雅思考官simon给烤鸭的建议advice-for-ielts.doc

IELTS Vocabulary: difficult wordsRelated to yesterdays lesson, heres a question that a student sent me last year:Hi Simon, when you talk about Band 7+ vocabulary, you always talk about two or three words (a phrase basically). But I am trying to learn few heavy words like cardinal, multitudinous, prodigious, prestidigitation, peregrination etc. Can you please tell us what is more important for IELTS: heavy words or good phrases?My answer to this question is simple: good phrases are much more important. The words listed by the student above would seem forced and unnatural, whereas good phrases show your ability to use words together like a native speaker would.Please dont learn the heavy words mentioned by the student. Instead, focus on learning good collocations for IELTS topics.Saturday, October 05, 2013IELTS Advice: words that I would banI ban my students from using certain words in the IELTS test. The easiest way for me to explain why I ban these words is that most native speakers wouldnt use them if they were doing the test. Here are a few of my least favourites:1 Moreover- Native speakers hardly ever use this word, and students tend to use it wrongly. Just use furthermore or also.2 Demerits- Its ok to talk about the merits of something, but the word demerits seems unnatural. Just use disadvantages or drawbacks.3 Hence / Thusly- These words sound too formal and old-fashioned. Just use therefore or as a result.Remember that topic vocabulary is the key to a high score, not difficult words.Sunday, September 29, 2013IELTS Advice: dont worry about the examiners opinionSome students are worried about expressing their real opinions in the speaking and writing exams. They think that the examiner might disagree and therefore give a lower score.Dont worry about this. The examiner only cares about your language. Express your opinions, talk about your interests, and give examples from your own experience.Sunday, September 15, 2013IELTS Advice: different teachers, different methodsDifferent teachers, books and websites will give you different advice, methods and techniques, and its important to remember that there isnt a best way to approach the test. For example, its possible to achieve a band 9 in writing using various different essay writing approaches.It only becomes a problem when you start to get confused about which method is right or which person you should believe. If you get confused, heres the solution: choose one method, believe in it, and persist with it.Saturday, September 14, 2013IELTS Advice: noticing your mistakesLast week I suggested that mistakes can be stepping stones that help you to improve your English. But you need to notice your mistakes before you can learn from them.Here are some tips about noticing and learning from mistakes:4 The most obvious strategy is to get someone (e.g. a teacher) to check your written work and correct your mistakes.5 Before your teacher checks your work, did you check it carefully yourself?6 Study your teachers corrections, and make sure you understand what you did wrong.7 Pay special attention to any repeated mistakes that you make.8 If you have a one-to-one teacher, you could also ask him or her to listen for mistakes that you make when speaking.9 Try recording yourself. Listen to the recording, and transcribe it. Analyse what you said carefully and ask someone to check it.Sunday, September 08, 2013IELTS Advice: mistakes are stepping stonesEvery time you make a mistake, you have an opportunity to learn something. Use your mistakes as stepping stones to take you closer to your goal.Students questions1) In the reading test, are the answers for summary completion questions in order in the passage?Usually, yes. Ive seen one or two summary questions where one of the answers breaks this rule, but you can assume that answers will almost always be in order in the passage.2) Is it ok to write T, F, NG instead of True, False, Not given?Yes, Ive been told that T, F, NG is fine (although I prefer to write the full words).3) My teacher told me to avoid using Firstly, Secondly, Finally because too many other students will use the same words. What do you think?I disagree. Examiners are not comparing you with other students, and they care much more about the content between the linking words than the linking words themselves. Read this lesson.4) Is there a maximum number of words in the writing test?No, there is no maximum.5) What linkers can I use to improve my lexical resource score?Linkers dont help your lexical resource (vocabulary) score! They only help you to organise your essay. If you want to improve your vocabulary score, you need to use good words and phrases that relate to the question topic (e.g. global warming is vocabulary for the environment topic).Sunday, August 25, 2013IELTS Advice: whats the secret?I try to persuade my students that there is no secret to language learning. If there is a secret, its that you need to work hard, practise and try to enjoy the process.I often compare learning a language to learning the piano. Nobody would expect to find a secret method to take them from intermediate to advanced on the piano - why do we expect language learning to be different?Saturday, August 24, 2013IELTS Speaking Advice: get to the pointYesterday I wrote that you should avoid using long phrases to begin your answers. So what should you use instead? Native speakers say things like:- I think.- I guess.- Well,.These words/phrases might seem less impressive, but you have to remember that examiners are not impressed by the long phrases either! The important thing is to get to the point of your answer.Saturday, August 17, 2013IELTS Vocabulary AdviceThis is a question that students often ask:Millions of students take the IELTS exam in my country, so should I try to write differently and use original ideas?Heres my answer:No, dont try to write differently. This will lead to mistakes. Remember, each examiner only reads 10 to 20 students essays, so you are not competing with millions of students.The key is to write clear English, answer the question, and try to include some good vocabulary related to the topic. Forget completely about the other students, and forget about trying to use strange words or phrases.Saturday, August 10, 2013IELTS Writing Advice: keep checking the questionOn Wednesday I showed you a task 2 essay that I wrote with some of my students. After reading the essay again, I noticed that we hadnt fully answered all parts of the question. Paragraph 3 needed to say more about alternative sources of funding for artists.One thing that this shows you is that nobody is perfect! A more important lesson to learn is that you should keep checking the question as you write your essay. Make sure you cover everything that the question asks you to cover.Saturday, July 27, 