Ielts Overview

IELTS
OVERVIEW.com
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DORI MANTZARI
IELTS OVERVIEW
IELTS OVERVIEW Copyright 2024
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Dori Mantzari All rights reserved.
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Neither this book nor any parts within it may be sold or reproduced in
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any format by any electronic or mechanical means, including
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information storage and retrieval systems without permission in
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writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may
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quote short excerpts in a review. All copyright holders of pictures
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included in this book have been contacted and permissions were
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granted to use this material.
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be greatly appreciated if you consider subscribing to my
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Thank you for being here and I'm grateful that I get to be part of your IELTS
preparation!
As always, GOOD LUCK with your exam!
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IELTS OVERVIEW
What is IELTS exactly?
Ok, so you decided to study or work abroad in an English speaking country and you are very excited
about it. Before you start searching for accommodation, you check what else is needed—you have
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everything!—but suddenly you stumble upon these five letters: IELTS. “What? That’s not for me, I
know English; I have passed the CPE exam 10 years ago!” For some strange reason, no college,
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university, or employer sympathizes with your drama and you gradually come to terms with the fact
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that “Well, maybe I should take this IELTS exam after all, what is it anyway?” I’m glad you asked.
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IELTS stands for International English Language Testing System and it actually assesses your
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knowledge of the English language. There are two versions of the test: the Academic and the
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General. The Academic version is obviously for academic purposes, that is, for those of you who
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want to study in an English speaking university either for undergraduate or postgraduate studies. The
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General version is for those who are going to live and work in an English speaking country and
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English is not their mother tongue.
As I said, IELTS assesses your knowledge of English; so, there is no fail or pass, at least not in the
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traditional way. Instead, there are band scores from 0 to 9 that describe your English ability. Most
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universities accept 6,5 or higher for undergraduate studies and 7 or higher for postgraduate studies.
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As far as the General module is concerned, again it depends on the purpose you take the exam and
what kind of bandscore is required from the ones who originally asked you to take it.
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The exam overall lasts for 2 hours and 44 minutes and tests your Listening, Reading, Writing, and
Speaking skills. There is great likelihood that the Speaking section will take place a di erent day, but
Listening, Reading, and Writing will take place the same day one after the other and in this order. As
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of the latest years, there is also a computer based version of the exam for those who prefer it.
Can I calculate my own bandscores?
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IELTS OVERVIEW
Yes and no. When it comes to Listening and Reading, (both Academic and General IELTS), you can
approximately mark yourself quite easily. There are 40 questions as a total in Listening and 40
questions in Reading.
For example, let’s just say that you got correct 25/40 answers in Listening and 20/40 in Reading. This
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25 and this 20 are your raw scores in Listening and Reading respectively, that is, the number of your
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correct answers out of 40. Now, these raw scores (25 and 20) correspond to an IELTS bandscore.
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These scores are going to be di erent in Listening and Reading and they also tend to change
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according to several factors, but you can definitely calculate your bandscore in these two sections so as
for you to know more or less where you stand.
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Here’s a chart that will help you calculate your bandscores in Listening and Reading:
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Raw Score (number of correct answers) Listening A.Reading
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39-40 9 9
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37-38 8.5 8.5
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35-36 8 8
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33-34 7.5 7.5
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30-32 7 7
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27-29 6.5 6.5
23-26 6 6
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IELTS OVERVIEW
Raw Score (number of correct answers) Listening A.Reading
19-22 5.5 5.5
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15-18 5 5
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13-14 4.5 4.5
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10-12 4 4
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8-9 3.5 3.5
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6-7 3 3
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4-5 2.5 2.5
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(These are approximate values only)
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Now, as far as Writing and Speaking are concerned, things are a little bit di erent. You can’t really
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mark yourself in these two, but here are some things you should keep in mind:
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In Writing, examiners will check you on
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-task achievement in part 1
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and
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-task response in part 2
In other words, you should answer everything they ask you. Your grammar, syntax, spelling, the
variety of your vocabulary, the coherence, cohesion, and the organization of your paper as a whole are
all very important factors that you should keep in mind.
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IELTS OVERVIEW
In Speaking, examiners will consider your fluency, cohesion, accuracy, and the range of your
vocabulary. All in all, they want to see that you are able to communicate well and answer the
questions without problems and misunderstandings. They will also consider your pronunciation. Of
course, they do not expect you to talk like a native speaker; (if you can, then by all means do—that’s a
bonus) the thing that they really want to see is that you are able to utter the words correctly and that
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you are understood clearly without problems.
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What about my overall bandscore?
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Your overall bandscore is the average of your four separate scores in Listening, Reading, Writing, and
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Speaking. For example, let’s just say that you get 6,5 in Listening, 6 in Reading, 8 in Writing, and 7 in
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Speaking:
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6,5 + 6 + 8 + 7 = 27,5/4 = 6,875🡪 This result rounds up to 7(overall bandscore).
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Let’s see another example:
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5,5 + 5,5 + 4 + 6 = 21/4 = 5,25🡪 This result rounds up to 5,5 (overall bandscore).
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However, if a candidate achieves:
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5,5 + 5,5 + 4,5 + 5 = 20,5/4 = 5,125 🡪 This result rounds down to 5 (overall bandscore).
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What about Listening?
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The Listening section is the same for both Academic and General IELTS and it lasts for 30 minutes.
In the end, you will be given 10 minutes to transfer your answers onto the separate answer sheet. So
don’t worry about that, you will have plenty of time. In the computerized IELTS exam you are not
given an answersheet and extra ten minutes because your answers will be immediately answered on
the computer.
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IELTS OVERVIEW
Listening consists of 4 sections of increasing di culty with Section 1 being the easiest. Each section
consists of 10 questions. You are asked to answer to 40 questions as a total and each correct answer
gets one mark. What makes Listening quite challenging is that you will listen to each section only
ONCE. There is no second chance, so you must be really concentrated on what you hear.
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You are likely to hear English, Australian, and sometimes American accents, so be sure you are
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familiar with all of them. There are going to be pauses before each separate task: take advantage of
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these pauses in order to check the task itself and what you need to do. Correct spelling is absolutely
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essential: do not underestimate the importance of correct spelling! A spelling mistake means that you
lose points even if your answer is correct and surely you don’t want that, do you?
SECTION 1
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In Section 1, there will always be an example made out for you at the beginning. It consists of 10
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questions and you are probably going to listen to two people talking about a general topic.
Sometimes, it is divided in two tasks related to each other but don’t worry, there will always be a
pause in between. All in all, you should be able to understand the general information you are given
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and spell correctly.
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SECTION 2
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In Section 2, there is no example—don’t wait for it. You are going to hear a person talking about a
specific subject: a speech about environmental issues, for example. Sometimes, this speaker is
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announced by another speaker. Section 2 is 10 questions long too and it may consist of two tasks as
well, with a pause in between. It goes a step further from section 1 as you have to be able to
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understand specific information and choose among everything you hear the correct information.
SECTION 3
Section 3 is more challenging because there are usually lots of speakers involved: from 2 to 4 speakers!
They usually discuss about university matters.
- You should be able to identify:
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IELTS OVERVIEW
1.) Which speaker says what
2.) How they relate to each other
3.) Their opinions on the matter they discuss about
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You should focus in order to understand who is who by their voices and names. Section 3 is 10
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questions long and it may consist of 2 to 3 tasks with a pause in between.
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SECTION 4
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Section 4 is usually a lecture with one speaker and the topic of this lecture is most likely scientific. It is
10 questions long and you should be able to understand the speaker and his/her view on the subject
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he/she talks about. You also have to identify di erent ideas and causes and e ects. In general, you
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should be able to follow the way the speaker organizes his thoughts in terms of ideas, examples,
advantages and disadvantages, and the like.
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What about Spelling in Listening?
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Spelling is very important in the IELTS exam, but especially in Listening and in section 1 in
particular, they may ask you to write down a name, an address, a telephone number and all kinds of
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information. In this case, they are going to spell it out for you, so don’t worry. For example, let’s just
say that the answer you have to write down is “Gloucester Street”. You will hear something like: “I live
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at Gloucester Street. G – L – O – U – C – E – S – T – E – R”. So, where’s the catch here? You have to
know the alphabet very well and how each and every letter is pronounced. My students, for instance,
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tend to confuse G and J and sometimes H. If you are not sure about the English alphabet and the
pronunciation of each letter, now is the right time to sort this thing out.
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IELTS OVERVIEW
About telephone numbers: If you have to write down a telephone number, remember that “0”
(zero) can also be pronounced as “oh”. For example: 555-25078809: (five-five-five-two-five-oh-
seven-double eight-oh-nine) OR: (five-five-five-two-five-zero-seven-double eight-zero-nine).
[That is not a real number: I just put random numbers one after the other.]
About money: if you listen to someone say “eight hundred pounds thirty-five” or “eight hundred
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and thirty-five pounds”, you should write: ₤ 8, 35. The same goes with dollars and euros: if you
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hear “one hundred fifty-seven dollars and ninety-eight cents” you should write down $ 157, 98
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or if you prefer 157 dollars and 98 cents. If you hear “one thousand seven hundred and forty-one
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euros”, you should write down € 1.741 euros.
About dates: All the following are accepted: 14th May, May 14th, 14 May, May 14
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Remember! They are all considered two words.
About measurement:
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metres, kilometres, centimetres etc.
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You can either write “metres” or “meters”, for example, 95 metres or 95 meters; they are both correct
and accepted. Abbreviations are accepted too, if you prefer: 95 m.
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If you know your weaknesses in spelling start working on them today! Last year, for example, I had
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this student that confused 13 with 30, 14 with 40 and so on so forth. I mean, she would hear 30
(thirty) but she would write down 13 (thirteen) and vice versa. We did exercises; we did everything
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but she just wouldn’t remember it. So, one day I told her, “Let’s just say that you hear 15 (fifteen) and
you hear 50 (fifty). You can hear the di erence in pronunciation, right?” She answered “yes”.
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So, we have:
fifteen and fifty
Which number is more likely to represent each of the above words between 15 and 50?
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IELTS OVERVIEW
When we see or hear the ending –teen in a number (thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen,
eighteen, and nineteen) keep in mind that these always refer to the smallest number (13, 14, 15, 16, 17,
18, and 19 respectively). Why? Because the ending –teen refers to youth: for instance, when we are in
these ages we say “I am in my teens”. So, in our example, fifteen corresponds to 15 and fifty
corresponds to 50.
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She never made this mistake again. Well, of course she made other mistakes because only in this way
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we learn, but not this one. She achieved an overall bandscore 7 in Academic IELTS and 7 in Listening
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separately which is pretty great. She now studies in England for an MA degree. What I am trying to
say here is that no matter what your weaknesses are, you can definitely overcome them with the right
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strategies, advice, and preparation. The worst thing to do is to put them aside and pretend they do not
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exist. Just invent a game for them; play with your weaknesses and sooner or later you will realize that
they are not weaknesses anymore. And that of course goes with everything in life, not only with
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English and definitely not only with IELTS.
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What about Note-completion tasks in Listening?
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Note-completion tasks can be found in all sections of Listening (1 – 4) and all they ask you to do is to
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fill in the gaps with the correct answers from what you are going to hear. For each task-type in IELTS
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there is a certain strategy you should follow. The note-completion task strategy is quite simple.
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ALWAYS read the instructions of each task very carefully. There is great likelihood that there is a
word limit in the instructions and you certainly do not want to answer correctly but lose marks just
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because you didn’t see the instructions! Look at the following example:
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Complete the notes below.
Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR
A NUMBER for each answer.
This means that your answer cannot exceed the two word-limit. You can write three words ONLY
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IELTS OVERVIEW
in case one of them is a number. It really helps to underline the word limit (as a reminder) when you
get the paper because when the recording starts, you are going to listen, think, and write at the same
time.
Let’s see an example of a note-completion task:
Listening
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Section 1
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Questions 1-10
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Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.
NOTES: London by plane
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Example Answer
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Time of travel: October
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Dates available from Athens to London:
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1. …………………………………………………………………….
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2. ……………………………………………………………………..
3. in case there is ……………………………… 25th of October
Economy class:
5 o’clock in the morning: 4 …………………………. Euros
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12 o’clock in the morning 5 …………………………. Euros
The flight lasts for about 6……………………………………..
There is a 7…………………………………………………………
The fee for that is 8………………………………………………
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The return tickets from London to Athens are 9………………………………….
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The time of return is 10…………………………………………
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There will be some time before the recording starts in which you will be able to check through
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the task, the title, what it is about, and the notes you have to fill in. In Section 1 in particular,
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you will have extra time because the first answer will always be answered for you. Take
advantage of this time and try to predict what kind of words are fitted in each gap. Ask yourself,
what could be possibly missing? A name? A number? An address? A verb? In this way you know
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what you need to expect and you are prepared before the recording starts. In our note-
completion task above, in questions 1 and 2 you know that you are going to fill in the gaps with
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dates and in questions 4, 5, 6, 8, and 10 you know that you are going to fill in the gaps with
numbers, even before the listening starts.
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Follow the recording step by step. If you happen to lose an answer that you haven’t heard very
well, just MOVE ON to the next one. Don’t make this usual mistake to insist on a gap, or else
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you will lose the next one too. The recording will not wait for you, so be cool and keep it up.
After the listening part is finished, you will have time (10 minutes) to transfer your answers to the
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separate answer sheet. There, if you haven’t got an answer for something, then you can guess. Don’t
leave a gap blank, you never know! Sometimes what my students thought was wrong it was actually
the correct answer. At least try to predict what is needed. (A noun? A verb? An adjective?) And who
knows? You’ve got nothing to lose.
What about form-completion in Listening?
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IELTS OVERVIEW
Form-completion tasks are similar in their logic and strategy to note-completion tasks. Here’s what a
form-completion task will look like:
LISTENING
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SECTION 1 Questions 1 – 10
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Complete the form below.
Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.
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PLUMBING REPAIRS
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Plumbing Company Details Form
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Date: Monday 10 February
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Example: Answer:
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Plumbing problem: …………drain trap blocked…………
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Causes: the bathroom 1 ……………………………..
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every time the 2 ……………………….............................
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and the 3……………………………………………..
Customer’s information:
The customer has already:
4…………………………………………
5…………………………………………
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IELTS OVERVIEW
But the problem still remains.
Possible cause: Sinter
Solution: Must unblock the drain trap externally
Appointment
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Customer Name: James 6……………………….
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Location: 7……………………………………..
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Time of visit: 8…………………………………..
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Address: 9………………………………..
Fee: 10…………………………………., unless we need a machine.
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First of all, check out the word limit. In this example, you can write one or two words but no
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more than that unless it is a number. (Be careful: if you exceed the word limit, you don’t get a mark
even if you have answered correctly).
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In question 6, we most probably expect a surname and this is going to be spelt out for us. The
same goes with questions 7 and 9 in which we expect to hear a place and an address respectively.
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In questions 8 and 10 we expect to hear numbers. As you can see, this is an easy way to predict
what is missing in most gaps.
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Do not always expect to hear all the phrases in the exact same way as they are written. Some of
them are going to be paraphrased and this stands for all tasks. The meaning of course will be the
same, so you will be able to understand it.
What about table-completion tasks in Listening?
Here’s an example of a table-completion task:
Questions 24-30
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Complete the table below.
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.
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Ideas for the Mary Nick David
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presentation:
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Initial topic 24…………. 25…………… 26……………
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Advantages lots of aspects to 27…………… 28.………….. about
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cover his topic
Disadvantages
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research
no problem if
30…… is solved
doesn’t really know
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In our example here, the questions follow one another horizontally; this is going to be the order
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of the recording too. For instance, now you know that when you listen to Mary saying “lots of
aspects to cover,” Nick will follow after that to give you the answer in question 27.
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Again, the phrase “lots of aspects to cover” may be paraphrased; Mary may not use these exact
same words in the recording but you will definitely get the meaning if you are concentrated.
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The same goes with question 28; The phrase “about his topic” that comes after the question may
be heard paraphrased, but the meaning will be the same.
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What about sentence-completion tasks in Listening?
This is what a sentence-completion task looks like:
LISTENING
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IELTS OVERVIEW
Questions 21 – 25
Complete the sentences below.
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.
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21 Robert is interested in ……………………………… and asks his uncle to give him some information.
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22 Dr. Adam believes that ………………………………. and hard work.
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23 Robert wants to know on what terms Dr. Adam chose to be a gynaecologist and
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……………………………… and if he regretted.
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24 The most important personality traits that a doctor should have are ………………………………………
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25 The majority of those that choose the profession for the wrong reasons such as
………………………………… end up quitting their studies.
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Underline key-words that will help you stay alert during the recording.
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Some phrases that fall into the category of terminology cannot be paraphrased: the word gynaecologist,
for example, in question 23. It is wise to underline such words or phrases and prepare to hear the exactly
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as they are so as for you to know where you stand during the listening section.
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RECAP!!!
Let’s recapitulate our key-points for note, form, table, and sentence completion tasks!
Check out the WORD LIMIT first!
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IELTS OVERVIEW
If they ask you to write “no more than three words,” that doesn’t mean that you have to write three
words each and every time: You can write only one or two, but no more than three.
Be careful of your spelling!
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Names, addresses, telephone numbers will be spelt out for you.
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Try to predict what kind of words are missing!
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The words that surround the gap can help you define if the missing word is a noun, a verb, an
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adjective etc.
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Be careful of paraphrasing!
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Do not expect to hear the exact same words as on paper.
Underline key-words!
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Do that before the listening starts while you check out the task. This will really help you not to get
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lost during the recording.
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What about a ow-chart task in Listening?
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Note, form, table, and sentence completion tasks are not the only tasks that you may come across
during your practice in the IELTS Listening. I have divided all the tasks you may encounter in groups
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according to their similarity with each other. The first task that we will examine from the second
group is the flow-chart completion task.
There are two types of flow-chart completion tasks. Here is an example of the first type:
Questions 26-30
Complete the flow chart below.
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Choose FIVE (5) answers from the box and write the correct letter, A-G, next to questions 26-30.
Dissertation Procedure for MA Graduation
Students submit their thesis to the MA professors’ party
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Professors review each thesis
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↓
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If a thesis is not approved, the 26…………….. should re-examine it.
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Each 27…………………… chooses a thesis and by extension a student to guide.
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↓
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Each student learns which professor will become his/her 28………………….. that will guide them
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through their writing and give them guidelines through the process of their research.
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↓
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When the dissertation is completed, students need to provide an 29………………….. that explains what
the paper is about.
Finally, the dissertation is marked by two di erent professors and can be accessed at the
30……………………. of the department.
A abstract
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IELTS OVERVIEW
B supervisor
C professor
D library
E outline
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F student
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G grade
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There will be more options than the spaces are.
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You cannot use an option more than once.
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The listening will follow the order of the questions.
For example, when you hear that “a thesis is not approved” (or something similar paraphrased),
you know that the answer in question 26 is going to follow.
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Also, a flow-chart could look like this (second type):
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SECTION 4
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Questions 31 – 40
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Complete the flow-chart below.
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Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer.
SPREAD YOUR WORD SEMINAR
3 STEPS TO GUIDE YOU
STEP 1: Be an expert
Goals: Process:
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IELTS OVERVIEW
- Discover your field 31…………………. - Try to 33………………………
- Target your 32…………………………. - Research 34…………………...
and think of what you’ve got to
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↓
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STEP 2: Work, Work, Work
Goals: Process:
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- Create 35…………………………… - Make a list of the 36………………
that their aim is to help people. spread your message.
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- 37…………………………………
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are two of the most important
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factors that should characterize
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your work.
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↓
STEP 3: Marketing
Goals: Process:
- Create a loyal 38………………… – Do not hesitate to put yourself
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IELTS OVERVIEW
- Be 39…………………………..... out there (videos, social media etc.)
- Find a trusted 40………………to
promote your work.
It looks like a note-completion task, so first of all check out the word-limit.
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Always follow the number of the questions in order not to get confused with the order of the
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charts: the numbers will guide you.
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What about matching tasks in Listening?
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Matching tasks expect you to connect the information you are given on paper with the information
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you are going to hear and combine the two together. Let’s see an example of a matching task:
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Questions 16-20
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What do these friends think about the options they have to entertain themselves at the centre of the
town?
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Write the correct letter, A, B, or C next to the questions 16-20 below. You may choose any letter more than
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once.
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16 cinema …….
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17 pizza …….
18 theatre …….
19 luna park …….
20 mall shopping …...
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A They all want to go there
B None of them wants to go there
C The majority has second thoughts about it
Each question (16 – 20) matches only one letter (A, B, C).
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As you can see, the letters will be used more than once.
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The information given in A, B, or C may be heard paraphrased.
Wait until you hear the words used in the questions (eg. cinema, pizza, etc.) and then try to
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understand what each person thinks about them.
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Another example of a matching task is the following:
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Section 3 Questions 21 – 30
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Questions 21 – 23
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Which opinion does each student express about the university library?
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Choose your answer from the box and write the letters A – F next to questions 21 -23.
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A There is no variety on new published books.
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B You cannot borrow more than five books.
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C The hours it is open are fine.
D The employees are not very helpful.
E We shouldn’t be obliged to use the library
F The computers make our research so much easier.
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David 21……………….
Mary 22……………….
Nick 23……………….
In this example above, you can use each option from A to F only ONCE.
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You will need only three of them in order to fill in the questions.
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What about multiple choice tasks in IELTS Listening?
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I am sure that you are all familiar with multiple choice exercises, but let’ s give it a closer look; most
common multiple choice tasks will look like this:
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SECTION 2 Questions 11-20
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Questions 11-17
Choose the correct letter, A, B, or C.
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11. The speaker’s job requires
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A. physical fitness
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B. long-life studying
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C. a great deal of commitment
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12. This story is part of:
A. an interview
B. a friendly conversation
C. an audition
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13. Why do actors hire agents?
A. Agents make their life easier
B. It is di cult to get a job without them
C. Actors need a friend that supports them
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This task asks you to select only one option from A, B, or C. The questions (11-13) will follow the
order of the recording BUT the options (A, B, C) may not be on paper in the same order they will be
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heard. That’s why the underlining of key-words before the listening starts is essential: it helps you not
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to get lost during the task.
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In a multiple choice task, you don’t have to worry about the word limit, but be careful because
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sometimes they may ask you to choose TWO correct answers instead of only one. For example:
Choose TWO correct answers from A, B, C, D, and E.
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13. Why do actors hire agents?
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A. Agents make their life easier
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B. It is di cult to get a job without them
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C. Actors need a friend that supports them
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D. They will not accept you to an audition without one
E. In order to be taken seriously
In this case above, you will have two more options (D and E) and you will have to choose two correct
answers. That’s the reason that I cannot stress enough the importance of reading the instructions very
carefully.
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IELTS OVERVIEW
What about multiple choice problems?
Multiple choice tasks seem quite easy but sometimes they can be confusing. Let’s examine some
problems you may face while you practice multiple choice tasks.
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1st problem: All options are heard.
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Solution: Do not rush into choosing an option too quickly and then be done with it. Speakers may
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change their mind in the course of the recording, so be careful. The first option you will hear is not
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necessarily the correct one. Just wait until you are sure.
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2nd problem: Options are similar with each other.
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Solution: One thing you can do about that is to pay attention to the question (what you are asked).
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Sometimes an option is mentioned as correct but not in terms of the particular question.
3rd problem: Paraphrasing. All options are probably going to be heard and as if this wasn’t enough
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already, they are going to be paraphrased as well.
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Solution: In this case, you should focus on the meaning of the options rather than on specific words.
Do not wait to listen to the exact same words you see on paper, but wait to hear the same meaning.
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Remember that the underlining of key-words is important in order to help you stay alert during the
recording so as to know when to wait for the correct answer, but not in order to confuse you. I mean,
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do not wait to listen to the exact same phrases you have underlined.
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What about diagram labeling tasks in Listening?
In a diagram labeling task, you are going to see a picture of a diagram—obviously—and pretty much
like matching you are going to connect the information you hear with the picture you see on paper.
Before you get ahead of yourselves saying “There’s going to be a picture? Great! That would be easy!”
Let me inform you that diagram (and map) labeling tasks can be rather tricky.
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IELTS OVERVIEW
First of all, you have to be familiar with the vocabulary used to describe where things are located. The
following vocabulary is very useful:
at the top/at the bottom, on your right/left, north/west/south/east, above/below, inside/outside, on

