An Introduction to IELTS

11/03/2024
Make sure that you …
• are familiar with test format and task types
• are aware of timings, especially with reading and writing
• read the questions carefully and answer all parts
• use the time given before each listening section
• plan their writing and use paragraphs
• personalize writing if asked to relax and enjoy the speaking
• show their range of grammar and vocabulary knowledge in writing and
speaking
Writing (60 Minutes)
• The Writing component of IELTS Academic includes two tasks.
• Task 1: You will be presented with a graph, table, chart or diagram and
asked to describe, summaries or explain the information in your own
words. You may be asked to describe and explain data, describe the
stages of a process, how something works or describe an object or
event.
• Task 2: You will be asked to write an essay in response to a point of
view, argument or problem. Responses to both tasks must be in a
formal style.
Listening (30 Minutes)
• Section 1: A conversation between two people set in an everyday
social context.
• Section 2: A monologue set in an everyday social context e.g. a speech
about local facilities.
• Section 3: A conversation between up to four people set in an
educational or training context, e.g. a university tutor and a student
discussing an assignment.
• Section 4: A monologue on an academic subject e.g. a university
lecture.
Reading (60 Minutes)

The Reading component consists of 40 questions. A variety of

question types is used in order to test a wide range of reading skills.
These including reading for gist, reading for main ideas, reading for
detail, skimming, understanding logical argument, recognizing writers'
opinions, attitudes and purpose.
Speaking (11-14 Minutes)
• Part 1: The Examiner will ask you general questions about yourself
and a range of familiar topics, such as home, family, work, studies and
interests.
• Part 2: You will be given a card which asks you to talk about a
particular topic. You will have one minute to prepare before speaking
for up to two minutes. The examiner will then ask one or two
questions on the same topic to finish this part of the test.
• Part 3: You will be asked further questions connected to the topic in
Part 2. These questions will give you the opportunity to discuss more
abstract ideas and issue.
IELTS WRITING TASK 1
IELTS WRITING
• 1. Academic Writing
• 2. What IELTS Examiners Expect
• 3. IELTS Writing Overview (Types of Questions)
• 4. Write an Essay (IELTS Task 2)
• 5. Do’s & Don’ts
• 6. Sample Essay
What IELTS Examiners Expect
On the IELTS writing test you will be assessed on four things:

• Task Achievement (TA)

• Coherence and Cohesion (CC)
• Lexical Resource (LR)
• Grammatical Range and Accuracy (GA)
What IELTS Examiners Expect:
Task Achievement
This requires the students to accurately reflect the
relevant information in the graph. If you gave your
answer to a stranger, would they be able to accurately
reproduce the graph? If they could, then you have
fulfilled this task.
What IELTS Examiners Expect:
Coherence and Cohesion
This part of the marking criteria judges students' ability to
produce an answer that is clear, fluent and easy to understand. Structure,
appropriate vocabulary and good grammar help to boost your score
here. Good paragraphing and appropriate use of cohesive devices can
also be used to gain a higher score.
What IELTS Examiners Expect:
Lexical Resource
This section is all about vocabulary and is often the most
misunderstood. It is NOT about inserting as many long words as you
can think of. It is about choosing relevant, appropriate and accurate
words. You will help your score here by using a variety of vocabulary
and not simply copying the words in the question.
What IELTS Examiners Expect:
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Obviously, you have to produce grammatically accurate sentences
to do well in this section, but it is also about using the appropriate
structures. You are expected to use different structures for describing
numbers, trends and making comparisons. The most common grammar
mistake students make in IELTS task 1 is not using articles and plurals
properly. If at least 50% of your sentences are not grammatically correct
it is hard to score over a band 7.
What IELTS Examiners Expect
• A clear, concise, focused, structured and backed up by evidence
• Its purpose is to aid the reader’s understanding
• It has a formal tone and style, but it is not complex and does not
require the use of long sentences and complicated vocabulary
What IELTS Examiners Expect
• Planned and focused: answers the question and demonstrates an
understanding of the subject.
• Structured: is coherent, written in a logical order, and brings together
related points and material.
• Evidenced: demonstrates knowledge of the subject area, supports
opinions and arguments with evidence, and is referenced accurately.
• Formal in tone and style: uses appropriate language and tenses, and is
clear, concise and balanced.
IELTS Writing Overview
• The Writing test takes 60 minutes.
• There are two tasks to complete.
• It is suggested that about 20 minutes is spent on Task 1, which requires
candidates to write at least 150 words.
• This task requires at least 250 words and should take about 40
minutes. Task 2 contributes twice as much as Task 1 to the Writing
score.
IELTS Writing Overview: Strategies
• Describing a chart (bar chart, line graph, pie chart, table, map, diagram
or process flow)
• 150 words /20 minutes
 The Components:

1 2 3 4
Part 1. Opening/Intro Part 2: Overview Part 3: Details of Details of significant
• (1-2 sentences) Introduce • (2-4 sentences) General significant feature 1 feature 1)
the visuals descriptions • Comparison & contrast • Supporting
• e.g. The charts display • e.g. The data show a • Increase & decrease details/Comparison
_____/ The diagram constant/fluctuating • e.g . The first state & last details, if appropriate
describes ____ increase in …… This state; the trends in the
trend occurred across all highest & lowest group
groups ……
IELTS Writing Overview
• Paragraph 1 (Introduction)
• Sentence 1- Paraphrase Question
• Paragraph 2 (Overview)
• Sentence 1- Overview of first main feature
• Sentence 2- Overview of second main feature
• Sentence 3- Make comparison, if appropriate
• Paragraph 3 (Details of significant feature 1)
• Sentence 1- Supporting details
• Sentence 2- Supporting details
• Sentence 3- Supporting details/comparison details, if appropriate
• Paragraph 4 (Details of significant feature 2)
• Sentence 1- Supporting details
• Sentence 2- Supporting details
• Sentence 3- Supporting details/Comparison details, if appropriate
Part 1: Opening
(Reference: The Title) – 1 or 2 Useful words/phrases:
sentences. • Describe
State the title • Display
• The charts display _____ • Illustrate
• The diagram describes ____ • Show
• The map illustrates ______ • Portray
• The table shows ____
Part 2: The background
(Reference: The summary – Useful words/phrases:
instructions)- 2 to 4 sentences • Trends
• State the general trends • Constant trend
• The data show a • Increasing trend
constant/fluctuating increase in
…… • Decreasing trend
• The trend occurred across all • Fluctuating trend
groups …… • Slight(ly) vs. Sharp(ly) –
increase slightly (slight
increase); increase sharply (sharp
increase); moderate
Part 3: The Analysis of interesting points
• Comparison & contrast • In 2002, slightly more than half the
• Increase & decrease population owned computers. That
number increased to roughly 75% over
• Analyze the first state & last state; the next eight years.
• Analyze the trends in the highest & • Postgraduates were always ahead of
lowest group the general population. While roughly
• Analyze the lowest point and the three-quarters of postgraduates owned
highest point computers in 2002, that figure rose to
nearly 95% by 2010.
• By contrast, those who had not
finished high school began with only a
15% computer ownership rate, which
increased to about 45% after eight
years.
Part 4: Conclusion
• Concluding statement Useful expressions:
• End with the summary of the • In conclusion
trend. • In summary

• In conclusion, we learned from

the graphs that the first decade
of the 21st century saw steady
gains in computer ownership
among a variety of education
levels.
EXERCISE: PARAPHRASING AN ESSAY QUESTION

