Daily lessons with Simon,
ex-IELTS examiner
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IELTS Advice: Less testing, more preparing
Remember: To train for a marathon, you don’t run a full marathon every day!
Writing Task 1: Dangerous waste pie charts
Read my model answer for a task that shows us three pie charts. Should we compare the charts or describe them separately?
Writing Task 1: Formal letter mistakes
Here are some phrases that members wrote below last Friday’s lesson. Can you correct the mistake(s) in each one?
Speaking Advice: Make it personal
In the speaking test, and especially in part 3, it really helps if you give personal examples.
IELTS Listening: Film course
Try this multiple choice listening exercise about advice for students who are applying to a film-making course.
IELTS Reading: Collocation
If you want to become a better user of English, it’s important to understand what ‘collocations’ are.
Writing Task 2: Correct the mistakes
Here are some sentences that members wrote below last Monday’s lesson. Can you find and correct the mistakes?
IELTS Advice: Which writing task first?
Here’s a question that students often ask: In the writing test, is it better to start with task 1 or task 2?
Writing Task 1: Real report writing
In this lesson we analyse two examples of ‘real’ reports from non-IELTS sources. Let’s see if we can learn anything from them.
Writing Task 1: College accommodation problem
Let’s start work on a new formal letter task. It’s a letter of complaint about a college accommodation problem.
Speaking Part 1: Telephone topic
Here are some part 1 questions with my sample answers on the topic of using the telephone.
IELTS Listening: Underline the keywords
Before the recording starts, use the breaks to read through the questions and underline the key words that you’ll need to listen for.
IELTS Reading: False or not given?
Students are often confused by the difference between ‘false’ and ‘not given’. Here’s my basic advice.
Writing Task 2: Positives of cold climates
Can you write two error-free sentences about the benefits of living in a cold climate?
IELTS Grammar: Wide range or error free?
If you want a high writing score, is it more important to use a wide range of structures or to write error-free sentences?
Writing Task 1: Using words from the chart
Be very careful when using the words that you see on the graph or chart. You may need to change them when writing full sentences.
General Writing Task 1: Storytelling analysis
In this lesson we analyse an informal letter from the perspective of storytelling.
IELTS Speaking Part 3: Friends
Here are some part 3 questions with my model answers. To answer each question, I used my ‘longer answers’ technique.
IELTS Listening: Lifespan
Listen to the recording about the human lifespan, and fill the gaps in the summary sentences below it.
IELTS Reading: Difficult vocabulary
Try this quick exercise that focuses on difficult vocabulary in an IELTS reading test.
Writing Task 2: Paragraph cohesion
A paragraph can be said to have good cohesion if the sentences within it are somehow linked and work together to form a unit.
IELTS Grammar: Write 3 correct sentences
Here are three phrases that I used in my lessons over the last week. Can you write a correct sentence using each one?
Writing Task 1: ‘Flood diagrams’ answer
Here’s another band 9 model answer for ‘comparison diagrams’ task.
General Writing Task 1: Informal holiday letter
Here’s my band 9 answer for the ‘holiday’ letter task. You’ll also see a list of the wide range of vocabulary that I used.
IELTS Speaking Part 3: Longer answers
Here are 3 techniques to help you give longer, more detailed answers.
IELTS Listening: Photographic film
Listen to the recording about the history of photographic film, and fill the gaps in the sentences below it.
IELTS Reading: Multitasking
Read the passage about multitasking, and complete the ‘yes, no, not given’ task below it.
Writing Task 2: Paragraph logic
In this lesson I’m going to test your logic using a quick exercise.
IELTS Advice: Don’t prioritise grammar
Have you been taught to prioritise grammar instead of ideas? Do you try to ‘force’ certain grammatical structures into your writing?
Academic Writing Task 1: Fall or reduce?
These two words are often confused by students. Let’s look at how to use them correctly, specifically for writing task 1.