IELTS Project - Bà Rịa

Day 2- WEAK WORDS!

Five weak words you should avoid—and what to use instead

Number 2. Really
Example: “The swimmer really performed admirably.”

Why it’s a problem: The word “really” is a crutch. It is used to convey emphasis but it fails spectacularly in this. Really doesn’t tell us anything important and is inadequate as a description. It’s an example of the writing the way we speak, but it just doesn’t translate on paper or screen.

There’s also the issue of considering what the word “real” means. Real is a fact—it is not imagined or supposed. It is genuine. When you take this into consideration you’ll find that using really as an intensifier often conveys more emotion than we intended. If you are going to use this word, make sure to do so sparingly as to not lessen its impact.

Thankfully, this problem is easily remedied. “The swimmer really performed admirably,” can be changed into: “The swimmer performed admirably.”

Nothing is lost by cutting “really” from the sentence, but simplicity and function is gained. As Mark Twain said, “Use the right word, not its second cousin.”

Day 1- WEAK WORDS!

This week, we will provide you with the five weak words that you should avoid—and what to use instead

Number 1. I believe/I feel/I think
Example: ”I believe the author has a great point here…”

I had this professor in the university who wasn’t afraid of telling you just how crappy your writing was. One day he pulled me aside and said, “Kris, you don’t need to say ‘I believe.’ We already know it’s what you believe, you’re the one writing it.”

Why it’s a problem: ”I believe,” “I feel,” and “I think” do not inspire confidence in the reader—they do the exact opposite. Their use causes the reader to question the author’s authenticity and honesty. These words make the writer sound unsure of themselves and the topic discussed. It also forces the writer to overuse pronouns and that’s bad news. Here’s why:

Computer programmer James Pennebaker analyzed over 400,000 texts in his mission to see what our word choice reveals about us. When Pennebaker analyzed military transcripts, his team could tell individuals relative ranks based entirely on patterns of speech. What does this tell us? Our choice and use of pronouns reveals how we view ourselves and how we view our relationships with others. In short, it reveals our personality to the reader. This is fine in cases of autobiography, but most of the time it only serves to weaken your work.

The use of words like, “I think” or “I believe” changes the focus of the sentence. Instead of the focus being on the subject, it is on the author. It’s like a big blinking neon light saying, “Hi, this is me the author talking, look at me sitting here talking about my opinions! Isn’t this great?” It’s not great. You take the reader out of the piece completely which is generally something a writer wishes to avoid, especially if you are trying to persuade the reader.

Case in point: “I believe the researcher has a great point here.”

Instead try: “The researcher has a great point here.”

This causes the power dynamics to shift. The sentence goes from sounding wishy-washy to sounding confident. It also places the focus back where it belongs. Bonus points to everyone.

Day 5- HOW?

How to use "Follow up", "Follow-up", "Followup"?!

There is a space between follow and up under one condition—you are using follow up as a verb. To follow up means to gather further information or to reinforce or evaluate a previous action. Those who work in the medical field often use this phrase with patients: The doctor will call you to follow up after the surgery to see how you are recovering.

Does that mean followup and follow-up are wrong? No, because follow up functions only as a verb. But you might find yourself needing to talk about the act of following up. For example, a news reporter might present a story that gives further information or reports the conclusion of a prior report. The second piece would be a follow-up to the first. Parents might call the school to make sure that their children’s grades are improving after they hire a tutor. They may schedule a follow-up with the teacher. If you use the expression in this way, it functions as a noun. A few dictionaries, such as the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, list followup, written as one word, as an alternative to follow-up with a hyphen. However, others such as Merriam-Webster list only follow-up as standard.

As an adjective, follow-up means intended as a response, a reaction, an evaluation, or a reinforcement of a previous action. For instance, you may be called for a follow-up interview if you did well on your first-round interview, or you may receive a follow-up letter if you write a letter of complaint to a company. In medicine, it specifically refers to an examination to monitor previously administered treatment.

Here is a quick summary how to use follow up or follow-up:

-If you are using follow up as a verb, there is a space between the two words.
-If you are using it as a noun or adjective, put a hyphen between the two words: follow-up.
-Some write it together as one word, but that practice is not standard.

Examples
Ford took his time putting together his follow-up, the dreamy, non-linear Nocturnal Animals—but, as he pointed out to Vanity Fair senior west coast editor Krista Smith at this year’s Toronto Film Festival, he hasn’t exactly been idle.

In the follow-up study, a team of researchers led by Conny Vrieling, MD, PhD, of the Clinique des Grangettes, Switzerland, sought to reanalyze the prognostic factors related with breast cancer recurrence in a long-term follow-up of the EORCT boost no boost trial.