1. Adverts are a major part of everyday life.

2. The student requested that the professor excuses her absence, but the
professor refused.

3. While studying abroad provides an opportunity to broaden one's

experience, it also presents the danger of negative influences from the host
culture.
PREAW’S KEYS (1)
• 1. Adverts are a major part of everyday life.
• Paraphrase 1: Advertising is an important feature of daily life.
• Paraphrase 2: The influence of adverts can be felt in all aspects of our lives.
• 2. The professor denied the student’s request for an excused absence.
• Paraphrase 1:
Studying abroad is a potential source of both knowledge about life and risk
of adverse foreign cultural influences.
Paraphrase 2:
Young people studying overseas can gain a lot of experience. However, they
may also be negatively affected by certain aspects of the foreign culture.
 Step by Step Instructions
• Read the question twice very carefully.
• Look at the data. What data is represented on the axis? What groups are represented? What time periods are
shown? What are units of measurements?
• What are the main features?
• Can I make any comparisons?
• Make a quick plan using above structure.
• Write introduction by paraphrasing question.
• Write second paragraph, which is summary or overview of main features.
• Support the second paragraph with more detail in third and fourth paragraph.
• Make sure I've not repeated any words and used a range of vocabulary.
• Check for any grammar mistakes and make sure I've got at least 150 words.
• After writing, I should be able to hand this to a stranger and they would be able to draw the graph.
Writing Task 1: Computer Ownership

• You should spend about 20 minutes on this task. The graphs below give information about computer
ownership as a percentage of the population between 2002 and 2010, and by level of education for the
years 2002 and 2010. Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make
comparisons where relevant. Write at least 150 words.
1 The charts show rates of computer ownership from 2002-2010, including a more
detailed look at ownership patterns by level of education.
These data show a constant increase in the percentage of the population that owned
computers during the eight year timeframe. This rising trend occurred across all
2 education levels. However, although having more education correlated directly with
higher computer ownership percentages from 2002-2010, the ownership percentage
increased most among those with the least education during those years.

In 2002, slightly more than half the population owned computers. That number increased
3 to roughly 75% over the next eight years. Postgraduates were always ahead of the
general population. While roughly three-quarters of postgraduates owned computers in
2002, that figure rose to nearly 95% by 2010. By contrast, those who had not finished
high school began with only a 15% computer ownership rate, which increased to about
45% after eight years. Notably, the three groups at the lowest end of the education
spectrum saw the most significant computer ownership gains over this period. Their rate
rose approximately 30 percentage points. College graduates and postgraduates saw more
modest gains with 20 point increases between 2002 and 2010.

4 The first decade of the 21st century saw steady gains in computer ownership among a variety of
education levels.
Sample
Essay
GRAMMAR REVISION
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Write an Essay (IELTS Task 2)

12/03/2024
Write an Essay (IELTS Task 2)
• Task 2: Task response
• Requires the test takers to formulate and develop a position in relation
to a given prompt in the form of a question or statement
• Should be supported by evidence and examples may be drawn from
from the test takers' own experience
• Test takers are penalized if they don't cover all of the points in the
question
• Responses must be at least 250 words in length.
Types of Questions

• Agree / Disagree
• Advantages/ Disadvantages
• Both Views
• Causes / Effects
• Problems / Solutions
Agree / Disagree
• Maintaining public libraries is a waste of time since computer
technology is now replacing their functions.
• To what extent do you agree or disagree?
Both Views
• Some people believe that higher education should be funded
by the government. Others, however, argue that it is the
responsibility of individuals to fund their higher education.
• Discuss both views and give your opinion.
Causes / Effects
• The percentage of overweight children in western society has
increased by almost 20% in the last ten years.
• Discuss the causes and effects of this disturbing trend.
Problems / Solutions
• Students are becoming more and more reliant on computers.
What are some of the problems associated with reliance on
computers, and what are some of the possible solutions?
Task 2 Structure
1 1st Paragraph: Introduction of your opinion, thinking, perspectives/ Agree or disagree/
Main advantages or disadvantages

2 2nd Paragraph: Examples, explanations, evidences, details

3 3rd Paragraph: Examples, explanations, evidences, details

4 4th Paragraph: Conclusion: restate your main point of view

Grammar for Writing Essay
• Compound Sentence:
• Linking Words
• Example: “Internal combustion engine pollute the environment
therefore we should stop using it”

