IELTS exam 4 PARTS

1. Listening

British Accent
- Part 1 of test
- 30 min + 10 min transfer time
- General and Academic = Same
- Played only once - extra time at end of section
- 4 Sections - 10 questions per section

section	speaker	content
section1	2 speakers	conversation or transaction
section2	1 speaker	general topic
section3	2-4 speakers	conversation in academic situation
section4	1 speaker	academic lecture

Listening tips

- Write no more than three words
- Get used to British English(BBC)
- British Vocab - (lorry vs truck)
- Spelling counts
- cat vs cats(singular vs plural)
- Practice tests
- Predication - The woman will travel on___.
- Fill in the blanks - Predict if verb, noun, adj. She has three___.
- Listen / Write at same time
- Be aware of changes - it's 2078, No, I am sorry it's 4078
- Listen to groups of numbers - phone number, post number, etc.
- 13 vs 30
- Handwriting must be clear
- Spelling - double sound e.g. double 2 (22)

Useful Practice

- Surnames, Telephone Numbers, Street Names and Email Addresses
- Understand FAST Speech
- Listening Practice
- BBC learning 6 min box set
- commonly used addresses
- frequently used person names
- listening practice
- number listening practice

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2. Reading

IELTS Reding: T, F, NG(not given)

True or T (it does not consider the writer's opinion whether it is right or wrong):
- the fact is clearly written
- synonyms
- write T only if you see it written

Text

... This increase in cybercrime has alarmed many experts...

Question

Cybercrime is on the rise

- Read statement, underline, synonym scan, look for contradiction, some, all, only, never, usually

False or F:
- the fact is opposite
- all vs. some

Text

...The first personal computer was invented in the 1970s...

Question

Personal computer were first invented in 1990

Not given or NG:
- The fact is not written, the total opposite
- not written

Text

... Although once eradicated from Toronto, bedbugs have made on
Rats are the most common nuisance Torontonians fae. a comeback and now considered one of the leading pests in the city...

Question

Rats are the most common nuisance Torontonians face.

IELTS Reading Overview

                      IELTS
                   /          \
                 /             \
            General            Academic
            1 Hour             1 Hour
            3 passages         3 passages
            40  questions      40 questions
            Social, academic,  Academic 
            Easy -> Hard       Easy -> Hard

Question Type
Multiple Choice
Short Answer
Sentence Completion
Table, Chart, Diagram
Summary Completion
Paragraph Headings
Locating Information
Writer's view or claims
Classification
Matching
etc.

IELTS Reading Tips
- Don't read slowly, skim(main idea), scan(get details)
- Don't spend too much time on an answer
- Spend less time on earlier questions

17 min - Paragraph 1
20 minutes - Paragraph 2
23 minutes - Paragraph 3

- Save Enough time to transfer answers
- Three words or less
e.g. the tomb of the Pharaoh ❌ too many words
the Pharaoh's tomb ✅ three words just fits the condition
- Spelling
- Grammar

Singular -> Castle
Plural -> Castles

- ❗Read the instruction

IELTS Reading
- Learn synonyms e.g. intelligent and smart
- Pay close attention to negative words (hardly, never, rarely, seldom) T, F, GN type question
- Pay attention to frequency (always, often, sometimes, never)
- Stick with first answer
- Questions often follow passage order
- Know what topic sentences are
- Practice each question type
- Practice outside of the home
- Be careful
word in question/reading
not always correct
- Scan backward for practice

Question

How many passages ??

Answer

Students read three passages, They get progressively harder

Make Reading Easy
- Textbooks
- Newspapers
- Internet sources
- Magazines
- Journals
- Practice test TOEFL OR IELTS

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compare READING with RUNNING/JOGGING

Running Jogging

warmup + run + cooldown

Reading

Warmup + read + cooldown = better understanding/memory

KWL Method

Know(warm-up)   Want to know(Question)       Learned(After reading)
- E = mc^2       E = mc^2 ???                 Married multiple times
- crazy hair     How did he discover this?    He didn't fail high school math 
- genius         How is the theory used?      He was born in Germany but became a Swiss citizen
- German?        Did he really fail math?     Etc.
- Scientist      Etc.
- Etc.

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3. Writing

• Talking about similarities

Canada vs England

- Beginning
Both Canada and England have a queen
Like Canada, England has many immigrants.

- In England, they speak English.
{Similarly, In comparison, In the same way, Likewise},
in Canada many people {speak English too, also speak English, speak English, speak English too}

In comparison, also differences

- Middle
Canada (is similar to) England.
Canada (is the same as) England.

England (is similar to) the USA.
In England, people speak English. ({Likewise, Similarly}) in the USA, people also speak English
(Like) England, the USA is very multicultural.

• Describing Charts
  
  Pie chart, Line graph, bar graph

- According to the chart...
- We can see from the chart...
- The chart shows that ...

