GT Writing Preparation Tips

Preparation Tips for IELTS GT Writing (Part 1)

If you are planning to take the IELTS GT module, the writing test would be different from the Academic test. You are allowed one hour to complete two tasks, of 150 and 250 words, as in the Academic module. However, Task 1 is always a letter, while Task 2 is an essay based on a given topic.

Letters are an important form of communication. In the General Training Writing Task 1, you are given a situation and tested on your ability to write a letter in an appropriate style in order to achieve a certain outcome. You need to include all the necessary details so that the purpose of your letter is clear and the reader can easily understand your message.

The task will present a situation to you on the question paper. You have to write in the first person and imagine yourself in the situation given. It is important to remember that a letter is a form of communication and you have to make it very intuitive. Formal or semi-formal letters are always written with a particular purpose in mind.

The purpose is sometimes stressed at the beginning of a letter (It depends on the type of letter you are writing as to how much you emphasize your purpose at the start or whether you decide to leave it to the end of the letter). However, you do need to open your letter with something that will be appropriate for the reader and will capture the reader's attention.

It is important that any background you provide on the situation is clear and includes all the information the reader needs.

It is worth reading the questions several times to make sure you fully understand it, as you will lose marks if your interpretation of the situation is not correct.

Types of letters

The task may ask you to write only one of 4 types of letters:

• Complaint / Request (of information) letter
• Job application letter
• Personal letter
• Formal business letter

There are rules how to write a letter of each type. When a letter is graded by IELTS examiners, its structure, vocabulary and fluency of language are equally important. So I will show here a model for every one of the letter types together with phrases and forms of speech, and the only thing you need to do is to insert your specific topic information in it. I also supply you with examples to demonstrate what your letter should look like.

Complaint letter:
This is a letter you write to complain about something. It could be something you have purchased or a bad service that you have received, or an accident that happened to you. You must describe it and demand appropriate actions from relevant people.

There are 4 paragraphs in this type of letter. They should look like this:

1. Start with “Dear Sir/Madam,“ (or write person’s name if it was given in task instructions ) Explain shortly (in one or two sentences) what you are complaining about.
“I am writing to express my dissatisfaction with the tape recorder that I purchased from your store.”

2. Explain in more details
           a) What happened, what is the problem?
              “I purchased a tape recorder from your store on 12/3/2017, just 3 days ago. After a few times that I used it, the “Play” button broke off”.

           b) What are you unhappy about?
               “I was very surprised to see the new improved model with 2 years of warranty breaking so soon and for no reason at all.”

           c) What did you do to resolve the situation?
               “I contacted your store immediately in order to return the tape recorder and spoke to the shift manager. He refused to replace the tape recorder and suggested that I had it repaired.”

           d) How do you feel about the problem?
               “You can imagine how receiving this offer upsets me.”

This paragraph should be the longest in the whole letter. You can even divide it into several parts.

3. Write what you would like them to do, and what will you do if they don’t give you what you want.
“I insist that you replace the damaged tape recorder and send me a new one. Otherwise, I will be forced to stop my payments to your store”.

4. Write a formal ending for the letter, your name and sign.
“I look forward to hearing from you.” If you know the name of person you are writing to, sign
    
“Yours sincerely,
           Mr Smith”

If you don’t know the name of person you are writing to, sign
      “Yours faithfully,
           Mr Smith”.

Academic Writing Preparation Tips

Preparation Tips for IELTS Academic Writing (Part 1):-

The IELTS exam tests your ability to produce two quite different pieces of writing in a fairly short period of time. The test is divided into two parts and you are allowed one hour/ 60 minutes to complete both parts.

Writing Task 1:
In the first part, you are given a task based on some graphic or pictorial information. You are expected to write a descriptive report of at least 150 words on the information provided.

Writing Task 2:
The second task is more demanding. You are expected to produce a written argument on a given topic and to organise your answer clearly, giving some examples to support your points. You will have to write at least 250 words and, as Task 2 is longer than Task 1, you are advised to spend approximately 40 minutes on this task and 20 minutes on the first task.

Preparation for the IELTS Academic Writing task 1:

Being able to understand and describe graphic information or data is an important academic skill. IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 tests your ability to describe factual information, presented in a graphic and diagrammatic form, clearly and accurately.

Describing Facts and Figures:
A fact is different from an opinion because it is objective and often involves measurement. For example, the graph on the left shows what a group of students think about a film they have just seen.

