Teaching IELTS

CAMBRIDGE ENGLISH TEACHER

Cambridge English Teacher Development

CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS | MADRID

Teaching IELTS

Unit 1
Introducing reading skills and text types
Reading skills
Lets start by having a close look at the seven reading skills.
1. Previewing a text means looking at things like the heading and layout of a text to get an idea
of what the text is about before starting to read. For instance, before reading an article in a
newspaper, we look at the headline and/or the picture so we have an idea of what its about,
and can decide whether we want to read it. We know, for instance, that it is a newspaper
article rather than an advert by the way it looks.
Previewing is an important skill because it helps us to anticipate the content and this makes it
easier to understand the text.
2. Predicting content and structure involves using your knowledge of the topic of the text to
guess what its going to be about. For instance, if you see an advert for a car, you can guess
that the purpose of the text will be to sell the car and that there is likely to be vocabulary
related to cars.
Predicting is an important reading skill because we can make more sense of a text if we use
what we know already about the topic.
3. Skimming for main ideas means reading a text quite quickly for a general idea of the overall
topic. When we do this, we are looking for main ideas rather than specific details. For instance,
we might skim a review of a film to get a general idea of what its about before deciding
whether to go and see it.
Skimming is an important skill because if our purpose is to get a general idea about something,
we dont need to read the text carefully. In life we often dont have time to read everything in
detail!
4. Scanning to find key information also involves reading a text quite quickly, but we use this
reading skill when we want to find a particular fact. For instance, we might scan a TV guide to
find out what time a particular programme is on.
Scanning is an important skill that we use every day to find out facts such as times, dates or
places.

Teaching IELTS
5. Intensive reading or reading for detail means careful study of a text or part of a text. We do
this when all the content is important. For instance, if you bought a new computer and you
wanted to know how it worked, you would need to read the instructions carefully.
We also read a text intensively when we need to understand exactly what the writer means, or
to find out more details. For instance, having skimmed a film review for a general idea of what
its about, you might read the review again, this time intensively, to find out details of the plot.
Intensive reading is an important skill because we often have to read things very carefully to
understand exactly what the writer is saying.
6. Guessing words from context. A good reader will sometimes be able to work out the meaning
of a word by using the context provided by the text and their knowledge of the world, rather
than having to look the word up in a dictionary. For instance, if you were reading a car manual
and you came across a part of the engine you didnt know, you might be able to work out what
it is from the description of what it does.
Guessing words from context is not always easy for learners, but it is an important skill that
can sometimes help us to understand a text even if it contains unknown words.
7. Understanding opinion and attitude means understanding what the writer is thinking or
feeling, even when this is not directly stated. For instance, if someone on holiday wrote in an
email, I wish didnt have to leave tomorrow, you would understand that the person was
having a good time.
Understanding attitude and opinion is an important reading skill because writers often do not
state directly what they are thinking or feeling.

Learner problems
1. My learners keep stopping to look up words in a dictionary. guessing words from context
2. My learners are so slow they find it really difficult to pick out the main ideas quickly.
skimming
3. My learners dont read carefully enough so they get the wrong meaning. intensive reading
4. My learners just start reading without thinking about what they know about the topic.
predicting
5. My learners can never tell me what the writer thinks about something. understanding
opinion and attitude
6. My learners arent able to search a text to find particular pieces of information. scanning
7. My learners always start reading a text straightaway before looking at the headings and
pictures first to help them understand the text. previewing

The different task types

In real life, the reading skills that we use when we are reading a text will greatly depend on the type of
text and our reason for reading it. For instance, if we were reading a train timetable, we would
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probably be looking for the time of a specific train so we would use scanning skills. If we were reading
a recipe, all the information given would be important because we would need to know exactly what to
do at each stage, so we would read it intensively. In the IELTS Reading test, the purpose is provided by
the questions. The different task types test the different reading skills that you have looked at.
Lets have a quick look at all the different task types in the Reading test. We will look at these task
types one by one over the three reading units and look at how you can help learners deal with them by
teaching them certain strategies. As previously stated, the task types in the Academic reading test and
the General training reading test are almost the same. Any differences will be mentioned where
relevant.
Here are the different types of question:
Task type 1 Multiple choice
Task type 2 Identifying information
Task type 3 Identifying writers views/claim
Task type 4 Matching information
Task type 5 Matching headings
Task type 6 Matching features
Task type 7 Matching sentence endings
Task type 8 Sentence completion
Task type 9 Summary, note, table, flow-chart completion
Task type 10 Diagram label completion
Task type 11 Short-answer questions

Examples

Which paragraph contains the following information? (matching information)

Complete the sentences below. Use NO MORE THAN ONE WORD from the text. (sentence
completion)
Choose the correct heading for paragraphs AH from the list of headings below. (matching
headings)
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the text? (identifying
information)
Answer the questions below. Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the text. (short
answer questions)
Match the inventions with the scientists listed AC. (matching features)
Choose the correct letter A, B, C or D. (multiple choice)

Previewing and predicting

Look at this quotation from Franoise Grellet about reading skills:
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'Reading is a constant process of guessing, and what one brings to the
text is often more important than what one finds in it. This is why, from
the very beginning, the students should be taught to use what they
know to understand unknown elements, whether these are ideas or
simple words.'
source: Grellet. F. (1981) Developing reading skills, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
When looking at a text for the first time with learners, encourage them to use the heading, any
subheadings and any illustrations to help them think about the topic of the text before they start
reading. This will help them to develop previewing skills. They can then use this information to make
predictions about the text, drawing on any knowledge they have of the topic. This will help them to
develop predicting skills.
By using these skills, learners will find it easier to understand a text when they come to read it.

Examples of previewing
Headlines
RURAL TRANSPORT SCHEME
ELEPHANT INTELLIGENCE
POPULATION SPREAD
NOISE EFFECTS
USING EVERY DROP
THE TRUE PRICE OF A MEAL

Summary
An article about a plan to introduce a new transport system
in the countryside.
An article comparing the intelligence of elephants with
other animals.
An article about new ways of studying the history of the
spread of people and populations across the world.
An article about how people are able to adapt to different
noise levels.
The importance of water in human history.
The effect of food production on the environment and
human health.

How did we find the right answer?

If you got any wrong, look at the heading and summary together and try and find which words or
phrases in the heading are repeated or rephrased in the summary. For example, the first heading
contains the word 'transport', as does the correct summary. The heading also contains the word rural,
which is related to the word 'countryside' in the correct summary.
It is also a good idea to encourage learners to read the first paragraph carefully and to think about
what the text is going to be about before they continue reading. The first paragraph will give them a
good indication of what the text is about and how it is likely to develop.

Texts types in the Reading test

The texts in the Academic Reading test could come from journals, books, magazines and newspapers.
The text in Section 3 of the General Training Reading test could come from sources such as
newspapers, magazines and fictional and non-fictional book extracts. These are likely to be more
descriptive or instructive. We will look at the text types used in Sections 1 and 2 of the General Training
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Reading test in Unit 3. Reading the heading and the first paragraph will not only give the reader a good
indication of what the text is about and how it is likely to develop, but it will also help them to identify
what type of text it is. If learners can recognise which type of text they are going to read, it will help
them to read more efficiently to find their way through the text and to locate the answers to the
questions more easily, because different text types organise information differently.

Examples

A newspaper article is written for a general audience and may have short paragraphs, simple
structures and informal language. The writer will want to encourage readers to read it and so
may start with an amusing headline or a question to get them interested. The question will tell
the reader what the text is going to be about.
A report is a formal text and may contain complex grammatical forms or statistics. It may be
organised so that each paragraph deals with a certain aspect of the topic.
In a historical account, the information is likely to be organised in chronological order.
A description of a process will probably contain a lot of passive structures and be organised
according to the order of the stages.

Matching headings: Approaching the task

In the Matching headings tasks candidates are given a list of headings and have to choose the best one
for each paragraph or section of the text. The list of headings always comes before the text and there
are always more headings than paragraphs.
Having used their previewing and predicting skills to look at the heading of the text, if there is one, and
the first paragraph, it is a good idea for candidates to read through the possible headings. This will give
them more of an idea about how the text will develop and it will focus their minds on the main ideas
they have to look for. This is why the list of headings comes before the text.
The important thing to note is that each heading will capture the main idea of the paragraph rather
than focusing on one particular detail. So when they start reading the text, candidates will be using
their skimming skills to find the main idea in each paragraph.

Example
Below is the first paragraph from an article about horses. Skim through the paragraph and choose
which heading best matches the paragraph.
Horses have been racing across the landscape for
around 55 million years much longer than our
own species has existed. However, prehistoric
remains show that at the end of the Ice Age, some
10,000 years ago, wild horses died out in the
Americas and dwindled in western Europe, for
reasons that are not clear. But they continued to
thrive on the steppes of eastern Europe and Central
Asia, where short grasses and shrubs grow on vast,
dry stretches of land. Most scholars believe it was
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here that people domesticated the horse. However, the DNA of domestic horses is very diverse. This
suggests they may be descended from a number of different wild horse populations, in several
locations.
A.
B.
C.
D.

Playing a less essential role

An ancient species
The fastest breeds of horses
What the earliest horses looked like

The correct answer is B. The paragraph talks about the fact that horses have existed for 55 million
years. The Ice Age 10,000 years ago is also mentioned.

Sample lesson: previewing and predicting skills

There are several ways of encouraging learners to think about what they are going to read. You could:

put the heading of the text on the board and ask learners to predict the content
brainstorm words they associate with the topic
think of things they would like to know about the topic
put a selection of headings on the board and ask them to match them to topics, pictures or
first paragraphs.

Dealing with an IELTS-type text in class

We are now going to look at a particular text and some different techniques and activities you could
use with it. (Text 1)
Aims:

to help learners develop previewing and predicting skills

to help learners read for main ideas (skimming)
to introduce learners to the Matching headings task

Preparation:
1
2

Print a copy of the article 'The domestication of horses' for each learner in the class.
Cut off the first paragraph, which is to be handed out separately.

Procedure:
1. Write the heading 'The domestication of horses' on the board and ask learners to discuss in
groups what they think the text is about.
2. Give each learner the first paragraph of the article. Allow them one minute to skim through
the paragraph. Put learners in pairs or small groups and ask them to discuss again to see if they
have changed any of their ideas.
3. With the whole class discuss which of the following they think the text will be:
a. An article about increased use of horses as pets.
b. A historical account of the relationship between man and horse.
c. A personal complaint about the cruel treatment of horses.
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(Key: b)
4. Write the following sentence from the first paragraph on the board:
Most scholars believe it was here that people domesticated the horse.
Elicit the meaning of domesticate (to bring animals or plants under human control in order to provide
food, power or companionship). Ask learners to brainstorm in groups ways in which they think people
might have used horses. Encourage them to use any personal experience or knowledge that they have.
5. Write the paragraph headings on the board:
A

The fastest breeds of horses

A wide range of uses for domesticated horses

Developing desirable characteristics

Horses in agriculture

Playing a less essential role

An ancient species

Influencing the outcome of conflicts

An ideal form of transport

What different breeds do best

What the earliest horses looked like

Instruct learners to choose one of the headings to match each paragraph of the text that they are going
to read. Give them two minutes to read through the headings and try to predict what information each
paragraph will contain. Ask them to compare their ideas in pairs or small groups.
6. Explain to the class that they have just carried out a number of predicting and previewing
activities. They have used:
the heading
the first paragraph
the paragraph headings
Remind learners that although they did some of these activities in groups, in the exam they will have to
do them on their own.
7. The learners are now ready to attempt the question itself. Give them each a copy of the
complete text and ask them to read each paragraph, looking back at the headings and
matching them as they go. Give them a time limit of ten minutes and tell them that they
should read quickly for the main idea in each paragraph.
8. After ten minutes, ask learners to discuss their answers in groups and monitor to see which
headings they are having most problems with.
9. Elicit the answers from the group, asking them to explain their answers.
(Key: 1H, 2F, 3B, 4D, 5G, 6I, 7C)
Alternative to stages 8 and 9

Teaching IELTS
If your learners like moving around, as an alternative to stages 8 and 9 you can write out the headings
on numbered pieces of card and stick them around the walls of the classroom. Learners then read the
whole text and walk around the classroom and note down the correct number for each paragraph.

Sample lesson: Reading questionnaire

At the beginning of this unit you thought about learners problems with reading. It is a good idea to ask
learners what they feel is difficult and then to compare their perceptions with yours. This will give you
a better understanding of their problems and will also increase awareness in learners of their own
strengths and weaknesses. It will also help focus them on what makes a good reader. The best time to
do this activity would be at the end of a reading lesson.
Look at the questionnaire and the suggested procedure below.
Assessing learners' reading problems
Aims:

to increase your awareness of learners problems with reading

to increase learners awareness of what makes a good reader.

Preparation:
Print one copy of the questionnaire for each learner
Procedure:
1. Give each learner a copy of the questionnaire and allow them time to complete it individually.
2. In pairs or small groups, the learners compare their answers to see if they answered in the
same way.
3. Tell learners that each of the questions is related to a reading skill:
Question 1: Previewing
Question 2: Predicting
Question 3: Skimming
Question 4: Scanning
Question 5: Intensive reading
Question 6: Guessing words from context
Question 7: Understanding opinion and attitude
4. Put learners in pairs or small groups and ask them to discuss which particular skills they need
to develop and how they can do this.
5. Monitor each group and make a note of any interesting ideas they have.
6. At the end of the lesson, collect the questionnaires. Reviewing them will help to tell you which
skills you need to focus on in future lessons.

Teaching IELTS

Unit 2
Reading skills and task types
Scanning for specific information
One problem that some learners have when approaching reading texts is that they try to understand
every word. As they only have 60 minutes in the IELTS Reading test to read over 2,000 words, they
wont be able to do this.
In Unit 1, you looked at how using skimming skills enables the reader to read a text very quickly for the
main ideas. Now you are going to look at another way of reading the text quickly, which involves using
scanning skills (reading quickly through a text for specific information). Success in many of the IELTS
Reading questions will depend on the candidates ability to do this.
In Unit 1, we also saw that the way we read a text will often depend on the type of text and our reason
for reading it. For instance, imagine that you wanted to go horse riding and you had never ridden a
horse before. If you were looking at an advertisement for a riding school, you would particularly want
to see if there were lessons for people with no riding experience. So you would read the text quickly to
find this specific information that is, you would use scanning skills.

Example
Read the following advertisement quickly. Underline the part of the advertisement that tells you if
you can have a lesson at the riding school if you have never ridden before.

GREAT OAKS SCHOOL OF RIDING 01227 65432

Riding lessons for every age and standard. All riding equipment provided. Open 7 days
a week 8.30 am 6.30 pm. Friendly qualified tuition.
PROGRAMME
Aug 812 Summer school
Aug 2226 Stable management and riding course
Aug 18, 23, 26 Picnic rides
We promise to build confidence and increase expertise. Please call any time for further
details.

Teaching IELTS
To find the answer, riding lessons for every age and standard, you probably only needed to read the
text very quickly, without needing to read everything in detail. This is scanning.

Matching features: Approaching the task

One of the task types which involves scanning the text for specific information in both the Academic
and the General Training Reading tests is the Matching features task. In this task type, candidates are
required to match a set of statements or pieces of information to a list of options. The options are a
group of features from the text and are identified by letters. There are more options than statements.
Lets have a look at an example of a question from the Academic test. In this example, the following
maps are the options to match to the set of statements:

maps of Utopia
Charles Booths maps of London
map commissioned by Nicholas Philpot Leader
map of Bath area
early modern Chinese maps
map of the Antarctic
plan of Ostia harbour
Hereford World Map

The best strategy for approaching this task type is to start by skimming the whole text very quickly to
get an idea of the content and then to scan the text for the things in the list of options. When
candidates have located the parts of the text where the name appears, they should read each part
intensively and try to match it to the statements in the question.
First, scan the text below. In which paragraph is each map mentioned? Allow yourself two minutes
for this task.

Example
The Purpose of Maps
A
Maps vary enormously, from imposing images
of the world and its parts to private jottings
intended to give an approximate idea of the
twentieth-century Antarctic. The materials on
which maps are to be found, similarly range
from scraps of paper to plaster walls, by way
of parchment, copper coins, mosaics, marble,
woollen tapestries, silk, gold and more.
Attitudes towards maps also vary greatly, and
are subject to modification over time.
B
In recent decades, the view that maps should be assessed primarily in terms of their geometrical
accuracy has radically changed. At the same time, they have become available to a range of
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disciplines. This development has been encouraged by the growing popularity of interdisciplinary
studies and by the increasing awareness and appreciation of the importance of the visual which
may be a consequence of the spread of television and the internet, and the ease with which images
can be created and manipulated in a digital environment. Academic historians of all types social,
political, diplomatic and fine art, literature specialists, and family historians take an interest in maps
and find that they sometimes offer perspectives on their subjects that are not possible from other
sources.
C
All have contributed to a re-evaluation of the subject. It is accepted that for some purposes, such as
administration and terrestrial and maritime navigation, mathematical accuracy still plays a major
and sometimes even a paramount role in cartography. In other contexts, such as maps of
underground railway systems, or maps used for propaganda purposes, such accuracy is irrelevant,
and at times even undesirable. Conversely, the very aspects that tended traditionally to be
condemned or disregarded, such as distortions and decoration, become of enormous significance.
They can give particularly precious insights into the mentalities of past ages, and the views and lives
of their creators, as well as being packed with more general cultural information such as the
receptiveness to artistic fashions.
D
For many map enthusiasts the fascination of maps ironically stems from their necessary lack of truth.
They can be regarded as the most successful pieces of fiction ever to be created because most users
instinctively suspend disbelief until they find that the map they are using does not give truthful
information. Yet it has to be that way. Given the impossibility of representing the total reality, with
all its complexity, on a flat surface, hard decisions have to be taken as to what features to select for
accurate representation, or indeed for representation at all. For most of the time this process of
selection is almost instinctive. The mapmaker knows the purpose he intends for his map, and
beyond that he is unwittingly guided by the values and assumptions of the time in which he lives
unless these are in conflict with his own value systems, as was the case with Nicholas Philpot Leader
in 1827. The map of Ireland (then part of the UK) that Leader commissioned was intended as a
strong attack on the then British government.
E
In order to meet the maps purpose, the information that is represented will be prioritized according
to importance as perceived by the mapmaker and not necessarily in accordance with actual
geographical size. Even on modern national topographic mapping, such features as motorways will
be shown far larger than they actually are because they are important to drivers and users will
expect to see them without difficulty. Conversely, large features that are considered unimportant
might be completely ignored or reduced in size, like parks and other public spaces in some town
maps. Often maps will show things that are invisible in the real world, such as relative financial
affluence, as in Charles Booths maps of London in the nineteenth century, or the geology far below
the surface of the planet, as in an 1823 map of the land around Bath.
F
Sometimes the purpose of the map is even simpler and has nothing to do with geography. The
Hereford World Map proclaims the insignificance of man in the face of the divine and the eternal.
The plan of Ostia harbour of AD 64 primarily serves as a demonstration of the Emperor Neros
benevolence. Sometimes, as in depictions of the imaginary land of Utopia, physical reality is totally
absent or so distorted as to be geographically meaningless. Instead the map serves as a commentary
on the gap between the aspirations and the feeble achievements of mankind. The quality of a map
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must be judged by its ability to serve its purpose, and not simply by its scientific precision, and in
that context aesthetic and design considerations are every bit as important as the mathematical, and
often more so.
G
Plainly, to interpret maps as having followed a path of ever-increasing scientific perfection over time
is to miss the main point. In fact, they have responded to the mentalities, and met the requirements
of the societies in which they have been created. In ancient Greece and Babylon, and in eighteenthand twentieth-century Europe, the preoccupation with precision and the scientific indeed
predominated. In early modern China and nineteenth-century Europe the administrative use of
mapping came to the fore. By contrast, for long periods of time and in many civilizations, the major
preoccupation was to define and to depict mans place in relationship to a religious view of the
universe. This was particularly evident in medieval Europe and Aztec Mexico. Clearly, maps can only
be fully understood in their social context.
Now lets look at the whole IELTS task:
Questions 3239
Look at the following maps (Questions 3239) and the list of purposes below. Match each map with the
correct purpose, AI.
32 maps of Utopia
33 Charles Booths maps of London
34 map commissioned by Nicholas Philpot Leader
35 map of Bath area
36 early modern Chinese maps
37 map of the Antarctic
38 plan of Ostia harbour
39 Hereford World Map
Purposes
A to portray an area very roughly
B to create a decorative work
C to express political criticism
D to show variations in wealth
E to show differences below ground level
F to show the unimportance of human beings
G to glorify the ruler of the country
H to contrast ideal and actual human development
I

to assist in the management of the country

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Remember, now that you have identified which paragraph contains the information about each map,
you should read the sentences around them intensively to try and find the answers
(Key: 32 H, 33 D, 34 C, 35 E, 36 I, 37 A, 38 G, 39 F)

Strategies for dealing with Matching information tasks

Think about the method that you used to approach the question above. What did you read first, the
questions or the text? How many times did you read each paragraph?
One effective approach is to look through the question information and try to identify the key words.
Then scan each paragraph and see whether you can find any reference to these key words. If you can,
read the paragraph more carefully to see if it matches the question. For instance, Question 30 contains
the word accuracy, which is also used in Paragraph C.
Very often the key words in the question will be replaced with synonyms (similar words) or
paraphrasing (saying something in a different way) in the text. For instance, question 31 uses the word
attitudes, but in Paragraph B the related word is view. This is an example of a synonym. Question 29
refers to various periods, but in Paragraph G we find the phrase eighteenth- and twentieth-century.
This is an example of paraphrasing.
Look again at all of the questions and try to identify the key information in each one and where and
how it is referred to in the answer paragraph. You can help learners by asking them to analyse
questions carefully and think about possible synonyms and paraphrases. This will help them to locate
answers in the text. Encourage them to record synonyms and paraphrases in their vocabulary books.

