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Lessondownloads>IELTSAcademicModulepreparation>Writing>Lesson1

Introduction TheIELTSwritingtesthastwoparts,ortasks.Thefirstpartisaninformationtransfertask.This meansyouneedtotakeinformationfromatable,chartordiagramandpresentitintheformofa shortwrittendescription.Thesecondpartisadiscursivecomposition.Forthistaskyouaregivena statementoranopinionaboutsomethingandyoumustpresentyourview. Thewholetesttakesanhour,butyouwillneedmoretimeforTask2thanTask1becauseyou havetowritemorewordsanditisworthmorepoints.Thetestisorganisedlikethis: words 150 250 suggestedtime 20minutes 40minutes

Task1:InformationTransfer Task2:DiscursiveComposition Inthisfirstlessonyoull

learnaboutthedifferentkindsofwritingyoumaybeaskedtodointhetest practisereadingandunderstandingtables lookatdifferentwaysofexpressingnumbers practisebrainstormingideasforcompositions reviselanguageforexpressingpurpose,causeandeffect lookatwaysofwritingproblemandsolutiontypecompositions

Activity1>TheIELTSwritingtesttypesofwriting>5minutes BelowisalistofthetypesofwritingyouhavetodointheIELTStest.Sortthelistintowritingfor Task1andwritingforTask2. compareandcontrastpointsofview describeanobjectorsystem evaluateandchallengeideasoranargument explainhowsomethingworks justifyanopinion organise,presentandcomparedata describethestagesofaprocess presentasolutiontoaproblem presentevidencetosupportanopinion Task1:InformationTransfer Task2:DiscursiveComposition

IELTSWRITINGTASK1:TABLES

Activity2>UnderstandingTables >10minutes InIELTSWritingTask1youmaybeaskedtodescribedatagiveninatable.Beforeyoubegin writing,takeafewminutestoreadandunderstandthetable.Thinkaboutthefollowing: Readtheinstructionscarefullythesewilltellyouwhatthetableshows. Doesthetablehaveatitle?Ifitdoes,readitcarefullysothatyouknowwhatthetableis about. Isthetablestaticordynamic?Statictablesshowdataatonepointintimedynamictables showhowdatachangesovertime.Thiswillaffectthelanguageyouuseinyourdescription. Whatdothecolumnsandrowsrepresent? Whatunitofmeasurementdoeseachcellrepresent?Kilometres,euros,litres?? Beclearaboutwhatthetabledoesnotshow!

ReadthisIELTStaskandthendecidewhetherthestatementswhichfollowaretrueorfalseorifitis impossibletotellfromthedata.ChooseT/ForIm

ThetablebelowshowshowthepercentageofBritishadultswhousetheInternetchanged overafiveyearperiod. Writeareportforauniversitylecturerdescribingtheinformationshownbelow. PercentageofadultsinGreatBritainwhohaveusedtheInternetfor3monthsbeforebeing interviewed October 2000 1624 2544 4554 5564 70 53 46 24 Age groups October 2001 78 61 50 30 October 2002 85 73 59 41 October 2003 88 76 64 45 October 2004 90 79 67 48 October 2005 87 81 75 51

Source:NationalStatistics(seehttp://www.statistics.gov.uk/copyright.aspforcopyrightdetails)

Questions: 1ThetableshowsthenumberofpeopleinGreatBritainwhousetheInternet. T/F/Im 2ThetableshowsthepercentageofpeopleinGreatBritainwhousedtheInternetbetweenJuly andOctobereachyear.T/F/Im 3Thetableshowschangeovertime(dynamic).T/F/Im 4InOctober2000,more16to24yearoldsusedtheInternetthan25to44yearolds.T/F/Im 5ThelowestpercentageofInternetuseiswiththe55to64yearolds.T/F/Im 6InOctober2004,onlyfortyeight55to64yearoldsusedtheInternet.T/F/Im 710percentof1624yearoldsdidntusetheInternetinOctober2004. T/F/Im 8ThepercentageofpeopleinGreatBritainwhousedtheInternetincreasedoverthefiveyears.T/ F/Im

