Month: September 2015

Myths Regarding IELTS

With the increasing popularity of IELTS, the number of misconception regarding it has increased multiple bounds. There are some that can make you crazy and then those that can make you lose some marks in the exam. And I am sure that you, no matter what, won’t like to lose marks in IELTS and take a step back from your dream.
Let us have a look at some of the crazy myths about IELTS.

THERE IS ONE CORRECT ANSWER IN SPEAKING SECTION
English is not about being right or wrong. It is about expressing yourself in a language that others can understand. So, you are not going to be judged on the basis of your opinions but rather on the following four aspects of your speaking –

  1. Fluency and coherence
  2. Lexical resource
  3. Grammatical Range and accuracy
  4. Pronunciation

So, if you are going about are cramming those sample answers, take a deep breathe and relax. You don’t get marks on how well you learn, but how well you express.

THE EXAMINER MUST AGREE WITH YOU
Well, we all are individuals. While answering, it is possible that the examiner does not agrees with your opinion, but this does not means that they will cut your marks. The examiner could personally disagree with every opinion you have and you can still get a band score of 9. You are being judged on your way of speaking and not on whether you are able to convince examiner. So, don’t worry about the examiner’s opinions or feelings.
SOME TESTING CENTRES ARE EASY
IELTS make sure that the test takes place in fair environment. All testing centers have the same standards and mark you with the same criteria. Every examiner undergoes strict training, and they know that there work gets checked. So, don’t worry about the place and work hard on improving your English.
LEARNING HIGH VOCABULARY WORDS WILL GET ME BAND 9
Vocabulary is an important part of IELTS and one surely gets good marks for using high end vocabulary words. But this does not mean that you will go on and put complex words unnecessarily to impress the examiner. If you do this it looks unnatural and your coherence and cohesion suffers. You obviously need to display a wide range of vocabulary but you should do this appropriately.

There are many other myths, like you can’t ask the examiner in the speaking section to repeat the question or you need to have a particular accent. So, stop thinking about these myths and start working truly on your dreams and score high in IELTS.
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Writing Effective Conclusion

Although it comes at last, it is not the least important. Conclusion of the essay is as important as is the introduction of the essay. But then, what are the things that need to be included in the conclusion and what are the ones that need to be avoided i.e. how can one write an effective conclusion.

The best part of the conclusion is that there is nothing you need to create anymore. You are required to use the same ideas and give a strong ending to your essay. Well, there are many things you can consider while writing the conclusion of the essay but following are few tips that you need to follow very strongly –

  1. Don’t add any new ideas- Conclusion simply restates the ideas that have already been used in the body paragraphs. Any new concept or idea must not be written here.
  2. Your opinion matters – This is the part of the essay in which you need to write the statement that clearly answers the question. You need to write what is your opinion about the question and make sure it is clearly stated.
  3. Language must be varied – Paraphrasing is the key. Remember, just because you are restating what has been already talked about, does not mean that you have to re write it yet again in the same language. You might lose marks if you attempt to do so.
  4. Conclusion is the end – You have already stated what you wanted to in the body paragraphs. You are not required to state every fact again. Rather, bring out only the main key points.
  5. Two is not the key –When it comes to conclusion, it is very important that you write only one. Writing more than one, might lead you to lose some marks.

Some of the linking words you can use to start your conclusion are –

  • In conclusion
  • To conclude
  • Overall

You can even add a recommendation or a future possibility, but make sure that you do it if you have time left.

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Plan Your Essay

A plan can take you miles. This is often a saying, regarded as the perfect quote for life. But, it is also the correct saying, if you want to get high marks in the writing section of IELTS. The reason most people face problems in essays, is because they start writing as soon they read the question. And that is the main issue with it. Until and unless each and every sentence has a purpose, chances are that you will end up writing either gibberish or something that an examiner does not expects out of you.

But then, most of you would argue that you get only 40 minutes to write an essay, what must you do then?? Well, plan. It is only way out and trust me, the time spent on planning is worth it. Just imagine, you start writing an essay without a plan. Half way through it you realise that you have written something wrong, what next will you do?? Obviously delete. So, yet again, the time gets wasted because you did not plan.

There are four things that you need to consider while writing an essay –

  1. Question
  2. Idea
  3. Structure
  4. Vocabulary

QUESTION – The question is the most important part of the writing task. You are marked on every aspect of the question. So, if you don’t answer a particular part of the question, you certainly will lose marks. Or if, you answer a part of the question wrongly, you be sure of losing marks.

For instance-

Some people think that it should be compulsory for people to retake their driving test after every five years.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of doing this?

So, now while answering this question, you need to bring out the advantage and disadvantage of giving driving test every five years. If you just write the advantages or the disadvantages and not the both, you will surely lose marks.

IDEA – Most of us think that the only way of getting great ideas is by brainstorming ourselves. But the fact is that although, you might get lot of ideas, but mostly they are not the ones that are required. So, instead of brainstorming yourself, ask the following questions –

What are the advantages of learning driving every five years?

What are the disadvantages of learning driving every five years?

It is okay if you have only two solid ideas for each of the question. Remember, it does not matter how many ideas you put in, but how well you explain what you have figured out.

STRUCTURE – Structure plays a very important role in IELTS. You may have a good idea, a great vocabulary but if you fall in structure, you are more likely to lose marks!! Given below is a structure that you may follow in the writing task of IELTS –

Paragraph 1- Introduction

Sentence 1- Paraphrase Sentence

Sentence 2- Thesis Statement

Sentence 3- Outline Statement

Paragraph 2- Advantages

Sentence 4- Topic Sentence

Sentence 5- Explanation

Sentence 6- Example

Paragraph 3- Disadvantages

Sentence 7- Topic Sentence

Sentence 8- Explanation

Sentence 9- Example

Paragraph 4- Conclusion

Sentence 1- Summary of main points

VOCABULARY

I don’t think I need to rewrite the importance of vocabulary in IELTS. The only thing that need reconsideration is that, make sure that while using high end vocabulary words you use them correctly. Often a word has more than one meaning, and you must make sure that you are using the word in the right context.

So, go on and use the following tips and make sure that now on, when you write essays you follow these tips. Remember, you are going to write the final essay the way you practice your mock test essays. Try to bridge the gap between your exam and preparation.

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Number Of Catholics # Graph For IELTS

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The graph below gives information about the number of Catholics residing in different nations, during 2010-2013.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

Write at least 150 words.

Number Of Catholics

Number Of Catholics

SAMPLE ANSWER

The graph compares the number of Catholics living in six different countries of the world; China, India, Philippines, Vietnam, Korea and Japan, during a span of three years, i.e. from 2010 to 2013.

Over the entire period of time, most of the Catholics preferred to reside in Philippines, while Japan had the least number of Catholics. The countries to the left of Philippines, in the graph, showed a considerable figure of Catholics, however, the ones to the right of Philippines marked a glooming picture of numbers of Catholics residing.

Philippines had the majority of Catholics, with over 70 million of them living there during 2010. However, this figure showed a slight dip by 2013, yet making it the country with maximum of Catholics. On the other hand, Japan showed an upward trend. The population of Catholics in Japan increased approximately 100 thousand.

Catholics finding livelihood in China and India went up during the period of 2010 to 2013 with India making a higher rise of 90 million as compared to 60 million in China. The situation remained almost steady in Vietnam, with only a slight increase but a slump was observed in Korea.

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