Review of the week
In this video Neil looks back over some of the highlights and discussions of the week, and shares some additional advice.
Neil mentions how the topics we have covered this week can help with someof the most common reasons for candidates failing to get the score they need and you can find out more in this blog post.
He mentioned several interesting comments and discussions on planning, including:
Zee ~’s story of writing a recent essay without planning, and the problems it caused.
Mayra C’s experience of the difference planning can make to getting the content right, including enough detail and finishing in time.
Sima Dubova’s point that a plan needs to be more than just a few simple points.
On the topic of coherence and cohesion, paragraphing and linking expressions, he mentioned these comments:
Alexia Martinez, Dolan Laurence and Krystal Thinn’s discussion on linking expressions.
Len Sapnit Cudal’s observations on what a difference using linking words correctly can make to your result.
Than Nguyen’s clear and comprehensive description of the key features of an effective paragraph.
Jose Escobar and Sia Acchillia’s comments comparing cohesion and coherence to bricks and cement.
Neil also encouraged everyone to go back and read through the essays submitted on Step 2.15 and mentioned next week’s Facebook Live – don’t miss it!
Additional Resources
An activity involving task analysis, idea generation and essay planning. It was designed for classroom use with a teacher, but can be printed out and used for self study.
A guide to mind mapping, another approach to planning.
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IELTS support during the COVID-19 situation
Due to the Covid-19 situation, in-person IELTS testing is suspended at the moment in some countries. You can find which countries the test is currently available here. If tests are not running in your country at the moment, you may be able to take IELTS Indicator, an online test which can be completed at home while IELTS testing is unavailable. You can find out more here.
Study online with the British Council
Continue improving your English language skills and building your confidence with the British Council’s online courses, including options for online group classes, one-to-one online tutoring and subscription to self-access courses from Beginner to Advanced levels.
Coming up in Week 3
Next week we will be looking at the assessment criteria of Lexical Resource and Grammatical Range and Accuracy, as well as reviewing the content of previous weeks and completing a full IELTS Writing test.
If you want to get started straight away, go to the To do list for Week 3.
You can always use the To do icon at the top of the page to see what’s coming up or go back to previous weeks and catch up.
If you need help with the Listening, Speaking or Reading sections of the IELTS test you can sign up for our Understanding IELTS program. This program of four courses explains each section of the test, what is being tested and what you have to do to demonstrate your language proficiency to the examiner.
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