Activity3>Waysofexpressingnumbers>5minutes ThereareanumberofdifferentwaysofexpressingthesamefigureinEnglish.Forexample,we cansayahalf,oneintwoorfiftypercentandtheyallmeanthesame.Itsagoodideatovary thewayyouexpressfiguresinyourdescriptionofthetableorchart. Allthephrasesbelowcanbeusedtodescribefigures.Groupthemintophraseswhichmeanthe same. afifth aquarter atenth athird justoversixtypercent justoverthirtypercent oneinfive oneinfour oneinten oneinthree seventyfivepercent tenpercent threeoutoffour threequarters twentyfivepercent twentypercent twooutofthree twothirds

Activity4:Waysofexpressingnumbers>10minutes. NowlookagainatthetableaboutInternetusagefromActivity2.UseexpressionsfromActivity3to completethesesentencesaboutthetable.Remembertouseavarietyofwaystodescribethe figures. 1624yearoldshadthegreatestInternetusage.In2004,forexample,1[]outoftenpeoplein thisagegroupusedtheInternet. In2001justover 2[]of2544yearoldsusedtheInternet.Twoyearslater,thefigurewas justover3[]. Forthe4554agegroup,Internetusagerosefromjustunder4[]in2000to5[]in 2005. In2000,onlyonein 6[]5564yearoldsusedtheInternet.Thisfigurehadrisentoover7[]by 2005.

Activity5:Usingquantifiers(1)>5minutes InPart1ofthewritingtestyoumayhavetodescribeamounts.Youllneedtobecarefulusing quantifierswordslikemuch,many,someetc. Putthewordsandexpressionsbelowintothecorrectgroup. alargeamount alittle alotof asmallamount asmallnumber few fewer fewerandfewer less lessandless many more most much no noneof several themajorityof

Usedwithcountablenouns Usedwithuncountablenouns Usedwithbothcountableand uncountablenouns (men,women,cars,hoursetc) (time,money,wateretc)

Activity6>Usingquantifiers(2)>10minutes Thetablebelowshowhowmenandwomenspendtheirtimeeachday.Itsastatictablei.e.it doesntshowchangesovertime,butcomparesvaluesatonepointintime.Noticealsothatthe tablehastwosetsoffigures:theblackfiguresshowtimespentinminutes,thebluefiguresshow theactualnumberofpeopleaskedwhosaidthattheydotheseactivities. Nowlookatthetableandcompletethedescriptionbychoosingthebestwordorphraseforeach gap. Timespentbyadults(over16)ondailyactivities

Activity Sleep Personalcarei.e. wash/dress Housework Entertainmentand culture Hobbiesandgames WatchingTV Childcare

Men Women (totalinterviewed=100) (totalinterviewed=100) Averageminutesperday (Numberofpeopleparticipatinginactivity) 503 513 100 100 41 52 97 98 126 215 85 96 6 6 5 6 26 16 26 22 161 137 88 87 11 28 14 24

All

508 47 173 6 21 148 20

(adaptedfromNationalStatisticsinformation(seehttp://www.statistics.gov.uk/copyright.aspfor copyrightdetails) Thetableshowshow1[much/many]timepeoplespendoncertaindailyactivities.Notsurprisingly, everybodysurveyedspent2[alotof/many]timesleeping.However,menspentslightly3 [fewer/less]timesleepingthanwomendid.Aftersleeping,thenextmosttimeconsumingactivity washousework,takingup178minutesperday,onaverage.Again,though,therewasamarked differencebetweenmenandwomen,withwomenspending 4[many/much] moreminutesperday onthisactivitythanmen.Inaddition,agreater5[amount/number]ofwomenthanmenreported thattheyspenttimeonhouseworkandchildcare.Incontrast,menspentagreater6 [amount/number]oftimeontheirhobbiesandgamesthanwomendid.Very7[few/many]people surveyedspentmuchfreetimeonentertainmentandculture.Forthe8[majority/most]ofpeople, freetimewasspentwatchingtelevision.Almostnineoutoftenpeoplereportedthattheyspent9 [several/lots]hourswatchingTVeveryday.