Sentence completion: Approaching the task

For this task type, candidates have to complete sentences using words from the text. They will need to
use their scanning skills to locate the right place in the text and then they will need to use intensive
reading skills to decide exactly which word or words to use to complete the sentence.

Example
Look at the following sentences, which are of the type that feature in the Reading test. Read the text
below and try to complete the sentences:
1. Many people have received a training contract with a newspaper.
2. Pre-entry training courses are held at approved .
3. Send a letter or email to the editors of newspapers to ask about becoming a temporary
A career in journalism
How do I get into journalism?
Trainees come into the industry by a variety of routes. Some are recruited directly by a newspaper in
their local area and carry out their basic training under the terms of a training contract. This is
known as direct entry.
However, the majority of trainees are recruited after attending vocational education and training
courses. These are normally for graduates. Such courses are generally run by colleges accredited by
the National Council for the Training of Journalists. This route is known as pre-entry.
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Some colleges will grant places to people on pre-entry courses only if they have already had a work
experience placement at a newspaper. Therefore, it would be sensible for you to write to a number
of local newspaper editors to ask if they will allow you to join their team of reporters as an observer
for a few days. Explain why you think you would make a good reporter and try to pick a time other
than July, when pressure on work experience places is at its greatest. You should try to be the
applicant who stands out as the most committed to newspaper journalism, and the most able. But
do not be put off if you receive rejection letters, as there is strong competition for places. Editors
appreciate and respect determination and persistence.
Many people ask about becoming freelance journalists. To begin with, you must know the paper
youre hoping to write for; the article should be approximately the same number of words normally
employed by the editorial column in that paper, and on one of the topics that are most likely to be
used. Approach the editor in writing. Send a written synopsis of your article, enclosing some
information about yourself and, if possible, some other articles you have had printed, whether in
your local paper or in your student magazine.
(Key: 1 local, 2 college, 3 observer)
Note that the words that the candidates use to complete the sentence must be from the text, and must
not be changed in any way. So in this example if the candidate wrote journalist instead of observer, the
answer would be incorrect. Spelling is also important, so make sure learners copy the correct words
carefully.
Now look carefully at the language in the questions. The questions do not always contain exactly the
same grammatical structures and vocabulary as the relevant sentences in the text. For instance, look
again at question 1. The related sentence in the text reads Some are recruited directly by a newspaper
in their local area and carry out their basic training under the terms of a training contract. Here, the
text uses the Present simple, but the question uses the present perfect.
In question 3, there is an example of paraphrasing. The question includes the phrase send a letter or
email, while the text says write.
Just as synonyms and paraphrasing are used in the Matching information task, they are also important
in the Sentence completion task. In fact, the ability to recognise synonyms and paraphrasing is very
important in the IELTS Reading test as it is necessary for most of the questions. It is, therefore, very
important that you encourage learners to note any examples that arise in class or when they are
studying alone.

Note completion and strategies

Instead of completing sentences, the candidates could be asked to complete notes. For example,
candidates might find they have to use the information in a text to complete notes about the text.
When completing gaps for example, in a table, a flowchart, a summary, sentences, notes or diagram
labels it is important that learners are encouraged to read the question very carefully in order to
work out which type of word is missing and understand the exact meaning. Knowing this information
will help learners to find the correct word in the text. The word they write must be in exactly the same
form as it appears in the text.

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Example
Look at the following Note completion question for the text you read about journalism:
Direct entry training

Training contract with a 1 newspaper.

Here, we can predict that the missing word is probably an adjective describing the newspaper.

Dealing with completion tasks

When completing gaps in a table, a flowchart, a summary, sentences, notes or diagram labels the
strategy is similar. Encourage learners first to:

read the questions very carefully.

think about which type of word is missing.
think about the meaning of the question.

They should then:

scan the text for key words.

read the relevant section intensively.
look for paraphrasing and synonyms.
make sure that the word they write is in the same form as in the text and is spelled
correctly.

With Flowchart and Table completion, it is also important to look at how the information is organised
in the questions. The headings of a table and the stages of the flow chart will help learners to predict
what type of information is missing.
Looking carefully at the table headings and the flowchart stages will help learners understand the text
more easily, as will the completed parts of the table or chart.
Below is an example of part of a table completion task similar to that which might appear in the
Reading test.
Before you look at the short text below, guess what the missing word(s) in Question 1 might be.
Think about the type of word(s) that is needed.
Species

Start of active period

African

early spring

Indian

1 ............

Now read the text and find the answer to Question 1:

In the cooler regions the smaller Asian is slower to recover from the winter cold and does not produce
any offspring until summer. The African, which warms faster, reproduces in early spring.
The answer is 'summer'.
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Teaching IELTS
You may not have guessed the correct word but thinking about possibilities helps candidates locate the
answers in the text as they will have a better idea of the kind of word they are looking for.

General Training Reading test overview

As we saw in Unit 1, the types of texts used in the Academic and General Training Reading tests are
different, particularly in Sections 1 and 2. In the Academic Reading test, each section contains one long
text, but Section 1 of the General Training Reading test contains two or three short factual texts and
Section 2 contains two short factual texts.
The text types discussed in Unit 1 were all relevant to all three sections of the Academic Reading test
and to Section 3 of the General Training Reading. This screen takes a close look at the text types used in
Sections 1 and 2 of the General Training Reading test, so if you are only preparing learners for the
Academic Reading test, move on to 2.9 From theory to practice (1).
In Section 1 of the General Training Reading test, you might find a text like the advertisement for the
riding school. In this section, texts are relevant to basic social survival the type of texts you would
encounter in everyday life. There are two or three texts, which are not usually connected, but one of
these could consist of a number of short texts with a common theme, e.g. a set of advertisements
related to the same theme. Other examples of text types you might find in this section include extracts
from leaflets, brochures, manuals, travel guides and websites. The questions mainly involve finding
general factual information.

General Training Reading test: Sections 2 and 3

In Section 2 of the General Training Reading test, there are two texts that are not related. These are the
kind of texts you would encounter in a work-related situation. They might contain, for instance,
information on applying for jobs, company policies, pay and conditions, workplace facilities or staff
development.
The type of texts you might find in this section include contracts, job advertisements, terms and
conditions, and health and safety leaflets. Again, the questions involve finding factual information.
In Section 3 of the General Training Reading test, there is one long text on a topic of general interest,
such as nature, history or lifestyles. Texts can come, for instance, from a newspaper or magazine and
are generally descriptive. As we saw in Unit 1, different text types have different structures and
features of style, so it is important that you give learners practice in reading lots of different types of
texts, as well as giving them practice in reading about different topics.
Now see what you remember about the texts in the General Training Reading test.
In summary, we could classify the types of texts for the GT Reading test as follows:
Section 1
tourist information
advertisements for flats
restaurant reviews

Section 2
health and safety notice
contract of employment
job advertisements

Section 3
article
historical account

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Teaching IELTS

Matching information task

One task type candidates might find in the General Training Reading test is Matching information. In
this task type, candidates are required to locate specific information in lettered paragraphs or sections
of a text. They may be asked to find specific details, an example, a reason, a description, a comparison,
a summary or an explanation.
This task type can appear with any text and tests a wide range of reading skills, e.g. locating detail or
recognising a summary or definition. It tests a candidates ability to scan for specific information.
Look at the following example of a Matching information question. What is the correct answer?
Why?
Which advertisement is the following statement true for? Choose A, B or C.
1 You can only have a lesson if you have done this sport before.
A. Improve your windsurfing skills one day courses for intermediate and advanced levels.
B. Riding lessons for every age and standard.
C. Ride that bike driving lessons with qualified instructors. Suitable for those with no or little
experience.
Advertisement B contains the phrase every standard and advertisement C says suitable for those with
no or little experience. In comparison, advertisement A mentions courses only for intermediate and
advanced learners. So A is the correct answer.

Sample lesson: Dealing with an IELTS Academic Matching

features task in class
Aims:

to help learners to develop predicting, skimming, scanning and intensive reading skills.
to introduce learners to the Matching features task.

Preparation:

Print one copy of the text and one copy of the question for each learner in the class.

Procedure:
1. Write the title The Purpose of Maps on the board. As a whole class brainstorm different ideas
about the possible content of the text. Write learners ideas on the board.
2. Give each learner a copy of the text. Give them a short time (one to two minutes) to skim the text
to get an overall idea of the content of the article.
3. Review the ideas you wrote on the board now that learners have seen the text. How much of the
content of the text did learners predict? Was there anything they didnt think of?

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Teaching IELTS
4. Give learners a copy of the task. Elicit from the class that the key information in questions 32 to 39
is the names of the maps. Ask learners to scan the text to identify in which paragraphs there is
information about the maps in the questions.
(Key: Maps of Utopia (Paragraph F); Charles Booths maps of London (Paragraph E); Map
commissioned by Nicholas Philpot Leader (Paragraph D); map of Bath area (Paragraph E); early
modern Chinese maps (Paragraph G); map of the Antarctic (Paragraph A); plan of Ostia harbour
(Paragraph F); Hereford World Map (Paragraph F))
5. Ask learners to carry out the IELTS Reading task. Give less experienced learners plenty of time to
complete this stage. For more experienced learners approaching their test date, allow them eight
to ten minutes.
6. Check the answers with the whole class.
(Key: 32 H; 33 D; 34 C; 35 E; 36 I; 37 A; 38 G; 39 F)
7. Elicit the stages that learners went through and write them on the board:
i.
Read the title and predict the content.
ii.
Skim the text to get a general idea of the content.
iii.
Identify key phrases.
iv.
Scan the text to find paragraphs containing those phrases.
v.
Read intensively to match them to the statements in the question.
8. Remind the class that, although they performed some of these stages as a group, in the test they
should take the time to go through the same stages individually.

Sample lesson: Notes completion task type in the General

Training Reading test.
Aims:

to help learners develop previewing, predicting, scanning and intensive reading skills.
to help learners recognise synonyms and paraphrasing.
to introduce learners to the Notes completion task type.

Preparation:

Print one copy of the article (Staff Training and Development: Scheme of Assistance) and
one copy of the task for each learner.

Procedure:
1. Write the following title on the board: Staff Training and Development: Scheme of Assistance. With
the whole class discuss the following questions:
1. Who would need to read this text?
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Teaching IELTS
2. Which of the following is the text most likely to contain information about: courses, holidays or
time off for having children?
(Key: 1 members of staff and managers; 2 courses)
2. Give each learner a copy of the Notes completion task. Put them in pairs or small groups and ask
them to decide what type of words are missing (for example noun, verb or number). Tell them that
they should always check the number of words that can be used in each gap in this case no more
than three or a number.
(Key: 1 noun; 2 number; 3 noun; 4 number or quantifier; 5 noun)
3. Ask learners to look at the notes and highlight any key words.
4. Remind learners that the words that appear in the text will often be synonyms or paraphrases of
the words in the notes. Put them in small groups and ask them to brainstorm possible synonyms or
paraphrases for the following words and phrases from the questions. Alternatives to all these
words appear in the text.
1. help, allow
2. time off, with pay
3. assess
4. less than a year, finishing their course
5. to report, absences
5. Hand out copies of the text and tell learners read it and complete the notes in the questions.
Remind them to first scan for the alternatives identified in the previous activity, then read
intensively to find the right word(s). They should then check that their answer is the right type of
word and check they have spelt the word(s) correctly.
(Key: 1 operational requirements; 2, 5; 3 Finance committee 4 50%; 5 Personnel Administrator)

In summary
The steps for dealing with a completion task are:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Candidates look at headings, pictures and subheadings of the text.

Candidates consider what they know about the topic.
Candidates look at the questions and think about what type of word could be missing.
Having looked at the questions, candidates scan the text looking for key words, synonyms and
paraphrases.
5. Candidates read the relevant part of the text very carefully.
6. Candidates complete the gaps with words from the text.

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Unit 3
Reading skills, task types and strategies
Tips to keep in mind:

Make sure that you and your learners are familiar with the format of the Reading test and that
they know how to fill in the answer sheet.
Its a good idea to set time limits for tasks to get them used to reading fast, both in class and
when setting homework, and give plenty of practice of all the different types of question.
Its also important to get them thinking about the reading skills that are being tested so that
they know when to skim, scan or read intensively, for example.
Its essential to train learners to read the instructions carefully. They are not always the same.
For example, the number of words they can write in the gaps changes and sometimes they will
need to write numbers.
When you look at the questions, always encourage learners to pick out key words and predict
the type of information they are looking for.
Its worth reminding learners about which task types follow the order of information in the
reading text.

Common learner problems

Problem
My learners spend too long reading each text.
My learners keep writing the wrong number of
words in the gaps.
My learners always put the answers in the wrong
place on the answer sheet.
My learners dont know whether they should be
skimming, scanning or reading intensively.
My learners never know which words to look for
in the text.
My learners find it hard to deal with all the
different task types.
My learners assume that the information in the
text will be in the same order as the questions.

Advice
Set time limits to increase reading speeds.
Train them to read the instructions carefully as
they may not always be the same.
Make sure they know how to fill in the answer
sheet.
Encourage them to think about which reading
skills are being tested.
Encourage them to pick out key words from the
questions.
Give them practice with different types of
question.
Remind learners about which task types follow
the order of the information in the text.

Recognising cohesive devices

In Unit 1, we looked at the importance of looking at different text types with learners. Different text
types have different ways of organising information and if learners can recognise which text type they
are reading, it will help them to read more efficiently to find their way through the text and locate the
answers to questions.
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Teaching IELTS
Another way of helping learners to find their way through a text is to give them plenty of practice in
looking at ways in which ideas are linked together in a text that is, the cohesion of a text. Recognising
cohesion will also help learners develop their intensive reading skills.
Look at the following sentence from a text about horses:
Horses continued to define military tactics well into the 1900s, until they finally became
outmoded by machine guns, tanks, airplanes and other modern weapons.
The linking word until is used to add information about when something happened and they is used to
refer back to horses in the text. These are called cohesive devices. The ability to recognise cohesive
devices is essential in making sense of a text. It is also an important way of finding answers in a text.
In order to be an effective reader, it is important to be able to recognise the use of cohesive devices.
One way of raising learners awareness of the importance of these cohesive devices is by taking a
paragraph of a text, mixing the sentences up and asking learners to put them back in order.

Example 1:
Look at these four sentences from a paragraph about horses. Put them in the correct order.
1. Yet they can also be agile and quick fit to carry out difficult tasks at top speed.
2. Horse are built for power.
3. Their muscular bodies are heavier in the front than in the back, making them well balanced to
pull heavy loads.
4. So more than a thousand years, people have called on power of horses to cultivate the land
and manage livestock.
(Key: 2, 3, 1, 4)

Example 2:
One important clue in putting the paragraph in order may have been the pronouns.
Read the paragraph again and look at the pronouns that have been highlighted. Choose the correct
answers.
Horses are built for power. Their muscular bodies are heavier in the front than in the back, making
them well balanced to pull heavy loads. Yet they can also be agile and quick fit to carry out difficult
tasks at top speed. So for more than a thousand years, we have called on the power of horses to
cultivate the land and manage livestock.
The pronoun them refers to the word
a. power.
b. front.
c. horses.
The pronoun they refers to the word(s)
a. humans.

b. horses.
c. agile and fit.
The pronoun we refers to the word
a. humans.
b. muscles.
c. horses.

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Teaching IELTS
(Key: c, b, a)

Linking words
Another thing that may have helped you with the ordering task on the previous examples was your
understanding of the linking words. These are words that act like signposts to guide you through and
mark the logical development of a text.

Linking words include words and phrases to:

indicate time periods (e.g.

afterwards).
add something (e.g. and).
make a contrast (e.g. but).
give a reason (e.g. because).

talk about the result (e.g. so).

give an example (e.g. for example).
to list (e.g. firstly, secondly).
introduce paraphrasing (e.g. In other
words).

It is very important for learners to recognise the purpose of linking words like these as it
will help them to understand the texts and find the correct answers to the questions.

Example:
Look at the linking word so, which has been highlighted in the text. Think about what it means in the
text.
Choose the correct answer.
Horses are built for power. Their muscular bodies are heavier in the front than in the back, making
them well balanced to pull heavy loads. Yet they can also be agile and quick fit to carry out difficult
tasks at top speed. So for more than a thousand years, we have called on the power of horses to
cultivate the land and manage livestock.
The linking word so is used to:
a. give an example of something.
b. make a contrast with something.
c. explain the reason or consequence for something.
(Key: c)

Identifying writers opinions

An understanding of the purpose of linking words will also help learners to answer questions in the
Reading test. In the Academic Reading test, candidates might also be asked to identify a writers
opinion (in Yes / No / Not given questions).
Look at this example question.
Horses are built for power. Their muscular bodies are heavier in the front than in the back,
making them well balanced to pull heavy loads. Yet they can also be agile and quick fit to
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Teaching IELTS
carry out difficult tasks at top speed. So for more than a thousand years, we have called on the
power of horses to cultivate the land and manage livestock.

... write:

YES if the statement agrees with the views of the writer

NO if the statement contradicts the views of the writer
NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this

27 The writer believes that horses are useful because of their physical characteristics.
The answer is YES. The use of the word so indicates that the statement is giving the consequence of
horses physical abilities.
You can help learners to recognise the use of linking words by getting them to find them in a text and
then to identify the purpose. It is a good idea to encourage them to keep lists of linking words and to
categorise and record them according to purpose and function. One way to record them is in a table.

Identifying information: Approaching the task

An effective way to approach this type of question is to follow the following stages:

Identify the key words and phrases in the question.

Try and think of synonyms or ways to paraphrase these key words and phrases.
Search for the key words and phrases and their synonyms in the text.
Read intensively around the key words and phrases in the text to try to find the answer to the
question.

With this task type, the questions follow the order of the information given in the text.
Example:
Read the instructions and choose the correct answer to each question.
Read the text The domestication of horses. Write TRUE if the statement agrees with the information.
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information. NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this.
8. The last of the wild horses lived around 10,000 years ago.
9. Initially people probably used domesticated horses to supplement their diet.
10. Methods of artificial selection have changed over the centuries.
(Key: F, T, NG)
You will notice that sometimes the key words in the questions will appear in the text (e.g. wild horses,
10,000 years ago) and other times synonyms have been used (e.g. initially first, diet food). It is a
good idea to draw learners attention to this.

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Teaching IELTS

Explaining the answers

It is important to be able to explain answers to learners, especially if they have got them wrong. One
way to do this is to show the relevant part of the text with the phrases highlighted. You could do this
using a projector or by handing out copies of the highlighted text to the class.
Lets look at each of the questions in turn.
8 The last of the wild horses lived around 10,000 years ago.
This was FALSE. Here is the reading text. The highlighted words show you why FALSE is the correct
answer.
1
Horses have been racing across the landscape for around 55 million years much longer than our own
species has existed. However, prehistoric remains show that at the end of the Ice Age, some 10,000
years ago, wild horses died out in the Americas and dwindled in western Europe, for reasons that are
not clear. But they continued to thrive on the steppes of eastern Europe and Central Asia, where short
grasses and shrubs grow on vast, dry stretches of land. Most scholars believe it was here that people
domesticated the horse. However, the DNA of domestic horses is very diverse. This suggests they may
be descended from a number of different wild horse populations, in several locations.
9 Initially people probably used domesticated horses to supplement their diet.
This was TRUE. Here is the reading text. The highlighted words show you why TRUE is the correct
answer.
2
Once horses and humans encountered each other, our two species became powerfully linked. Humans
domesticated horses some 6,000 years ago, and over time, we have created more than 200 breeds.
The first domestic horses were likely to have been kept mainly as a source of food, rather than for work
or for riding. There is evidence of horses being raised for meat in Kazakhstan, in Central Asia, around
5,500 years ago later they began to pull chariots, and horseback riding became common in Afghanistan
and Iran about 4,000 years ago. As we have shaped horses to suit our needs on battlefields, farms and
elsewhere, these animals have shaped human history. The ways we travel, trade, play, work and fight
wars have all been profoundly shaped by our use of horses.
10 Methods of artificial selection have changed over the centuries.
This was NOT GIVEN. Here is the reading text. The highlighted words show you where there is
information about the methods of artificial selection used over the centuries, but there is no
information in the text to show that these methods have changed.
3
When people domesticate animals, they control their behaviour in many ways. For example, animals
that are being domesticated no longer choose their own mates. Instead, people control their breeding.
Individuals with traits that humans prefer are more likely to produce offspring and pass on their genes.
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Teaching IELTS
In the course of several generations, both the body and behaviour of the animal are transformed. In
the wild, animals that are well adapted to their environment live long and reproduce, while others die
young. In this way, nature "chooses" the traits that are passed on to the next generation. This is the
process of evolution by natural selection. Domestic animals also evolve, but people do the selecting.
Humans seek out qualities like tameness, and help animals with those traits to survive and bear young.
This is evolution by artificial selection. Most domestic animals are naturally social. Their wild ancestors
lived in groups, with individuals responding to each other some led, others followed. In domestic
animals, the tendency to submit to others is especially strong. Generations of breeding have
encouraged them to let people take the lead.

