WRITING FOR IELTS

Alvina Yolanda MSc. TESOL

 MEETING

MEETING 1 MEETING 3
• Writing Task 2 Structure
• Ielts writing criteria &Timing
• Agree/Disagree
• Line chart , bar chart -- > practice

Meeting 2 Meeting 4
• Advantage & Disadvantage
• pie chart
• practice
• practice

Meeting 2 Meeting 4
• Cause & Effect /
• Map & table
• Problem & Solution
• Pracetice • Pracetice

Meeting 3
Meeting 5
Process ( Naturarl & Discuss both views
Artificial)
 Writing Task 1

How to Report?

Report the most striking figure

Compare and contrast
Use Transition Devices
 CRACKING TASK 1
Report the most striking
figure
Think about the time
Compare and contrast
 LINE CHART
What is the data about,
where, and when ?
What is the general trend?
How is the comparison of
population in three
different country?
Which country experience
the fastest /lowest growth?

2005 2009
1999 : USA & Canada : Which country is
USA -20% rise to around 70 % the highest?
Canada -10 % l of ..... How about the
Mexico 5 % Mexico : reached other two
just over 25 % countries?
BAR CHART
Chart 1 : Change in the number of
marriage & divorces
Chart 2 : Presentage of Marital Status
of American adult.
When ?
What happen to the proportion of
married people in this period?
When the majority of adult american
got married?
How about the single adults?
Chart 1 - 1970 - the marriage :
The divorce :....
1980 –marriage : stable –fell in 2000
- peak at .....before falling back
to.... At......
PIE CHART
TABLE

older

newer
 REPORTING THE DIAGRAM

Natural Process Artificial process

Present -active Present-passive

The diagram below shows the water cycle, which is the continuous movement
of water on, above and below the surface of the Earth.

NATURAL
PROCESS
ARTIFICAL PROCESS
 TASK 2 ( 40 minutes)
• Agree / disagree
• To what extend do you agree or disagree?
• Advantage/ disadvantage
• Advantage outweight disadvantage
• Positive or negative
• 2 Questions
• Problem solution
 Families who send their children to private schools should not be required to pay taxes that support
the state education system.
To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?

Some people believe that parents of children who attend private schools should not need to contribute
to state schools through taxes. Personally, I completely disagree with this view.
For a variety of reasons, it would be wrong to reduce taxes for families who pay for private education.Thesis statement

Firstly, it would be difficult to calculate the correct amount of tax reduction for these families, and
staff would be required to manage this complex process. Secondly, we all pay a certain amount of tax
for public services that we may not use. For example, most people are fortunate enough not to have to
call the police or fire brigade at any time in their lives, but they would not expect a tax reduction for
this. Finally, if wealthy families were given a tax discount for sending their children to private
schools, we might have a situation where poorer people pay higher taxes than the rich.

In my opinion, we should all be happy to pay our share of the money that supports public schools. It is beneficial for
all members of society to have a high quality education system with equal opportunities for all young people. This
will result in a well educated workforce, and in turn a more productive and prosperous nation. Parents of children
in private schools may also see the advantages of this in their own lives. For example, a company owner will need
well qualified and competent staff, and a well-funded education system can provide such employees.

In conclusion, I do not believe that any financial concessions should be made for people who choose
private education.

(269 words, band 9)

People now have the freedom to work and live anywhere in the world due to the
development of communication technology and transportation.

Do the advantages of this development outweigh the disadvantages?

These days many people choose to live or work in other countries, which has been made possible because of the
convenience of air travel and modern communications. I believe that this has more benefits than drawbacks.
( Answeriing the question & thesis statement )

The disadvantage / drawbacks/ detrimental effects / negative sides of this development is the distance that is put
between family members. If a person moves away it is true that air travel and devices such as skype mean that
communication and contact can be maintained. However, it is likely that a person will only be able to return one or
two times a year during holidays, and speaking on skype or via email is not the same as face-to-face contact.

Despite this, there are significant advantages/ merits/positive side/ benefits, it can bring to people’s lives. Firstly, it
means that people have the opportunity/ chance to see other parts of the world and the way people live. For
example/ for instance,/ to illustrate,/t could be examplified, people from the West often go to work in Asia or the
Middle East and vica-versa. This highly likely enriches many people’s lives as they get to learn about other
languages, traditions, cultures and different ways of working from their own country.

In addition to this, on a wider level it may also benefit other countries. If/ should someone moves abroad for work, it
is usually because their skill is required there. To illustrate, nurses and Doctors often move to work in hospitals in
other countries when there is a shortage, so/ hence/ therefore this is very valuable to the place they move to.

I would therefore argue / opine that although there are disadvantages of the current trend to live and work abroad,
they are outweighed by the advantages. It can enrich/ advance people’s lives and lives of the people in the
countries/ nation that they move to.
 IELTS TASK 2
More and more students are choosing to study at colleges
and universities in a foreign country. Do the benefits of
studying abroad outweigh the drawbacks?

