In my last post, I talked about brainstorming. The topic I looked at was: Successful sports professionals can earn a great deal more money than people in other important professions. Some people think this is fully justified while others think it is unfair.
Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.
Here are some of the ideas I came up with :
fair & justified:
-sports figures who earn $$$$ are the minority of all professional athletes
-there is a lot of money in sports - huge industry
-entertainment
unfair:
-many professionals dedicate years, money and their lives to studying and pursuing a career just to earn a small percentage of what sports stars make
-different professionals make a great impact on our lives and make much less money
So, these are my main ideas. I may use all of them or only some of them. What happens next is supporting your main ideas. I cannot stress enough how important it is to support your ideas. You simply cannot assume that your reader knows what you mean unless you say it clearly. Take a look at this main idea: different professionals make a great impact on our lives and make much less
money. If I read that in an essay and it was not supported by examples or an explanation, I may think
anything from street cleaners to government officials, but that is not the point. What I want to know is what the writer is thinking, so tell me who you have in mind: Doctors, teachers and scientists.
You need to do this for ALL of your main ideas. Don't worry, it's not as bad as it sounds. Your essay should have about four main ideas so you need to think of supporting ideas for each of them. So, why don't you think about how we can support these main ideas. You can even post some in the comments I'll do the same & we'll meet back here in my next post. :)
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Sunday, October 13, 2013
Ideas, anyone? Let's brainstorm!
One complaint I hear both in IELTS and ECPE prep is regarding lack of ideas. I know that it can be overwhelming to write an academic essay on an issue you more than likely do not really care about, especially in a foreign language. Especially when you only have about 40 minutes (30 in the ECPE). Well, I am here to simplify this task. The first thing I want to remind you of is that the IELTS is developed for people exactly like you: English Language Learners who seek employment or education at the university level. So, you don't need any specialist knowledge about a particular topic. Let's assume that your vocabulary is good and you have a good grasp of grammar. What you then need is ideas.
Take a look at this task borrowed from our friends at www.ielts-exams.net
Successful sports professionals can earn a great deal more money than people in other important professions. Some people think this is fully justified while others think it is unfair.
Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.
The key words here are sports professionals, important professions, more money, justified and unfair. Jot them down on some paper. You are now about to do the most underrated but important task of writing: brainstorming. I know, I know, you think it's a waste of time. After all, you only have 40 minutes, so why use it writing down little notes that you may not use in the end?
Allow me to speak from personal experience that if you spend 5 minutes jotting down notes you will thank me. Many, many (many, many) years ago when I was a university student, I took a class where there was a mandatory 3-5 page writing assignment every week. In the beginning of the semester, I would begin my assignment with a few ideas in my head and just start writing. While I was writing, invariably other ideas would come to my head & I remember thinking to myself, "okay, I will write that idea when I get to my next paragraph." Can you imagine what happened when I got to my next paragraph? I forgot my idea. What a waste of a good idea! I finally learned my lesson and starting brainstorming for these writing assignments and spending a little time writing down my ideas before getting down to the business of writing.
So, back to our sports professionals: I am sure that you have some opinions about this issue. Think about them. Is it fair for a basketball or football star to earn millions of dollars for playing a game when people who save lives, like nurses or doctors for example, earn a lot less? Should sports stars make so much money? Are there any reasons why this is justified? You'll have to answer both these questions because the task has asked you to discuss both views. What you then have to do is write down some key words or a sentence to answer these questions. You should try to come up with at least 2-3 points for each question. In my next post, we'll work on turning our ideas into paragraphs.
Take a look at this task borrowed from our friends at www.ielts-exams.net
Successful sports professionals can earn a great deal more money than people in other important professions. Some people think this is fully justified while others think it is unfair.
Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.
The key words here are sports professionals, important professions, more money, justified and unfair. Jot them down on some paper. You are now about to do the most underrated but important task of writing: brainstorming. I know, I know, you think it's a waste of time. After all, you only have 40 minutes, so why use it writing down little notes that you may not use in the end?
Allow me to speak from personal experience that if you spend 5 minutes jotting down notes you will thank me. Many, many (many, many) years ago when I was a university student, I took a class where there was a mandatory 3-5 page writing assignment every week. In the beginning of the semester, I would begin my assignment with a few ideas in my head and just start writing. While I was writing, invariably other ideas would come to my head & I remember thinking to myself, "okay, I will write that idea when I get to my next paragraph." Can you imagine what happened when I got to my next paragraph? I forgot my idea. What a waste of a good idea! I finally learned my lesson and starting brainstorming for these writing assignments and spending a little time writing down my ideas before getting down to the business of writing.
So, back to our sports professionals: I am sure that you have some opinions about this issue. Think about them. Is it fair for a basketball or football star to earn millions of dollars for playing a game when people who save lives, like nurses or doctors for example, earn a lot less? Should sports stars make so much money? Are there any reasons why this is justified? You'll have to answer both these questions because the task has asked you to discuss both views. What you then have to do is write down some key words or a sentence to answer these questions. You should try to come up with at least 2-3 points for each question. In my next post, we'll work on turning our ideas into paragraphs.
