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Preparing for IELTS

Instructor: Enrico

Lesson One

Todays Grammar Theme Present Tenses

Part A: Context Listening

i) We will start with a context listening exercise. You will hear a person interviewing a student for a survey

about what people do in their free time. Before you listen, look at the pictures. Discuss what activities you

think the student does in his free time.

ii) Listen and check if you were right. Now decide if the following statements are true or false. If a statement is

false, write the correction.

iii) Look at your answers above. Now answer the following questions.

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Part B: Focus on Grammar

Simple Present Tense

Present Continuous

These are the two most basic tenses in the English language.

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State Verbs

The present continuous is not usually used with state verbs. The meaning of the verb is usually a general truth

instead of something temporary. These verbs describe thought, feeling, senses, possession and description.

Now to some grammar exercises in order to make sure we can use these tenses appropriately!

1. Choose the best ending to each sentence.

Now try and make your own sentences with similar sentence patterns!

_______________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________

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2. Fill in the gaps with the correct form of verbs in brackets.

3. Fill in the gaps with the verbs in the box in the correct present tense.

4. Look at the following extracts. There are six incorrect verbs. Find and correct them.

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Part C: Test Practice

Lets practice the skills we have learnt with real exercises from the IELTS exam. These question types do

show up in the exam so be prepared to respond to them with what youve learnt in class throughout this course.

We will now see some questions from Listening Section 1 in the IELTS exam. Please remember that

recordings are NOT played twice in the exam, so think on your feet, make notes and listen carefully!

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Part D: Time for Writing

i) Today and next lesson we will look at one of the most common types of essays students are required to

write: advantage/disadvantage essays. We will base our essay around the topic Living Abroad.

Here is a typical essay question: What are the advantages and disadvantages of living abroad?

To answer this question well, you need to:

- write an introduction to the topic

- think of two advantages and provide clear examples

- think of two disadvantages and provide clear examples

- write a short conclusion giving your overall opinion

- write a minimum of 250 words

Take your time and plan well. Remember the time limit for this task is around 40 minutes.

ii) Was that difficult? Now we will learn how to structure our essays and analyze other texts to find points

that we can use in our own essays.

1. Read the article on the next page, page 7.

2. Complete this table with the advantages and disadvantages of moving away mentioned in the article.

3. Add some ideas of your own to the above table.

4. Find the words or expressions in the article that have a similar meaning to these definitions.

- clear arrangements (paragraph 1) = concrete plans

- had jobs organized (paragraph 1) =

- hurried (paragraph 1) =

- needed to see new places and have new experiences (paragraph 2) =

- give myself extra time to (do something) (paragraph 2) =

- organized programme or course (paragraph 3) =

- I couldnt believe the moment was real (paragraph 4) =

- beginning a new life in a different place (paragraph 5) =

- see more of the world (paragraph 6) =

- improve my mood (paragraph 7) =

- full of life (paragraph 8) =

What other expressions are you unfamiliar with? Tell the instructor to explain it to you.

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iii) Good job on getting through the first task. Now lets look at how the essay question would be presented in

the IELTS exam and how to approach the topic.

Now read this model essay that is answering the above prompt.

Can you find the advantages and disadvantages the writer is trying to present?

Underline them and discuss with your instructor.

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iv) We now move on structuring good introductions and conclusions. Next lesson we will cover organizing

good essay bodies and advanced essay techniques. For now focus on writing good beginnings and endings!

1. Introductions

Writing a clear introduction gives you self-confidence and also acts as a great first impression for examiners.

Now you will learn a formula that will help you create good introductions for this type of essay.

Look at the introduction to the model essay you read earlier. It consists of four sentences. Complete the table

by matching the correct step from the formula (a-d) to the correct sentence in the introduction (1-4).

a. Add an extra sentence to support the first.

b. Focus on the question in your own words.

c. Tell the reader your plan.

d. Write a general sentence about the topic (living/working abroad).

Now read this question and a model introduction to it. The four steps in the introduction are in the wrong

order. Rewrite it correctly, then think of your own.

Model introduction:

In this essay I will look at both sides and try to draw some conclusions. Many have at least one change of

career at some point in their lives. Nowadays, it is becoming more and more common for people to take two

jobs. But what are the benefits of this situation, and what are the drawbacks?

Try to apply these steps to write four-sentence introductions for the following exam questions.

1. What are the pros and cons for children of watching television?

2. What are the advantages and disadvantages of using CCTV cameras to fight crime?

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2. Conclusions

At the end of any type of IELTS essay, you need to write a short conclusion. Remember there is no such thing

as a right or wrong conclusion, focus instead on clarity and freedom of expression to impress examiners!

Look at the conclusion from the model essay you read earlier.

Now heres an alternative conclusion to the same essay.

A good conclusion needs

a. a general, one-sentence summary

b. a focused summary of the main points dont use the same vocabulary again though

3. something new / your opinion

Can you find those three points in both of the above conclusions?

Now you know the formula for a good conclusion, try and rewrite this conclusion in the correct order.

However, it can also be very difficult to cope with the new culture and language. In my view, having the chance

to see life in another country can open up lots of exciting new experiences. It is important to be happy

wherever you are, as the grass is not always greener on the other side. To sum up, living abroad is a challenging

experience that has both ups and downs.

Try and write conclusions for the exam questions printed at the bottom of the previous page, page 9.

As homework, choose one of the two essays and write a full essay on that topic at home. Remember to

structure your introductions and conclusions as we have learnt in this class. Most importantly, time yourself

and try to keep to both the time and word limit suggested at the beginning of the Time for Writing section.