Guessing unknown words from context

There will be many words in the texts in the Reading test that learners will not know. As we saw in
Introducing reading skills, a good reader will sometimes be able to work out the meaning of a word by
using the context provided by the text and their knowledge of the world to guess what the word
means. This is a particularly important skill in the IELTS Reading test, as candidates cannot use
dictionaries.
You should always encourage learners to try and work out the meaning from the sentence. However,
you might also choose to explain some words yourself. Below are three sentences taken from the text
about horses. The highlighted words may cause difficulty for learners.

Example:
a. Individuals that humans prefer are more likely to produce offspring and pass on their genes.
b. When people with horses clashed with those without, horses provided a huge advantage.
c. Yet they can also be agile and quick fit to carry out difficult tasks at top speed.
-

Paragraph 3 is about breeding and reproduction. The word offspring means the young of an
animal.
Paragraph 4 is about fighting and military tactics. The verb clash is another word for fight.
The word agile is another word for quick, but also has the idea of moving lightly.

Give learners lots of practice of using context to work out the meanings of words. Also encourage them
to use their knowledge of other words. For instance, they may not know precaution but they may know
the adjective cautious and from this might be able to guess the new word.

Multiple choice questions: Approaching the task

In multiple choice questions, candidates choose the correct answer to a question on the text from four
given options. This requires scanning to find the correct place in the text and then intensive reading to
analyse the exact meaning.
Look at an example of the type of question that appears in the Reading test, which is based on the text
about horses.
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
33 Prehistoric evidence has been found that shows that
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Teaching IELTS
A.
B.
C.
D.

people have existed in the Americas much longer than horses.

horses in the Americas prefer to eat short grasses and shrubs.
as the ice caps melted, the wild horse became extinct in the Americas.
domestic horses have similar DNA to horses 10,000 years ago.

Horses have been racing across the landscape for around 55 million years much longer than our
own species has existed. However, prehistoric remains show that at the end of the Ice Age, some
10,000 years ago, wild horses died out in the Americas and dwindled in western Europe, for
reasons that are not clear. But they continued to thrive on the steppes of eastern Europe and
Central Asia, where short grasses and shrubs grow on vast, dry stretches of land. Most scholars
believe it was here that people domesticated the horse. However, the DNA of domestic horses is
very diverse. This suggests they may be descended from a number of different wild horse
populations, in several locations.
The answer is C. The answer can be found in the following part of the text:
prehistoric remains show that at the end of the Ice Age, some 10,000 years ago, wild horses died out
in the Americas

Strategies for dealing with Multiple choice questions

By explaining to learners why answers like this are correct, you will help them to develop the strategies
they need for dealing with this task type. Lets look at how you can do this.
First of all, the words prehistoric and Americas in the question and options help you locate the correct
place in the paragraph. You then need to read that part of the paragraph very carefully as the correct
option paraphrases what is in the text. Let's look at how it does this.
In option C, we have the phrase became extinct and in the text we see the phrase died out. This is an
example of the use of synonyms.
There are also examples of paraphrasing. For example, the text refers to the end of the Ice Age. This is
paraphrased in the question with the phrase as the ice caps melted.
As we have seen in earlier units, recognising synonyms and paraphrasing is a key part of the Reading
test.

Short answer questions: Approaching the task

In this task type, candidates answer questions by using words from the text. Predicting the kind of
answers required is a particularly useful skill when answering short answer questions and candidates
can use the question words to help them do this. For instance, the answer to a question beginning
Where will be a location, the answer to a question beginning Who/Whose will be a person, the
answer to a question beginning What will be a thing, and so on.

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Teaching IELTS

Example:
Look at the following two questions which are similar to those that appear in the Reading test. They
are based on a text about a competition. Before you read the text, decide whether the answer will
be a place, person, thing etc. Then highlight the correct answers in the text.
Answer the questions below using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer.
1 What can be found on the jars of some Delicious Foods products?
2 Where can you find the telephone number on the jars?
IMPORTANT NOTICE: COMPETITION
Delicious Foods wishes to inform the public that they have placed prizes in selected jars of Delicious
Foods Strawberry Jam. The winning jars have all been marked with a gold strawberry. Prizes must
be claimed by the end of the year. The telephone number to call to claim the prize is printed on
the bottom of each jar.
(Key: 1 gold strawberry, 2 on the bottom)

Candidate responses
As with all completion questions, candidates write the words on the answer sheet. They should make
sure they answer the question and spell the words correctly.
It is very important to remind learners that as well as putting into practice all the skills and techniques
that we have looked at over the past three units that they at all times read ALL instructions carefully
and make sure that they copy spelling carefully.

Sample lesson: Guessing meaning from context

Aims:

to help learners develop strategies for guessing the missing words in the task types that
involve completion, e.g. summary completion.
to help learners use the context and knowledge of the world to help them guess words.

Preparation:

Find a short text or a paragraph from a text and replace a number of words with numbered
gaps (see example in Procedure).

Procedure:
1. Take a short text or a paragraph from a text and replace a number of words with numbered gaps.
Look at the following example:

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Teaching IELTS

A career in journalism: How do I get into journalism?

Trainees (1) into the industry by a variety of routes.
Some are recruited (2) by a newspaper in their local
area and carry out their (3) training under the terms
of a training contract. This is known as direct entry.
2.
Ask learners to work in pairs or small groups to try
to predict what type of word is missing. To make the activity easier, you can give learners
questions such as the following:
1. What type of word do you think is missing in gap 1? Is it an adjective, verb or adverb?
2. What type of word do you think is missing in gap 2? Is it an adjective, verb or adverb?
3. What type of word do you think is missing in gap 3? Is it an adjective, verb or adverb?
(Key: 1 verb; 2 adverb; 3 adjective.)
3. Ask learners to work individually to try to think of suitable words to complete the text.
4. Give learners a copy of the complete original text, or write it on the board. Ask them to compare
their version with the completed original.
Original text:
A career in journalism: How do I get into journalism?
Trainees come into the industry by a variety of routes. Some are recruited directly by a newspaper in
their local area and carry out their basic training under the terms of a training contract. This is known
as direct entry.

Sample lesson: Recognising synonyms and paraphrasing

As you have seen, being able to answer questions on the IELTS Reading test whatever the task type
requires the ability to recognise synonyms and paraphrasing. The following activity gives practice in
doing this. It also helps to build and consolidate vocabulary, which will also help learners to prepare for
the Reading test.
Aims:

to review and consolidate vocabulary.

to help learners recognise paraphrase and synonyms.

Procedure:
1. Select a number of words or phrases (about 20) from a text that your learners have found
difficult. You can use words that have come up in texts they have already looked at.
2. Write each word or phrase onto a piece of card and prepare a set for each group of four
learners.
3. Give one set to each group of four and ask them to put them face up on the table.
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Teaching IELTS
4. Ask learners to take it turns to paraphrase (orally) one of the words or phrases on the cards
and the first learner to guess which word or phrase is being paraphrased wins the card. The
learner with the most cards at the end is the winner.
Remember to encourage learners to always make a note of new words and to try to use them
as often as possible.

Sample lesson: Using cut-up text

Earlier in the unit you had to rearrange sentences to make a paragraph. You can do the same with your
learners.
Aim:

to encourage learners to focus on cohesion and coherence and the use of linking devices.

Procedure:
1. Find a paragraph from a text with a clear organisation of ideas and that contains cohesive
devices and linking words.
2. Make copies of the text and cut them up into separate sentences. Put learners in pairs or small
groups and give each pair or group a set of sentences.
3. Ask learners to work together to put the text in the right order. When you review the answers,
focus on what helped them to reorder the sentences, for example the logical organisation of
ideas or use of linking devices.

Sample lesson: Reading for pleasure

As we saw in Unit 2, when preparing learners for the IELTS Reading tests, it is important to keep them
motivated and to encourage them to read for pleasure. Extensive reading is a good way of increasing
speed, extending vocabulary and developing good reading skills.
If you have a library in your school, you can encourage learners by taking them there and encouraging
them to choose a book that interests them. Make sure that it is well within their level so that they will
not have to keep looking up words in the dictionary.
You can then have one session a week when learners have the chance to report back on what they
have read. You can give learners a list of questions to focus the discussion of their reading and these
can be general questions that would apply to any book.
Look at the following questions you could give to learners. Can you add any more? They should be
general so they can be used to discuss any book.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Which character would you most like to meet and why?

Who is your favourite character and why?
What is the most exciting thing that has happened in your book so far?
Describe the place where the book is set.
If the book was made into a film, who would you choose as the actors?
What do you think is going to happen next?
Would you recommend this book? Why / Why not?
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Teaching IELTS

In summary

Train learners in different reading skills including previewing, predicting, skimming to get a
general idea, scanning to locate specific information, intensive reading, recognising opinion,
and implication.
Encourage learners to read faster by timing them.
Discourage learners from trying to understand every word and give them plenty of practice
in guessing the meaning of words from context. Discourage them from looking up too many
words in the dictionary.
Give learners practice in recognising key words, synonyms and paraphrasing in the questions
to help them locate information and to understand exact meaning.

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Teaching IELTS

Unit 4
Writing skills and learner problems
Before starting on the Writing test units, here is a table to see what you already know about the
Writing test.
Academic Test
Task
1
2

Word count
150
250

Time (minutes)
20
40

Task description
Describing visual information
Writing an essay

Time (minutes)
20
40

Task description
Writing a letter
Writing an essay

General Training Test

Task
1
2

Word count
150
250

Look at these problems that some learners have with writing.

My learners find it difficult to link sentences.

My learners have very little vocabulary.
My learners find it difficult to write very much.
My learners dont order ideas logically.
My learners make a lot of grammatical mistakes.
My learners only use very simple structures.
My learners have problems with spelling words.
My learners dont explain their ideas.

Assessing writing: What makes a good writer?

In order to be able to analyse learners problems effectively and help them to improve their writing, it
is important to first think about what makes someone a good writer. Look at the question and some
example parts of what a candidate wrote to answer it.

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Teaching IELTS
Question: In many countries people are
eating more and more unhealthy food. What
are the causes of this and what can be done
about it?
Answer:
One of the reasons why the number of
people eating food that is less nutritious is
increasing is that there is so much fast food
available nowadays. Another factor is that
this type of food is often very affordable and,
as a result of price and availability, more and
more of it is consumed.
One possible solution could be to increase the amount of education about food and health given in
schools. This would help people to make more informed choices about what they eat, both as children
and as adults.
Comments: The examples of the writing are good because they are relevant to the question and the
ideas are well organised and clear.
There is a good range of structures and relevant vocabulary and it is also grammatically accurate.

Assessment categories
In the IELTS Writing test, candidates are assessed in four areas:

Task response / achievement

Coherence and cohesion
Lexical resource
Grammatical range and accuracy.

We will now look at each area in turn.

Task response / Task achievement

This is the way in which the writer responds to a question or achieves a task. In the example you saw
What makes a good writer, the candidate would score highly here because he or she is answering the
question (describing possible causes and giving a solution), giving the information needed.
It is very important for candidates to give full answers in the IELTS Writing test. If their essays are not
long enough or do not address all the points they will lose marks. Task response is the name for this
criterion in Task 1 in the Writing test. It is called Task achievement in Task 2.

Coherence and cohesion

If a text has good coherence it is well-organised and clear in what it is saying. Cohesion involves linking
ideas together within a paragraph or text. One way to improve cohesion is to use linking words or
phrases such as On the other hand to connect ideas and sentences.
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Teaching IELTS
In the example in What makes a good writer, both the coherence and cohesion are good because the
writer organises the ideas well and links them effectively by using phrases such as Another factor is ....

Lexical resource
This is the ability to use vocabulary accurately and appropriately in different situations. This makes
what the writer says more interesting and effective. In the example in 4.3 What makes a good writer,
the writer uses interesting and appropriate words such as nutritious, affordable and informed choices.

Grammatical range and accuracy

This is the ability to use a range of grammatical structures in simple and complex sentences without
making a mistake. In the example in 4.3 What makes a good writer, the writer uses a range of
language, including passives (is consumed) and relative clauses (that is less nutritious).
The writing is also very accurate, helping the reader to understand the message correctly and without
effort.

Learners problems
Being able to identify and categorise problems is the first step to helping learners to improve their
writing, as well as helping them to achieve higher scores in IELTS.
Assessment criteria
Task response
Coherence and cohesion
Lexical resource
Grammatical range and accuracy

Problem
Learners find it difficult to write very much.
Learners dont explain their ideas.
Learners find it difficult to link sentences.
Learners dont order ideas logically.
Learners have very little vocabulary.
Learners have problems with spelling words.
Learners only use very simple structures.
Learners make a lot of grammatical mistakes.

Appropriacy and effect on target reader

To be an effective writer, it is very important to think about who you are writing to or for and the
purpose of writing, as this will affect your style of writing. For instance, if you were writing an email to
a friend you would probably write in an informal style, but if you were writing a business report you
would write in a formal style.
In the IELTS Academic Writing test, candidates need to write in an academic style and they may find
this difficult. Academic writing is quite formal and impersonal. The focus is on the facts or the
argument, rather than the personal feelings of the writer.
An awareness of differences in style is also important for candidates doing the General Training test.
They may have to write a formal letter in Task 1, and Task 2 requires a semi-formal or neutral style.
The style needed in any piece of writing can affect the organisation, choice of lexis and grammatical
structures.

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Teaching IELTS
Formal style
It is generally accepted that the majority of
children learn to express their ideas through
face-to-face communication with their parents
and peers. However, it seems that in the modern
world this kind of contact is diminishing and,
according to the results of numerous studies,
this can create problems later in life.

Informal style
Most people think that most kids learn to talk by
chatting to their mum and dad, mates etc. But I
read somewhere that the chance to do this is
getting less now and it turns out that this makes
things hard for them when theyre older. Isnt
that terrible? I think its awful.

Characteristics of formal and informal writing

You will notice that there are certain things to avoid in more formal, academic writing. These include:

informal words and expressions, such as kids and getting less.

contractions, such as theyre.
abbreviations, such as etc.
informal phrasal verbs, such as turns out.
vague expressions, such as somewhere and things.
overuse of personal pronouns, such as I.
questions to the reader, such as Isnt that terrible?
emotional responses, such as I think its awful.

In academic writing, avoid using:

abbreviations, e.g. a.s.a.p.

contractions, e.g. won't
questions to the reader, e.g. Can you believe that?
too many personal pronouns, e.g. I, we
informal phrasal verbs, e.g. come up with
emotional language, e.g. a wonderful result
vague language, e.g. something like that
informal words, e.g. daddy

Identifying errors
Example 1:
Look at the piece of writing below. There are seven errors, which have been numbered and
underlined. Match the teachers comments and the errors.
Everyone (1) are different and no family is perfect, but it is (2) general said
that family is central (3) at the lives of many people, no matter how old (4)
are we. In this essay, I (5) going to explain why and talk about other people
(6) whose have (7) the big influence on us.

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Teaching IELTS
(Key: 1 subject-verb agreement, 2 wrong word (adverb instead of adjective), 3 wrong preposition, 4
wrong word order, 5 missing word (auxiliary), 6 wrong relative pronoun, 7 wrong article)
Notice how the teacher has not told the learner what the right word is, but has guided the learner to
correct their writing themselves. This is a very effective way of encouraging learners to check their own
work and find their own solutions.

Example 2:
Look at part of another piece of writing. There are six errors with punctuation, which have been
numbered and underlined where possible. Match the teachers comments with the errors.
There are many advantages of living in a city. (1) these include entertainment
(2) leisure facilities and work opportunities. (3) Peoples lives are also made
easier by better work opportunities (4). Because there are more companies.
However, there can be (5) Problems with noise pollution (6) This can stop
people from sleeping.

(Key: 1 capitalization, 2 run-on sentence (comma), 3 apostrophe, 4 comma/full stop splice, 5

capitalization, 6 run-on sentence (full stop))
The main areas of punctuation to focus your learners on are capital letters, full stops, commas and
apostrophes. Encourage them to check their writing once they have finished to see if they can find any
errors in punctuation that they can correct.

Using questionnaires
Its a good idea to find out how your learners feel about writing and what they find difficult. This will
help you decide what to focus on in lessons. You can do this by giving them a questionnaire like the one
below. Once you and your learners have identified their problems, it is much easier for you to focus
your lesson planning on improving their areas of weakness
Questionnaire: Problems with writing
What do you find most difficult about writing? Put the following things in order for
you. Write 1 for the most difficult and 8 for the least difficult.

thinking what to write .........

speed of writing .........
organising ideas .........
linking sentences .........
grammar .........
vocabulary .........
spelling .........
punctuation .........

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Teaching IELTS

Example:
Read what a learner says about her problems with writing. Think about the questionnaire. How
would this learner complete it?
'I find my biggest problem is time Im quite a slow writer so I never manage to write much. Next, its
probably grammar especially getting the tenses right. Then my next biggest problem is vocabulary as I
dont know many words and then I dont get the spelling right. Linking sentences can also be a problem
sometimes and then its difficult to use the correct punctuation. I dont usually have problems thinking
about what to write, though. And I can always organise my ideas well.'
(Key: (in order) speed of writing, grammar, vocabulary, spelling, linking sentences, punctuation,
thinking what to write, organising ideas)

Approaches to marking written work

As we saw in Identifying errors, instead of just correcting learners errors when you look at their written
work, you can use a marking code to help them correct their own errors. Teachers normally use a
marking code by highlighting learners errors in some way (e.g. by circling or underlining words) and
writing a code next to the error to tell the learner what kind of error they have made.
GR
grammar
RO
run-on sentence
WO
word order
CS
comma splice
T
tense
PR
preposition
WW
wrong word
WF
word form
SP
spelling
SV
subject-verb agreement
P
punctuation
You can use any or all of these codes and you can also add your own. Explain the code to your learners
and then next time you take in some written work, use the code rather than correcting the mistakes.
Let learners correct their own writing with the help of the code that you have used. You can then ask
them to revise their writing and give you a corrected version to look at again.

Sample lesson: Increasing speed of writing

Many learners find it difficult to write enough in the time given in the test. As we saw earlier, it is very
important for learners to write the required number of words.
Aim:

to encourage learners to write more quickly.

Procedure:
1. With the class, brainstorm a topic to write about. It is a good idea to use topics that you have
recently covered in class as learners will then be familiar with the necessary vocabulary and
ideas.
2. Ask learners to work on their own and write as much as possible about the topic in two
minutes. They should try and write in sentences, but should not worry too much about
accuracy at this stage.
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Teaching IELTS
3. Put learners in pairs and ask them to go through their writing and explain the point(s) they
were trying to make. Together they should brainstorm any vocabulary that might be useful for
each other.
4. Agree a time limit and word limit with the class. Ask learners to write a final version of their
writing individually.
5. Take in the writing for correction.
6. Repeating this activity regularly should help to increase your learners writing speed. As they
practise, you will see an improvement in the quality of their writing. Start with short piece of
writing and short time. Build up to test-length writing as the learners improve and the test
date approaches.

Sample lesson: Writing in academic style

Aim:

to raise awareness of academic style for the Academic Writing test.

Procedure:
1. Give the learners a copy of this text:
People say that if you want to be healthy youve got to make sure you dont work too hard etc.
I heard that if you put in more than 12 hours a day at work youll end up more stressed. Also,
its bad for your family cos mums and dads cant see their kids.
2. Ask learners to identify which words or phrases are informal.
(Suggested answer, with informal phrases in bold:
People say that if you want to be healthy youve got to make sure you dont work too hard
etc. I heard that if you put in more than 12 hours a day at work youll end up more stressed.
Also, its bad for your family cos mums and dads cant see their kids.)
3. Give learners the following list of formal phrases or write them on the board. Ask learners to
rewrite the text using these formal phrases. The learners can either write on their own or in
pairs.
are unable to
because
children
families
furthermore

it is
It is often said
parents
people
people who work

research has shown

spend
they will become
you have a good balance between work and leisure
you should ensure

4. Review learners rewritten versions as a class.

(Formal version of text:
It is often said that if you want to be healthy you should ensure you have a good balance between work
and leisure. Research has shown that if people spend more than 12 hours a day at work they will
become more stressed. Furthermore, it is bad for families because parents are unable to see their
children.)
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Teaching IELTS

Sample lesson: Increasing motivation

Aim:

to increase motivation and to make writing more fun.

