Bar graphs
Writing task one: bar graphs
You will be given one or more bar graphs. Your task is to describe the information given in the graph by writing a 150 word report. You are not asked to give your opinion. You should spend around 20 minutes on the task.
What is being tested is your ability to:
• objectively describe some graphic information
• compare and contrast
• report on an impersonal topic without the use of opinion
• use the language of graph description
Guidelines for a good answer
________________________________________
Does the report have a suitable structure?
• Does it have an introduction, body and conclusion?
• Does it include connective words to make the writing cohesive within sentences and paragraphs?
Does the report use suitable grammar and vocabulary?
• Does it include a variety of sentence structures?
• Does it include a range of appropriate vocabulary?
Does the report meet the requirements of the task?
• Does it meet the word limit requirements?
• Does it describe the whole graph adequately?
• Does it focus on the important trends presented in the graphic information?
IELTS BAND 7
WHO ARE WE?
Learn Vocabulary Better-2
THE BJP’S INVISIBLES
There are 29 highlighted words in the passage below. Find out if you know their meaning and mark yourself on 29.
Then there’s the guest list glaze-daze. There are 165 newbie MPs from the ruling BJP party alone, all wide-eyed and bashful but pooh-poohed on the social register; there are the popular cabinet ministers, prominent but desperately trying to be inconspicuous; the allies are banished to their own states; the recently booted congress is reduced to a lame three-and-a half dozen Lok Sabha MPs; and then there’s the omnipresent prime minister who is suspicious of anything resembling Mughal court and of anyone remotely being extravagant. So, who do you invite to dinner?
Well, it’s simple as swapping the victorious with the losers. Power-worshipping Delhi is treacherous and cruel- you are as good as your last election or position- and everyone plays by the rules of the game. So, it’s the BJP’S Mr. Geniality, Arun Jaitley, and his clubby posse of chums who rule the red carpet. Jaitley has taken the shimmer from rivals P. Chidambram, Kapil SIbal and Salman Khurshid, while second rung ministers Jayant Sinha, Piyush Goel, Rudy Pratap Singh, Ravi Shankar Prasad etc have nudged out Subbirami Reddy, Anand Sharma, Abhishek Singhvi. But Jaitley and his crew have always been part of the gilt-edged power salon. His entourage include a chipper lawyer, a garrulous networker, a sprinkling of hacks, their wives; and their favorite, stomping ground ranges from a newspaper heiress’s drawing room to several tycoons’ soirees.
The passage has been taken from OUTLOOK MAGAZINE EDITION:12 JANUARY 2015
Vocabulary words
VOCABULARY EXPLAINED
- GLAZE-DAZE
- The word is made up of two words. First being glaze and the other daze. Glaze means dull or showing no feeling or emotion. Daze means in a confused state. So the word glaze-daze means that the guest list is probably confused and sitting in quite a dull way.
- NEWBIE
- A newbie is a person who is new in doing something i.e. has less experience. The words is usually used with computers. In the sentence, it simply means that the 165 appointed MPs are new to the job.
- WIDE-EYED
- This word has more meaning. The meaning used here is : having very less experience and so ready to believe, trust or accept something. In the paragraph, it simply means that the new MPs are open to new and different circumstances and challenges.
- BASHFUL
- Bashful means shy and easily embarrassed; herein it means that the MPs are feeling quite shy(after all it is all new to them).
- POOH-POOHED
- Pooh-pooh means to say that the idea or suggestion is not worth taking or even worth thinking. “pooh-poohed on the social register”, they are not liked by people in society.
- PROMINENT
- Prominent has more than one meaning. The one that is used in the context means, important or well known. So, the cabinet ministers are well known.
- INCONSPICUOUS
- Inconspicuous simply means not attracting attention. Herein it means that although the cabinet ministers are quite popular they don’t want to attract any more attention.
- ALLIES
- Allies means grouped together. Here it means that the parties that came together and formed allies(became one) are not allowed in their states.
- BANISHED
- Banished means to order somebody to leave a particular place. Like in here the allies are asked to leave their own states.
- OMNIPRESENT
- Omnipresent means present everywhere. In the context, it is used sarcastically.
- SUSPICIOUS
- Suspicious has similar but many other meaning. The one used here means, not willing or able to trust somebody or something. It is used when suspicious is used to refer to somebody/something. In reference to context it means that the prime minister tries to be everywhere because he does not trust something.
- RESEMBLING
- Resembling means to look like or similar to something or a person. “Resembling to Mughal court means looking like it”.
- REMOTELY
- Remotely means to a very slight degree. It is often used in negative sentences. It also has other meanings as well.
- EXTRAVAGANT
- Extravagant means to spend a lot more money that you earn or spending more than necessary. “Anyone remotely being extravagant”, means spending slightly more money.
- TREACHEROUS
- Treacherous refers to anything that is dangerous and not safe. In the context it simply means that Delhi is dangerous and cruel….
- GENIALITY
- Geniality means friendly and cheerful. “In the paragraph, the writer states that Arun Jaitley always seems friendly and cheerful.”
- CLUBBY
- Clubby means friendly and sociable with fellow members of a group but not with outsiders.
- POSSE
- Posse refers to a group of people who are similar in some way.
- CHUMS
- Chum means a friend. “clubby posse of chums” means the friends of Arun Jaitley who are similar to him and friendly inside but not sociable.