Introduction : reckon
Thesis statement:
Body 1 : main idea-supporting idea-example-result
Body 2 : main idea-supporting idea-example-result
Concusion : ( paraphrase the thesis statement) to restate
the argument to make it stronger.
 while Some people think that strict punishments for driving offences are the key to reducing
traffic
accidents. Others, believe that other measures would be more effective in improving road
safety. Discuss both these views and give your own opinion

.
People have differing views with regard to the question of how to make our roads safer. Some reckon that the most
effective way to minimize accidents on the road is by giving strick punishment to the driving offenders.Meanwhile, some
argue that there would be more solutive measures to adress/ overcome/ rectify this phenomenon/ issue/ problem.In this
essay, I would like to elaborate these distinctive view points.

On the one hand, strict punishments can certainly help to encourage people to drive more safely.
Penalties for dangerous drivers can act as a deterrent, meaning that people avoid repeating the same
offence. There are various types of driving penalty, such as small fines, licence suspension, driver
awareness courses, and even prison sentences. The aim of these punishments is to show dangerous
drivers that their actions have negative consequences. As a result, we would hope that drivers become
more disciplined and alert, and that they follow the rules more carefully.

On the other hand, I believe that safe driving can be promoted in several different ways that do not
punish drivers. Firstly, it is vitally important to educate people properly before they start to drive, and
this could be done in schools or even as part of an extended or more difficult driving test. Secondly,
more attention could be paid to safe road design. For example, signs can be used to warn people,
speed bumps and road bends can be added to calm traffic, and speed cameras can help to deter people
from driving too quickly. Finally, governments or local councils could reduce road accidents by
investing in better public transport, which would mean that fewer people would need to travel by car.

In conclusion, while punishments can help to prevent bad driving, I believe that other road safety
These days more fathers stay at home and take care of their children while mothers go out to work.
What could be the reasons for this? Do you think it is a positive or a negative development?

It is true that men are increasing and it is likely to take on the role of househusband, while more women than
ever are the breadwinners in their families. There could be several reasons for this, and I consider it to
be a very positive trend.

In recent years, parents have had to adapt to various changes in our societies. Equal rights movements
have made great progress, and it has become normal for women to gain qualifications and pursue a REASON
career. It has also become socially acceptable for men to stay at home and look after their children. At
the same time, the rising cost of living has meant that both marriage partners usually need to work and
save money before starting a family. Therefore, when couples have children, they may decide who
works and who stays at home depending on the personal preference of each partner, or based on
which partner earns the most money.

In my view, the changes described above should be seen as progress. We should be happy to live in a
society in which men and women have equal opportunities, and in which women are not put under
pressure to sacrifice their careers. Equally, it seems only fair that men should be free to leave their
jobs in order to assume childcare responsibilities if this is what they wish to do. Couples should be left (-) /(+)
to make their own decisions about which parental role each partner takes, according to their particular
circumstances and needs.

In conclusion, the changing roles of men and women in the family are a result of wider changes in
society, and I believe that these developments are desirable.
 PLANNING YOUR ESSAY
INTRODUCTION :
Parapharase the question
Thesis statement : Answer the question
BODY I ( benefits) :...............

BODY II ( drawbacks):...................

Conclusion: Paraphrase the thesis statement->

emphasizing your idea stronger
 PROBLEM –SOLUTION
In some countries the average weight of people is increasing and their levels of
health and fitness aredecreasing.What do you think are the causes of these
problems and what measures could be taken to solve them?

Nowadays, the weight of most citizens in different parts of the world have been
risen and their rate of health and fitness have been declining.There are several
reasons of this issue and a number of way could be performed to deal with this
phenomenon.
 CAUSE-EFFECT
• 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.
• Over the last ten years, western societies have seen close to a 20% rise in the number of children
who are overweight. This essay will discuss some reasons why this has occurred and examine the
consequences of this worrying trend.
• The main cause of this problem is poor diet. Over the last decade there has been a prolific increase
in the number of fast food restaurants. For example, on nearly every high street there is a
MacDonald’s, Kentucky Fried Chicken and Pizza Hut. The food in these places has been proven to
be very unhealthy, and much of the advertising is targeted at children, thus ensuring that they
constitute the bulk of the customers of these establishments. However, it is not only due to eating
out, but also the type of diet many children have at home. A lot of food consumed is processed
food, especially with regards to ready-made meals which are a quick and easy option for parents
who are working hard.
• The effects of this have been and will continue to be very serious. Firstly, there has been a large
increase in health related diseases amongst children, especially diabetes. This debilitating illness
means a child has to be injected with insulin for the rest of their life. Not only this, very overweight
children often experience bullying from other children, which may affect their mental health. The
negative stigma of being overweight may also affect self-esteem.
• To sum up, it is evident that there are several causes of obesity amongst children, and a variety of
negative effects. Society must ensure steps are taken to prevent this problem from deteriorating
further.
 To make a conclusion
• In conclusion
• All in all
• In a nutshell
• To sum up
• To cut a long story short
• To summarize
 To add an Idea
• Furthermore
• Moreover
• In addition
• Apart from that
• Besides
 To give example
• For example
• For instance,
• Such as : lebih dari 2 contoh
 Contradictory
• On one hand,
• On the other hand,
• By contrast,
• While,
• These days more fathers stay at home and
take care of their children while mothers go
out to work.
What could be the reasons for this? Do you
think it is a positive or a negative
development?