IELTS Academic Writing - Task 2 (Vocabulary)

Presenting an impartial opinion
It is often argued/said that...
It is generally agreed that...
Some/Many people believe/say/think/feel/argue that...

Outlining contrasting views
Despite claims that...
While/Whereas it may be true that...
On the other side of the argument...
However/Nevertheless/Despite

Describing cause and effect
Consequently...
As a result...
This means that...

Providing supporting evidence
From my experience...
A good example of this...
For instance...

Linking arguments/reasons
Furthermore/Moreover/In addition...
For one thing...for another...

Giving a personal opinion
In my opinion...
I agree that...
I think it is reasonable to say that...
I tend to think that...

Concluding
In short/conclusion/summary...
To conclude/summarise/sum up...
Overall, I think the most important thing is...

Taken from IELTS Language Bank p.3

Academic IELTS - Writing Task 1 (Vocabularly)

Making an overview statement
We can see from the chart/table...
The chart/table shows (us that)...

Introducing an overall trend
From an overall perspective...
Looking at the figures, we can see that...
One of the first things to not is that...
One thing that clearly stands out is...

Introducing a point of interest
It is interesting to see that...
A striking point is...
Interestingly/Surprisingly...

Introducing supporting details
For example/For instance...
More specifically...

Comparing data
There is three times as much X as Y
There are twice as many X as Y
In comparison to X, Y is...
There are (slightly/significantly) more/fewer X than Y

Approximating
approximately/about/roughly
just above/over/under/below
a little/slightly less/more than...

Describing trends
(The figures) increased/rose/went up from...to...
(The figures) decreased/dropped/fell from...to...
There is/was little/no change

Time referencing
From the beginning of this period
From then until March...
Between March and June...
During this period...

Making forecasts
The trend looks set to continue
...is/are/seems likely to...
...is/are estimated to...
...is/are predicted to...

Describing a process
First...Then/Next/After that...Finally...
as soon as
before

Passive Voice
The X is made/done...
After X has been completed, Y is initiated...

Taken from IELTS Language Bank p.3

IELTS - General Tips for Listening

• You only hear the recordings once - so write the answers as you listen.
• Listen carefully to the introduction for each section and try to imagine what the speakers will talk about. This will give you useful information about the situation and the speakers.
• You have time at the beginning of each section to look at the task. Use this time well to read the questions and think about the topics.
• The questions always follow the order of the recording. If you miss a question look ahead and think about the next one.
• Write clearly when you transfer your answers to the answer sheet.
• When you transfer your answers to the answer sheet, don't copy any extra words from the question paper.
• When you read the question, you may find it helpful to think of words to listen for which have a similar meaning.
• Listen to the intonation of the speaker as this could help you to decide whether the sentence is positive or negative.
• It is useful to underline key words in the question to help you focus on the words (or similar words) to listen for.

Taken from Top Tips for IELTS

Synonyms

Important - essential, significant, imperative, vital, valuable, critical

Very - excessively, severely, highly, extremely, immensely, utterly

Negative - adverse, alarming, unfavourable, risky, serious, bad

Understand -  comprehend, recognise, grasp

Good - beneficial, satisfactory, excellent, acceptable, positive

Believe - maintain, argue, perceive, claim, feel, think

Dangerous - hazardous, perilous

IELTS Academic Writing - Task 1

The diagrams illustrate the design of houses located in places where the weather is cool and another where it is warm.

To start with, houses built for cool climates are designed with insulation in the walls, roof and floor in order to reduce the loss of heat.  In addition, buildings are equipped with thermal material that sores heat. Large windows are installed in the direction of the sun to allow heat to enter the house.  Finally, the roof is designed at a high angle.

The houses situated in warm climates are designed to have a different function during the day and in the evening. At night the large windows can be left open and ventilation allows the stored heat to be removed. The external insulation and reflection features of the house allow it to be cool during the day in warm climates. The overhanging roof allows for shade and the reflective material does not allow the heat from the sun to enter the house. Insulation is also added below the roof to stop the heat coming through it. Finally, the large windows are covered during the day.

In conclusion, the aim of the design of houses in cool climates is to store heat and prevent heat loss whereas in warm climates houses are constructed to keep the heat out during the day and remove it at night.

Describing a process - Passive voice

is  + past participle (singular)
are  + past participle (plural)
 I/he/she/it was + past participle (past)
you/we/they were  + past participle (past)

add - added e.g. Water is/was added.
apply - applied
clean -  cleaned
create -  created
cut -  cut
deliver - delivered
design -  designed
develop - developed
distribute -  distributed
mix - mixed
pack -  packed
place - placed
put -  put
remove - removed
sell - sold
send -  sent
take - taken
transport - transported
use - used

IELTS Academic Writing - Task 1

The steps needed to produce crisps in a factory are illustrated in the diagram.

Initially, the potatoes are washed with cold water provided by overhead pipes and their skin is removed in the same compartment. The peeled potatoes are transported with a conveyor belt to a slicer where they are loaded individually. Once they have been cut into small pieces cold water is added from overhead pipes. The next stage known as the drying stage involves hot air being applied to the sliced potatoes which are moved along a conveyor belt and end up in a temperature cooker.

Here, the raw potatoes are cooked before passing onto a conveyor belt to be salted. The final stage is that of packing the salted crisps into individual bags in order to prepare them for distribution and consumption in the market.

As we can see, this production process consists of six stages all carried out by machines that are responsible for washing, peeling, slicing, drying, salting and packaging crisps.

Question taken from Top Tips for IELTS p.74