What’s the right way to write the expression—followup, follow-up, or follow up? The answer is in the details. If you are using the phrase as a verb, your only option is to add a space between follow and up. If you are using the expression as a noun or an adjective, you can choose the universally accepted follow-up or take a chance on followup. In fact, you might want to follow up on followup by keeping an eye on new editions of your favorite dictionary. It just may be coming soon.

Day 4- HOW?

How to improve IELTS Problems?

I TOLD EVERYONE THAT IS THE MAIN FOCUS OF PART 1...

Of all of the things I assess on the IELTS Speaking test, the most common problem is fluency.

Fluency is your ability to speak (not quickly) without noticeable effort or loss of coherence. Poor fluency is normally associated with frequent self-correction, hesitation, pausing or repetition.

In order to help you improve your fluency I will identify the most common reasons for poor fluency and then look at how to improve each of them.

We will also discuss what you can do each day to help you improve your fluency.

- Trying to Speak Too Quickly
As I mentioned above, students with good fluency speak smoothly, not quickly. It is a common misconception that good fluency means very rapid speech.

If you listen to how native English speakers talk, they do not normally speak very quickly. Listen to native speakers on the radio, news or movies and this will give you a good idea about how quickly they speak.

Trying to speak too quickly in any language will cause a loss of coherence because your brain simply can’t keep up with your mouth. Combine this with speaking in a second language under exam conditions and the result is going to be a loss of coherence and lots of mistakes.

– Focus on speaking calmly and smoothly. Listen to native speakers and try to copy their pace of speech.

This will not only help your fluency, but will also give you more time to think of ideas and find the correct grammar and vocabulary.

- Trying to Think of Ideas
Students often complain that they can’t think of ‘good’ or ‘correct’ ideas and this causes their fluency to suffer.

This is often caused by a misunderstanding of what is actually being assessed on the speaking test. If you look at the official marking criteria, you will notice that there is no mention of ‘good’ ideas. As long as you give an answer that is related to the question asked, you will be fine. It is not an ‘ideas’ test or an ‘intelligence’ test, it is a speaking test.

Unlike a maths test, there is no right or wrong answer. Just show the examiner your ability to speak.

– Do not worry so much about the quality of your ideas and focus on the quality of your speaking. Talk to the examiner about what you know about the question being asked. If you know nothing, or very little, about the topic, don’t be afraid to tell the examiner.

This will not be a problem in Part 1 because the questions are all about you, so you will obviously have no problem thinking about ideas for that.

For Part 3, some of the questions will be difficult. You just have to accept this and try to answer them as best you can.

For Part 2, you need to have a structure.

- Not Having a Structure
This problem is mostly related to Part 2. Students have to talk for up to 2 minutes about a topic given to them by the examiner.

You will be given a cue card before you talk, just like the one below. You are given a general topic to talk about and then there are three or four things that they suggest you should talk about.

The problem here is that many people run out of things to say and then their fluency normally suffers.

This is for two main reasons. Firstly, many people think that they can only talk about the three suggested things on the card. It is difficult to only talk about three small things for 2 minutes. Secondly, most people do not prepare anything else to talk about apart from the three things on the card.

– You must talk about the general topic at the top of the cue card, but you are free to talk about whatever you like within that topic. Therefore, you could:

Introduce the topic
Give your opinion about the topic
Talk about the past, present, future of the topic
Give a description of the topic
Tell a personal story about the topic

When you combine these things with the things they suggest you talk about on the cue card, it opens up many more possibilities, allows you to structure your answer during the 1 minute planning time before you speak and ensures that you will have enough to talk about during the two minutes.

- Focusing Too Much on Grammar and Vocabulary
Grammar and vocabulary count towards 50% of your score and they are very important, but thinking about them too much will lower coherence.

If you focus on them too much you will be constantly thinking of the correct language to use and this will lead to lots of hesitation and pausing.

This ‘language first’ approach is often the result of strict school teachers who prioritised grammar and vocabulary over speaking skills.

– Find two part 2 questions. Get something to record yourself like a phone or computer. You are going to record yourself answering the two questions.

Answer the first question focusing on language, making sure you get all the grammar and vocabulary correct.

Answer the second question focusing on fluency and not worrying too much about grammar and vocabulary mistakes.

Which one sounds better? You will make more language errors in the second one, but your overall performance will probably be much better. If you do this exercise on a regular basis, you will soon learn that you should have more confidence in your language ability and realise that fluency is what you really need to work on.