Procedure:
1. Put learners into groups of four and explain that they are going to write four group essays.
2. Give each learner a different discussion question, e.g.:
Learner A: What are the advantages and disadvantages of living in a city?
Learner B: What are the advantages and disadvantages of working from home?
Learner C: What are the advantages and disadvantages of foreign travel?
Learner D: What are the advantages and disadvantages of email as a form of
communication?
3. Give learners five minutes to start writing their essay.
4. After five minutes, ask each learner to pass their essay to another learner in their group. They
should read what has been written so far.
5. Ask learners to continue writing the essay they've just been given for another five minutes.
6. Repeat this procedure until every learner has contributed to every essay.
7. Ask learners to read out the completed essays in their groups of four and decide which essay
was the best.

In summary
Look at the examiners comments below and each criterion it relates to.

There are errors in grammar and punctuation. (Grammatical range and accuracy)
The candidate uses linking words very effectively. (Coherence and cohesion)
All the main points are covered. (Task response / achievement)
A range of vocabulary is attempted but there are spelling mistakes. (Lexical resource)
Ideas are logically organised. (Coherence and cohesion)
There is a mix of simple and complex structures. (Grammatical range and accuracy)
Some of the words and expressions used are not appropriate. (Lexical resource)
The candidate does not explain their ideas fully. (Task response / achievement)

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Teaching IELTS

Unit 5
Writing task 1 and assessment
Some reminders for task 1:

Candidates should spend around 20 minutes on Task 1.

Candidates should write at least 150 words.
There isnt a choice of task.
The Academic task is based on visual data.
The General Training task involves writing a letter.

Overview of Task 1
In Task 1, candidates are expected to write at least 150 words in about 20 minutes. Task 1 contributes
one third of the total score for the Writing test and Task 2 two thirds. Candidates are given no choice of
question.
In Task 1, candidates are assessed on the following criteria:

Task achievement
Coherence and cohesion
Lexical resource
Grammatical range and accuracy

The type of task and response required in the Academic Writing test is very different from
the General Training test, so they will be dealt with separately in this unit. If you are
preparing learners for the General Training test, move on now to 5.7 Answering Task 1 in
the General Training Writing test.

Visual data
In Task 1 of the Academic Writing test, candidates are presented with some visual data. The following
kinds of visual data are possible:

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Teaching IELTS

Describing visual information

In their responses, candidates have to describe the information presented in their own words. They
may have to describe facts and figures, the stages of a process, how something works or an object or
event. The first thing that they need to be able to do is to understand the visual information that is
presented and to identify the key points. Their ability to do this is assessed under Task achievement.
You can help your learners by encouraging them to look carefully at the question and the visual data
before they start writing. We are going to look together at a question based on a table.
First, look at the test question. Think about what the key words are.
The table below shows how much time males and females (over 16 years old) spent on non-work
activities in one European country during 2005.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and making comparisons
where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.
(Key: the key words are in bold)

Example:
Look at the table for the test question you just read. See how the information can relate to the key
words by asking the following questions.
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Teaching IELTS
Activity
Sleep and rest
Personal care
Audio-visual entertainment (e.g. TV, DVDs, cinema)
Socialising
Hobbies, games and sport
Reading
Housework and childcare
Voluntary work
1.
2.
3.
4.

Time spent per day

Males
Females
8 hrs 47 mins
9 hrs 06 mins
0 hrs 40 mins
0 hrs 48 mins
2 hrs 50 mins
2 hrs 25 mins
1 hr 22 mins
1 hr 32 mins
0 hrs 50 mins
0 hrs 30 mins
0 hrs 23 mins
0 hrs 26 mins
1 hr 56 mins
3 hrs 32 mins
0 hrs 15 mins
0 hrs 20 mins

Which activity was the most popular?

Which activity was the least popular for men?
Which activity was the least popular for women?
Which activity shows the biggest difference between men and women?

(Key: 1 sleep and rest, 2 voluntary work, 3 voluntary work, 4 housework and childcare)
You may find that your learners find it difficult at first to identify the relevant information in tables,
charts and graphs like these. By asking your learners questions like the ones above, you will help them
to get used to examining visual data and extracting the key information.
When learners analyse visual information, they should also make a few notes on the key points that
they want to make before they start writing. For example:

Audio-visual entertainment men spend 25 minutes more than women.

Housework and childcare women spend almost double the amount of time as men.
Socialising
slightly more time spent by women.
Hobbies, games and sports significantly more time spent by men.

Assessing task achievement

Introductions
In order to achieve a band 6 for Task achievement, candidates must present and adequately highlight
key features and be able to present an overview with information appropriately selected.
In Task 1, they could use the first paragraph to show their overall understanding of the data. This
overview can be based on information taken from the title, the axes and the key of the chart.
Look at three introductions and think about what you think is best and why.
Introduction a:
The table below shows how much time male and female adults spent on non-work
activities in one European country during 2005. Some of the most important
activities reported in the table are sleep and rest, audio-visual entertainment and
housework and childcare. Women did more housework and childcare and therefore
needed more rest.
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Teaching IELTS
Introduction b:
The table shows how adult men and women spent their leisure time in 2005. Eight
main activities were identified. Looking at the table, we can see that the most
popular activity for both groups was sleep and rest and the least popular activity
was voluntary work.
Introduction c:
The table shows that men spent 15 per cent more time on audio-visual
entertainment than women. Men also spent 50 minutes a week on hobbies.
Women did 1 hour and 32 minutes of socialising a week, compared with 1 hour and
22 minutes for men. For both men and women, reading was the least popular
activity.
Now read some comments on them:
Introduction b is the best. It uses the information in the question and the table to give an overview of
what information is being presented and to highlight the main points.
In Introduction a, the candidate starts by copying out sections from the question and the table. It is
important for candidates to write in their own words about what they see, to show their understanding
of the data. The candidate also explains why he thinks women spent more time on sleep and rest. In
Task 1, candidates should describe what they see but not try to give reasons or opinions.
In Introduction c, the candidate has immediately started writing about specific details, but these should
not be described until after an overview has been given. Also, some of the information is inaccurate
reading was not the least popular activity.

The second paragraph

Having given an overview in the first paragraph, in the second paragraph of the writing the candidate
should go on to describe other key points using information from the visual data to support what they
are saying. They can then use a third paragraph to summarise and conclude.
It is important for candidates to remember that they should only describe the information given in the
data. They should not invent any information.

Task 1 Dos and Donts

Don't copy out the question.

Do write in full sentences.
Don't invent / include information that is not in the question.
Do start with an overview.
Do write about the data in your own words.
Do highlight main trends before details.
Don't describe everything you see.
Don't give reasons for the information given.
Do use facts from the visual data to support your points.
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Teaching IELTS

Assessing lexical resource

Describing trends and changes
In order to obtain a good score for Lexical resource, candidates need a range of vocabulary to describe
trends and changes. Look at the highlighted phrases in the sentences below.

The percentage of people going to the theatre rose between 1990 and 2010.
The percentage of 2534 year olds reached a peak in 2005.
There was significant decrease in 2009.
The percentage of 50+ year olds remained constant between 1996 and 2002.

An effective way to present this kind of vocabulary is to use illustrations. You can use the board for
these, or make a handout. Look at the following examples:

Learners need to have a range of language for describing change so that they do not repeat words and
can demonstrate their lexical resource.

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Teaching IELTS
You should therefore give them alternative ways of describing trends. Present them with synonyms for
verbs like rose, nouns like decrease, adjectives like significant and adverbs like slightly.

Being precise
For a band score of 6, candidates need to have an 'adequate range of vocabulary' and for a band score
of 7, they need a 'sufficient range of vocabulary to allow some flexibility and precision'. One way that
candidates can be more precise when describing graphs is by using adverbs and adjectives.
Look at the following sentence. How could you change it to make it more precise?
Between 1992 and 1994 the number of 50-year olds rose.
You could add an adverb: Between 1992 and 1994 the number of 50-year olds rose dramatically.
You could add an adjective to the noun: Between 1992 and 1994 there was a dramatic rise in the
number of 50-year olds.
You could change the verb to a more interesting synonym: Between 1992 and 1994 the number of 50year olds rocketed.

Assessing grammatical range

Making comparisons
In any Task 1 that involves a graph, table or bar chart, candidates will need to compare information.
They should use a variety of structures to compare the facts given in the visual data a candidate who
uses a limited range of structures will not get higher than a band 5 for Grammatical range. The use of
some complex structures is needed for a band 6. Here are some examples of different grammatical
structures that learners could use:

There were (comparative) X than Y.

There were more male customers than female customers.

The amount of X was (multiples, e.g. double, triple, half) the amount of Y.
The amount of spending on cars was double the amount of spending on clothes.

The number of X was as (adjective) as Y.

The number of customers in 2010 was as high as in 2011.

Example:
Look at the table and the sample comparative sentences.
Activity
Watching television
Reading books
Playing computer games
Surfing the Internet

2000
20
7
7
5

2010
7
3.5
14
15

Hours of leisure time spent per week by adults aged 2030

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Teaching IELTS

In 2000, the number of hours people spent playing computer games was as low as the number
of hours people spent reading books.
The number of people surfing the Internet in 2010 was triple the number in 2000.
There were fewer hours spent watching television in 2010 than 2000.

Assessing coherence and cohesion

Describing a process
For candidates to achieve a band 6 for Coherence and cohesion, they have to 'arrange information
coherently' and 'use cohesive devices effectively'.
You looked earlier at how to organise the information in a description of a graph, bar chart or table. A
Task 1 question can also ask candidates to describe a process. The structure of and answer to a
question like this would be determined by the stages of the process.
In the answer, candidates should use linking words such as first, then, next and finally to lead the
reader through the description; this would demonstrate coherence and cohesion. It is a good idea for
learners to make a note of the stages before they start writing their answer.
Example:
Producing potato crisps
First of all, the potatoes are peeled and washed with cold water. When this has been done, they
are carried by the conveyor belt to be sliced. Then they are washed again. After being dried, they
are cooked. Finally, they are transferred into bags, ready to be sold in shops.

Passive constructions
When writing the description of a process, candidates need to use a number of passive constructions.
If they are clear about how these are formed, they will avoid making repeated errors which may affect
their mark for Grammatical accuracy. Look at the text on potato crisp production again and notice the
use of the passive.
First of all, the potatoes are peeled and washed with cold water. When this has been done, they are
carried by the conveyor belt to be sliced. Then they are washed again. After being dried, they are
cooked. Finally, they are transferred into bags, ready to be sold in shops.

Answering Task 1 in the General Training Writing test

Task achievement
In Task 1 in the General Training Writing test, candidates are given a situation or problem and have to
write a letter to ask for information or to explain something. In Unit 4, you looked at how an effective
writer takes into consideration the purpose of the text, the reader (the person they are writing to) and
the style they need to write in (e.g. formal or informal).

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Teaching IELTS
The first thing for candidates to do when looking at a Task 1 is to read the question carefully and to
check the purpose of the letter and who they are writing to. If in their response their purpose is at
times unclear, they will not get higher than a band 5 for Task achievement. It is also very important
that the candidate addresses all the main points. A candidate who inadequately covers points in the
question will not achieve more than a band 5 for Task achievement.
Look at the question below. First decide what the key words in the question are.
You and your family have recently moved to an English-speaking country. The
person who lives in the apartment above you plays a musical instrument, and the
noise causes you and your family some problems.
Write a letter to this person. In your letter,

introduce yourself and give details of the noise

describe the problems it is causing you and your family
suggest what action the person could take

Key words in bold:

You and your family have recently moved to an English-speaking country. The person who lives in the
apartment above you plays a musical instrument, and the noise causes you and your family some
problems.
Write a letter to this person. In your letter,

introduce yourself and give details of the noise

describe the problems it is causing you and your family
suggest what action the person could take

It is very important that candidates address all the main points in a question. A candidate who
'inadequately covers key features / bullet points' will not achieve more than a band 5 for Task
achievement.
Candidates notes should resemble these:

Introduce yourself and give details of the noise

o we live in flat 22
o piano played loudly at night
Describe the problems it is causing you and your family
o noise gives wife headaches
o children can't sleep at night
Suggest what action the person could take
o be more considerate of others
o play piano during the day

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Teaching IELTS

Coherence and cohesion

The way candidates organise their letter will also affect their marks for Coherence and cohesion. For an
answer to get a band 6 for Coherence and cohesion, the candidate must 'arrange information and ideas
coherently' and there must be 'a clear overall progression'.
You should encourage learners to make notes on the bullet points before starting the letter and to
think which paragraphs they will put them in.
Look at some sentences from a letter written to complain about a problem during a stay at a hotel.
Pay attention to how ideas are developed.
Paragraph 1: explain the reason for writing
I am writing to complain about the service I received during my stay at your hotel last week.
Paragraph 2: give details of the problem
The bedrooms had not been properly cleaned, the towels had not been changed and the heating was
not working.
Paragraph 3: say what I want
I would suggest you give me a 50 per cent refund of the total cost of the stay.
Paragraph 4: say what I am going to do
If you do not respond to this letter, I will have to contact the Board of Tourism.

Functions
In the letter about the noisy neighbour, the candidate had to state the problem, the consequences and
make suggestions. In the letter to the hotel, the candidate had to make a complaint and a suggestion.
There are a number of things candidates may be asked to do in the bullet points for the task and
candidates will need to know the appropriate phrases for these functions. For example, I would suggest
you give me was used to make a suggestion in the letter to the hotel.
You might find it useful to give learners tables or lists of phrases for different functions, such as the
following:
Function

Phrase

making a complaint

I was not happy about

making a request

I would be grateful if you could

making an apology

I am sorry that

making a suggestion

I would suggest

making a recommendation

It would be a good idea to

giving an explanation

The reason for this is

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Teaching IELTS
reminding someone

Dont forget to

inviting someone

Would you like to ?

Formality
It is also important to consider the level of formality. If we look again at the phrases above, you will
notice that Dont forget to is informal whereas I would be grateful if you could is quite formal.
It is important for learners to know whether a phrase is formal or informal so that they can use it
appropriately. You should always point this out when presenting new vocabulary.

Sample lesson: Academic Writing Test Task 1: A product

approach
Aim:

to raise learners awareness of a particular type of writing and enable them to produce a text
in this style.

Preparation:

Print one copy of the question and model answer for each pair of learners.
Cut up the model answer into paragraphs and mix the order.

Procedure:
1. Give each learner a copy of the question below.
2. Put the learners in pairs or small groups and ask them to brainstorm the key points and the
how they would organise their answer.
3. Give each pair or group of learners a copy of the model answer cut up into paragraphs. Ask
learners to put the answer into the correct order.
4. Ask the learners to read the completed answer and see if the key points they identified are
included.
5. Tell the learners to underline the phrases used to make comparisons and to talk about trends.
Ask each pair or group to brainstorm any similar phrases they can think of.
6. Give the learners another task with the same type of visual data (e.g. a bar chart). Ask them to
write a text using the example as a model.
Key:
Phrases to make comparisons:

This was an hour more than

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In contrast, women, spent almost double the amount of time as men on

There was no significant difference in the amount of time both men and women
women slept slightly longer than men

Phrases to talk about trends:

the most popular activity for both groups was

the least popular activity was
Generally, there was little difference between men and women in 2005, apart from

As a follow up, you can ask learners to find some visual data on the internet and to write a description
of it. They could place the graphs around the classroom and hand out copies of their writing to each
other and then move around the classroom trying to match the descriptions to the different visual
data.

Sample lesson: General Training Writing Test Task 1: A

product approach to writing
Aim:

to raise learners awareness of a particular type of writing and enable them to produce a text
in this style.

Preparation:

Print one copy of the question and model answer for each learner.

Procedure:
1. Give your learners a copy of the test question below.
2. Put the learners in pairs or small groups and ask them to brainstorm whether the letter should
be formal or semi-formal, the key points and the how they would organise their answer.
3. Give each pair or group of learners a copy of the model answer below cut up into paragraphs.
Ask them to put the answer into the correct order.
4. Ask the learners to read the completed answer and see if it was organised in the same way as
they discussed in stage 1.
5. Tell the learners to underline any linking words. Ask them to brainstorm in groups other linking
words with similar meanings.
6. Give them another task with the same type of letter and ask them to write a text using the
example as a model.
(Key: Linking words: because, unfortunately, as a consequence, in addition, however)

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As a follow up, to give learners more practice writing letters of complaint, ask them to think of real
situations and events from their lives and tell them to write letters of complaint in the same format as
the letter above.

Reviewing the IELTS bands and assessment criteria for the

Writing Test Task 1
An awareness of how writing is assessed for IELTS and what is expected at each band will help you to
give learners feedback on their written work. Before you start this final task, make sure you have the
IELTS Task 1 writing assessment criteria to refer to. You can find a copy on the Cambridge English
Language Assessment Teacher Support website. Look at the Task 1 (Academic) question that we have
seen in this unit:
The table below shows how much time males and females (over 16 years old) spent on non-work
activities in one European country during 2005.
Average time spent on non-work activities by gender, 2005
Activity

Time spent per day

Males
Females
Sleep and rest
8 hrs 47 mins
9 hrs 06 mins
Personal care
0 hrs 40 mins
0 hrs 48 mins
Audio-visual entertainment (e.g. TV, DVDs, cinema)
2 hrs 50 mins
2 hrs 25 mins
Socialising
1 hr 22 mins
1 hr 32 mins
Hobbies, games and sport
0 hrs 50 mins
0 hrs 30 mins
Reading
0 hrs 23 mins
0 hrs 26 mins
Housework and childcare
1 hr 56 mins
3 hrs 32 mins
Voluntary work
0 hrs 15 mins
0 hrs 20 mins
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and making comparisons
where relevant.
Read the answer below. Try to keep in mind the four assessment criteria:

Task achievement
Coherence and cohesion
Lexical resource
Grammatical range and accuracy

Answer
The table shows how much time men and women spent on leisure activities. Men spent more
time on hobbies, games, sport and audio-visual entertainment. Whereas women spent more
time on all the other categories. They both spent almost the same amount on time on
reading, sleeping and audio-visual entertainment. Yet there is a big difference in the
category of housework and childcare. Men spent about one and a half hour on this.
Whereas women spent more than twice as much time on this chore.

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Women spent one fourth more time on voluntary work compared to men. However. Men
spent 25 minutes more time on audio-visual entertainment as women do.
Women and men spent both most time on sleep and rest. In addition, they spent the least
amount of time on voluntary work, reading, personal care and hobbies.
It was surprising that women spent much more time on housework and childcare. That
leaves the question open if there is a lack of emancipation in that category.

Comments
This response presents the key information, but the introduction does not present the topic or the
context accurately. An appropriate summary is given, but more figures could be used to give a clearer
picture of the information. Nevertheless, the main comparisons are highlighted.
The information is grouped and organised in a relevant way. There is some good use of linking words to
connect the information, but there are also errors in the use of some contrasting linking words.
A lot of vocabulary comes from the table and the task. Nevertheless, enough additional vocabulary is
used accurately to address the task in an appropriate way.
The range of sentence types is rather restricted. There are not many examples of accurate complex
sentences, although some are successful. There are more simple sentences that are accurate and there
are some good examples of complex structures, such as comparative forms, within these.
This piece of writing was awarded a Band 6. Look at the descriptions for Band 6 in the IELTS Task 1
writing assessment criteria.

Look at the Task 1 (General Training) question that we have seen in this unit:
You and your family have recently moved to an English-speaking country. The
person who lives in the apartment above you plays a musical instrument, and the
noise causes you and your family some problems.
Write a letter to this person. In your letter:

introduce yourself and give details of the noise

describe the problems it is causing you and your family
suggest what action the person could take

Read the answer below. Try to keep in mind the four assessment criteria:

Task achievement
Coherence and cohesion
Lexical resource
Grammatical range and accuracy

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Teaching IELTS
Answer
Dear Mr Smith,
I am staying in the apartment 1A just below your apartment. I am writing in regard to the
problems we are facing from the noise caused by your musical instrument.
My 6 months old younger son is disturbed by this loud noise and could not sleep well.
Moreover, he has become very much annoyed. Furthermore, my daughter could not
concentrate on her studies.
Also my Father in law is a cardiac patient. He had recently underwent a bypass surgery and
had been advised complete bed rest. Because of this noise he gets irritated and annoyed
which is not goode for his health. In other words, this noise from your instrument is
creating disturbance in hour daily chores.
Finally, I would request you to play the instrument at a low volume and would realise the
problems its creating among my family members.
Your faithfully,
Sara Rossi

Comments
The purpose of the letter is very clear and the writer covers the main points in the task. However,
he/she spends a lot of time on the problems and could have expanded bullets 1 and 3 more. The tone
is generally appropriate to this letter of complaint, but rather unfriendly when addressed to a
neighbour.
The information is clearly organised across the letter. However, too many connectors are used in the
middle section, and this is unhelpful for the reader. Nevertheless, there are also some examples of
good use of referencing and linking in the response.
A range of vocabulary is used effectively with some good examples of quite specialised words and
some precise expressions. Some words are not well-chosen, and there are some spelling mistakes, but
these problems are only occasional and do not affect the readers understanding of the letter.
A mix of sentence types is used and there are examples of accurate complex sentences. There are also
a lot of short, simple sentences, so the range is not wide. The choice of tense is quite often faulty and
this makes the letter unclear at times.
This piece of writing was awarded a Band 6.5. Look at the descriptions for Bands 6 and 7 in the IELTS
Task 1 writing assessment criteria.

