Improving Sentences for IELTS Writing Task 2

by 17 Comments

Improve your Sentences for IELTS Writing Task 2 by creating more complex sentence structures and reducing your grammar errors. Below are some sentences written by a student. Your task is to spot the mistakes and also to improve the sentences so that they are a higher band score.

Creating Higher Band Score Sentences for IELTS Writing

There are many ways to improve sentences in your IELTS writing. Some people think the only way is to create long sentences – this is not true. To improve sentences you can:

  1. use clauses
  2. using linking words to connect ideas
  3. give more precise information that improves the quality of the sentence 
  4. reduce errors

See the sentences below and the ways I use to improve the sentences to make them higher band score.

Improving Sentences Example 1

Below are three short sentences. You can increase your IELTS writing band score by connecting them and also adding more precise details

Many children are obese. They eat too much junk food. They should do exercises.

Option 1: Connect the sentences:

  • Many children are obese because they eat too much junk food and one way to tackle this is to encourage them to do more exercises.

Option 2: Add more valuable information:

  • An increasing number of children are struggling with obesity which can have a serious impact on their health. This is mainly because they are eating foods which are high in unhealthy fats and sugars as well as having a sedentary lifestyle lacking in sufficient exercise. To tackle this, children must be given a balanced, controlled diet and encouraged to get exercise every day to burn the calories they consume as well as reduce blood sugar levels.

Improving Sentences Example 2

Facebook is a good way to connect to friends. People can keep up to date with friends. Personal information is not always secure.

Option 1: Connect the Sentences

  • Although Facebook allows people to connect to each other and keep up to date with their news, their personal information might be at risk.

Option 2: Add more valuable information

  • Admittedly, Facebook provides a fun, interactive way for people to stay connected and remain in each other’s lives no matter the distance. However, by sharing so much personal information on a public, insecure platform, people are opening themselves up to online security problems such as identify theft, fraud and even cyber stalking.

Reduce Sentence Errors to Increase your IELTS Score

The more errors your sentences contain, the lower your score will be. It is better to write two sentences which are controlled in length and with no errors than one long sentence with errors. A long complex sentence with errors will not help your score.

The most common errors are in:

  • articles  a/the
  • plural nouns and countable nouns
  • prepositions
  • linking words
  • clauses
  • gerunds (verb+ing = noun)

Spot the errors in the sentences below:

  1. In my opinion, study history is extremely important in term of learning about culture, and science, medicine development.
  2. On the one hand, history is a subject that is rarely used in people’s lives. Thus it would be better to focus on science and technology, which is more relevant to the future.
  3. In other word, they should use the school time effectively, because students are loosing the motivation to study subjects like history that has no importance role in day to day life.
  4. For instance, most people memorising dates, names and facts when they studying history. This information is not useful for future.
  5. Furthermore, Valuable information can often be found in history, how science and technology had developed over the years.
  6. Although history has many information that is not useful in today’s world, studying history can help people learn about their background.

ANSWERS

Click below to see the mistakes and how to improve the sentences:

ANSWERS

.

RECOMMENDED FOR YOU:

Linking Words List for IELTS Essays

100 IELTS Essay Questions

ALL MODEL ESSAYS & TIPS FOR IELTS WRITING TASK 2

FREE SUBSCRIBE

Subscribe to get new lessons & tips by email.

.

Filed Under: IELTS Writing Task 2 Tagged With: ,

IELTS Essay Ideas: Is History a Waste of Time

by 68 Comments

Below are ideas for the topic of history in IELTS writing task 2. This essay is about how important history is to learn. This can relate to the subject of history as a whole or children spending time learning history. You should use the ideas given below and adapt them to the specific essay question given by IELTS.

Sample IELTS Essay Question

Some people think that studying history is a waste of time while others think that it is essential to learn. Discuss both sides and give your opinion.

IELTS Essay Ideas

Below are ideas for both side of the argument. A useful definition of history is “it is the study of past events, particularly human affairs.”. It might be the study of a country or of a person in the past. It might involve a particular event or a general situation at a given time in the past.