Ideas, anyone? Let's brainstorm!
One complaint I hear both in IELTS and ECPE prep is regarding lack of ideas. I know that it can be overwhelming to write an academic essay on an issue you more than likely do not really care about, especially in a foreign language. Especially when you only have about 40 minutes (30 in the ECPE). Well, I am here to simplify this task. The first thing I want to remind you of is that the IELTS is developed for people exactly like you: English Language Learners who seek employment or education at the university level. So, you don't need any specialist knowledge about a particular topic. Let's assume that your vocabulary is good and you have a good grasp of grammar. What you then need is ideas.
Take a look at this task borrowed from our friends at www.ielts-exams.net
Successful sports professionals can earn a great deal more money than people in other important professions. Some people think this is fully justified while others think it is unfair.
Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.
The key words here are sports professionals, important professions, more money, justified and unfair. Jot them down on some paper. You are now about to do the most underrated but important task of writing: brainstorming. I know, I know, you think it's a waste of time. After all, you only have 40 minutes, so why use it writing down little notes that you may not use in the end?
Allow me to speak from personal experience that if you spend 5 minutes jotting down notes you will thank me. Many, many (many, many) years ago when I was a university student, I took a class where there was a mandatory 3-5 page writing assignment every week. In the beginning of the semester, I would begin my assignment with a few ideas in my head and just start writing. While I was writing, invariably other ideas would come to my head & I remember thinking to myself, "okay, I will write that idea when I get to my next paragraph." Can you imagine what happened when I got to my next paragraph? I forgot my idea. What a waste of a good idea! I finally learned my lesson and starting brainstorming for these writing assignments and spending a little time writing down my ideas before getting down to the business of writing.
So, back to our sports professionals: I am sure that you have some opinions about this issue. Think about them. Is it fair for a basketball or football star to earn millions of dollars for playing a game when people who save lives, like nurses or doctors for example, earn a lot less? Should sports stars make so much money? Are there any reasons why this is justified? You'll have to answer both these questions because the task has asked you to discuss both views. What you then have to do is write down some key words or a sentence to answer these questions. You should try to come up with at least 2-3 points for each question. In my next post, we'll work on turning our ideas into paragraphs.
Take a look at this task borrowed from our friends at www.ielts-exams.net
Successful sports professionals can earn a great deal more money than people in other important professions. Some people think this is fully justified while others think it is unfair.
Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.
The key words here are sports professionals, important professions, more money, justified and unfair. Jot them down on some paper. You are now about to do the most underrated but important task of writing: brainstorming. I know, I know, you think it's a waste of time. After all, you only have 40 minutes, so why use it writing down little notes that you may not use in the end?
Allow me to speak from personal experience that if you spend 5 minutes jotting down notes you will thank me. Many, many (many, many) years ago when I was a university student, I took a class where there was a mandatory 3-5 page writing assignment every week. In the beginning of the semester, I would begin my assignment with a few ideas in my head and just start writing. While I was writing, invariably other ideas would come to my head & I remember thinking to myself, "okay, I will write that idea when I get to my next paragraph." Can you imagine what happened when I got to my next paragraph? I forgot my idea. What a waste of a good idea! I finally learned my lesson and starting brainstorming for these writing assignments and spending a little time writing down my ideas before getting down to the business of writing.
So, back to our sports professionals: I am sure that you have some opinions about this issue. Think about them. Is it fair for a basketball or football star to earn millions of dollars for playing a game when people who save lives, like nurses or doctors for example, earn a lot less? Should sports stars make so much money? Are there any reasons why this is justified? You'll have to answer both these questions because the task has asked you to discuss both views. What you then have to do is write down some key words or a sentence to answer these questions. You should try to come up with at least 2-3 points for each question. In my next post, we'll work on turning our ideas into paragraphs.
Sunday, September 29, 2013
IELTS Writing Task 1 - Continued
If you have your introduction done and a sentence or two which more or less highlights the most important trend of the diagram, what comes next is an analysis of the details. Let's refer back to our population pie charts.
source: www.ielts-exams.net
We mentioned Asia already, but we may want to give a little additional information here.
In 2000, Asia accounted for 54% of the world population. This is a 6% decrease from the 1900 figure.
The next obvious area to cover is Europe.
The second largest percentage of the world population was recorded in Europe, at 14% in 2000. However, this is 11% less than the percentage recorded in 1900.
Another useful tip in IELTS task 1 is knowing how to group information. You can't and shouldn't write a sentence for every single piece of data so try to group similar features together.
While the population percentages of areas, like North America, remained the same in 2000 and 1900, other areas, like Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean, more than doubled their figures.