your right/left hand side, at the base, opposite, across, after that, in the middle of, in the
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center/centre, etc.
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These words and phrases by themselves are easy and I am sure you all know them, but you are going
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to hear them along with new names of locations that you have to connect with everything you see in
the picture so make sure not to get confused.
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Here’s an example of diagram labeling:
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Questions 11 – 16
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Label the diagram below.
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Choose SIX answers from the box and write the correct letter, A – H, next to questions 11 – 16.
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THE PYRAMID OF EGYPT
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IELTS OVERVIEW
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.
A King’s chamber
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B Grand gallery
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C Subterranean chamber
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D Descending passage
E Queen’s chamber
F Entrance chamber
G Ascending passage
H Satellite pyramid
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IELTS OVERVIEW
Read the title and the instructions carefully in order to get an idea of what the task is about.
There will be more options than the questions.
Read your options well from A – H so as to be alert when you hear them.
The listening will follow the order of the questions: For example, the answer to the question
number 11 is the first you are going to hear and so on so forth.
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It is really helpful to pay attention to what is already there in the diagram to guide you. It may
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be a phrase already written or in this case a distinctive landmark like this little tower in the
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middle.
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A diagram labeling task could also look like this:
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Questions 16 – 20
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Label the diagram draft below.
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Write the correct letter A – G next to the questions below.
6–star new luxurious hotel draft: Clepsydra, Dubai
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IELTS OVERVIEW
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.
16 parking
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17 shopping mall
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18 outdoors restaurant
19 conference space
20 5 star hotel
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IELTS OVERVIEW
Again, the letters (your options) will be more than you will need.
The recording of the listening will follow the order of the questions and not the letters.
Use the phrases you see already written as a guide. In the above example: basement level, base,
middle, and roof-top.
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Another example of a diagram labeling task is this one:
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Questions 16 – 20
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Label the diagram below. Write NO MORE THAN ONE WORD for each answer.
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The Mall
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do
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In this example, there are no letters. You will be asked to fill in the gaps with words and phrases you
will hear. (Similar to a note-completion task).
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IELTS OVERVIEW
What about map labeling tasks in Listening?
Map labeling tasks are very similar to diagram labeling tasks. The only di erence is that instead of a
diagram there is going to be a map. Let’s see our first example of a map labeling task:
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Questions 11 – 15
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Label the map below. Write the correct letter from A – G, next to questions 11 – 15.
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11 The Mall …………...
12 Kid’s Fun Park …………...
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IELTS OVERVIEW
13 Ice – Skating …………..
14 Co ee House …………..
15 Dolphin Show …………..
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You should follow the same strategy you would with a diagram labeling task
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There are going to be more options than you will need
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The recording will follow the order of the questions
Search for landmarks in the map to be your reference guides
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Here’s another example of a map labeling task:
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Questions 11 – 15
Look at the map plan below.
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Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS for each answer.
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IELTS OVERVIEW
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do
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Follow the same strategy you follow with diagram labeling tasks
This task is similar to note-completion too, so you should also be careful of the word limit in
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the instructions.
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Listening Section Overall
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Each task is heard only ONCE
Be careful of the WORD LIMIT
Follow the order of the questions
Search for key-words
Underlining is your friend
Be careful of paraphrasing
Make sure your spelling is correct
Stay concentrated and do not lose your focus even if they talk too much without giving any
answers; stay focused and eventually they will.
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IELTS OVERVIEW
What about Academic Reading?
Academic Reading is thought to be the most challenging section of all and it consists of 3 (three)
separate texts with questions. These texts are taken from newspapers, magazines, books, website
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articles and they focus on general--usually scientific--matters.
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The first and the second text will ask you to answer to 13 questions each while the third text consists
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of 14 questions. Thus, there is a total of 40 questions that you have to answer in 60 minutes. Be
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careful! Here you are not going to have extra time in the end in order to transfer your answers in the
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separate answer sheet as in Listening! So, keep that in mind: You have to fill in everything in these 60
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minutes and you get one mark for each correct answer. Of course, in the computer-based exam the
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answers are going to be filled in automatically.
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All three texts consist of 2 to 3 tasks with questions based on the information you get from the text.
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Do not use your own logic, your knowledge, common sense, any accepted universal truths or
anything like that in order to answer your questions: Use ONLY the proof you find in the text in
order to justify your answers.
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The first and the second text are going to be at about 900 words; the third text is going to be a little
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bit longer, at about 950 words. The di culty of the texts is increasing with the first one being the
easiest; the second one a little bit harder; and the third one usually the most challenging one but not
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too much compared to the other two, so don’t worry about that.
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Since you only have 60 minutes for all three texts, you should organize your time very carefully. You
should approximately spend 20 minutes in each text and try to keep it that way. You may want to
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spend 15-17 minutes on the first text so as to leave more time for the last one which is longer but this
is up to you. It really helps if you time yourself while you practice. This will give you an idea on how
to organize your time e ectively and it will also help you realize how it is going to be on the day of
the exam.
What about an Academic Reading strategy?
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IELTS OVERVIEW
In these 60 minutes that Academic Reading lasts, do not expect to be able to read all three texts word
per word and answer the questions. You can’t make it: it’s impossible. The limitation of time is the
most challenging thing in Academic Reading but luckily there are certain strategies and tips to beat
that.
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Some people suggest you should start from the questions and then move on to the Reading text.
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Others suggest that you should start from the text—just a quick reading for the gist— and then
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move on to the questions.
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The truth is that there is no right or wrong way. During your practice I am sure you will find which
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way works best for you, but I will also share with you my way which is a combination of the two
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strategies mentioned above and this is what I tell my students in the first place.
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When you first see the Reading text—1, 2, or 3 it doesn’t matter—all you can actually see is the title
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and a chaos of words. You know you have no time to read everything and you don’t know where to
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start. I know that teachers keep telling you to read it just for the gist and move on to the questions.
Don’t get me wrong, I think that this is great advice, but sometimes it can get tricky.
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I’ve had students that were carried away with this and instead of the gist ended up reading whole
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paragraphs or even the whole text, losing valuable time. I also had students that tried to read through
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just to get the gist but sometimes got overwhelmed or confused by the text (especially if the subject
was unknown to them or di cult to keep up with it) and moved on to the questions more anxious
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than before, having lost time.
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I have seen all these behaviours and many more and I came to the conclusion that when we are
exposed to something new, in this case the Reading text, and our time is limited, our mind works best
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with specific information rather than with general bits of information here and there that we might
not even notice through our skimming. Our mind loves specific information.
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IELTS OVERVIEW
And of course now you are going to tell me, “All right then, maybe we should start straight ahead
with the questions which are specific, without paying any attention to the text”. Well, I have my
doubts on that too. Why? Because let’s just say that you start from the questions; you underline key-
words; you understand the task; you know what you need to find and then, what do you do? You go
back to the unknown text to find the answer. As a result, you start searching for specific information
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through the paragraphs and if you don’t find a key-word to guide you right away or at least a familiar
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paraphrased sentence, you end up reading the whole thing anew. What is more, you lose time!
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Now, I’m not telling you that these two strategies don’t work. I am sure that they should work for
some of you out there and that’s great! You don’t have to change your strategy or anything because
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you don’t change a team that wins, right? However, I am going to suggest a third strategy for those of
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you that still haven’t found their personal way that works. My strategy lies in between the
aforementioned two.
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Here it goes: When you first see the Reading text, read the title in order to know what it is about and
then—very quickly—read and underline the first two lines of each paragraph. Don’t keep reading!
Just the first two lines! Trust me, I have seen it with my students and it really works. Usually the
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writers of the articles get straight to the point from the first line of what they are going to discuss
about in the paragraph.
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As you can see, in this way you get both the gist of the text and your mind is not overwhelmed with a
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lot of details as it has focused on specific information through underlining! Sometimes you even get
to see key-words in each paragraph almost instantly. After that, you go to the tasks with the
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questions. Each task is going to be di erent and we will examine each and every one of them in detail,
but keep in mind that whatever the task, underlining is your friend. Underline key-words that you
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need to find in the text as proof to justify you answer.
Then, return to the text and try to scan through according to the information you are asked to find in
each question. You already have an idea as you have read and underlined the first two lines of each
paragraph: use this information as a guide in order to scan the text e ectively and find justification
for your answers. Hopefully, you will get most questions correct and you will be on time.
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IELTS OVERVIEW
Let’s recap!
Read the title!

