How can I deal with a lack of ideas when doing IELTS writing?
It sounds like you are over-complicating IELTS writing. It’s probably easier if we look at an example together. The IELTS questions pretty much cover the same topics so let’s look at this one as it’s very simple. So, all you have to do is read the question and think, do I agree or not? In this case I agree. Don’t try to balance your position unless your English is a very high level; it is much more difficult. Essay structure. Introduce the...
I think I’ve messed up Part 2 in the IELTS speaking exam!!
The speaking exam gets more difficult so Part 3 is harder than Part 2. It may affect your score but it also may not. Candidates that struggle to speak for 2 minutes when talking about themselves (The easiest thing to do in a foreign language) tend to struggle when it comes to talking about more abstract things in Part 3. However, you are marked over the whole test. If you think that Part 3 went well then you may be fine. You...
An interview with an IELTS speaking examiner
This is an interview with one of the IELTS speaking examiners that works with us. If you would like to do a full IELTS speaking test with an examiner and receive a detailed report on your speaking and what you need to do to get higher marks, then you can purchase one here. Have a look at the example in the link too; just scroll down. A while ago, we asked the members in our private Facebook group (Feel free to...
What are the key things you need to know about the IELTS speaking test?
Here are some comments from the IELTS speaking examiners here at upmyielts.com. A few things you need to know about the test. Make sure you know what you have to do in the exam. It is really awkward when people come in without knowing anything about the exam. You ask them about their job and they just talk and talk and talk. The exam is not a chance for you to just speak. You are being tested by the examiner and...What actually are Coherence and Cohesion?
We get asked this a lot by both students and IELTS teachers. Coherence and Cohesion is one of the 4 criteria that you are marked on in your IELTS writing. But what are they? We thought we would show you in a clear way. IELTS writing is like a river, with a start and a finish. Coherence is like a guide boat on the river that is showing you the way. There is a clear start and finish clear paragraphing a logical structure Now Cohesion is...
IELTS writing and body paragraphs
We receive questions about writing a body paragraph in IELTS and sometime we see candidates try to squeeze too much in them. A body paragraph is like a carriage on a train. This is a common question we get. "How many ideas should I include in a body paragraph in Task 2? Some say one is enough others say you should include 2 or 3 even if the question is in singular? Also please describe in details what a developed idea...
What templates can I use in IELTS writing?
Is there any template for the IELTS academic task 1 that can literally work for any given question? IELTS templates.........do they exist? An IELTS examiners answers your question No. The tasks are too varied. How could you use a template to describe a bar chart and a process? There are certain phrases that I suppose you could use for your introduction if you were faced with bar chart to describe like “The given bar charts show + add your description here” “From an overall...
IELTS speaking and feeling nervous. What can you do?
This is a question that we received in our Private Facebook group; feel free to join I would like to ask if during my IELTS speaking exam part 1 I feel nervous, can I just close my eyes or look in another direction or just cover my eyes with a handkerchief? So, you’re in the street and a tourist comes up and asks you where something is. In response, you look in another direction and put a handkerchief over your eyes……Imagine the...