IELTS Report, topic: Table describing the satisfaction of sports club’s members

The table below shows the results of a survey to find out what members of a city sports club think about the club’s activities, facilities, and opening hours.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make any comparisons where relevant.

Write at least 150 words.





The table illustrates the preference levels of male and female members of a sport club about their activities, facilities and opening hours. It is clear that the greater proportion of male members is contented about the club’s activities (91%) whereas this figure is true only for 70% of female members.

Moreover, more than 85% of both male and female are happy about the facilities and 63% of male members and 64% female members are extremely satisfied in this regard. In fact, only 14% of female members and 10% of male members are negative about this.

In addition, opening hours are in the best interest of women as 97% of them are positive about it. In contrast, more than one third of men have expressed their dissatisfaction in this regard.

In conclusion, it is clear that male and female members hold different opinion about the activities and facilities and opening hours of the club.

A reasonable outline of main trends, differences or states was given. The key features were presented and emphasized, but some aspects were left out of the description. There is a logical organisation of information; it is evident that the writer progresses from one idea to another. The use of linking words and phrases is suitable. The range of vocabulary is wide enough for the writer to show some flexibility and accuracy of expression, but still some words are repeated over and over again. There are incidental errors in word choice, spelling and word formation, however error-free sentences are common. Overall this report seems worthy of Band 7.

IELTS Speaking Part 1: 50 Practice Questions by Topic

You and IELTS

Why are you taking IELTS?
How many times have you taken IELTS?
What do you enjoy about learning English?
Is there anything you dislike about learning English?
How will you use English in future?


Lifestyle

What do you do in your free time?
Do you have a busy social life?
Do you lead an active life?
Has your life changed much in the last year?
What would you like to change about your lifestyle?


Family

How many people are there in your immediate family?
Who do you get on best with in your family?
Do you have a large extended family?
What do you do together with your family?
Why is family important to you?


Friends

Do you have a lot of friends?
Who is your best friend and why?
Who would you most like to be friends with and why?
What kind of person is it easy to make friends with?
Who are more important to you, friends or family?


Work

Do you have a job right now?
What did you want to be when you were a child?
Are there good job opportunities in your home country?
What job do you think you will be doing in five years?
What skills and qualifications are required for this


Hometown

Where were you born?
Do you consider this place your home?
How important is your hometown to you?
How many people live in your hometown?
What is your hometown famous for?


Books

How many books do you have at home?
Do you prefer to buy books or borrow them?
What book would you take on a long journey?
How easy is it to read books in English?
Have you given up reading a book recently?


Films

How often do you go to the cinema?
Are cinema tickets expensive in your country?
What are the advantages of seeing a film at the cinema?
Do you usually watch films alone or with others?
Which actor would you like to play you in a film?


Music

How do you listen to music?
Are your music tastes varied?
Do you like to sing along to your favourite songs?
Are you learning a musical instrument at the moment?
Is live music popular in your country?


Travel

Where was the last place you visited on holiday?
Would you like to go back there again?
What kind of tourist destination do you usually prefer?
Has a foreign visitor ever stayed at your home?
What’s the best way to save money while travelling?

IELTS Writing Task 1: Bar Chart with Sample AnswerModel Answer

The bar chart shows the relative electricity consumption and cost per year of various household devices.

Write a 150-word report for a university lecturer explaining the data and making comparisons where relevant.





The bar chart compares the energy consumption and expense of operating 16 different items of household equipment. Overall, we can see significant differences in both cost and consumption.

To begin with, there are some common household items which consume relatively little energy. These include an electric blanket (approx. $10 or 100kwh/year), a microwave oven (approx. $15 or 150kwh/year) and a television (approx. $17 or 170kwh/year).

By contrast, devices that might be classified as ‘luxury’ items such as a pool pump or spa are comparatively expensive and energy-intensive, at nearly $125 or 1500kwh/year and around $190 or 2225kwh/year respectively.

It is interesting to note that even among household items normally considered alike, such as a microwave and refrigerator, there are enormous discrepancies in cost and energy use. The former uses only around $15 or 150kwh/year, while the latter consumes at least six times that amount at $90 or 1150kwh/year.

In conclusion, it appears that there is no clear pattern in the relative energy consumption of domestic equipment, although households had better be aware of the high running costs of luxury items such as a pool pump and spa.