- Not Enough Practice
Many students have great vocabulary and grammar, but they never actually use this language by speaking or writing. This causes huge problems for both pronunciation and fluency, 50% of your score.

Like any skill, speaking requires practice and unless you practice often, you are not going to be able to get one of the higher bands.

The biggest problem for students is not being able to find partners to speak with. However, there are many ways you can do this.

– The first solution is to use the suggestion for problem 4 above.

You can also try to find native English speakers in your own area. If you live in a large city, there are probably lots of online groups of English speakers who want to practice your language with you and you can practice English with them.

There are countless websites that offer language exchanges. You practice your language with them and they practice English with you in exchange.

- Trying Not to ‘Umm’ and ‘Ahh’
Many students associate making ‘ummm’, ‘ahh’ and ’emmm’ sounds with poor fluency. If you hesitate frequently and makes these sounds, then it is a problem, but making them sometimes is not only fine, it is totally natural.

Listen to anyone, in any language, and they naturally make these sounds when chatting with someone. The problem is that many students obsess about not making these sounds in their speaking test and the result is they think about them too much and it is totally unnatural to do this when you are speaking. This results in a loss of fluency and it takes up too much of your brain power that would be better used on language and ideas.

– Accept that making these hesitation sounds will happen and they are totally natural and acceptable. If you make them infrequently, don’t worry.

Again, you can record yourself and find out how often you make these sounds. It is probably much less than you think.

Finally, people normally make these hesitations when they are thinking of ideas or searching for language. See the solutions to problems 2 and 4 above and they will become less of a problem.

- Stress
If you are very nervous and stressed out during your test, you are going to be less fluent than normal. Think about someone speaking in public who is very nervous. How is their fluency?

The main reason, I think, that people are nervous during their test is that they are not fully prepared.

– Follow the suggestions above and you will be fully prepared and confident.

Day 3- HOW?

HOW TO DO SPEEDY NOTE-TAKING (Listening)!

Abbreviations
People are often unsure about how to write abbreviations. The main areas of uncertainty are:
whether to write abbreviations with capital letters
whether to use full stops
when to use apostrophes.

Here’s a quick-reference guide to help you get it right.
There are several kinds of abbreviation: the way an abbreviation is written usually depends on the category to which it belongs.

1. Acronyms
Acronyms are words formed from the initial letters of other words and pronounced as they are spelled, not as separate letters. Examples include:
acronym and full form
Aids- acquired immune deficiency syndrome
NATO- North Atlantic Treaty Organization
UNESCO- United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization
SIM (card)- subscriber identification module
Most acronyms can be written as capital letters or with only an initial capital letter.
Some acronyms are so established that they are now ‘normal’ words, generally used without conscious awareness of their original full form. These words should be written in lower-case letters. Examples include:
laser- light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation
radar- radio detection and ranging
quango- quasi-autonomous non-governmental organization
scuba- self-contained underwater breathing apparatus

2. Contractions
Contractions are a type of abbreviation in which letters from the middle of the word are omitted. Examples include:
contraction and full form
Dr- Doctor
St- Saint
Ltd- Limited
Revd- Reverend
A contraction can also be an abbreviated form of more than one word, for example:
contraction and full form
I’ll- I will/I shall
we’ve- we have
shouldn’t- should not
You do not need to use a full stop at the end of contractions, because the last letter of the original word is still present.
In contractions that represent more than one word, the letters that have been omitted should be replaced with an apostrophe.

3. Initialisms
Initialisms are abbreviations which consist of the initial (i.e. first) letters of words and which are pronounced as separate letters when they are spoken. Examples include:
initialism and full form
BBC- British Broadcasting Corporation
MP- Member of Parliament
UN- United Nations
TUC- Trades Union Congress
UK- United Kingdom
CD- compact disc
You do not need to put full stops after the letters in an initialism. Sometimes, especially in American English, certain initialisms may include full stops if that is the preferred style of a particular writer or publisher. For example, the forms US and U.S. are both acceptable, as long as one or the other is used consistently within a piece of writing.
When you are forming the plural of an initialism, you do not need to use an apostrophe, for example:
MPs- e.g. MPs voted against the bill.
CDs- e.g. I bought some new CDs today.
Note that the possessive form of initialisms is formed in the usual way, with an apostrophe + s:
an MP’s salary- (i.e. the salary of an MP)
a report on MPs’ expenses- (i.e. the expenses of MPs)
the CD’s subtitle- (i.e. the subtitle of the CD)

