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IELTS Preparation tips

The best ways to study for the four IELTS sub-tests: Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking

Talk about a person who openly expresses their feelings (model answers for Speaking Part 2 & 3)

In today’s IELTS Speaking lesson Adam, our Speaking examiner who worked for the British Council for 10 years, will show you ways to answer a Cue Card (Speaking Part 2) question about a person who openly expresses their feelings, and the Speaking Part 3 questions related to it, about people and their feelings.

You will learn:
– what you can say (and whether it’s OK to lie!)
– vocabulary and how to use it in a sentence
– expressions for scoring Band 7 to 9
– grammar you can use to raise your score

So, grab a pen and paper and spend the next 15 minutes raising your IELTS score beyond what you thought was possible!

Watch the video on YouTube here

 

Go here to get Adam to assess your Speaking, estimate you the score you’re likely to get now and tell you how to score higher.

The Part 2 topic Adam talks about in this lesson is,

Describe a person you know who shows their feelings very openly. You should say:

– Who this person is
– How well you know this person
– How you feel about this person
– And explain why you think this person shows their feelings so openly.

Adam saw many test takers hesitate when they got this question, and that is why he knew he had to show you a great way to answer it. Make sure to watch Adam’s model answer for it here.

The Part 3 questions Adam talks about are below. For every question Adam suggests an answer, including some great expressions and impressive vocabulary. Go here to watch his Part 3 answers.

Speaking Part 3 questions

– What are some of the different ways people show their feelings?
– Do you think that children show their feelings more often than adults do?
– Do you think that women and men express their emotions in different ways?
– How might a person’s life improve if they were better able to express their emotions?
– What might be some negative aspects if one is too open with their feelings?
– Do you think people are more open about their feelings now than they were in the past?
– Why do you think many employers try to recruit staff who are sensitive to co-workers’ feelings?
– Do you think it’s true that most people use emotion to make decisions, not logic?
– How do you feel about the idea that great leaders need emotional maturity more than they need intelligence?

Go here to watch Adam’s model Part 3 Speaking answers.

Academic IELTS Writing Task 1 – How to Describe Line Graphs

When you don’t get Band 7 for your Academic writing, even though you have good grammar knowledge and a wide range of vocabulary, it is disappointing and seems very unfair. In the 10 years Adam worked as an IELTS examiner, he saw it happen too many times – all because people didn’t know how to write a correct Writing Task 1 response.

In this video Adam shows you step by step how it is done. He gives you a way to analyse the line graph before you start writing, some tips how to reword the task prompt easily, and he also demonstrates how to write a great overview and how to compare and contrast.

Watch the lesson on YouTube, or below:

 

In the video

1. What are you comparing?
In this particular double line graph it is the length of stay of public and private hospital patients.

2. How are you comparing?
Here you need to look at the units used in the line graph. You want to note that the length of stay is measured in days, and that there are many age groups, each with its own length of stay.

3. When are you comparing?
For this graph it is last year, which means you will be using past tense to describe the graph. The period of time always affects your grammar, and you should be aware of that.

4. Is there an overall trend?
If both line graphs follow the same trend, even for some of the time, it will help you describe them.

5. What are the similarities?
Look at the two graphs to see where they declined or rose at the same time.

And there is a lot more to learn, so do watch the entire video, because Adam explains everything in a very easy to understand way. It won’t take you long to start writing Band 7+ reports!

Adam doesn’t give you a model response in this lesson, because he would like you to have a go and write your own. But if you’d like to see a Band 9 sample, check out our High Scorer’s Choice IELTS practice tests. This particular topic can be found in Package 2 and we also provide a model response for it, as well as all the other writing tasks.

Enjoy the lesson!