Important Things are Free Essay Tips

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A number of students reported this essay question in IELTS writing task 2. Many of you have asked me for ideas and tips about this essay. You can find step by step tips below. The essay below is called an Opinion Essay (however some teachers called it an “argumentative essay” or “agree/disagree essay”).

IELTS Essay Question

Some people think that the most important things in life are free and cannot be bought. To what extent do you agree?

Tips for this IELTS Essay

  1. Please note that the wording of the essay is “important things” not “important services”. You need to pay close attention to the words used in the essay so that you don’t change the meaning.
  2. You need to make a list of things that are important in life and are free:
    1. family
    2. health
    3. appreciation of nature
    4. love
    5. Each of the above cannot be bought using money – they are available to rich and poor alike.
  3. This essay is not about WHY they are free. You need to be very clear what the aim of the question is. The question is “do you think the most important things are free or do you think the most important things are not free and must be bought.
  4. You need to think of things that are not free and must be bought:
    1. food
    2. housing
    3. education
    4. health care
    5. clothes
    6. cars
    7. electricity
    8. these items must be bought using money. Rich people get better quality food, housing, education etc than poor people who sometimes can’t afford even the most basic human necessities.
  5. Now you have brainstormed your ideas. What is your opinion? Do you think the best things in life are free? Or do you think the best things in life are not free?
  6. Your opinion must be written clearly in the introduction and explained in the body paragraphs.
  7. Your thesis statement:
    1. The thesis statement should be one sentence that presents your position (your opinion).
    2. You can start this sentence with : In my opinion or I think or I believe or something similar that shows YOUR own personal opinion. Don’t start it with “this essay”.
  8. Model Introduction
    1. See a range of different introductions for this essay question: Model Introductions

IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Essays

You can find more tips, free videos and model essays on this page: IELTS Writing Task 2.

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IELTS Listening: Bitcoin

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A short listening exercise which focused on filling in the gaps in a passage. You need to read the passage first before listening the the recording. Make a note of key words in the passage and predict the types of answers that will come (nouns / verbs etc). This audio is on a cloud so you will need stable internet connection to stream it.

Tip: Answers will come in order of the question numbers. To keep your place in the recording and not get list, you need to focus on key words in the passage below and not get lost in the extra detail in the recording.

Post your answers below and I’ll post the answers tomorrow.

Listening: What is bitcoin?

Complete the summary using no more than two words and/or a number.

A new currency recently established is the bitcoin which allows (1) …………. transactions. It is not limited geographically and is not controlled by a (2) ………………………… The idea behind it is that money is any object or (3)……… which is accepted as payment. The benefits of bitcoins is that they can easily used online and transactions are (4)…………. but the downside is that they are (5)……………

 

 

Answers:

Click below to see the answers

Answers to Bitcoin Listening

 

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How to Paraphrase Successfully in IELTS

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Paraphrasing in IELTS is essential for a high score in IELTS. This page contains tips on paraphrasing to maximise your score. For IELTS Writing Task 2, paraphrasing is critical to your score for essay writing. Vocabulary counts for 25% of your writing marks. This page mainly focuses in paraphrasing for essays, but it can also help you understand more about paraphrasing in IELTS Reading and IELTS Listening. Certainly, it plays a role in the speaking, but to a lesser degree because repeated words are much more acceptable in the informal IELTS speaking test. So, lets review all about paraphrasing.

This page will review:

  1. using synonyms
  2. not changing all words
  3. avoiding mistakes
  4. changing word forms
  5. changing sentence structure
  6. paraphrasing and band scores

IELTS Paraphrasing

1. Using Synonyms

In IELTS one way to paraphrase is to use synonyms. This shows the examiner your range of vocabulary for any given topic. The wider your range of vocabulary, the higher your band score. BUT, only if you don’t make mistakes. 

Here is an example of how a sentence can be re-written by using synonyms:

The reasons for increasing levels of pollution are the development of industry and air travel.

The sentence above can be paraphrased as:

The causes of rising levels of pollution are the growth and expansion of industry as well as the number of people travelling by air.

Here is a list of how the sentence was altered using synonyms.