Pie Chart demo

- How to write
Fifty percent, 50%, half

Example

example pie chart

✅Rent makes up half of the living expenses.
✅Half of the living expenses are rent.
✅Rent accounts for 50% of the total.
❌50% of the living expenses are rent.
✅Fifty percent of the living expenses are rent.

other expression

example pie chart

General ways to talk about percents

pie chart example

According to the pie chart,

- A small fraction
- A small percentage
- A small number
- THe lowest percentage
- A very small percentage
- A very small proportion
is coffee.

Coffee makes up
- A small fraction
- A small percentage
- A small number
- THe lowest percentage
- A very small percentage
- A very small proportion
of the total {(10%), at 10%, at 2 ups per day}

• Describing Processes
  

Sequencers
- First of all
- The first step/stage is ...
- Next
- Then
- After that
- Finally
- In the final step/stage
- Before, After, Once

Passive voice
I make a cup of tea.
A cup of tea is made. ✅
Object + be verb + past participle

The kettle (is filled) with cold water.
The kettle (is put/placed) on the stovetop.
The kettles (are put/placed) on the stovetop.

A cup and teat bag (are taken) from the cupboard.
Once the water (is boiled), it (is poured) into a cup.

Question
The diagram below shows the process of making a cup of tea, Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features

Description
The illustration demonstrates...
The diagram illustrates...
how a cup of tea is made.

!!! Don't COPY the question text

• Bar Graphs
  
  writing task 1

writing task 1 example

writing task 1 example

• Another IELTS TASK 1
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

• Giving Your Opinion will be used in task 2 essays
  - I think ... ❌
  - As far as I'm concerned...
  - In my opinion...
  - it seems/appears to me that ...
  - I would argue that ...
  - From my point of view/perspective,...
  - I am inclined to believe that...

Question

To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Answer How-to??

Somewhat, Partially NOT 100% sure
I somewhat/partially agree/disagree.
I suppose I agree with that..
I am confident that ...
I absolutely/totally/strongly/completely...

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4. Speaking

• Giving Your Opinion
  - If you ask me, ...
  - To be honest, ...
  - Personally speaking, ...
  - From what I gather, ...
  - Some people may disagree with me, but as far as I'm concerned...
  - Although, even though...

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• How to do well in speaking part 1
  - General and Academic
  - 4-5 minutes
  - Introduction + two topics

Topics

Hometown / Neighborhood
Work               Hobbies
Study              Food
Friends           Sports

Mark How-to?

Pronunciation, Fluency, Vocabulary, Grammar
Making sure that you speak in a steady, not too loud as well as not too low, rhythmic, and structured way

DoS

- Confident, friendly, eye-contact
- Excitment
- Vocabulary
Do not use simple words, use words that are interchangeable
e.g.
food = cuisine
friends = acquaintance

- I like ❌ Do not over use
- I enjoy, I really love, I prefer
- Expand your answers / Examples

Don'tS ❌

- Speak with a monotone ❌
- give yes/no and stop❌
- repeat the question❌
- go off-topic❌
- just answer I don't know❌
- speak too quickly, slow❌
- speak quietly❌
- worry about perfect English ❌

• How to do well in speaking part 2

3 minutes

a) look at question
b) talk for 1~2 minutes
Examiner will not ask you question, you speak for full 2 min
e.g.

Describe a museum that you have visited.

You should say
- Where it is
- Why you went there
- What you particularly remember

DoS

- take notes / write keywords Keep you organized
- cover every point
- use personal experience or lie
- point to point as you talk
- Expand - use senses, imagine it, such as how it looks like, how it feels
- Organize speech - intro, body, conclusion
-Imagine the object, person, place
- Use introductory phrases
I want to talk about ...
- use transitions
first of all, secondly, thirdly, finally...
- Speak loudly

Don'tS

- Memorize answers ❌
- Write too much You should only take 1~2 words per point ❌
- Panic Deep breath❌
- Focus on one point❌
- Use boring words ❌
good, bad
- give short answers❌
- go off topic❌
- worry about your accent

• How to do well in speaking part 3

4~5 minutes Interview

- Predict, analyze, compare, give opinion future
- Theme related to Part 2
- Topics
Technology, Education, Environment, TV influence, Leisure Activities, Shopping, Sport, Transportation, etc.

Example

How are education priorities different from those in the past?

DoS

- Listen for keywords in the question
- ASK if you don't understand
- give detail, examples, reasons
- stick to the topic
- think you will do well
- build vocabulary beforehand
- relate the question to own life
- Divide up answers
e.g.

There are 3 ways...
- Use modals
Parents may make...
- Learn opinion expressions reference to the above "Giving Your Opinion session"

Don't

- Memorize answers❌
- worry if you make mistakes❌
- go off-topic❌
- use too many umm, ahhs❌
- use "I think" too often❌
- use "that's a good question more than once"❌
- worry if you have an accent❌
- worry if you make mistakes❌