IELTS Commentry: May 2020

Wednesday, 27 May 2020

IELTS essay, topic: Can the society cope with the larger number of elderly people and how?

This is a model response to a Writing Task 2 topic from High Scorer’s Choice IELTS Practice Tests book series (reprinted with permission). This answer is likely to score IELTS Band 9.

Set 3 Academic book, Practice Test 12

Writing Task 2

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.

Write about the following topic:

With the improvements in today’s health care, society has to care for more and more elderly people.

Do you feel that society will be able to cope with the increase in numbers of elderly people today and how can it be managed?

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

You should write at least 250 words.

Answer

In current society, the life expectancy in western countries has increased significantly. Also, fewer babies are being born, causing the relative percentage of elderly people to increase. These people have to be taken care of, causing the question to rise whether this number of elderly people can be cared for.

When people grow older, they can also develop more health issues, resulting in more visits to doctors and hospitals, and an increased usage of pharmaceuticals. Due to the current large numbers of elderly people, the pressure put onto health care systems is increasing. In many western countries, the state provides most of the health care system. Therefore with increasing numbers of old people, higher percentages of state funding have to be allocated to health care and this could cause shortfalls in other areas, for example education. This change in the distribution of money can therefore impact society negatively.

Society should be able to handle these changes. Governments will have been able to predict the changing demographic situations in their countries and plan accordingly. This might indeed lead to other sectors in society having money taken away from them, but caring for the elderly is one of the key responsibilities of today’s governments. For the future, it might be necessary to ensure that an extra insurance charge is levied on people’s salaries in order that any future financial shortfall is met. This would be unpopular, but would allow governments to have the necessary funds available.

In conclusion, society today and in the future should be well able to deal with caring for their elderly. It is only a question of careful long-term forecasting and planning.

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Monday, 25 May 2020

IELTS Speaking Band 7.5 Full Test with Examiner’s Feedback

The video you are about to watch features a Polish student, Magda, who is answering questions from Speaking Test 18 in “High Scorer’s Choice” IELTS Practice Tests book series.

Magda is doing a full simulated IELTS Speaking test with an examiner, who is asking her typical IELTS Speaking test questions. This video shows you what happens on the test day in the real examination room.

IELTS Speaking Test has 3 parts.

In Part 1 you should expect personal questions on familiar topics, for instance about your job or studies, your home, your family, etc.

Part 2 is different, because you receive a single topic to talk about for 1 to 2 minutes, with 4 bullet points you should cover in your speech. Another difference between Part 2 and the other parts is that in Part 2 you get 1 minute preparation time and you can write down some ideas to talk about. This doesn’t happen in Part 1 or Part 3.

Part 3 is a longer discussion where the examiner asks you questions related to Part 2 topic. You are expected to give longer, more elaborate answers and talk in-depth about the topics your examiner brings up.

Here is how you can learn from this Speaking test video

1. Get familiar with everything that happens in the Speaking test. It will help you feel prepared when it’s your turn.

2. Listen to the questions the examiner asks and how Magda answers them. Then think about what YOU would say in response to these questions.

3. Spot Magda’s mistakes and avoid them when you speak.

4. Go over Examiner’s Feedback below to learn how he rated Magda’s performance and why (he also points out some of her mistakes!)

5. You can even use this as a Listening exercise, and switch on subtitles on YouTube to understand every word on the recording.

Watch the video on YouTube here:

Examiner’s Feedback

This section shows you what goes on in the examiner’s mind when he rates a Speaking test. Make sure you read this before looking at the scores he gave Magda in every criterion, because this explains the reasons she got those scores.

Speaking Test, Part 1 – 0:22

In section 1, Magda showed that she had a good and confident command of English. Although she was occasionally a little hesitant (due to nervousness and to access ideas rather than language it seemed), she spoke mostly fluently and communicated what she wanted to say coherently all the way through. She also used some humour at appropriate times to express her feelings. Magda had a good resource of lexis and she only occasionally used an awkward word or phrase (i.e. “fast-pacing”). There were also some examples of higher-level language, i.e. “holistic view”). Magda’s grammar usage was varied and accurate. She had an almost negligible Polish accent, which did not affect communication in any way. Magda’s answers were slightly short. She just achieved the time required for section 1, but developing her answers more would have been more impressive.

Speaking Test, Part 2 – 4:24

Magda spoke clearly, coherently and fluently in section 2. She mostly spoke quite slowly, but this is not a problem – people talk at different speeds. Magda also again used humour to add to what she wanted to say. Her vocabulary range was again very good, though I felt that “and” was used too many times to help develop her monologue. Although it was not wrong, it sounded a bit awkward. Magda’s grammatical range was again good and accurate, though not without error, i.e. “vacations” and “how much sacrifices”. Magda’s accent was again non-intrusive and allowed excellent communication.