• Embedded Clause:
• Example
“Megalodon, a giant version of modern-day great white shark, went
extinct nearly two million years ago.”
Grammar for Writing Essay
• Complex Sentence: Independent clause + dependent clause
• Example
• If young adults who have no basic knowledge of digital literacy and
cyber security have a chance to chat with strangers, they tend to trust
their new friends easier and do whatever they are told to.
General Vocabulary for Essay Writing
Reason Contrast Addition
• As a result • Despite • Additionally
• Consequently • In spite of... • In addition
• Due to ...... • However • Apart from this
• For this reason • Nevertheless
• Besides
• Hence • Nonetheless
• Furthermore
• Therefore • On the other hand
• Whereas • Moreover Similarly
• Thus
• While
General Vocabulary for Essay Writing
Order Emphasis Clarification
• First/ firstly • Indeed • In other words
• Second/ secondly • It should be noted... • To clarify
• Finally • Obviously To break it down
• Following • Surprisingly • To clearly define
• Previously • To emphasize • To explain
• Subsequently • Unquestionably • To put it in another way
• Last but not least
• To simplify
General Vocabulary for Essay Writing
Condition Concession Illustration
• As • Although • For example
• Because of • Even though • For instance
• Even if • And still • In this case
• If • Even so • In this situation
• Since • Even though • Namely
• Unless • Such as
• Whenever
Do’s
1. วิเคราะห์โจทย์ ใช้ เวลา 3 นาทีแรกวางแผนการเขียน
2. ตอบให้ ครบทุกคาถาม
3. พยายามไม่ใช้ คําซํ Fากับโจทย์ (Paraphrase)
4. เริI มแต่ละ Paragraph ด้ วย Topic Sentence
5. ให้ เหตุผลสนับสนุน
6. ใช้ คาศัพท์ทีIเป็ นทางการ
7. ใช้ รูปแบบประโยคทีIหลากหลาย
8. อ่านทบทวนอีกครังF
Don’t
1. อย่าใช้ ตวั ย่อ
2. อย่าใช้ ศพั ท์ที2ธรรมดาเกินไป
3. อย่าใช้ คําเดิมบ่อย
4. อย่า copy ประโยคของตัวเอง
5. อย่าลืมใส่บทสรุป
6. อย่าเหมารวมหรื อฟั นธง
7. อย่า mention ถึงสิง2 ที2ไม่เกี2ยวกับหัวข้ อ
Sample Essay
• Social media is becoming increasingly popular among all age groups.
However, sharing personal information on social media websites does
have risks.
• Do you think that the advantages of social media outweigh the
disadvantages?
 Model Answer
1 • These days, various communication platforms are being used by people worldwide, while its dangers of
publicizing an individual’s details are concerned. In my point of view on this issue, I strongly believe that
although a number of people are worried about social media’s misuse, it still has more benefits than adverse
effects.

2 • To begin with, we are able to use all these sites and applications for connecting with others in order to keep
in touch with our family and friends, especially when they are not living with each other in the same
residence. For example, students who study abroad can spend time calling their loved ones through the video
conference feature. Seeing their familiar people and environment at home via smartphone, at least it could
threaten their mental health problems occurred by being far away from their home country.
3 • However, a number of parents have raised the issue of the risk of the Internet claiming that to let children
participate in an online community possibly leads to crimes. If young adults who have no basic knowledge of
digital literacy and cyber security have a chance to chat with strangers, they tend to trust their new friends
easier and do whatever they are told to, such as taking pictures or clips of themselves or even making an
appointment to see each other in person, which can cause numerous unexpected events that no one wants.

