IELTS Preparation with Liz: Free IELTS Tips and Lessons, 2025
This video tutorial will help you understand the difference between to words that are frequently used in both speaking and writing. Reduce your errors by learning the exact meaning.
The words “common” and “popular” are sometimes misused. This video will help highlight the difference.
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It is common to be asked about films / movies in all parts of the IELTS speaking test and therefore it is necessary that you have plenty of examples of films ready to tell the examiner.
Below is a list of film types and a listening recording.
Film Genres
Listen and decide which type of film is being described from the list above.
There are 12 descriptions. Get your paper and pencil ready!!
Answers
Click below to reveal the descriptions and the answers. The descriptions contains very useful vocabulary.
Written Descriptions
Listen to the recording below to hear the answers. This will also help you with your pronunciation of the vocabulary.
Tips for IELTS letter writing:You recently had a holiday visiting your friends and you stayed in their house.
Write a letter to your friend. In your letter:
- thank your friend for staying with them
- tell them what you enjoyed most about the holiday
- explain you are sending photos of the holiday with the letter
A personal letter is to someone you have a personal relationship, a friend who you meet or used to meet in your free time to socialise with inside your home. The content is about something social or personal, such as a holiday, party. Both the person and content are informal in nature. Semi-formal LetterYou would like to invite a foreign friend to visit you for your birthday
Write a letter inviting your friend. In your letter:
- tell your friend about your birthday
- explain how much the visit would mean to you
- suggest that your friend stays at your house for the visit
You give advice to your friend who is seeking work.
Write a letter advising your friend about a job
- tell your friend which job it is
- explain why you think it is a suitable job
- advise your friend about the application process
As you can see, I’ve provided two examples of a Semi-Formal letter. Both are semi-formal, but one is slightly more informal and the other is slightly more formal.You would like to ask your boss for time off work.
Write a letter requesting time off work. In your letter:
- explain why you are requesting time off work
- give details of dates
- explain how you will ensure you will keep up with your work
A formal letter is to someone you have no relationship with about a very formal matter. The person is actually a position in a company, organisation or university. So, you are writing to the position, rather than a person. Examples of formal letters are to a magazine editor, hotel manager, local council, a college or university (not a teacher) or customer services department at a company. You would address the letter as “Dear Sir/Madam” because you don’t even know the gender of the person you are writing to. To sum up, the person is unknown and content is formal.You are interested in applying for a scholarship program to study at a foreign University.
Write a letter to inquire about the course. In your letter:
- explain which course you are interested in
- tell what you know about the University
- explain why you should receive the scholarship
It’ll be great to catch up again soon. Give my best to everyone in the family. (informal)
I look forward to hearing from you. (formal)
Note: there are other ways of giving a final comment but it depends on the content of the letter you are writing. See my model letters (links below) to see this. Names You should write a name at the end of your letter. You can use your name or you can invent one. Likewise, to address the person you are writing to, you can invent a name..
A List of 14 Types of IELTS Reading Questions that can appear in your reading test with useful links and tips. In IELTS reading, you will have only one hour to read 3 passages and answer 40 questions. These questions are always divided into different types of questions which you must complete. You must know all the different types of IELTS reading questions so that you can build familiarity and develop techniques.
The types of reading questions are the same for Academic IELTS and GT IELTS.
In order to prepare well for your test, you must make sure that you practice each type of IELTS reading question. Knowing how to tackle each type of question will save you valuable time in your reading test – can time is your worst enemy to conquer.
You’ll find links to some free practice lessons and tips below for each question type. You should also use the IELTS Cambridge test books which contain real past test papers published by IELTS.
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Sentence Completion questions for IELTS Listening: Practice & Essential Tips
IELTS listening sentence completion questions are basically gap fill questions that require you to fill a gap in the sentence with either words or numbers or a combination of words and numbers. Use the tips below to learn the right techniques for this type of listening question. Then challenge yourself with the practice lessons below.
Below is an example set of sentence completion questions as you would see them in the IELTS Listening Test. Read the tips below to learn how you should approach them with the right right techniques and understanding.
Now it’s time for some practice listening lessons for sentence completion questions.
Below you will find two useful listening practice lessons.
Read through the questions below to prepare. Then listen to the recording below.
RECORDING:
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TRANSCRIPT AND ANSWERS
Click below to show the transcript and answers. Review the transcript first to review paraphrasing, language and your techniques.