Some data cannot be grouped anywhere, but it may be important for other reasons.
source: www.ielts-exams.net
We mentioned Asia already, but we may want to give a little additional information here.
In 2000, Asia accounted for 54% of the world population. This is a 6% decrease from the 1900 figure.
The next obvious area to cover is Europe.
The second largest percentage of the world population was recorded in Europe, at 14% in 2000. However, this is 11% less than the percentage recorded in 1900.
Another useful tip in IELTS task 1 is knowing how to group information. You can't and shouldn't write a sentence for every single piece of data so try to group similar features together.
While the population percentages of areas, like North America, remained the same in 2000 and 1900, other areas, like Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean, more than doubled their figures.
Some data cannot be grouped anywhere, but it may be important for other reasons.
The year
2000 found the Middle East and North Africa
with 6% of the world population, whereas no data is available in the pie chart
for this region in 1900.
We've covered it all, so round out your answer with a conclusion. It's optional, really, provided you have summarized the key trend or feature in your second sentence, but it does round off the answer nicely. A summary of the most important data will do.
Between
1900 and 2000 the world population increased by 4.4 billion. The areas of Asia and Europe
saw their percentages decrease while the remaining major areas either increased
or remained constant.
178 words
IELTS Writing Task 1 - Continued
If you have your introduction done and a sentence or two which more or less highlights the most important trend of the diagram, what comes next is an analysis of the details. Let's refer back to our population pie charts.
source: www.ielts-exams.net
We mentioned Asia already, but we may want to give a little additional information here.
In 2000, Asia accounted for 54% of the world population. This is a 6% decrease from the 1900 figure.
The next obvious area to cover is Europe.
The second largest percentage of the world population was recorded in Europe, at 14% in 2000. However, this is 11% less than the percentage recorded in 1900.
Another useful tip in IELTS task 1 is knowing how to group information. You can't and shouldn't write a sentence for every single piece of data so try to group similar features together.
While the population percentages of areas, like North America, remained the same in 2000 and 1900, other areas, like Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean, more than doubled their figures.
Some data cannot be grouped anywhere, but it may be important for other reasons.
source: www.ielts-exams.net
We mentioned Asia already, but we may want to give a little additional information here.
In 2000, Asia accounted for 54% of the world population. This is a 6% decrease from the 1900 figure.
The next obvious area to cover is Europe.
The second largest percentage of the world population was recorded in Europe, at 14% in 2000. However, this is 11% less than the percentage recorded in 1900.
Another useful tip in IELTS task 1 is knowing how to group information. You can't and shouldn't write a sentence for every single piece of data so try to group similar features together.
While the population percentages of areas, like North America, remained the same in 2000 and 1900, other areas, like Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean, more than doubled their figures.
Some data cannot be grouped anywhere, but it may be important for other reasons.
The year
2000 found the Middle East and North Africa
with 6% of the world population, whereas no data is available in the pie chart
for this region in 1900.
We've covered it all,so round out your answer with a conclusion. It's optional, really, provided you have summarized the key trend or feature in your second sentence, but it does round off the answer nicely. A summary of the most important data will do.
Between
1900 and 2000 the world population increased by 4.4 billion. The areas of Asia and Europe
saw their percentages decrease while the remaining major areas either increased
or remained constant.
178 words
Sunday, September 22, 2013
IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 - How do I start?
In my IELTS
lessons, I always start with Writing Task 1.
The reason behind that is that is unlike anything any English student
has ever written before. Also, it’s
short, at 150-200 words and very formulaic.
So, if you know how to tackle it from early on, when you get to practice
tests it will be smooth sailing.
Task 1
typically features one or two diagrams.
The diagrams can be tables, bar charts, pie charts, line graphs or a
combination of two. If there are two
diagrams there will be some relation between them.
Most
students have no idea where to start.
Where to start is simply an issue of paraphrasing. That is, you explain what the diagram shows
in your own words.
The pie charts below give information about
world population in 1900 and 2000.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.
Source: www.ielts-exam.net
The first
sentence, or introduction is just a restatement of what the diagrams show.
Information is provided regarding the the
change in the world population by region in the years 1900 and 2000.
What I’ve
done is I have mentioned 1. world population 2. by region 3. the years in
question. What you don’t want to do is
copy the prompt word for word.
The next sentence describes the most obvious
feature or the biggest trend. For me,
two things really stick out in these diagrams: 1. that the population went from 1.6 to 6
billion in 100 years and 2. the greatest percentage was found in Asia for both years.
So, how should we write this in
one to two sentences?
While
the world population nearly quadrupled between 1900 and 2000, Asia consistently
accounted for over 50% of the world population.
If you can
get these two sentences done, the rest of task one just becomes analyzing the details
more specifically. That is where editing
comes in. As I like to say, in task one
what you DON’T write is almost as important as what you DO write. You can’t and shouldn’t describe EVERY single
detail of the diagram. I’ll discuss more
of that in my next post.
Saturday, September 21, 2013
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