Common Girl’s Names: Pronunciation

Below is a list of common girl’s name in England with an audio as well so you can hear the pronunciation of the name. It is important to learn common names in English for your IELTS listening test. IELTS frequently ask you to listen for personal information such as a name in section 1. You can also listen to boys’ names or watch a video to practice listening for names.

Mistake: Please notice that there is a mistake with the pronunciation of Scarlett in the audio. The audio actually says “Charlotte”. Sorry about that.

Girls Names

 

 

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IELTS Current Essay Question Jan 2015

Below is a an essay question that came in the exam this week.

Directors and managers of organizations are often older people. Some people say that it is better for younger people to be leaders. To what extend do you agree or disagree?

This is an opinion essay which means you must give a clear opinion in the introduction and then support it and explain it in the body paragraphs. Let me give you some ideas for this topic. If you have more ideas of your own, please post them in the comments box below.

Reasons why young people should be leaders

  • young people are usually more up-to-date and in touch with the modern world
  • they are often more dynamic and forward thinking which means they are more open to new ideas
  • young leaders are stronger and healthier than their old counterparts and therefore more able to cope with the demands of leadership

Reasons why older people should be leaders

  • with age comes experience and this is critical for any leader
  • older people have more authority which is needed to lead and manage others
  • a sense of responsibility is needed to lead effectively which is found in older people and often lacking in the young

If you recently did your exam, please post your full essay question in the comments box below so we can all benefit from it.

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Parts of the Face: Vocabulary for People

It is common to be asked to give a description of a person in IELTS speaking. Here is some useful vocabulary to help you describe a person in detail.

You can see that one word in the diagram is missing. Do you know that word?

face parts vocabularyListen to the recording below to complete the diagram. Words will not come in order so you will need to make notes to find which is the missing word. Answer is given below.

Answers
The missing word is “eyebrow”

Note: many of these words are often used as plurals, for example, “she has rather thick lips” or “he has high cheek bones”. Make sure you use this vocabulary accurately.

 

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IELTS Model Essay Score 9 for Direct Questions

This is an estimated band score 9 model for an IELTS writing task 2 direct questions essay. This model essay shows you how to answer each question directly and how to organise the answers into paragraphs.

The Direct Questions Essay is also known as the IELTS Double Question Essay because it usually has two questions. However, I prefer to called it a Direct Questions Essay because sometimes it is possible to be given three questions instead of two. Also, your task is to answer the direct questions which can be very varied in nature.

IELTS Model Essay Band 9

Some people think that money is one of the most essential factors in promoting happiness.

Do you think people can be happy without much money?

What other factors contribute towards happiness?

Money is considered by many people to be one of the most important contributing factors towards happiness. In my opinion, it is possible for people to be happy even if they have little money and other aspects of life can play a more vital role in creating happiness than wealth alone.

Although money allows people to afford luxuries and treats, which certainly do bring temporary enjoyment and satisfaction, a substantial number of people are happy without money. Firstly, money is no guarantee of happiness, particularly if disease or disaster feature largely in someone’s life. Secondly, as long as people have the money to cover their necessities, doing without luxury items does not negatively affect the pleasures that a good life can bring.

Another way people can gain satisfaction in their life is through their work rather than money. For instance, a doctor doing volunteer service overseas in underdeveloped countries may earn little or no money, but the reward of doing such work is profoundly rewarding. Not only that but it can be a long-term fulfilment that they carry with them through life in the form of rich memories and the knowledge of a life well-lived.

Finally, another influencing factor of contentment in life is having supportive and loving people in one’s life.  While money may bring opportunities to enjoy pleasures, few people would enjoy them in isolation. Being surrounded by a loving and caring family is considered by many people to be the most valuable thing in life. This is one aspect of life that money certainly cannot buy. 

In conclusion, money is not essential for happiness, which can be found through job satisfaction as well as family. If more people strived in life towards true happiness rather than money, the world would be a better place.

297 words.

Examiner Comments: The task given was to answer two questions. The writer answered both questions with relevant main points that were well-developed. The main points were each sufficiently developed for a high score and organised into logical paragraphs with clear signposting. The use of three body paragraphs is not so common in IELTS writing task 2 with most people choosing an essay of only two body paragraphs. However, three body paragraphs does allow for enough developed of main points for a high score. The use of linking devices is skilfully managed. Vocabulary is flexible with less common expressions. Grammar is complex and widely varied with only an odd slip, but not obvious errors.

RECOMMENDED FOR YOU FOR WRITING TASK 2

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Essay Ideas and Structure: Public Services

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

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

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IELTS Speaking Part 2: A Friend you are Proud of

IELTS speaking part 3 topic about a friend you are proud of. I was recently asked by a student how to deal with this difficult topic in IELTS speaking part 2:

Describe a time that you felt proud of a friend.

Possible Answers

Below are some possible ways to answer this part 2 topic.

1. a friend who did well in their studies (for example, they did well in a test or project)
2. a friend who did well in work and received an award or was congratulated by their boss
3. a friend who had a difficult situation but dealt with it very well (for example, they were seriously sick or a parent was seriously ill)
4. a friend who experienced an unexpected event but fixed the situation (for example, they went on holiday and had their money stolen)
5. a friend who got a job they always wanted (for example, they did well in the interview and had worked hard to get the job)
6. a friend who defended you in a difficult situation
7. a friend who raised money for charity or did some volunteer work that made you feel proud

IELTS Speaking Part 2 Tip

It is often easier to talk about a family member that you were proud of because you know them better. So, if you get stuck, the best thing is to say “Although I have plenty of friends, I wouldn’t say that they’ve done anything to make me really proud but my cousin has. So I will tell you about him and what he has done that caused me to be so proud of him.” It is possible to adapt (not change) the topic as long as it still follows the prompts on the cue card.

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