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Unit 6
Task 2 and the stages in writing
Overview
We are going to start by having a close look at Task 2 of the Writing test.
Candidates need to write a minimum of 250 words. Task 2 contributes twice as much as Task 1 to the
writing score. Therefore, it is a good idea to recommend to your learners that they spend twice as long
on Task 2 so, 20 minutes for Task 1 and 40 minutes for Task 2.
For Task 2 in both the Academic and General Training Writing tests, candidates are presented with a
point of view, argument or problem and have to write an essay giving their opinion on the question.
In the Academic Writing test, the issues raised are of general interest to, suitable for and easily
understood by candidates entering undergraduate or postgraduate studies or seeking professional
registration.
In the General Training Writing test, the topics are also of general interest and are often related to
social or cultural issues.

Types of essay
Both the Academic and General Training Writing tests often ask candidates to discuss the advantages
and disadvantages of something or discuss two points of view. For this type of question, candidates
should discuss both sides of the argument and give their opinion at the end of the essay. An example of
such a question is as follows:
Some people think that that the amount of time we spend using the Internet has a
negative effect on social interaction, but other people feel that it opens up more
possibilities for communication. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of
using the Internet.
However, sometimes the question asks candidates if they agree with something. In this case, they can
choose to discuss both sides of the argument, or just say what they think at the beginning and give
reasons for their opinion. An example of this kind of question is as follows:
Some people think that the Internet has a negative effect on social interaction. Do
you agree?
Candidates can also be asked to present a solution to a problem. An example of this type of question is
as follows:
In many countries, people are eating more unhealthy food and taking less
exercise. What do you think the causes of this are? What can be done about it?
So, in Task 2 candidates may need to:
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compare, contrast and evaluate ideas.

present and justify an opinion.
present the solution to a problem.

Structure
It is important for learners to recognise the type of question because this will affect the structure of the
essay and the organisation of their points into paragraphs. Here are three suggested structures for the
three essays that you just looked at.
Question: Some people see conflict between teenagers and parents as a natural part of growing up
while others think it is negative and should be avoided. Discuss both points of view and give your
opinion.
Type: giving both sides of an argument
Suggested structure:

Introduction
Advantages and disadvantages
Conclusion + statement of opinion

Question: Some people think that governments need to do more to protect the environment. Do you
agree?
Type: giving an opinion and justifying it
Suggested structure:

Introduction + statement of opinion

Justification for opinion
Conclusion

Question: Traffic is becoming a problem in many major cities. What can be done about this?
Type: giving a solution to a problem
Suggested structure:

Introduction description of problem

Possible solutions
Conclusion

Thinking about writing stages

The stages that we will look at are:

Stage 1: Preparing to write

Stage 2: Writing the introduction
Stage 3: Writing the main body of the essay
Stage 4: Writing the final paragraph

The assessment criteria that we looked at in Unit 4 were:

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Task response / Task achievement

Coherence and cohesion
Lexical resource
Grammatical range and accuracy

Preparing to write
As we saw above, learners need to recognise the type of question being asked, and they also need to
think about the content and make sure they cover all the points. This will help them to ensure they give
a full, detailed and appropriate answer. This is assessed as part of the Task response criterion.
Look at the question below. Think about what the key words are.
Some people believe that humans should be able to use animals for their own
benefit, while others argue that the rights of animals should be protected.
Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.
Give reasons for your opinions and include any relevant examples from your own
knowledge or experience.
Write at least 250 words.
Key words in bold:
Some people believe that humans should be able to use animals for their own benefit, while others
argue that the rights of animals should be protected.
Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.
Give reasons for your opinions and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or
experience.
Write at least 250 words.
The preparation stage is important because it ensures that candidates answer every part of the
question. For example, in this question they have to give arguments in favour of using animals
and arguments against, give reasons and include relevant examples.
A candidate who addresses the task only partially cannot get more than a band 5 for Task response.

Thinking of and organising ideas

Before starting to write their essays, it is a good idea for candidates to write down some ideas. A
candidate who does not present many ideas may not get more than a band 5 for Task response.
At this stage, candidates should also start organising their ideas as this will make the writing stage
easier and help give overall coherence to their essay. One way of helping learners to do this is by
encouraging them to use headings and to note down ideas under each one before they start writing
the essay.
Look at a candidate's ideas for the essay about animal rights.
Needs of humans
animals are a source of food
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pets keep older people healthy

animals help people work the land
Rights of animals

animals are intelligent beings and should be respected

animals should live in the wild, not in a laboratory

By making notes like this, candidates will have their ideas ready when they come to write their essay.
They can ensure that they have a range of points and that they organise them logically, perhaps by
dealing with the advantages in paragraph 2 and the disadvantages in paragraph 3.
This will help with the overall coherence of the essay.

What makes a good introduction?

The first paragraph of an essay is very important as it introduces the topic and shows the reader how
the essay will develop. It is important for candidates to show that they understand the question by
restating it in their own words and then making clear how they are going to structure their answer in
the essay.
Look again at the question and then read three possible first paragraphs. Think about the order you
would place them in, from the strongest to the weakest.
Some people believe that humans should be able to use animals for their own
benefit, while others argue that the rights of animals should be protected.
Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.
Give reasons for your answer, and include any relevant examples from your own
knowledge or experience.
a Many people believe that humans should be able to use animals for their own benefit, while others
argue that the rights of animals should be protected. I will now discuss the arguments that are made by
both sides.
b People have used animals throughout their history. Some uses are harmless, while others are more
controversial. Arguments have been raised about the needs of humans against the rights of animals. I
will discuss both sides of the argument.
c Animals have been very important in the development of human beings. They have influenced
every area of our lives. I will look at some of the benefits that they have brought us.
The best paragraph is b, followed by a and finally c.
Why is b a good paragraph? What is the problem with paragraphs a and c?
Paragraph a

You have copied the question directly. Try to use

your own words to show you understand it.

Paragraph b

This is an interesting introduction and you show

good understanding of the title.

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Paragraph c

You have written about the influence of animals

on human development rather than the debate
about the human use of animals. Make sure you
read the question carefully.

In the introduction it is important for candidates to show that they understand the question by
restating it in their own words and then making clear how they are going to structure their answer in
the essay.

Writing the main body

When candidates move on to start discussing their ideas in paragraphs 2 and 3, they need to make sure
they expand their points so their answer is as full as possible.
They can do this by stating a main idea and following it with one or more supporting points. This gives
more weight to the argument and can be a way for candidates to justify their opinion. A candidate who
covers all the main points but does not address them all fully is unlikely to get more than a band 6 for
Task response.
Look at some arguments from a response to the question about the use of animals.

Many people rely on animals in their day-to-day lives. For example, dogs are extremely
important for blind people.
Animals can help save lives. They can be used to help find survivors in disaster situations.
People disagree with testing chemicals on animals in laboratories. They believe animals should
be able to live a free life.

Cohesion
As we saw earlier, organising ideas into paragraphs helps the overall coherence of the essay. We also
need to think about cohesion how these ideas are linked together within paragraphs. One way to link
these ideas together is by using pronouns.
Look at this extract from the second paragraph of the response to the question about the use of
animals.
Animals have been used to save lives throughout our history. They can be used to
help individuals in daily life. One example of this is guide dogs or seeing eye dogs for
the blind. I knew a woman who had a guide dog. She loved it and lived a full life.

Linking words
As you saw in Unit 5, candidates can also help the reader to follow their ideas and arguments by using
linkers, e.g. words and phrases like although, because and on the other hand. These also help to give
the essay cohesion, as they act like signposts to lead the reader through the essay.
Read this extract from the third paragraph of the essay. The linking words are in bold.
However, many people believe that the use of animals in science is cruel because they believe that
animals should be able to live freely. Furthermore, there have been many protests about the use of
animals in laboratories. As a consequence, many organisations, such as cosmetics companies, no
longer test on animals.
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Recording linking words

When introducing linking words to your learners, it is important to clearly identify the function of each
one, as we did in the previous task.
Once you have identified different functions, you can encourage your learners to record linking words
in a table such as the one below. This will help them to learn alternative linking words and enable them
to use a wider variety of lexical resource.
Function
describing results
adding information
giving examples
contrasting
giving reasons
listing

Linking words
as a consequence, as a result, therefore
Furthermore, in addition, moreover
such as, for example
however, on the other hand
Because, as
first, finally

Subordinate clauses
We looked earlier at the importance of giving full answers. As well as helping candidates to get a higher
mark for task response, this can also give them the chance to show grammatical range and accuracy.
One effective way to add additional information to an essay is to use subordinate clauses. Look at this
example:
The forests where the animals used to live have been destroyed.
Here the subordinate clause is a relative clause, which has been used to add information about the
local inhabitants.
Lets see how we can add information to the third paragraph that you have just looked at.
Look at these sentences from an essay in response to the question about the use of animals. Pay
attention how subordinate clauses are used.

Many animals are no longer used in industry, having been replaced by machines.
There are many people who eat meat, although the number of vegetarians is increasing.
Many people treat their pets badly, which is why many countries have dog licenses.
Rare animals can live in special parks, where they can be protected from humans.

Using pronouns and synonyms

When looking at cohesion, we saw how pronouns like it and there help make a text cohesive. They also
help avoid repetition. Look at the two sentences below. The second sentence where the phrase that
century is replaced with the pronoun then is much better.

Machinery became increasingly popular in the 18th century and the use of animals has
reduced greatly since that century.
Machinery became increasingly popular in the 18th century and the use of animals has
reduced greatly since then.
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Another way of avoiding repetition is to use synonyms. Look at another possible version of the
sentence:

Machinery became increasingly popular in the 18th century and the use of animals has
reduced greatly since that time.

You can help learners by encouraging them to build up lists of synonyms. These can be topic related,
but it is also useful for learners to build up lists of expressions that could be used in any discussion
essay.
There are many phrases which learners can use to discuss ideas in their essays. Encourage learners to
build up a record of these in their vocabulary books, to learn them and to try and use a variety of them
in their written work.
A knowledge of synonyms also means learners have a wider vocabulary. A candidate who uses a
'limited range of vocabulary' which is 'minimally adequate for the task' will not get more than a band 5
for Lexical resource, and learning synonyms is another way learners can improve their performance in
this assessment criterion.

Functions
Earlier, we looked at encouraging learners to record linking words by function. The same activity can be
done for other words. For example, here is a list of functions that may be found in essays, and phrases
that can be used for the functions.
Functions
presenting a solution
comparing ideas
challenging opinions
providing factual information
supporting your argument

Phrases
I think the answer is to
On the one hand, On the other hand,
Some people say However,
Research tells us that
I think this is the best solution because

The final paragraph

The final paragraph in Task 2 should usually be quite short. The most important thing to teach learners
is that a good final paragraph completes an essay, and makes sure the reader clearly understands the
main points that they are trying to put across.
Lets look at the questions from earlier in this section and identify what information the final paragraph
should contain.
Question: Some people see conflict between teenagers and parents as a natural part of growing up
while others think it is negative and should be avoided. Discuss both points of view and give your
opinion.
Suggested structure:

Introduction
Advantages and disadvantages
Summarise both sides of the argument. Give an opinion.

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Teaching IELTS
Question: Traffic is becoming a problem in many major cities. What can be done about this?
Suggested structure:

Introduction description of problem

Possible solutions
Summarise the main problems and give a solution.

Question: Some people think that governments need to do more to protect the environment. Do you
agree?
Suggested structure:

Introduction + statement of opinion

Justification for opinion
(Re)state opinion and brief summary of reasons.

Process approach to writing

When you are helping to prepare learners for Task 2, you can use a similar approach as you followed
before. Thinking about writing stages that is, analysing what is required by the question and then
brainstorming and organising ideas before asking learners to start writing the essay.
This can be combined with a process approach to writing. This is an approach where the focus is more
on the process than on the final result. It can involve a lot of sharing of ideas, group writing and peer
feedback. This can give learners confidence and make writing lessons more fun.

Sample lesson: Task 2 writing question: a product approach

Aim:

to help learners analyse essay questions to generate and organise their ideas.

Preparation:
1. Print a copy of the following essay title for each learner:
Some people believe that humans should be able to use animals for their own
benefit, while others argue that the rights of animals should be protected.
Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.
Give reasons for your opinions and include any relevant examples from your own
knowledge or experience.
Write at least 250 words.
2. Prepare six to eight slips of blank paper for each learner.
Procedure:
1. Ask learners to highlight the key words in the essay title.
2. Ask the class whether the essay question asks them to compare and contrast ideas, give and
justify an opinion or give the solution to a problem. (Key: to compare and contrast ideas).
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3

Give each learner their slips of paper and ask them to write down any ideas they have about
the topic (one idea on each piece of paper).

Ask learners to compare the ideas they have written down in pairs and then to try to organise
the ideas on the pieces of paper into paragraphs.

Once they have organised their ideas, ask them to start writing their essay (either in pairs or
alone).

After 15 minutes, tell learners to give their writing to another person (or pair) to read. They
can make suggestions for improvements or add ideas.

Ask them to take their own writing back again, make any changes they want to and finish it.
They could do this for homework.

Take the writing in for marking.

Sample ideas: Developing cohesion

You can also help learners by looking at example texts and extracts. You can do a number of the tasks
similar to those you saw earlier in this unit. For instance, you can:

give learners a paragraph from the body of an essay, with the sentences jumbled up, and ask
them to put the sentences in order.
give learners a model essay with sentences taken out of each paragraph, which learners then
have to put back in.
use any texts to focus on linking using pronouns, linking words and subordinate clauses.
take a text and remove the subordinate clauses, and then ask learners to put them back in.
ask learners to add more detail to example sentences or simple texts by writing subordinate
clauses to add to existing sentences.

Summary
Finally, were going to look at a learners answer to the Task 2 question we have been examining in this
unit. Here is the question again:
Some people believe that humans should be able to use animals for their own
benefit, while others argue that the rights of animals should be protected.
Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.
Give reasons for your answer, and include any relevant examples from your own
knowledge or experience.
Write at least 250 words.
Read the answer below. Try to keep in mind the four assessment criteria:

Task response
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Coherence and cohesion

Lexical resource
Grammatical range and accuracy

Answer
In these days the use of animals for making the human life more comfortable and luxuras is
becoming more and more popular.
Animals have ever been used by humans. But most of the time they were used for
agricultural reasons or similar reasons. They helped the people to handle their lives and
helped them with heavy work. Horses, for example, were mostly used for travelling
hundreds of years ago. Also, some animals like pigs were held and fed to eat them later on.
However in nearly every case there was absolutely no need to treet the animal cruely or to
do it any harm. But time has changed dramatically. In the 20th and 21st century have
always been catching just for being killed. In nearly every shoe shop you can buy shoes that
are made of leather and often animals like crocodiles etc are breed with the only reason to
kill them after a few years to sell their leather. Some animals are already in the danger of
dying-out as a result of some selfish and senseless activities. Environment conscious
people and scientologist are already warning us that the dying-out of some species could
have dangerous effects on the environment and on the earth itself.
In my opinion using animals for the own benefit is a crime. An exception to this rule is the
use of animals in the agriculture. There, animals are treaten fairly most of the time and do
not have to do too heavy work. But in other cases, such as growing animals just for killing
them after some time it is just a cruel deal. Animals should have the same rights as human
beings in every case! They live on this earth as we humans do and there is no reason why
they should not be treated the same.

Comments
The response presents some relevant ideas and gives a clear opinion on the topic in the conclusion.
However, some ideas are not well developed or are not closely connected to the two opinions given in
the task. Focusing the ideas on these opinions would make the argument clearer.
The response is well organised with clearly introduced stages and some good use of linking words. One
of the paragraphs is rather long, but the central topic is still clear.
A range of vocabulary, including some good expressions and precise words, is used with good control.
Some words are not well chosen and there are also some spelling errors, but there are few problems
like this and they do not affect understanding.
The writer uses a mix of sentence types, but not always successfully and the range is not wide. There
are grammar mistakes and some sentences have missing words. These errors are noticeable, but they
do not usually cause problems for the reader.

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This piece of writing was awarded a Band 6.5. Look at the descriptions for Bands 6 and 7 in the IELTS
Task 2 writing assessment criteria.

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Unit 7
Listening skills and Listening Sections 1 and 2
First of all, what do you know about the IELTS Listening test?
1
2
3
4
5
6

The listening test has four sections.

There are 40 questions.
Candidates hear each section once.
The speakers have different accents.
Candidates do have time to transfer their answers after the recording has finished.
Spelling is important.

There are four sections to the Listening test. Each section contains a different type of text.

Section 1: a conversation in an everyday social context between two people.

Section 2: a monologue on a topic relating to general social needs.
Section 3: a conversation in an academic context between two or more people.
Section 4: a lecture or talk on a topic of general academic interest.

Learner problems
Learners have many different types of problems with listening.
Problem
Im OK if I know what people are talking about,
but its difficult if I know nothing about the topic.
I cant understand if there are any noises for
example in the street.
I can never tell what the person is feeling when
they are talking in English if they are happy or
angry.
Its OK when my teacher speaks to me because
she always speaks slowly and clearly, but when
Im watching a film they all speak so fast!
What I find the most difficult is talking on the
phone I like to be able to see the other
persons face and their gestures.
Im used to the way my teacher speaks, and it
was quite hard to get used to all the different
accents I heard when I was travelling around last
year.
I think the hardest thing about listening is that
when people are talking they often dont talk in

Cause
unfamiliar topics
background noise
difficulty identifying a speakers attitude

speed of delivery

lack of visual clues

difficulty understanding different accents

difficulty following spoken English

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whole sentences they keep starting and
stopping.
My teacher keeps saying listen for the important
words but I dont know what they are!

difficulty identifying key words

As we have seen, learners encounter a range of problems when it comes to listening. In order to help
them, we need to consider what skills are needed to be a successful listener. We will look at some of
these and then refer back to them as we look at the different parts of the IELTS Listening test.

Thinking about listening skills

Predicting
Predicting involves using the context and your knowledge of the topic to guess what people are
speaking about. For instance, if you were watching TV and you saw an advertisement for a car, you
could guess that the purpose of the advert would be to sell the car and that there was likely to be
vocabulary related to cars.
Predicting is an important listening skill because we can make more sense of what we hear if we use
what we know already about the topic.

Identifying key words

When listening to a recording, it is sometimes difficult for learners to understand every word. A very
important skill is the ability to identify the key words that is, the most important words which carry
the message.
Related to this skill is the ability to recognise the way speakers use sentence stress and intonation in
other words, making words louder and higher to highlight important words.

Listening for specific information

Our reason for listening will affect the way we listen. Often we need to listen for specific information.
For instance, if you are listening to a weather forecast for your area, you would be listening out for the
name of your area.
Identifying key words and listening for specific information depend on the ability to deal with
distraction being able to ignore information or words that are not important. In the example of the
weather forecast, you would ignore the names of areas you were not interested in.
The ability to recognise synonyms and paraphrasing is also important. In the example of the weather
forecast, you might be listening for the word 'rain', but the speaker might actually say, Wet weather is
expected.

Listening intensively
Intensive listening means listening very carefully when all the content is important. For instance, if you
were buying a new mobile phone and the shop assistant was explaining how it worked, you would
need to listen to the instructions very carefully.

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Identifying attitudes of speakers

This means understanding what the speaker is thinking or feeling, even when they do not express their
thoughts directly. For instance, if someone said to you, Do you really think so?, they might be
expressing doubt about what you have said, or they may be disagreeing politely. Recognising the use of
intonation is very important for this.
Understanding attitude and opinion is an important listening skill because people will often not state
directly what they are thinking or feeling.
We listen in a wide variety of situations. Different situations require different skills.
Situation
You are trying to work out what your friend
really thinks about your new jacket.
You are at the train station listening to
announcements because you want to find out
which platform your train leaves from.
You have come into a lecture and are thinking
about what you have read about the subject in
preparation.
You are listening to your teacher giving you
directions to the library.
You are listening to someone who is speaking
very fast and trying to pick out the important
words.

