania, Russia, Ukraine, and other Central European countries where they are concealed in the garden for children to find. The British Queen, Queen Victoria, was also known to enjoy egg hunts, organising them for her children inside Kensington Palace in London which brought the tradition to the UK. Eggs, in general, were a traditional symbol of fertility and rebirth. Some magic rituals, these days, often use eggs to promote fertility and restore virility (of the body and mind); and to foresee the future. The Easter Bunny is another symbol associated with Easter but the origin is unclear. Some people believe that the Easter Bunny came about because both eggs and rabbits are often seen as symbols of fertility. Others believe the Easter Bunny originated in Germany were it was a judge of how well behaved children had been by the start of the season. The naughty or nice theme for children can be seen again in the tradition of Santa Clause at Christmas. Nowadays, in many countries, the Easter bunny is responsible for bringing the children their Easter eggs.

In Russia, the incredible Peter Carl Faberge took the concept of eggs as decoration to another level. He created 50 Imperial Easter Eggs between 1885 to 1916. His remarkable eggs were made of gold, silver and other materials and were inlaid with pearls and precious gems, each egg completely unique and exquisite. Many of them have since disappeared from the world. I great loss to the world of art.

Questions 1-6  Short Answer Questions 

Answer the questions below. Choose no more than two words from the passage for each answer.

  1.  What is another name for an Easter Egg?
  2. What type of egg was used for decoration in the ancient world?
  3. What type of sweets were artificial eggs sometimes filled with?
  4. Where are egg hunts often conducted as part of a hide and seek game in some countries?
  5. By and large, what two things did eggs represent?
  6. What determined if children had been naughty or nice at the beginning of Spring.

Questions 7-11 Paraphrasing Vocabulary Practice

Find the synonym for the words below in the reading passage. Answers might not come in order.

  • 7. ceremonies
  • 8. sweets
  • 9. adorning
  • 10. originated
  • 11. carved / etched

Note: IELTS Reading does not contain specific vocabulary questions. I’ve including this as a language building exercise for paraphrasing.

ANSWERS

Click below to reveal the answers.

Answers
  1. PASCHAL (EGGS)
  2. OSTRICH (EGGS)
  3. JELLY BEANS
  4. GARDEN
    1. The use of brackets in answer keys means you can put the word in brackets in your answer or not – both options are correct. You can’t use brackets for your answers in the test, this is only in answer keys.
    2. “Kensington Palace” is not the answer because this only refers to the UK rather than some countries which means the answer actually is contained in the sentence before that.
  5. FERTILITY  REBIRTH
    1. using “and” would be wrong – just two words are needed.
    2. No punctuation is needed but would not be counted wrong if you used a comma
  6. EASTER BUNNY
Vocabulary Answers
See the list of vocabulary below to boost your paraphrasing skills.

  • 7. rituals
  • 8. confectionery
  • 9. decorating
  • 10. came about
  • 11. engraved

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IELTS Listening Summary Completion: Practice & Tips

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IELTS listening summary completion essential tips and practice. These questions are quite common in the listening test and can appear in any section. You are required to listen and select the correct words or numbers to fill in the gaps. 

IELTS LISTENING SUMMARY COMPLETION TIPS

Essential tips and techniques to tackle summary questions in IELTS Listening:

  1. Task: You will be given a paragraph with missing words.
    1. Your task is to fill in the gaps with words or numbers from the recording to complete the paragraph.
  2. A Summary: The paragraph is a summary. This means you are not going to hear each sentence the same as in the recording. The information in the paragraph is summarised which means it focuses on key information rather than all details.
  3. Title: The summary completion questions will have a title. This will tell you what the paragraph focuses on.
  4. Answer Order: The answers will come in order in the recording. So, you will hear the answer to question 1 and after that the answer to question 2.
  5. Word Count: You will be told how many words or number you can have in your answer. Pay attention to this information.
  6. Similar: A summary completion contains the same questions as a Sentence Completion because you are completing sentence within the summary paragraph. You can use the same techniques for these questions. For example:
    • Predict the type of answer from the sentence given: noun, verb etc. 
    • Grammar is important. The sentence must be grammatically correct when you complete it.
    • Keywords in the question are critical to keeping your place and spotting the correct answer.
    • See all tips on this page: SENTENCE COMPLETION TIPS
  7. Paraphrasing: Some of the words in the summary paragraph will be paraphrased  and others will not. You can’t predict which words will be the same or not. but be ready for synonyms and re-phrasing.
  8. Precise Words: Your answer must be the precise word from the recording. You can’t alter the word.
  9. Spelling counts. Check your spelling because words incorrectly spelled are marked wrong.

IELTS LISTENING SUMMARY COMPLETION PRACTICE

Listening Practice Lesson 1

Buckingham Palace 

Questions 1-7: Complete the summary using no more than one word or a number.

