Using a range of sophisticated vocabulary is an important factor that might help to get a higher band in your IELTS Academic Writing. At the same time, it is crucial to know the difference in the register and level of formality when using complex language such as phrasal verbs.

Phrasal verbs are very common in spoken English. Native speakers use phrasal verbs without giving them a second thought. However, they become a challenge for non-natives. We might often confuse their meanings and misuse them in the sentences. The reason for this is that they often have more than one definition and more than one context of proper use.

What are phrasal verbs?

They are multi-word verbs and can be separable or inseparable. They consist of two or three words from different grammatical categories — usually a verb and a particle, such as an adverb or a preposition. When we combine them, these words receive a different meaning, which is frequently considered too informal for academic writing. This is one of the main reasons why we shouldn’t use them in academic writing, as it has to be informative, concise and clear.

How to use phrasal verbs in IELTS Academic Writing

If you are not sure if the phrasal verb is formal, informal or neutral, we recommend that you replace it with a single verb equivalent. Here are some common phrasal verbs with the verbs that you can use instead.

1. Leave out — omit

To not include someone or something.

e.g. She was omitted from the list of contributors to the report.

2. Carry out — conduct

To do or complete something.

e.g. More research on the subject needs to be conducted.

3. Come out — publish

To become available for people to buy or see.

e.g. The examination results are published in August.

4. Look at — investigate

To think about a subject carefully so that you can make a decision about it.

e.g. The UN is investigating new methods of population control.

5. Fill in/out  — complete

To write or type information on a document in spaces that are provided for it.

e.g. Companies will encourage customers to complete questionnaires about themselves.

6. Come about — happen/occur

To happen, or start to happen.

e.g. Such a confusing situation occurred.

7. Hand out — distribute

To give something out to several people, or to spread or supply something.

e.g. Washington began distributing money to struggling farmers during the Depression.

8. Make up — constitute

To be or be considered as something.

e.g. The long-term unemployed now constitute a sort of underclass.

9. Put up with — tolerate

To be willing to accept someone or something that is unpleasant or not desirable.

e.g. The country will tolerate a certain number of economic sanctions.

RECOMMENDED: 5 things to avoid in IELTS Academic Writing

10. Find out — discover

To obtain knowledge of something.

e.g. Scientists have discovered how to predict an earthquake.

11. Stamp out — eradicate

To get rid of something that is wrong or harmful.

e.g. The new legislation is intended to eradicate child prostitution.

12. Go up — increase/ rise

To move higher.

e.g. The area has recently become very fashionable and house prices are increasing.

13. Keep up — maintain

To continue to have; to keep in existence, or not allow to become less.

e.g. Several of the teachers were quite unable to maintain discipline.

14. Set up — organise/ arrange

To organise things.

e.g. A fund was organised as a goodwill gesture to survivors and their families.

15. Pick out — select/ recognize

To recognize, find, or make a choice among different people or things in a group

e.g. Over 200 people applied for the job, and we had to select ten to interview.

16. Pick up — resume

To start again after a pause.

e.g. The company resumed production of the vehicle again after a two-month hiatus.

17. Use up — exhaust

To finish a supply of something.

e.g. How long will it be before the world’s fuel supplies are exhausted?

18. Get across — communicate

To manage to make someone understand or believe something.

e.g. This is the message that we want to communicate to the public.

19. Cut down — reduce

To do or use less of something.

e.g. Wearing the correct type of clothing will reduce the risk of radiation.

20. Talk about — discuss

To talk or write about a subject in detail, especially considering different ideas and opinions related to it.

e.g. In this essay, the influence of social media will be discussed.

READ ALSO: Tips and tricks for IELTS Academic Task 2

21. Put forward — propose

To state an idea or opinion, or to suggest a plan or person, for other people to consider.

e.g. A number of theories about the possible causes of cancer have been proposed.

22. Bring about — cause

To cause something to happen.

e.g. The 20th century caused revolutionary changes in our lifestyles.

23. Fall apart — disintegrate

To break into pieces.

e.g. Families and communities disintegrate under the crushing burden of drug addiction.

24. Get along — communicate

To have a friendly relationship.

e.g. It is crucial for co-workers to communicate within the team as well as with the customers.

25. Break down — explain

To explain in more detail, separate into smaller pieces.

e.g. Negotiations may end successfully if both parties clearly explain their expectations.

You will find more useful vocabulary, strategies and secrets for IELTS Academic Writing and will receive your own Knowledge Bank if you try our IELTS Academic Writing self-study course. You will receive more than 80 hours of writing practice, which includes instant feedback from IELTS experts on describing visuals and writing essays.