(187 words, IELTS 8.5)

Why does this Task 1 answer get an IELTS Band 8 score?

Task achievement: The model answer presents an overall description first, followed by key supporting details that illustrate the main trend.


Coherence and cohesion: The model answer is divided into clear paragraphs and each paragraph contains one main idea. There are cohesive links between paragraphs. A variety of reference links are used throughout, including the former, the latter, and respectively.

Lexical resource: The language in the question is effectively paraphrased. Synonyms are introduced for key concepts such as electricity consumption > energy use and cost > expense. Some less-common words such as discrepancies and energy-intensive are used.

Grammatical range and accuracy: The model answer is free from grammatical errors. Sentences tend to consist of multiple clauses. Paragraphs contain a variety of sentence structures.

IELTS Reading: Essential Skills and Strategies

Do you wish there was a magic device that would enable you to become a more effective reader? Many IELTS candidates probably do. Most EFL students I have taught have a low opinion of their own reading ability. This is because they consider every unclear word or sentence a serious failure on their part. In fact, it’s possible to get a very high score in IELTS Reading without fully understanding a passage or many of the words within. Mastering a few basic skills and strategies, some of which you probably already use in your first language, is the key to success in IELTS Reading.


Skimming

Skilled readers quickly ‘get the gist’ (understand the main idea) of a passage by using speed-reading, or skimming. They glance quickly at titles and headings to identify the general topic. They know where to look for the writer’s main idea: near the end of the introduction and the beginning of the conclusion. When reading body paragraphs, they stop as soon as they have understood the main idea and they don’t bother reading supporting sentences such as examples and quotations. If they see a word they don’t recognise, they never stop to consider what it means. Instead, their eyes are constantly moving across, or skimming the text. Practice skimming every time you encounter a new reading passage and, as a general rule, don’t spend more than 5 minutes skim-reading a passage in IELTS, not even the longest of the three passages.

Understanding how a text is organised

Another skill that goes hand-in-hand with skimming is understanding the organisation of a text. How many paragraphs comprise the introductory section? Where is the thesis statement located? What is the main function of each paragraph? Which linking expressions indicate a change of topic or argument? Some readers mentally note these observations, some prefer to underline key topic words and signal phrases, while others annotate (write brief summarising words) in the margins. Understanding how a text is organised will help you locate information more quickly when it comes to answering the questions.

Scanning

When reading a question, the temptation is start scanning the text for the answer immediately. However, effective scanning begins with careful study of the question. What information do you need to find? A person’s name? A year? A reason? An effect? Are there specific names or technical terms in the question that are certain to appear in the text? To locate specific facts such as dates and names, one high-speed technique is to scan backwards through the text, which prevents you from re-reading the sentences. To find ideas, you will need to become a master of paraphrase.

Identifying paraphrase

The majority of the 40 questions in IELTS Reading will involve some form of paraphrase of the original text: headings and summaries are typical examples. As a paraphrase expresses the same meaning using different words, it naturally helps to have a huge vocabulary. However, vocabulary size is not everything. Paraphrase recognition starts with knowing which words are most likely to be paraphrased: conceptual words like find/discover, avoid/prevent, and theory/explanation are typically paraphrased, while more technical terms such as infectious disease, volcanic eruption, or silicon chip are likely to re-appear in the text. Concentrate your vocabulary learning on the former group, the core concept words, many of which appear in the Academic Word List.

Guessing unknown words

It’s guaranteed that there will be words you don’t know in the Reading module of IELTS. In fact, the test writers deliberately place difficult words in the passages to see if candidates can figure them out using contextual clues. These contextual clues can include a definition, a paraphrase elsewhere in the text, collocating words, or word parts, i.e. prefixes and suffixes. Skilled IELTS test-takers have more than just a well-stocked vocabulary; they also have the skills to cope with an unknown word and guess intelligently at its most likely meaning.

Time management

By answering 30 out of 40 questions correctly, you can achieve a score of 7.0 in the Academic Reading module of IELTS, which is considered good enough to enter most universities in the world. The lesson here is: Don’t spend too much time on the 10 most difficult questions. It’s more important that you allow yourself time to answer the 30 easiest questions and give the remaining 10 your best guess. As a general rule, if you’re still unsure of an answer after one minute, pencil in your best guess, move on to the next question, and come back to it later if there’s time.

from ielts-academic.com

IELTS essay, topic: The advantages and disadvantages of studying in another country

Every year an increasing number of students choose to go to another country for their higher education. Do you think the benefits of this development outweigh the problems associated with it?