Buckingham Palace is where the Queen officially resides when she is in London and is well known for its famous  1 …………….., which was used for the first time by a royal during an official appearance in 2……………….. There were 3   …………  bomb hits to the palace in World War II which struck the palace with absolute precision. There are a range of services available to the royal residents in the palace, which has a total of  4  ………. rooms. There are 1,514 doors in the palace and  5 …………………. windows, which are cleaned once every six weeks. The Queen hosts more than  6 ……………… people each year for occasions such as  banquets, various meals, receptions and  7 ………………..parties.

RECORDING:

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Transcript and Answers

Click below to reveal the answers and transcript for this lesson:

Transcript

Buckingham Palace is The Queen’s official London residence. The balcony of Buckingham Palace is one of the most famous in the world. The first recorded Royal balcony appearance took place in 1851, when Queen Victoria stepped onto it during celebrations for the opening of the Great Exhibition. During the Second World War, Buckingham Palace suffered nine direct bomb hits.

Buckingham Palace has its own chapel, post office, swimming pool, staff cafeteria, doctor’s surgery and cinema. There are 775 rooms in the palace. Some rooms at Buckingham Palace have a Chinese theme. There are 1,514 doors and 760 windows in Buckingham Palace. All windows are cleaned every six weeks. More than 50,000 people visit the Palace annually as The Queen’s guests at banquets, lunches, dinners, receptions and garden parties.

Answers
  1. balcony
  2. 1851
  3. 9 / nine
  4. 775
  5. 760
  6. 50,000
  7. garden

Adapted from royal.gov.uk

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Listening Practice Lesson 2

The Terracotta Army

Questions 1-5: Complete the summary using no more than three words and /or a number.

The terracotta army was made in order to  1…………………… the emperor after this death in his afterlife. This funerary art has been estimated to be from the  2………………. and was discovered in 1974 by the  3…………………… The majority of the sculptures were  4.…………. and  5………….. sculptures of cavalry horses were also found.

RECORDING:

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TRANSCRIPT, ANSWERS & VOCABULARY

Click below:

Transcript
The Terracotta Army is a collection of terracotta sculptures depicting the armies the first Emperor of China. It is a form of funerary art buried with the emperor in 210–209 BC and whose purpose was to protect the emperor in his afterlife.
The figures, dating from approximately the late third century BC, were discovered in 1974 by local farmers in, Xi’an. The figures vary in height according to their roles, with the tallest being the generals. The figures include warriors, chariots and horses. Estimates from 2007 were that the three pits containing the Terracotta Army held more than 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses and 150 cavalry horses, the majority of which remained buried in the pits nearby. Other terracotta non-military figures were found in other pits, including officials, acrobats, strongmen and musicians. (from wiki)
Answers
  1. protect
  2. third century BC / 3rd century BC
  3. local farmers
  4. soldiers
  5. 150
Vocab Builder
  • sculpture = three-dimensional work of art (for example a statue)
  • to depict =show, illustrate, represent
  • funerary art = art which for funerals, when someone dies
  • purpose = aim / function
  • afterlife = some cultures (past and present) believe in life after death
  • figures = a person’s bodily shape, a copy of a person, such as a statue
  • vary = differ
  • warrior = soldier
  • chariot = a horse-drawn vehicle (particularly common in later periods of Ancient Egypt and also Ancient Rome)
  • majority = greater part
  • a pit = a hole in the ground
  • acrobat = an entertain who is excellent in gymnastic, daring achievements

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Vocabulary for Food: Vegetables

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Learn vocabulary for vegetables for the topic of food. In IELTS it is possible to get the topic of either food or just vegetables in speaking part 1. Make sure you include lots of interesting vocabulary in your answers.

Can you name all the vegetables in the picture below? Under the picture is a list of possible words, not all of them are in the picture (there are 26 words but only 24 answers needed).

vegetables-english-vocabulary

broccoli          aubergine          corn           tomatoes         bean sprouts           artichoke         cucumber           lettuce            onions           radish             garlic pumpkin          sweet potato             cauliflower               sprouts             potatoes              asparagus                peas              courgette              red pepper             chili pepper           carrots               parsnip               celery              beans                mushrooms           spinach         beetroot

Answers

  1. peas
  2. mushrooms
  3. pumpkin
  4. cauliflower
  5. radish
  6. onions
  7. celery
  8. artichoke
  9. carrots
  10. potatoes
  11. lettuce
  12. tomatoes
  13. aubergine or eggplant
  14. sprouts
  15. courgette or zucchini
  16. cabbage
  17. corn (corn on the cob)
  18. asparagus
  19. beetroot
  20. broccoli
  21. red pepper
  22. sweet potato
  23. cucumber
  24. beans

 

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