Skim through the text very quickly by reading and underlining the first two lines of each
paragraph
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Go to the tasks and see what they ask you to do
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Underline key-words
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Return to the text and scan through to find the answers
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Generally, in Academic Reading, the more vocabulary you know the better. Start enriching you
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vocabulary by reading English newspapers, articles, web posts etc. Don't forget that you can practise
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both vocabulary words from the academic wordlist and vocabulary topics on my website:
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https://www.dori-ielts.com
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And don’t forget! Practice, practice, practice! Practice makes perfect: do practice tests and time
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yourself! Academic Reading can be challenging but with the right preparation it won’t seem that hard.
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Academic Reading: What if you don’t know a word?
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As you can tell, in terms of Academic Reading the more vocabulary you know the better, that’s
obvious, and this knowledge will make you feel confident which is always a good thing, but what do
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you do if you don’t know a word?
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We need to be realistic as you can’t possibly know all the words; there will always be words that you
don’t know, especially in Academic Reading. Even native speakers of English might not know all the
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words in an Academic Reading text. Therefore, the secret is not to get stuck so much with words you
don’t know: be calm even if this word is shown in the questions, too.
Here are some tips that will help you deal with this problem as e ectively as possible:
1st tip: Context!
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IELTS OVERVIEW
I’ m sure you already know this, but I might as well repeat it because it is very important. So, let’s just
say you don’t know a word: first of all, don’t panic and try to understand its meaning by the other
words that surround it. By the context, as we say. Let’s use the following extract as an example:
“As far as global warming and the greenhouse e ect are concerned—there is no room for
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compromise” Dr. Jones stated when he was asked about the environmental deterioration and its
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consequences to people.
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Suppose that you don’t know what the word “deterioration” means and you need it in order to answer
a relevant task question based on the issues this paragraph states. Phrases like “there’s no room for
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compromise” indicate that deterioration cannot mean something good: certainly we are not talking
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about positive consequences here. Since there are going to be consequences from global warming and
the greenhouse e ect and “there is no room for compromise” whatsoever, then “deterioration”
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probably means something that gradually declines in quality or becomes worse in general.
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Now, let’s suppose that you know what the word “deterioration” means, but you don’t know the word
“compromise”. Again, when you see phrases like “there’s no room for something” and then the word
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“deterioration,” then probably we could easily assume that “there’s no room for any more excuses”? Or
at least, something like that.
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“Compromise” of course doesn’t mean “excuse” here, but I just want to show you that you don’t have
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to know the exact meaning of a word in order to understand what a paragraph says as a whole and be
able to answer the questions.
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2nd tip: Syntax!
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Syntax can also help you define the meaning of a word. For example, let’s see another extract:
“If governments internationally insist on avoiding the discussion over environmental matters, I don’t
think that ecologists and environmental activists all over the world will ever tolerate or condone
that”.
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IELTS OVERVIEW
Here, even if we don’t know what “tolerate” or “condone” mean, the syntax “I don’t think…”, “will
ever”, “or”, guides us to make the assumption that ecologists will never accept the avoidance of
environmental matters. We don’t know what “tolerate” or “condone” mean, but the syntax itself
guided us in order to understand the meaning.
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3rd tip: Positive or Negative?
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When my students ask me for unknown words while they practice on reading texts, I really don’t like
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answering these questions. In this way, they are never going to learn new vocabulary for one, and
after all, I am not going to be there on the day of the exam. What’s more, they are not allowed to have
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a dictionary with them.
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So, when they ask me “What does that word mean?” I like to answer with this little game of mine that
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I find really e ective. I answer something like that: “Well, I don’t know. Do you think it is a word
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with a positive or a negative meaning?” Before you say “How am I supposed to know? I don’t know
the word,” I assure you that there are ways you can tell if a word has a positive or a negative meaning
without knowing the word per se. Sometimes, all you need to know in order to answer the questions
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is the positive or the negative meaning of a word.
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As it was shown in previous examples, the context and the syntax give you hints for that: Due to
context, we came to the conclusion that “deterioration” has a negative meaning. Another way that can
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help us very much is to pay close attention to the prefixes of the words. For example, certain prefixes
such as the following, add negativity to the words:
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IELTS OVERVIEW
un- unhappy
mal- malfunction
ir- irresponsible
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il- illegal
ig-
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ignorant
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in-
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im- impossible
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dys- dysfunction
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dis- displeasure
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de-
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Remember that there will always be words that you don’t know, but if you use these three tips, you
should be able to figure out the meaning of most words, if not all.
What about paraphrasing in IELTS?
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IELTS OVERVIEW
First things first: What does paraphrasing mean? In paraphrasing, you can take sentences or even
whole paragraphs and use di erent words, that is, di erent phrasing, in order to describe and express
the same meaning as the original: You take the original meaning of a sentence and/or a paragraph and
you express it in a new form with your own words. [Be careful! Do NOT use paraphrasing outside IELTS
because it can be illegal: you are not supposed to use the ideas of another person as your own, using your own
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words. You could be accused of plagiarism.]
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Why is paraphrasing so important in IELTS? Because it is used very much: especially in Listening and
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Reading. In Listening, for instance, you may hear the correct answer but on paper this same answer
will probably be paraphrased. Generally, you are not going to hear the exact same words you will see
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on paper. Nonetheless, the meaning will be the same. So you have to be careful not to wait to hear the
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same words, but the same meaning. This tip is very useful for a multiple choice exercise, for example
in which you have to choose the correct answer and not write something you heard by yourself.
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In Reading, there are three passages (articles) but in the tasks—no matter what kind of task—
sometimes the questions and the language used are paragraphs or sentences of the original text
paraphrased. In this case, you have to be able to connect the paraphrased information with the
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original text and choose the correct answer. In the third passage of Reading specifically, lots of people
say that it is more di cult because it is a little bit longer or the content might be more challenging,
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but this is not the case if you ask me. The third passage is a little bit more di cult because there is a
lot of paraphrasing going on in the tasks!
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As a general rule on how to overcome these problems, sometimes it doesn’t really help so much to do
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one practice test after the other but it is more e ective if you practice in a smart way and try to learn
the language as a whole a little bit better focusing on your weaknesses.
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Let’s see an example of paraphrasing: If you see it, you will be able to recognize it.
“Environmental activists have said they feared that global warming will cause the rise of sea level that
could lead to hurricanes and floods”.
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IELTS OVERVIEW
In order to paraphrase the above paragraph we have to be sure about its meaning and, of course, its
syntax. If we are not sure about something, it really helps to ask questions that will lead us to the right
syntax. Such questions are: “What do environmental activists fear?”
“What will cause the rise of sea level?” etc.
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As you can tell, there are millions of ways that the above paragraph can be paraphrased. Each person
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will paraphrase it di erently. Here follows one way that you can see it:
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“The rising of sea level caused by global warming will lead to hurricanes and floods according to
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environmental activists”.
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1st paraphrasing technique: replacing words with their synonyms
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The increase of the height of the sea that is a ected by global warming will influence the weather in a
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destructive way with hurricanes and floods.
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2nd paraphrasing technique: changing syntax
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Now, try your own paraphrasing! If you want me to see it or correct it, post it in the comment section
of this video:
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http://youtu.be/Rle2rn6_Yrc
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IELTS OVERVIEW
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Try paraphrasing yourself in the
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comment section!
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What about Skimming and Scanning?
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Skimming and Scanning are Reading techniques and they are both very important in IELTS Reading:
in IELTS Reading you are not going to have enough time to read the whole text word per word—
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don’t do that by the way—and this is where these techniques come in handy. Both techniques are
similar, but the purpose we use them for is di erent. Let’s be clear on something: Just looking over an
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article here and there, is neither skimming nor scanning! This is just chaos, ok? You need to follow a
certain procedure in order for these techniques to work out e ectively.
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Skimming
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IELTS OVERVIEW
When you first encounter the Reading passage, you should use the skimming technique. With
skimming, your main goal is to get the gist of the text; an overview of what is all about; an overview
of its main ideas. So, how do we achieve that?
1.) Read the title! The title is the first information you get about the content of the text.
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2.) Read the first paragraph very quickly. Do not try to understand it in depth, just read it rapidly. The
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first paragraph will give you more information about the content but most importantly, you will get
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connected with the text and the writer in terms of writing style, subject, opinions, expectations etc.
Do not get overwhelmed—this happens instantly, almost subconsciously.
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3.) Read and underline the first two lines of each paragraph: only the first two lines don’t keep on
reading and don’t forget to underline! Usually, most writers tell you what the paragraph is going to be
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about from the first lines.
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4.) Sub-headings and subtitles are important. They serve the same purpose as the main title: they tell
you the main theme of each paragraph. So, if they exist, do not overlook them.
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5.) Read quickly and underline the last two lines of each paragraph. This is not always necessary in my
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opinion but the reason I am suggesting this here is because in some tasks you are going to be asked:
“What is the opinion of the writer/ a group of people/ etc. in this matter?” So, in these cases, the
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writer usually concludes the paragraph with his/ her opinion and this is where you will probably find
opinions: in the last two lines. Yet, always justify your answers in order to be sure.
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6.) Read very quickly the last paragraph. Again, just read it rapidly just to get an idea—do not dwell
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on it word per word. The conclusion will give you the overall taste and atmosphere, as I like to call it,
of the text.
7.) This is not exactly a step on itself but this is something you should do throughout while you follow
the previous steps. When you catch a glimpse of uncommon words that are possibly terminology, you
should better underline these words or phrases, especially if they are capitalized. Some of them, if they
fall into the category of terminology, cannot be paraphrased and they can be your guide while you try
to locate the answer to a question. It will also be helpful to underline the following when you come
across them while you are skimming:
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IELTS OVERVIEW
- Numbers, dates, percentages
- Key-words like: “the best”, “the most”, “the worst”, “the majority”, “the minority”, etc.
- Places, nationalities, countries, continents
- Repetitions and synonyms used in the same paragraph.
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………………………………………… ecosystem ………
……………………………………………………………………………… environment ……………………………………
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………………………………………ecosystem…………….
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This repetition is important. There will probably be a question on that. So, you should be careful not
to get confused with possible paraphrasing.
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These are the steps you should follow in order to skim through a Reading text e ectively. The more
you practice skimming that way, the faster you will become and you will have time to focus on the
questions and your answers.
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Scanning
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The technique of scanning should be used after you read the questions in the task. We use scanning
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when we know what we are looking for. We search for something specific. In order to understand
scanning a little bit better, just remember what you do when you try to find a word in a dictionary:
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You already know which word you are looking for and you scan specific pages in the dictionary in
order to find it alphabetically. This is what scanning is. You know what you search for and you try to
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find it; you try to locate it in the text.
So, chances are that after your skimming, you may know where to find some answers to the
questions. You remember where—in which paragraph—to locate them. This can happen if you are
good at skimming and concentrated enough. In this case—when you know where to locate the
answer to a question—you go and read that paragraph carefully in order to actually find your answer
and justify it. Then, you answer and that’s it!
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IELTS OVERVIEW
But when you don’t know where to locate an answer to a question, you should scan the whole text
and not just a paragraph until you find your answer:
1.) Never forget what you are looking for. Do not get carried away and read the whole thing.
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2.) Keep in mind: “What is this that you are looking for?” A date? A number? An opinion? An issue of
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nationality? A scientific term or argument? The more specific you are, the better. In this way, your
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previous skimming and underlining will help you locate the answer even if you don’t know where it
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is. Again, just move your eyes through your underlining, do not read the whole thing.
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3.) When you locate the answer—at least where it must be in your opinion, read the whole sentence
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or paragraph very carefully. Do not rush; always find proof in order to justify your answers. Reading
is there to confuse you; it is not there to be easy—quite the opposite actually—so be careful. If you are
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not happy with the justification you found, keep searching until you are sure it is fine. Do not answer
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if you have doubts. (Unless of course you have no time, so in this case do not leave blanks and
questions unanswered).
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If you practice in this way, you won’t need to read the whole text again in Reading and hopefully the
limited time of the Reading section won’t be an issue anymore for you.
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What about TRUE/ FALSE/ NOT GIVEN tasks in A. Reading?
This task is going to give you a number of statements in form of sentences and you have to decide if
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these statements are TRUE/ FALSE or NOT GIVEN in case the information of the statement is not
stated in the Reading passage.
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Needless to say, you always find proof in the text in order to answer the questions. You don’t use
common sense, generally accepted truths, your own logic, or any of that: you just use information that
you find in the Reading text.
Here’s what a T/F/NG task will look like:
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1?
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IELTS OVERVIEW
In spaces 8 – 13 below 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
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8 Home schooling is a long-lasting procedure that requires
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dedication. ……………
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9 Constant parental supervision is absolutely mandatory. .…………...
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10 The lack of qualified educators leads to the failure of
students. …………….
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11 Home schooling is responsible for isolated children. ……………
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12 Blaming the educational system is a common practice. ……………
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13 Disadvantages outweigh advantages in home schooling. ……………
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IELTS OVERVIEW
Always read the instructions carefully