Many candidates believe that IELTS General is easier than IELTS Academic. Although some sections might look less complicated, both tests have their own difficulties and peculiarities. For example, texts in Reading section of the general test are quite simple. On the other hand, in Task 1 of the Academic Module Writing section, you need to describe a graph, chart, table or diagram, which means that you actually need more correct answers to get the same band score. We are going to describe the main differences of the Writing section of both modules below.

WE ALSO RECOMMEND YOU TO READ: Which IELTS should you take: general or academic?

WRITING TASK 1

READ ABOUT: How IELTS Writing is assessed

WRITING TASK 2

IELTS Writing Task 2 requires you to write an essay of at least 250 words. You should spend no more than 40 minutes for this task. You will see a prompt with a topic and a question to answer in your essay.

Example:

Car ownership has increased so rapidly over the past thirty years that many cities in the world are now ‘one big traffic jam’.

How true do you think this statement is? What measures can governments take to discourage people from using their cars?

In this task, the examiners check your ability to respond by giving and justifying an opinion, discussing the topic, summarizing details, outlining problems, identifying possible solutions and supporting what you write with reasons, arguments and relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience. There is only one scoring for all essays: general and academic. The types of essays are the same, so you should use the same techniques for essay writing.

There are minimal differences between the tasks for Academic and General Modules. They are in:

— question difficulty, i.e. in Academic Module, the question is written in a more complicated way;

— topics for essays, i.e. the Academic test covers a wider range of topics unlike General training uses more common topics such as family and relationship, schools, media etc.

Generally, our experience shows that IELTS Academic Writing seems more challenging. That’s why we’ve created an online course that focuses on all kinds of IELTS Academic writing tasks. Register for a free trial here and get access to automated writing check, diagnostic writing, practice tasks, knowledge bank and useful strategies that will help to develop your writing gradually and increase your IELTS score.

Recently we have written about how to write IELTS essay.

Writing an IELTS essay might seem tough for most candidates. However, one can do it with flying colours if he or she knows how to do it and has a lot of practice before the exam. What should you keep in mind whilst writing an essay? How can you prepare yourself to get a higher score on the day of your Writing test? We are sharing some tips and tricks on IELTS Academic Writing Task 2 below.

Familiarize yourself with the most common topics

What is your biggest fear on the day of the exam? The majority of candidates admit that it is the fear that a question will come up that they cannot answer because they know nothing about it. Others tend to think that IELTS examiners look for some “best possible ideas” that answer the question and they will award the highest scores for this. Neither is true. What you have to do is to answer the question and justify your point using arguments and examples. What is important is the relevancy of the ideas.

While preparing for IELTS, read more about different kinds of topics that you can come up with at the exam. This is the easiest and the most effective way to get ready not only for Writing but also for the Reading and Speaking sections of the exam. You can do this by reading international newspapers or magazines and by looking at old essay questions and sample answers.

There are also topics that will never appear in IELTS tasks, and these are ones connected to religion, politics and war. Thus, there is no need to research about these.

READ ABOUT: IELTS Academic Writing topics in 2020

Learn to generate ideas

While planning your essay, you need to brainstorm ideas about a particular topic or aspect. You will usually have to come up with 2-4 ideas depending on the type of your essay. DO NOT start writing an essay if you have no idea what you are going to write about. Generating ideas is a skill, and you need to develop it.

First, try generating ideas without writing an essay. Start with asking yourself wh-questions about the topic of the essay. For example:

Some people think that it is necessary to travel abroad to learn about other countries, but others think that it is not necessary to travel abroad because all the information can be seen on TV and the internet. Discuss both views and give your own opinion.

Who thinks that it is necessary to travel abroad to learn about other countries?

Probably young people. They have access to different exchange programs and international internships.

Why?

They don’t think about saving money, because they are still young, and they don’t care about the time when they retire.

Who thinks that it is not necessary to travel abroad?

Maybe their parents or grandparents. They grew up in the times of deficit. They got used to saving money. They think about retirement.

Where?

People in post-soviet countries like Ukraine or Russia.  In these countries, older generations often live in between poverty and the air line.

This technique will help you generate some initial ideas. You can also try:

• simplifying the question
• imagining your teacher or friend is asking you the question
• generating ideas from the specific example
• using the internet
• developing focus questions (e.g. reason-solution: Why? What can be done?)

Also remember, if you have too many ideas, choose those that are easy to explain.

Structure your essay

When you have come up with the ideas for your essay, be sure you organize them properly in separate paragraphs. Your essay should consist of:

• Introduction (1 paragraph)
• Main body (2-3 paragraphs)
• Conclusion (1 paragraph)

Paragraphs give a clear structure to a piece of writing and they help the reader understand your message. Organise each paragraph around one main idea. Each of your supporting paragraphs should have a specific example that supports and illustrates your main point. If you put your ideas, explanations and examples into a clear structure before you start to write, you will get a higher band score.

