Essay Ideas and Structure: Public Services

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The topic below was just reported in the IELTS academic writing task 2 last week. Take a look at the topic and see some ideas and vocabulary below to help you.

Some people think that the government should spend more money on public service rather than wasting money on the arts. To what extent do you agree.

Public Services:  Schools, Health Care, Public Transportation etc

The Arts:  Museums, Galleries, Theatre etc

One Side Essay Structure:

Introduction: Direct Answer: I disagree that money should be taken from the arts for public services. (this approach gives a clear position on one side and therefore the essay can only give information supporting that side)

Body Paragraph 1: Art is important because all societies need to express their culture through art.

Body Paragraph 2: The arts are often poorly funded and therefore if money were directed away from the arts for any reason, even for public services, it would likely fail entirely.

Body Paragraph 3: Public services do not require more funding because…

Conclusion: restate your opinion and summarise main points.

Balanced Approach Essay Structure

Introduction: Direct Answer: I agree that public services such as health care and transportation need more funding but not at the cost of the arts which are still very important. (this approach gives a clear position and allows you to write about both sides.)

Body Paragraph 1: Health care system – give reasons why this needs more funding.

Body Paragraph 2: Public transport – give reasons why this should be improved.

Body Paragraph 3: Explain that the arts are still important and why money should not be diverted away.

Conclusion – restate your opinion and summarise main points.

Steve, thanks for letting us know about the topic. Good luck with your results!

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Answers for Matching Paragraph Information

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Below are the answers to the Matching Paragraph Information – Hobbies for the Elderly – which I posted yesterday. Before you check the answers, here are some words to help you with the reading lesson.

  • complicated = difficult
  • absorbing = interesting
  • rewarding = satisfying
  • via = through

Answers

1. C
New methods of communication is a paraphrase for the information contained in the last sentence of section C.
2. B
Socialise means ‘to meet and be with people’. This is a paraphrase for the last sentence of section B.

All reading exercises on ieltsliz.com have been written by myself to help you prepare for your IELTS test for free.   

Liz

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IELTS Reading Practice: Matching Paragraph Information

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Matching paragraph information question in IELTS reading requires strong skills of paraphrasing. This lesson will help you understand the need to paraphrase the sentences given before you try to locate the information in the paragraphs. It’s a good lesson for both GT and academic students, even though the level of this reading is more similar to the GT test. This is an easy practice lesson to help you get started with matching paragraph information questions.

Hobbies for Elderly Parents

A. Card Making

This has become an increasingly popular hobby, as it’s very easy to start and cards can be as simple or complicated as skills allow. Designs can be from templates or completely unique to the person making them. Best of all, it’s a beautiful form of communication with an added personal touch. All family members will relish receiving these personalised cards from someone they love.

B. Art

This can be done at your parent’s home, or in a local art class. It can be painting, drawing, sculpture, or pottery. It does not matter how skilled your parent is, as there are opportunities for all levels. Just give it a go. The creative process is very absorbing and rewarding and it is a great way for your elderly relative to meet new people.

C. Getting Online

If your aging parent likes the look of new technology, but has never learned how to use it, the internet is very easy once someone has shown them how. It opens up a whole new world of information and they will be able to keep in touch easily with children and grandchildren via email, apps, groups and many more exciting options.

D. Playing Cards

What a great way to socialise and have fun at the same time. Playing cards helps keep your brain sharp by remembering strategies and keeping up the cards already played. These games are played in a group and your parent will be paired with another player. This is a great way to form lasting bonds with other elderly people.

E Dance

This is a great way to spend an afternoon or evening. The dance sessions are run by a professional dancer who also have experience in teaching elderly people. This is a chance for them to experience dances from their youth with other likeminded people. And it’s never too late to bring a bit of spice and romance into someone’s life through dance.

Questions 1-6: 
Which paragraph contains the following information? Write the correct letter (A-E) as your answer. Each letter may be used more than once.

  1. Offering new methods of communication.
  2. It’s good to bring the past to life.
  3. Keeping mentally astute helps elderly people.
  4. Tapping into one’s inventiveness through various forms.
  5. It might be possible to find a life partner.
  6. Individualised ways to send tell someone you are thinking of them.

ANSWERS

Click below for the answers:

Answers

Please remember that in the real IELTS test, if you are asked to write a letter, you must write the letter and not the word. Always following instructions very carefully for IELTS.

