IELTS PREPARATION SINCE 2006!
Describe a memorable journey you have taken. You should say: Where you went How you traveled Who you went with You should also explain why the journey was memorableA top scoring model answer (Band 9.0): I would like to talk about a memorable journey I took last year...
Here are the definitions and an example sentence for today's 10 essential words. Elaborate (verb): To add details, explanations, or complexity to something in order to make it more thorough or complete. The chef took great care to elaborate on the dish's ingredients...
IELTS Academic Task 1 writing sample Band 5 Report 2 Band score: approximately 5.0 The answer below would be worth a Band score of 5.0 (based on over 15 years as IELTS examiner). Click the word or words in red to see the correction, and scroll to the bottom of the...
What’s wrong with this sentence? Some people believe that a university education should be available to everyone as a university education will help with employment. The problem here is that ‘university education’ has been repeated – the sentence would have been...
The International English Language Testing System (IELTS) is an English language proficiency test that assesses the language skills of individuals who wish to study, work, or migrate to an English-speaking country. There are two types of IELTS tests: Academic and...
The CBT (Computer-Based Test) and PBT (Paper-Based Test) versions of the IELTS (International English Language Testing System) have several differences. Here are some of the key differences: Test format: The CBT version of the IELTS test is delivered on a computer,...
Mountaineering is a challenging and exhilarating outdoor activity that involves climbing up mountains or other steep and rugged terrain. It requires physical and mental strength, endurance, and technical skills to navigate through different kinds of terrain, from rock...
In a previous post we looked at the importance of predicting and anticipating in the IELTS listening test. Practice your skills with these 10 questions by predicting as much as you can. NOTE: there is no audio for this exercise – this is to improve your predicting...
‘So’ and ‘such’ are often used incorrectly in English. Both so and such are used to ‘give emphasis’ – this means to show that something is ‘extreme’ or ‘more than’. For example – The concert was so good! It was such a good concert! In both cases, it wasn’t simply a...
There are lots of different advice about how to end a Task 1 report, so on this page we have presented some good and bad ideas for the last lines of your Task 1. Keep these facts in mind when considering your report: Somewhere in the report you need to include an...
Here’s a collection of some of the most common questions we are asked about the IELTS writing test. Note that this page only realtes to the PBT (Paper Based Test), not the CBT (Computer Based Test). Q: Do I write in pen or pencil during the test? Most exam centres now...
When asking for information in English you can use direct and indirect questions. There are differences in sentence structure and levels of politeness and formality. In English, a basic question can be formed using either an auxiliary verb or a question word. For...
Adjective order is important if you are using more than one adjective before a noun. There is often a specific order in which they must be placed. For example: A black leather jacketA leather black jacket Here is a short acronym to help you remember: OSASCOMP opinion...
This post is another practice exercise for True, False, Not Given style questions. For the main lesson page on this question type, take a look here: True, False, Not Given in IELTS reading Tā moko The practice of making markings on the human body has long been in...
Complete the conditional sentences exercises below to test your knowledge of conditionals. 1st conditional example: If he __________________ (get) the job, he ___________ (be) very happy . If he gets the job, he will be very happy. Conditional sentences...
One of the most common – and most difficult – types of question you are likely to face in the IELTS reading test are Headings style questions, where you are required to match a heading (much the same as a title) to a paragraph from the text. Here are some facts about...
Articles (a, an, the and Ø) Using articles correctly in English can be very difficult as there are a lot of rules to remember. There are three articles in English ‘a’, ‘an’, ‘the’ and sometimes no article Ø is needed. The indefinite article – A or AN Examples of use...
Essential IELTS vocabulary is split into common IELTS topics and subsections in much more detail in our complete online course, so become a member today. On this page, we are focusing on vocabulary used to describe the law – crimes, criminals, the legal system and...
In order to improve your result in the IELTS test, both for speaking and writing, it is important to be aware of the ‘parts’ of speech that create sentences in English. It is commonly accepted that there are only 9* different parts of speech from which all sentences,...
Qualifying words in IELTS reading By now, you should be familiar with the idea of looking for key words in the question before looking for the answer in both the IELTS reading and listening test. However, a common reason for IELTS candidates to lose points is by not...
Talking about people in the IELTS speaking test lesson 3 Before starting this lesson, make sure you have completed Lesson 1 and Lesson 2. Talking about people in the IELTS speaking test lesson 3 Learning synonyms is a good way to enrich your English vocabulary, and...
Reading practice exercise 7 Brush up on your reading skills with this short text and questions. Note: The text is NOT full the length of a normal IELTS reading test – this is a shortened version for some quick practice! See if you can complete it under 10 minutes....
IELTS speaking practice test 2 This section of the site is for you to try a complete IELTS speaking test. The timing of each section is automatic and follows the standard IELTS pattern. Ideally, we recommend speaking aloud when answering the questions and recording...
Vocabulary for IELTS – words beginning with C We’re back with some more vocabulary for you to test your skills. Read the sentences below and decide which of the words that follow would be best to complete the sentence. NOTE: sometimes more than one answer will...