4 • In conclusion, even though the cons of having an online society are discussed, I think that all-aged users can
take the most advantage of this virtual world if they have critical thinking skills as well as safety and privacy
concerns while using the Internet.
GRAMMAR REVISION
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WRAP UP: WRITING TASK 2
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IELTS READING
• 1. IELTS reading exam overview:
• 2. IELTS Reading skills
• 3. Reading unknown vocabulary
• 4. Key Advice
Reading (60 Minutes)

The Reading component consists of 40 questions. A variety of

question types is used in order to test a wide range of reading skills.
These including reading for gist, reading for main ideas, reading for
detail, skimming, understanding logical argument, recognizing writers'
opinions, attitudes and purpose.
Reading (60 Minutes)
There are 3 texts with around 2500 words altogether.
The texts are taken from books, journals, and magazines.

Questions include:
• multiple choice
• matching headings to paragraphs
• True / False / Not Given
• fill in gaps
1. IELTS reading exam overview:
IELTS reading exam overview:

Increase
your speed!
Common
Key words &
mistakes
unknown
Timing words

3 skills
2. IELTS Reading skills
Skimming Scanning Close reading

What do you read?

Why do you use this skill?

What words do you focus on?

How fast do you go?

 Skimming stones.
Keep your eyes moving over
the text, like the stone keeps
moving over the water.

Scanning at the airport

when you are late for your
flight. Block out all the
other text and noise and
focus on the information
you need.
Scanning techniques
What word stands out at you in this line:

asklfjsaljaskfanlkhalksfnaskfncNewcastleadnglkagpiahaekna

Why did you see the word?

Names are easy to spot because they are capitalised. Numbers are also easy.
These are good key words to scan for if they appear in the question.

Notice that you didn’t need to read the whole line to find the word.
When you are scanning, you should not be reading.
 Skimming is like looking at the whole picture.

Scanning
is looking for specific parts, like all the pink bits or all the %s

Close reading is harder and takes longer. It’s looking

carefully at the distinctions between similar words and ideas
and seeing which one fits best.
How do I use all the skills in the exam?

skim the title, subheadings, pictures, first line of every

paragraph. Now you should know the general topic.

write the main topic of the text and the general topic of each
paragraph, eg living in space, reasons for, reasons against,
current experiments, conclusion. This will help you find key
information and answers.

read the questions. Underline key words. As you read, some

answers may pop into your head. Note the paragraph you think
contains the answers,

scan to find key words and quick answers

close read small parts of the text for more difficult questions
3. Reading unknown vocabulary
How many of these words do you not know?
Jack quickly entered the didot and cleaned the various misturaes
he had been using to repair the wuipit. He had often thought that
this job was extremely yullning. However, he had to admit that
this time things seemed to be a bit easier. When he finished, he
put on his redick and went back to the study to relax. He took out
his favourite pipe and settled into the beautiful new pogtry. What
a fantastic schnappy he had made when he had bought the pogtry.
Only 300 yagmas!

Let’s see how much you can understand

without knowing these words.
 3. Reading unknown vocabulary
Where is Jack?
Jack quickly entered the didot and cleaned the various
misturaes he had been using to repair the wuipit. He had often
thought that this job was extremely yullning. However, he had to
admit that this time things seemed to be a bit easier. When he
finished, he put on his redick and went back to the study to relax. He
took out his favourite pipe and settled into the beautiful new pogtry.
What a fantastic schnappy he had made when he had bought the
pogtry. Only 300 yagmas!
 Reading unknown vocabulary
What’s he doing?
Jack quickly entered the didot and cleaned the various
misturaes he had been using to repair the wuipit. He had often
thought that this job was extremely yullning. However, he had to
admit that this time things seemed to be a bit easier. When he
finished, he put on his redick and went back to the study to relax. He
took out his favourite pipe and settled into the beautiful new pogtry.
What a fantastic schnappy he had made when he had bought the
pogtry. Only 300 yagmas!
 Reading unknown vocabulary
How does he feel about it?
Jack quickly entered the didot and cleaned the various
misturaes he had been using to repair the wuipit. He had often
thought that this job was extremely yullning. However, he had to
admit that this time things seemed to be a bit easier. When he
finished, he put on his redick and went back to the study to relax. He
took out his favourite pipe and settled into the beautiful new pogtry.
What a fantastic schnappy he had made when he had bought the
pogtry. Only 300 yagmas!
 Reading unknown vocabulary

What can you ‘put on’? So what is a ‘redick’?