There will always be at least one answer of each: there will always be at least one TRUE answer,
one FALSE, and one NOT GIVEN. If you complete the task and you haven’t got all three there
at least once, something went wrong.
Underline key-words and words that cannot be paraphrased in the statements (Eg. 8 – 13) in
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order to help you search the passage easily. In the above example, the word “home-schooling” is
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both a key-word and a word that cannot be easily paraphrased. Other key-words could be “long
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lasting”, “dedication”, “parental supervision” etc.
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Extreme opinions like “absolutely mandatory” could be confusing. If you find it clearly in the
text, then it is TRUE. However, if “parental supervision” is stated without being “mandatory” or
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“absolutely mandatory”, then it could be FALSE or NOT GIVEN.
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Words and phrases that CAN be paraphrased they will probably be paraphrased, so be careful.
Do not expect to see the same words as in the text.
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The statements will follow the order of the passage: first of all you will find in the text the
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answer to sentence number 8, then 9, 10 and so on so forth. Do not worry if long paragraphs
intervene between two statements without any information. This is very common in IELTS.
Keep reading and eventually you will find the information you need.
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What about YES/ NO/ NOT GIVEN tasks in Academic Reading?
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A YES/ NO/ NOT GIVEN task is pretty similar to a T/ F/ NG task. The only di erence is that
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Y/N/NG tasks ask you about opinions while T/F/NG tasks ask you about facts. Does it matter to you
and to the answer you'll choose? Not at all. Again, you are going to be given a number of statements
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and you are going to decide whether these statements agree with the text (YES), disagree with the
text (NO), or there is no such information in the text (NOT GIVEN). You have to be able to
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distinguish di erent ideas and views in the text instead of facts. So, you are obviously going to ask me
“What’s the di erence?” Actually, the only di erence here is the symbol or word you use in order to
answer the questions. In the previous task we examined you will use T/F/NG and in this task you will
use Y/ N/ NG. So, pay attention to the instructions.
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IELTS OVERVIEW
However, I want to stress something important in relation to both tasks. The question in the
instructions is going to be as follows: “Do the following statements agree with the information given
in Reading passage 1?” You will answer YES/ NO/ NOT GIVEN if it is a Y/N/NG task and TRUE/
FALSE/ NOT GIVEN if it is a T/F/NG task, respectively. Yet, this might not always be the case.
Sometimes, in the instructions they may ask you to answer the questions according to the writer’s
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views and opinions:
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For example,
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YES: if the statement agrees with the writer’s claims
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NO: if the statement contradicts the writer’s claims
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NOT GIVEN: if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about it
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In this case, you answer taking into account only the views of the writer—no one else’s views that
may appear in the text—and you accordingly answer Y/N/NG if it is a Y/N/NG task or T/F/NG if it
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is a T/F/NG task.
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This is one of the reasons I keep telling you to read the instructions very carefully so as to know
exactly what you need to do. ALWAYS do that in every task. Once, one of my students out of haste
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went on and completed a Y/N/NG task but answered using T/F/NG symbols. As you can tell, the
whole task was taken wrong (except for the correct NG answers) even if he had answered some or all of
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them correctly. Be very careful with the instructions.
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Let’s look a Y/N/NG task as an example:
Questions 23 – 26
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading passage 2?
In spaces 23 – 26 below, write
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IELTS OVERVIEW
YES if the statement agrees with the writer’s claims
NO if the statement contradicts the writer’s claims
NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this
23 Neural prosthetic implants aim at compensating for a variety
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of disabilities that a ect the human nervous system.
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24 Research programs aimed at epileptics have already started.
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25 Neuroscientists are optimistic for the cure of cancer too.
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26 Engineers play a significant role in the interdisciplinary
research and development of neural prosthetics.
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Read the instructions carefully. In this example, they ask you about the opinions of the writer:
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you should take into account only the writer’s views in order to answer the questions.
The information of the statements will appear in the text in the same order as the order of the
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statements in the task.
Underline key words or—better yet—words and phrases that cannot be paraphrased. In the
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above task, for example, “neural prosthetic implants” and “neuroscientists” cannot be easily
paraphrased.
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Remember that answers Y/N/NG will all be used at least once. If you complete the task and you
haven’t used one of them, check it out again because something must have went wrong.
What about NOT GIVEN confusion?
A common problem in IELTS A.Reading is NOT GIVEN confusion. There is usually a great deal of
ambiguity between FALSE and NOT GIVEN answers and sometimes it is really hard to distinguish
their di erence in order to answer the tasks correctly.
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IELTS OVERVIEW
To be honest, there are no tips or rules that can guarantee 100% success no matter what. The nature
of these tasks prevents that. They are meant to be tricky and confusing. The best thing you can do is
to try to understand the logic of A.Reading concerning these tasks if that makes any sense. The
following tips are based on my teaching experience and hopefully they will help you to tell the
di erence between FALSE and NOT GIVEN answers.
1st Tip: Beware of implications!
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Sometimes an idea or a statement is IMPLIED in the text; you assume it is or it is not that way BUT it
is never clearly stated. When you cannot find proof; you cannot be specific on something but you
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generally think it must be true or false, be careful because it is probably NG. For example, let’s take
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this statement over here:
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“People that su er from depression try to attain the same standard of success in their career as people
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that do not su er from any psychological disorder.”
All over the text it may be implied that depressive people are not concerned with achieving success in
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their career, but it is never clearly stated in the text that they do or don’t try to attain the same
standard of success in their career as non-depressive people, so it is not False: it is Not Given.
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2nd tip: Lack of discussion!
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If you see a statement not being discussed or analysed enough in the text as an issue in a paragraph or
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half a paragraph, you should start thinking that this statement might be a Not Given one. In other
words, if the focus of a paragraph is on something else and just happens to mention a part of the
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statement, be careful. For example,
“Homeschooling is part of a self-study procedure that has more to o er than it is generally known”
In the text, the notion of homeschooling is analysed along with its advantages but the writer never
states that it is part of a self-study procedure. And this example takes us to the next tip.
3rd Tip: If you can’t see it, it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist!
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IELTS OVERVIEW
What do I mean by that? Let’s check out the previous example again. It is never stated in the text that
home-schooling is a self-study procedure. This doesn’t mean that the statement is False, right? For all
I know, it could be part of a self-study procedure, it is just not stated here in this text. Thus, we are
NOT GIVEN this information. It is a NG statement. It would be false only if we were told in the text
something like that: “Homeschooling is thought to be part of a self-study procedure but this couldn’t
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be far from the truth”. Similarly, we move on to the next tip.
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4th Tip: Beware of omissions!
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Pay attention to what is omitted between the text and the statement rather than what they have in
s
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common. For example, if the passage says something like “Having a family makes people feel secure
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because…. etc” AND the statement says “Having a large family enhances security” this is NG. Why?
Because no one talked about the size of the family; no one mentioned that large or small would make
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any di erence. The writer wrote about any family and told us nothing in terms of size. It can’t be false
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(as any family enhances security) but we don’t know if it is entirely true in terms of size: this
information is NG. It is kind of tricky, I know, but this is how it is supposed to be. This is A.Reading
and you just have to get used to this logic.
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5th Tip: Beware of explanations!
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All parts of a statement must agree or disagree with the text. For example, let’s see the following
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statement:
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“The population of wild ants increases at such a fast rate because they constantly need more members
in the ant community”
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Let’s just say that in the text there is a whole paragraph saying that the population of wild ants is
indeed increasing at a very fast rate but it never gives any reason for that; it never tells us why. It
could be the aforementioned reason, but we don’t know! So, it is NG. Be very careful of parts that are
absolutely true, BUT the explanation given for that is not the same as in the text in which case the
statement is FALSE, or it is not stated at all, in which case it is NG.
6th TIP: Beware of comparisons!
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IELTS OVERVIEW
Extreme opinions, views, and statements should raise your attention. As we said in a previous
example, we don’t know if the size of a family makes any di erence. Similarly, let’s check out this
statement:
“Bus is the most convenient form of public transportation”.
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In the text, convenience is not mentioned at all. It is mentioned that buses are used the most but not
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in terms of convenience, but in terms of frequency. So, it is—yes, you guessed right—NOT GIVEN.
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At this point if you are not frustrated with A.Reading, good for you, that’s a good sign! If you are
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frustrated, fair enough, but please don’t take it out on me like my students sometimes do as if I have
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invented IELTS, I assure you I have not. Just try to see it like a game; it really helps to play with it.
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Most mistakes take place when part of the statement is correct but the other part is either not
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mentioned at all or it is mentioned for another reason, so pay attention to these statements.
Keep in mind that the order of the statements determines where you are going to find them in
the text. This makes things a little bit easier.
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These tips are out of my teaching experience so they may not work for all of you but give them a shot
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and I do hope they will!
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Ok, now let’s do some practice!! We will answer a task together with the following small text, but the
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way of thinking is the same with any text no matter how long it is. Since in T, F, NG tasks the order
of the statements follows the order of the text, you more or less know where to search for the answer.
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Ok, here we go:
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IELTS OVERVIEW
Online gaming is the new addiction of our modern times that targets mainly teenage boys. Ask 100
teenage boys what would make them happy and the majority would answer “playing online video
games all day”. The phrase “all day” is important here. Research shows that most teenagers play on
average 3 – 5 hours a day and they would like to play even more! Scientists claim that online gaming
addiction is nearly as dangerous as a drug addiction and has consequences of its own both in the social
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and the psychological life of the teenager. There were always students that dropped out of school
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because they didn’t like it and they weren’t interested in a future career but nowadays, dropping out of
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school is clearly correlated with the amount of hours teenagers play each day and with the absence of
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social activities outside school.
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1. Teenage girls are not interested in online gaming at all.
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2. Online gaming is the most dangerous addiction.
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3. Online gaming addiction results in social and psychological problems.
4. Teenagers that quit school due to gaming addiction don’t care about a career.
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This is a paragraph taken from a text talking about online gaming addiction. We will use this
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paragraph as we would a whole text for convenience. So, we have done our skimming in the text and
our underlining and we move on straight to the statements. Let’s read the first one:
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1. Teenage girls are not interested in online gaming at all.
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Since we know that the statements follow the order of the text we will find this answer at the
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beginning of the paragraph. So, what do you think it is? T, F, NG? Have a guess! The text doesn’t say
that girls are not interested at all, we don’t know that. It says that it is mainly boys, this is the
majority, but we don’t know anything about girls. So, it is….. NG!
Let’s go to the next statement:
2. Online gaming is the most dangerous addiction.
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IELTS OVERVIEW
As you see, we’ve already underlined the word “dangerous” and this will help us locate the answer in
the text. So, you should read this part of the text above that contains this word a little bit more
carefully. [Scientists claim that online gaming addiction is nearly as dangerous as a drug addiction and has
consequences of its own both in the social and the psychological life of the teenager.] Now, what do you think
this statement is? T, F, or NG? It says it is dangerous but not as dangerous as a drug addiction. They
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are close, but not as dangerous yet. it is nearly as dangerous as taking drugs. It cannot be T because it
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is not the most dangerous addiction; it cannot be NG as the text clearly states that it is dangerous, so it
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is F.
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Ok, now let’s move on to the next statement:
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3. Online gaming addiction results in social and psychological problems.
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We will find the answer after the previous one since they follow the order of the text. We’ve already
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underlined important key-words: [and has consequences of its own both in the social and the psychological
life of the teenager.] Ok, what is it? It is T. The consequences of this addiction are both social and
psychological in nature. And now the last one:
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4. Teenagers that quit school due to gaming addiction don’t care about a career.
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Let’s read the last section a little bit better: [There were always students that dropped out of school because
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they didn’t like it and they weren’t interested in a future career but nowadays, dropping out of school is clearly
correlated with the amount of hours teenagers play each day and with the absence of social activities outside
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school.] What do you think it is? Those of you who answered NG are right!! Why? Because it doesn’t
say anywhere that teens that su er from gaming addiction don’t care about a future career. This is T
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only for children that quit school because they don’t like it but we don’t know about gaming teens. It
may be T for some of them but we don’t know anything about it. Some may be interested in a career,
too; we just don’t know it. So, it is NG.
What about Diagram Labelling tasks?
As you can tell by the name of this task, you are going to see a picture of a diagram in the task. You are
asked to fill in the gaps with the information given in the Reading passage.
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IELTS OVERVIEW
Usually, you have to be able to understand some kind of description in the passage and then relate it
to the information of the diagram. So, what you need to do first, is to scan the text in order to find the
specific description in the text and then fill in the gaps in each space with the correct information.
Be careful at this point! Read the instructions in order to find out about your word limit and then
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keep in mind that you should fill in the gaps with the exact same words or phrases you will find in the
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Reading passage. Do NOT paraphrase! I know that in IELTS Listening and Reading paraphrasing is
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very common BUT you are not asked to do it yourself. On the contrary, in this case, just copy the
.
correct answer you will find in the text without changing the form of the words according to the
word limit.
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Another thing you should remember when it comes to a diagram labelling task is that the numbered
spaces in the task will not be found in the same order in the passage. For example, you may find the
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answer to the second gap before the answer of the first one. All answers are going to be intermingled
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in the text so do not expect to find them in the same order as in the task.
Ok, now let’s see a diagram labelling task:
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Questions 10 – 13
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Label the diagram below.
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Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.
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IELTS OVERVIEW
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do
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IELTS OVERVIEW
First of all, check out the word limit. In this example, you can write no more than three words.
So, you may write one, two, or three words as a correct answer taken from the Reading passage.
It is helpful to read the headings of the diagram. In this case, phrases like “Private School Plan”,
“Internal Design”, “External Buildings”, are useful as guides because these headings will help you
define where exactly in the text you will find the correct answers.
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Be careful of your spelling! If you spell words wrong, then you will lose marks even if you have
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answered correctly.
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Try to predict what kind of words are missing. For example, in question number 12, what is this
.
kind of class? History class? Literature class? It will probably be something like that so stay alert
as you know more or less what you expect to hear.
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Let’s take as an example question number 10. The phrase “for sports activities” may be found
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paraphrased in the Reading text, but you have to fill in the gap with the exact same words you
will find in the Reading passage as a correct answer.
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What about Multiple Choice Tasks in Reading?
In Multiple Choice tasks, first and foremost:
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1.) Read the instructions carefully. I know I keep saying that but it is important. In this case, do not
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assume that because it is a multiple choice task you will pick only one option. If there are four choices
for example (A, B, C, D) you will always have to pick one correct answer but if there are more than
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four options, for example, (A, B, C, D, E), you may be asked to choose at least TWO correct options,
so be careful with that.
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2.) It is very useful for you to keep in mind that multiple choice questions follow the order of the text.
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The answer to the first question will be found first in the text; the answer to the second question after
that and so on so forth. This is important because if you can’t find the answer to a question but you
find the answer to the next question, you know more or less where to search or scan in the text.
3.) The questions may refer to a small part of the passage or to a large part of the passage. There is no
rule for that. Sometimes a question may refer to the whole text, asking for the opinion of the writer
for example. This question will usually be the last one.
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IELTS OVERVIEW
Here is a multiple choice task in detail:
Questions 19 – 22
Choose the correct letter A, B, C or D
19 One purpose of the photography seminar is to teach how
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A to use natural light to your advantage
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B to control artificial light when framing a picture
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C to find the right composition when framing a picture
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D to know when it is best to use flash
20 Renowned photographers from all over the world advise participants on
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A photographing landscapes and nature
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B photographing portraits and people
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C the new digital camera equipment
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D creative and technical subjects
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21 Participants are required to choose an assignment based on
A travel photography
B artistic photography
C storytelling photography
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IELTS OVERVIEW
D the multiple uses of light, colour, and focus
Here we can see a 4-option multiple choice task. One thing I want to stress is the importance of
underlining key-words. Let’s see the first question number 19. The first important word here is the
word “purpose”. You will be looking for a purpose. This is important because in the text lots of ideas
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may be mentioned but do not get distracted: You are looking for the purpose; the goal of the seminar.
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So, as you can see, smart underlining is important. You don’t have to underline everything—there’s
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no point in that—just underline the words that will guide you and help you. Similarly, in the next
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question number 20, we will search for advice. What the photographers advise the participants. They
may say lots of things but what is their advice?
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As far as the options are concerned, be careful! Some of the options may use the same words as in the
text just in order to confuse you. Be sure to read the entire sentence carefully and understand its
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meaning. Do not let the use of words confuse you. Does it say the same thing in the text regarding
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meaning? Is it obvious? Then, it is correct. If not, check it out further. For example, in question
number 20, option C, we read: “the new digital camera equipment”. We may find this exact same
phrase in the text—it is unlikely to be paraphrased anyway—but, is that phrase used in terms of
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advice? This is what you should ask yourself in order to answer.
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Last but not least, when you choose a correct option always make sure that you read the other options
as well and that you found proof they are not correct. Do not rush into answering.
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Questions 20 – 21
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Choose TWO letters, A –E.
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Which TWO of the following are possible dangers that miners face daily?
A health problems due to toxic work conditions
B being held underground by the fall of walls and ceilings of the
mineshaft
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IELTS OVERVIEW
C the potential of gas explosions
D frequent fires caused by gas leaks, electrical faults, or the
spillage of flammable chemicals
E electrocution within a damp mining environment
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This is a 5-option multiple choice task and you have to choose two correct answers. You will follow
the same strategy. You need to search for two possible dangers that miners face daily. “Daily” is
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important because the text may refer to a danger that can occur a certain period of time or once a year
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or whatever. So, be careful when expressions of time are used in every task. Then, you read the
options carefully; you underline key-words; and you go back to the text.
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One of the reasons I don’t focus on texts very much is because I want to show
you the strategy no matter what the text is. If you follow this way of thinking,
you can cope with any kind of text, no matter how tricky or di cult.
do
.
What about Sentence Endings tasks in Reading?
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In this task, you will get a number of sentences that are not complete and you will have to choose
their endings by a number of options given to you. The options will be more than you need and this is
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what makes this task rather challenging. The good news is that the questions—that is the first halves
of the sentences—will appear at the same order as they will appear in the text, so you will know
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where to find this information and where to start scanning. Again, as always be careful of
paraphrasing! Both the sentences and their endings are going to be paraphrased most probably, so
focus on meanings and not on words.
Let’s go and have a closer look on one of these tasks:
Reading: Matching Sentence Endings
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IELTS OVERVIEW
Questions 14 -20
Complete each sentence with the correct ending A – K from the box below.
Write the correct letter A – K in spaces 14 – 20 below.
14 Short – term memory can be caused by medical conditions or …………………
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15 Some people who su er from short – term memory loss …..……………..
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16 People with long – term memory loss …………………
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17 A lack of oxygen to the brain can a ect …………………
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18 Short – term memories can be influenced by .………………...
19 The di erent stages of memory are guided by …………………
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20 There are medical tests that can define …………………
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A other related injuries
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B traumatic events, violent crimes, accidents
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C are unable to remember not only past personal memories but also facts
D psychological traumas without the help of a consultant
E di erent parts of the brain such as the frontal lobe of the cerebral context
F the ability of the brain to store short – term memories
G vitamin deficiency and thyroid problems
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IELTS OVERVIEW
H is responsible for short – term memory loss
I what the person is thinking at the moment
J the blood flow to the brain
K cannot remember the details of incidents that happened minutes earlier
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The first thing you can do is to read the sentences from 14 – 20 and underline key-words especially
those phrases that are hard to be paraphrased. These underlined words and phrases will help you and
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guide you to find the answer in the text through scanning. For example, in question 17, the phrase
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“lack of oxygen” cannot be easily paraphrased. Additionally, always underline what you are going to
search for. In questions 14 and 15, for instance, you care about short-term memory but in question 16
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you care about long-term memory loss, so don’t get confused.
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Secondly, you should always make sure that the endings you choose fit both grammatically and
syntactically with the first halves of the sentences. Also, even if they fit in grammar and syntax, make
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sure that the sentence makes sense in terms of meaning as well. So, after your choice, always read the
whole sentence just to make sure that it can stand as a logical sentence.
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Thirdly, since the options are more than you need, keep in mind that some options are going to have
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similar meanings in order to confuse you. Yet, they will di er on important points, so make sure you
read the information in the text very carefully.
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RECAP!
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1.) Read the first half of the sentences and underline key-words
2.) Locate in the passage where exactly this piece of information is
3.) Choose the correct option from the letters
4.) Make sure that your option fits not only in grammar and syntax but also in the meaning it tries to
express.
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IELTS OVERVIEW
What about ALL-completion tasks in Reading?
The completion tasks that you may come across in IELTS Reading are: note-completion, sentence-
completion, flow-chart-completion, summary-completion, and table-completion tasks. All
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completion tasks are similar in terms of the strategy we follow, so here are some things you need to
remember:
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1.) First of all, there will be a WORD LIMIT. So, be careful of the number of words you use.
.
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2.) One thing you need to remember is that in all completion tasks, the questions and their gaps are
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NOT necessarily displayed in the same order as they will appear in the text. In other tasks we have
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examined, the order is the same but not in completion tasks!
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3.) Thirdly, you should copy the words as they appear in the text; do NOT change their form! For
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instance, don’t change a verb you found in the text into a noun just because the gap needs a noun. You
should find the noun in the text: if you see that the information you found needs to change in order to
fit grammatically in the gap, then you probably made a mistake, so search a little bit more.
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These are three very important points you should remember concerning these tasks. Other than that,
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you will follow the same advice that I have already shared with you about: 1.) Skimming and Scanning
2.) Underlining key-words 3.) Paraphrasing
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Let’s see an example of what each task will look like:
Questions 21 – 23
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Complete the sentences.
Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.
21 One aspect of communicative approach in teaching emphasizes the
interaction ………..………………………………. in the classroom.
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IELTS OVERVIEW
22 This approach requires teachers to prepare the ……………………..
that will motivate students to take part in the lesson.
23 Communicative courses encourage students to ……………………..
and ………………………. leading the lesson to a whole new level.
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In this task, you need to fill the gaps in the sentences. You should be careful of the WORD LIMIT. In
this example, you shouldn’t write more than three words. Also, remember that the questions will not
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appear in the same order: for example, you may find the answer to question 23 first and then the
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answer to question 21. Phrases like “communicative approach” cannot be paraphrased, so underline
phrases like that as they will be your guide while you try to find the answer in the text.
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The following task is a note-completion task:
Questions 14 – 20
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Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.
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DRAMA THERAPY
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Using drama as a therapeutic method
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14 ………………………………….. and as a
15 ……………………………………………. that will relieve traumatic memories.
Goal:
the 16 …………………………….. of the participants
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IELTS OVERVIEW
the 17 …………………………….. of traumatic events
Important for 18………………………….. and 19 ……………………….
It urges participants to seek out 20………………………… and think out of the box.
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The same strategy and tips are applied here, too. Use the words before the gaps in order to locate the
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answers in the text.
.
Here follows a flow-chart completion task:
Questions 20 – 26
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Complete the flow - chart below.
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Write NO MORE THAN ONE WORD for each answer.
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IELTS OVERVIEW
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1.) Check out the word limit
2.) The order will not be necessarily the same
3.) The words you can see before the gaps will guide you through the text.
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4.) You have to fill in the gaps with the exact same words you will find in the text.
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As you can understand, the same goes with a table-completion task where instead of a flow-chart,
there is a table:
Questions 6 – 9
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Complete the table below.
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Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.
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IELTS OVERVIEW
Graphology: Personality Trait Interpretation

Handwriting Analysis
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Left or Right Slant A right slant indicates 6 ………………………… while a left slant
shows emotion and reserve.
Upright Handwriting An upright handwriting tendency conveys an

