IELTS writing bible by DC IELTS task 1

Facebook Tôi điểm Viết IELTS | 0904 98 0083 | http://ieltskungfu.wix.com/vuhaidang IELTS Writing Task May 2016 Tổng hợp giảng IELTS Writing Task thày Dominic Cole từ Facebook page Tôi điểm Viết IELTS IELTS Kungfu Contents Bạn cần làm với IELTS Writing Task | Understand what you need to in task Tổng quan Task The chart types Biểu đồ tĩnh động mặt thời gian A video tutorial Những ngôn ngữ cần dùng Line graph & Trend vocabulary Từ vựng xu hướng | Trend vocabulary Up verbs Down verbs Từ vựng xu hướng | Tính từ Trạng từ Other useful adjectives 11 Bar charts 12 Phân tích thông tin bật | Analysing the key details 12 Tìm điểm giống khác | Ask yourself if the lines look similar, different or the same 13 Bố cục làm Nguyên tắc: Chọn cách đơn giản | Choose the simplest option 13 Main details – NOT every detail 15 Some tips 15 Hãy bắt đầu với bật dễ nhìn | Start with the obvious 17 A sample report 20 Hướng dẫn lựa chọn thông tin cho Bar chart | Choosing the right details in a bar chart (chi tiết) 21 Cách bố cục 21 Kỹ paraphrase | The key skill – paragraphing 21 Key features gì? | What are key features? 21 Pie charts – cách để miêu tả tỷ lệ | Pie charts – different ways to describe percentages 24 Bảng biểu | Tables 33 Bức tranh tổng thể | The big picture/summary 34 Cách nhóm thông tin | How to group information together 34 A sample task 37 Ví dụ việc table có nhiều số liệu | The problem – too much information 37 Giải pháp | A solution – divide and conquer 37 Đâu main features? | What are the main features? 38 Bố cục làm | Organising your report 39 Ngôn ngữ so sánh | Comparisons in task tables 39 Process diagrams: tổng quan 44 Diagram – tìm điểm đầu điểm cuối | Reading a process diagram – find the beginnings and ends 44 Hiểu bước quy trình | Understand the different stages of the process 45 Hướng dẫn bố cục | Find a way of organising your description 45 Mở kết luận | The introduction and conclusion 45 Ngôn ngữ miêu tả | The language of the description 45 Bài mẫu phân tích chi tiết | Sample description with detailed notes 46 Diagrams: Ngôn ngữ quy trình | The language of process diagrams 48 Diagrams: dạng miêu tả quy trình tự nhiên | Describing a natural process in task writing 50 IELTS Writing Task 1: Hướng dẫn luyện tập hàng ngày 54 Tài nguyên Task – The Economist 54 Task 1: Lỗi kết hợp từ 55 Bài mẫu Task 58 The Olympics medal table 58 Two pie charts and a line graph – farming in the UK 62 Bao nhiêu paragraphs đủ? | How many paragraphs? – Normally two 63 Ngôn ngữ So sánh Task 67 Amounts and numbers 67 Differences 68 Similarities 68 Sử dụng Thời Task 70 Task 1: Hướng dẫn viết Kết luận 74 Bạn cần làm với IELTS Writing Task | Understand what you need to in task The place to start is to know what the examiner wants you to The instructions are the same each time Bài giảng video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBAxFDJTlM4 Tổng quan Task This is the first in a series of postings about how to approach academic task in the writing paper The starting point is to be aware of the different types of charts and graphs you may see The key point is that each chart and graph will require a different form of language The chart types There are different chart type you may see in the exam: the bar chart/line graph the pie chart the table the process/diagram Biểu đồ tĩnh động mặt thời gian You should note that there are major types of chart and graph: the static chart and the dynamic chart The static chart shows only one period of time or has no time element In contrast, the dynamic chart shows two or more periods of time or a change over a period of time It is essential to note this as static charts and dynamic charts require different language You cannot use the famous “trend language” in static charts where there is no change in time Many candidates focus exclusively on this language That is a big mistake A video tutorial In this video, I talk through the different chart types and describe some of the typical problems they present https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELmgCcbB2uA Những ngôn ngữ cần dùng What language you need for academic task 1? It will depend on the chart/graph you see These are the main possibilities: topic specific language: if the graph is about leisure activities, you will need leisure