Having looked at this graph, you could say that half the students did not like the film. Or you could say that 50 percent of the students did not like the film. You could be even more specific and state that 15 out of 30 students did not like the film. These are all facts.

Describing Trends:
Line graphs are used to show a trend or pattern which usually takes place over a period of time. It is
important to look at the overall pattern on a line graph as well as the significant features within it.

You must show the examiner that you have considered all the presentation and every important data given there and you have chosen the right facts to write down in your presentation. Don't write every detail presented in the graph.This will cause to reduce your score.

Summarising:
In the IELTS test, there maу be a lot of information to describe, in a limited number of words. If is essential that you select the appropriate details and organise the material in a relevant way in order to fulfil the task requirements satisfactorily.

Compare:
When you interpret graphs, tables and charts, you will find that you have to compare and contrast some of the details. Your examiner will be checking that you can structure your answer well and connect your ideas appropriately. The following table may help you do this.

- If you employ too many linking words or structures or if you use these transitional words or structure incorrectly then you will lose marks.

Grouping Information:
When organising your answer it may also help to 'group' some of the information. This is particularly the case when there is a lot of data, as in the graph on the right.

- Don't interpret the important facts and information inaccurately and check that your sentences are grammatically correct.

Describing A Process:
In Writing Task 1 you may occasionally be asked to describe a process or other pictorial information such as a cycle or map. In order to produce a report describing a process you should take a similar approach to the one you used in describing data. You should examine the information carefully - which will be in pictorial form - and make sure you understand it. Look specifically at the beginning and the end of the process. Then, following the same principles as outlined in previous units, you should provide an opening sentence that summarises the overall function of the process.

- Never copy the text that appears in the question. Copying the sentences from the question will decrease your IELTS score.If you need to use the sentences or words appeared in the question, try to use a different sentence structure or synonyms for the words.

You will also be given an answer booklet. You have to write your essays in the answer booklet. Notes are not acceptable and essays under the word limit will be penalised.

You are given graphic or pictorial information and you have to write a description of this information. Bar charts, line graphs, pie charts and tables are most frequently given for this task. However, you could also be given an object or series of pictures or diagrams or a flow chart to describe.

If graphs are used there may be just one – usually a line graph or a bar chart. However, there could also be more than one of the same type of graph or a combination of graphs and charts. For example, you could get a bar chart and a pie chart together or a line graph and a table.

Your performance in Task 1 will be assessed on the criteria below:

Task Achievement
Being able to follow the instructions properly. Being able to write a clear, accurate and relevant description of the information. Being able to focus on the important trends presented as graphic information.

Coherence and Cohesion
Being able to organise your writing using a suitable structure. Using connective words to link sentences and paragraphs logically.

Lexical Resources
Being able to use a wide range of vocabulary naturally. Being able to spell accurately and using the appropriate word formation.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Using the appropriate grammatical structures accurately Using a variety of sentence structures.

Academic Reading Preparation Tips

 Academic Reading Preparation Tips:-

Preparation Tips for IELTS Academic Reading: The reading module consists of 3 sections with approximately 40 questions. The three reading passages are on topics of general interest and usually, these passages are taken from books, newspapers, journals or magazines. There are lots of strategies and advice you should follow to be prepared for the academic reading section of original IELTS exam.

To prepare for IELTS Reading module, read articles in English newspapers, magazines, travel brochures, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia etc. You should read English story books too. Try to read a variety of topics-- History, science, culture, social and natural sciences.

Tips 1: Make the habit of reading faster by reading words in groups/chunks rather than word by word. Try to read minimum 2 hours per day.Read whatever interest you but obviously written in English. The three reading passages are on topics of general interest and usually, these passages are taken from books, newspapers, journals or magazines. So try to read recent news, newspapers, magazines, travel brochures etc. whenever possible.

Tips 2: Remember that you are reading for a purpose, not for pleasure. While practising, make a habit of looking at the title and headings when you survey the text, as well as ant special print like CAPITAL, Bold, italic , "quotation", underlined words. Try to understand exactly what the question wants and always followed the instructions carefully provided with the reading passages.

Tips 3:  Practice scanning by applying the scanning techniques whenever you read a passage.

Tips 4: There is usually a logical place to begin looking for the answer to a reading question. This requires an understanding of the main idea or topic of each paragraph. You can save yourself a great amount of time if you work out the main idea or topic of each paragraph in the early stages of your assessment of the passage.

