One thing I noticed as an examiner is that many students forget to use simple words like "and" or "but". At the same time, they overuse words like "moreover" and "furthermore".
Native speakers use "and" all the time (in both speech and writing). You can use "and" or "but" as many times as you want; the examiner will not notice!
On the other hand, if you use "moreover" or "furthermore" more than once, the examiner will notice straight away. These words do not get you a high score. In fact, in the speaking exam, they make your English sound 'forced'.
Thank you for this simple but simply great tip.
Posted by: Kai | Sunday, January 08, 2012 at 13:29
Hello,Simmon!
Happy New Year!! ^^
May I have a question?
I'm still confused when I use noun: singular or plural..
so.. could you please tell me which one is correct?
1) Children study many academic subjects in school
or
2) Children study many academic subjects in schools..
In this case, I mean that "school" reparesents all school not a particular school.
I always appreciate your lesson and thanks for your help. :)
Posted by: Bessie | Sunday, January 08, 2012 at 14:16
Hi Simon,
Thank you for the tip about "furthermore" and "moreover". I'll keep it in mind.
Like Kai said, this is a simple but very useful tip.
Thank you!!
Posted by: Tomo | Sunday, January 08, 2012 at 15:02
Hi Bessie,
Both are possible, but the first is more normal because 'in school' or 'at school' refer to all schools in general.
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No problem Kai and Tomo!
Posted by: Simon | Sunday, January 08, 2012 at 16:24
Hi Simon,
My question is regarding Thursday, July 28, 2011 lesson.
The chart is bit confusing with lots of information.You wrote sentences about each country .The sentence about Newzealand and Australia seems a comparison sentence,rest of them doesn't seem linked.Should we write them as it is or how should we link them to make a coherent explanation?
Posted by: jawairia | Sunday, January 08, 2012 at 16:28
hi simon
I wish I would be your student :)
Posted by: hiko | Sunday, January 08, 2012 at 20:07
Hi, Simon!
My test is on Thursday and I have a few questions that are extremely important to me, although they might sound silly. It would be nice if you answered them. :)
1) Do you have to bring your own pencil and eraser during both spoken and written parts?
2) Concerning written part:
Are all papers (listening, reading, writing) are given at the same time? I mean in one booklet? Or are they given separately?
3) You have to write some personal details on answer sheets? Is the time for writing these details included in, for example, 1hour of reading or they give you additional time to do that?
Thanks in advance!
Posted by: Gaby | Sunday, January 08, 2012 at 20:16
It is true that I try to use those words many time then I forget to use the simple one. Thanks Simon
Posted by: Thip | Sunday, January 08, 2012 at 20:40
Thanks simon fo the prompt reply.
Posted by: light | Sunday, January 08, 2012 at 21:40
Dear Simon,
This might sound stupid question.
IF I want fill the gap like
Tom eats ( apples ).
But if I want answer for
What does Tom eat?
Ans. ( )
1) apples
2) Apples
Which is correct in IELTS ? It does not matter?
Many thanks in advance.
Taku
Posted by: Taku | Sunday, January 08, 2012 at 22:49
Hi Simon,
At first I would like to thank you for your unconditional help and support. I have read loads of IELTS books, but there are still areas which I find unclear and I was wondering if you could help me. My questions are about writing task two:
Firstly, I have read in many IELTS books that it is a good idea to put an attention grabber or motivator at the beginning of the introduction, something like a quotation or an idiom or a piece of data or even a question, would you recommend it? If not, does including a motivator detract from the overall band score? I can't be grateful more for your unconditional help and support and thank you in advance.
Secondly, is using figurative language or a tongue-in-cheek style of writing recommended?
Thirdly, when the topic requires us to discuss both views and state our own opinion, is it not better to present both views in the introduction but don’t say which view we agree with, and then state our own opinion in the conclusion, I have read that it makes our essay more balanced. If not, again does this detract from the overall band score?
And finally, I am extremely interested in your eBook, but since I live in Iran I have no access to international credit cards to pay for that. Is there any other ways I can buy this book, because at the moment I am positive that it can help me more than anything else.
Thank you again for your amazing site and all the precious information.
Posted by: Behrooz | Monday, January 09, 2012 at 01:56
HI simon,Happy new year.I am really thankful for all your efforts & help on this site .In december Igot R=7.5,W=7,S= 6.5,L=6.5,
As I need 7 in all,So again I plan to attempt in feb .I would appereciate your tips to improve spaking &listenning &maintain reading 7 writing.THANKS in advance.
Posted by: naheed | Monday, January 09, 2012 at 06:31
Gaby,
I will answer instead of Simon
1) no, you don't have to bring your own erasers or pencils - the centre will provide them. Take some water instead
2) separately. However, the answer sheet for listening and reading are on the same sheet from both sides. The question booklets are collected after each paper.
3) nothing too much. all details are written down BEFORE the time countdown starts
Taku,
in your case it doesn't matter, but if it were a geographical or a proper name, then you would have to use capital letters
Posted by: Stas | Monday, January 09, 2012 at 08:08
Dear Simon,
Thank you so much.
Best regards,
Taku
Posted by: Taku | Monday, January 09, 2012 at 11:37
Hi Jawairia,
In that lesson I was just giving an example sentence for each country, but they are not linked in that way that you would need to in a full essay.
