Recent IELTS Exam Questions Trend

Recent IELTS Exam Questions Trend

WRITING SECTION

  1. Some people are of the opinion that hard work is the key factor for success in life while others believe that other factors such as money, luck etc play a major role in deciding a persons’ success. Discuss both the sides and give your opinion.
  2. Some children start school at the age of four while others at the age of seven.
    What are the advantages and disadvantages of starting school at the age of four or early?
    How to the advantages outweigh the disadvantages?

SPEAKING SECTION

  1. Do you have a personal room in your house? Do you like it?
  2. Which is your favorite room in your house?
  3. Would you like to change your house? Why/why not?

CUE CARD
Describe an advertisement that persuaded you to buy a product. You must say-:

  • Where did you saw the advertisement?
  • what was the advertisement about?
  • Why did you liked it?

DISCUSSION

  • Give your opinion about advertising world.
  • What kind of advertisement are shown in your country?
  • If you were the telecommunication minister of your country, what changes would you make, if any, in the advertising companies?

So, what are you waiting for. Go on practice them; maybe you get similar questions.
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The Outlaw Ocean # Vocabulary

There are seventeen words that have been highlighted in the passage; meanings of which are given in the end. Mark yourself off 17 and find out how good you are in vocabulary.

THE OUTLAW OCEAN

CHIOS, Greece — The rickety raft made of empty oil drums and a wooden tabletop rolled and pitched with the waves while tied to the side of the Dona Liberta, a 370-foot cargo ship anchored far from land in the Atlantic Ocean off West Africa.
“Go down!” yelled a knife-wielding crew member, forcing two Tanzanian stowaways overboard and onto the raft. As angry clouds gathered on the horizon, he cut the line.
Gambling on a better life, the stowaways had run out of luck. They had already spent nine days at sea, most of the time hiding in the Dona Liberta’s engine room, crouched deep in oily water. But as they climbed down onto the slick raft, the men, neither of whom knew how to swim, nearly slid into the ocean before lashing themselves together to the raft with a rope.
As the Dona Liberta slowly disappeared, David George Mndolwa, one of the abandoned pair, recalled thinking: “This is the end.”
Few places on the planet are as lawless as the high seas, where egregious crimes are routinely committed with impunity. Though the global economy is ever more dependent on a fleet of more than four million fishing and small cargo vessels and 100,000 large merchant ships that haul about 90 percent of the world’s goods, today’s maritime laws have hardly more teeth than they did centuries ago when history’s great empires first explored the oceans’ farthest reaches.
Murders regularly occur offshore — thousands of seafarers, fishermen or sea migrants die under suspicious circumstances annually, maritime officials say — but culprits are rarely held accountable. No one is required to report violent crimes committed in international waters.
the passage has been taken from “The New York Times”.

Vocabulary Used

Vocabulary Used

VOCABULARY EXPLAINED

RICKETY
Rickety means not strong or well made and is likely to break. “the rickety raft made of oil drum” means that the raft is not very strong and is made of oil drums.
RAFT
Raft, here, refers to a flat structure made of woods tied together and used as a boat or a floating platform.(definition by Oxford).
PITCHED
pitched has many meaning to it, but here it means , the movement of ship up and down in the water. “wooden top pitched with the waves” means the wooden top is moving up and down as along with waves.
ANCHORED
Anchored means to let an anchor down from a boat or a ship in order to prevent it from moving.” , a 370-foot cargo ship anchored far from land in the Atlantic Ocean off West Africa.” Here it means that the ship is tied with chains in Atlantic ocean preventing its movement.
STOWAWAYS
Stowaway is a person who hides in a ship or a plane before it leaves so as to travel without paying money. ” forcing two Tanzanian stowaways overboard” means the Tanzanians who were travelling without paying were pushed overboard.
OVERBOARD
Overboard means over the side of the boat or a ship onto the water. “ forcing two Tanzanian stowaways overboard into the raft” means that the Tanzanians were thrown from the side of the boat and they fell off on the raft.
GAMBLING
Gambling is an activity of playing a game of chances for either money or any other object. “Gambling on a better life” means they were taking chances so as to improve their lives.
CROUCHED
Crouched means to put your body close to the ground by bending your legs. “Crouched deep in oily water” means that the Tanzanians were hiding in the oily water.
SLICK
Slick refers to something smooth or difficult to hold on i.e. slipper. “Climbed down onto the slick raft” means that the raft is slippery.
SLID
Slid means to pass or fall gradually into a specified state, character, practice, etc. “nearly slid into the ocean” means they were very close to falling into the sea.
LASHING
Lashing has many meanings; the one used here means, a rope used to fasten something tightly to something else. “into the ocean before lashing themselves together to the raft” means they tied them to the raft with the rope.
EGREGIOUS
Egregious means extremely bad. So, “egregious crimes” mean extremely bad crimes.
IMPUNITY
If a person does something bad with impunity, they do not get punished for what they have done.” Crime are committed with impunity” means that the people who commit the crime are not penalized for it.
HAUL
Haul, here, means to cart or to carry. “100,000 large merchant ships that haul about 90 percent of the world’s goods” means that they carry about 90% of the world’s good.
MARITIME
Maritime means related to sea. So , maritime laws means laws related to sea.
SEAFARER
Seafarer means a traveler or sailor of the sea.
SUSPICIOUS
Suspicious is a feeling that someone has done something wrong or illegal. “they die under suspicious circumstances” means that the way they die you feel as if something is wrong.
CULPRITS
A culprit is a person who has done something wrong or against the law.