History is a Waste of Time

  • Most people memorise dates, names and facts when they study history. This information is not useful in everyday life or for the future.
  • If we could actually learn from history, history wouldn’t be full of the same repeated mistakes. However, the same mistakes are made again and again which makes history irrelevant to learn for the future.
  • History is a subject that is rarely used in people’s lives so it would be better to focus on science or technology which is more relevant to the future and today’s society.
  • Each historical event has different perspectives. For this reason, it makes learning history a waste of time because events can also be interpreted in a different way which makes what we learn in history less valuable.
  • Many school curriculum have been set and are rarely changed. That curriculum includes little current history which is the only type of history that helps people understand the world they currently live in.

History is Important

  • History helps young people understand their own culture and how their culture and country have evolved.
  • History gives identity and helps unify people. It gives people a sense of roots and belonging.
  • History teaches people what their forefathers experienced and suffered in the past in order to make their country what it is today.
  • History teaches us about travesties which have occurred in the past, such as the Holocaust. It is essential for both people in the past, present and future to never  forget such events in order to honour the memory of those lost and to ensure it never happens again.
  • History helps us understand change. It records and helps people understand successes and failures. Through these studies people can learn about change and how others are affected by it.
  • It shows patterns of behaviour or events in the past and their outcome which can help us avoid similar outcomes in the future.
  • Learn about the past often gives a glimpse of the future. It shows a path of development that will continue past the present and into the future.
  • Valuable information can often be found in history, such as traditional medicines. Learning about past lifestyles and techniques used by people in the past can hold the secrets to remedies or cures no longer used.

Recommended

If you wish to post writing, please read the rules for posting writing on this blog.

Get my free lessons by email

Subscribe for free to get my new IELTS lessons sent to your email inbox.

Filed Under: IELTS Writing Task 2 Tagged With: ,

Categorisation Practice & Tips for IELTS Reading

by 70 Comments

You can get categorisation questions in IELTS reading and below is a useful categorisation practice exercise to help you develop your skills. These questions are also known as “IELTS Reading Classification” questions and also as “IELTS Reading Matching Features” questions.

IELTS Reading Categorisation / Classification TIPS

How to tackle a question that asks you to classify / categorise a statement into options given?

  1. You will be given a list of statements as questions.
  2. You will also be given a list of categories. There are usually two or three categories which are labelled A, B & C.
  3. You need to decide which category the question statement belongs to.
  4. Your answer will be a letter, not a word or words. If you write a word or words, your answer will be marked wrong.
  5. There will often be two statements that belong to the same category so you might have a number of answers with the same letter.
  6. You decide which category a statement belongs to because the passage will tell you.
  7. Skim read the passage first before you tackle the questions.
  8. Check which categories you have been given. Often, not always, those categories represent an area in the passage. But this is not always the case.
  9. Read through the statements in each question.
  10. Spend time spotting keywords in the statements and thinking about possible paraphrasing.
  11. After preparing the statements, try to locate the information in the passage by scanning the text.
  12. Decide your category – which means decide how you will classify that statement.

The key to this type of question is being good at paraphrasing and scanning for specific information.

IELTS Reading Categorisation Questions

Practice the reading lesson below to get used to these kinds of IELTS reading questions.

Reading Passage: Beds in the Ancient World

IELTS categorisation reading classification

Bed styles in ancient Egypt remained very much the same for over 2000 years. They are among the most intriguing of furniture items because of their structure. Many were slanted down at an incline from the headboard. A foot board ensured that the sleeper would not slip off in the middle of the night. Furniture makers also constructed side rails on many beds. Writes Sibal, “almost all beds featured legs in the form of animal legs, ranging from heavy bulls legs to gazelle-like forms with hooves, and the feline type with paw and claw, frequently identified as lions legs.” The mattress was usually made of wooden slats, plaited string, or reeds, which then held woollen cushions or some other soft material. Sheets were made of linen.

Roman bed-frames were pretty much the same. It would have had a mattress on top of it, stuffed with feathers or straw, and wool blankets. But most Etruscan and Roman beds would have been made of wood and strung with wool or linen string. In the bedrooms, the ceilings were vaulted and lower above the bed, often making the room appear a cramped and stuffy place. Simple beds. to which shortly after the Homeric age a pillow for the head was added, continued to be used by the poorer classes among the Greeks at all times. Thus the bed of the orator Lycurgus is said to have consisted of one sheep-skin and a pillow.