Speaking Test, Part 3 – 6:51

Magda produced a good section 3, though her fluency was affected by the more demanding questions. Her coherence was not really affected and she communicated her ideas without too many problems and she provided varied and intelligent answers. Magda’s lexical resource was again good and she showed she could access higher-level vocabulary, i.e. “psychological and physiological problems” and “impact significantly”. Her use of the conjunction “moreover” was well used too. There were, however, some moments of awkwardness as well, i.e. “consume themselves in frugal lifestyle” and “retiring people”. Magda’s grammatical range was again appropriately varied and her accuracy was very good, though not without error, i.e. “life expectancy is much, much bigger”, “support system” and “the least problems”. As in the previous sections, Magda’s pronunciation was excellent.

Magda’s IELTS Speaking score

The marking of the IELTS Speaking Test is done in 4 parts.

Fluency and Coherence 7
Lexical Resource 7
Grammatical Range and Accuracy 7
Pronunciation 9

Estimated IELTS Speaking Band 7.5

Need more Speaking tests with Examiner’s feedback? Find them in High Scorer’s Choice book series.

If you’d like to get your own Speaking evaluated, you can – go here to learn how.

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Friday, 22 May 2020

IELTS Letter, topic: complaining to a company about receiving the wrong product

This letter topic appeared in the most recent IELTS exam in Iran. Below is a sample response that is likely to score Band 8 or above in IELTS.

You have purchased a product on a website and received a different product. Write a letter to the company. In your letter

– Describe the product you ordered
– Explain why you aren’t satisfied with the product you received
– Let them know what actions you expect them to take

Answer

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing in regard to the laptop case I ordered on your website three weeks ago, order #237891. I have just received a parcel from your company and unfortunately, you sent me the wrong product.

I ordered a black leather laptop bag suitable for 15 inch devices. It has a magnetic closure and 2 large compartments, as well as a zipped compartment on the back for papers. It also has a front pocket for pens and memory sticks.

The bag I received from your company has none of the features I require. It is much smaller than the size I ordered, suits only 13 inch devices, is made of fabric instead of leather and has no shoulder strap. This bag is of no use to me as my laptop cannot fit in it, and its fabric isn’t waterproof which means insufficient protection from the elements. I travel a lot for work and water damage to my laptop is a risk I am not prepared to accept.

To resolve this issue I would like to receive a free return authorisation from your company for the bag you sent me in error, and I would also like to request that you send the correct bag I ordered as soon as possible, as I need it for work. If the bag I originally ordered is unavailable, I would like to receive a full refund to my credit card. I expect to receive a confirmation letter from you within 2 business days.

I appreciate your attention to this matter and look forward to hearing from you.

Kind regards,

Geoff Johnson.

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Thursday, 21 May 2020

IELTS essay, topic: Should copyright materials such as music, films and books be freely available on the Internet (opinion)?

This is a model response to a Writing Task 2 topic from High Scorer’s Choice IELTS Practice Tests book series (reprinted with permission). This answer is likely to score IELTS Band 9.

Set 2 General Training book, Practice Test 10

Writing Task 2

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.

Write about the following topic:

There is a problem today that copyright materials such as music, films and books are freely available on the Internet with the result that the owners of the works lose money.

Do you feel that this is a good or bad thing?

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

You should write at least 250 words.

Answer

In modern day society, it has become common to make copyright protected material freely available on the Internet with the result that the owners of the work lose large sums of money. The discussion of whether or not this distribution is of positive or negative nature has therefore been raised. Personally, I believe that this issue has both negative and positive effects.

Distributing copyright protected material freely online can firstly help make this material more popular. Often people are not willing to spend money on a film or song before being exposed to it once, as they cannot be sure that they will enjoy the material they are about to purchase. If they purchase a song or film and then do not like it, the money spent will have been wasted, which is disappointing. Frequently, people purchase copyright protected material that they enjoyed after being exposed to it once, meaning that often owners often receive money at a later stage. An owner’s reputation can additionally improve, because frequently owners who allow their work to be distributed partially or completely online have a more positive reputation amongst customers.

Regardless of the positive effects of the free online distribution of copyright protected material, it can be said that this distribution has several negative effects. Firstly, owners lose large sums of money through it. A lot of time and money can be spent producing the material distributed, as certain spaces and equipment must be rented or bought to produce a certain song or film. Like all other people, artists need money to survive and thus are at a disadvantage when they do not receive money for their work. I personally believe therefore that governments should make sure that when something is performed in public or when work is displayed in public, artists should receive credit and money.