7……………………………………
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Handwriting Size
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If the writing is 8…………………middle can mean that the person is
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outgoing.
Word Space
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9………………………… in somebody’s handwriting
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.
You will follow the same strategy and use the information given both in rows and in columns as
guides to find the answers in the Reading passage.
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And last but not least, here’s an example of a summary completion task:
Questions 4 – 7
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Complete the summary.
Choose NO MORE THAN ONE WORD from the passage for each answer.
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IELTS OVERVIEW
Did you realize that autism a ects approximately 6 out of every 1000 people? Those numbers are
actually 4……………………….. when you think about how much they have increased in the past several
years. Even though autism can leave a person unable to deal with life at all, some people have a form
of autism that allows them to live a life that is fairly 5…………….……………. In fact, there are plenty of
famous people with autism that you may not have ever realized had the disease.
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Becoming famous and successful despite having autism is extremely di cult and these exceptional
individuals should be honored and looked to for 6………………………. However, for everyone who has
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become famous there are hundreds, if not thousands, of others who have overcome autism and
achieved personal success in their lives without most of us having ever heard of them. These people
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should be 7…………………………… as well.
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In summary completion tasks you have to fill in the gaps of a small paragraph that is the summary of
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the text. Everything we already said about completion tasks applies in this task as well.
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However, there is another type of summary completion task that gives you the missing words in a
box and you have to choose among several options. It will look like this:
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Questions 36 – 40
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Complete the summary using the list of words, A – I, below.
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Write the correct letter, A – I, in the spaces below.
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People who su er from poor quality sleep tend to be irritable,
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36 ………………………., lacking energy, and accident prone. They are more likely to su er from
depression, 37 ……………………….. and strokes. Continued sleep deprivation brings about changes in
the activity and timing of important hormones such as melatonin, cortisol, leptin, thyroid
38……………………… and prolactin. It has been shown in studies that this pattern of hormonal changes
has also been witnessed in su erers of depression and in age-related chronic conditions such as
obesity, 39……………………….. and hypertension.
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The hormones secreted as a result of stress 40……………………. excite the body's systems. When stress
is chronic we are hyperaroused. When we are hyperaroused we can't sleep.
A responses B stress C hormones
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D irresponsible E inattentive F insomnia
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G heart disease H inability I diabetes
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The di erence here is that you are given options and even more options than you need. You will
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follow the exact same steps we covered about all completion tasks, but be careful of one thing: the
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words in the options will NOT be found in the text in the same way: they will be paraphrased. So, do
not search for the words: search for the same meaning. Of course, the word you will choose to fill in
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the gap should fit in both grammar and syntax.
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What about Matching tasks in Reading?
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There are two types of tasks: a.) Matching Names and b.) Matching Headings. In the first type,
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matching names, you are given a number of statements and you have to match the statements with
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the options given to you in a box. The options—as always—are going to be more than you need. Let’s
have a look at one of these tasks:
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Questions 1 – 5
Look at the statements (Questions 1 – 5) and the lists of disorders (A – G) below. Match each statement with the
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correct smoking relapse reason
A – G. Write the correct letter from A – G next to questions 1 – 5 below.
There are more relapses than descriptions, so you will not use them all.
1 occurs when you face an unexpected situation …………………
2 you think that you can control it and you fall into it again …………………
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3 can appear as a need when you least expect it …………………
4 recognise ahead the signs of relapsing and decide …………………
5 the cure begins when you find ways to prevent relapse …………………
A Latent Relapse Potential
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B Planned Relapse
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C Chronic Stress Management
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D Acceptance of Weakness
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E Relapse Prevention
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F Relapse Recovery
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G Instantaneous Relapse
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1.) Here, you have to match the questions—the statements from 1 – 5 with the ideas or names in the
box from A – G.
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2.) The statements are going to be paraphrased so try to locate their meanings in the text and not the
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exact same words.
3.) Another thing you can do that will help is to scan where exactly in the text each name or idea from
A – G appears and read this information carefully: then, decide which of the statements match this
information.
Now, let’s have a look at a matching headings task:
Questions 1 – 7
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Reading Passage 1 has seven paragraphs, A – G.
Choose the correct heading for each paragraph from the list of headings below.
Write the correct number i – x in spaces 1- 7 below.
i Renewable Sources of Energy
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ii Utilization of fossil fuels
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iii Sun: the unlimited source of energy
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iv Solar power and technology
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v Transformations of solar power
vi Thermal energy in agriculture
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vii PV cells and electricity
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viii Solar energy devices in the market
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ix An environmentally friendly source of power
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x An expensive investment
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1 Paragraph A ……………………….
2 Paragraph B ……………………….
3 Paragraph C ……………………….
4 Paragraph D ……………………….
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5 Paragraph E ……………………….
6 Paragraph F ……………………….
7 Paragraph G ………………………
1.) Again, there will be more options than you need.
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2.) The options are going to be similar with each other in meaning, so you have to be able to
recognize the heading that best represents the overall content of each paragraph; the gist of each
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paragraph as a whole and not just one sentence or two in it.
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3.) Sometimes, a heading may use the same words as in the text but doesn’t refer to the main theme of
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the whole paragraph. It is mentioned by the way in one or two lines, not as a main theme of the
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discussion.
4.) In this task, scan the whole paragraph but pay attention to the details in the headings. For example,
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let’s have a look at heading vi: Thermal Energy in Agriculture. The whole paragraph should describe
clearly, without any doubt or confusion, thermal energy and its use in agriculture. If the paragraph
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just mentions “agriculture” briefly for instance, then, this might not be the correct heading. So, pay
attention to the main discussion of the paragraph: don’t let the usage of the same words, both in the
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text and in the headings, confuse you.
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What about Locating Information tasks in Reading?
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In this task, they are going to give you a number of statements that contain information from the
passage and you have to decide which paragraph from the passage contains this information of the
statement. This task is very similar to a “Matching Headings” task but in this case, we don’t get titles
(headings) of paragraphs, just information that is contained in the paragraphs.
The best you can do in this task is:
1.) Read the statements and underline key-words that will help you locate them in the text.
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IELTS OVERVIEW
2.) After that, you should scan the text in order to locate them.
3.) Once you locate the information in the text through scanning, read this section carefully in order
to confirm your answer.
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Keep in mind that there may be paragraphs that contain the information to more than one question
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(statements).
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Here’s what a “Locating Information” task will look like:
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Questions 27 – 31
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Reading passage 3 has eight paragraphs, A – H.
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Which paragraph contains the following information?
Write the correct letter A – H in spaces 27 – 31 below.
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27 colour blindness is not actual blindness but there is a decreased .……
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ability to see colour under normal lightning conditions.
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28 colour blindness a ects a significant percentage of the population .…..
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29 it takes place due to the failure of retinal cores to transmit colour ……
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information to the optic nerve
30 despite their limitations, colour blind people can perceive certain ……
colour camouflages better
31 colour blindness is much more common in males than in females ……
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IELTS OVERVIEW
So,
1.) Underline key-words! For example, in question 27, the phrases, “not actual blindness” and
“decreased ability” are phrases that can help you locate them in the text through scanning. BUT!!
ALWAYS remember that they may be phrased di erently in the text.
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2.) Once you locate these phrases, read this section of the passage carefully in order to be sure that this
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is the paragraph you are looking for.
.
3.) Remember that a paragraph may contain more than one statement and you may have to use the
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paragraph twice: Do not let that confuse you.
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These are all the task types you may come across in A. Reading. As you can see, they are numerous!
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So, firstly you have to familiarize with all of them in the way I suggest here--no matter how mundane
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and time-consuming it is--because it will help you with your practice tests. In this way, you will also
feel much more confident and less nervous.
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Here are the Reading tasks that follow the order of the text:
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Here are the Reading tasks that DO NOT follow the order of the text:
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This is very useful information to know and it will come in handy to know by heart during your
practice!
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IELTS OVERVIEW
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forget to check out my website:
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m
.
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i- i
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IELTS OVERVIEW
What about Academic Writing?
In Academic Writing both Task 1 and Task 2 the language you should use is formal. I am sure that you
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hear that a lot but what does it mean in practice?
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1.) To begin with, when you write a formal essay, contractions such as “don’t, won’t, aren’t, isn’t etc.” are
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out of the question. Always use “do not, will not, are not, is not etc.”
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2.) In a formal writing we prefer using the passive voice whenever we can instead of everything else.
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Of course, we will use all syntactical forms especially in Task 1, in which is not very easy to use passive
voice, but if there is a choice always prefer passive voice. For example, instead of using: “I argue that…”
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you can use “It is argued that…” or “It could be argued that…” especially in task 2 where you state your
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own opinion.
3.) You should be very careful with your spelling! Don’t think that minor spelling shouldn’t matter
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much. They consider spelling extremely important so you are going to lose points for these mistakes
especially if they are repetitive. So, on the day of the exam, if you are not exactly sure how to spell a
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word, you could use another one.
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4.) Be careful! Whenever you use an idea in Task 2 make sure that you elaborate on it a little bit with
analysis and examples. Do not just throw ideas randomly out there. This is what cohesion is all about:
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one idea should follow the previous one smoothly.
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5.) Organisation is extremely important, too. Divide your essay into paragraphs. Preferably, four
paragraphs should be fine. You need an introduction, 2 or 3 paragraphs in the main body and a
conclusion.
6.) Last but not least, use linking phrases to connect paragraphs and ideas such as “In addition,
Furthermore, However, In conclusion etc.” I will talk about linking phrases separately in following
chapters; this is just to give you an idea.
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IELTS OVERVIEW
In Academic Writing Task 1, you are going to be given a graph, a pie-chart, a diagram, or a table that
shows information based on statistics and mainly what you need to do it to summarise the
information you are given through reading the data of the diagram. In your summary, you should
refer to the most important information and then, you should compare and contrast the changes in
the information you are given.
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You have 20 minutes to write your answer in approximately 150 words. You can write more than that
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but not less! Academic Writing Task 1 takes the 1/3 of the marks of the writing section. The other 2/3
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go to Academic Writing Task 2.
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In Academic Writing Task 2, you should write 250 words or more (not less!!) in about 40 minutes.
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You will be given a topic to discuss in your writing by stating your opinion. Here, you don’t have to
describe anything; you have to form your own opinion. Mainly, in each paragraph of the main body
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of your essay you give a reason that supports your statement and then you analyse it a little bit further
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by using facts and examples to justify it.
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What about the strategy of Academic Writing Task 1?
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In Academic Writing Task 1 the first thing you should do is
.
1.) Read the first part of the topic very carefully because it usually explains the information that you
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are about to see in the diagram in detail. For example,
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The chart below shows the annual profit made by four majorinternational companies in 2011, 2012, 2013,
and 2014. [ABC10, MegaMarket, Grow&Flow, Today Global].
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That’s the first part of the question. This is what we’re going to see in this example: the annual profit
of 4 years for these 4 companies.
2.) Then, read carefully the second part of the question and please
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IELTS OVERVIEW
3.) underline the verbs because this is what they ask you to write about and this is what they expect to
see. Task 1 will usually ask you these 3 things: i.) to summarise the data shown in the diagram ii.) to
describe the main points and iii.) to make comparisons. For example, here’s the second part of the
question:
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Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main
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features, and make comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.
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We underline what we need to do: summarise data/report main features/compare and contrast
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4.) Now it is time to actually look at the diagram or chart or graph or whatever in detail. There will be
a title, so read the main title first, and then the titles of the two axes. For example,
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IELTS OVERVIEW
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In this case, we read the title and we carefully identify what the two axes represent. This is important.
We don’t want to get confused here. So, the horizontal one is about the years and the vertical one is
about the amount of money in millions. Apart from the titles, the diagram will also give you
information about what the di erent colours or symbols represent: check out which is which and
keep that in mind throughout your writing.
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Let’s look at the companies. We carefully examine what each colour represents. In this case, blue
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stands for the ABC10 company, green for the MegaMarket and so on so forth.
.
All this information at first sight in Task 1 might be overwhelming, I know, but if you follow these
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steps, you will gradually familiarise yourself with the diagram and you will be calm and organised.
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Now, it is time to look at what the diagram shows more closely. Examine how the symbols or colours
change throughout the diagram or chart and make notes. Search for both sudden changes and stable
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performance.
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For instance, in our example
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we can see that the profits of ABC10 company (the blue colour) are increasing throughout the
range of years, reaching their peak in 2014.
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Except for ABC10, all profits drop in 2014 which could be the outcome of the global economy
getting worse and worse.
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In 2013, all companies performed better than 2012.
The above are just examples to show you the way to phrase what you see by choosing the most
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important data.
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In Task 1 you are NOT asked to state your opinion; you are asked to report information; summarise
their changes; and then compare the di erent features with each other. So, that’s your last step:
compare the information you are given with each other by stating their similarities and their
di erences.
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IELTS OVERVIEW
After you have described your data, you can start comparing the companies with each other. So, in
this case, for instance, you could say things like:
“Although the ABC10 company earned much less money in 2011 compared to MegaMarket and TodayGlobal, it
steadily increased its income becoming the most profitable of all in 2014.”
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Additionally, you can say that “MegaMarket and Grow+Flow earn more or less the same amount of money
from 2012-14.”
Just two examples of how you can proceed further with comparisons!
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So, let’s recap!
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1. Read the question carefully and underline what you need to do
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2. Read the title and the subtitles of the diagram
3. Understand what the symbols in the diagram represent
4. Study the diagram and how the symbols change
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5. Compare the information by stating their similarities and their di erences
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What about a plan for Academic Writing Task 1?
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All you need for A. Writing Task 1 now is just a simple plan of 3-4 paragraphs because you are just
going to write a summary of the information you are given. Please remember that, because lots of my
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students have the tendency to make this task more di cult than it actually is!
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So, in your first paragraph which is your introduction, you mainly paraphrase the topic given and the
most important points by stating what you can see in the diagram. Here’s our topic:
“The chart below shows the annual profit made by four major
international companies in 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014. [ABC10,MegaMarket, Grow&Flow, TodayGlobal”
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IELTS OVERVIEW
What does the chart show? The annual profit of four companies during four years. These are the
main points of the topic that we need to consider and include in our introduction; we just
need to paraphrase them. So, we have:
Intro: “This chart follows the performance of four major international companies in terms of their annual
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income over the course of four years: from 2011-2014“.
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That’s it! Our introduction will be ready in no time especially if you practice paraphrasing
.
introductions enough.
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In your 2nd paragraph what you need to do is to state the most important data you can see without
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getting into a lot of details. You will provide the general trend you can see in the bar chart as a general
comment and this is what we call "The Overview" paragraph. I know that this can be quite
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overwhelming sometimes but just start from the most obvious information you see. Start stating the
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highest values and the lowest ones.
For example, your notes could be like that:
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2nd paragraph (summary of data):
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The annual profit of Grow+Flow was the lowest in 2011
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The profits of ABC10 skyrocketed in 2014
MegaMarket was the most profitable in 2011 but then…
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This is what you do. You follow each company in this case and you just describe their performance,
starting from the most exceptional data to help you. You can include this summary of the diagram in
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this paragraph.
In the next paragraph you start making comparisons. You don’t have to write a lot or include each and
every thing. No! Just be clear and specific and choose the most important or obvious correlations
according to your own opinion. So, your plan notes for the 3rd paragraph could look like that:
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IELTS OVERVIEW
3rd paragraph (comparisons):
Both the profits of Grow+Flow and and TodayGlobal decreased in 2014.