READ ABOUT: How to write IELTS essay

Know Grammar, Spelling & Punctuation

Good grammar and accuracy will bring you 25% of the score. Even simple sentences need to be written accurately! Moreover, the highest score you can receive for grammar in IELTS writing if you write only simple and compound sentences is 4 (check IELTS TASK 2 Writing band descriptors). If you aim higher, learn to use a wide range of structures (Passive Voice, Subordinate Clauses, Conditionals, Modal Verbs, etc.), avoid mistakes, and master punctuation. Make sure each sentence you write is complete.

Manage your time properly

As you know, you will have 40 minutes to complete Task 2. Also, remember that Task 2 gives more to your final writing band and so you should make sure that you have enough time after Task 1 to write an essay.

We recommend that you spend at least 1 or 2 minutes thinking about your ideas and how you are going to present them. The last thing you want to do is to go off topic. Keeping your ideas focused and on the task with an outline will improve your writing. After this, divide the ideas into 3 or 4 paragraphs in a logical order. This will not take you long and the structure that this will give your essay will be well worth the time that you spend doing it. You could follow this timeline to complete the task:

plan – 5 minutes

write – 30 minutes

check – 5 minutes.

If you feel that you need more practice in completing Task 2, improve your writing skills and get an IELTS band score evaluation for your essay, sign up for the IELTS Academic Writing self-study course. You can start with a free trial version or purchase access to the full course and get more than 40 hours of practice, lots of strong examples of IELTS Academic essay model answers, tips and strategies from our IELTS experts.

READ ABOUT: 5 easy steps to complete IELTS Academic Writing Task 1

Ever wondered what things to avoid in your IELTS Academic Writing and what to focus on? We’re here to share our experience and expert advice.

In the IELTS Academic exam, you will have to use not only everyday language, but also the academic style. You will have to demonstrate your proficiency when writing an essay and when describing graphs, tables, or maps in the Writing section.

It is evident that the academic style of writing in English is very different from how we correspond or communicate in everyday life. It’s not that emotional, but it has a lot of abstract words. Moreover, it is even more official. For example, if in a conversation with a friend, you can replace almost any word with the word ‘get’, then in the case of academic writing, you should use the synonyms such as ‘obtain’ or ‘acquire’:

In the second experiment, a very clear result was obtained.

The company acquired a million new customers in a year.

So what are the features of academic writing to keep in mind to get a high exam score? This will be discussed below.

SHORT FORMS

These include contractions of auxiliary, modal verbs and the verbs ‘to be’ and ‘to have’. We often use them in colloquial language, but they are considered too informal for academic writing. Therefore, it is necessary to write their full forms. For, example:

it’s = it is, it has

don’t = do not

can’t = cannot

you’ll = you will

should’ve = should have

would’ve = would have

we’re = we are

aren’t = are not

isn’t = is not

shan’t = shall not

let’s = let us

who’s = who is, who has

they’re = they are

doesn’t = does not

We do not recommend using the abbreviations of some words that begin and end with the same letter as the initial form of the word but do not have a full stop at the end. For example: govt (government); dept (department), cwth (commonwealth), Qld (Queensland). In other words, avoid them if they are not used in a particular field of discipline or in a reference or as a quote.

 PERSONAL ADDRESSING

Let’s have a look at two examples below:

If you have an enjoyable job, you are more likely to be successful.

If one has an enjoyable job, one is more likely to be successful.

Of course, we have to give examples in our essays and even show our opinion. However, there should be no personal addressing in the academic writing. In this case, we replaced the personal pronoun with the impersonal one. When the author uses this neutral indefinite pronoun in an essay, he means ‘a person’ when he writes ‘one’.

RECOMMENDED READING: How to write IELTS essay?

Another way to avoid the use of pronouns is to write sentences in a passive voice. For example:

As you can see in figure 1.2, most respondents chose the second option.

As can be seen in figure 1.2, most respondents chose the second option.

You can also use structures with pronoun ‘it’:

As you can see in figure 1.2, most respondents chose the second option.

It is evident from the data in figure 1.2. that most respondents chose the second option.

Remember that you should not to express your opinion, instead refer to what the facts or figures show.

BUT, ALSO, SO

Avoid using these conjunctions, especially at the beginning of a sentence. You can replace them with other, more formal words.

·        Contrasting ideas:

but = however

Many people believe that obesity is caused by fast food. However, it is evident from the data that mainly by lack of exercise.

·        Adding more facts or details:

also = moreover

Fish supplies as with substances that might protect against heart disease. Moreover, in many cultures fish is known as a ‘brain food’.

·        Describing reasons and consequences:

so = as a result

Our ancestors reconsidered the role of clothing. As a result, clothes started to vary according to marital or social status.