4. Shortenings
Shortenings are abbreviations in which the beginning or end of the word has been dropped. In some cases both the beginning and the end have been omitted. Examples include:
shortening and original form
cello- violoncello
flu- influenza
ad- advertisement
blog- weblog
rhino- rhinoceros
telly- television
bike- bicycle
In some cases, the shortening involves a slight spelling change, as with bike and telly.
These shortenings are now an accepted part of the language. In fact some of the original, longer forms tend to be used only in formal or technical writing. It would sound rather odd, for example, to describe a person as suffering from influenza unless you were writing in a scientific context.
You do not need to use an apostrophe in shortenings to show that letters have been omitted.
You should only use a capital letter if the original form also starts with a capital letter, for example:
Med- Mediterranean
Brit- British (person)
Jag- Jaguar
You do not need to use a full stop unless the shortening is one created specifically for use in writing, for example:
Dec.- December
Tue.- Tuesday
etc.- et cetera

Day 2- HOW?

HOW TO THINK OF IDEAS?

How did technology affect us? Did it affect us in a positive or a negative way?

because...
1. Dependency
The more advanced society becomes technologically, the more people begin to depend on computers and other forms of technology for everyday existence.

This means that when a machine breaks or a computer crashes, humans become almost disabled until the problem is resolved. This kind of dependency on technology puts people at a distinct disadvantage, because they become less self-reliant.

2. Less Value In Human Workers
At the same time, human workers retain less value, which is a disadvantage of technological advances.

Because machines automate processes and do the work of 10 people with one computer, companies find they don't need to employ as many people to get the job done. As machines and computers become even more advanced and efficient, this will continue to be a growing disadvantage of technology and an issue that has a global impact.

because...
1. Great Discoveries In All Industries
Technology advances show people a more efficient way to do things, and these processes get results.

For example, education has been greatly advanced by the technological advances of computers. Students are able to learn on a global scale without ever leaving their classrooms. Agricultural processes that once required dozens upon dozens of human workers can now be automated, thanks to advances in technology, which means cost-efficiency for farmers. Medical discoveries occur at a much more rapid rate, thanks to machines and computers that aid in the research process and allow for more intense educational research into medical matters.

2. Cost Efficiency
Cost efficiency is an advantage in some ways and a disadvantage in others. As technology improves on existing processes and showcases new ways to accomplish tasks, machines are able to produce the same -- if not more -- output than humans in certain industries.

This results in cost savings for business owners, allowing them to invest in growth in other areas of the business, which contributes on a positive level to the economy as a whole.

Day 1- HOW?

How to Understand and Analyse an IELTS Writing Task 2 Question

This post will help you understand IELTS writing questions and answer these questions more effectively.

One of the main reasons students fail to get the score they deserve in writing task 2 is not analysing the question effectively. I had one student recently who had great grammar and vocabulary, but always failed to read and analyse the question properly and therefore didn’t understand the question. He was so confident in his ability that he went straight in to writing without really thinking about what the examiner wanted him to write. He should have got at least a 7 or 8 but ended up with a 6 instead.

Some students think that analysing the question will take up too much time, but they are normally the students who don’t do as well as they should. I know teachers say over and over again ‘read the question’ but what does this actually mean?

The examiner is actually looking to see if you have understood the question properly and a failure to take the time to do so could result in you dropping down a few band scores.

So why do some students not do so well? There are four main reasons:
1. Failure to take the time to actually read the question;
2. Writing about the topic generally and not answering the specific question;
3. Failing to recognise the kind of question being asked and
4. Misunderstanding the question.

Luckily, there are simple steps you can take in the exam that will save you time and help you to understand and analyse the question effectively, therefore boosting your band score.

These 3 easy steps are simply identifying three easy things:

The topic words;
The micro-topic words and
The instruction words.
I will explain how you can do this below.

What do questions normally look like?

It is a good idea to at least have a look at the different types of questions that normally come up in this part of the exam. You will be much more confident in the exam and there will be no surprises.

The question will always start off with one or two statements. It will then give a set of instructions that will differ from question to question.

Now we know the format, we can get in to analysing the question.

Identify the Topic Words
Each essay will be about a general topic and we must identify this first.

Let’s look at an example question:

The internet allows us to stay connected with each other no matter where we are. On the other hand, it also isolates us and encourages people not to socialise.

To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Give reasons for your answers and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

The topic word here is obviously ‘The internet’. If it is obvious why am I telling you about it? Because too many students will simply write generally about the topic and this is how you lose marks. It is fine to write about the topic, but it is must be linked to the rest of the question. This is where ‘micro-topic’ words come in.