In Ancient Greece, the beds of persons of high rank was covered with skins upon which the pillows were placed, and over these linen sheets or carpets were spread. Lastly, there was thick woollen cover or blanket for the sleeper. Poor persons slept on skins or beds of dry herbs spread upon the ground. These simple beds,  had a cover or ticking of a mattress which was made of linen or woollen cloth and the usual material with which it was filled with was either wool or dried weeds. At the head part of the bed lay a round pillow to support the head; and in some ancient pictures two other square pillows are seen, which were intended to support the back. The covers of such pillows are striped in several pictures on ancient vases and were therefore probably of various colours. They were undoubtedly filled with the same materials as the beds and mattresses.

Questions 1-4

Classify the information below as belonging to one of the following categories. Please note that for this particular practice, answers will not come in order in the passage. Choose  the correct letter (A-C) for your answer. Letters may be used more than once.

  • A = Ancient Egyptian
  • B = Ancient Roman
  • C = Ancient Greek
  1. Bedrooms did not seem spacious.
  2. The beds were not flat and horizontal but rather angled downwards.
  3. Pillows could be decorative.
  4. Mattresses were stuffed with wool.

ANSWERS

Click below to reveal the answers.

VOCABULARY

  ANSWERS

.

Recommended

FREE SUBSCRIBE

Subscribe to get new lessons & tips by email.

.

Filed Under: IELTS Reading Tagged With: ,

IELTS Yes No Not Given Reading Practice with Tips & Techniques

by 92 Comments

Yes, No, Not Given IELTS Reading Questions – useful techniques and practice lessons to maximise your score and help you save time in your reading test. These questions are often difficult for people to tackle so learning the right way will help you score points.

See the key tips and practice lesson below.

IELTS Yes No Not Given Reading Tips & Techniques

Are YNNG questions the same as TFFN questions?

The difference is not in the question, it is in the reading passage. When the passage is about facts and information then the question type will be TFNG because these questions are about matching statements with information in the passage. But when the passage contains a writer’s opinion or claims, then the question type is YNNG because these questions are matching statements with what the writer thinks or believes as shown in the passage. To sum up:

TFNG = factual passage = matching statements with information

YNNG = an opinion passage = matching statements with a writer’s opinion/claims

You will approach these questions in the same way.

Understanding the YNNG Instructions

IELTS Yes No Not Given Reading Questions Instructions

What do these answer options mean?

YES means that the full meaning of the question statement can be found in the passage and the meanings are the same.

NO means that the full meaning of the question statement is actually wrong and the passage shows it is wrong/incorrect/opposite/contradicted.

NOT GIVEN means that the information in the question statement isn’t found in the passage so we can’t say if it is correct or incorrect information. The passage doesn’t give enough information to choose Yes or No.

Your written answer must be YES or NO or NOT GIVEN. You can write these words in capital letters or lower case. But you can’t write True instead of Yes. If the answer is Yes, but you write True, then your answer is wrong. Always pay attention to that – don’t lose valuable points.

How to Tackle Yes No Not Given Questions

All these tips and techniques can be applied to TFNG questions as well. Click here for TFNG Reading Practice

  1. The same as TFNG questions, the YNNG answers will appear in order in the passage. This means you will find the answer to question 2 after the answer to question 1. This is useful to know because it will save you time searching through the whole passage. You will know that the answer to question 4, comes between the answer to question 3 and 5.
  2. Take time reading the question.
    1. Notice keywords in the question
      1. words that will help you locate the answer in the passage.
      2. words that might challenge the answer – words that make a subtle difference to the meaning.
  3. Think about synonyms and paraphrases that could be used to describe the information given in the question statement. Synonyms are words that have the same or similar meaning. Paraphrasing is writing the same information in a different way. Be prepared for both in the reading passage.
  4. Paraphrases and synonyms will help you locate the answer in the passage.
  5. Scan the passage and pay attention to keywords and paraphrases from the question.
  6. When you find the area that the answer is located in, read around that area. Read the sentences before and after.
  7. Remember, you can highlight words in the passage to help you. In the computer test, right click on the mouse and an option to highlight will appear. In the paper test, circle or underline the words with your pencil.
  8. After reading the area where the answer is located in the passage, go back to the question and start comparing them for meaning.
  9. Do not try to match words only. IELTS reading is about deeper meaning.
  10. Your aim isn’t to understand the whole passage, but to locate answers and then analyse the deeper meaning of those few sentences relating to the question.
  11. Be careful of comparative questions. The comparisons need to be the same in the question and passage.
  12. Be careful of quantifiers, such as “all” and “some”. ALL means 100%, SOME means it is not 100%.