ALSO READ: How is IELTS Academic Writing assessed?

RHETORICAL QUESTIONS

A rhetorical question is a question that is not expected to be answered. Authors of the text often write them if they assume that the reader already knows the answer, or if the answer to the question is in the text. Such questions are inappropriate for academic writing: readers may not know the answers. Therefore, it is more appropriate to turn it into a statement. Do not take risks, and in order for your point of view to be understood by the reader (examiner), clearly state it. Look at these two examples:

Should the government be responsible for providing care for elderly people? = It is the responsibility of government to pay for the care of elderly people.

Industrial sites cause vast amounts of environmental pollution, so why do we still use them? = The question surrounding the continued use of industrial sites, given their vast pollution production, still remains.

COLLOQUIALISMS AND SLANG

Slang is an informal language consisting of words and expressions that are not considered appropriate for formal occasions. Use alternatives instead. For example:

kind of = somewhat significant

a couple of = several

basically = fundamentally

Avoid colloquialisms. These are informal words used in everyday speech by educated and uneducated people of all ages. Use synonyms instead. Here are a few examples:

Give =  This chapter gives an overview = This chapter (provides/offers/presents) an overview…

Good = A good example = A (useful/prime) example…

Show = The below figure shows = The below figure (illustrates/demonstrates/reveals)…

If you are getting ready for IELTS Academic or if you are thinking of taking this exam in the future, then you probably know that the Writing section is one of the most difficult parts of the test. And that is exactly what our online IELTS Academic Writing self-study course focuses on. You will not only learn about the features of academic writing, but will also practice describing visuals (Task 1) and writing essays (Task 2), get comments from our IELTS experts and tutors, try full-timed writing with IELTS band score feedback from our automated writing checking system that uses artificial intelligence to evaluate essays. Even more — you will find rules, explanations, examples and exercises to help improve your writing skills.

Recently we wrote about how to get ready for IELTS Academic writing.

As you might know, there are two tasks in the Writing section of IELTS Academic:

– in Task 1 you have to describe a one or two graphs/ processes/ maps etc. in at least 150 words

– in Task 2 you have to write an Academic Essay on the given topic, minimum 250 words.

You have 60 minutes to complete both tasks, and we recommend you to spend 20 minutes on describing a visual and 40 minutes on writing an essay. Remember that Task 2 contributes twice as much to the Writing band score. Therefore, test takers who fail to attempt to answer this task will greatly reduce their chance of achieving a good band.

Unlike Task 1, where there are a limited number of question types and some are more common than others, if you want to do well in Task 2 you should prepare ideas for common topics and then practice applying them to tasks given. These essay questions vary according to the essay type and their number is unlimited, but the number of essay types remains the same:

• opinion essay
• discussion essay
• solution essay
• advantage/disadvantage essay
• direct question essay (two question essay).

WE ALSO WROTE ABOUT: 5 easy steps to complete IELTS Academic Writing Task 1

There are about 20 different topics for IELTS Academic Writing Task 2, which you cannot change even if you do not like them or are not familiar with them. In other words, we recommend to research, prepare and practice writing on various topics before your exam. Here are the most common ones:

1. Art
2. Communication and Personality
3. Crime and Punishment
4. Culture and Society
5. Economics
6. Education
7. Entertainment
8. Environment
9. Family and Children
10. Food and Farming
11. Global Issues
12. Health
13. Language
14. Media and Advertising
15. Money and Business
16. Reading
17. Science and Technology
18. Space Exploration
19. Sport
20. Transport
21. Travel
22. Work

In addition, each topic is divided into subtopics that you should prepare.

READ ABOUT: IELTS Academic Writing tasks in 2020

Let’s have a look at “Art”. What subtopics should you consider? Think about censorship of art and artists, creativity, art at school, the benefits of art for individuals and society, funding etc..
What kind of task will you have to complete? Here are a few examples:

1. Studying art in school improves students’ performance in other subjects, because it is easier for multi-skilled students to learn new things. That is why art should be obligatory in schools. Do you agree or disagree?

2. Many museums and historic sites are mainly visited by tourists, not local people. Why is it the case? What can be done to attract local people?
3. Many countries spend a lot of money on art. Some people think investment in art is necessary, but others say the money should be spent on improving health and education. Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.
4. Many museums charge an admission fee while others are free. Do you think that the advantages of charging admission to museums outweigh the disadvantages?

As you can see, there can be thousands of essay questions for you to answer at your IELTS exam. Moreover, questions are changing from test to test and there are no chances you will get the same question as your friend answered a couple of years ago. However, you can practice writing essays using the ideas from previous tests and keeping in mind the algorithms of answering different question types.