In conclusion, it can be said that the online distribution of copyright protected material has both negative and positive effects. In my opinion, it cannot fully be determined whether this distribution is of a positive or negative nature; one must decide upon this for oneself.

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Saturday, 16 May 2020

IELTS essay, topic: Some parents think that children must do house chores (opinion)

This is a model response to a Writing Task 2 topic from High Scorer’s Choice IELTS Practice Tests book series (reprinted with permission). This answer is likely to score IELTS Band 9.

Set 2 General Training book, Practice Test 9

Writing Task 2

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.

Write about the following topic:

Many parents give jobs to their children to do around the house in order to develop their characters and self-sufficiency.
Discuss this idea and give your opinion.

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

You should write at least 250 words.

Answer

In many modern day families, it is a common aspect of family life that parents give jobs to their children to do around the house to develop their characters and a sense of self-sufficiency. This aspect can be looked at as having both positive and negative sides.

When parents give their children jobs or chores to do around the house, they make their children understand that they are part of a community. While this community is only within the family’s house, the lessons children learn from carrying out their chores are equally fitting for the global community they live in. Children are taught that they have to integrate into the global community and that in order for this community to work effectively, everyone must carry out their chores.

Furthermore, children learn about the concept of pride, as they are taught to be proud of what they have accomplished. Chores around the house additionally prepare children for living independently later on in life, as they acquire skills that are valuable for everyday life. I, personally, see this approach as very practical; helping my mother with cooking in my childhood and teenage years served me well, and living independently now I don’t have trouble preparing meals for myself and my housemates.

Although there are many supporters of this concept, some parents argue that children should not be given jobs to do around the house. They argue that children should be allowed to be children and not have any duties. In their opinion children should enjoy their childhood and should not have to deal with any of the responsibilities adults have to deal with.

In conclusion, I believe that giving children chores to carry out is a positive aspect of family life, as I think that it helps children to become independent and makes it easier for them to live by themselves later on in life.

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Thursday, 14 May 2020

12 Tricky English Words

Speaking from experience, there are some words in English that IELTS test takers misspell quite often. A word spelt wrong isn’t the end of the world, but here’s the thing – when you spell one of these words wrong, the autocorrect feature (your usual lifeline!) won’t save you. It won’t let you know that you made a mistake and there will be no red underline. Why? Because the second spelling also exists in its dictionary – but the word spelt that way means something completely different!

Here are the 12 tricky words that can get you in trouble – and what each spelling means.

Cause vs. Course

A cause is a reason for something that happened.

A course is a sequence of events or it could also mean a learning program at school or university.

Compliment vs. Complement

A compliment is something you say to a person to show your admiration.

A complement is an item that completes a group of other items, makes it better, for example a hat that completes an outfit.

Destruct vs. Distract

To destruct means to destroy.

To distract means to take your attention away from something you were doing.

Desert vs. Dessert

A desert is a land with no water, covered with sand.

A dessert is a sweet dish that you have at the end of your meal, such as ice cream or cake. An easy way to remember the double ‘s’ in dessert is to think that dessert is ‘So Sweet’.

Dairy vs. Diary

Dairy is a place where milk is processed.

A diary is a personal journal where you write about your experiences.

Launch vs. Lunch

To launch something is to let it fly.

Lunch is the meal that you have at midday.

Mail vs. Male

Mail means letters and parcels.

Male is the gender of a man.

Message vs. Massage

A message is a bit of information that you pass on to someone.

Giving someone a massage means rubbing a person’s muscles to help them relax.

Plain vs. Plane

Plain means simple or flat.

A plane is the same as an airplane.

Reminder vs. Remainder

A reminder helps you remember something.

A remainder is a part of something that is left after the rest was removed. An easy way to remember the difference in spelling is to think of the word ‘remain’ as part of ‘remainder’.

Stationary vs. Stationery

The word ‘stationary‘ refers to something that isn’t moving (e.g. a stationary vehicle).

Stationery means pens, pencils, paper and envelopes.

Trail vs. Trial

A trail is a cleared path through the forest.

A trial means a test of performance of a new product or service.

What other words do you find confusing or tricky? Let us know in comments, and we’ll add them to the list!

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IELTS Commentry

Wednesday, 27 May 2020

IELTS essay, topic: Can the society cope with the larger number of elderly people and how?

Monday, 25 May 2020

IELTS Speaking Band 7.5 Full Test with Examiner’s Feedback

If you’d like to get your own Speaking evaluated, you can – go here to learn how.

Friday, 22 May 2020

IELTS Letter, topic: complaining to a company about receiving the wrong product

Thursday, 21 May 2020

IELTS essay, topic: Should copyright materials such as music, films and books be freely available on the Internet (opinion)?

Saturday, 16 May 2020

IELTS essay, topic: Some parents think that children must do house chores (opinion)