Now it’s time for you to try some Yes, No, Not Given questions in the passage below.

IELTS Yes No Not Given Reading Practice

YNNG Passage 1: Richard, the Lionheart

King Richard I of England is one of the most iconic kings of England, known as the Crusader King and also as Richard the Lionheart. He spent practically all his reign outside England fighting wars in the Middle East and France to the point that England must have seemed like a foreign, distant land to him. It seems strange to us today to consider a King of England so wholly detached from the country that he represented and ruled. To pay for his wars and crusades, he taxed the English so heavily that is caused widespread discontent amongst the populace. While it can be said that he was a peerless warrior in battle, he was a poor King of England. He has often been criticised not only for his neglect of England and the welfare of the common person, but also for squandering the lives of so many of his followers as they followed him into battles far from their homeland. And yet remarkably, many English people still remember him quite fondly as a chivalrous king who was the epitome of a knight with bravery and military skill.

Questions 1-8

Do the following statements match the views of the writer in the passage? Write Yes, No or Not Given as your answer.

  1. King Richard idolised fame.
  2. While King, Richard never resided in England.
  3. King Richard looked down on the English culture.
  4. Many English people did not agree with being taxed so much.
  5. He was a fighter beyond compare.
  6. The people who followed him into battle were common people from England.
  7. King Richard did not place much consideration on the value of a human life.
  8. King Richard is considered by all English people as a courageous knight.

Answers

Click below to reveal the answers.

Answers Vocab Builder

.

I’ll upload another YNNG reading passage soon for you. All the best, Liz

RECOMMEND FOR YOU 

FREE SUBSCRIBE

Subscribe to get new lessons & tips by email.

.

Filed Under: IELTS Reading Tagged With: ,

Matching Paragraph Information: IELTS Reading Exercise

by 81 Comments

Matching paragraph information question in IELTS reading requires you to match the sentences given with information that is contained in different paragraphs. You must have strong skills of paraphrasing for this type of question. See if you can complete this practise lesson which I have written for you.

IELTS Reading Paragraph Matching Tips

There are two types of questions in IELTS reading that people confuse: Matching Headings and Matching Paragraph Information. They are not the same questions. Matching Headings requires you to choose the best heading for the paragraph. A heading is a title. Matching Paragraph Information requires you to locate specific information in one of the paragraphs.

  1. The question will be in the form of a statement containing information.
  2. The information in the statement given needs to be located in one of the paragraphs.
  3. The paragraphs in the reading passage will be labelled with letters: A, B, C etc.
  4. You need to locate the paragraph that contains the information given in the statement.
  5. Sometimes a single paragraph might contain the answer to more than one question. IELTS will always indicate this in the instructions:
    • Letters may be used more than once.
    • Always look out for that kind of instruction.
  6. Your answer will always be a letter. If you write any words, they will be marked wrong.
  7. Look for keywords in the question statement.
    • keywords are words that will help you find the same information in the passage.
  8. Keywords are often paraphrased.
    • Think about these possible paraphrases BEFORE you look at the passage to locate the answer.
  9. Answers do not come in order.
    • This means you could choose to tackle the questions in any order you want.
    • So, you could start with the easiest questions first
  10. Paragraphs usually have a central topic and that can help you decide which paragraph is likely to contain the information you are looking for.

IELTS Matching Paragraph Information Practice

Below is a reading lesson to practice Matching Paragraph Information questions.

Amundsen’s Expedition to the South Pole

A ) The first expedition to reach the geographic South Pole was led by the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen. He and four others arrived at the pole on 14 December 1911, five weeks ahead of a British party led by Robert Falcon Scott as part of the Terra Nova Expedition. Amundsen and his team returned safely to their base, and later learned that Scott and his four companions had died on their return journey.

B ) Amundsen’s plans had focused on the Arctic and the conquest of the North Pole by means of an extended drift in an icebound ship. He obtained the use of Fridtjof Nansen’s polar exploration ship Fram, and undertook extensive fundraising. Preparations for this expedition were disrupted when, in 1909, the rival American explorers Frederick Cook and Robert E. Peary each claimed to have reached the North Pole. Amundsen then changed his plan and began to prepare for a conquest of the South Pole; uncertain of the extent to which the public and his backers would support him, he kept this revised objective secret. When he set out in June 1910, even most of his crew believed they were embarking on an Arctic drift.