Here is a list of websites where you can find Academic Writing Task 2 questions submitted by test-takers from all over the world:
Academic Writing Task 2 Topics

100 IELTS Essay Topics for IELTS Writing

IELTS Essay Topics Jan & Feb 2020

Recent IELTS Writing Topics and Questions 2020

We highly recommend you reading about How to write IELTS essay.

As you work on your English, sooner or later you might come across some odd phrases that don’t make any sense in your language. See, how would you react if your friend told you to ‘break your leg’ before the day of your IELTS exam? Probably, you would think this person is only pretending to be your friend. Doing an exam with a broken leg in plaster isn’t really funny.

However, such groups of words in English have hidden meanings,  and we call them ‘idioms’. As a rule, such meanings aren’t clear when reading the words literally. Good news, there’s no need to be scared when someone wishes you to ‘break your leg’ because they are actually wishing you good luck in English. Now you can see how confusing idioms can be! They can mean the total opposite of what they seem to mean.

Why are they helpful? Well, textbooks don’t usually teach you how to use idioms, but if you use them in conversations, it can show how skilled you are in English. Look at the public IELTS Speaking band descriptors. If you aim to score band 7 and more, you have to make use of idiomatic vocabulary.

READ ABOUT: Common mistakes made by candidates in IELTS Speaking

Although using idiomatic language is important in the IELTS speaking exam, it must sound natural. You have to be comfortable with it. So, be very careful with using idioms, and don’t use a lot of them. We have prepared 20 idioms for you to learn about and when they can be used.  Think about how you can use these idioms to talk about yourself and which questions they could be used to answer.

1. TO BE LIKE CHALK AND CHEESE

If two people are like chalk and cheese, they are completely different from each other.

My brother and I are like chalk and cheese.

2. DOWN TO EARTH

If someone is down to earth, they are practical, reasonable, and friendly.

The players like the coach because he’s down to earth and honest with them.

3. THE BLACK SHEEP OF THE FAMILY

The member of the family who seems to get into trouble or has made bad choices.

She had different interests, and we stupidly thought of her as a black sheep of the family.

4. OFF THE BEATEN TRACK

If the places is off the beaten track, it’s a quiet and unusual place, not known or popular with many people.

We wanted to find a camping site that was a little bit off the beaten track.

5. TO LET YOUR HAIR DOWN

To be more relaxed than usual and enjoy yourself.

We always go to Ibiza. It’s the best place to let your hair down.

6. A WHOLE NEW BALLGAME

If something is a whole new ball game, it’s a completely different situation, often one that is difficult or that you know little about.

We’d done a lot of climbing in Scotland but the Himalayas were a whole new ballgame.

7. AS IF THERE WAS NO TOMORROW

If someone does something as if there was no tomorrow, they do it with no regard for the future consequences.

Americans at home continue to consume oil supplies as is there was no tomorrow.

READ ABOUT: Which IELTS should you take: general or academic?

8. GET (ONE’S) SKATES ON

Use this idiom when you want someone to hurry up.

Get your skates on, or we’ll be late!

9. BELIEVE IT OR NOT

Use this phrase when you are saying something that is true but surprising.

Believe it or not, they got married after knowing each other only a week.

10. OUT OF THE BLUE

If something happens out of the blue, it is completely unexpected.

One evening, Angela phoned me out of the blue and said she was in some kind of trouble.

11. ONCE IN A BLUE MOON

This idiom is used to say that something happens not very often.

My sister lives in Alaska, so I only see her once in a blue moon.

12. AT THE CRACK OF DAWN

It describes something that is happening very early in the morning, especially at the time when the sun first appears.

Farmers are often away at the crack of dawn.

13. TO BURN THE CANDLE AT BOTH ENDS

We use this idiom to say that someone works or does other things from early in the morning until late at night and so get very little rest.

Back in the twenties, the Millay sisters were known in New York society for burning the candle at both ends.

14. TO LAND (SOMETHING)

If someone lands something, they successfully acquire something, such as a job or piece of information.

The economy is still in terrible shape—I haven’t been able to land a job for months.

Tom landed a really juicy story about the senator’s ex-wife.

READ ABOUT: Opportunities you have with IELTS Certificate

15. TO MAKE ENDS MEET

Use this idiom to describe the situation when someone has just enough money to pay for the things that they need.

It’s not easy to make ends meet with a big family, but somehow we manage.

16. TO THE BEST OF MY KNOWLEDGE

From what I know and understand from the information that I have.

To the best of my knowledge, the chemicals which were found are not dangerous.

17. LIKE CLOCKWORK

Something that is like clockwork runs easily, automatically, and always in the same way.

The charity event was well organized and ran like clockwork.

18. COME RAIN OR SHINE

When we use this idiom, we are saying to someone not matter what, rain or shine, regardless of the circumstances, it will be done.