Jack quickly entered the didot and cleaned the various
misturaes he had been using to repair the wuipit. He had often
thought that this job was extremely yullning. However, he had to
admit that this time things seemed to be a bit easier. When he
finished, he put on his redick and went back to the study to relax. He
took out his favourite pipe and settled into the beautiful new pogtry.
What a fantastic schnappy he had made when he had bought the
pogtry. Only 300 yagmas!
 Reading unknown vocabulary

What type of thing is a ‘pogtry’?

Jack quickly entered the didot and cleaned the various
misturaes he had been using to repair the wuipit. He had often
thought that this job was extremely yullning. However, he had to
admit that this time things seemed to be a bit easier. When he
finished, he put on his redick and went back to the study to relax. He
took out his favourite pipe and settled into the beautiful new pogtry.
What a fantastic schnappy he had made when he had bought the
pogtry. Only 300 yagmas!
 Reading unknown vocabulary

What are yagmas?

Jack quickly entered the didot and cleaned the various
misturaes he had been using to repair the wuipit. He had often
thought that this job was extremely yullning. However, he had to
admit that this time things seemed to be a bit easier. When he
finished, he put on his redick and went back to the study to relax. He
took out his favourite pipe and settled into the beautiful new pogtry.
What a fantastic schnappy he had made when he had bought the
pogtry. Only 300 yagmas!
 Reading unknown vocabulary

What’s good about the pogtry?

Jack quickly entered the didot and cleaned the various
misturaes he had been using to repair the wuipit. He had often
thought that this job was extremely yullning. However, he had to
admit that this time things seemed to be a bit easier. When he
finished, he put on his redick and went back to the study to relax. He
took out his favourite pipe and settled into the beautiful new pogtry.
What a fantastic schnappy he had made when he had bought the
pogtry. Only 300 yagmas!
Reading unknown vocabulary Garage
Tools
Jack quickly entered the didot and cleaned the various misturaes he had
been using to repair the wuipit. He had often thought that this job was Car / bike /
extremely yullning. However, he had to admit that this time things seemed
to be a bit easier. When he finished, he put on his redick and went back to machine
the study to relax. He took out his favourite pipe and settled into the
beautiful new pogtry. What a fantastic schnappy he had made when he Difficult / boring
had bought the pogtry. Only 300 yagmas!
Dressing gown?
Sofa /

There will be words you don’t know in the comfortable

IELTS reading. Read around them. Have chair
confidence, trust your instincts, use your logic. Bargain / deal
currency
Key advice

Do not spend minutes reading and re-reading a sentence just

because you don’t understand one word.

Each question is only worth 1 point. Make a guess and move

on. Use the process of elimination to increase your chances.

There are questions that are difficult for native speakers too.
Don’t get stuck.
ใส่ขอ้ สอบ reading
IELTS LISTENING
• Takes 30 minutes
• It is played ONCE only
• There is time to read through the questions before you begin
• There is 10 minutes at the end to transfer your answers/ 2 mins on
computer-based test
• There are 4 parts
IELTS LISTENING

Part 1 2 3 4
Points 10 10 10 10
People speaking Dialogue Monologue Dialogue Monologue
English General General Academic Academic
 IELTS LISTENING
• You need:
• knowledge of spoken English and the ability to:
• Predict
• Identify key words & synonyms
• Note take
• 4 parts (10 points for each)
• Fluency practice for part 1
• Commercial radio – practice writing numbers / dates / days / addresses
• Find a list of addresses / phone numbers / dates – use the practice center
• After each session, analyze strengths & remaining weaknesses