Skill
identifying attitudes of speakers
listening for specific information

predicting

listening intensively
identifying key words

Exploring task types in the Listening test

As we saw in the previous point, the particular listening skills that we need in a situation will depend to
a large extent on our purpose for listening. In the IELTS Listening test, the purpose for listening is
provided by the questions and these will affect the way learners need to listen.
There are several different task types used in the Listening test. As with the Reading test, the task types
could be used in any section of the Listening test. Very often, each section in the Listening test will have
more than one task type.
Task
plan/map/diagram labelling

multiple choice

matching

short-answer questions

What candidates have to do

Candidates complete the labels on a plan, map or
diagram by using between one and three words,
or numbers from the recording.
Candidates choose the correct answer to a
question on the recording from three answers or
from a list of possible answers.
This task might involve, for example, matching a
list of people to what they said or matching places
to the facilities they have.
Candidates answer questions with between one
and three words from the listening.
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sentence/table/form/flowchart/summary/note
completion

Candidates complete a sentence, form, table,

flowchart, summary or notes by using one to three
words and/or numbers from the recording.

Over the next two units, we will look at how these task types are used, the strategies you can teach
learners to help them deal with them and the listening skills required.

Top-down and bottom-up processing

The listening skills you looked at earlier in the unit can be divided into two main categories according to
the way we process information: those that involve top-down processing and those that involve
bottom-up processing. Candidates need to use both to be successful listeners and you need to ensure
you give learners practice in both. Lets look at what these terms mean.

What is top-down processing?

When we listen to someone talking, we use visual clues, the context and our knowledge of the world to
make sense of what we are hearing. We continually make predictions based on this. For instance, if we
are in a shop and the shop assistant asks us something, we use the context (the fact that we are in a
shop and it is a shop assistant speaking to us) and our knowledge and experience of the world (that is,
we know the type of things that shop assistants say to customers) to predict what the shop assistant is
saying. We would expect to hear something like Can I help you? This is what we refer to as top-down
processing. So predicting is a top-down processing skill.

What is bottom-up processing?

We then use what we actually hear to confirm our predictions or alter them. When we listen to the
actual words that are being said, we are using bottom-up processing. So listening intensively is a
bottom-up processing skill.
A successful listener will use both top-down and bottom-up processing and a range of listening skills.
Lets see how we can help to develop these skills in relation to an IELTS listening question.

Using predicting skills

In Section 1 of the Listening test, candidates hear a conversation between two people in an everyday
situation. In real life, a listener would have visual clues and a clear context to help them to understand
what is being said. In the listening test, candidates are given a brief overview and have a short time to
read the questions before listening.
It is very important that candidates use this time to look at the questions and to try to think about who
the speakers are and what they are talking about that is, to use their predicting skills (top-down
processing).

Predicting questions
Section 1 is always a conversation between two speakers and often involves the speakers asking and
answering questions. It is a good idea for candidates to try to predict which questions they might hear
in the listening that will be related to the information they have to complete in the task. As soon as
they hear the question, they can listen intensively for the answer.

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For the answer to gap 1, a candidate might be able to predict that they will hear the question 'Whats
your surname?'. Once they hear this, they can listen intensively for the answer.
However, it is important that candidates think of different possibilities. For instance, the question could
also be 'Could you tell me your family name?'.
Look at the following extract of an IELTS Listening Section 1 question and try to make predictions
about the conversation. Choose the correct answers below.

Harper Holiday Job Agency

Application for Temporary Work
Personal Details
First Name: Lily
Surname: (1)
Date of birth: (2)

Temporary Work Requirements

Period when work wanted: From June to (3)
Where work wanted: (4) or (5)

1. The two speakers

a. are friends.
b. are colleagues.
c. probably dont know each other.
2. Lily
a. is employed by the agency.
b. wants a temporary job.
c. can start work in December.
(Key: 1 c, 2 b)
You were able to answer these questions by looking at the information in the question and using your
world knowledge of this type of situation (top-down processing). The order of the information on the
form can also give you an indication of the structure of the conversation as the listening follows the
same order as the information on the form.
Encourage learners to make predictions like this as this will help them to develop their predicting skills,
making it easier for them to understand the recording.
Think about questions for the other gaps in the task. What kind of language would a candidate
expect?
2. Whats your date of birth? Can you tell me your date of birth? When were you born?
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3. When do you want to work? When would you like to work?
4. (and 5) Where would you like to work? Do you have any preferences about where to work?
o Track 1. Now you can listen and complete the previous task.
Script and key
Male: Good afternoon, Harper Holiday Job Agency. How may I help you?
Lily: Hi, Id like to find a job for this summer if possible.
Male: Certainly. Let me take some details and Ill fill in a form on my computer. So, your first name,
please.
Lily: Its Lily.
Male: Thank you, Lily. And could you give me your surname now, please?
Lily: Its (1) Claremont. Thats spelled C-L-A-R-E-M-O-N-T.
Male: Is that T for tango?
Lily: Yes.
Male: OK, Ive got that. Now Im afraid I need to ask for your date of birth, please.
Lily: No problem. (2) Its 23489.
Male: Oh, right. Thats my birthday too! Though Im a few years older than you. I was born in 85.
Lily: Wow! Its a good day for a birthday, isnt it! The same day as Shakespeares! So, what else do
you need to know?
Male: Well, we need to move on to talk about the summer job youre after. I need to get some
details from you about the kind of work youd like. Firstly, lets think about dates. June to
September, is it? Thats what most people want.
Lily: I dont want to go on till September. Id prefer to finish in (3) August. Id like a break before
term starts again.
Male: Fair enough. OK. And do you have strong feelings about where you work? London? A smaller
town?
Lily: Actually, Ive always wanted to work in (4) Scotland.
Male: Right. Ill see what we can do. And would you also consider doing work (5) abroad?
Lily: That would be fantastic. I didnt know you dealt with that sort of opportunity too. Id like to go
for that.
Male: Yes, we do. We have contacts in all sorts of different places.
Lily: Great.

Distractors
There will often be distractors in the text that is, extra information that sounds as if it could be right,
which candidates need to listen to carefully to rule out as an answer. In the example of the task you
just did, candidates would need to be careful not to write down September in gap 3. They need to wait
to hear what Lily actually says the correct answer is August.

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Letters and numbers

In Section 1, candidates are often asked to listen to and write down numbers, dates and to spell out
words, usually names. This involves very intensive listening so it will help learners if they can predict
which questions will require them to do this.
It is a good idea to give learners plenty of practice by dictating letters and numbers and to identify
where they have problems (e.g. differentiating between i and e, or 14 and 40).

Task types
In each section of the Listening test there is often more than one task type. There will be a short pause
after the first set of questions for the candidates to look at the next set.
It is a good idea for candidates to use the short pause to underline the important words in the
questions so that they can identify the key words when they hear them and start to listen intensively to
that part of the listening.
Look at the following questions. Which do you think are the key words?
1. What type of film does John prefer?
2. What sport does he play?
(Key: 1 film / prefer, 2 sport / play)
Look at the audio script for the questions above. The answers to the questions have been
underlined. Which words are acting as distractors?
Teacher: What do you like doing in your free time?
John: I like reading and going to the cinema.
Teacher: What kind of films do you prefer?
John: Well, if I had a choice I would go to see horror movies but my friends prefer action films.
Teacher: And do you play any sports?
John: Well, I used to play basketball but I gave up a couple of years ago. Now I play badminton at
the weekend with my friends.

(Key: 1 action films, 2 basketball)

Speed of delivery recognising the use of stress

One problem that learners often have with listening is the speed of delivery and being able to
recognise the important words. One way to help learners with this is to concentrate on the use of
stress.
English speakers highlight the important words by making them slightly louder, slower and higher in
pitch than the other words in the sentence. The words that are stressed in this way are usually content
words e.g. nouns and verbs as they are the words which carry the message. The other words in the
sentence function words like articles, prepositions and auxiliaries are difficult to hear because they
are said more quickly. Often, however, these words are not so important.
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Point out stressed words in listening when reviewing answers. You can give learners copies of the audio
scripts to listening activities they have done and ask them to underline the stressed words.

Predicting in a Section 2 task

In Section 2 of the Listening test, candidates hear a monologue in an everyday social context. This
could be, for instance, a guided tour or a talk about a museum or place of interest.

Map/plan/diagram labelling
Section 2 sometimes features a map or diagram that candidates have to label. The map or diagram
gives the candidates important visual clues to what the listening is about. As we saw earlier, making
predictions is an important listening skill, which can help candidates to answer correctly.
Candidates are given some time to look at the map, plan or diagram before the listening starts. Make
sure your learners use this time to look carefully at the information it contains.
Look at the map below. In this question candidates would have to label the five numbered places
marked on the map, based on what they hear.
Can you predict any of the vocabulary you might here in the listening task from looking at the map?

You could expect the listening to contain some specific vocabulary about cars and exhibitions, such as
petrol or exhibition. You could also expect to hear some vocabulary such as on the left, opposite and so
on.

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Matching question
In map labelling tasks there is often a list of labels to choose from to answer the question, so
candidates have to listen for specific information. It is important to encourage learners to look carefully
at the list so they will be able to identify the words if they come up in the listening.
Look at the list of labels for the question about the motor show exhibition hall:
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.

biofuels exhibit
in-car entertainment
sandwich bar
sat-nav developments
sports car stand

In this task, candidates would have to listen and label the map of the Motor Show Exhibition Hall with
these labels. However, it is again important for learners to be aware of synonyms and paraphrasing.
For instance, instead of Theres a sandwich bar ... they might hear Theres a place where you can get a
sandwich ... or Thats where to go to get something to eat.
For example:
1. Sandwich bar (Thats somewhere you can get a snack.)
2. Sports car stand (This is the place to go if you like fast cars.)
3. In-car entertainment (Theyve got a display showing the latest technologies for listening to
music in the car.)
4. Biofuels exhibit (Theres an area where you can learn about more ecological ways to power
cars.)
5. Satellite navigation developments (This is a good stand to go to if you keep getting lost when
youre driving.)
o Track 2. Listen to the beginning of the task about a motor show. Look at the map and choose the
correct labels from the list below for 1 and 2 on the map.
(Key: 1 B, 2 A)
Now look at the script and pay attention to the paraphrasing for in-car entertainment and biofuels
exhibit.
Script:
When you get to the Motor Show youll find its an enormous hall and it would be quite easy to miss
some of the most interesting exhibits, so Id like to give you a bit of general information first. First of
all, there is a small stand to the left of the information desk as you go into the hall. Thats got a very
interesting display looking at different modern technologies allowing you to listen to good quality
music as you drive. Next to that, to the right of the information desk, is a very interesting area which
is devoted to the development of more ecologically sound forms of petrol and diesel. I think that
you will be impressed by what you see there.
When completing the matching task, learners need to look carefully at the options and think about
possible synonyms and paraphrases. They will not have much time for this in the exam, but
encouraging them to do this in listening lessons will help them to develop the skill.
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It is important to note that map, plan and diagram labelling tasks can also involve completing gaps.

Listening only once

In the IELTS Listening test the recordings are only played once. This reflects real life, where learners
often only have one opportunity to understand something, but it is something that they may not be
used to in class. It is a good idea to give learners practice in this as it will build their confidence. They
may actually be surprised by how much they can understand the first time.
If you want to give learners the chance to listen more than once, you should still ask them to check
their answers in pairs after the first time you play the recording so that they have the chance to assess
how much theyve understood.
There are various ways of helping learners to deal with only being able to listen once to listening. As we
saw in the input, the first thing to do is to encourage them to use their predicting skills. Give them time
to look at the situation, any information they are given in the question and their knowledge of the
world to make predictions about the situation, structure and content of the listening.
You looked at an extract from a listening in Trying a Section 1 task where a woman called Lily was
looking for work. You are now going to see how you could use this listening text in a lesson.

Sample lesson: Listening test Section 1 task

Aims:

to practise the skills of predicting, listening for specific information and listening intensively.
to familiarise learners with a Section 1 listening text, a form completion question.

Preparation:

Print one copy of the text and question for each learner.

Procedure:
1. Tell learners that they are going to listen to a woman called Lily who has phoned a job agency
to ask about temporary work. Check they know what a job agency is.
2. Write the questions below on the board and ask the learners to discuss them in pairs.
What type of questions do you think the woman will be asked?
If you were applying for temporary work, what type of work would you prefer?
3. Give each learner a copy of the Listening test question. Tell learners to look at the headings on
the form in pairs and write down some questions that Lily might be asked by the man at the
job agency.
4. Put a picture of a woman and a man on the board and tell learners to imagine they are Lily and
the man at the job agency.
5. Build up a possible conversation with the class by asking learners to look at the questions they
wrote in stage 3 and at the content of the question. For instance, you could ask learners to

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think about what the man will say when he first answers the phone. As learners suggest
questions, write the parts of the conversation on the board under the appropriate picture.
6. Try to elicit different possibilities for each question, e.g. Whats your name? Can you tell me
your name? Would you mind telling me your name? Point out the differences in formality and
politeness and ask learners which they think might be most appropriate here. Leave the
dialogue you have created together on the board.
7. Play the recording once and ask learners to do the task. Remind them that spelling is
important. Ask them to compare their answers in pairs. Go around the class monitoring to see
how much they have understood.
8. Play the recording again if necessary.
9. Check the answers with the whole class. Give out copies of the audio script and ask learners to
identify questions and answers in the text.
10. Ask learners to compare the actual conversation with the one on the board to see how
accurate their predictions were.

Sample Lesson: Intensive listening: Bingo for numbers and

letters
Aim:

to develop learners ability to recognise letters and numbers.

Preparation:
1. Prepare sets of bingo cards with numbers, prices, dates, email addresses and surnames. Try to
include numbers and letters your learners have problems with. The different cards should be
similar but no two cards should be identical.
2. Make sure there is one card for each learner. Here is an example of an individual bingo card:

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0034 799011

Mrs Leicester

garethforsen@
hotmail.com

30 Batsworth
Avenue

3.26

LJ8920B

www.wellpets.com

5003 21 65320

July 14th 1989

3. Prepare a random list of all the numbers, dates, email addresses and surnames that you have
used.
Procedure:
1. Give each learner one bingo card and tell them to cross out anything they hear you say.
2. Read them out your list, spelling words where appropriate.
3. The winner is the first learner to have crossed out everything on their card.
Alternative procedures:
1. Learners could also play this game in groups of four or five, with one of the learners in each
group taking on the role of caller.
2. Learners can also prepare bingo cards for each other; this will help them to identify which
areas they find difficult, as well as motivating them.

Summary
As we have seen, learners can encounter a number of problems when attempting listening tasks and
teachers need to be able to provide advice.

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Problem
What I find difficult is when they spell their
names.
They speak so fast how can I recognise the key
words?
Its so difficult when youre not clear about the
topic of the conversation.
I look at the words in the options in the
question, but they often dont use the same
words in the recording.
Because you only get to hear it once, I often miss
the information.
I never know what Im meant to be listening for,
so I try to write everything down.

Advice
Make sure you know how all the letters of the
alphabet are pronounced.
You need to listen for those words which are
stressed they will often be the important
words.
Before the listening starts, look at the questions
and try to think about the topic.
Think about different ways of expressing the
options.
In Section 1, you often know when the
information you need is going to come because
of the question that is asked before.
Just think about the information you need to
complete the questions and focus on that.

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Unit 8
Listening Sections 3 and 4
Before we continue. Can you identify the section? Listen to these short extracts.
1. Track 3
a.
b.
c.
d.
2. Track 4
a.
b.
c.
d.
3. Track 5
a.
b.
c.
d.
4. Track 6
a.
b.
c.
d.

Section 1
Section 2
Section 3
Section 4
Section 1
Section 2
Section 3
Section 4
Section 1
Section 2
Section 3
Section 4
Section 1
Section 2
Section 3
Section 4

(Key: 1 b, 2 c, 3 a, 4 d)

Analysing a Section 3 task

In this part, candidates listen to a conversation between two or more people about a topic connected
with education. For instance, the situation could be a tutor giving feedback to learners on an
assignment they have just done or two or three learners discussing a presentation they have to give.
The tasks can involve listening for specific information, identifying the attitude of the speakers and
understanding the speakers opinions. Any of the question types you looked at in Unit 7 can appear.
In order to look at ways of dealing with Section 3, you are going look at an example in detail. The task
types in the example you are going to look at are Matching and Multiple choice.

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Predicting key words

In this listening text, two learners, Alice and Tom, are discussing a project that they are doing together.
The project is about the changes in their town centre and involves them doing various tasks to research
the situation in their local town. Look at the question:
Who will do each of the following tasks?
Write the correct letter, A, B or C, next to questions 14.
A. Alice
B. Tom
C. Both Tom and Alice
Tasks
1.
2.
3.
4.

take photographs
interview shop owners
do a survey with shoppers
analyse data

One thing candidates will need to be able to do is to identify when Tom and Alice start to discuss each
task. Learners should predict the sort of vocabulary that could come up in the discussion of each of the
tasks.
Here are some words that Tom and Alice use in their discussion. You can encourage your learners to
do these types of classification.
Take photographs
Illustrates
Shots

Interview shop
owners
Business

Do a survey with
shoppers
Questionnaire

Analyse data
Computer
Results

If learners try to predict which words they might hear in the discussion of each task, it will help them to
follow the conversation.

Matching questions: Functions

The task we looked at in Analysing a Section 3 task requires candidates to decide who is going to do
each job, Tom, Alice or both of them. When answering questions like this, candidates must be careful
not to decide on the answer too quickly. The different options are usually discussed and then speakers
finally agree on what they will do.
You can help your learners to prepare for this type of Matching question by introducing and reviewing
the types of phrases speakers use for functions like offering, making a suggestion and expressing a
preference.
Let's have a look at some common phrases and their functions.
1

I think we ought to

making a suggestion
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2
3
4
5
6

OK, fine.
Does that seem fair to you?
Im not sure thats the best idea.
We could
Is that OK with you?

agreeing
asking for agreement
disagreeing
making a suggestion
asking for agreement

o Track 7. Now try the listening task. Choose the correct answer.
Who will do each of the following tasks?
Write the correct letter, A, B or C, next to questions 14.
A. Alice
B. Tom
C. Both Tom and Alice
Tasks
1.
2.
3.
4.

Take photographs
interview shop owners
do a survey with shoppers
analyse data

________
________
________
________

Analysing the answers

Lets look at the answers to questions 14 more closely.
Question 1: B (Tom)
Alice: you could make sure we have the set of shots we need to illustrate how the town has
changed.
Tom: ... OK, fine.
In order to answer this correctly, learners have to recognise that:

the phrase set of shots needed to illustrate refers to photographs.

Tom agrees with Alice that he should do this task.

Question 2: A (Alice)
Alice: And Ill talk to some local shopkeepers to get their views on any effects the changes have
had on their business. Does that seem fair to you?
Tom: Yeah, OK.
Here we have a description of the task, and Toms agreement with Alices offer to do it.
Question 3: C (Both)
Tom: Yeah, OK. Then what about the questionnaire for shoppers? Do you want me to go and
get shoppers to fill that out while youre doing your interviews? Or is it better if we do that
together?
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Alice: I think that would be better. We could set aside a whole day for that.
Here learners need to first identify the key words shoppers and questionnaire. Then they need to
decide who does the task.
It is important in this question that candidates listen carefully to the whole exchange and do not
answer too quickly. Some candidates may think incorrectly that the answer is Tom, because he initially
suggests doing the interviews himself. They need to wait for him to follow this suggestion up with
another one and to understand that the word that in Alices response refers to this second option.
Question 4: B (Tom)
This is perhaps the most difficult question, as it involves dealing with distractors. Here you can see
highlighted in yellow the sentence which talks about analysing data, in blue a section which may give
candidates the wrong answer and in green the part where the answer is finally given:
Tom: What about organising the results putting all the answers on the computer and
making sense of them?
Alice: I dont mind doing it, but Im pretty slow.
Tom: OK, you can leave that to me.
Alice: Fine.
We can see that Alice offers to analyse the results, but it is in fact Tom that agrees to do them.
To sum up, to answer this type of matching question candidates have to:

recognise where in the text the answer will be found.

recognise functional phrases.
avoid jumping to conclusions.
watch out for distraction.

It is worthwhile analysing the text and questions with your learners in this way so that they understand
how the questions work.

Identifying opinion and attitude

As you have just seen, it is important for learners to be able to identify the opinions and attitudes of
the speakers in the responses they give. When Tom says 'Fine,' in response to Alices suggestion that he
takes the photographs, you know he is accepting the task.
Some matching tasks will ask candidates to identify the speakers opinions whether they agree or not
with various statements and so it is useful to look with learners at the kinds of expressions speakers
use to express their opinion of or attitude to something that has been said.

Multiple choice questions

Multiple choice questions test candidates ability to listen intensively and choose the correct answer
from three options. To do this, candidates have to be able to deal with distraction; all three answers
may seem possible so candidates need to listen closely to be sure which two are wrong and which is
right.
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There are two ways of dealing with a task like this:

Decide on an answer that you are sure is correct.

Eliminate answers you are sure are wrong.