Every morning at about 5am, come rain or shine, James leaves his home on his morning run.

19. ALL THINGS CONSIDERED

We use this phrase when we consider all the parts or events of a situation.

It wasn’t the best game I’ve ever seen. But, all things considered, it wasn’t too bad either.

20. AT THE BACK OF (ONE’S) MIND

If something is at the back of your mind, you are aware of it, though it is not the main thing you are thinking about.

Whenever I park in the city, the fear of being towed is always at the back of my mind.

RECENTLY, WE HAVE WRITTEN ABOUT: IELTS Academic Writing Tasks in 2020

IELTS is an exam that tests your ability to communicate, listen, read and write in English in less than three hours, to be precise, in 2 hours and 45 minutes. It consists of four sections:

• Speaking
• Listening
• Reading
• Writing

Usually, speaking is tested a day before or on the day of the whole test after Listening, Reading and Writing. It depends on the center and on you, as while registering for the exam you can choose convenient dates. The testing center offers to take Speaking on the same day or separately (but not always).

It should be noted that all candidates take the Speaking and Listening sections at the same time, regardless of which test module they choose General or Academic. The tasks are the same for all candidates. This usually happens in one large room or hall.

After listening, you do Reading and Writing without leaving the room. The tasks in your paper, if you, for example, take General IELTS, will be different from the tasks of another candidate who takes Academic IELTS. However, you will still not know about it, as you are not allowed to talk to each other during the test.

LISTENING

Listening is the first written part of the exam. The audio recordings are played only once. They contain various accents, including British, Australian, New Zealand, American and Canadian.

You will have to write your answers in the question paper while listening, and at the end of the test you are given 10 minutes to transfer your answers to the answer sheet. When transferring answers onto the answer sheet, you should be very careful as your wrong spelling and grammar will be taken into account and affect the overall score.

In total, there are four tasks of ten questions each. The questions are structured in such a way that the answers are displayed in the order in which they sound in the audio. The first two tasks deal with situations that occur in everyday social contexts. The other two are situations that occur in educational and learning contexts.

READ ABOUT: Common mistakes made by candidates in IELTS Speaking

SPEAKING

This part of the exam tests your ability to communicate in English. The examiner will record your conversation. It lasts not more than 10–15 minutes. This part of the test consists of three tasks.

Task 1. In this part, the examiner introduces himself/herself and checks the identity of the candidate. The examiner will give you some general questions about yourself and a number of familiar topics, such as home, family, work, training, and interests. This part of the test lasts four to five minutes.

Task 2.The examiner will give you a task card in which you have to talk about a specific topic. You will have one minute to prepare before speaking. Your monologue should last one to two minutes. After two minutes, the examiner will stop you. He/she will then ask one or two questions about the same topic.

Task 3. The examiner will ask additional questions about the topic of the previous task. You will have the opportunity to analyze and discuss the problem more deeply, to justify your opinion. This part of the test lasts four to five minutes.

READING

The Reading section consists of 40 questions that test a wide range of reading skills. These include understanding general ideas, details, finding information in the text, understanding logical arguments and attitudes, views and goals of the authors.

The IELTS General Training exam contains abstracts from books, magazines, newspapers, announcements, advertisements, reference books, and manuals, i.e. materials you would meet every day if you lived or worked in an English-speaking environment.

IELTS Academic contains three long texts that range from descriptive and factual to discursive and analytical. These are the texts from coursebooks, periodicals, magazines and newspapers, i.e. suitable for people entering universities or those who wish to pursue further studies or research.

READ ABOUT: Tips and resources to get ready for IELTS Reading

WRITING

You will have 60 minutes to complete this part of the exam. There are 2 tasks in each exam module.

IELTS General Training exam covers general topics.

Task 1. You will be given a situation, and have to write a letter requesting additional information or explaining the situation. The letter can be personal, semi-formal or formal in style. Write at least 150 words.

Task 2. Write an essay in response to a point of view, argument, or a problem. The essay can be quite personal in style. At least 250 words.

For IELTS Academic Training, the tasks cover general topics and are suitable for students entering undergraduate or postgraduate studies.

Task 1. You will see a graph, chart or diagram and you will need to describe, summarize or explain the information in your own words. For example, you need to describe and explain the data, describe the stages in the process, how something works, or describe the object or event.

It should be written in academic or semi-formal/neutral styles and cover the most important points. Some minor details can be omitted. Write at least 150 words.

Task 2. Write an essay regarding a point of view, argument, or problem. Use formal style. At least 250 words.

ALSO, READ ABOUT: IELTS Academic Writing tasks in 2020

There are thousands of resources for both IELTS Academic writing tasks that you can make good use of. Also, there are plenty of model answers but it does not mean that your practice should include memorising them as examiners can easily spot such answers and you will risk having your entire test rendered invalid.