Activity7>ExampleTask1>10minutes Lookattheexampletask1questionbelowandthentrytocompletethesampleanswerusing languagewevelookedatsofarinthislesson. ThetablebelowshowstheprevalenceofsmokingamongstadultsinGreatBritain.Writea reportforauniversitylecturerdescribingtheinformationshownbelow. Cigarettesmokingstatusbyageandgender Light Heavy All smoker smoker smokers %ofpopulation 19 4 23 32 5 36 26 9 35 18 12 31 13 12 26 10 5 15 24 25 22 19 14 10 1 5 6 9 8 4 25 29 28 28 22 14

Men 1619 2024 2534 3549 5059 60andover Women 1619 2024 2534 3549 5059 60andover

Thetableshows[ mostcommon[

]andcomparesthe ].Nearly[]menandexactly

prevalenceofsmoking[].Itsclearfromthefiguresthatsmokingis []womenarelightsmokersatthisage,while []areheavysmokers.Thefiguresalsoshowthatasageincreases [].Thistrendistruefor[].Themost disturbingfiguresarethosefor16to19yearolds.Around[ []. ].The percentageforgirls[]inthisagegroup,butitseemsthatteenageboys

IELTSWRITINGTASK2:PROBLEMANDSOLUTION Activity8>Brainstormingideas(1):5minutes InPart2oftheIELTStestyoumaybeaskedtowriteacompositiondiscussingthecausesofa problemandsuggestingpossiblesolutions.Heresanexample: Presentawrittenargumentorcasetoaneducatedreaderwithnospecialknowledgeofthe followingtopic. Overfishingoftheworldsoceansthreatensmanyspecieswithextinctionandisputting thelivelihoodofmillionsofpeoplearoundtheworldatrisk.Whatarethecausesofthis problemandwhatcanbedonetopreventitfromhappening? Youshoulduseyourownideas,knowledgeandexperienceandsupportyourargumentswith examplesandrelevantevidence. Beforeyoubeginwriting,spendafewminutestothinkofideasrelatedtothetopic.Atthisstage, dontworrytoomuchabouthowyouregoingtoexpressororganisetheseideasjustbrainstorm thetopicandjotdownnotes. Spend3minutesbrainstormingideasfortheexamplequestionabove.Usetheseheadings: Causesofoverfishing Waystopreventoverfishing

Activity9>brainstormingideas(2)>5minutes Herearesomeideaswevebrainstormedforthecomposition.Puteachideaundertheappropriate heading. factoryfishingmakeshugecatchestooeasy bringinlawstoprotectfishspeciesandlimitfishing createaninternationalbodytopolicetheoceansandenforcelaws fishingprovidesaquickreturnforcompaniesandgovernments hugeareasoftheworldsoceansarenotprotectedbyenvironmentallaws illegalfishingisdifficulttopolice puttaxesonfishingwhichmakeitlessattractivetocompanies raisepublicawarenessthoughthemedia theproblemdoesnotgetenoughpublicity theresagrowingdemandforfishworldwide banthefishingofcertainspeciesoffish

Causesofoverfishing

Waystopreventoverfishing

Activity10>Expressingcauseandeffect(1)>10minutes IfyouareaskedtodiscussaproblemandpossiblesolutionsinTask2,youwillneedtobeableto outlinethecausesoftheproblemandshowwhateffectsthesehave.Herearesomeuseful expressionsfordoingthis.