Stronger candidates will use both these strategies at the same time, for instance by deciding on which
answer they think is best and then, as long as there is time, confirming this by thinking about why the
other two answers are wrong.
The wrong answers may include the same words, synonyms or paraphrasing from the text. They may
include information or ideas that the candidate may think is true but that are not mentioned. The
correct answer may also include the same words, synonyms or paraphrasing from the text. However,
only the correct answer will reflect precisely the information in the text.

Dealing with Multiple choice questions

In the time given to read the questions candidates should make sure they understand the questions
and the options so they can refer back to them quickly while listening to the task. Highlighting the key
words is a good way of doing this.
Lets look at another part of the Section 3 listening in which Alice and Tom discuss a project.
o Track 8. Before your learners listen to the relevant part of the recording, have them read the
questions and write what they think are the key words in each question.
1. Why does Tom want to do the presentation?
A. to get a better mark than for his last presentation
B. to catch up with his course requirements
C. to practise skills for his future career
2. What is Alices attitude to writing up the project?
A. She is worried about the time available for writing
B. She is concerned that some parts will be difficult
C. She thinks it is unfair if she has to do all the writing
3. Why does Tom want to involve the other learners at the end of the presentation?
A. to get their opinions about the conclusions
B. to help him and Alice reach firm conclusions
C. to see if they have reached similar conclusions
(Key: 1 A to get a better mark than for his last presentation, B to catch up with his course
requirements, C to practise skills for his future career. 2 A She is worried about the time
available for writing, B She is concerned that some parts will be difficult, C She thinks it is unfair if
she has to do all the writing. 3 A to get their opinions about the conclusions, B to help him and
Alice reach firm conclusions, C to see if they have reached similar conclusions.)
(Key to task: 1 B, 2 B, 3 A)

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Learners often ask why certain options are not correct, so you should be ready to explain the wrong
options as well as explain the right answer. Look again at Question 1 and part of the audio script. The
correct answer was B.
1. Why does Tom want to do the presentation?
A. to get a better mark than for his last presentation
B. to catch up with his course requirements
C. to practise skills for his future career
'But I think that we were told last term that we needed to do three before the end of the year to get
a satisfactory mark, and Im one behind. I can see why theyre in the course you nearly always have
to do a presentation if you go to an interview nowadays.'
Why isnt it C? A learner might choose that because Tom said that you have to do presentations in job
interviews. However, they must remember the question asks why Tom wants to do this particular
presentation, not why presentations are important in general.
Why isnt it A? Tom said hes one behind, so learners may think he wants to do better this time.
However, that phrase refers to how many presentations he has done, not the marks he got.
Now look again at Question 2. The correct answer was B.
2. What is Alices attitude to writing up the project?
A. She is worried about the time available for writing.
B. She is concerned that some parts will be difficult.
C. She thinks it is unfair if she has to do all the writing.
Look at the audio script. Compare the part of the script that tells you that B is correct with the
option.
Alice: So I get stuck with that as usual. Typical! Actually, its OK. I know that we havent got very
long but I often write better when Im in a hurry it focuses the mind! But Ill need to give some
thought to the way we present all the data because Im worried it will be a bit more complicated
than the rest, so Id like a bit of help with that.
To sum up, when dealing with multiple choice questions you need to train learners to:

read questions carefully and underline key words.

listen to everything that the speakers say and not decide on the answers too soon.
eliminate incorrect options.
confirm options they think are correct.

Analysing a Section 4 task

Section 4 is a monologue in an educational setting, usually a talk or a lecture. The topic is of a general
academic interest and will not require any specialist knowledge.

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One problem that learners often have is that they have to deal with unknown vocabulary. Learners
should try not to worry about this as it might not affect their ability to answer the questions.
o Track 9. Try part of the Section 4 listening exercise below, which is an extract from a lecture on
ecosystems. The words that learners might find difficult have been taken out but it is still possible to
do the task.
Complete the gaps using NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS.

Damage to ecosystems
So what happens when an ecosystem is damaged? And which areas are most
1 _____________ to damage? Typically, the areas that suffer most are where
theres farmland on one side and a city on the other. This is because it doesnt
have vegetation 2 _____________, or height, to protect it from flooding or
strong winds.
Studies indicate that although some plant species grow back quite quickly after
being damaged, others do not. The ones that are growing near rivers find it
most difficult to 3 _____________, so any 4 _____________ work needs to
focus on these areas.
(Key: 1 vulnerable, 2 density, 3 regenerate, 4 restoration)
You need to train your learners to try not to worry about words they do not understand. They may be
able to guess them from context but even if they cant, it may not mean that they cannot answer the
questions.

Recognising text organisation

As the talk in Section 4 usually has quite a formal structure, the speaker will normally explain at the
beginning what the different parts of the talk will be about. Candidates should listen carefully as this
part will show them how the talk is going to be structured and what topics are going to be covered.
o Track 10. Listen to the introduction to the talk on ecosystems. What are the phrases in the
introduction that signal the different parts of the talk?
(Key: Today Im going to talk about / Im going to focus on / Ill be looking at ...)

Note completion
One of the possible task types in Section 4 is Note completion. The notes help candidates to follow the
talk, so encourage learners to use the time they have before the listening begins to look carefully at the
notes and use their predicting skills to think about the topic and the possible structure of the talk. You
should also encourage learners to use the time to think about what kind of information could go in the
gaps.
Look at the questions for another part of the talk on ecosystems. What type of answer can a learner
predict for each gap?

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Effects of recent cyclone

Marsupial numbers remained stable.

One 1 species altered its sleeping habits.

All species of fruit-eating birds recovered, except the cassowary.

Cassowaries wandered onto roads in search of 2 . Many died as a result of road

vehicles and 3 .

When disturbed in their natural habitat cassowaries become more prone to 4 .

(Key: 1 an animal, 2 something an animal can eat, 3 a way of being killed, 4 something connected with
illness)
o Track 11. Now try part of the listening task. Write in the answers using no more than three words
in each gap.
(Key: 1 fox, 2 food, 3 dogs, 4 diseases)

Sample idea: Identifying different text types

To raise awareness of the features of the different types of texts found in the different sections of the
Listening test, you can play them an extract from a listening and ask them to identify which section it
belongs to.
After you have introduced the different types of listening texts used in the four sections of IELTS, check
learners understanding by asking them to match different situations with the section they belong to,
as you did at the beginning of this unit.
You could use the same task you did in Introduction for this, or ones taken from listening materials you
use. You can then play extracts from these and ask learners to identify the topic of each.

Sample lesson: Increasing motivation

One problem you may find when preparing
your learners to do the IELTS Listening test is
that they can get tired of looking at past
papers and lose motivation. This teaching
idea involves using short extracts from
dialogues and monologues taken from
websites such as YouTube. Your learners
therefore need to have access to computers
connected to the Internet.
Using extracts from the Internet should
increase motivation and provide learners with
the sort of listening texts they might encounter if they are planning to go on to further education in an
English-speaking country.
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Aims:

to prepare learners for Sections 3 and 4 of the Listening test.

to increase your learners motivation.

Preparation:

Put learners into pairs and ask them to find a short extract from the beginning of a panel
discussion or lecture on the Internet. These are best for preparing learners for Sections 3 and 4
of the Listening. However, non-academic texts (e.g. interviews with celebrities) also provide
learners with good general listening practice of dialogues and might be more motivating. If
learners look for their own extracts, tell them that the extracts must be no longer than two
minutes, make sense as an extract and be clear and comprehensible. It is good to use extracts
with American and Australian speakers, as these are often used in the IELTS Listening test.
If your learners aren't good at this, you can find the extracts yourself. You will need an extract
for each pair of students.

Procedure:
1. Put learners in groups to discuss the following questions:
a. How often do you use the Internet to watch videos or listen to things?
b. What type of things do listen to or watch?
c. Do you watch or listen to things in English?
2. Ask the pairs to write ten questions based on their extracts. They can use any of the question
types from the Listening test. The easiest for them to start with would probably be the shortanswer questions.
3. Monitor as they write the questions and correct them or encourage them to self-correct where
possible. Make sure they make a note of the answers somewhere.
4. Ask the pairs to give a copy of their questions to another pair, who watch the extract and try to
answer them.
5. When they have finished, ask the pairs to give their answers to be checked with the pair who
wrote them.

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Unit 9
Speaking skills and Part 1
First of all, let's see what you know about the IELTS Speaking test.
The Speaking test has three parts. Look at the descriptions of tasks from the test and choose the
correct part for each description.
1. The candidate is asked to discuss and give opinions about issues.
a. Part 1
b. Part 2
c. Part 3
2. The candidate has to speak for 12 minutes about a topic they are given.
a. Part 1
b. Part 2
c. Part 3
3. The candidate answers questions about familiar, everyday topics.
a. Part 1
b. Part 2
c. Part 3
4. The candidate has about one minute to prepare what he or she is going to say.
a. Part 1
b. Part 2
c. Part 3
(Key: 1 c, 2 b, 3 a, 4 b)

Analysing the assessment criteria

In order to be able to analyse learners problems effectively and help them to improve their speaking,
we need to first think about what makes someone a good speaker.
d Video 1. You are going to watch two candidates Sawsan and Raziye talking about reading. As
you watch, think about which learner is a better speaker.
Sawsan is a better speaker. She, in fact, achieved an overall band 7, whereas Raziye achieved band 5.5.
Look at a teachers comments about Sawsan:
Sawsan is fairly fluent, giving reasonably detailed answers without repeating phrases, or
searching for words a lot. She does hesitate but this does not interfere with communication.

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Her answers are also coherent that is, they are very clearly organised and she has a good
range of vocabulary.
She also uses a good range of grammatical structures and does not make a lot of mistakes.
It is easy to understand her, and her pronunciation is clear, despite her accent. She has good
intonation, using her voice well to express interest.

Assessment
The points the teacher mentioned can be put into four different categories:

Fluency and coherence

Lexical resource (use of vocabulary)
Grammatical range and accuracy
Pronunciation.

You can see the full criteria for which are used to assess the Speaking test on the Cambridge English
Language Assessment Teacher Support website.
These criteria are used throughout the Speaking test, so lets look at each one in turn.
Fluency is the ability to speak at length without hesitating or repeating yourself. It involves using fillers
(words and phrases that give you time to think), giving detailed answers and developing the discussion.
Coherence is the ability to organise and link ideas in a logical way, using different types of words or
phrases such as linking words (e.g. afterwards).
Lexical resource is the ability to use vocabulary accurately and appropriately in different situations, and
to say things in different ways (paraphrasing).
Grammatical range and accuracy is the ability to use a range of grammatical structures in simple and
complex sentences without making a mistake.
Pronunciation is the ability to speak clearly, and to use your voice to show what is important in a
sentence (sentence stress) and how you feel and think (intonation). This enables the listener to
understand easily what you are saying.

Reflect: Learner problems

Look at the common problems below and some assessment criteria that would apply to each problem

They cant think of anything to say.

This could show that they dont have the Lexical resource or Grammatical range to express their
ideas. It might be that weakness in Fluency and coherence prevents them from constructing a
response.

They keep stopping because they are worried about making a mistake.
This probably indicates a weakness in Lexical resource or Grammatical range.

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They get very nervous.

This probably doesnt apply specifically to any of the criteria. Many learners get nervous in
exams. It is important to discover which aspects of the paper are making them nervous and then
provide them with plenty of opportunities to practise them.

They have problems finding the right word.

This is probably a problem with Lexical resource

They find it difficult to pronounce certain sounds.

This is usually an indication of a problem with Pronunciation.

They make a lot of grammar mistakes.

This is usually an indication a problem with Grammatical range and accuracy.

Being able to identify and categorise problems is the first step to helping learners to improve their
speaking, as well as helping them to achieve higher scores in IELTS.

Exploring Part 1 of the Speaking test

Part 1 lasts for four to five minutes. It begins with the examiner checking the candidates identity. Then
candidates have to answer questions about familiar topics such as their family, where they live, their
interests, likes and dislikes and their work or study.
o Tracks 12 and 13. Listen to extracts of two candidates taking Part 1 of the test. As you listen to
them, think about their fluency, especially their ability to give full answers.

Assessment
Candidate 1 gives much fuller answers than Candidate 2.
One of Candidate 1s strengths is her ability to give full answers and expand on points by giving extra
information; for example she explains why she prefers watching films in the cinema.
It is important to give as long responses as possible throughout the test in order to achieve a higher
score in Fluency and coherence. Now lets look at how we can encourage learners to do this.
Look at some typical questions from Part 1 of the Speaking test.

How long have you lived in Tokyo?

About three years.
What do you like about living there?
Everyone is very friendly.
What do you dislike most about living there?
Its very crowded.
Do you think you might live somewhere else in the future?
Id like to study in the UK.

Now look at how a learner could make these answers longer by adding extra information.
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It's very crowded. There are always too many cars on the road and its difficult to get on the
trains in the rush hour.
About three years. I was actually born in Nagoya but my parents moved when I was 16.
Everyone is very friendly. If you have a problem or if you are lost, there are always people to
help you.
I'd like to study in the UK. I want to do a Masters in Business and I think that it would be great
to do it there.

Effective speaking activities

An effective way of helping learners to improve their fluency is to give them plenty of opportunities for
interaction in the classroom. Learners can be reluctant to speak English, perhaps because they are
afraid of making mistakes. They may often be more willing to speak in pairs than in front of the class,
when they know they will not be immediately corrected.

Assessment of pronunciation
Were now going to look at pronunciation in more detail. When examiners assess pronunciation in the
IELTS Speaking test, one thing they look at is individual sounds, e.g. the sounds /f/ and /v/.
However, they also assess:

word stress (giving emphasis to individual syllables of words).

sentence stress (giving emphasis to words in a sentence).
intonation (the way your voice goes up and down while youre speaking).

The first step is to identify which problems your learners have with pronunciation.
o Track 14. Listen to four learners and read what they say. Choose which of the areas below are
causing them difficulty.
Learner 1: 'How are you?'
a. individual sound
b. word stress

c. sentence stress
d. intonation

Learner 2: 'computer'
a. individual sound
b. word stress

c. sentence stress
d. intonation

Learner 3: 'caught'
a. individual sound
b. word stress

c. sentence stress
d. intonation

Learner 4: 'Can you pass me a pen?'

a. individual sound
b. word stress

c. sentence stress
d. intonation

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(Key: Learner 1 d, Learner 2 b, Learner 3 a, Learner 4 c)

Looking in depth
You are now going to look in more detail at three learners, all of whom have different pronunciation
problems.
o Track 15. This speaker has problems pronouncing some sounds in English. Which words contain
problems with individual sounds?
You asked me Why do they want to live in towns?"
(Key: want)
o Track 16. This speaker sometimes uses word stress incorrectly. Which words contain problems
with word stress?
On Saturdays I usually go a restaurant with my friends and we have hamburger and chips. I
enjoy it very much.
(Key: Saturdays, restaurant, hamburger, enjoy)
o Track 17. Listen to the learner. What effect would her intonation have on the listener?
Comment: Because she doesnt stress the important words like Italy and her intonation is flat, the
speaker doesnt make the holiday sound very interesting. The listener might miss the important words
and could also feel bored.

In summary

A learner who puts the stress on sion in the word television has a problem with word stress.
A learner who says velcome instead of welcome has a problem with individual sounds.
A learner who speaks in a monotone voice has a problem with intonation.
A learner who stresses the word a in the question What is a stapler? has a problem with
sentence stress.

d Video 2. Watch a lesson extract showing an idea to help learners improve their fluency and
pronunciation.

Sample Lesson: Encouraging learners to speak

Aims:

to improve fluency.
to build confidence.
to practise talking about familiar topics in preparation for Part 1.

Watch the lesson. Make a note of what happens at each stage of the lesson and try to put the stages
in order.
A. First, draw a box on the board and write your name inside it.
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B. When they have finished talking to everyone, put them in pairs to discuss what they have
found out.
C. Put the learners into pairs and ask them to think of some questions they could ask you to find
out about these hobbies, e.g. When did you start ? How often do you ?
D. Around the edge of the box, write four hobbies that you have.
E. Elicit the questions the learners have discussed and write them on the board. Drill the
pronunciation and intonation of the questions.
F. Give each learner a sticky label and ask them to write their name in the middle and four
hobbies they have (as you did). They then stick them on their chests. If they know each other
well, they could take on roles.
G. Tell them to stand up and move around talking to everyone and asking them questions about
the hobbies on their labels.
(Key: 1 A, 2 D, 3 C, 4 E, 5 F, 6 G, 7 B)

Getting learners to speak

In the example activity above, learners move around the class and talking to everyone. This a mingling
activity. You could also ask the learners to pretend to be someone different, such as another learner in
the class or an invention of their imagination. This would also make it a role play. After the activity,
learners share ideas in a pair work task.
Group work and class discussion are also good ways of getting learners to talk. This can involve sharing
opinions, planning something (e.g. a party or a holiday), or ranking things in order of importance (e.g.
the most important qualities in a friend).

Sample Lesson: Extending answers

Aim:

to make learners think about how to extend answers.

Procedure:
1

Ask learners to work in pairs and brainstorm getting to know you questions that they might
ask someone the first time they meet.

In the same pairs, tell learners to divide a piece of paper into three columns, as follows:
Question

Short answer

Extra information

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3. Tell each pair to write five questions in the first column. They should then pass the sheet to
another pair.
4. Each pair then writes five short answers to the five questions in the second column. They can
either base their answers on their own experience or use their imagination. They then pass the
sheet to another pair.
5. Each pair then extends the answers by writing extra information in the third column. Again,
they can either base their answers on their own experience or use their imagination. They pass
the sheet back to the first pair.
6. Each pair performs the completed mini dialogues to the class. They can do this first with just
the questions and short answers. They should then repeat it with the questions, short answers
and extended answers.
7. Point out to the class that the second, extended version is much more suitable in the Speaking
test. Give feedback on grammatical or lexical strengths and weaknesses as appropriate.

Sample Lesson: Encouraging speaking and extending

answers
Aims:

to develop fluency.
to encourage learners to expand answers and give more information.
to practise talking about familiar topics in preparation for Part 1.

Procedure:
1. As a class, brainstorm typical subjects that might come up in Part 1 of the exam. Put the topics
on the board (e.g. childhood, food, plans for the future, daily routine, holidays, the weather,
hobbies, reading, weekends, films, shopping, festivals, transport) using a spidergram like the
following:

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2

Put learners into pairs. Tell each pair to talk together to find five topics related to which they
have something in common. They should then try and find out as much about the topic as they
can from their partner.

Swap learners around so they are in different pairs and tell them to repeat the previous stage.
Repeat until all of the class have spoken to each other. Monitor and take notes.

Give feedback on the strengths and weaknesses of the learners responses. Remember to give
examples of good language usage, not just errors.

Summary
1. A learner who hesitates a lot has a problem with Fluency and coherence.
2. A learner who has very flat intonation has a problem with Pronunciation.
3. A learner who uses the present tense all the time has a problem with Grammatical range and
accuracy.
4. A learner who has a limited vocabulary has a problem with Lexical resource.
5. A learner who gives very short answers has a problem with Fluency and coherence.
6. A learner who says I has been there has a problem with Grammatical range and accuracy.
7. A learner who puts the stress on the wrong place in a word has a problem with Pronunciation.

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Unit 10
Speaking Parts 2 and 3
Let's remember what you know about Parts 2 and 3 of the Speaking test.

In Part 2 the candidate has to speak for one to two minutes.

In Part 3 the candidate is asked questions by the examiner.
In Part 3 the candidate gives opinions about different aspects of a topic.
In Part 2 the candidate has time to think about what they are going to say.

Giving a short talk

In Part 2 of the test the candidate has to speak for one to two minutes about a topic they are given.
Lets think about what skills are involved in talking about a topic for this length of time. Watch this
person giving a short talk and think about what he does well and what he does less well.
d Video 3. Watch the video and look at the things the speaker did and didnt do.
The speaker did
Use notes
Pause at the end of sentences
Stress the important words
Speak clearly
Refer to his notes too often

The speaker didnt

Pause inappropriately
Speak too quickly
Look at the listener enough

It is good that the speaker has prepared some notes but he refers to them too much, instead of looking
at the person he is talking to. He speaks clearly and it is good that he pauses at the end of sentences
rather than pausing inappropriately. The fact that he stresses the important words helps the listener to
hear the key points.

Dos and Donts

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

Do speak clearly.
Do make some notes beforehand.
Don't pause inappropriately.
Don't keep referring to your notes.
Do pause at the end of sentences.
Don't speak quickly.
Do look at the people you are speaking to.
Do stress the important words.

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Speaking test: Part 2

In Part 2 of the Speaking test candidates are given a topic and four short prompts and a pencil and
paper to write notes on. They dont have to use the prompts but they are useful because they help
candidates to think of ideas and structure their talk. Look at this example:
Describe a day out you had recently.
You should say:
where and when you went, and who you went with
how you got there
what you did there
and explain what you enjoyed most about the day.
Candidates have one minute to make notes and prepare for their talk. Then they have to talk for one to
two minutes. The examiner will not say anything during this time but will stop the candidate if they are
still speaking after two minutes.
The first thing you can do to help learners prepare for this part of the talk is to train them to use the
preparation time well to look at the prompts to give them ideas and organise their thoughts.