What to do to improve your writing skills and practice for the exam? Take a look at some of our advice, and you’re sure to ace the IELTS writing test.

Understand the requirements for both tasks

The IELTS examiners use detailed performance descriptors when assessing your writing. They include: 

• Task achievement (25 percent);
• Coherence and cohesion (25 percent);
• Lexical resource (25 percent); 
• Grammatical range and accuracy (25 percent).

Your final score will be the average of the four criteria.

Task achievement means you answer the question. Coherence and cohesion means you structure your essay in paragraphs, and even the paragraphs within themselves. Lexical resource means vocabulary. Grammatical range and accuracy means that you use wide range of structures with full flexibility and accuracy. 

You can check British Council’s website to read Task 1 and Task 2 requirements in detail.

Start practicing as early as possible

Take one sample question per day and write your answer. Luckily, there is a huge selection of IELTS Writing  questions for you on the Internet. By doing so, you will learn about the test format,  types of tasks, review your answers and compare them with model answers.

IELTS Academic offers practice questions and sample answers for Task 1 and Task 2.

IELTS.org has downloadable Academic Writing sample with answer sheets and examiner comments.

ESL Lounge has a range of exercises that give good practice of what you will face in the IELTS examination.

Always make an outline

If you want to keep focused as you write and save your time, it is necessary to make an outline of your essay or graph description. If you organize your ideas, you will also know what language you should use to complete the task. 

The outline of the introduction should include a thesis sentence or important points to include (e.g. in Task 1 write what information someone should know about these charts/graphs/diagrams.). For the body paragraphs, your outline only needs to reflect the main topic for the paragraph, the evidence to be used, and, if appropriate, how it supports your thesis statement. There is no need to write an outline of the conclusions because restate your arguments and do not present any new ideas.

Focus on language

As you prepare for the IELTS exam, you should be working to build your vocabulary for a variety of topics. To get a high score you need to show the examiner a range of different words. 

First of all, write down all the new words and phrases you read in the sample essays. Incorporate them into your writing as you feel comfortable and as they are appropriate. This way, you will improve your vocabulary through the practice course. 

Secondly, learn some vocabulary to describe trends and key features in Task 1. IELTS Liz has created a list of verbs and nouns, adjectives and adverbs as well as time phrases you can use while writing your response. Learn vocabulary to describe graphs, maps and linking words to write essays.

Use online tools that will help you check your grammar and spelling. Hemingway App, Grammarly, After the Deadline, and ProWritingAid are only a few to name that can help you identify the most common mistakes you make. They will be helpful if you are going to take a computer version of the test. You should look for small mistakes in spelling and grammar. The more mistakes you make, the lower your score will be, so best ensure you make as little as possible.

You are assessed on your ability to use correct and appropriate grammar and on the range of sentence types that you produce. If you do not have much time to prepare or have already completed the preparation course, check IELTS-exam.net for grammar exercises. 

IELTSbuddy offers explanations and exercises that  will highlight some specific things related to IELTS so you can see how they are relevant.

Although IELTS does not have a separate section on exam for grammar, you will need to have an excellent grammar to get a high score. IELTS worldwide has a list of grammar issues you will have to review for IELTS.

Learn to punctuate correctly. It helps your readers to follow and understand your message, in the same way that using pauses and intonation help your listeners while you are speaking, and it matters for your score!

Don’t forget about timing and word count

Always practice writing on the answer sheet. It will help you know the amount of words you write on one sheet, and you will not need to do the word count on the day of the exam and waste your time on it.

Remember to spend not more than 20 minutes on Task 1 and 40 minutes on Task 2 as you prepare.

In the IELTS Academic exam, the first task of the Writing section will have one or more graphs, tables,  maps, or flowcharts, and you will need to summarize the information, compare data from these graphs, show differences or similarities, identify major trends or describe the process.

You will have to write at least 150 words. It is recommended to spend 20 minutes on writing the answer to this task. How should one describe factual data from a diagram to avoid assumptions, even if these are well-known facts? How to write so that the reader (examiner) can easily trace the trends of the chart and understand the actual information about the chart? This will be discussed further.

Step 1. Read the task carefully.

 The instructions for the task always contain a short sentence summarizing the information (the prompt). Also, graphs usually have a name. Read these things first, because they give a pretty good overview of what the visuals contain. Usually they are in bold. This summarized information will be very useful for writing the first paragraph of your answer where you need to “introduce” the visuals.

Step 2. Analyze the visuals. 

Before you begin describing the graphs right away, look them carefully and analyze them: look for general trends, changes, and key features to understand how you are going to structure your information. You also have to choose which information to leave out and which to include in the response. Make a note of it.