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

All reading exercises on ieltsliz.com have been designed by myself to help you prepare for your IELTS test.   

Liz

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IELTS Speaking Part 1: What’s your favourite…?

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Learn some useful tips for improving and developing your answer to one of the most common questions in IELTS speaking part 1.

In this lesson you will find out what mistake many students make when they answer this question as well as how to create a higher band score answer by adding more information to your answer.

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IELTS Video Lesson Speaking Part 3 Question: Urban vs Rural Life

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Ideas and vocabulary for a common type of question in IELTS speaking part 3 – How to compare urban and rural life. The ideas and language can also be used in your IELTS writing task 2 essay.

Recommended IELTS Speaking Video Lessons:

How to improve your speaking at home
What’s your favourite…? Part 1 question tips

Transcript

hello welcome to another IELTS

lesson in this lesson we’re going
to look at a very common topic

for IELTS for the speaking test and that is
the topic of

can you guess it’s the topic of homes and
today I’m standing outside a beautiful

old English country home it’s
really lovely here

now my question for you is from speaking
part 3

so that means it’s going to be more
difficult are you ready for your

question

do you think it is better to live

in the countryside or in

a city I would like you to answer that
question

I want you to take your telephone record
your answer and then

check your answer and see how you
can improve that and please do this

before you continue with the video

because now I’m gonna go to the white
board

and I’m gonna give you some vocabulary
and ideas to improve your

answer so record your answer and I’ll see
you

in a minute here is your question

do you think it’s better to live

in the countryside or in a city

have you recorded your answer I hope so

now let me give you some

ideas for the countryside and

for the city and you need to think of
advantages

to living in one up those places let’s
look

at the countryside and see what
advantages

there are the first one is

of lower pace of life

and this means that life

in the countryside often moves more
slowly

than in the city it’s often

more relaxed less stressful

and some people believe pleasanter

so that’s one benefit to country
life

another advantage is less

pollution and also less noise

the pollution is generally air pollution

now less air pollution and less noise in the
countryside

is because there is less industry

there’s less traffic less building work

than in a city and therefore

it is considered healthier to live

in the countryside so that really is a

a big positive point another

plus point to life in the countryside

and that is stronger communities

now what does that mean exactly

well in the countryside people often

live in a town for their whole life

and families live

in the town generation after generation

and that means that they know each other
very well

and therefore the community is quite
close

and neighbours have a good relationship
with each other

this means that the countryside

often gives people a good support
network

because the community is so close

so that is definitely a plus point

the next advantage now that depends

on which country you live in but

in England for example in the
countryside

houses are cheaper than in a city

so that means that they can have bigger
houses

bigger gardens there’s more space you
remember the beautiful house

from the beginning of the video that was
an English

country house over 150 years old

so the owner of that house couldn’t

have the same building if they lived

in a city so those are four

plus points four advantages to

country life now let’s look at cities

maybe you prefer living in the city
now one

definite advantage about that the city has

over country life is

there are more amenities

in a city what are amentities

well another word for amenities is

facility now the facilities and
amenities

that we’re talking about are things like
better restaurants

better sports facilities more leisure
centres for example

also the transport is better a

the roads are better there are so many

more things that you can do

their cinemas shopping malls opera houses

many many more amenities and
facilities

in a city than living in the countryside

in a small town or village

now let’s check the pronunciation of these
words

the first word is amenity

so that four syllables

A Men I Ty

this is ah ah

sound amenity

here is the stress amenity:

