Writing Archives - Page 2 of 5 - My IELTS Classroom Blog

My IELTS Classroom Podcast 28: IELTS Line Graphs Made Easy

Posted onOctober 6, 2020 by Shelly

IELTS Line Graphs Last week, we focussed on General Training Writing Task One and the importance of having the tone in your letters. Today, we move to Academic Writing Task One, to look at how you can tackle the tasks to make sure that you have clear key features and make comparisons. How are we going to do that? We are going to focus on ONE type of chart – IELTS line graphs. I think that this is the chart that students struggle with most, but is actually the easiest one to answer once you know a few simple strategies. And, guess what? Those are what we are going to show you in today’s episode!

The most damaging error you can make in an IELTS Discuss Both Sides Essays

Posted onOctober 4, 2020 by Shelly

IELTS Discuss Both Sides Essays – are you making this mistake? Hey! There is a lot of discussion in IELTS forums about IELTS discuss both sides organisation. However, what many people fail to consider is what information each paragraph should actually contain. So, today, I want to address the most common (and dangerous) error that students can make in a Discuss Both Sides essay – discussing the topic instead of the views.

My IELTS Classroom Podcast 27: Taking your IELTS Letters to the next level!

Posted onSeptember 29, 2020 by Shelly

Taking your IELTS Letters to the next level! Hey. Do you know the difference between a good IELTS letter and a great one? The tone! Writers who are able to engage with the question and write IELTS letters that feels AUTHENTIC are those who walk away with a 7.5 or an 8.0 for General Training Writing Task One instead of a 6.5 or 6.0. Today, Nick and I are going to focus on how you can analyse the prompt to make your formal and semi-formal letters feel as genuine as possible. And, if you are an Academic student, DON’T SWITCH OFF! There is a lot to learn here about engaging with an IELTS question that can help you with your[…]

My IELTS Classroom Podcast 25: Five More IELTS essay topics 2020 explained

Posted onSeptember 15, 2020 by Shelly

Five More IELTS essay topics 2020 explained Hey! Today Nick and I look at five MORE reported IELTS essay topics from 2020. Yes, after the success of our first episode doing this, which is by far our most downloaded lesson (you can listen to it here if you haven’t already), we decided to once again breakdown five questions to show you how we would approach them. Plus, this time I have chosen some really DIFFICULT ones. As always, I cannot be 100% sure that the wording of these questions is totally accurate, but they are based on the information provided to me by my students and are edited to be as close to the real IELTS essay topics 2020 as possible. If[…]

7 free ways to prepare for IELTS

Posted onAugust 4, 2020 by Shelly

7 free ways to prepare for IELTS How are you doing? I am personally finding life very strange and stressful at the moment thanks to the impact of COVID19. However, I also know that I cannot control what is happening outside my apartment walls, so all I can do is stay inside and try to make the best of this difficult situation (which means finally starting to make some new teaching videos!!!!!!). So, if like me you would like to make the most of this extra time at home, here are seven great free ways to prepare for IELTS!

My IELTS Classroom Podcast 19: Are you ready for an IELTS Essay Correction Service?

Posted onAugust 4, 2020 by Shelly

Are you ready for an IELTS Essay Correction Service? One common aspect of many students’ preparation for writing is signing up for an IELTS essay correction service. However, is this always necessary? At what stage of your preparation should you consider signing up for one? And what makes a marking service good or bad? Guess what – that’s what we’ll be discussing today! Below, you can find a summary of the episode, which includes all of the links to useful materials and the times of each part of the discussion (so you can go directly to the part you want to listen to) 🚀 Subscribe to My IELTS Classroom podcast on Apple podcasts here Subscribe to My IELTS Classroom on Google podcasts here My[…]

My IELTS Classroom Podcast 12: Five IELTS 2020 essay questions explained

Posted onJune 16, 2020 by Shelly

Five IELTS 2020 essay questions explained Hey! In today’s episode Nick and I look at five recently reported essay questions from the 2020 Academic and General Training IELTS tests. Obviously, we cannot be 100% sure that the wording of these questions is totally accurate, but they are based on the information provided to me by my students (who I trust with my life). Even though it is very unlikely that you will have exactly the same questions in your test, hopefully by the end of today’s lesson you will have a much better understanding of how to analyse questions and decide how to approach them. After all, IELTS 2020 essay questions can be on almost ANY topic! Below, you can[…]

IELTS Essay Questions 2020

Posted onMay 15, 2020 by Shelly

IELTS Essay Questions 2020 This is an archive of all the reported IELTS essay questions 2020. If you are looking for the most recent questions, then you should look at this page (which I update every month). Just to be clear, I have used my experience as an ex-examiner and trained exam creator to edit these questions so that they are as close to the original exam question as possible. However, if you have one of these questions in your exam, you MUST read the question carefully as it may be that it differs slightly. I also still recommend that you start your preparation with the questions in the Cambridge IELTS books as these are genuine past papers.

My IELTS Classroom Podcast 7: Why are so many students stuck at a 6.5 for IELTS writing?

Posted onMay 12, 2020 by Shelly

Why are students stuck at a 6.5 for IELTS writing? Welcome to My IELTS Classroom podcast. Today, Nick and I discuss one of the most important IELTS questions – why are so many students stuck at a 6.5 for IELTS writing? Is it because there is a conspiracy to trick test-takers, or are there other less sinister reasons?

5 Most Common IELTS Grammar Mistakes

Posted onApril 22, 2020 by Shelly

5 Most Common IELTS Grammar Mistakes Hey! Grammatical Range and Accuracy makes up 25% of your IELTS Writing and Speaking scores so should be a very important part of your preparation. Today, I want to look at the 5 most common IELTS grammar mistakes that I saw as an examiner with GRA to help you avoid them.