Daily lessons with Simon,
ex-IELTS examiner
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IELTS Speaking Part 1: Collecting
Here are some more part 1 questions with my model answers. Today’s topic is ‘collecting’, and my answers are short and direct.
IELTS Listening: Gap-fill about writing
Listen to a recording about the importance of learning to write well, and fill the gaps in the summary below it.
IELTS Reading: Choose the title 8
Try today’s practice exercise. Read the passage and choose the best title.
IELTS Writing Task 2: Strong opinion + refute
Governments should spend money on railways rather than roads. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?
IELTS Advice: How long will it take?
How long will it take you to get the IELTS score that you need? I think it depends…
Writing Task 1: ‘Internet and video games’ chart
Read my model answer for a task that compares the time that young people spend on the Internet and playing video games.
General Writing Task 1: Informal phrases
Can you rewrite five informal phrases in a more formal way?
IELTS Speaking: Which part is most important?
Do the 3 parts of the speaking test carry equal weighting when your score is calculated, or is one part more important?
IELTS Listening: Multiple choice keywords
For multiple choice questions in the listening test, try to underline just one or two keywords in each choice before the recording starts.
IELTS Reading: Media
Read the passage about ‘mass media’, and complete the ‘true, false, not given’ exercise below it.
IELTS Writing Task 2: ‘Ex-prisoners’ essay
In this lesson I ask you to read a band 9 essay and tell me two things: Why does it deserve a band 9, and which ‘method’ did I use?
IELTS Advice: Simple linking is fine!
Telling someone not to use the word “firstly” is like telling someone not to use the word “and”.
Writing Task 1: Important little words
Try today’s exercise, which looks at the following important little words: at, in, on, to, for, by.
General Writing Task 1: Invitation letter
Here’s my band 9 answer for the ‘invitation’ letter task. You’ll also see a list of the good vocabulary that I used.
Speaking Part 2: Describe a future aim
Would you be able to talk about a future aim or goal for 2 minutes? Read my answer to get some ideas!
IELTS Listening: Lectures and seminars
Listen to the recording about university lectures and seminars, and fill the gaps in the summary below it.
IELTS Reading: Ethnography
Try today’s multiple choice exercise. From this lesson you’ll also learn the meaning of the word ‘ethnography’.
Agree or disagree: Will computers replace teachers?
The model essay in today’s lesson contains exactly 250 words, but it’s still good enough for a band 9!
IELTS Grammar: Using ‘with’ instead of ‘and’
This lesson contains an interesting comparison between sentence structures using ‘with’ instead of ‘and’.
Writing Task 1: ‘Phone calls’ bar chart
Here’s another model answer for you to study. This time the task contains a bar chart about phone calls.
Writing Task 1: Invitation letter part 3
Let’s continue with the ‘invitation’ letter task. In this lesson we’ll describe the special occasion and invite our friend to it.
Speaking Part 1: Parks
Here are some more part 1 questions with my model answers. Today’s topic is ‘parks’, and my answers are short and direct.
Back tomorrow!
I’m sorry that I haven’t published a new lesson for a couple of days. I’ll be back to normal tomorrow.
IELTS Grammar: namely vs including
A subscriber asked me to explain the difference between ‘namely’ and ‘including’, so let’s study some examples.
Writing Task 1: Overview, not conclusion
In this lesson I explain why you should write an ‘overview’ in your task 1 report, not a conclusion.
Writing Task 1: Invitation letter part 2
Let’s continue with the ‘invitation’ letter task. In this lesson we tell our friend what we’ve been doing since we last met.
Speaking Part 3: ‘Community’ topic
How can people help others in their communities? Today’s lesson contains my sample answer to this question and two others.
IELTS Listening: How to improve your score
If you’re trying to improve your listening score, stop searching for techniques! Think about this instead…
IELTS Reading: The keyword technique
I often talk about “the keyword technique” in my reading lessons. But what is this technique and how do we use it?
Four ‘agree or disagree’ methods
This important lesson contains four good ways to structure an “agree or disagree” essay. Study the four methods carefully!