7 tips to improve IELTS listening So you’ve practiced, you’ve listened to the radio, taken practice tests, you’ve even taken the IELTS test – often a number of times – and you’re still not getting the result you’re looking for in the IELTS listening test. What’s going...
Common errors in IELTS writing 1 - using the word 'government’ Using the correct words in your IELTS test can make the difference between succeeding and having to resit the test, so make sure you’ve got the right word or phrase! In this post, we will look at the use...
Topic sentences in IELTS writing are very important as they help you write in a clear and logical way. The 'topic sentence' is generally the first sentence of your paragraph, and is used to define what the rest of the paragraph will be discussing. For example: Tighter...
Here’s an example of a topic card used in Part Two of the IELTS speaking test: Describe your favourite leisure activity. You should say: what it is how often you do it when you first started doing it. You should also say why it is important to you. Using the...
So the day has finally arrived – it’s test day! Depending on the test centre you are taking your test in, you might have the speaking on a different day to the other parts of the test or at the beginning or end of the same day. Whenever your speaking assessment is,...
The IELTS speaking test is like most conversations. If you give an opinion, you should justify it, and if possible, offer a reason, solution or speculation. For example: I don’t think people should automatically be entitled to three holidays a year. [END] Saying only...
This section of the site is for model answers on Part Two topic cards. They are all rated at Band 9.0 (the top score). It is good practice to read the model answer aloud, ideally while recording yourself. Then play back the recording, listening closely to your...
It is common in the IELTS speaking test to be asked to talk about special days or celebrations, so here are some model answers that will give you a guideline for a good result. The list below is based on special days or celebrations in New Zealand, but this is where...
In the IELTS speaking test, the examiner could ask you to talk about your hobbies. Here’s a bad example of a response to a question about hobbies: Examiner: What sports do you like?Candidate: Football. The main problem with the example above is that it is too short....
Read the text below and answer the TRUE, FALSE, NOT GIVEN questions that follow. After checking your answers, you should also look at the vocabulary section for this text at the bottom of the page. Speed levels: 20 minutes or more = TOO SLOW! 15 minutes = not bad 10...
Classifying questions are similar to matching questions – the questions are in statement format, and you need to decide which of a limited number of options each statement relates to. Here’s a very simple example: Classify the following statement as relating to: A....
Read the text below and answer the CLASSIFYING questions that follow. After checking your answers, you should also look at the vocabulary section for this text at the bottom of the page. Speed levels: 25 minutes or more = TOO SLOW! 18 minutes = not bad 12 minutes =...
This is a text completion exercise. Before you begin, we recommend you take a look at the Text completion information page. Read the text below and complete the questions that follow. NO MEAN FEAT Every now and again, amid the doom and gloom of war, violence and...
We recommend you read this page about headings style questions before beginning this practice. A brief history of the Olympics Most people have heard of the Olympics, a sporting event held every four years, where people from around the world congregate in one place to...
This is a text completion exercise. Before you begin, we recommend you take a look at the Text completion information page. The home office A Can you feel your anxiety and stress levels increasing every time you get caught in a traffic jam? Do you find it difficult to...
Text completion questions in IELTS are one of the most common question types. You need to be able to complete either a sentence or a short summary of the text, using either words from the text or words provided in a box. There are two different types of instruction...
The 4 rules for Reported speech in English. Reported speech, also called indirect speech, is what happens when we are telling someone about what another person said. Here is an example of direct and reported speech: Direct speech: I don’t like this party.Reported or...
One of the skills that you will be tested on in the IELTS test is the ability to identify parallel expressions – that is, two sentences that have the same meaning but are written using a different structure, vocabulary or grammar. This is especially important with...
Can I ask the examiner to repeat the question in the IELTS speaking test?One of our enrolled members asked a very good question a few days ago - do I lose points in the IELTS speaking test if I ask the examiner to repeat a question? The simple answer is no - you won't...
5 tips to improve your IELTS reading Are you taking practice test after practice, but not seeing your score improve? Stuck on the same level with your reading for ages? You’re not alone – this is a very common problem, especially when you are studying on your own...
Conundrum - a confusing and difficult problem or questionExamples: Solving this math problem was a conundrum that took me hours to figure out. The mystery of the missing keys was a conundrum that baffled the detectives. The ethical conundrum of cloning is still being...
30 words for IELTS Band 8.0+ - use this list to improve your IELTS vocabulary and get a better score. Each word below has a definition and an example sentence. Capricious: changing one's mind quickly and oftenExample: The boss's capricious mood swings made it...
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ACADEMIC MODULE
MASTER MEMBERSHIP
MASTER Membership includes everything in the SPEED membership, as well as 10 writing tests assessed with comments and corrections AND 2 live speaking assessments one to one with your support tutor (a trained IELTS examiner) via Skype or Whatsapp.
6 MONTHS ACCESS
…or click here to learn more