TRANSCRIPTThere are 700,000 autistic people in the UK. Autism is a lifelong disability which affects how a person communicates and responds to people and how they experience the world around them. Although most of the public have heard of autism, few actually understand what it is like to live with it and how to support someone with autism. Autism Hour is when businesses agree to dim their lights and reduce background noise, such as music, to create an environment that is more suitable for autistic people. Autistic people have difficulty processing sensory information leading to sensory overload which can cause great stress and even physical pain. In a world geared towards neuro-typical people, this problem can leave autistic people restricted in where they can go and what they can enjoy. Autism Hour not only opens doors to autistic shoppers and their families, it also provides an opportunity for staff members to learn more about autism which is essential if autistic people are to get the support and respect they need from society. Autism Hour is also important in bringing to light the general affect that sensory information can have on people who are not neuro-typical or who have an illness affecting their ability to cope with light or noise or any other type of sensory information.
Tip: Always remember that the listening test is testing your understanding of English grammar and English vocabulary.
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Here is another listening practice lesson for filling in the gaps in a sentence.
RECORDING:
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TRANSCRIPT & ANSWERS
Click below to reveal the transcript and answers:
TranscriptA festival is an event which is celebrated collectively. Festivals are mostly celebrated to propagate the cultural heritage of nations. Most festivals have their origins in a cultural belief which has been passed down through the generations. Festivals help to promote solidarity and the patriotic spirit in society by bring people closer together in harmony as they celebrate the festival. During this time, differences are forgotten and the national cultural identity predominates. By celebrating international festivals, it helps to promote tolerance, reduce racial conflict and encourages the acceptance of cultural diversity in a country. While there are marked differences in the way festivals are celebrated all over the world, there is a similarity in the purpose that the festival serves.
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Below are some sample answers for the topic of health in IELTS speaking part 3. When you answer in speaking part 3, remember to extend you answers with lots of examples and explanation. Also remember to give a direct answer the question asked and then develop your answer.
1. Do you think people pay enough attention to their health these days?
No, definitely not. The average person nowadays has a sedentary lifestyle and pays very little attention to their diet and also does hardly any exercise. If you take a typical English person, they eat a quick breakfast, such as a sugary cereal, they have a quick bite at lunch, like a sandwich, and for dinner they are either too tired to cook something healthy and nutritious or simply don’t have enough time. It’s pretty much the same with exercise. Few people these days have time to fit it into their daily routine.
2. Do you think the government is responsible for public health?
Well, to be honest, I think it the responsibility of both governments and individuals. Governments certainly could do more to educate people about ways to improve their health and I suppose it would be useful if they could some how have more controlled over the fast food industry. However, much of the responsibility falls on individual people to take exercise, eat well and have a balanced life style.
3. Do you think there are more unhealthy people these days than there were decades ago?
Yes, without a doubt. Generations ago, there was no fast food or convenience food so people generally ate healthy fresh produce instead of the junk food they eat today. Furthermore, people were also more active in the past as they either cycled or walked to get around and also had a healthier life style. Compared to now, they were much healthier.
4. How could parents encourage their children to be healthier?
I guess the best way would be to set an example. I always think that if adults lead by example, then children will follow suit. What I mean is if parents need to get involved with sports and out-door activities, it will show children that exercise is fun. Another way would be for parents to get children involved in cooking healthy meals to encourage them to change their eating habits. Both methods, I’m sure will have a positive effect.
This lesson looks at how to write an IELTS conclusion paragraph for an opinion essay given below. Before you practice the conclusion, make sure you have completed the other lessons for this topic:
Every one of us should become a vegetarian because eating meat can cause serious health problems.
To what extent do you agree or disagree?
An IELTS conclusion paragraph should summarise the main opinion that you gave in your opinion essay – both in the introduction and the body paragraphs. The conclusion repeats the main points in brief and maintains your position.
This is the introduction for this essay: Eating meat is considered by some to damage our health and for that reason they believe all people should adopt a vegetarian diet. In my opinion, although a vegetarian diet is certainly a healthy option, having a balanced diet, which contains vegetables and some healthy meat, is the key.
The above introduction explains the main points and the position of this essay. Now you must restate the main points again for your conclusion paragraph. Use the tips below to help you.
Write your conclusion before you check the model. Model Conclusion
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To conclude, by balancing mainly vegetables with fish or chicken, people will be able to adapt to a healthier diet more easily rather than become vegetarian. If people are educated about eating healthily, there will be less health problems in the future.
Recommended Lessons
IELTS Video Lesson: IELTS Conclusion Linkers
IELTS Video Lesson: Using the official answer sheet