Identify Micro-Topic Words
These words define the question and tell you which particular part of the main topic the question would like you to discuss and what the examiner is looking for. They often give an opinion or qualify the statement in some way.

Let’s look at our example question again:

The internet allows us to stay connected with each other no matter where we are . On the other hand, it also isolates us and encourages people not to socialise .

To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Give reasons for your answers and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

So as you can see, we should only include things in our essay that are relevant to the words highlighted above. If we discuss anything else, such as how the internet helps us study, how it is dangerous for children, the history of the internet or how the internet is used for entertainment, then you are not being relevant.

Let’s look at another question:

Many children these days have an unhealthy lifestyle. Both schools and parents are responsible for solving this problem.

To what extent do you agree with this statement.

The main topic is children’s unhealthy lifestyle. This is a very wide topic and we can’t write about it in general. Instead, we have to look at the second sentence for the micro-topic words. Here we have to look at both schools and parents and how they are responsible for solving this problem.

Remember; write about the micro-topic words, not the topic in general.

Identify Instruction Words
The next stage is looking to see what the examiner wants us to do. They could ask us to give an opinion, or evaluate the advantages and disadvantages or present problems and solutions.

Let’s look at our example question again:

The internet allows us to stay connected with each other no matter where we are. On the other hand , it also isolates us and encourages people not to socialise.

To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Give reasons for your answers and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

We can clearly see that this is an agree or disagree question and we therefore must follow this format or we will lose marks. We should also give reasons and include some relevant examples.

That’s it! You’re now ready to present relevant arguments backed up by supporting information.

This will also keep you focused throughout the essay and you should refer back to it from time to time to make sure you are staying within what the question asks.

Let’s practice

Have a look at this example question below and identify:

The topic words;
The micro-topic words and
The instruction words.
Women and men are commonly seen as having different strengths and weaknesses. Is it right to exclude males or females from certain professions because of their gender?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

Do you think the examiner wants you to discuss men and women’s strengths and weaknesses or something else? Comment below with your answers...

Day 5- TIPS!

When it comes to getting a high band score in the IELTS Reading, every candidate assumes that time management and vocabulary are of utmost importance.

But, do you know how useful it is to know to identify the keywords?

What are Keywords in IELTS Reading?
are the words that carry specific information.

These words will help a reader/candidate identify the context of the passage. In return, it helps find the correct answer.

Day 4- TIPS!

TIPS for answering this Cue Card question:

Pick a website which is popular and you often visit. If you prefer to talk about a website which is not known to all, mention that this is not a very popular website but I visit it for this particular reason. You can pick a social networking website, email service providing website, news channel website, your university or office website, a website you have developed and visit for updating it, Wikipedia type website etc. If you pick a website which is popular, do not give any fictitious information. Giving false information about a well-known website like Google, Yahoo or Facebook would create some doubts in the examiner's mind as s/he might also be a user of this website.

Do not worry if you do not know every detail of the website even if the question asks you to describe it. If you do not know the owner name, operation since, technical aspects of the website, simply skip those parts instead of giving imaginary information. You can focus on what the website offers to the visitors and what you do from this website. For instance:

Social Networking websites:
Most of my friends are also connected in this website/ social network and I get their updates.
I can publish my updates and let my friends know about it.
It helps me finding my old friends/ family members.
It offers me to use third party applications and play games.
I can share my images and videos.
Help me find out information related to my education/ job.
Chat with my friends.

Email Service providers:
I send emails from this website.
I check the emails sent to me.
I can send attachments.
Has a good spam filtering and threat detection service.

Wikipedia like website:
Helps me finding reliable and details information on various topics.
Loads faster and has a subscription option.
I can contribute on updating the information.
Most of the topics are covered and you can get almost all of the information you need.

News websites:
Provides updated and latest news.
Both local and international news are served.
Has email notification service on my selective topics.
Gives sports news and events.
Offers interesting supplementary and magazines as well.
News presentation is outstanding and sources are very reliable.
Covers last minute news as well.

Day 3- TIPS!

Task 1- Writing

You will lose marks if you make in your writing, particularly when errors are frequent and affect meaning. Be careful of the following common mistakes when describing numbers.

and : amount is used with uncountable nouns; number is used with countable nouns, e.g. The amount of meat consumed in China between 1985 and 2010. NOT number of meat.

and : per cent is always used with a number; percentage is used on its own without a number, e.g. The percentage of male teachers in the UK. NOT the per cent of male teachers. According to the graph, four per cent of the total household budget went towards transportation. NOT four percentage.