2013IELTS Advice: why do my scores fluctuate?Students often wonder why their scores fluctuate, especially in the writing and speaking tests. One reason could be that they dont have a method; they approach the exam in a different way every time.You can only measure your progress if you use the same method every time you take the test. If you always approach the exam in the same way, you will know when you have done well or badly, and if your scores go up or down, you will probably know why.Sunday, July 21, 2013IELTS Advice: understanding is only the first stepIts easy to read something (e.g. a lesson on this site) and think that you understand it. But understanding is not the same as using.Can you really USE everything that you have read?Can you use it correctly, without any mistakes?Look again at yesterdays lesson about lead to. Im sure you understand these words, but not many students are able to use them accurately. This is important because it could make the difference between a band 6 and a band 7.Try to think about these steps when you are studying:10 Understanding a word is only the first step (e.g. lead to means cause)11 The next step is seeing how words are used (e.g. lead to + noun)12 Try to use what you have learnt13 Ask a teacher to correct your work14 Learn from your mistakesSunday, July 14, 2013IELTS Advice: for people with 6.5When students are stuck on band 6.5 in writing, they often think that they need a new technique, a new book or some new advice. This is wrong!If you have a 6.5, it means that you are already getting band 7 in 50% of the scoring criteria. For example, you might be getting 7 for task response and 7 for organisation, but 6 for vocabulary and 6 for grammar (examiners cant give half marks in these criteria). Just a small improvement in one area will take you to band 7 overall (e.g. 7,7,7,6 = band 7).If you are getting band 6.5, your method is fine. Dont change what youre doing; just try to find a small improvement in one area.Saturday, July 06, 2013IELTS Advice: be more than readyIf you are able to get a band 7 score when you do a test at home, can you be confident that youll get a band 7 in the real test? Probably not.The stress of a real exam means that your performance level will probably drop, so youll need to be more than ready. In other words, you probably need to be achieving band 7.5 when you do practice tests in the comfort of your home. Only then can you be confident of getting a band 7 under exam conditions.Sunday, June 23, 2013IELTS Advice: identify the problemMany students ask me for advice about how to improve their scores. Or they ask me to explain why they didnt get higher scores in their exams.Unfortunately, I cant give good advice if I dont know the person. To give good advice, I need to be able to identify the problem, and the only way to do that is by speaking to the student and reading some of his/her essays.So, heres my tip for today: If you want to improve your score, first you need to identify what your problems are. You might need to invest in a few lessons with a teacher who can help you with this.Sunday, June 16, 2013IELTS Advice: small words can also impressIn Thursdays lesson I wrote that examiners would be impressed by the words huts, dock and tip. This would probably surprise most students, so Ill explain.The three words would impress the examiner because they fit the description perfectly. As one person pointed out in a comment below that lesson, most students would probably use the word hotel to describe the accommodation for tourists shown on the map. Only a native speaker or an advanced learner of English would know that small buildings to accommodate tourists on an island would probably be called huts. Click here to see a real example.Its the same with dock and tip. Not everyone would know that the perfect verb to describe the parking of a boat is to dock. And not everyone would know that tip is the perfect word for the end point of a landmass.Saturday, June 15, 2013Students questions1. Is it ok to use rhetorical questions in writing task 2?No, dont put any type of question in your essays. It isnt considered appropriate academic style.2. What is the difference between IDP and the British Council?The IELTS exam is the same wherever you take it. IDP, the British Council and Cambridge University work together to make the test.3. When describing a map (writing task 1), can we use north, south, east, west even if no compass is shown?Yes, I often do. I think its fine to assume that the top of a map is north.4. The speaking examiner stopped me before I had spoken for 2 minutes. Is that a bad sign?First, I dont recommend that you time yourself in the exam, so you shouldnt really know how long you spoke for. Examiners sometimes stop candidates when it is clear that the person has nothing left to say. If you spoke for at least one minute and said some good things, dont worry.5. Is it possible to get band 7 if my essays are unfinished or under length?Its possible, but not easy. Youll need to get really high scores for vocabulary, grammar and organisation.Sunday, June 09, 2013IELTS Advice: before you retake the examSome students retake the exam too often. The normal result is that they get similar scores each time, and they waste a lot of money.Before you retake the exam, ask yourself some questions: What specific areas have I worked to improve since my last exam? How do I know that I have improved? Can I get higher scores when Im practising than the scores I need?Heres an example of an ideal response to these questions:Since my last exam, Ive been doing a lot of work to improve my main body paragraphs for writing task 2. I now spend more time planning and organising my ideas before I start writing, so my paragraphs are a lot better. My teacher noticed this improvement and gave my most recent essay a band 7. I only need a 6.5.Saturday, June 08, 2013IELTS Advice: using memorised phrasesIs it acceptable to use memorised phrases in the writing and speaking tests? Well, it depends. Take the sentence below as an example. A student asked me whether it can be used at the beginning of a letter (general writing task 1).I hope this letter nds you well. Sorry I didnt write to you earlier, but Ive been working at out since the moment I arrived home.Good use:If the question tells you to begin by explaining to your friend why you havent contacted him/her for a while, then this sentence would be perfect.Bad use:However, if the question does not tell you to explain why you didnt write earlier, the sentence is irrelevant. It will be clear to the examiner that you have used that phrase because it looks good, and not because it fits the question.Can you see the difference? The examiner will only be impressed if your memorised phrases fit the question perfectly.Sunday, June 02, 2013Students questions1. Can I ask for an