IELTS with Fiona: a comprehensive guide to IELTS

In this lesson, you'll learn how to use the words you DON'T KNOW to get the right answers!

It's a difficult Academic Reading Part 3, which contains several scientific terms that might cause confusion.

But I will show you how IELTS uses these words for gapfills, and you'll learn the 6 'triggers' that indicate the answer.

Get the full video lesson in the Bronze Membership on my website, and in the full Members Academy.

This month, we've been exploring the huge topic of MONEY in the Members Academy.

It comes up in ALL parts of the test, so in this lesson, we examine two very similar General Training Texts in order to learn more about the topic of government benefit systems and the allowances that you might be entitled to.

Each country's benefit system is different, so it's really worth a listen as you'll learn valuable information and keywords.

This is a lovely reading about forced rhubarb: its history and how it is grown and harvested.

There are 3 question sets:

• Matching Headings
• Multiple Choice
• Gapfill

In this lesson you'll learn more about the general topic of FOOD and how this topic is tested in all parts of the IELTS test.

Get the full lesson in the Bronze Academy on my website.

In this lesson, we'll analyse a Part 1 Reading text with the purpose of improving our understanding and use of prepositions.

First, we go through the True, False and Not Given questions, followed by the Gapfill questions and then we go back to the first paragraph to analyse the prepositions.

This is something that I recommend you do regularly - spend 5-10 minutes 'noticing' language from real contexts like the Reading and Listening tests.

In the lesson you'll learn how to do this yourself and build up your independent learning skills. The vocabulary from the lesson will also help you with Writing Task 1 (Describing a Natural Cycle).

Get more help with Prepositions, and find my Preposition Workbook on my website:

Did you know that uou can use "a/an + adjective" before a statistic to express your reaction to the number?

This technique adds emphasis and helps the listener or reader understand your perspective on the data.

Examples:

• A staggering 95% of teenagers spend over 4 hours daily on social media.
• An alarming 62% of young adults report experiencing significant anxiety.
• A heartening 78% of volunteers say they feel more connected to their community.
• A disappointing 34% of students complete their language learning goals.
• An impressive 92% of renewable energy targets were met this year.
• A troubling 46% of food produced globally goes to waste.
• A surprising 55% of people have never traveled outside their home country.

Listen to find out how to use this structure in IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 reports.

In this lesson you'll learn 5 IELTS Listening Tips that (I'm guessing) nobody told you about.

In this lesson, you'll practise 3 reading question types while learning essential IELTS animal-related vocabulary items such as 'hibernation' and 'migration'.

I also discuss differences between two summaries, which will help you use more formal language in the writing test e.g. to maintain fitness vs to stay fit.

For example:

(Advanced Summary)

The article explores how animals maintain fitness differently from humans. Unlike humans, who need consistent training to prepare for endurance challenges like marathons, many animals maintain or even enhance their fitness without deliberate exercise.

(Intermediate Summary)

The article discusses how animals stay fit in different ways compared to humans. While humans need to exercise regularly to prepare for challenges like running a marathon, many animals stay fit without needing to train.

In this lesson we look at direct and indirect ways of asking for help.

You will learn fixed expressions that you can use in any letter of request letter, and you'll also learn how to demonstrate flexibility with a variety of tenses when you 'give details of your musical activities'.

Find the full lesson with models and interactive practice on my website (Bronze Academy).

In this lesson, we look at how you can use Listening Test maps to improve the way you describe maps and plans in the Writing Test.

In this lesson we'll cover

• How to talk about FUTURE changes
• How to avoid over-using 'going to'
• How to use the passive tense
• How to use the vocabulary of change related to maps

We also review map prepositions, and we look at a model answer. The lesson ends with a list of map expressions collated from 4 real Listening Tests.

This is a talk-through of a General Training Reading Passage 3.

The text tells the story of the 'Fosbury Flop', which is a high-jump technique developed by a 21 year-old university student from the USA called Dick Fosbury in the late 1960s.

In this lesson, you'll practise Matching Information, Multiple Choice and gapfill questions.

In this Listening Section 2 about tips for runners, you'll learn how to spot distractors in different question types such as matching people and multiple choice.

This is a talk-through of a Passage 1 Academic Reading text about tennis rackets (Book 19 Test 1).

It covers 2 sets of questions (True, False, Not Given and Gapfill Summary).

In this lesson, you'll see why so many model essays are NOT model essays.

For each of the points I mention, you'll learn a better alternative so that you can make changes to your own writing.

Here's the question:

Some people believe that charities should help people in need no matter where those people are in the world. Others feel that these organizations should only serve the people living in the country where they are based.

