Daily lessons with Simon,
ex-IELTS examiner
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Writing Task 2: Balanced opinion ‘skeleton’
Let’s write a balanced opinion essay skeleton for the task about tourists and cultural differences.
Advice: Test grammar points with easy examples
Here’s a great tip to help you when you’re confused about any grammar point.
Writing Task 1: The most important skill
What do you think is the most important skill in IELTS academic writing task 1?
General Writing Task 1: Formal to informal
Can you rewrite three formal sentences in an informal way?
IELTS Speaking Part 1: Rain
Questions about ‘rain’ might seem strange or tricky, but they are quite easy if we follow the normal method.
IELTS Listening: Mastering part 1
Part 1 is supposed to be the easy part of the listening test. However, I believe that you should practise it more than the other parts.
IELTS Reading: Mars (yes, no, not given)
Try this ‘yes, no, not given’ exercise about some recent photos of the planet Mars.
Writing Task 2: Agree or disagree, balanced opinion
Let’s start work on a new essay topic, and try to present a viewpoint that is in the middle between ‘agree’ and ‘disagree’.
IELTS Advice: What can you memorise?
Are there things that you can memorise for your exam? Here are some ideas.
Writing Task 1: Sugar process answer
Here’s my full model answer for the ‘sugar manufacture’ task.
General Writing Task 1: ‘Lost property’ letter
Here’s my band 9 answer for the ‘lost property’ letter task. You’ll also see a list of the good vocabulary that I used.
IELTS Speaking: The importance of part 2
Students often ask me what will happen if they do badly in part 2 of the speaking test. Is it still possible to get a high score?
IELTS Listening: ‘School experiments’ multiple choice
Listen to descriptions of four school science experiments, and match each experiment with the correct problem.
IELTS Reading: ‘Bilinguals’ gap-fill
Complete the summary by choosing the correct words from the list below it.
IELTS Writing Task 2: ‘Professionals’ vocabulary exercise
Here’s a quick exercise that highlights some of the good vocabulary that I used in last week’s ‘professionals’ essay.
IELTS Grammar: I would appreciate it if…
“I would appreciate it if” is a formal way of requesting something. Let’s take a quick look at how to use this phrase correctly.
Writing Task 1: Describing steps in a process
Read my introduction and overview, then write your own paragraph describing the first 3 steps in the sugar production process.
General Writing Task 1: ‘Lost property’ part 3
Can you write two error-free sentences asking for assistance to find some lost documents?
IELTS Speaking Part 3: Customer service
This lesson contains three model answers using my “answer, explain, example” method.
IELTS Listening: ‘Isaac Newton’ gap-fill
Here’s another listening practice exercise for you to try!
IELTS Reading: Migrating birds (paragraph headings)
Choose the best heading for each paragraph in a passage about migrating birds.
IELTS Writing Task 2: Discussion essay (professionals)
Here’s my band 9 essay on the topic of whether professionals should be allowed to work abroad. There’s also a quick homework task.
Grammar: Nouns that can be countable and uncountable
Some nouns can be either countable or uncountable, depending on how we want to use them.
Writing Task 1: Sugar manufacture
Let’s work on a new ‘process diagram’ task together.
General Writing Task 1: ‘Lost property’ part 2
Can you write two error-free sentences that explain why some lost documents are important?
IELTS Speaking Part 1: Shoes
Here’s a topic that might seem strange at first, but that is actually quite easy if we follow the normal method.
IELTS Listening: ‘Urbanisation’ gap-fill
Listen to a recording about cities and urbanisation, and complete the summary sentences.
IELTS Reading: Paragraph headings about dictionaries
Try today’s paragraph headings exercise. Many people find this one tricky!
IELTS Writing Task 2: Professionals working abroad
See if you can finish the last sentence of my paragraph.
Writing Advice: Balanced opinion vs concede + answer
A subscriber asked me to explain the difference between these two types of essay structure.