The past twenty years have seen a dramatic change of the number of students who go abroad to begin college in China. In this essay, I will explore the advantages and disadvantages of this trend.

On the one hand, both students and their country can benefit from this trend. First, students can choose more suitable education methods for themselves because there are more options. The course and teaching methods are quite different from China. According to foreign experts, the higher education in China is really not good as that of those developing countries, especially in contrast with Europian or US. Secondly, people can improve their foreign language, but, they can contact with others when they are in a foreign country, and they will quickly master the foreign language. Thirdly, it helps to promote the mutual understanding between their mother land and their destination countries. These students exchange information with the locals. Students can get better understanding of the destination countries. People in their home country will get more vivid information about other countries through these messages. Similarly, the locals also can get more clear recognition about other countries.

On the other hand, there are disadvantages too. Firstly, it costs people a lot of money to begin college in foreign countries. Many families have to take out all their savings to support their children to go abroad. Secondly, some students cannot stand the big difference of the new environment, they maybe quit their study and come back home.

To conclude, given the undisputable fact that to begin college in foreign countries helps students with their studies and promotes the mutual understanding between countries, even if there are some drawbacks, I think the benefits outweigh the problems.

All the parts of the task were covered, although some were covered better than others. The writer’s position is relevant to task prompt, although the conclusions are somewhat repetitive.The information is presented coherently, it is evident that the writer progresses from one idea to another. The linking words and phrases are used, however at times they seem repetitive or forced (not natural). There are some attempts to use more sophisticated words, not all are accurate. Even though there are some errors in grammar and punctuation, they don’t make the meaning much harder to understand. Overall, this essay seems worthy of Band 6.

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IELTS Speaking Test in Hong Kong – January 2013

Interview
- Can you tell me your full name?
- Can I see your ID, please?
- Do you still work or retired?
- It seems to me you are still working so hard for the study. Do you
think it is worthwhile to do so?

Cue Card
Describe a parent in your family that you remember well. Please say
- who was that person?
- How well do you remember him/her?
- Why did you like that person this much?

Discussion
- How many children do you have?
- In Hong Kong, do both parents need to work to support themselves and leave the children behind?
- Is it the real situation?
- How can they cope with this problem?
- Tell me in what situation should you pay attention to?
- In what situation, concentration is much needed?
- It seems child-care is important nowadays, do you think those skills are that parents should use to teach their children?

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IELTS Speaking Test in Australia – January 2013

Interview
- What is your full name?
- Where are you from?
- Do you study or work?
- What is your major?
- Do you like big or small bags?
- What are you looking for when buying a bag?
- Do you use different bags on different occasions?

Cue Card
Talk about a house or an apartment that you have visited and liked the most. Please say

- Where is it?
- How did you get there and with whom?
- What did you like about it?

Discussion
- What do the houses in your country look like?
- Do people prefer big or small houses?
- What do the old people like?
- Would you like to take part in designing your house?
- Do people like to design their own houses in your country?
- Why do people like to design their own houses?

IELTS Speaking Test in Canada – January 2013

Interview
- What is your name?
- Do you work or study?
- What type of work do you do?
- Do you write at work?
- Do you like writing?
- When do you write?
- Would you want to write a book?
- Do you like sleeping?
- What do you do to sleep better?
- What are the advantages of a conference?
- Which one is better, a conference or a group discussion?
- Is it good for people to visit schools and teach children different things?
- What type of talks are given to the students?
- Is it difficult for the speakers to talk before students?
- Do the students like such talks?

Cue Card
Describe a talk that you have heard recently. Please say

- Who gave the talk?
- Where was it?
- What was it about?

Discussion
- Was the talk interesting to you? Why?

Improve Your Listening and Speaking-Podcast # 27

IELTS Speaking Test in Saudi Arabia – January 2013

Interview

- What is your name?
- Which part of the city are you from?
- What kind of entertaining places are there in your city?
- Tell me about an entertaining place you have recently visited.
- What is the downside of the Internet in your opinion?
- Do you think young people buy things online they don’t really need?
- Are part time jobs popular in your country?