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Declarative Sentence

Declarative sentences are the most common type of English sentences. Either it is a bold statement or a simple fact, the purpose of declarative sentences is to give information. A declarative sentence always ends with a period. However, a declarative sentence cannot be used to express a command or a question. They simply relay information.

HOW TO WRITE A DECLARATIVE SENTENCE?
A declarative sentence always has a subject and a predicate.
                                   SUBJECT + PREDICATE
A subject can either be a simple subject or a compound subject. A compound subject is one which is made of more than one subject combined with a conjunction.
EXAMPLES-:

  • India was cooperative during the period of sanctions.
  • I have an appointment with the doctor at 1:00 p:m.
  • It is a nice day to go out to the beach.
  • I am leaving for United States tomorrow.
Increase Band In Writing

Increase Band In Writing

While writing an essay, a compound declarative sentence can help you make your essay more interesting to read. So, all of those preparing for IELTS or TOEFL or any other exam, make sure you learn how to write compound declarative sentence. Some of the ways you can write them are-:

  • You can use either a comma or a conjunction to join sentences.
    For example-: the students and the teachers worked hard, looking forward to getting good scores in the exam.
  • You can even use a semi-colon to join two sentences. In this case the second sentence is usually closely related to the first one.
    For example-:The manager did not approved the plan; he mentioned the changes to be made.NOTE: While using semi colons remember not to overdo them.
  • Another way of making a declarative sentence is to put a transition word along with a semi colon.
    For example-:
    The school is closed till 12 July; however, the administration department will be open.

Remember, you get good score in writing task if you use variety of sentences. They could be simple, complex or compound.

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Phrases Related To “Walk”

Do you think, you can walk the chalk? By the way have you wondered how is your walk of life? If not, You need to wake up and smell the coffee. Understood a word?? Well, if not, read more and find out the real meaning of these idioms.

WAKE UP AND SMELL THE COFFEE
SENTENCE-: There is a fine line between being optimistic and being blind. You need to wake up and smell the coffee.
MEANING-: Become aware of the realities of a situation, however unpleasant
BE A WAKE UP
SENTENCE-: The crime rates in our country will lower down if the watchmen became wake up,
MEANING-: Be fully alert or aware
WALK ALL OVER
SENTENCE-: You need to be really smart otherwise people will walk all over you.
MEANING-: Defeat easily or take advantage
WALK BEFORE YOU CAN RUN
SENTENCE-: How can you write a book if you don’t even know how to write an essay properly!! Remember you need to walk before your run.
MEANING-: Grasp the basic skills before attempting something more difficult.
WALK THE CHALK
SENTENCE-: You don’t become sober by saying, you need to walk the chalk.
MEANING-: have your sobriety tested
WALK SOMEONE OFF THEIR FEET
SENTENCE-: Often boxers win the fight by first walking their opponents off their feet and then beating them with correct moves.
MEANING-: To exhaust a person by walking
WALK OF LIFE
SENTENCE-: The harder you work, the better is your walk of life.
MEANING-: The position within the society that a person holds or the group he/she belongs because of the job or the work they do.
WALK ON EGGS
SENTENCE-: The Prime Minister is always walking on eggs.
MEANING-: To be extremely cautious about your actions or words.
WALK SPANISH
SENTENCE-: Walking is such a good habit that even if you walk Spanish, I would consider it good
MEANING-: Made to walk under compulsion.
WALK YOUR TALK
SENTENCE-: A country will grow only if the government walks the talk.
MEANING-: Your actions suit your words.

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