RESULT

(is)

dueto owingto becauseof causedby broughtaboutby onaccountof asaresultof

CAUSE

CAUSE

resultsin causes givesriseto leadsto bringsabout accountsfor

RESULT

Eachofthesentencesbelowdescribesacauseandeffectrelationship.Choosethebestexpression tocompletethegap. 1Globalwarmingispartly[asaresultof/causes]increasingemissionsofgreenhousegases. 2Thedeclineofmanufacturingindustry[onaccountof/broughtabout]highunemploymentin manycountries. 3Peoplearemoreworriedaboutcrime[onaccountof/bringsabout]exaggeratedreportsinthe media. 4Increasingpressuretoworkovertime[owingto/causes]parentstospendlesstimewiththeir children. 5DrugsforthetreatmentofAIDSremainunavailabletomillions[owingto/givesriseto]theirhigh cost. 6Globalisation[asaresultof/hasgivenriseto]ablandpopculturefollowedbyyoungpeople worldwide. 7Poordisciplineatschool[isdueto/leadsto]poorparentingathome. 8Thedesireforhigherprofits[onaccountof/leadsto]companiessettingupincountrieswhere labourischeap.

Activity11>Expressingcauseandeffect(2)>5minutes. Nowletsseehowtheseexpressionscanbeusedinourcompositionabouttheoverfishingofthe worldsoceans.Completetheparagraphbyusingappropriatephrasesfromactivity9. Thereareanumberofreasonswhyoverfishingoftheworldsfishstockshasreachedcrisislevels. Firstly,catchinglargenumbersoffishhasbecomeveryeasy[1]modernmethodsoffactory fishing.Secondly,thescarcityoffish[2]higherprices,makingfishingamoreattractive industryforgovernmentsandcompaniestoinvestin.This[3]evenmorefishingand [4]aviciouscircleofincreasingdemandanddiminishingsupply.Furthermore,fishingin mostpartsoftheworldremainsuncontrolled[5]thelackofenvironmentallaws.Finally, wherelawsdoexisttheyaredifficulttoenforce[6]thelackofaninternational maritimepoliceauthority. Activity12>Suggestingsolutions>10minutes Onceyouhavediscussedthecausesoftheproblem,youarereadytoputforwardyoursuggestions forpossiblesolutions.Foreverysuggestionyoumake,youneedtobackupyourargumentby explaininghowthisideawillhelp.Again,thereareusefulwordsandphrasesforyoutodothis. Thephrasesbelowareusedtoshowthepurposeorreasonfordoingsomething.Matcheachone withtheverbformwhichfollowsit.

so(that) inthisway

A topreventoverfishing

2 withthepurposeof

B overfishingisprevented

inorder soas

C preventingoverfishing

Nowcompletethisparagraphwithphrasesfromabove. Whatcanbedonein[1]preventfishspeciesbeingwipedoutbyoverfishing?Oneimmediate measureistoputacompletebanonthefishingofcertainspeciesoffish[2]savethemfrom extinction.Environmentalagenciesshouldworktogivetheproblemahigherprofileinthemedia [3]thepublicbecomemoreaware.Governmentscanhelpbyimposingtaxesonthefishing industry.[4],companiesmaybelesslikelytoseefishingasaneasywaytomakemoney. Governmentsshouldalsobringinstricterlawsinordertoprotectfishstocksfromuncontrolled factoryfishing.Finally,aninternationalbodyoughttobecreated[5]enforcingtheselaws worldwide.

Activity13>ExampleTask2 Heresanotherexampleofatask2questionrequiringaproblemandsolutionapproach.Spend fiveminutesbrainstormingthequestion,andthenwriteyourcomposition,usinglanguagewehave lookedatduringthislesson. Presentawrittenargumentorcasetoaneducatedreaderwithnospecialknowledgeofthe followingtopic. Thenumbersofindigenouspeopleslivingtraditionallivesintheworldsrainforestsare becomingfewerandfewer.Withinafewdecadesthelastoftheseindigenoustribesmay havedisappearedforever.Whatarethecausesofthisproblemandwhatcanbedoneto preventitfromhappening? Youshoulduseyourownideas,knowledgeandexperienceandsupportyourargumentswith examplesandrelevantevidence.

LessonReview Inthisem@illessonyouhave: learntaboutthedifferentkindsofwritingyoumaybeaskedtodointhetest practisedreadingandunderstandingtables lookedatdifferentwaysofexpressingnumbers practisedbrainstormingideasforcompositions revisedlanguageforexpressingpurpose,causeandeffect lookedatwaysofwritingproblemandsolutiontypecompositions

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