Giving extended answers

In Unit 9, we saw that it is important for candidates to give full, extended answers the ability to
expand and develop a topic is assessed under Fluency and coherence and a candidate wishing to get a
higher band will need to be able to do this.
o Track 18. Listen to someone do the task above. As you listen, think about how clearly he tells his
story, and how he makes it more interesting by giving extra information, expanding on his points.
The information can be broken down in this table:
Prompt
where and when you went, and
who you went with

Basic information
Went to lake with girlfriend and
friend.

how you got there

By car

what you did there

Went for a walk and had lunch.

what you enjoyed most about

the day

Seeing friend jump in lake.

Extra information
Beautiful 50 km from
village.
Set off early.
Friend drove.
Was picked up at 6.30.
Traffic wasnt bad.
Bought coffee and chocolate.
Could hear birds.
Popular restaurant with great
food.
Was colder than he thought.

Assessment of talk
This candidates answer is good because he gives lots of information. It is also good for other reasons:

He shows good fluency by speaking without hesitation.

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He shows good coherence by organising the story well using clear linkers.
He uses a good range of vocabulary by dealing with unknown vocabulary.
He varies grammatical structures by changing the subject of the sentence.

Fluency: Using fillers

Now lets think about how the candidate we watched earlier
manages to keep speaking for two minutes. He is very good at
doing this. He does not hesitate or repeat himself too much. What
helps him to do this?
He avoids hesitating or stopping completely by using words and
phrases that dont mean anything but that give him extra time to
think, e.g. Let me think . We call these fillers.
Lets look more closely at how he does this.
Look at the first part of the talk. What are the five fillers that the candidate uses?
Right Im going to tell you about a trip I made last Sunday to a beautiful lake which is, let me
see, about 50 kilometres from my village. Well, we went there with my girlfriend and one of our
friends from university.
OK, we had to set off really early, because of all the cars the traffic at the weekend is often really
bad, especially if the weather is good like, you know, it was last week.
(Key: Right, let me see, Well, OK, you know)
Other fillers that could be used are you see , let me think , in actual fact , now .
It is useful to let your learners see how these fillers are used and to encourage them to use words and
phrases like these themselves to give them time to think. It can help them sound more fluent.

Coherence
As we saw in Unit 9, candidates are also assessed on coherence
the way their language is organised. In a two-minute talk this can
be quite difficult.
In Part 2, the prompts help candidates to organise the talk, but
they also need to use linking words words and phrases like then
and after that which help the listener follow the talk. Other kinds
of phrases can also be useful. A candidate might say Id like to
speak about to introduce the topic of their talk. These words
and phrases act like signposts.
Look at the next part of the talk. Notice how the speaker uses the words and phrases in bold to help
structure his talk and help the listener follow what he says.
I didnt think the traffic wasnt too bad and we got there quite quickly I think it was about 8 oclock
when we arrived.
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Anyway, so the first thing we did was to get a coffee and some chocolate from a cafe next to the car
park. Because we had set out so early wed had no time for breakfast. Afterwards we thought wed
go for a walk around the lake. As I said, the lake is really beautiful. How can I describe it? Well, its
surrounded by loads of different trees and you can hear and see lots of different birds, like pigeons
and doves.

Each of the phrases in bold from the talk has a different function.
Phrase

Function

I didnt think

Giving an opinion

Anyway

Changing the subject

Because

Giving a reason

Afterwards

Saying what happened next

As I said

Referring back to something previously

mentioned

Like

Giving an example

IELTS Assessment
It is useful for learners to learn linking words and phrases like these as they will be useful in any talk
they do. In the Speaking test, a candidates coherence is assessed throughout. A Band 5 level candidate
usually keeps going but uses repetition or slow speech and uses a limited number of linking words. A
Band 6 level candidate can speak at length but may lose coherence at times due to occasional
repetition, self-correction or hesitation and uses a range of linking words, though not always
appropriately. A Band 7 level candidate can speak at length without noticeable effort or loss of
coherence and uses a range of linking words.
Read the descriptions of three candidates coherence in the Speaking test. Choose which band each
candidate was awarded.
1. Candidate A found it very easy to keep talking for two minutes and organised his speech very
clearly.
a. Band 5
b. Band 6
c. Band 7
2. Candidate B kept repeating the same things, joined all his sentences with and took a long time to
finish his sentences.
a. Band 5
b. Band 6
c. Band 7
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3. Candidate C kept going well and used a number of linking words, but not always correctly.
a. Band 5
b. Band 6
c. Band 7
(Key: 1 c, 2 a, 3 b)

Dealing with unknown vocabulary

Look at the following extract of the candidates talk and see what happens when he does not know a
word:
My girlfriend is really keen on looking at different birds bird watching so she kept telling us
to be quiet as she listened out for them and tried to look at them through, you know, those
things you look through that make everything seem bigger
The speaker has forgotten or doesnt know the word binoculars. When the speaker realises this, he
paraphrases using a more general phrase. When a candidates vocabulary is being assessed in the
Speaking test, they are given credit for their ability to paraphrase.
At Band 7 the candidate is expected to paraphrase effectively. At Band 6 the candidate generally
paraphrases successfully while at Band 5 the speaker attempts to use paraphrase but with mixed
success.
The two most effective ways for a candidate to paraphrase are to provide a definition for the word as
the candidate did above or to use a synonym.

Using a range of grammatical structures

You might also have noticed that the speaker does not always begin his sentences with we or I. For
example, he uses different structures such as What I enjoyed most about was .
This has two functions: it helps to keep the listener interested and gives the candidate a chance to
demonstrate grammatical range. Other ways of starting sentences in different ways include:

The thing (I like) is

One thing (I do) is
What makes me (angry/happy) is
The person I most (admire/respect) is
The reason why I (did this) was
One of the reasons (Ive decided to talk about ) is
Having (finished that) I

Candidates can also start sentences with linking words such as after that, as soon as, while, or as a
result.
It is important for your learners to attempt to use a range of grammatical structures in the IELTS
Speaking test. Learners hoping to achieve a higher band (Band 6 and above) will need to show a range
of grammatical structures.
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Speaking test: Part 3

In Part 3, candidates have to answer questions on and discuss issues related to the topic they talked
about in Part 2. They are asked to give their opinion about the topic. While in Part 2 candidates talk
about personal experiences, in Part 3 they discuss the topics in a more abstract way. Part 3 lasts for
four to five minutes.
All of the skills that we have already looked at in this unit are relevant for Part 3. However, this part is a
discussion with the examiner and there are therefore some additional areas which are useful. They are:

topic-related vocabulary.
language for discussions.

Topic-related vocabulary
In Part 3, the examiner and the candidate discuss issues related to the topic in Part 2 in a more general
and abstract way and where appropriate in greater depth. The topics that can be discussed are
wide and varied. In order to be successful in Lexical resource, it is important that learners learn
vocabulary related to as many topics as possible.
d Video 3. Watch a candidate called Sawsan talking about books and other media in Part 3 of the
test. Which six topic-related vocabulary does she use?
(Key: events, action, story, visualise, horizons, scenes)
In many of the questions candidates are asked to give opinions about a topic. What other phrases
could you recommend that candidates use instead of just I think .

In my opinion
To my mind
As I see it,
As far as Im concerned
What I think is
You could say that

It is also important to pay attention how learners use functions, such as:

Agreeing I couldnt agree more

Evaluating different points of view On the one hand , but on the other hand .
Disagreeing I dont think so
Giving opinions What I think is
Expressing doubt Im not really sure about that.
Justifying opinions The reason I think this is that

Encourage your learners to record phrases in this way. Always check that the phrases are suitable for
the Speaking test. Think about the level of formality and how strong they are. For instance, Thats
rubbish! could be used to show disagreement but is very informal and strong and wouldnt be suitable
in an IELTS Speaking test.
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Sample idea: What makes a speaking task successful?

There are five important points to consider when planning a speaking task:
1. Instructions: make sure that every learner is clear what they are meant to be doing. Keep your
sentences short and simple.
2. Grouping: think about whether you want the learners in to work in pairs, threes, small groups
or large groups.
3. Topic: make sure that the topic is relevant to your learners and to the test. Make sure that the
learners have been taught the necessary vocabulary.
4. Timing: make it clear to the learners exactly how long the activity will last.
5. Error correction: decide how you are going to correct errors. You could correct errors as you
hear them, or make a note of them and then go through them at the end of the activity. Allow
for error correction when planning the timings of your lesson.

Sample lesson: Expanding topic-related vocabulary

Aim:

to help learners to extend and develop their vocabulary connected to different topics.

Procedure:
1. Write a topic on the board. This could be any topic that might appear in Part 3, e.g. education,
leisure, the environment, the news, friendship, work, festivals.
2. Put learners in pairs or small groups and give them five minutes to brainstorm as many words
related to the topic as they can. Encourage the learners to write down all parts of speech (i.e.
verbs, adverbs, nouns and adjectives).
3. As a whole class, compare lists. Give each group a point for any relevant words on their list
that the other groups didnt think of. Check the spelling, pronunciation, meaning and use of
any new or problematic words and write a final list for each topic area on the board.
4. Whichever group has the most points is the winner.
5. Tell learners to study and learn the vocabulary for each topic.

Sample lesson: Part 3 practice

Aim:

to encourage learners to use a wider range of topic vocabulary.

to give learners the opportunity to practise answering questions and expand their answers.

Procedure:
1. Select a topic to be discussed. It must be a topic that the class knows possibly one from a
word list created in the previous teaching activity.
2. Put learners in pairs and ask them to write three questions related to the topic on a piece of
paper. They should all start with question words how, when, why, who etc.

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Teaching IELTS
3. Tell each pair to swap questions with another pair. Each learner takes it in turns to try to
answer the questions appropriately using as many words from the word list as possible. Their
partner should check the word list as they speak and count how many they have used. The
learner who uses the most words is the winner.

Sample lesson: Fillers and linking words

Aim:

to help learners to build their list of linking words.

Preparation:

Find a listening text in your coursebook that contains examples of fillers and linking words.

Procedure:
1. Give learners the categories of linking words you saw in 10.6 Exploring Part 3 of the Speaking
test:

giving an opinion

giving a reason

changing the
subject

saying what
happened next

referring back to
something previously
mentioned

giving an example

2. Put learners in pairs or small groups and ask them to work through the audio script and
identify any fillers or linking words.
3. As a whole class, discuss the words and place them under the correct category on the board.
4. Tell learners to construct a short monologue in their pairs using these fillers and linking words.
5. If appropriate, ask learners to perform their dialogues to the rest of the class.

Sample lesson: Extending Lexical resource by paraphrasing

Aim:

to develop learners paraphrasing skills.

Procedure:
1. Give each learner five small pieces of paper.
2. Tell learners to write on their piece of paper an object that can be found in the house.
3. Put learners into small groups, and tell them to place their pieces of paper face down on the
table in the middle of the group.
4. Tell each learner to pick up a word and try to explain the word without saying it. The other
learners should try to guess the word. For example, if the word was chair, the learner could say
Its a thing you sit on when youre tired.
5. If the other learners guess the word, the learner keeps the piece of paper. Otherwise, it is
returned to the centre of the table.
6. The game is finished when all the pieces of paper have been identified. The winner is the
learner with the most pieces of paper.
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Teaching IELTS
7. This activity can be done with many other types of word, e.g. adjectives of emotion, verbs of
movement etc.

Sample lesson: Using synonyms

Aim:

to encourage learners to use synonyms for common English words.

Procedure:
1. At the beginning of the lesson, identify a word that is going to be banned' for the lesson.
Choose a common word, such as go.
2. With the whole class, brainstorm as many alternatives for the banned word as possible and
write them on the side of the board. Leave them there for the lesson.
3. Allocate all learners three points.
4. Tell learners that they are not permitted to use the banned word. If they use the word, deduct
a point.
5. At the end of the lesson, any learners who still have three points are the winners.
6. To make the game more challenging, make sure that the banned word is very relevant to the
topic of the lesson. For instance, if the topic of the lesson is holidays, then go is very relevant
and banning it will force learners to seek and use synonyms.

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Further reading
University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations (2010) Top Tips for IELTS Academic (with interactive CDROM), Cambridge: University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations.
University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations (2010) Top Tips for IELTS General Training (with interactive
CD-ROM), Cambridge: University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations.
University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations (2010) IELTS Speaking Test Preparation Pack, Cambridge:
University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations.
Aitken, R. (2002) Teaching Tenses, Brighton: ELB Publishing.
Biggerton, P. (2010) IELTS The Complete Guide to Task 1 Writing, Godiva Press.
Cullen, P. (2008), Cambridge Vocabulary for IELTS with answers and audio CD, Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
Cullen, P. (2007), Common Mistakes at IELTS Intermediate and how to avoid them, Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
Cusack, B. and McCarter, S. (2007) Improve your IELTS Listening and Speaking Skills, Oxford: Macmillan.
Duigu, G. (2002) Essay Writing for English Tests: Preparing for the IELTS Academic Writing Task 2,
Academic English Press.
Duigu, G. (2001) Visuals: Writing about Graphs, Tables and Diagrams: Preparing for the IELTS Academic
Writing Task 1, Academic English Press.
Harmer, J. (2004) How to Teach Writing, Harlow: Longman Pearson.
Hashemi, L. and Thomas, B. (2011) IELTS Trainer, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Kelly, G. (2000) How to Teach Pronunciation, Harlow: Longman Pearson.
Kovacs, K. (2011) Speaking for IELTS, Hammersmith: Collins.
Leech, G., Conrad, S., Cruickshank, B. and Ivanic, R. (2001) An AZ of English Grammar and Usage,
Harlow: Longman Pearson.
McCarter, S. and Whitby, N. (2006) Improve your IELTS Writing Skills, Oxford: Macmillan.
Medley, M. W. (2010) IELTS Speaking Topics, Asian European University Press.
Moore, J. (2007) Common Mistakes at IELTS Advanced and how to avoid them, Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
Parrott, M. (2010) Grammar for English Teachers, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Sahanaya, W., Lindeck, J. and Stewart, R. (1999), IELTS Preparation and Practice: Reading and Writing
Academic Module, Oxford: Oxford ANZ English.

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Teaching IELTS
Thornbury, S. (1997) About Language: Tasks for Teachers of English, Cambridge: Cambridge Teacher
Training and Development.
Thornbury, S. (2005) How to Teach Speaking, Harlow: Longman Pearson.
Thornbury, S. (2002) How to Teach Vocabulary, Harlow, Longman Pearson.
Underhill, A. (2005) Sound Foundations, Oxford: Macmillan.
Wilson, J. (2008) How to Teach Listening, Harlow: Longman Pearson.

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Acknowledgements
Photos IStockphoto; Shutterstock; Alamy
Photo research FLPA
Illustrations Kamae Design
Video Larchmont Films (9.5)
Developers English360 and Cognizant
Cambridge English Language Assessment and Cambridge University Press have no responsibility for the
persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this product,
and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.
Information regarding prices, travel timetables and other factual information given in this work is
correct at the time of first printing but Cambridge English Language Assessment and Cambridge
University Press do not guarantee the accuracy of such information thereafter.

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Contents
Introducing reading skills and text types

Reading skills

Learner problems

The different task types

Examples

Previewing and predicting

Examples of previewing

How did we find the right answer?

Texts types in the Reading test

Examples
Matching headings: Approaching the task
Example

4
5
5
5

Sample lesson: previewing and predicting skills

Sample lesson: Reading questionnaire

Reading skills and task types

Scanning for specific information
Example
Matching features: Approaching the task
Example

9
9
9
10
10

Strategies for dealing with Matching information tasks

13

Sentence completion: Approaching the task

13

Example

13

Note completion and strategies

14

Example

15

Dealing with completion tasks

15

General Training Reading test overview

16

General Training Reading test: Sections 2 and 3

16

Matching information task

17

Sample lesson: Dealing with an IELTS Academic Matching features task in class

17

Sample lesson: Notes completion task type in the General Training Reading test.

18

In summary

19
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Teaching IELTS
Reading skills, task types and strategies

20

Tips to keep in mind:

20

Common learner problems

20

Recognising cohesive devices

20

Example 1:

21

Example 2:

21

Linking words

22

Example:

22

Identifying writers opinions

22

Identifying information: Approaching the task

23

Explaining the answers

Guessing unknown words from context
Example:

24
25
25

Multiple choice questions: Approaching the task

25

Strategies for dealing with Multiple choice questions

26

Short answer questions: Approaching the task

26

Example:

27

Candidate responses

27

Sample lesson: Guessing meaning from context

27

Sample lesson: Recognising synonyms and paraphrasing

28

Sample lesson: Using cut-up text

29

Sample lesson: Reading for pleasure

29

In summary

30

Writing skills and learner problems

31

Assessing writing: What makes a good writer?

31

Assessment categories

32

Task response / Task achievement

32

Coherence and cohesion

32

Lexical resource

33

Grammatical range and accuracy

33

Learners problems

33

Appropriacy and effect on target reader

33

Characteristics of formal and informal writing

34
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Teaching IELTS
Identifying errors

34

Example 1:

34

Example 2:

35

Using questionnaires
Example:

35
36

Approaches to marking written work

36

Sample lesson: Increasing speed of writing

36

Sample lesson: Writing in academic style

37

Sample lesson: Increasing motivation

38

In summary

38

Writing task 1 and assessment

39

Overview of Task 1

39

Visual data

39

Describing visual information

40

Example:
Assessing task achievement

40
41

Introductions

41

The second paragraph

42

Task 1 Dos and Donts

42

Assessing lexical resource

43

Describing trends and changes

43

Being precise

44

Assessing grammatical range

44

Making comparisons

44

Example:

44

Assessing coherence and cohesion

45

Describing a process

45

Passive constructions

45

Answering Task 1 in the General Training Writing test

45

Task achievement

45

Coherence and cohesion

47

Functions

47

Formality

48
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Teaching IELTS
Sample lesson: Academic Writing Test Task 1: A product approach

48

Sample lesson: General Training Writing Test Task 1: A product approach to writing

49

Reviewing the IELTS bands and assessment criteria for the Writing Test Task 1

50

Task 2 and the stages in writing

53

Overview

53

Types of essay

53

Structure

54

Thinking about writing stages

54

Preparing to write

55

Thinking of and organising ideas

55

What makes a good introduction?

56

Writing the main body

57

Cohesion

57

Linking words

57

Recording linking words

58

Subordinate clauses

58

Using pronouns and synonyms

58

Functions

59

The final paragraph

59

Process approach to writing

60

Sample lesson: Task 2 writing question: a product approach

60

Sample ideas: Developing cohesion

61

Summary

61

Listening skills and Listening Sections 1 and 2

64

Learner problems

64

Thinking about listening skills

65

Predicting

65

Identifying key words

65

Listening for specific information

65

Listening intensively

65

Identifying attitudes of speakers

66

Exploring task types in the Listening test

66

Top-down and bottom-up processing

67
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Teaching IELTS
What is top-down processing?

67

What is bottom-up processing?

67

Using predicting skills

67

Predicting questions

67

Distractors

69

Letters and numbers

70

Task types

70

Speed of delivery recognising the use of stress

70

Predicting in a Section 2 task

71

Map/plan/diagram labelling

71

Matching question

72

Listening only once

73

Sample lesson: Listening test Section 1 task

73

Sample Lesson: Intensive listening: Bingo for numbers and letters

74

Summary

75

Listening Sections 3 and 4

77

Analysing a Section 3 task

77

Predicting key words

78

Matching questions: Functions

Analysing the answers

78
79

Identifying opinion and attitude

80

Multiple choice questions

80

Dealing with Multiple choice questions

81

Analysing a Section 4 task

82

Recognising text organisation

83

Note completion

83

Sample idea: Identifying different text types

84

Sample lesson: Increasing motivation

84

Speaking skills and Part 1

86

Analysing the assessment criteria

86

Assessment

87

Reflect: Learner problems

87

Exploring Part 1 of the Speaking test

88
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Teaching IELTS
Assessment

88

Effective speaking activities

89

Assessment of pronunciation

89

Looking in depth

90

In summary

90

Sample Lesson: Encouraging learners to speak

Getting learners to speak

90
91

Sample Lesson: Extending answers

91

Sample Lesson: Encouraging speaking and extending answers

92

Summary

93

Speaking Parts 2 and 3

94

Giving a short talk

94

Dos and Donts

94

Speaking test: Part 2

95

Giving extended answers

95

Assessment of talk

95

Fluency: Using fillers

96

Coherence

96

IELTS Assessment

97

Dealing with unknown vocabulary

98

Using a range of grammatical structures

98

Speaking test: Part 3

99

Topic-related vocabulary

99

Sample idea: What makes a speaking task successful?

100

Sample lesson: Expanding topic-related vocabulary

100

Sample lesson: Part 3 practice

100

Sample lesson: Fillers and linking words

101

Sample lesson: Extending Lexical resource by paraphrasing

101

Sample lesson: Using synonyms

102

Further reading

103

Acknowledgements

105

111