Cue Card

Talk about something you have bought and weren’t satisfied with. Please say

- What was it?
- Where did you buy it?
- Why weren’t you satisfied?

Discussion

- Do you think that people prefer to buy imported goods? Why?
- Why is the quality of the imported goods better than the quality of the local goods?
- What kind of things people don’t buy online? Why?
- Do you buy something online?
- What is more important to you, quality or price? Why?

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FREE, FREE, FREE! Academic Word list for FREE, FREE, FREE

Hello to all,
If you need to have some lists of Academic Word  List for FREE, please send me a message via my facebook account at:

www.facebook.com/GO.IELTS

and you will receive in a few days via email.

How can we paraphrase?

Can you repeat 3 times fast?

A tutor who tooted the flute 
tried to tutor two tooters to toot.
Said the two to the tutor,
"Is it harder to toot or
to tutor two tooters to toot?"

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What is the difference?

What is the difference between the two sentences below:

1- I have been to London.
2- I had been to London.

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IELTS Speaking test in India – January 2013

Interview

- What is your full name?
- What should I call you?
- Where are you from?
- Where is your town located in the country?
- What are the special features of your hometown?
- Would you like to stay there in the future? Why?
- What is the weather like in your country?
- How many different seasons are there?
- Do you prefer a cold or a hot season? Why?

Cue Card

Describe a film based on a real life event or a real person. Please say

- When did you see it?
- Did you like it or not? Why?
- What did you learn from the movie?

Discussion

- In your country what kind of real people are filmed in movies?
- What do you think is better: to read a book or to see a movie based on a book?
- What are the most important things to make a movie successful?
- Do you think the star acting in the movie influences the success of the movie? Why?

IELTS Report, topic: Bar graph describing trends in consumption of fast food

The chart below shows the amount of money per week spent on fast foods in Britain. The graph shows trends in consumption of fast foods. Write a report for a university lecturer describing the information shown below.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make comparisons where relevant.

Write at least 150 words.

The bar chart illustrates the expenditure on three different types of fast food such as hamburgers, fish and chips and pizza in people in different level of income.

From the chart, it is clear that in a high-income group, 40 pence is spent on hamburgers a week, which is the largest among the expenditures on all the three types of fast food. This expenditure is also the greatest one in the average income group, but the amount of money spent is only about 33 pence a week, much less than that in the high-income group. As for the low-income group, the largest expenditure is on fish and chips, about 18 pence a week.

The line graph compares the trends of the amount of three type of fast food consumed between 1970 and 1990. It is clear that the amount of hamburgers and fish and chips consumed showed an increasing trend, while pizza consumed gradually decreased from 300g in 1970 to 700g in 1985, before it grew to about 240g in 1990. The consumption of fish and chips overtook that of pizza and hamburgers in 1982 and 1988 respectively.

This report covers the requirements of the task. The main trends and features were presented but should be developed better. The candidate has arranged ideas coherently, though the data is reported in a repetitive way. The range of vocabulary is adequate. There are a few errors in grammar and word choice, and one instance of inaccurate data (mouse over the underlined words shows corrections). Overall, this task response meets the expectations and seems good enough to achieve Band 7.

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IELTS Speaking test in the UK – January 2013

Interview

- What is your full name?
- Where do you live?
- Is it a house or an apartment?
- What is your favorite room? Why?
- What do you do to relax?
- Do you think people have enough time for relaxation?

Cue Card

Describe a very happy couple in your life that you find interesting. Please say:

- Who are they?
- Where do they live?
- Why do you find them interesting?

Discussion

- Tell me about a time when you needed to be polite.
- How did you demonstrate it?
- Is it important to be polite?

IELTS Speaking test in Melbourne, Australia – January 2013

Interview

- What is your full name?
- Do you work or study?
- Where are you from?
- Tell me about your hometown.
- What type of houses are there?
- What is the meaning of your name?
- Is it a popular name in your country or not?
- Do you personally like your name?
- How do your friends call you?

Cue Card

Describe a house that you have visited recently. Please say

- What was so interesting about it?
- When and why did you visit it?
- Where is it located?

Discussion

 - Did other people enjoy visiting it too?