For a full essay, it might be better to start with the first year and compare the countries. Then make a comparison about some of the figures in the middle years, then move to the last year - similar to the way we normally describe a line graph.
...
Thanks Hiko!
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Hi Gaby,
Stas answered your questions perfectly (see 2 comments above mine).
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No problem Thip and Light!
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Hi Taku,
It doesn't matter. In the reading and listening tests, they don't care about capital letters.
...
Hi Behrooz,
1. I disagree with the idea of putting an 'attention grabber' in the introduction - that's journalistic style, not academic style, so it might have a negative effect on your score. Look through my lessons to see how I write introductions.
2. Again, not a good idea - not academic style.
3. In English academic writing, we don't like 'surprise conclusions' - state your opinion from the beginning if the question asks for it.
Thanks for your positive comments about the site. I'm afraid that the only way to get the ebook in Iran is to ask for help from a friend who lives in another country - several students have done that.
Best regards
...
Hi Naheed,
Well done, those are great scores! You just need to keep practising in the same way - keep working hard and I'm sure you'll get the scores you need. Good luck!
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Thanks Stas. Big help!
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No problem Taku!
Posted by: Simon | Monday, January 09, 2012 at 19:01
Variation in words is the key. The more you sound natural in your writing by using the adequate phrases in the right place, the less your essay or speaking sounds forced which lead to scoring a higher band.
Simplicity + good structured phrase + topics vocabulary + clean grammer = Band 7
Posted by: Joe | Monday, January 09, 2012 at 20:15
Hi Simon,
Thank you very much for your advice.
Now, i am confused the way of using some words below and the differences between them:
- to retain
- to sustain
- to maintain
I have already searched them on the internet but i cannot find the answer for myself.
So i hope that you can help me to deal with my confusion.
Thank you in advance.
Your site is very helpful to us.
Posted by: UT | Tuesday, January 10, 2012 at 03:42
Hi UT,
If you put these words in context you will easily identify/realise their meaning.
1- To retain means to keep something or to hold it back. For example, the student couldn't retain the lesson he learned yesterday.
2- To sustain means to resist. For example, the snow enable to sustain the weight of the snow, collapsed.
3- to maintain means to keep in existing state. For example, he found it difficult to maintain a healthy weight.
Hope this clears up the confusion a little bit. One last note, these verbs hold many variations but as you delve into the english, you will get accustomed to the different meaning of each word.
You must work out your brain's muscle to be able to retain what you learn. Maintain a high spirit and try to sustain all problems that might hold you back from advancing in english.
Hope this helps,
Joseph.
Posted by: Joe | Tuesday, January 10, 2012 at 05:03
* In the second example, it is the snow unable to and not enable to. Sorry for the Spelling error.
Posted by: Joe | Tuesday, January 10, 2012 at 11:22
Dear Stas,
Sorry, I missed your name.
Many thanks!
Taku
Posted by: Taku | Tuesday, January 10, 2012 at 23:02
Hi Joseph,
Thank you for your examples and advice.
It is really helpful to me.
With all best,
UT
Posted by: UT | Wednesday, January 11, 2012 at 04:11
Great advice Joe! That's exactly what I recommend.
Thanks for answering UT's question too!
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Hi UT,
Joe answered perfectly!
Note: a good 'advanced learner' dictionary should give you examples of how words are used. Joe is right that you need to see words used in context.
Posted by: Simon | Wednesday, January 11, 2012 at 12:03
Hello Simon,
Going back to your original post, where you advise us to avoid "furthermore" / "moreover" and the like in SPEAKING part - what about Writing Part 2? Won't these words be more suitable linkers than 'and' or 'but'? I've seen advice to NEVER start a sentence with And/But/So as these words represent informal register, whereas in an essay it is unacceptable. What would you say?
Posted by: Stas | Thursday, January 12, 2012 at 21:36
Hi Simon,
To add in Stas comment, how about the word "therefore" I was writing an essay in exam cindition, and I realised I used the word three times, during checking I changed once to consequently but it was difficut to change in others as it was cause-effect essay and I already used as a result, result of this, and as a consequence.
Many thanks in advance.
Posted by: Kai | Saturday, January 14, 2012 at 05:41
Hi Stas,
I personally ban my students from using 'Moreover' because native speakers hardly ever use it, and it's not exactly the same as 'furthermore', so most students use it wrongly.
'However', 'furthermore', 'in addition' etc. are great for the writing exam. I agree that it's best not to start sentences with 'and/but/so', but it's perfectly fine to use them in the middle of sentences, even in the most formal academic writing.
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Hi Kai,
I think you've described a good example of the kind of 'overuse' of these linking words that is really common amongst students. Native speakers tend to achieve more variety by using verbs like 'cause', 'result in', 'lead to', 'produce' etc. instead of only relying on a linking word at the start of the sentence. Also, don't forget that the word "this" is a great linking word e.g. "This leads to..." refers to the idea mentioned in the previous sentence.
Hope this helps
Posted by: Simon | Monday, January 16, 2012 at 11:09
DOES ERASURES IN WRITING ESSAY COULD AFFECT THE IELTS BAND SCORE?
Posted by: CAROL | Sunday, September 23, 2012 at 21:03