amenities so

singular amenity and plural

amenities the next one

facilities Fa

Cil I Ties

this also is ah fa

and the stress of is here

in the second syllable facilities

so the city has more facilities

and amenities to offer than the
countryside

the next positive point

to city life and that is in the city there
are often

better prospects do you know that word

well prospects often mean opportunities

there are more opportunities for people
in the city

the word prospects we often use with

employment and this means that when
there

are better prospects it means

that it’s easier to get a good job

so there are more jobs available in the
city

more prospects and more opportunities
to do what you want to do

and advance get promotion

and improve your life

the next advantage is very clear

better public transport there are more buses
and

trains and undergrounds in

cities and of course in the countryside

there’s often very little public
transport

people need their own transport to get
around

but in the cities if you don’t have
your own transportation

you can still get around and you can
travel using

public transport and the last

advantage again this depends on which
country you live in

but in many countries there is better
education

in the cities than in the countryside

nearly all universities are in

cities often the facilities

at school in the city

they are better than in the countryside

so for example city schools have better
technology

more laptops and computers and high
technology for their students

and the standard of education is often
higher

better teachers so

there are 4 clear positive points to

city life now before we finish

there’s something I want to tell you about
this question

obviously you need to choose

living in the country or living in

city and when you choose one

you really need to compare it with

the other because when you use

a language of comparison when you give a
comparative

sentence it will help your IELTS

speaking results the examiner does need to
hear

a range up different grammar

so we say less and

more well better

say for example there is less pollution
and noise

in the countryside than in

a city there are often better

prospects for work in a city

compared to the countryside

so remember when you give some ideas that
you need to compare them

now these are only 4 ideas for each one

maybe you’ve got some more ideas if you
have

let me know it’s always good to share
ideas

for IELTS well that’s all for this lesson
I hope that was useful and I will see
you again

in another IELTS lesson

here are some more useful IELTS lessons

to help you prepare for your IELTS test

or connect with me through Facebook

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Reading Multiple Choice Answers

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Answers for All About Rice multiple choice reading.

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IELTS Reading: Multiple Choice Practice & Essential Tips

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Practice lessons and tips for IELTS Reading Multiple Choice Questions. These types of questions appear often in the IELTS reading test. They require you to locate information in a reading passage and decide on the best answer option from a given list. They are easier than they seem.

Multiple Choice Tips for IELTS Reading

IELTS Reading Multiple Choice Question Types

There are different kinds of multiple choice questions.

A. Multiple Choice Question: a question to answer

What is the most important task ahead?

  • A    organising information
  • B    informing people of decisions
  • C   collecting data

As you see, you are given a question with three possible answers. There are nearly always three options. You must locate the information given in the question, in the passage and then choose the right options as an answer. Each option is a letter. Your answer must be a letter, for example A. If you write words as your answer, it will be marked wrong.

B. Multiple Choice Question: a sentence to complete

Procrastination is problematic because

  • A    it is a time waster.
  • B    it damages people’s health.
  • C    other people are affected by it.

Each of the answer options offers a possible ending to the sentence. You must locate the sentence in the passage and select the right ending. Again, your answer must be a letter or your answer will be marked wrong. Your answer cannot be a word or words.

Essential Tips for Multiple Choice Questions

  1. The answers will come in order in the passage. This means that the answer to question 1 will come first and then the answer to question 2 will come after that.
  2. You might find language or information relating to all answer options. This is why most people get confused about multiple choice questions. Many people think they will only see information about one option.
  3. Even if most or all options are mentioned, only one option will be the right one. There is only ever one possible answer.
  4. To choose the right answer means you really need to read for meaning rather than just matching words.
  5. The answer options, if they are present in the passage, will not be in order necessarily.
  6. Analyse the questions and answer options.
    • Make sure you understand the meaning fully before you look for the answer in the passage.
    • Not analysing the question and answer options is the main reason people choose the wrong answer and also the main reason they waste time.
    • Analysing the question and answer options is a time saver.
    • Correct answer in IELTS reading are not about matching words, but about deeper meaning.
  7. Prepare possible paraphrases and synonyms in the questions and answer options before you check the passage.
  8. Spot keywords in the question and answers.
  9. Take time to notice the difference between the answer options.
  10. Scan the passage for the paraphrases, synonyms, keywords and similar information.
  11. Once you locate the information in the passage, return to the questions and check all the answer options again.
    1. Focus on the difference in meaning between the options.
    2. You might also notice similarities between options – that is one way you end up choosing the wrong question. Some answer options might be similar with only small differences. So, pay attention to it all.
  12. Then return to the passage to make your choice.
  13. Read the surrounding sentences before deciding the answer
    • there might be more information in the passage that you need to know about.
  14. And remember, your answer must be a letter.

IELTS Reading Multiple Choice Practice Lessons

Below are two reading passages for you to practice Multiple Choice for IELTS Reading. The levels of these passages vary to help you gain familiarity and confidence. Both GT and academic candidates can benefit from these exercises.

Multiple Choice Practice Lesson 1

An easy introduction to MC questions for you.