C ) The expedition’s success was widely applauded. The story of Scott’s heroic failure overshadowed its achievement in the United Kingdom, unable to accept that a Norwegian had been the first person to set foot in the South Pole, but not in the rest of the world. Amundsen’s decision to keep his true plans secret until the last moment was criticised by some. Recent polar historians have more fully recognised the skill and courage of Amundsen’s party; the permanent scientific base at the pole bears his name, together with that of Scott. (passage from wiki)

Questions 1-6

In which paragraph (A-C) is the following information found. Letters may be used more than once.

  1. The success of Roald Amundsen was celebrated worldwide, except in one country.
  2. Amundsen only heard about the death of Scott after he had reached the South Pole.
  3. The base at the South Pole bears both Amundsen’s name and Scott’s.
  4. Amundsen had originally planned an expedition to the North Pole.
  5. When Amundsen decided to aim for the South Pole he did not reveal his intentions.
  6. The British did not celebrate Amundsen’s success as did other countries due to the death of Scott.

ANSWERS

Click below to reveal the answers.

ANSWERS

.

RECOMMENDED FOR YOU

FREE SUBSCRIBE

Subscribe to get new lessons & tips by email.

.

Filed Under: IELTS Reading Tagged With: ,

Origins of Bread: IELTS T F NG Reading Practice

by 76 Comments

A reading practice for the IELTS T F NG questions  (true / false / not given). I’ve put some difficult questions in and also one easy question. I’m sure you can all spot the easy question 🙂 Good luck with the difficult questions 🙂

Here is a quick review of what each one means:

True = the statement matches the information in the passage

False = the statement contradicts the information in the passage

Not Given = the information is not found in the passage

Origins of Bread

Bread is the most widely consumed food in the world. Not only is it an important source of carbohydrates, it’s also small and easy to carry, which helps to explain why it has been part of our diet for thousands of years. In fact, recent scholarship suggests humans started baking bread around 30,000 years ago.

Prehistoric man had already been making gruel from water and grains, so it was a small jump to starting cooking this mixture into a solid bread form by frying it on stones. A 2010 study by the National Academy of Sciences discovered traces of starch (likely from the roots of cattails and ferns) in prehistoric mortar and pestle-like rocks. The roots would have been peeled and dried before they were ground into flour and mixed with water. Finally, the paste would be cooked on heated rocks.

Question 1-4

Which of the following statements are true, false or not given?

  1. Bread is eaten in all countries in the world.
  2. Bread contains carbohydrates.
  3. The first bread was made about 30,000 years ago.
  4. Bread was first made from gruel cooked in clay pots.

Answers

Click below to reveal the answers.

Answers

Vocab Builder

 

Filed Under: IELTS Reading Tagged With: ,

IELTS Writing Task 2 Model

by 79 Comments

In some parts of the world it is becoming popular to research the history of one’s own family. Why might people want to do this? Is it a positive or negative development?

Exploring one’s family background and history is becoming increasingly popular in numerous countries around the world. In my opinion, through research and knowing more about one’s family, people can see common trends passed through generations and useful information which can only be seen as beneficial for people’s future.

Firstly, some people look into their family history in order to discover any common trends with family members of a previous generation. This can be especially so with people who have particular skills, gifts or interests in uncommon fields. In other words, as some gifts and skills are hereditary, it can be interesting for people to learn how many others in their family shared these talents from previous generations.

Another reason for the popularity of finding out about one’s family history is often due to general curiosity of one’s geographical origins. That is to say, some families moved abroad, away from their own country, generations ago which resulted in them losing their original culture and adopting the culture of the country they moved to. Therefore, through research, people can learn more about their country of origin and understand more about the culture that their family originally came from.

Finally, the trend of researching family history is certainly beneficial and can help people find their place in the world. Some people feel a lack of direction in life or are dislocated from others but by learning more about their past family history, it can help them relate to the world and feel more comfortable about who they are. Take, for example, a person who feels nervous about making a certain choice in life, they may feel comforted by knowing that others in their family made the same choice many generations ago.

In conclusion, it can be advantageous for people to learn more about the family’s background and origins. It would be useful for children to learn about their own family history, if this was incorporated into the school curriculum.

Comments

There are two questions to this essay. Make sure you answer each question clearly and explain your ideas sufficiently if you want to get band score 6 or above.

Filed Under: IELTS Writing Task 2 Tagged With: , ,
error: Content is protected !!