Daily lessons with Simon,
ex-IELTS examiner
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Writing Task 1: Holiday letter task
Let’s start work on an informal letter task. It’s a letter to a friend describing a holiday.
IELTS Speaking Part 3: Home life
Here are some part 3 questions with my band 9 sample answers. Make a list of the ‘less common’ vocabulary that I used.
IELTS Listening: Keywords
I often talk about the importance of looking for keywords in the reading test. The same advice applies to the listening test.
IELTS Reading: Arthur Schopenhauer
Read the passage about the daily life of a philosopher, and decide whether the four statements are true, false, or not given.
Model essay: Free nursing courses
Note: The quality of vocabulary in this essay is particularly high – above band 9.
IELTS Grammar: Punctuation
Here are some simple rules to help you with punctuation for IELTS writing.
Writing Task 1: What’s wrong with this sentence?
In this lesson we analyse a student’s sentence in terms of writing style and grammar / vocabulary mistakes.
General Writing Task 1: Minor accident letter
Here’s my band 9 answer for the ‘minor accident’ letter task. You’ll also see a list of the wide range of vocabulary that I used.
Speaking Part 2: Describe a home
This lesson contains an IELTS Speaking Part 2 task and my sample answer: Describe an interesting home.
IELTS Listening: Brain foods
Try today’s gap-fill exercise about foods that are good for brain health.
IELTS Reading: Keywords
The task in this lesson demonstrates the ‘keyword technique’ perfectly.
Writing Task 2: Making paragraphs different
A common problem in students’ essays is that the same ideas are often repeated in both main body paragraphs.
IELTS Grammar: Listing
Listing can be a great way to add detail and use a good range of vocabulary in a single sentence.
Academic Writing Task 1: Adding figures
In this lesson we practise adding figures (numbers) to sentences that compare information from different pie charts.
General Writing Task 1: Suggestion sentences
In this lesson we continue working on our ‘minor accident complaint’ letter. Your homework is to write two ‘suggestion’ sentences.
Speaking Part 1: Home
In the next three speaking lessons I’ll be sharing my answers to the ‘home topic’ questions that I listed last week.
IELTS Listening: Smoking ban
Listen to a news report about an outdoor smoking ban, and fill each gap in the transcript with one word.
IELTS Reading: Moon exploration
Try today’s IELTS Reading exercise: Match the headings with the ‘moon exploration themes’.
Writing Task 2: Nursing paragraph
Try the quick vocabulary exercise in today’s lesson. Fill the gaps to complete my paragraph about the importance of nurses.
IELTS Advice: ‘Fake’ communication
What, honestly, is your goal when you speak or write in English?
Writing Task 1: Electricity pie charts
Read my model answer for a task that shows us four pie charts. Should we compare the four charts or describe them separately?
General Writing Task 1: Minor accident sentences
In this lesson we continue working on our ‘minor accident complaint’ letter. Your homework is to write two sentences.
IELTS Speaking: One topic, all three parts
A good way to prepare for IELTS speaking is to take one topic area and practise possible questions for all 3 parts.
IELTS Listening: Spelling test
Many IELTS candidates lose marks because of spelling mistakes. See if you can spell the 10 words in today’s exercise.
IELTS Reading: It’s all about the paraphrasing!
In this lesson I explain why paraphrasing is the key to the reading test, and there’s a quick exercise to support this idea.
Writing Task 2: Nursing fees essay skeleton
Read my introduction, main body topic sentences, and conclusion (the essay skeleton) for a question about tuition fees for nurses.
IELTS Advice: The basics
So, what are “the basics” when it comes to the IELTS test? This lesson contains my advice.
Writing Task 1: Travel charts answer
Read my model answer for a task that asks us to describe two different charts. When the charts are different, can we compare them?
General Writing Task 1: Minor accident task
In this lesson we’ll begin working on a new letter task. We’ll start by looking at a perfect outline for the letter.
Speaking Part 2: Describe a piece of furniture
This lesson contains an IELTS Speaking Part 2 task and my sample answer: Describe a piece of furniture that you own.