Tips 5: There are generally 10 types of questions available in the reading section.The types are:

1. Multiple Choice.
2. Short-answer questions.
3. Sentence completion.
4. Notes/ table/ summary / flowchart/ diagram completion.
5. Yes, No, Not Given or True, False, Not Given.
6. Classification.
7. Matching lists/phrases.
8. Choosing headings for paragraphs/ sections of a text.
9. Scanning and identifying the location of information.
10. Labelling a diagram.

1. Multiple choice questions can test both your  global understanding of the text or ask you for specific information. This means you will have to make the decision yourself whether to skim or scan the text.

To prepare for the Multiple choice questions:

• Read the instructions carefully and check how many letters you need to circle.

• Skim all the questions and the answer choices quickly. As you do this:

      » Underline the keywords (the words that give you the most information).
      » Try to get an idea of the topic you will be reading about from the vocabulary of the questions.
      » Look at any illustrations or diagrams that go with the text.

• Go back to the first question. Decide if you are looking for specific information or whether the question requires you to understand the whole text . Then either scan or skim the text, as appropriate, to find the answer.
• Read the relevant part of the text very carefully.
• Don’t leave any questions unanswered.

2. Short Answer questions will usually tell you to write your answers in NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS. So you can answer with one word, two words or three words but no more. However, this is not always the case. So you should always check what the questions ask you to do.

To prepare for the Short Answer questions:

• You have to apply both skimming and scanning techniques to be able to answer the questions in time.

• Skim all the questions quickly. As you do this:

    » underline the key words.
    » decide what information you need to find in the text.
    » look out for question words like ‘where’ and ‘who’ which indicate
    » you should find out for specific things like places and people.

• Go back to the first question and decide what part of the text you need to read.
• Read the part carefully to find the answer.
• You may use your own words. You don’t have to write a complete sentence but it does have to be grammatically correct.
• If you don’t know the meaning of any of the words in the questions,find it using a dictionary, write it down in your notebook and try to reuse it over and over again.
• The answer could be one word, two words or three words but not four or more. If you think you need more than three words your answer is probably incorrect.

3. Sentence completion requires you to complete the end of a sentence. The questions generally appear in the same order as the information in the text. Type 2 questions are similar to the short answer questions in that they will always tell you to write your answers in NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS. So you can answer with one word, two words or three words but not more. They will also tell you to use words from the reading passage.

To prepare for the sentence completion questions:

• Skim all the questions quickly. As you do this:

    » underline the key words.
    » try to work out what information you need.
    » think about the grammatical form as well as the vocabulary that should follow immediately from the stem.
 

• Go back to the first sentence and decide what information you need to complete it.
• Find the place where the information should be in the text and read it carefully.
• Look out for synonyms and parallel expressions because the questions are not likely to use the same words as those in the text.
• Make sure your sentences make sense both logically and grammatically.
• for type two, the answer could be one word, two words or three words but not four or more.
• if you think you need more than three words your answer is probably incorrect.

4. Notes/table/summary flowchart/diagram completions ask for specific information. There are two types of these completion questions in the IELTS reading
exam.

Type 1. With a selection of possible answers.
Type 2. Without a choice of possible answers.
These questions require you to:

-- insert a word or phrase in the middle of a sentence
-- insert a word in the middle and another word at the end of a sentence

For Type 1 questions the words or phrases provided will be different from the words in the text. There will be more words than gaps.

Type 2 questions are similar to the short answer questions in that they will tell you to write your answers in NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS. So you can answer with one word, two words or three words but no more.

To prepare for the sentence completion questions:

• Look at the table or form etc carefully:

    » examine any headings or subheadings.
    » try to get an idea of the topic.
    » decide what section of the passage the exercise covers.
    » anticipate grammatical form as well as vocabulary.

• If a box of answers is given, see if you can guess any of the matches & eliminate unlikely answers.
• If the question is in the form of a table, work out which way it is best to read it – horizontally or vertically.
• If the question is in the form of a summary, read through it first and see if you can guess any of the missing words.
• Take each gap one by one and search the text for the best word(s) to fill the gap.
• If there is a box of answers, there will be at least two you don’t need.
• If there is no box, the answer could be one word, two words or three words but not four or more.
• If you think you need more than three words your answer is probably incorrect.
• There may be alternative rubrics for these completion questions e.g. ‘complete the notice’ or ‘complete the explanation’ or ‘complete the news report’.