Try to find an interesting angle to look at a table or graph. You can start simply. Can you see if the time is shown in the graph? If so, is the time represented in hours, days, weeks, months, etc.? Does the graph show any trends: rise, fall, fluctuations, etc.? The line can lead up or down, or the pie chart sections will have different sizes. Do you notice any sequence of events or steps in the process?

READ MORE: How to write IELTS essay

For example, in the flowchart. Do the visuals classify different types of things? This happens in tables or pie charts. Are the numbers written in the hundreds, thousands, millions, percentages, decimal numbers? And so on.

Another way to approach the visuals is to imagine you had to do a report at a meeting or speak at a university seminar, what information would be most relevant to your audience?

Step 3. Structure your response.

After you have considered all the possible trends shown in the graph or chart, start writing your answer. We recommend structuring it as follows:

If you find that you do not have enough information to write 150 words, describe in detail everything that has changed in trends and add data from a graph or table.

On the other hand, if you have too much information to fit in 150-200 words, try to pick only the most important trends.

Step 4. Check what you have written. 

Be sure to check your response for spelling and grammar errors. Also, check with the visuals and make sure the information you used is accurate.

Don’t forget to use coordinating and subordinating conjunctions and other linking devices to make the text you write look coherent. Remember about tenses in sentences. Use synonyms and appropriate vocabulary (academic).

Step 5. Allocate your time properly.

Proper timing is a guarantee that on the day of the exam, you will not worry and have time to do everything. Therefore, as you prepare for the exam, keep track of how long it takes you to complete the task. Get a mock test closer to the exam date. It would be nice if you fit into the following time frame:

• Reading the instructions and planning the response: 3 – 5 minutes
• Writing the text: 10 – 15 minutes.
• Proofreading and editing: 3-5 minutes

READ MORE: Get ready for IELTS Listening

Self-preparation for IELTS includes working on all parts of the test. Where and how can one better get ready for IELTS Reading?

Both IELTS tests, academic and general, check different reading skills, such as reading for gist, understanding main ideas, details, recognizing authors’ attitudes, how the argument develops in the text, and so on.

IELTS uses different texts to test these skills. You can see such texts as articles from periodicals, professional magazines, books and newspapers at IELTS Academic. Texts related to daily life, work and general interests, such as announcements, booklets, leaflets, handbooks, notes, newspaper and magazine articles could be seen at IELTS General.

We suggest using a number of resources to develop your English reading skills. These materials are very well suited as samples for IELTS Reading.

IELTS Reading Lessons

Reading Practices from IELTSLiz will help you familiarize yourself with the texts and tasks for IELTS Reading. These are not test samples but lessons designed specifically for reading practice. There are lessons for different levels with different types of tasks and answers to them.

IELTSBuddy offers a series of lessons that cover all types of questions you might encounter in the IELTS Academic test. Each lesson includes reading with 600 to 800 words, questions and answer keys.

IELTS-up offers a series of lessons and reading exercises. This site also has IELTS Reading practice tests.

Useful websites

In addition to doing IELTS practice tests or lessons, you should regularly read in English. Of course, do not limit yourself to IELTS hands-on materials. Reading English newspapers and magazines is a great way to develop reading skills. Many texts for IELTS Reading have been selected from the following sources.

• Aside from National Geographic, which covers environmental issues, culture, nature and animals and is a very showy website with many amazing pictures.
• BBC News is a great resource with academic English, and it keeps up with current world issues and, of course.
• The Economist covers world politics, economics, science and technology and offers 3 articles a week for free if you sign up. There are other useful resources:
• http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/  with free texts and exercises on business and work.
• http://historynewsnetwork.org/: an American site devoted to the history both in the US and around the world, with a variety of articles on current events.
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/ : news, thoughts and more from the UK’s most renowned media. Also a good site for listening practice.

IELTS Practice Reading Tests

IELTS Online Tests.com offers a few good trial tests of IELTS Reading. Most candidates take General IELTS, but you may need Academic IELTS for certain professions and university programs. IELTS General Training and IELTS Academic Training can be practiced on this site.

TakeIELTS is an official website of the British Council, where you can take a reading test. Just choose general or academic. You will have 1 hour to complete all 3 sections of the IELTS Reading section.

IELTS-Exam is a test sample resource for all IELTS skills. Also on this site you will be able to take the Mock Test, which will not only introduce you to the IELTS format, but also give you an idea of how you will take the test. In one hour, you will pass a full test, which will improve your time management skills and identify realistic expectations of your potential results.

Read More:

• What is IELTS?
• Which IELTS should you take: general or academic?
• Opportunities you have with IELTS certificate
• How not to pass IELTS Speaking: common mistakes made by candidates
• IELTS Academic Writing self-study online course