  • causes = reasons
  • increasing = rising
  • the development of = the growth and expansion of
  • and = as well as
  • air travel = travelling by air

Notice: you can see that the words “levels of pollution” and “industry” have not be changed. This is fine. Not all words need to be changed. In fact, the word “pollution” is best not changed. See tip number 2, below:

Problems with Synonyms

Synonyms are NOT words with 100% the same meaning and same usage. This is why so many people make mistakes with them.

Synonyms are words with a very similar meaning and might be perfect in some contexts but then not at all suitable in other contexts. So, using synonyms well is all about how deep your knowledge is of the word meaning and how the word is used – both in grammar and context.

The more mistakes you make with words, the lower your band score will be. See Tip 6 below.

2. Not All Words Need Changing

Not all words need to be changed for a high score in IELTS. You can see from the example above that some words have remained the same levels of pollution, industry , air). This means you need to decide which words to paraphrase and which words to keep the same.

High band score successful candidates (band 7 and over) know when to paraphrase and when to keep words the same.

People stuck at band 6 and below, often over-paraphrase. They try to change too many words too often which results in 1) poor word choices   2) changing the meaning and going off topic. Both problems will lower your score below band 7.

3. Avoiding Mistakes

The more mistakes you make with vocabulary in IELTS writing and speaking, the lower your score will be. Paraphrasing is a skill. Synonyms do not have exactly the same meaning and cannot always be used at the same time.

Watch this video below to get useful tips on paraphrasing for writing task 1 and writing task 2.

Mistakes with paraphrases cause people to get a low score and can also take people off topic in an IELTS essay.

4. Changing the Word Form

Another way to paraphrase sentences is to change the form of the word. This means we use the same words as IELTS but change their form. This type of paraphrasing is really focused at your writing skills because it means you don’t need to look for a synonym for a word, instead you can alter the word form.

Here is an example:

Many people are unhealthy because they fail to eat well and exercise.

This can be paraphrased by changing the word form of “unhealthy”, “fail” and “exercise”.

Many people have poor health as they are failing to eat well and are not exercising enough.

Lets look at the word changes for this paraphrase:

  1. Word forms
    • unhealthy = poor health
    • fail = are failing
    • exercise = are exercising
  2. Linking word
    • because = as

This is not low level paraphrasing, in IELTS this is considered skilful paraphrasing and it is actually a skill that you want to demonstrate. You need to show the examiner that you can alter word forms as a sign of flexibility with language.

So, don’t get stuck on always trying to find synonyms, you can just change the word form and still get a high score. It’s also a good way to avoid errors but taking risks with synonyms that are not perfect.

5. Changing Sentence Structure

Another way to paraphrase successfully is to change the order to words in a sentence. This means changing the structure of the sentence. Taking the example from above again:

Many people are unhealthy because they fail to eat well and exercise.

You can see above there are two clauses:

  1. Many people are unhealthy
  2. because they fail to eat well and exercise

We can change the order of the clauses:

Many people fail to eat well and exercise and for that reason they are unhealthy.

The clauses are now in a different order:

  1. people fail to eat well and exercise
  2. they are unhealthy

Let’s change this even more:

Failing to eat well and not exercising are the reasons that many people have poor health.

This is the best way to tackle paraphrasing in IELTS essays. The examiner will look for sentences that start with a gerund – a verb converted to a noun using +ing which makes the noun always singular. 

If we use this approach and also add synonyms – it will look like this:

Failing to have a balanced diet and not getting enough physical exercise are the reasons behind the large number of people facing a range of health problems in society today.

Now we are approaching band 9 paraphrasing skills for IELTS writing task 2. Even a band 9 can keep some words the same – exercise = exercise.

If you enjoyed the example sentences above, you’ll love my Grammar E-book for Writing Task 2. It shows lots of ways to develop language and change sentence structures. See the link at the bottom of this page.

6. Paraphrasing & IELTS Band Scores

Of course paraphrasing will help your band score for the criterion of vocabulary. Below you see how your range of vocabulary affects your band score and also how the number of errors affects your score. Even if you have a wide range of vocabulary, your score will go down if you have too many errors. And if those errors impact your meaning, it will be below band 6.

Vocabulary Range

  • Band 5 = minimum range
  • Band 6 = adequate range
  • Band 7 = sufficient range
  • Band 8 – wide range

Number of Errors

  • Band 5 = frequent errors & problems with meaning
  • Band 6 = some errors, no problems with meaning
  • Band 7 = few errors
  • Band 8 = most sentences are error free

You can see that you need to show a range of words which means you need to paraphrase. But you also need to reduce your errors which means don’t try to paraphrase too much and don’t make mistakes.