From 2012 – 2014 MegaMarket and Grow+Flow are closely aligned.
With the exception of ABC10 all the rest have significantly dropped in terms of profit, etc.
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(Always be simple! You have no idea what you can gain with that. Students think that if their
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phrasing is too simple they will lose marks, but really, the only way to lose marks is with convoluted
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phrasing that leads to grammatical and syntactical mistakes. So, what I say is, better be simple than
.
sorry.)
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Lastly, you have to add your conclusion. Mainly, in a conclusion you just wrap-up the main points in the
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diagram. So, here’s what your notes could be:
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Conclusion:
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only one company steadily increased
the profit of the rest of the companies decreased
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As an example, you can begin your conclusion: [“To sum-up, the diagram shows that the majority of the
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companies showed signs of losing profits ….”]
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This is your plan! Now you are ready to go and easily write that essay. Ideally, with enough practice
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this plan would take you no time to be formed; your notes will be written at the spot. However, if you
are just starting out, it will prove to be very helpful!
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IELTS OVERVIEW
What about some useful vocabulary for Academic Writing Task 1?
In this lesson I am going to give you some useful words and expressions you can use in your
A.Writing Task 1 in order to describe what you can see in the diagram or chart etc. Let’s begin!
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“downward tendency”
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Eg.: It is clear that the downward tendency of the X value during the 1st quarter is quite remarkable.
.
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“upward tendency”
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Eg. The upward tendency of X value during this first quarter is rather sudden.
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“stable/steady performance”
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“unstable/unsteady performance”
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Eg.: For all four quarters a stable performance is noted for the x value whereas in the second diagram,
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the performance for the z value seems rather unstable in the 3rd quarter.
.
distinct/ abrupt/ sudden/ significant/ major fall/ drop OR increase/ rise
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Eg.: In 2013 the x value shows a sudden drop while the z value shows a significant rise.
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IELTS OVERVIEW
ANTONYMS
to rise to fall
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to increase to decrease
to grow to shrink
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to go up to go down
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“steadily/gradually/significantly/…” etc.
Eg.: The majority of the values increased in 2014 OR “The minority of values decreased in 2011” etc.
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What about comparing and contrasting for Academic Writing Task 1?
.
In this lesson I will provide you with some useful phrases you can use when you state contrasts and
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similarities in the diagram (or chart, graph etc.) of your IELTS A. Writing Task 1. Obviously, you
can also use these phrases in any writing when you refer to similarities and di erences , but let’s go
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and check them out for Task 1 along with examples.
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IELTS OVERVIEW
Firstly, let’s talk about similarities!
Both
-It is obvious from the diagram that both value X and value Z have increased/dropped in 2010.
–Both X and Z values have increased/dropped in 2010.
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Similarly/Likewise
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-It is clear that the X value is steadily increasing over the years. Similarly/Likewise, the Z value
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follows the same increasing trend.
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In the same way
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-Value X dropped in 2014 in the same way that value Z dropped in 2012
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-Value X dropped in 2014 in the same way as value Z dropped in 2012.
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Similar trend
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-Value Z follows a similar trend with value X in the years 2013 and 2014.
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The following are some useful phrases that you will use when you want to refer to di erences:
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On the one hand-On the other hand
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IELTS OVERVIEW
–On the one hand, value X is the only value that steadily increases from 2010 to 2012 making the
company the most profitable one. On the other hand, it abruptly drops in 2014 and becomes the least
competitive.
While
While all values increase in 2014, the X value significantly decreases.
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Whereas
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-The majority of values increase in 2014 whereas/but value X abruptly drops.
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Although/Despite the fact that/In spite of the fact that
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–Although value Z started o as the least competitive in 2010, it became the most competitive in
2014.
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However
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-The majority of values decreased in 2011. However, value Z significantly increased.
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In contrast to/By contrast,
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-Value Z shows a steady performance throughout the years in contrast to value X which is unstable.
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-Value Z shows a steady performance throughout the years. By contrast, value X is unstable.
What about graphs in Academic Writing Task 1?
In the previous lessons, we used a diagram as an example in order to show you the strategy we follow
for A. Writing Task 1. The logic you follow is the same for every type of task you will be given, but
let’s check out a graph in this lesson!
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The graph below shows the weekday volume of people buying co ee in a central co ee house in New York
and one in Chicago from Mon-Fri for February 2009.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make comparisons where
necessary.
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1. First of all, we read the topic and we underline key-words. Then, we carefully read the
graph. As always, the first paragraph is going to be our introduction where we will paraphrase
the topic. Nothing more, nothing less. The underlined key-words will guide us with that.
2. Now in our second paragraph, we’re going to select and report the main features; what
we can see in the graph. The Overview paragraph in which we will give an overall general
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statement. Nothing complicated. So, in this case, what can we see? Overall, New Yorkers
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consume more co ee than Chicago residents with the exception of evening hours during which
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Chicago citizens buy slightly more.
.
3. In our third paragraph it's time to become more specific in our desription of the graph. We
can start with the most obvious changes that grab our attention: At 6 'o clock in the morning
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the consumption is quite low. Then, as time goes by, the consumption steadily increases and
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reaches its peak at 8 'o clock in the morning. While we reach noon, the consumption drops
again and as we move on to the evening hours, the consumption has dropped significantly. The
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easy thing here is that both New York and Chicago follow the same trends. The only di erence
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is that New York is constantly higher and of course we should note that in our essay.These are
the main points we need to refer to in this paragraph and this is how we read a graph.
4. In our fourth paragraph, we can compare this consumption: for example, the first obvious
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comparison we can make is the fact that the co ee consumption is much greater in the morning
than in the afternoon when it significantly drops. These are the kind of comparisons we make
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in the fourth paragraph.
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What about bar charts in Academic Writing Task 1?
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In this lesson, let’s see what a bar chart would look like and how we can read it. Here’s the task:
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IELTS OVERVIEW
The bar chart below shows the studying hours boys and girls spend on several subjects after school between
the years 2003-2008.
necessary.
Number of hours studying each week for both boys and girls
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Additional number of hours studying each week for the girls
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do
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do
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This bar chart has a lot of information and this could confuse you but not if you take it step by step.
Firstly, let’s underline the important information in the topic: the keywords (studying hours, boys
and girls, subjects, 2003-2008). Also, don’t forget to underline what you have to do: “Summarise“,
“selecting and reporting“, “main features“, “make comparisons“. In this way, we get familiar with the
task.
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Now, let’s go and read the bar chart very carefully. The first thing we want to do is to see what the
two axes represent. So, the vertical one shows the subjects–that’s clear–and what about the
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horizontal one? It shows the number of hours that are spent studying each week.
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Ok, so far so good. Now what do these colours represent? And why do they change as we move
on? Let’s see.. The blue colour is common for both boys and girls and when it changes to green it
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represents only the hours spent by the girls. So, the first thing we notice is that girls consistently
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study more in every subject.
In the end, the chart also gives you the average of studying for all the subjects, ok? What about 2003-
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2008? Do you need it? Is it important in this case? No, it doesn’t a ect any main data. You will only
use it in your introduction. Other than that, you just care about subjects and hours for boys and girls.
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So, first of all, you write your introduction by just paraphrasing the topic given. Nothing
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more, nothing less. You don’t care about the details in the bar chart at this point.
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Now, let’s go and see the most important points you need to consider for your next 2 paragraphs!
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In your first paragraph after your introduction, which is the overview, as we have already said you
just give a general idea of the main trends. In your next paragraph, you care about describing only,
so don’t worry about comparisons at this point. Just start by checking the
highest and the lowest values for studying.
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IELTS OVERVIEW
So, the hours of studying Maths and Latin are the most as a total and the hours of studying for Literature
and Chemistry are not as many. The hours spent for Language are more than those spent on Physics and
History but less that those spent on Latin. Overall, we can see that the hours spent on practical subjects such
as Maths, Physics, and Biology are more than the hours spent on theoretical subjects.
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Well, these are the main things you should focus on in this paragraph. Don’t start talking about boys
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and girls at this point because you’ll eventually get confused and your paragraph will be convoluted
with no cohesion. Just take it one step at a time.
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Now, your third paragraph. Time to compare! Start with comparing girls and boys in relation to
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subjects. It will be easier for you. As a whole, we can see that girls study more in all subjects. So, start with
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the general and then move on to the specific. You can talk about the average and state that girls on average
study more by 1h and 30 minutes: Start your paragraph with that and then move on by saying
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“More specifically, it is clear that in subjects such as Maths and Physics the girls study more than the boys,
almost 2 hours more”.
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Then, you write your conclusion and your essay is ready! Even if it is a graph, a diagram, a bar chart, a
pie-chart–you name it–with lots of information, don’t panic! If you take it step by step, you’ll see that
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Task 1 is quite easy to be written as long as you follow an organised strategy.
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What about pie charts in Academic Writing Task 1?
In this lesson we are going to have a look at a pie chart. In the following image you can see what a
pie chart task will look like. In this example, I chose to use two pie charts in order to show you a more
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di cult option than only one pie chart so as for you to be better prepared. Let’s read the task:
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The pie charts below show the average annual spending for women of age 25-30 in the U.K. in the year 1972
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and the year 2002.
s.
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necessary.
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do
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Ok, these are two pie-charts, one for 1972 and one for 2002. As you probably already know by
now, firstly, we underline the important information in the topic: “annual spending”, “women”, “age 25 –
30”, “1972, 2002”, “summarise”, “select”, “report”, “main features”, “make comparisons”.
Our first paragraph–the introduction–will be written by paraphrasing the topic. Our overview will
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be written by reporting an overall general statement that we notice in the pie charts as a trend. We
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have already talked about that in previous lessons, so if you need a reminder scroll through this book!
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Moving on, don’t let the two pie charts confuse you. Take it one step at a time. Let’s have a look at the
first pie chart: We read the categories that women spend money on and their percentages in 1972. We
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note the highest percentage which is “food” and the lowest which is computers. We just have a quick
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look at the rest. Now it is time to have a closer look at the second pie chart. It seems that most
money is spent on make – up while the lowest spending is on books.
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Thus, in your first paragraph after your introduction and your overview, that is actually your third
paragraph, you are just going to state what you notice in 1972 and then in 2002. Avoid comparisons at
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this point, unless you have the control of the organisation and coherence of your paragraph. If you are
not sure about what you are doing, just take it one step at a time and describe the lowest and highest
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values of both pie charts separately. Better be simple than sorry!
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IELTS OVERVIEW
For example, you can say that
“In 1972, spending on computers has the lowest percentage of all, only 1%, while food makes up 39% of the
annual spending. In 2002, books have dramatically dropped whereas spending on computers has
significantly increased by 10%. The percentage of spending on make up has almost doubled.
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Again, you don’t want to talk about each and every thing. Talk about the two or three most important
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points you notice for both charts.
.
Time for comparisons!
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Now, in your next paragraph you will focus on comparing the two charts together! You finished with
summarising and reporting and now in this paragraph you will compare. As you can see, we don’t do
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everything at once. One step at a time, one paragraph at a time in order to be organised and cohesive. I
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know that even in you descriptions-paragraph you can’t avoid comparisons entirely, but now we are
going to compare by giving more details to our reader. Again, as always, we focus on the most
important information; we don’t have to compare everything.
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For instance, we can talk about “food” which significantly dropped from the highest
percentage of 39% to the smaller percentage of 14.
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We also notice that make-up has almost doubled at 40% in 2002.
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The percentage spent on clothes is stable, more or less the same in both charts.
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It is noted a great increase on computer spending in 2002 in comparison to 1972.
These are some of the data you can use to compare together and form another paragraph while
making comparisons between the two charts.
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IELTS OVERVIEW
Even if you are given the most complicated graph there is, if you stay calm and follow this strategy of
one step at a time and separating paragraphs by theme, you will do fine. In the end, you write down a
4-5 lines conclusion and your essay is ready to go!
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Lots of students hate writing or are bored of it but really if you follow a certain path, it can be almost
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fun!
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What about tables in Academic Writing Task 1?
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In this lesson we will focus on how we read a table. Tables usually give you too much information and
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this could be confusing, but in this lesson I will show you an easy way to deal with it.
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Here’s what a table will look like:
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The table below shows the entertainment preferences of a part of the population of Germany in relation to
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their age in millions.
.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features and
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make comparisons where relevant.
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Preferences by age in millions
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IELTS OVERVIEW
Teens 20-30 31-40 41-50 51-65+
Watching TV 8 7,5 9 12 14
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Cinema 7,6 6 6,5 5,5 2
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Theatre 1 4 5 7 4
Opera
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0,4 2 3 5
s 2
Clubbing
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It seems that it has too much information but really if you read it the right way, you will have no
problem whatsoever. The first thing you do is to read carefully what is described and underline the important
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points. This will immediately familiarise you with the task. In this example, the key-words are already
underlined.
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Now, let’s have a look at the table: the vertical column shows the types of
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entertainment (watching TV, cinema, theatre, opera, clubbing). The horizontal line shows the age of
the people. In this case, I think it is easier if we read the table by age.
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Let’s check out the teenagers first: “What are the highest figures?” “Watching TV and
Cinema”. “What are the lowest figures?” “Opera and Theatre”. If you ask yourself these questions,
they will greatly help you to keep your thoughts organised. We do exactly the same for the rest of the
age groups.
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IELTS OVERVIEW
So, in our first paragraph after the introduction, that is the second paragraph, you do exactly that: you
describe the information given, nothing more nothing less! You are not asked to state your opinion
or make assumptions at this point, just state the highest and lowest values by age and your
description is ready!
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Now, in your next paragraph it is time to compare! As you can see, you cannot possibly compare
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everything! There is too much information going on here and you would need 500 words to describe
all this, not just a paragraph. Thus, you will choose only a few things to compare: preferably, you
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can state something for every age group.
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For example, you can start by saying that
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“Watching TV is popular in all ages whereas opera has the lowest rates”
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“Teenagers go to the cinema more than any other age group: when they reach their 20s clubbing is the most
popular choice only to drop down considerably among the 30-40-year-olds.”
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Again, you don’t have to compare everything! These are just examples to help you. You can choose your
own but remember that it will greatly help you if you start from the highest, the lowest, and the
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stable values. If you do that, then everything else will fall into place and come easily. Lastly, you
write your conclusion and your report is ready!
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What about a strategy for Academic Writing Task 2?
In A. Writing Task 2 the first thing you should do is read the first bold part because this will be the
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main topic of your essay. Then, underline key-words of important points that you need to consider.
For example, let’s read our topic:
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IELTS OVERVIEW
T.V. advertisements aimed at young children are far too many nowadays and they should be
forbidden.
To what extent do you agree or disagree?
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This is our main topic. It is a statement that expresses a certain opinion and usually a bold opinion.
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Let’s underline key-words we need to consider in the first part of the topic. So, we have:
T.V. advertisements - children - too many - forbidden.
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After your underlining, you will read the question in bold. The question tells you what you must do
with the topic. In our example, they ask you if you agree or disagree with the main topic:
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In this case, you should express your own personal opinion on the subject. In the end, you are going
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to see something like that:
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Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge
or experience.
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So, here what do we need? For every argument we make, we need to provide reasons and examples in
order to justify it and better explain it. This is crucial. If you don’t include reasons and examples in
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your essay, you will lose marks.
As you can see, in this task we are not going to be given any information as we were given in Task 1.
In Task 2, we have to think of our own ideas and examples and of course we have to be able to justify
them.
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IELTS OVERVIEW
First of all, we need to be very organised in order to avoid the common problem of stating random
ideas without any connection and without any cohesion. Do you remember the keywords we
underlined in our topic? Now, it is the time to use them in our first paragraph! In our introduction. In
your introduction, you need to paraphrase the topic statement and that’s it! You should also state your
opinion clearly so that the reader has no doubt about where you stand on this issue. In paraphrasing
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we use di erent words in order to describe the same thing. Let’s go!
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T.V. advertisements aimed at young children are far too many nowadays and they should be
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forbidden.
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The underlined key-words are going to be our paraphrasing guide. So, we have:
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“Nowadays, the amount of advertisements shown on T.V. is consistently increasing. The
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advertisements that target young children could not be an exception to this generally accepted rule
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and thus, there are a lot of people who claim that these advertisements should be banned from T.V.
altogether. Personally I am of the opinion that the number of advertisements targetting children
should be definitely reduced.”
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As you can see, we express exactly the same thing with di erent words (of course words such as
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“advertising” cannot be paraphrased so we leave it as is). The only thing we need to do is to elaborate
a little bit on the topic so as to form a paragraph of 4-5 lines. The above paraphrasing was just an
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example to help you. Then, we state our opinion right from the get-go.
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Now that our introduction is ready, we need two paragraphs that will comprise the main topic and a
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conclusion. So, what are we going to write in these two paragraphs? Time to brainstorm a little bit.
Just think of as many ideas as you can, either for or against the topic and write them down in notes.
At this point, don’t worry if these ideas are good or bad; don’t judge yourself, just come up with as
many as you can. Your notes could look like this:
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IELTS OVERVIEW
Agree Disagree
-children want more and -Advertisements are part of our world-
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more/become greedy-no children should get used to it-learn to
limits-parents cannot choose + put limits to themselves-bans are
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provide so many things- not the answer to everything: parents
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competition at school should teach children to be disciplined
.
-consuming society
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Now, we just need to use some of these ideas in order to fill in our following paragraphs! If you are
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ready to do that, please go to the next lesson where we do exactly that and we outline the plan you
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need to follow. Of course you may ask me: "Why do we need both "agree" and "disagree" ideas if we
agree with the topic? The answer is coming in the next lesson!
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What about a plan for Academic Writing Task 2?
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If you’ve read the previous lesson, you already know that we have taken down some notes based on
our ideas: some ideas agreed with the topic statement and some were against it. The next step is to
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choose where YOU stand. Do you agree or disagree with the topic?
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If you agree, then you will choose two of the ideas that agree with the topic and you will develop
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these ideas in two paragraphs (1 paragraph for each idea). In each paragraph you analyse your
argument by discussing about it giving reasons and examples. After that, you can use another
paragraph (if you think you have reached the word limit of 250 words and a little bit more with the
introduction, the two paragraphs, and the conclusion, then, this step is optional), in which you can
state the opposite view but only to immediately contradict it! (This is a technique you can also use if
you can't come up with a second idea for your second paragraph as well)
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IELTS OVERVIEW
In case you disagree with the topic, you do exactly the same thing but the only di erence is that you
pick ideas from the ideas that obviously disagree with the topic and you fill in your two paragraphs
with these. Your optional third paragraph will state the opposing view (agree), only to refute it with
justification!
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Now, let’s have a look at the plan you will outline and follow for each of these cases:
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TV advertisements aimed at young children are far too many nowadays and they should be forbidden.
PLAN
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1.) AGREE
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1st prgr: Intro paraphrasing the topic. State your opinion
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2nd prgr.: State one point that agrees with the topic. Eg: Children get used to endless consuming from a
young age
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Give reasons and examples to support this point
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3rd prgr: State another view that supports the fact that you agree Eg.: competition at school/social
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anxiety
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(reasons and examples)
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4th prgr (optional): State the opposite view (disagree) but refute it quickly with justification
5th prgr Conclusion: Summarise the reasons that support your belief in di erent words.
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IELTS OVERVIEW
2.) DISAGREE
1ST prgr: Intro paraphrasing the topic/state your opinion
2nd prgr.: State one point that disagrees with the topic. Eg: Advertisements are part of our world,
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so children should learn to deal with it from a young age.
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Give reasons and examples to support this point
.
3rd prgr: State another view that supports the fact that you disagree. Eg.: Bans are not
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the answer to everything parents should teach their children to be disciplined.
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(reasons and examples)
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4th prgr: State the opposing view (agree) only to contradict it with reasons and examples.
5th prgr Conclusion: Summarise the reasons that support your belief in di erent words.
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IELTS OVERVIEW
What about writing a paragraph in Academic Writing Task 2?
In this lesson, I will show you how to form a paragraph of the main body in Task 2. Let’s remember
our topic from previous lessons and the paraphrased introduction we wrote:
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T.V. advertisements aimed at young children are far too many nowadays and they should be forbidden.
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Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge
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or experience.
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And here is our paraphrased introduction based on the above topic, but this time we have a di erent
opinion:
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“Nowadays, the amount of advertisements shown on T.V is consistently increasing. The
advertisements that target young children could not be an exception to this generally accepted
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situation and as a result, there are a lot of people who claim that these advertisements should be
d
banned from T.V. altogether. Personally I am of the opinion that the advertisements targetting
.
children should not be forbidden.
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Ok, let’s just say that we choose an idea that disagrees with the topic. We choose to say that
“advertisements are part of our world, so children should get used to it.” Thus, advertisements
shouldn’t be banned. This is what we are going to discuss in our paragraph.
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IELTS OVERVIEW
First of all, keep in mind that a paragraph is a small writing by itself. It has an opening sentence which
introduces your point; it has a main body where you analyse your point by giving reasons and
examples; and it has a closing sentence where you wrap-up and give way to the next paragraph. In
between, you will use connecting words and phrases. Hence, a paragraph should be a small cohesive
writing by itself. Let’s go now and check it out together!
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Ok, we have our introduction ready, now let’s choose a phrase that will help us connect the
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introduction with the point we want to make. The introduction states that advertisements should be
.
banned and we want to make a point for the opposite so we need a smooth transition from one to the
other. Also, don’t forget to separate the paragraphs, this is very important! Ok, let’s see:
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No one would argue that TV advertisements aimed at young children are not enough and more are
needed –>
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This is our opening sentence in the paragraph. It connects with the introduction and prepares the
reader that you are probably going to say something di erent. Let’s move on with our main body of
the paragraph:
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.
Certainly, it should be argued that advertisements in general constitute a great part of our modern
world and as a result, advertisements aimed at young children cannot be an exception to this
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rule. However, banning these advertisements that focus on children altogether is not the best
solution. Children should get used to both the positive and the negative aspects of our society from
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an early age. This exposition to the real world will allow the children to deal with its drawbacks and it
will teach them the way to limit themselves and their insatiable desires. If they are not exposed to any
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kind of advertising as kids, then, when they grow up they will not know the way to handle this
variety of advertisements aimed at them as teens or adults. Consequently, they will most probably
try to satisfy each and every need the advertisements create in them. For instance, there are cases of
restricted children that as adults became victims of addicted behaviour.
[closing sentence] Therefore, advertisements could prepare the children for our “big, competitive,
and consuming world”.
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IELTS OVERVIEW
This is quite a long paragraph but you don’t need to write that much. I wrote quite a bit just to help
you by giving you more options in terms of phrasing and expressions. As you can see, in the
paragraph we give reasons and examples to support our point and useful connecting phrases between
sentences.
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What about useful phrases and vocabulary for Academic Writing Task 2?
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In this lesson, I’m going to give you some useful phrases and vocabulary you can use in your Academic
.
Writing Task 2. As you know, task 2 is more general, so you should be able to use a variety of
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vocabulary related to di erent topics, but here are some useful linking phrases you can use with any
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topic given.
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Usually in task 2, you discuss a topic by analysing the advantages or the disadvantages or both. Let’s
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check some useful phrases you can use when you describe advantages:
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“The first advantage of “this” is …”
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“There are many advantages to … and one of them is…”
.
“The positive aspects of … are …”
“The positive points include …”
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“Another positive aspect is …”
“Another benefit is …”
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“Another advantage is …”
“The benefits/ advantages are far more than the disadvantages”
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Now, let’s see some phrases you can use while you discuss about disadvantages:
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IELTS OVERVIEW
“The first disadvantage of … is …..”

“There are many negative aspects and one of them is…”
“The drawbacks are…”
“The negative points include…”
“Another disadvantage is …”
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“One of the major disadvantages is the fact that….”
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“A negative consequence of … is …”
“The disadvantages are far more than the positive aspects in this case”
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Last but not least, here are some phrases that will help you express your own personal opinion on the
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topic:
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“In my opinion,”
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“From my perspective,”
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“In my view,”
“From my point of view,”
“Taking into account/consideration the fact that … I (firmly) believe…”
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“I (strongly) agree/disagree with the view that…”
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Try to use them now in your writing and you will see that these phrases will instantly help you
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express your views better and what is more, your writing will greatly improve!
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What if you don’t know what to write in Academic Writing Task 2?
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If you don’t have any clue or idea on what to write about in a Task 2 topic, then, this lesson is for you!
First of all, let me tell you that you are not the only one. I receive lots of comments by students who
tell me that sometimes in A. Writing Task 2 they don’t know what to write about or they are not
familiar with the topic at all.
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IELTS OVERVIEW
In this lesson , I want to show you that you can write pretty much about anything even if you
know nothing about it. Ok, without further ado, let’s begin! Firstly, the minimum you can write in
Task 2 is 250 words. This is not much, I assure you, you can easily reach that word limit, so don’t be
nervous about it.
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As you know, in writing you will follow a certain procedure and plan: you need an introduction, 2
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main paragraphs, and a conclusion. All these paragraphs will be organised and connected with linking
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phrases. Ok, so far so good.
.
Now, whatever the topic is, in the first paragraph which is your introduction you just paraphrase the
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topic, nothing else. In order to do that, you don’t need to be familiar with the topic.
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So, your introduction is ready, and we need three more paragraphs to go. Usually they ask you your
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opinion on the topic (to what extent do you agree or disagree) or the advantages and disadvantages.
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These two questions, (your opinion or advantages and disadvantages) are not so di erent in order to
confuse you after all, are they? They are more or less the same thing. Therefore, what do you do? In
any case, use one whole paragraph and analyse one advantage of the topic with an example and
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another paragraph to describe a disadvantage with an example.
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Every topic has advantages and disadvantages and reasons for that and even when we know
absolutely nothing about it in particular we can certainly think of one advantage and one
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disadvantage (they are not going to give you topics out of this world anyway). They don’t want to see
your opinions per se, they just want to see if you can phrase them correctly and in an organised way.
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Let’s take for example a topic on “Nuclear Energy”. It is considered a di cult topic. I myself don’t
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know much about it. However, if I try to think of an advantage, it should be, well, I guess
governments need it for its numerous uses. Analyse this a little bit in one paragraph using any relative
example you can think of in an organised way.
And now, we need one disadvantage. I believe this is obvious: the dangers of a radio-active accident.
You analyse this a little bit doing your best in grammar and syntax and who would have thought?
Three paragraphs ready and now you only need a conclusion.
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IELTS OVERVIEW
In conclusion, you just summarise your ideas based on the main points of your essay. If the topic asks
for your opinion, you will use the opposing view to contradict it. Voila! Your essay is ready. I'm not
saying it will be easy, but it will definitely be better than an incomplete essay or even worse a blank
page. Don’t let a di cult topic panic you and overwhelm you. You can do this with any topic! Just be
simple and understandable.
How to write complex sentences in Academic Writing Task 2?
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In this lesson we are going to talk about how to write complex sentences. As you know, in your
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writing especially in Task 2 you are asked to write complex sentences and this is really important for
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IELTS marking. The thing is that most of you try to write in a complex way and this eventually
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counts against you because you end up with too many mistakes. So, if you are not 100% sure about
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something don’t write it. Better be simple, than sorry!
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Today, however, I’m going to show you how to write a complex sentence and be correct at the
same time!
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First things first, what do we mean by saying a simple sentence? A simple sentence consists of a
.
subject and a verb. For example,
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“Mary is happy”
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“The dog ate his food”
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“Mary” and “the dog” are the subjects and “is” and “ate” are the verbs. That’s it! These are simple
sentences that they can totally stand on their own, that’s why we call them independent; they don’t
need anything else!
Note: IMPORTANT PUNCTUATION TIP!
If you have two simple sentences together, you cannot use a comma between them! For example,
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IELTS OVERVIEW
“Mary is happy, her mum is happy, everyone is happy” –> This is wrong! We never use a comma
in this case; we use a semi-colon:
“Mary is happy; her mum is happy; everyone is happy”.
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What is a compound sentence?
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Again, nothing to confuse you. A compound sentence consists of two or more simple (independent)
.
sentences that are connected together this time not with a semi-colon but with another word. For
example,
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“Mary is happy and the dog ate his food”
s
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“Her mum baked a cake but it wasn’t tasty”
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These connecting words are called FANBOYS in grammar. Why? Because you can easily remember
them in this way:
o
For
And
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w
Nor
w
But
w
Or
Yet
So
Again, to recap, a compound sentence is made up of two simple sentences connected with a “fanboy” word.
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IELTS OVERVIEW
What is a complex sentence?
A complex sentence consists of a simple sentence and a sentence that cannot stand on its own, that is
a dependent sentence. For example,
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“Because the cake isn’t tasty, Mary is unhappy”.
o
As you can see, the simple sentence can stand on its own BUT the dependent sentence cannot: it
. c
doesn’t make sense! It needs the simple sentence. Simple and dependent sentences are connected
together with linking words and usually a comma. Such words are: “while, although, even
s
though, unless, whereas, since, as, if, when” and the like. Another example:
lt
“Even though the cake is tasty, Mary is unhappy”.
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ir -i
Now, let’s use what we’ve just learnt to write down IELTS examples. We will take simple sentences
randomly:
o
“Prisons are overcrowded”
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“Prisons do not seem to work”
w
“People who are released do not seem to be properly rehabilitated”
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“They end up being locked up again”
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And we will connect them in order to form one single complex sentence:
“Prisons are overcrowded and they do not seem to work as people who are released do not
seem to be properly rehabilitated since they end up being locked up again”.
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IELTS OVERVIEW
We connected the first two sentences with “and” and we made it a compound sentence and then we
added connecting words and made the other two dependent. This is very useful when you have
written down notes with similar ideas and reasons and you don’t know how to connect them in a
single paragraph.
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How many different essay types are there in A. Writing Task 2?
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The truth is that there is a wide variety of essay types that may be encountered in the IELTS exam
.
and thus, it is impossible to categorise all of them precisely. However, there are 5 essay types that are
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the most common and there is high probability you will come across one of them. The rest will be
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combinations of these five types and you are not very likely to encounter one. If you do, you will
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again follow the logic of the plan we have already discussed and you should be fine. So, the five types
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are:
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1.) Present and justify an opinion (we used this as an example to previous lessons)
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2.) Discuss two di erent sides of an issue (and express your opinion)
3.) Discuss the causes of a problem and suggest solutions/measures/improvements
4.) Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of an issue
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5.) Answer di erent question types (They ask you two di erent questions based on the main
d
topic. For example, How does X a ect local community/ society etc?AND How could this situation be dealt
.
with? )
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No matter what the essay type is, you will again follow a similar plan as the one we worked on above.
The only di erence would be that instead of justifying your opinion in one paragraph, you might
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need to talk about an advantage, a disadvantage, a problem etc. The content of the paragraph might
change, but the strategy you will follow does not.
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The most important thing that will improve your writing is the actual practice of writing. So, enough
with reading tips for writing, pick a topic and start implementing what you've learnt!
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IELTS OVERVIEW
What about IELTS speaking?
The Speaking section is the same for both Academic and General IELTS. It is quite di cult to prepare
for the Speaking section all by yourself but all the information and the tips you need regarding IELTS
m
Speaking are in the following lessons! Choose the one you need or start from the beginning in order
to acquire an overall and in-depth view of this section! Let’s get started!!
co
The IELTS Speaking section is the same for both the Academic and the General module; it lasts
.
approximately 11 – 13 minutes and it consists of three parts. You are going to be interviewed by the
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examiner alone (not with another candidate) and your interview will be recorded. The section is
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graded as a whole; you are not going to receive separate marks for the three parts.
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Now, the first part is going to last for about 4-5 minutes and during this time the examiner asks you
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questions based on personal information and everyday topics. Your hometown, the area you live in,
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travelling, studies, work, job experience, spare time, activities, family, and friends are all topics that
you may be asked about so be prepared for that. During this task you should show that you can
understand the questions and that you can answer and communicate accordingly. It will be
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relatively easy and you know what to expect more or less, so don’t worry about Part 1!
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Let’s move on to Part 2! In Part 2, you are going to be given a card with a task on it by your examiner.
It will look like this:
w w
Describe a book that you read recently.
You should say:
w
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IELTS OVERVIEW
what the book is about