- Is it better to build houses in the city or in countryside?
- What can people do to save energy in their house and to help the environment?
- Who designed you house?
- Why do people decide to design their own houses?

IELTS Writing Task 2-Sample

Monkeys take the IELTS

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IELTS Letter, topic: Get well wishes for a team-mate

IELTS Letter, topic: Get well wishes for a team-mate

You play sport (e.g. football) for a local team. You recently heard that a player in your team is in a hospital. Write a letter to your team-mate. In your letter:

- Say how you feel about the news
- Ask about the treatment in the hospital
- Suggest some ways of cheering him/her up

Dear John,

I’m sorry to hear that you’ve fallen and fractured your leg. It is extremely unfortunate that you had this accident, especially when we are having a big match next week.

I understand that you’re admitted in St. John’s Hospital and will be there for a week. I hope you’re taken care well at the hospital. Although there had been some complaints about St. John’s in the past, I heard they have improved a lot. Did you get to consult their chief orthopaedician? His speciality is in sports medicine and he could probably suggest some specific treatments that will help you.

And let me share some good news with you. Our university has granted a sports scholarship for your studies. I heard it from our coach and you should be getting a letter shortly. So it is not all gloom!

Do let me know if you need any help. I will visit you at the hospital next week. Till then, bye.

Regards,

Prasad

This letter covers the requirements of the task, all the bullet points are addressed sufficiently. The information and ideas are presented logically, and the paragraphing is appropriate. Although there are some instances of poor word choice and grammar, most of the sentences are error-free. It is best to avoid using contractions (e.g. you’re, we’re) in IELTS letters. Overall, seems worthy of Band 8.

Thanks to www.ielts-blog.com

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Improve Your Listening and Speaking-Podcast # 1

WARREN BUFFET

"Honesty is an expensive gift. Do not expect it from cheap people."

African Proverb

If you want to go fast, go alone.
If you want to go far, go together.
--------------------------------------------


I would say:

If you want to stay domestic, go alone.
If you want to go international, GO IELTS.

IELTS Speaking test in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia – January 2013

Interview
- What is your full name?
- Are people in your country using mobile phones often?
- When did you get your first mobile phone?
- Do you prefer to call or to message your friends? Why?
- Do you think people should turn their cell phones on silent in public places? Why?
- Please describe your hometown.
- What is interesting in your hometown?
- Are you planning to stay or go back to your hometown in the future?

Cue Card
If you were given a chance to do an unusual job, what job would it be? Please say:

- Why do you think it is an unusual job?
- Where did you find out about it?
- What is so interesting about this job?

Discussion
- Is it important to have a retirement age?
- Is a part time job in your country supported by schools?
- Does government have the right to impose a particular number of workers on a company?
- In what way students are guided to choose their career?
- How do you decide what course or degree will suit you?

IELTS Band Score Calculator

IELTS Band Score Calculator

IELTS Report, topic: Line graph describing the consumption of fish and meat

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The graph below shows the consumption of fish and different kinds of meat in a European country between 1979 and 2004.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make comparisons where relevant.

Write at least 150 words.

The graph illustrates the quantities of fish and different kinds of meats consumed in a European country between the time periodof 1979 and 2004. Over this span of 25 years, the consumption of beef, lamb and fish have all decreased while the consumption of chicken has dramatically risen.
The biggest consumption in 1979 was beef (about 220 grams per person was consumed every week) while the lowest consumption in 1979 was fish (around 60 gram per week was consumed by a person). The amount of fish which was eaten has remained almost constant at about 50 grams from 1979 and 2004. The trends of beef and lamb consumption were similar, with decreases in amount in between the years. While beef consumption had declined from over 200 grams per person per week to around 100 grams during 25 years, lamb’s was starting 150 grams to approximately 50 grams at the same period.
In contrast, chicken consumption had grown up gradually to year of 194, reaching a peak at 250grams per person every week inbetween 1994 and 2004.
This report covers the requirements of the task. The main trends and features were sufficiently developed. The candidate has arranged ideas coherently, though at times they report data in a repetitive way. The range of vocabulary is adequate. There are a few errors in grammar and word choice (mouse over the underlined words shows suggestions for improvement). Overall, this task response meets the expectations and seems good enough to achieve Band 7.