Following the above tips (using synonyms, not paraphrasing all words, avoiding errors, changing the word form and changing the sentence structure) will help you achieve the highest score.

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IELTS Complex Table for Writing Task 1

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A model answer for an IELTS complex table for writing task 1.  The table below has been reported in the IELTS test a number of times so it is definitely worth reviewing and learning from. IELTS do like to recycle writing task 1 charts, tables etc which is why you need to review tasks from previous years. It is not common to be given a table with so many categories and numbers, but when you get it, you must be prepared to group information together in a logical way rather than ignore categories completely. This model answer will help you understand how to organise the information.

IELTS Complex Table for Writing Task 1

Download a word doc of this table by clicking: IELTS Complex Table

IELTS Table Writing Task 1 Complex Lots of Data

Source: IELTS Liz

Band 9 IELTS Complex Table Model Answer

Note: this model answer was provided by Tony Grace, experienced IELTS tutor.

The tables illustrate the proportion of people assessing six aspects of one city’s life as good, average, or bad, in 1980 and 2010.

Overall, healthcare, education, and the environment were given the highest scores in both years, and transport facilities received the lowest.  Meanwhile, education’s rating rose over the period, while that of transportation fell.

In 1980, people rated healthcare, education, and the environment the highest, with over 80% approving of healthcare, while the other two had figures of 72%.  Under 10% of respondents thought these three services were bad.  As for shopping and employment, both had similar figures, as 62-64% expressed approval, and 22-24% said they were average.   Only a half of those surveyed gave a high score to transportation, with roughly a third stating it was bad.

Turning to 2010, the most significant changes were seen in education, as over 80% were happy with it, and in healthcare whose good rating fell to 74%.  The employment situation improved, as in 2010, almost three-quarters of those asked expressed satisfaction.  In contrast, approval of the transport facilities fell to 39%, and a similar proportion stated it was bad.  Finally, with regard to the environment and shopping, their approval levels both remained relatively unchanged.

Recommended for IELTS Writing Task 1

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Reading Lesson for IELTS: Exercise 2

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This is a reading lesson to practice TFNG questions. It is not an IELTS test.

Passage: Impact of Hunting

Humans have long hunted wild game from forests, but over the past 50 years commercialisation of killing has triggered a rapid increase in wildlife depletion. Hunting and poaching cause damage to the rain forest ecosystem by removing species key to the system’s functioning. The loss of a certain single species can mean extinction for many others. Hunting of seed dispersers and pollinators can influence the structure of a forest.

This passage is from rainforests.mongabay.com. You can view the full article on this page: Impact of hunting & poaching

Questions for TFNG practice.

Are the sentences below True, False or Not Given according to the information in the passage above.

  1. Commercialised hunting is mainly focused in forests.
  2. The falling numbers in wildlife have been brought about by the commercialisation of hunting.
  3. Hunting negatively impacts the world’s ecosystem.
  4. One species in decline can adversely affect other species.
  5. The structure of forests can be altered by the hunting of seeds.

Answers

You can access the answers for this lesson by clicking here: Answers to Reading Exercise 2

 

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How Heather got IELTS Overall Band Score 8.5

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Heather scored overall 8.5 in IELTS and below are her tips for success 🙂

Heather’s IELTS Story

I re-wrote the IELTS general training exam and I got my writing band score increased from 6.5 to 7.5 with an OBS of 8.5, all thanks to you. 🙂 I have attached my TRF.

Overall Band Score = 8.5 (L 9 / R 9 / W 7.5 / S 8.5)

I would like to thank you, Liz, from the bottom of my heart for your wonderful lessons which helped me a lot. I thought of sharing how I overcame my weaknesses and rectified my mistakes this time.

Heather’s IELTS Tips

Here are some of my tips and tricks for before the exam and during the exam.

Before the exam:

Listening & Reading:

  1. Practice all the listening and reading tests from Cambridge IELTS books.
  2. Make sure you take printed copies of the tests and answer sheets and practice it within the time limit.
  3. While practicing,try to get all answers for listening in 30 mins and spend 5 mins checking whether all your answers make proper grammatical sense.
  4. Try to complete reading in 45 minutes and spend 15 minutes going over each question making sure you selected the right answers. (especially true or false questions).
  5. Keep practising until you are able to score between 38-40 right answers.