what you liked or disliked about it
would you recommend it to anyone else and what kind of person would that be.
You will have one minute to think about the topic. The examiner will give you some pen and paper
m
you can use to prepare and make notes during that time. The examiner will indicate when you can
begin talking, so you don’t have to worry about that. Of course, you should have a sense of time; how
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much 1 minute lasts so as for you to be fully prepared.
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You should talk about the topic asked on the card and answer to all the questions in the form of a
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short monologue since you are required to talk continuously for about 2 minutes. This part of the
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Speaking section tests your ability to talk fluently about a certain topic in an organised and
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cohesive way. The examiner may ask you some questions based on the topic after or during your
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talk, so be prepared for that!
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Now, let’s move on to Part 3! In Part 3, the examiner will take into account the topic in the
previous Part 2 and s/he will ask you questions related to that topic but on a broader aspect. They
will be more abstract or general questions, similar to the questions you would get in A. Writing Task 2.
o
For example, in our case, the questions could be the following:
. d
“Do you think that the development of technology will obliterate traditional books and reading?”
w
“Do you think that tablets will eventually replace traditional books?”
w
“Do you think that reading books is still popular among young people?”
w
As you can understand, you should be able to express your opinions fluently and justify them
with a wide range of vocabulary (pretty much like writing). A discussion will follow between you
and the examiner in which the examiner wants to see that you can analyse your ideas and defend
your arguments.
These are the basics of what you are to expect in all three parts of the IELTS Speaking section.
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IELTS OVERVIEW
What about IELTS speaking Part 1?
In Part 1 you are going to be asked some personal questions. The questions are going to be quite
simple but that doesn’t mean that you should answer in a “yes/no” manner. ALWAYS try to develop
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your answers a little bit more–not endlessly, but to the point.
o
For example, if they ask you “Where are you from?” Your answer could be “I come from Italy”
c
(hopefully not just “Italy”), BUT we don’t want that. Ideally, you should be a little bit more descriptive: “I
.
come from a small town located in Central Italy, called Macerata.” Can you see the di erence?
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Don’t just say from Italy but give some more information to develop your answer according to the
t
question. Use adjectives to describe your town (in this example) and add more details: small, big,
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popular, touristic, noisy, countryside etc. It is better to have more things to say than not having anything
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at all. Now, let’s take an example question and see how you can develop your answer to the point until
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the examiner interrupts you.
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Question: “If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?“
o
Answer: “I would like to live in a large town preferably in Europe.”
d
You start by answering the question using a descriptive adjective (large). Don’t stop here, move on by
.
giving more details:
w
“I would prefer a country in the central or southern Europe though, to be more specific.”
Move on by describing the country or giving your reasons why:
w
“I cannot stand the climate of northern countries, that’s why. I hate cold and snow, so I
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would choose a capital city of the European South.”
Most probably the examiner will stop you now to move on to the next question due to time
constraints (it’s not a bad sign if the examiner stops you), but you should give the impression that you are
able to talk more:
“I would prefer a capital city than a village because I like the fact that I can find everything I
like pretty easily and I have so many choices during the day…”
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IELTS OVERVIEW
Obviously, this is just an example. You may have a specific city in your mind (eg. London) but again
you will follow the same route. You will develop your answer to the fullest by using descriptive
language and by providing your own reasons.
In Part 1 you know more or less what they are going to ask you in terms of questions; they will ask
m
you about your hometown, your studies or job, your hobbies, your interests or your family and friends.
o
However, please DO NOT try to memorise answers!! Experienced examiners can easily understand
c
that and it will definitely count against you. The best thing you can do is to practice answering as
.
many questions as you can and with regular practice you will gradually get better.
s
So, let’s RECAP!!
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Do NOT answer with a simple yes/no or with one word
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i
Develop each answer to the point by adding details
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Be prepared and ready to talk about your town, birthplace, country, family, friends, school,
studies, work, ideal job, interests, free time, likes and dislikes, travelling, food, weather, music,
sports, films, books etc. (the list is endless but the topics are more or less the same and the questions are
o
going to be personal)
. d
w w
w
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IELTS OVERVIEW
What about IELTS speaking Part 2?
In Part 2, you are asked to talk about a certain topic continuously for about 2 minutes. You are going
to be given a card with the topic along with some paper and pencil to take down notes and some time
m
to prepare yourself about it.
o
The examiner wants to see your ability to speak fluently in the form of a monologue and also, your
c
ability to organise your ideas cohesively by getting them across to the speaker.
s.
Let’s see an example,
lt
ie
You should say:
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o
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What you should you do?
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1.) You read the card with the task and you quickly underline the most important things you need
to consider. [In this example, you can underline: book, what, liked, disliked, recommend, person]
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2.) Now it is time to start taking notes with your answers about each separate question of the task
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that will help you organise your short talk.
3.) The examiner will tell you when you begin, so don’t worry about that. If s/he stops you before you
say everything you had planned, stop talking and don’t worry this is not a bad sign. The examiner
may ask you some questions either during or after your talk, so be prepared for that, too. If s/he
interrupts you, answer his/her question and then go back to what you were planning to say by using
a linking phrase. (for example, “As I was saying”, “Also, I would like to add that…”, “To get back to my
previous idea/point/suggestion…”, etc).
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IELTS OVERVIEW
What about taking notes?
This is absolutely vital for your organisation! Please don’t just read the card; think about it and just
wait for the examiner to tell you to begin talking. Even if you are an experienced English speaker,
please don’t do that. Do keep notes! The notes are going to help you stay focused, organised, and
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cohesive. You can always turn back to them when you get stuck and they will help you to keep on
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talking and clear your thoughts and ideas.
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1.) You should practice taking notes of Part 2 speaking tasks in one minute. You are not going to
write complete sentences; you don’t have time for that. Take down only small phrases and key-words
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in the form of notes.
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2.) Always talk about things that you know. Don’t try to talk about something you’ve just heard and
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you don’t have enough information about it, eventually you will get stuck and you won’t have
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anything to say.
3.) Always complete your ideas by giving reasons and examples! Don’t just express your thoughts in
o
short phrases without explaining yourself a little bit on the topic.
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4.) It will be better for you if your notes follow the order of the questions on the card. This will keep
you on track and you are not likely to forget something.
w w
w
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IELTS OVERVIEW
What about useful vocabulary for IELTS speaking Part 2?
Keep in mind that speaking in a short monologue about a certain topic (as you are going to do in Part
2) is the same as writing orally in a way! When you begin talking, you will need an opening
m
sentence to introduce the topic that you are going to talk about (introduction); you will cover all
the points that you are asked in the task (main body); and last but not least, you will wrap-up
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everything if you get the chance and the examiner doesn’t stop you (conclusion).
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So, in between this short monologue some useful phrases will be handy for you in order to help
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you begin talking; organise your thoughts; and sound natural
lt
1.) Every time you introduce a new idea on the topic it will be better if you start talking using
e
a general statement to get you started. For example, if the main topic of Part 2 is about a book you’ve
i
read recently you can begin by saying:
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“I’ve read many books recently, but the one which really impressed me the most was "Notes from the
Underground" by Dostoyefski because…”
OR
do
.
“I’m not exactly a book lover, but one of the books I’ve read and I enjoyed was….”
OR
w w
“It’s been ages since I read a good book. One book I recently read was… but I wasn’t thrilled about
w
it because….”
As you see, you can choose to say anything according to your own situation. Whatever you choose,
introduce the topic by saying something general and then move on to the specific point you want to
make.
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IELTS OVERVIEW
Also, pay attention to the examples above as I used a variety of words and not only “I liked“. I
used: enjoyed, thrilled, impressed etc.. Do that too. Use a variety of words and phrases while you speak.
Just like writing, avoid using the same word or phrase throughout your short talk.
You can do the same when you introduce your main points. For example:
om
“This book belongs to classic literature and what makes it unique is the fact that it is……”
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OR
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“Actually, it is the kind of book that a person would read at the beach. It is…”
OR
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“One thing that I found really interesting about it is that it…”
OR
o
“I’m not really fond of these books but this one stands out because….”
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In this way, you give yourself time to organise the main points that are going to follow.
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If it is time to conclude, you can use the following phrases:
w
“Well, I think I would recommend that book if someone wants a book which…”
w
OR
“Overall, it is a very good book and I would definitely recommend it to everyone.”
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IELTS OVERVIEW
OR
“All in all, I wouldn’t recommend this book to anyone I know.”
Of course these are just examples, but you can use these phrases to any topic given.
What about IELTS Speaking Part 3?
om
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In Part 3, the examiner is going to ask you some questions related to the topic in Task 2, but these
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questions are going to be more general and abstract now. This section requires you not only to talk
t
about broader ideas but also to to analyse them and discuss them in depth.
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It is going to be a discussion with the examiner that will last for about 4-5 minutes. The examiner
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wants to see that you can fluently express your opinions and that you are able to justify them by giving
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reasons and examples. Since this part is a little bit more demanding than previous parts, it will be
better if you are able to use a variety of vocabulary and linking phrases.
o
Let’s have a look at the example card of Part 2 again:
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w
You should say:
w
w
Ok, let’s just say that this is your topic in Task 2. In Task 3, the questions you are going to be asked are
related to this topic above. The main topic of Task 2 is the reading of books/ we read books. So, here are
some more general and abstract questions that could be asked in Part 3 based on this topic:
Questions that ask for your opinion or preferences
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IELTS OVERVIEW
Do you generally read a lot of books or do you prefer watching T.V?