All About Rice

The first rice may have been grown in East and South Asia as long as 15,000 years ago, when people began to settle in river deltas and domesticated wild rice. Today it is grown practically everywhere, except Antarctica! Rice is grown on flooded land and on dry land, in tropical rain forests of Africa and in arid deserts of the Middle East, on coastal plains and on the Himalayan mountains.
In the year 2003, the world produced about 589 million tonnes of paddy rice. Most of that (about 534 million tones) was grown in Asia. In 2002, it is estimated that rice fields covered almost 1.5 million square km of land. Again, most of those fields are in Asia – around 1.3 million square km.

Questions 1 – 2:  Choose the correct letter (A-C) for your answer.

1. Where is rice grown?

A   everywhere
B   almost everywhere
C   mainly on flood lands and coastal plains

2. In 2002, rice fields covered about ……………

A   1.5 million square miles of land.
B   1.3 million square km of land in China.
C   1.5 million square km of land in the world.

ANSWERS

Click below:

ANSWERS
  1. B
    • This is testing both your vocabulary and general understanding of the passage. In the passage, it says ‘rice is grown everywhere except Antarctica’. This means it is grown everywhere except one place. This means it isn’t actually grown everywhere because there is one place where it isn’t grown. So, the answer can’t be A, even though there are matching words between question and passage. this is how many people choose the wrong answer because they match words and forget to match meaning instead.
    • If you aren’t sure of an answer, guess. Never leave an answer box empty.
  2. C
    • This question is a typical example of how confusing options can be if you don’t spot the keywords. Is the answer option about square miles or square km – that is a difference you needed to spot. And is the passage giving information about land used in China or in the world. All these can be subtle differences and easy to miss. I hope you got this question right.

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Multiple Choice Reading Practice 2

GM Foods

Genetically modified food is produced from plants which have had their genes tweaked in the lab. Scientists “cut and paste” a gene from another organism into a plant’s DNA to give it a new characteristic. This can be to increase yield or to allow the plant to exist in a more hostile environment than normal. Pro-GM scientists say this means cheaper more plentiful food but opponents argue we do not know the consequences of meddling with nature.

Farmers have modified their crops for thousands of years by crossing similar species. However, modern GM is controversial. Critics say the modified crops could “escape” and cross with wild plants, with unknown consequences. They also argue that more chemicals are used on some GM fields which may have a negative impact on wildlife. And while no study has found GM food to be harmful to humans, opponents say it is too soon to be sure.

A group of biotechnology experts say it is time to loosen Europe’s draconian regulations on genetically modified crops. In a report released today they argue that genetically modified crops have been used safely for decades, so no longer need to be automatically treated as unsafe. They also say that genetically modified crops should be reclaimed from multinational companies and treated as a public good.

Questions 1-5: Choose the best answer from A-C.

1. The genetic makeup of GM foods has been………

  • A   twisted.
  • B    altered.
  • C   cut.

2. By genetically engineering plants, they are……………

  • A   likely to increase in size.
  • B   able to produce more.
  • C   not able to exist in difficult conditions.

3. One issue with GM plants is the potential to………

  • A   breakout causing undetermined consequences.
  • B   infect wild plants with unknown results.
  • C   cross pollinate.

4. It is thought, by specialists in biotechnology that policies governing GM crops should be…….

  • A   tightened.
  • B   relaxed.
  • C   reviewed.

5. GM foods ought to be ……….

  • A   reclaimed for the use of multinational companies.
  • B    used safely.
  • C   no longer privatised.

ANSWERS

Click below to reveal answers:

Answers
  1. B
  2. B
  3. C
  4. B
  5. C
Vocabulary
  • tweak = adjust, modify, regular (the synonyms relate to the context)
  • cross with = reproduce with, cross pollinate
  • meddling with = interfering with
  • loosened = relaxed
  • regulations = rules / policies
  • experts = specialists
  • released = made public / issued / announced
  • draconian = strict / tough / harsh

Passage adapted from: BBC News and New Scientist

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ADVICE: GM food topic can appear in IELTS Writing Task 2 and also Speaking Part 3. Always use my reading passages to review language and ideas for other parts of the IELTS Test.

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IELTS Grammar: Connecting Sentences

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Grammar is 25% of your marks in IELTS writing task 2 and to get band score 6 and above, you must have complex sentences. Watch this video to learn how to connect two sentences together to make one complex sentence.

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