Discuss both sides and give your own view.

Find the full lesson on my website:

https://ieltsetc.com/2021/03/ielts-band-9-sample-essay-charity/

Watch my YouTube video here:

This listening about a research project contains several examples of ‘academic’ language (language related to studying at university) that you need to understand Listening Part 3.

It's about a volcanic eruption, and is adapted from a Cambridge Past Paper (Book 18).

This Part 4 Listening is all about moving elephants.

In the lesson you'll learn about:

• using word prompts to keep your place
• using intonation and sentence stress to identify answers
• using spelling patterns and plurals to get the right answers

This Listening Part 4 about a writer called Victor Hugo is taken from the new Practice Book 18.

In the podcast you'll learn

• why this particular test is more difficult than usual
• how reference words give you the answer (if you can remember what they refer to)
• techniques for predicting and retaining information
• common gapfill answers and how they're related to pronunciation

Get the full video, tapescript and tips in the Members Academy Listening Course with Members bonus features for 12 months.

This is a Passage 3 review about a book about The Birth and Growth of Manhattan's Skyscrapers.

This is an extremely difficult text. It would really help if you have the text in front of you.

The only good thing about this text is that everything goes in COMPLETE ORDER and we know where everything is, because it goes from 'Chapter 1' to 'Chapter 10'.

The Yes, No, Not Given questions are not too difficult either.

But the last Gapfill Summary with Answers is a nightmare.

Good luck with it!

This is a pretty straighforward Academic Part 2 about Stadiums.

In this podcast we'll go through 3 question types (Matching Statements, Gapfill Summary and Choosing from a list.)

I guarantee that you can do this in under 10 minutes if you follow my system.

Find the Reading online and do it yourself before you listen.

Learn more about my IELTS Reading techniques with TWO courses in the Members Academy.

Get the full blog with audio on my website:

There are many free online IELTS Writing checkers available, and they can be useful when you’re starting your IELTS preparation.

Online writing checkers such as Grammarly can give you simple feedback on your grammar, vocabulary and linking words.

There are more sophisticated versions available that claim they can assess your IELTS writing using the Band Criteria, and give you a grade and feedback in a matter of seconds.

But how accurate and reliable are they?

I tested a few and here are my results.

The one I mention in the podcast is testpredikt.com.

Check out my blog here:

[Skip the 5-minute introduction if you want to just get to the question types!]

Different websites have different ways of categorising IELTS Reading Question types.

The best thing about the IELTS Test is that you cannot fail it. The test simply takes a ‘snapshot’ of your current level of English.

So if you’ve suddenly realised that you need to take the test in 10 days don’t panic too much. Consider it a ‘practice run’.

10 days is just enough time to familiarise yourself with the test requirements so you can give yourself the best chance of getting the best indicator of your overall ability.

Here’s what I would do in the next 10 days.

There are 7 key features of fast speech and pronunciation that you need to develop a better understanding of in order to increase your Listening Score:

1. Features of connected speech (dropping sounds, adding sounds, changing sounds, weak sounds and twin sounds).
2. Word boundaries
3. Homophones
4. Sounds that are different or don’t exist in your language
5. Accents and rhoticity (‘r’)
6. Minimal pairs
7. Consonant Clusters

In this episode, I'll take you through one of my Guided Readings - it's an Academic Passage 3 from Book 17 and, unusually, it's a book review.

Can you guess the answers to the gapfill before you listen? In this episode I talk you through a Passage 4 where I think about 60% of the answers are guessable!

Thinking of becoming a Member of my Academy?

Find out more on my website:

I've spoken a lot about Mindset for IELTS in 2 earlier blogs:

In this podcast, you'll practice listening for the tricks in Multiple Choice Questions.

This is yet another Listening based on the topic of farming, and it includes many of the keywords on my IELTS planner list Day 1 (Agriculture), for example:

- breed

- bred/reared

- livestock

- to increase production

- domesticated animals

- controlling and eradicating those diseases

This Reading will also help your Task 2 Writing.

Watch this quick video to see why:

In today's September Challenge, we're reviewing Task 2 essays, starting with how to write a good Introduction.

Check out the blog I refer to here (with a model essay):

Day 3 of the September IELTS Planner Challenge is all about describing changes in Writing Task 1.

Day 2 of the September 2022 Challenge.

This is a Part 1 but full of TRICKS!

Get the full video version in the Members Academy.

This is a fascinating Section 3 General Training Reading text about the origins of women's football and why it disappeared for 50 years.

Practice  Multiple Choice Questions, Matching Information and Gapfill Summary.