- SHIMMER
- Shimmer means to shine with small shining wavering light. Herein it means Jaitley has taken the spot light from others.
- NUDGED
- Nudge means to gently push. “Nudged —— them out means they gently pushed them away.
- GILT-EDGED
- Glit-edged means to have the best quality.
- POWER SALON
- Power salon is made of two words; power and salon. Salon means a stylish business establishment. Arun Jaitley is part of “glit-edged power salon” means he is part of the best quality power establishment.
- ENTOURAGE
- Entourage refers to a group of people who go with or assist an important person.
- CHIPPER
- Chipper means alert. “Chipper lawyer” means an alert lawyer.
- GARRULOUS
- “Garrulous” refers to a person who talks a lot.
- SPRINKLING OF HACKS
- This is made of two words, sprinkling and hacks. Hacks means servant while sprinkling means scattering. So, it refers to his scattered servants.
- STOMPING
- Stomping although has many meanings. Here it means a kind of dance done with fast music.
- SOIREES
-
Soirees refers to an evening party or a social gathering held for a particular purpose.
“Tycoon soirees” means an evening party of wealthy people.
Some say that your marks define how good or bad you are!! I say, marks don’t decide anything nor define anything, if you have the urge to learn new things, have the faith in you, and hope burning inside.
IELTSBAND7
Exclamatory Sentence
An exclamatory sentence is used to express a very strong emotion. It could be love, anger, happiness, confusion, frustration, surprise, elation etc. An exclamatory sentence can be written by just writing a sentence, putting in it emotion and then ending it with “!”.
”!” is called the exclamation mark.. Exclamation marks are used to express strong feelings and are not used otherwise.
For example-: Sun rises in the east! There is no point using exclamation mark, since the sentence just stats a fact and does not shows any emotion.
The other point to keep in mind while using exclamation marks is that although they are good if you want to show a strong emotion, but it is preferred to use them wisely.
For example-: India is a poor country! The government is also not doing anything to curb it! Some say it is the government to be blamed, while others believe we all need to come together to solve the issue!!
Explanation-: What have I done here? I have used the exclamation mark to express every opinion of mine. This is wrong idea. No one wants to see only exclamation marks in your writing.
Moreover, If you are writing academic essays or reports, don’t use the exclamation marks, unless you are putting it in the quotations.
Although the formal English requires the exclamation sentences to begin with either what or how, informal English allows the usage of any word with them. Apart from this there are two grammar rules associated with exclamatory sentences-:
RULE 1-: If the noun in your sentence is plural, the correct choice is what and not how.
For example-:
What beautiful kids they are! //correct
How beautiful kids they are! //incorrect
RULE 2-: The exclamatory mark is placed always at the end of the sentence.
List of exclamatory words
For example-:
Hurray, we won the match! //correct
Hurray! We won the match. //incorrect
EXAMPLES OF EXCLAMATORY SENTENCE
- I simply adore it! //love
- I can’t solve this! //frustration
- I just topped the college! //elation
- I am going to miss you! //sorrow
- Why can’t you just get out of this room! //anger
Although, imperative sentences can become exclamatory, but never use exclamatory mark if the sentence has please in it.
INTERJECTIONS-: An interjection is any word that can be used to express an emotion and have not grammatical connection with the rest of the sentence. An interjection neither requires a verb nor a subject to express an emotion.
For example-:
- Wow, you are so beautiful.
- Ouch, that hurts!
NOTE: remember, a comma always succeeds an interjection.
With exclamatory sentences you can make your writing more expressive, but keep in mind when to use them, when not to and most importantly how to use them.
list of interjections
IELTSBAND7
Sample Answer Essay -2
You should spend 40 minutes on this task.
Write about the following topic:
It is a common aspiration among people to run their own business, rather that work for an employer.
Do you think the advantages outweigh disadvantages?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Write at least 250 words.
SAMPLE ANSWER
Gone are the days of industrialization and we are in the era of entrepreneurship. The economy has settled in such a way that anyone who has the dream of opening their business can do it, provided they have the courage. This has led to a new wave of young people leaving university to start their own company. Like every other trend, I think this also brings with it both the advantages and the disadvantages.
Sample Answer
On the one hand, having your own business has some drawbacks. These include high pressure, big responsibilities, getting completely passionate over one thing which may not be every one’s cup of tea. Saying this, it does not mean you can’t fulfill your dreams, the point is many a times, people have personal responsibilities that need to be taken care of. Even more, getting a good team is a hard task. So, although you are talented enough, if you don’t have a strong team, there is no point of opening a business. “Risk” is the right word to state this inclination. Those who know how to play it, win the game, the others come crashing down.
Turning to the other side of the argument, it gives the individuals the power to make decisions, and with it a room for creativity. Instead of following the employer’s decision you are now free to follow your heart, achieve things that you have decided for yourself. The most important thing is it makes the individuals responsible for their own actions. So, for example, if the company goes into a loss, the owners will be blamed for and if it earns profits, it surely has to do something with their vision. Even more, if the company is able to manage a constant rate of profits for some time, they may end up earning more per month, than they might have earned in their entire life.
To sum up, there is no doubt that risks are associated with it, but I believe the benefits outweigh the drawbacks. Either ways, everyone has their own idea of a good life and it might be possible that what one person thinks as a great life is meaningless to others.
THE ESSAY IS A BAND 7 ESSAY.
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