 (This is if you want to score a band score 9)

I think the listening and reading sections are the easiest and they give us the added advantage because the answers are already given to us in an indirect form. So if we can focus and scrutinise the available data, we can easily score a 9, unlike the writing and speaking sections where you have to completely develop the answer on your own.

Writing:

I thought I was pretty okay at English writing but came to know that I am terrible at “ielts writing” which I realized after my first test. I always thought I have been writing stories and poems and blogs since school days, so I assumed writing would be a piece of cake. But to be honest, IELTS writing is  something quite different and they definitely don’t want you to ramble on for pages. I would say the approach to this section should be “focussed writing”.

The second time I wrote the test I took expert advice from none other than Liz and made changes to the way I wrote.

  1. Purchase Liz’s advanced videos, they are amazing and a must do before you attempt to write.
  2. View all of Liz’s videos on YouTube, they teach a lot of important tips.
  3. Plan your essay. You just need 2 primary points to write two main body paragraphs of 90 words each.
  4. State your opinion (only when asked) in the introduction and continue to support your opinion in the body paragraphs. Do not deviate from your opinion.
  5. Introduction and conclusion are very important and I personally took time to write 2 lines roughly for each before I started the essay.
  6. Make sure to write fast but in legible handwriting. Use a pen if you can write faster with it. We all haven’t used a pencil in ages and it can be quite difficult to write fast with it.
  7. Go through Liz’s 100 ielts questions and jot down points or arguments you could use at the time of exam. (Just get ideas, don’t learn lines by heart).
  8. Go through Liz’s recent ielts questions for the month you are taking your exam. Chances are quite high that one of those questions might get paraphrased and asked again.
  9. Write the essay first, as it has twice the weight as the letter. I wrote letter in the last 10 minutes of my writing test.
  10. Allot one paragraph to clearly answer each question in the essay/ letter.

Speaking :

  1. Go through Liz’s recent ielts questions to get an idea of the latest topics and prepare to speak about them.
  2. Practise speaking in front of the mirror to improve your confidence.
  3. Go through the blog “52 speaking part 2 topics 2017” which really helped me.
  4. Take the simulation test by Liz on YouTube, it really helps you to time your answers.
  5. Have discussions with friends or family about the topics you need to prepare. They can really help boost your morale.
  6. The importance is on how you can speak fluently and communicate with ease, not on making intelligent arguments. So relax and just have a fun conversation with the examiner.

On Exam day :

I don’t know about IDP but if you are taking the British council test , I have some tips to share.

  1. Exam is usually scheduled for 1pm but you have to report at 11.30am for registration, which means you’ll have to skip lunch and write the exam on an empty stomach which can make you lose focus while you write.
  2. Registration takes a long time and you’ll end up waiting impatiently till 1.30pm (the exam never starts at sharp 1pm) in the exam hall, if you register first.
  3. You are not allowed to take washroom breaks after you register and during the exam , unless, of course, at your own risk of losing time.
  4. Reach the venue on time for registration but do NOT get registered immediately. Wait outside.
  5. Carry energy bars, bananas or chocolates that you can munch on before you enter for registration.
  6. 12.30pm is a good time to register and make sure to use the washroom just before this.
  7. Limit the amount of water you drink after you get into the exam hall.
  8. Take 2 sips of water after you complete each section to feel fresh and start the next section with a clear mind.
  9. Try not to use the washroom during the writing section ( I saw one candidate who could not complete the essay)
  10. Wear warm and comfortable clothes, the exam hall can be quite cold.( I took my hoodie jacket)
  11. Raise your hand and inform the exam conductors if  your audio is not loud enough during the audio testing.
  12. Carry pencils, pens, eraser and a sharpener. (I saw someone come into the exam hall unaware that we have use to pencil for L&R)
  13. Try to focus all your energies into the exam. Don’t be stressed, stay relaxed.