Academic Reading (part 2)

5. Yes, no, not given or True, false, not given questions tasks either ask you to identify the writer’s views or claims in the text or identify information in the text. You will be given a list of statements which are either opinions or facts and you have to decide for- If they are opinions, whether they are the opinions of the writer or not or not given in the text. If they are facts, whether they are true, false or not given in the text.

To prepare for these type of  questions:

• Read the instructions carefully.
• Quickly read through all the statements to get an idea about the topic.
• Read the first statement more carefully. Underline the key words so you understand the main point.
• Search for the section of the text which deals with the idea or fact.
• Once you have found the relevant section, read it carefully.

6. Classification questions ask you to classify information given in the reading text. Classifications are often according to the writer’s opinion or according to a period of time or place. You will be asked to identify a letter which represents one of the classifications for each item in a list of statements.

To prepare for the classification question questions:

• Read the instructions carefully.
• Make sure you know how many classifications there are and what letters you have to use. (E.g. US, J, G & UK in the exercise above.)
• Read the classifications carefully and make sure you don’t confuse the letters which represent each one.

• Read the statements/phrases or words beside the question numbers and underline key words.
• Start with the first statement and work your way through them
one by one, searching the text to find where the information is mentioned.
• The questions will not necessarily be in the same order as the
text and the wording will probably be different in the text so look out for synonyms and parallel expressions.
• When you’ve located the reference in the text, read it carefully and select your answer.
• Don’t leave any statements without a letter.

7. Matching questions require you to match a list of opinions to sources mentioned in the text. These questions are used with texts which present a number of different people’s opinions. The sources are usually numbered and the opinions are given a letter each. In the answer booklet, you write the letter(s) beside the numbers. There could be more opinions than sources. If so, you will need to write more than one letter beside the question in the answer booklet. If there are more sources than opinions, then one of more or the opinions will be used more than once.

• Read the instructions carefully.
• Take the names of the sources one by one and find them in the text and underline them.
• When you have located a name, read carefully to see what is said about his/her opinions.
• Look at the list of opinions and see if you can make a match.
• Remember that the text is not likely to use the same words as the questions, so look for synonyms and parallel expressions.
• Also, be aware that the sources may be referred to in more than one place in the text.

8. Choosing headings questions require you to sum up the meaning of a paragraph in order to match it to a bank of possible headings. You may be asked to match every paragraph or section of the text or just a selection of paragraphs or require you to sum up the whole text.

• Read the instructions carefully.
• Make sure you know which paragraphs or sections you have to sum up.
• Read the first paragraph or section and try to sum up, in your own words, what it is about.
• Then search through the bank of headings for the best answer.
• Make sure the heading you have chosen sums up the entire paragraph and not just one idea within it.
• If you have to sum up the entire text. Read the whole text before looking at the bank of headings. Try to think of your own heading and then look at the options.

9. Scanning and identifying location of information questions require you to scan the text to find the location of information. You will be given a set of statements and you need to find the paragraph each one comes from.

To prepare for these type of  questions:

• Read the instructions carefully.
• Quickly read the statements to get an idea of what the text is about.
• Take the statements one by one. Underline the key words.
• Next, search the text to find where the information is mentioned.
• Remember to look for synonyms and parallel expressions because it is likely that the statements express the ideas differently to the way they are expressed in the text.

10. Labelling a diagram which has numbered parts questions: You will be given a diagram and asked to label it with words from the text or labels given.

To prepare for these type of  questions:

• The information will be given in the same order as the numbers on the diagram.
• Scan the text to find the information. If labels are not provided, make sure you use words from the text.

Preparation Tips for IELTS Reading (part 4) 

Other important aspects you should follow to prepare yourself for the IELTS reading preparation :

» Read as much as possible.

» Make sure you are familiar with the instructions for the different question types so you can quickly glance at the questions and know what to do.
» Work on your reading skills such as ‘guessing the meanings of unknown words’, ‘understanding reference words in texts’ and reading quickly.
» Read newspaper articles and practice the following:

-- Dividing the content into facts and opinions
-- Finding the topic sentences of paragraphs
-- Writing summaries
-- Interpreting any diagrams or tables
-- Thinking of headings you could give to paragraphs
-- Underlining the pronouns and working out what they refer to
-- Underlining unknown words and seeing if you can work out what they mean
-- Reading the first paragraph and seeing if you can predict what will come next

» Do as many practice tests as you can to get used to the rubric and the task types.