What kind of books are considered good reads in your opinion?
Do you think that people read nowadays as they did in the past?
Do you regard famous writers as good role models?
If a movie is based on a book, would you prefer to read the book or to watch the film?
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Questions that ask you about hypothetical situations or results of something
If you were a writer, what kind of books would you write?
. co
Are there any books that you’ve read in the past that have influenced you in any way?
s
If you could influence or had the power to change the world with your writings what would you want to
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change?
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Questions that ask you about the cause or the reason for something
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Why do you think so many people read on tablets nowadays?
Why do some people prefer tablets to traditional books?
Questions that ask you about the consequences of something
do
Do you think that traditional books will be replaced by tablet reading in the future?
.
These are some example questions that you could be asked and as you can see they are more
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general, abstract, and based on broader ideas. Of course, the examiner is not going to ask you all
these questions. You should expect to be asked approximately 6 questions of increasing di culty.
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NOTE: Do NOT try to memorise answers by heart! They can understand that and it will count against your
w
score. Just practice answering a lot of questions naturally and gradually with practice you will become better!
What about useful vocabulary for IELTS speaking Part 3?
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IELTS OVERVIEW
In Part 3, you should speak fluently while you express your ideas about a topic. During your
discussion with the examiner, it will greatly help you if you use some standard phrases that will either give
you some time to organise your thoughts or they will help you link ideas together (just like writing!).
Let’s see some phrases you can use when you state your opinion:
In my opinion,
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c
I firmly believe that…
.
From my perspective,
In my view,
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As far as I’m concerned,
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Well, the way I see it…
I’m of the opinion that… etc.
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Here are some phrases you can use when you agree/disagree with something the examiner
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said to you:
I agree with the idea that…/I disagree with the idea that…
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I’m in favour of/ I’m against the idea…
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I support the fact that/ I don’t support the fact that…
.
I see where you’re coming from and I would also like to say that../ I see where you’re coming
from but,
w
I completely agree with you/ I will have to disagree with that I’m afraid because…
I couldn’t agree more/ I feel the exact opposite way…
w
Here are some helpful phrases you can use when you talk about the future and you try to
w
predict the consequences:
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IELTS OVERVIEW
I don’t really think that something like that would happen, because…
It’s highly unlikely that…
I really doubt whether…
The probabilities of something like that taking place in the future are very slim
It is highly/quite likely that this will happen as…
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It seems probable/likely…
o
There are possibilities …
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There is great likelihood that…
.
I’m absolutely/quite sure that this will happen
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[NOTE: Don’t try to learn the above phrases by heart; there is no point in that. The only way you can learn to
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use them is with actual practice. Try to use them while you give your answers to questions as much as you can.
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Eventually, they will become part of your speech and it will sound natural to use them].
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What if you get stuck in speaking?
I am sure that while you speak in English about a certain topic, sometimes you get stuck and you don’t
o
know what else to say… The thing is that when this happens you have already started introducing the
next thing you thought you had to say.. What is more, the other person expects you to do so; he
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expects you to complete your thoughts BUT there are no other thoughts whatsoever! Only a blank
white page in your mind and consequently, no words in your mouth!
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So, you stand there smiling awkwardly and mumbling something like: "um… well, um… yes…. that’s it…
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um, yes… that," hoping that the examiner will have mercy on you and will move on to the next
question as quickly as possible or–better yet–he will pretend it never happened. Sounds familiar?
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Well, it doesn’t have to be that way!!
1st tip:
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Think in English and NOT in your mother tongue! Obviously, in your mother tongue you have all
the words you need and all the ideas and opinions come easily. Your level is the highest possible.
However, if you start thinking in your mother tongue and try to translate the same words and ideas in
English in your head before you actually speak, you’re in for an epic fail!
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You can’t possibly translate everything in such a short notice and most probably your English
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vocabulary is not as advanced as in your mother tongue. Even if it is, the di erent syntax of your
language may confuse you as you speak. This is the number one reason people get stuck while they speak. So,
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don’t try to express all the complicated ideas that you would say in your language if you cannot. It is
better to think in English; in this way, you may be simple but fluent!
2nd tip:
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Speak as you write! What do I mean by that? One thing that will greatly help you as you try to give an
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answer in English is to keep your thoughts organised. Do you remember what we do in writing?
When we write, we use an introduction in which we introduce our topic, a main paragraph in which we
analyse our opinion with reasons and examples, and a conclusion in which we wrap-up our main thoughts.
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So, this is what you should do in your speaking, too (with less words obviously) and with practice you
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will not get stuck again! Let’s see how you can do it!
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Let’s just say that they ask you this question:
w
“If a movie is based on a book, would you prefer to read the book or to watch the film?”
w
Ok, when you are asked questions like that (especially in Part 3), you should notice that these questions
could be writing topics, too. So, my advice is not to answer right away by expressing your
view. Firstly, use one or two general sentences to introduce a general statement based on the main theme of the
question. This will help you greatly to earn some time in order to organise your thoughts.
For example:
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IELTS OVERVIEW
“Some people would argue that watching the film is better since it will be much more fascinating and so
much faster to watch the characters alive but I beg to di er.”
As you can see above, you don’t really answer the question, not just yet. You just give a hint talking
about what most people would generally prefer in this case and where you stand. This is all you need
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to grab the examiner’s attention. This is your introduction and now it’s time to actually answer your
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question.
. c
Let’s see what you can do:
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“The way I see it, it is much more fascinating to read the book.”
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WHY? Now is the time to explain your reasons for that by giving examples. Don’t get lost with that.
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Choose 2-3 reasons and focus on them. Move to your next point only when you complete the
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previous one:
“The way I see it, it is much more fascinating to read the book. When you read the book, you use your
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imagination in order to build the scenery, the characters, their appearance and well, pretty much
everything. On the contrary, if you watch the film everything is already made for you, so I’m not really
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fond of that. Furthermore, in most cases films are very di erent from the book due to time constraints I
suppose, and eventually everyone who has read the book says: ‘It was good but not as good as the film’.”
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Of course you can say more than that if you like, but I’m just giving you an example that uses linking
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phrases, opposite views, reasons, and examples.
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If you said everything you had to say, it is time to wrap-up. This is the number one point that
people get stuck! They don’t know what else to say or they don’t know if they have said
enough or simply they just don’t know how to finish o their thoughts. In any case, the only thing
you need is the right phrase! There are a number of phrases that can help you conclude:
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IELTS OVERVIEW
All in all,
Overall,
Well,
Maybe this is what it needs to be done
To sum-up, I would generally say that …
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I’m sure you can find more by yourself if you think about it a little bit but the above can help you get
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started according to each question. So, here we go:
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“Overall, I know that I probably belong to the small minority, but actually, I firmly believe that a book is
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always better.”
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Try to practice your speaking answers this way and try to use these standard phrases as much as
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possible. Hopefully, you will not get stuck in Speaking again!
Speaking Overall
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You should be able to talk about everyday topics in relation to your own personal preferences
such as family, studies, work, friends, interests etc.
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Expand and develop your answers in at least two sentences.
Stay on topic and answer the question directly
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Use a range of vocabulary and a variety of linking phrases that will make you sound natural
and help your organisation
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In Part 2 make notes and cover all points
Don’t worry if the examiner interrupts you or tells you to stop
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In Part 3, always justify your opinions by explaining “why” you believe something by
giving reasons and examples
Speak as you write! (introduction-main points-conclusion)
Top 10 Tips for IELTS Speaking
All the things you can do to help you along with your preparation and language learning: The Top 10
tips you will ever need to improve yourself in the speaking section! If you follow them consistently,
you will definitely see your score raised. So, are you ready? Here we go!
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1.) Pronunciation
Pronunciation is important. They do not expect you to talk like a native speaker–of course not–but
you have to be clearly understood and you should pronounce the words correctly. Mispronouncing of
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words counts against you. If you can also talk like a native speaker by all means do it; that’s an extra
bonus, but not a requirement.
2.) Be prepared
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You are going to be nervous more or less. The more prepared you are, the less nervous you are going
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to be. Keep in mind that the examiners see lots of people everyday: they are tired, too. They are on
lt
your side not your enemy. Go in there and have a friendly conversation with confidence. If you make
them forget that they examine you (which is the ideal), you will score higher.
3.) Communication
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There are no right or wrong questions. You just have to be able to understand what you are asked and
talk about it giving your own opinion and/or arguments. They just want to see that you can
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communicate well and e ectively in English and that you can justify and stand up for what you
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believe.
.
4.) Practice makes perfect
w
Answer questions on your own and practice a lot. Do NOT memorise answers by heart; they can
understand that and it will count against you. Just practice answering the questions lots of times.
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5.) Focus on what you know NOT on what you don’t
Gradually, the questions are going to be a little bit more challenging, especially in the last part. Earn
some time to think by asking: “Could you repeat the question, please?” Most times, apart from a
di cult word or phrase, the question is pretty simple so don’t get too overwhelmed. Even if they ask
you: “What do you think about nuclear energy?” and you know nothing about it, you still know that
nuclear energy is dangerous, right? So, base your answer on that. They do not expect you to be a
scientist–just to talk in English.
6.) Think in English
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IELTS OVERVIEW
I know it is not so easy but try to talk in English as much as possible. The worst thing you can do is to
try to translate in your mind what you would say in your mother tongue. Avoid that at all costs! Be
simple, but think in English. If you think in a language with a di erent syntax and more advanced
vocabulary, you will get stuck eventually and then you will forget what you started to say in the first
place.
7.) Speak as you write
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When you write there is introduction, main body, and conclusion. Keep that in mind in Speaking,
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too. Start with an opening phrase; state your opinion; and complete your thoughts with an ending
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phrase or example.
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8.) Standard phrases
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Learn standard connecting phrases to help you during your speaking, especially when you get stuck
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and you don’t know what else to say. You can find some of these useful phrases in the previous
Speaking lessons of this book, or in the Speaking lessons of my website and Youtube channel.
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9.) You can lie
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Examiners know nothing about you: nothing about your life or beliefs. And you know what? They
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don’t even care. All they care about is your English. So, it doesn’t matter if you lie just because it seems
easier at some point or another. You can lie as much as you like, as long as your English is good; you
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are on topic; and you answer the question.
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10.) Speak up!
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You will be nervous but that doesn’t mean that you should be shy or make it di cult for the examiner
to hear you. Your English may be excellent but what di erence does it make if only dolphins can hear
you? If the examiner can’t hear you, he will be annoyed because his job becomes harder. We don’t
want that. Open your mouth; talk clearly; and speak up with confidence!
Top 10 Tips for IELTS Academic Writing
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IELTS OVERVIEW
tips you will ever need to improve yourself in the writing section! If you follow them consistently,
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1.) Avoid Contractions of Verbs
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Do NOT use “isn’t, aren’t, don’t, doesn’t, can’t, won’t, haven’t, hasn’t” etc. Instead USE “is not, are not, do not,
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does not, cannot, will not, have not, has not” etc.
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2.) Be clear!
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Be careful! The reader is not in your mind. You have to be clear about each and every thing you argue
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and explain yourself. In Academic Writing, you are asked to discuss a variety of complex ideas. So, ask
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yourself: “If someone else reads my essay, will he understand what I’m saying?”
3.) Avoid complex and long sentences…
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… unless you are 100% sure! I know that you think that if you write complex sentences with “longer”
.
words your essay is going to be more academic but this is where most mistakes take place in grammar
and syntax. What you need to use is not di cult words, but APPROPRIATE words that best describe
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what you want to say.
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There are so many cases that students think they used a very “good” academic word but actually it was
the wrong choice for this specific idea. So, learn your new vocabulary in context with examples. Don’t
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memorise it!
4.) Guide your reader!
Tell your reader what you are going to write about! In your introduction, state what you are going to
discuss precisely. In this way, the reader knows what to expect and you are organised.
5.) Structure your essay!
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Never forget to structure your essay in paragraphs! This is very important! Use an introduction, 2 –
3 paragraphs for the main body, a conclusion and make sure they are clearly separated.
6.) Punctuation!
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Punctuation is very important and most students tend to forget that. Don’t make the same mistake!
What is punctuation? Well, simply put, don’t forget your commas!!
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When do we have to use punctuation?
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To separate words in a list: for example,
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“She went shopping and bought a blouse, a dress, a lipstick, and a pair of shoes.”
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To separate parts of a sentence: for example,
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“Firstly, I would like to discuss the advantages of implementing this method into the project. Secondly, this
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method can be introduced to the rest of our projects as well.”
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To separate two parts of the same sentence: for example,
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IELTS OVERVIEW
“Although he had drunk a lot of water, he was still thirsty.”
“He had drunk a lot of water. However, he was still thirsty.”
With conditionals and clarifications: for example,
“If they do that, more animals will be in danger of extinction.”
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“I work too much, especially on Fridays.”
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With linking phrases: for example,
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“For example, for instance, finally, on the one hand, on the other hand, also, in my opinion, in conclusion,
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to sum – up, etc.” –> ALWAYS use commas after these phrases!
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7.) Avoid casual words
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When we say casual words we mean casual phrasal verbs and informal phrases such as “okay, of course,
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really, alright etc.”
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8.) Prefer Passive Voice
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Use Passive Voice whenever you can. It is considered more academic. For instance,
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“I implemented the method” can become “The method was implemented.”
9.) Stay on topic!
Never forget the question and be specific in your answer: underline the most important points. Then,
ask yourself what you know about the topic and be precise in your plan.
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IELTS OVERVIEW
10) But – And
Avoid using “but” and “and” at the beginning of a sentence. Instead of “but” use “however” and instead
of “and” use “also, in addition, additionally, etc.”
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Don’t forget their commas!
Top 10 Tips for IELTS Listening
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tips you will ever need to improve yourself in the listening section! If you follow them consistently,
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1.) ALWAYS check out the word limit in the instructions
If you don’t stick to the word limit given to you in the instructions you will lose marks even if your
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answer is correct.
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2.) Underlining is your friend!
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Time management: Take advantage of the pauses in the recording in order to skim through the
questions. Underline key-words before the Listening starts, especially words that cannot be
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paraphrased. These key words are going to be your guide during the recording and they will help you
find the answer.
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3.) Try to predict!
Try to predict what is missing in each gap before the recording starts. Are you waiting to listen to a
number? A noun? A date? If you know what you expect to hear, you will stay focused and chances are
you will find the correct answer.
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4.) Don’t lose concentration!
You are going to hear everything only ONCE, so be focused. Try to keep up with the recording as
much as you can. Never lose focus: they may talk endlessly for some time without giving an answer
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and you may think that you missed the correct answer and you stop listening but this is exactly when
they give you the correct answer! So, work on your concentration skills. Do not insist on questions
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you had already missed. If you do, you will most probably miss the next question, too.
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5.) Beware of paraphrasing!
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The questions will not be phrased in your paper in the same way you will hear them. So, train
yourself to recognise same words instead of same meanings.
6.) Spelling!
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Be careful of your spelling! Correct spelling is absolutely vital in IELTS. If your spelling is wrong, you
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are going to lose marks even if your answer is the correct one.
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7.) Write down what you hear!
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In your answers, always write down the exact words you hear. Do not practice paraphrasing
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yourself in listening, just try to recognise it.
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8.) Multiple Choice
Read the instructions carefully because sometimes you may have to choose two correct answers
instead of only one answer. Also, the questions of multiple choice tasks will follow the order of the
recording but the options may not.
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IELTS OVERVIEW
9.) Order and Questions
Usually in all tasks the numbered questions follow the order of the listening. However, don’t get
confused with diagram labelling tasks and similar ones with the letters. (eg. A – G). The recording
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always follows the order of the numbered questions (eg. 1 – 10) not the order of the letters in the
picture.
10.) More Than Just Practice
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Do not restrict yourself to IELTS practice tests. Listen to the language in real life situations: movies
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and series without subtitles, songs, videos on things that you love; it can be anything! Get used to
listening to the English language on an everyday basis.
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Top 10 Tips for IELTS Reading
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tips you will ever need to improve yourself in the reading section! If you follow them consistently,
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w.
1.) Time yourself
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Time management is the most di cult thing in Reading because it is not enough. So, you have to get
used to doing everything quickly and correct at the same time. Do practice tests and time yourself. In
this way, you will know where you stand and where you need to get better. Don’t start timing yourself
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from the very first practice test; give yourself some time to get used to the exam format. Yet, do it as
soon as possible! Don’t get used to having all the time in the world to complete the Reading section!
‘Cause, clearly, you won’t.
2.) Read a lot in English
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IELTS OVERVIEW
In this way, you will get used to reading quickly in another language rather than your own and you
will get better without even realizing it. You should start o by reading articles online related
to subjects you love and find interesting. It could be anything! Football, make-up, politics, economy,
health, fitness, you name it! Just read in English.
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3.) Familiarise yourself with the tasks
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Try to understand the logic and what you need to do in each separate task of Reading. In this way, you
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will be familiar with everything and you will not waste time during your actual practice.
4.) Do not read everything
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There’s no way you are going to be able to read everything in each reading passage! You will waste
valuable time. Train yourself to distinguish the gist of each paragraph along with important specific
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information.
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5.) Skimming
Learn how to skim e ectively in order to recognise key-words instantly. Underline the first two lines
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of each paragraph before you move on to the questions.
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6.) Scanning
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After your reading of the questions and your underlining of key-words, learn how to scan the right
way so as to locate the answers in the text without reading everything.
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7.) Always read the instructions carefully
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You will most probably have a WORD LIMIT that you will need to follow, so never forget to read
your instructions! Even in multiple choice tasks, sometimes you are asked to choose TWO correct
answers instead of only one.
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IELTS OVERVIEW
8.) Underline key-words
Underline key-words in the questions that will help you to locate the answers in the text easily. With
underlining, you will also be able to focus on what the questions really ask you and not
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what you think they ask.
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9.) Be careful of paraphrasing!
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This is where most mistakes take place! Sometimes, they are going to use the same words in both the
.
questions and the text in order to confuse you. Learn to focus on same meanings and not only on the
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same words. Train yourself so as to recognize same meanings that use di erent phrasing, di erent
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words that is.
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10) Enjoy yourself!
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This may sound weird, but your attitude towards English and the exam really helps. Moaning and
groaning is not going to get you very far. It really helps if you see reading like a game! It is a quest you
have to complete in specific time limits without losing a life–just like a video game. If you can’t avoid
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it, why don’t you at least enjoy it?
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How can I get a high score in IELTS?
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Just to put things into perspective a little bit…
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“How can I get a high score in IELTS? Any tips?” Well, this is the number one question I receive either on
my YouTube channel or on Facebook. I really have to tell you though that tips, techniques, methods,
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and even tricks for all four sections can only work if your level of English is good enough for the band
score you need.
Usually students search for tips and magic tricks for scoring high in IELTS but they tend to forget the
most important thing: IELTS assesses your communicative level of English, not your ability to
learn methods and strategies. Consequently, lots of you end up wondering: “Well, I’ve tried everything!!
Why is my score still the same?“
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IELTS OVERVIEW
The answer to this question is two-fold. Either you haven’t given all these strategies and
techniques enough time for them to actually start showing results OR-and maybe most importantly-
your level of English is not good enough for these tips to actually work for you-yet.
Tips are not magic: they are not going to work instantly and they are not going to improve your
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overall knowledge of the language. Tips are very valuable only if your level of English is already
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good and you use them for guidance and even then, they will need some practice and time in order to
work. IELTS is a vast topic and whole websites are dedicated to it for your preparation-mine
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included, so no wonder that just some tips cannot raise your score!
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Bear in mind that no matter how much you practice and no matter how many tips you follow, the
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most important thing along with your practice is to try and learn the language a little bit better as a
whole and work on the weaknesses only you know you have. Vocabulary, grammar, and syntax are
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assessed not directly but indirectly in all four sections of the exam.
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Last but not least, never forget the reason that you actually take the exam. Most students believe
that IELTS is the only obstacle and if they pass everything will be great. Well, you probably take the
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exam either for your studies or in order to work abroad. In both cases, your English needs to be good.
Otherwise, you will need to quickly improve your English and you will do this the hard way! So,
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make your self a favour and start working on your level, weaknesses, vocabulary, and writing not for
the sake of IELTS but for your own!
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IELTS OVERVIEW
FREE IELTS PREPARATION: https://www.dori-ielts.com
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I'd be delighted if you also follow me on Instagram
@englishwithdori.
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do
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If you found this e-book helpful in your IELTS journey, it will be
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greatly appreciated if you consider subscribing to my Youtube
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channel English Lessons with Dori .
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Thank you for being here and I'm grateful that I get to be part of
your IELTS preparation! As always,
GOOD LUCK with your exam!
www.dori-ielts.com
IELTS OVERVIEW
Hey everyone! For those of you who don't already know me, I'm Dori
Mantzari and I'm a teacher of English. My BA (bachelor's degree) is on
English Studies, my MA (master's degree) is on English Literature, Culture,
and Ideology and I am currently pursuing my ph.D on American
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Theater.
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I have been teaching English as a second language to foreigners of all
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levels for more than 15 years now and it has been an exciting journey.
.
One day a student came to me because she needed to take the IELTS
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exam so as to study in England and this is when my journey with
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IELTS started. I loved it because of all the opportunities it can o er to
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candidates from all over the world. My lovely student got an overall
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band score 7.5!
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A few months later, in 2014 I decided to create my YouTube channel
dedicated to IELTS so as to help more people all over the world. I've
helped students of all levels succeed in IELTS over the years and I can
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do the same for you too. I will be honored if you make me part of your
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personal IELTS journey.
w.
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www.dori-ielts.com
IELTS OVERVIEW
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Expert Strategies and Tips for Mastering Academic IELTS Success! Are you preparing
for the Academic IELTS exam and seeking effective strategies to ace it with
o
con dence? Look no further. IELTS OVERVIEW offers comprehensive guidance and
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expert advice to help you excel in the Academic IELTS exam. This book offers valuable
.
information for each task type you may come across in both Listening and Reading and
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helps you familiarize with these tasks so as to feel more con dent to tackle them and
less nervous on the day of the exam. It provides extensive preparation methods,
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insider tips, and valuable insights tailored speci cally for the Academic IELTS exam.
From understanding the test format to mastering complex question types, IELTS
w
OVERVIEW equips you with the knowledge and skills needed to succeed. Inside, you'll
discover:
- Proven strategies for each section of the Academic IELTS exam, including Reading,
Writing, Listening, and Speaking.
- In-depth analysis of common question types and practical tips to tackle them
effectively.
IELTS OVERVIEW focuses exclusively on providing invaluable preparation techniques
and strategic approaches. Whether you're a rst-time test-taker or looking to improve
your score, this book is your essential companion on the journey to Academic IELTS
success. Don't just take the Academic IELTS exam—master it with IELTS OVERVIEW!

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IELTS

IELTS OVERVIEW Copyright 2024

FREE IELTS PREPARATION: https://www.dori-ielts.com

Youtube channel English Lessons with Dori .

As always, GOOD LUCK with your exam!

What is IELTS exactly?

Can I calculate my own bandscores?

Raw Score (number of correct answers) Listening A.Reading

19-22 5.5 5.5

- You should be able to identify:

1.) Which speaker says what

2.) How they relate to each other

3.) Their opinions on the matter they discuss about

ﬁfteen and ﬁfty

Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR

A NUMBER for each answer.

Let’s see an example of a note-completion task:

NOTES: London by plane

3. in case there is ……………………………… 25th of October

5 o’clock in the morning: 4 …………………………. Euros

12 o’clock in the morning 5 …………………………. Euros

The ﬂight lasts for about 6……………………………………..

The fee for that is 8………………………………………………

What about form-completion in Listening?

The customer has already:

But the problem still remains.

Possible cause: Sinter

Solution: Must unblock the drain trap externally

Fee: 10…………………………………., unless we need a machine.

What about table-completion tasks in Listening?

Here’s an example of a table-completion task:

Complete the table below.

This is what a sentence-completion task looks like:

Complete the sentences below.

Check out the WORD LIMIT ﬁrst!

Be careful of your spelling!

Complete the ﬂow chart below.

Dissertation Procedure for MA Graduation

Students submit their thesis to the MA professors’ party

SPREAD YOUR WORD SEMINAR

3 STEPS TO GUIDE YOU

- Discover your ﬁeld 31…………………. - Try to 33………………………

- Target your 32…………………………. - Research 34…………………...

and think of what you’ve got to

that their aim is to help people. spread your message.

- Create a loyal 38………………… – Do not hesitate to put yourself

- Be 39…………………………..... out there (videos, social media etc.)

- Find a trusted 40………………to

promote your work.

19 luna park …….

20 mall shopping …...

A They all want to go there

B None of them wants to go there

C The majority has second thoughts about it

D The employees are not very helpful.

E We shouldn’t be obliged to use the library

F The computers make our research so much easier.

Choose the correct letter, A, B, or C.

13. Why do actors hire agents?