 

Useful IELTS Links Recommended by Heather

Good luck everyone! Thank you Liz. If someday I get to meet you, I would really love to buy you lunch 🙂 Love & Regards, Happy Heather 🙂
Thanks Heather, lunch sounds good some day 🙂 Well done 🙂 Liz

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Reading Skills for IELTS: Paraphrasing Exercise 2

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This lesson is to help you develop the reading skill of paraphrasing which is an essential skill in IELTS reading. This is not a IELTS reading test. This is a lesson for spotting paraphrases – identifying synonyms (words with similar meaning).

Passage 

More than 200 canary birds are being phased out of Britain’s mining pits, according to new plans by the government. Modern technology is being favoured over the long-serving yellow feathered friend of the miner in detecting harmful gases which may be present underground.

New electronic detectors will replace the bird because they are said to be cheaper in the long run and more effective in indicating the presence of pollutants in the air otherwise unnoticed by miners. The gas detectors will be hand-held and carry a digital reading which appears on a screen alerting miners to the extent of the gases.

Notice: This passage comes from news.bbc.co.uk. You can read the full article on this page: BBC On the day: Coal Mines

Spot the paraphrases:

Choose a word or words from the passage above which are synonyms for the words below. Answers do not come in order.

  1. preferred
  2. gradually stop using
  3. substitute
  4. employed since way back
  5. existence
  6. portable
  7. bird (canary)
  8. ultimately

Remember that a synonym is a word that has exactly OR nearly the same meaning. This means a synonym may not be 100% the same – it may be only very similar in meaning.

Answers

The answers can be viewed on this link. Click to open: Answers for paraphrasing exercise 2

 

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IELTS Writing Task 2: Addressing the Task

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You will get a lower score in IELTS writing task 2 if you don’t fully address the task in the essay question. This means you need to check your essay plan before you start writing your essay.

Your plan must address all issues in the question.

I hope you find this lesson useful 🙂

IELTS Essay Question

  • The main topic is: how children spend their leisure time
  • The IELTS essay question below has two issues that need addressing: homework and sport

Essay Question:

Some people think that children should spend their free time doing homework, while others believe it would be better for children to participate in sports activities instead. What is your opinion?

One Sided Opinion

If you agree with one side, for example that sport is more important, then you must still address both issues.

Plan 1:

BP1 – I believe that sport is the best way for children to spend their leisure time because it promotes health.

BP2 – I also think sport is good because students can avoid stress and enjoy their free time.

Comments: This plan is WRONG!!!!! If you agree with one side ( that sport is important), you can’t ignore the issue of homework. Your opinion must address both sport and homework – in the body paragraphs as well as the introduction. This essay would get a low score for Task Response, which is 25% of your marks.

Plan 2:

BP1 – I believe that sport is the best way for children to spend their leisure time.

BP2 – other people think that homework is more important

Comments: This plan is WRONG!!!!! This is an opinion essay, it is not a discussion. This means the instructions are asking for YOUR opinion, not other people’s opinions. Writing a full body paragraph about other people’s opinions is irrelevant to the instructions and will lower your score.

Plan 3:

BP 1 – I believe that sport is the best way for children to spend their leisure time as it promotes health and reduces stress.

BP 2 – I think children should not do homework in their free time because they already spend six hours a day studying and should not do more educational work.

Comments: This is correct. Your opinion has been given on both issues. But personally, I wouldn’t take this approach to this essay question. See below:

Partial Agreement (Balanced View)

For this essay question, I would recommend a balanced view (a partial agreement). This does not mean you agree with both sides equally. It means you present a specific view which is quantified.

Plan

Thesis Statement =  In my opinion, while some homework is useful, the amount should be limited and children should spend more time playing sport instead.

BP 1 = children should spend only a small amount of their free time doing homework and the length of time should limited to avoid pressure and stress.

  • homework is an essential part of educational development
  • homework should be limited to avoid stress which has an adverse effect on school performance
  • parents and schools should help children limit this time

BP 2 = the main focus of children’s leisure time should be on sport because ….

  • children need to enjoy life outside their educational studies for their own welbeing
  • children can benefit through improved health
  • having an interest outside school helps reduce stress and encourages them to meet new people

Comments: There is a clear opinion which has been fully explained and addresses all issue.

IELTS Writing Task 2 Tips & Models

You can find writing task 2 tips and model essays on this page: IELTS Writing Task 2 Main Page. All my writing task 2 lessons are for GT and Academic students.

 

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