activity language; if it is about employment, you will need employment language, etc You should note that to get a reasonable score, you will need to vary the language in the question and the chart: it is not sufficient to copy that language comparison language: typically, you will need to compare and contrast in tables, charts and graphs You will need this language whether the chart/graph is static or has a time element To get a good score, you will need more than one comparison structure: it is not sufficient to repeat the same comparing structure every time trend/change language: this language is only appropriate in charts/graphs where there is a change of time If there is no time element, or if there is only one period of time then you not need this language process language: if you see a diagram or process, then you will need the language to describe processes (first, then, next etc) Line graph & Trend vocabulary Advice on how to write an IELTS task report from a graph Từ vựng xu hướng | Trend vocabulary This post looks at some vocabulary for IELTS writing task when you need to describe a graph or chart that has a time element I begin by looking at some of the most common vocabulary you need Then I give you some variations and talk about some grammar The most basic trend vocabulary – a few variations Let’s look at this graph and see what words we need to describe it Put simply we need language that describes      up (2009 to 2010), down (2008 to 2009), up and down (between 2006 and 2009) no change (2006 and 2007) the top (2010) The trend vocabulary I am going to suggest may seem very basic It does, however, allow you to say the same thing in up to different ways.That’s good Tip: if you find yourself repeating a word, try changing the form of it from a verb to a noun You should also note that, even with this basic language, there are a variety of grammar problems that cause many candidates problems That’s bad Up variations Down variations Up and down Sometimes you need to describe a graph that goes up and then down Here we have fewer options No change Top Từ vựng xu hướng | Giới từ – by and to Prepositions are horrid in English Have another look at the graph: Note how these two sentences mean exactly the same: The rate of unemployment rose to 12% in 2010 The rate of unemployment rose by 5% in 2010 – in and of This one is harder We use “in” to describe changes in things and “of” to describe changes in number or amount For example, There was a rise in the rate of unemployment There was a rise of 5% in the rate of unemployment Từ vựng xu hướng | Động từ These verbs are alternatives to the basic rise and fall vocabulary One benefit of using them is that sometimes they help you avoid repeating too many numbers If you have a strong verb, you don’t always have to give the exact figure Up verbs Notes:    “Soar “and “rocket” are both very strong words that describe large rises “Rocket” is more sudden You probably not need to qualify these verbs with adverbs “Leap” shows a large and sudden rise Again, you probably not need to qualify it with an adverb “Climb” is a relatively neutral verb that can be used with the adverbs below Down verbs Notes:     “Plummet” is the strongest word here It means to fall very quickly and a long way “Drop” and “drop” are normally used for fairly small decreases “Slip back” is used for falls that come after rises “Drop” and “Dip” are also frequently used as nouns: eg “a slight dip” “a sudden drop” Từ vựng xu hướng | Tính từ Trạng từ Bài tập thực hành với tính từ trạng từ xu hướng http://www.dcielts.com/task-1-2/trend-vocabulary-ielts/ This is a selection of some of the most common adjectives and adverbs used for trend language Please be careful This is an area where it is possible to make low-level mistakes Make sure that you use adjectives with nouns and adverbs with verbs:      The key is that before you start to write, you should have some key points you want to emphasise If you have worked your way through the tasks, you should have some idea about these You will find my ideas below Order of gold medals and total medals are different – meaning one paragraph for each USA and China top of both Comparison between GB and Russia Big gap between top in gold medals and rest Comparison between Australia/Germany and South Korea/Hungary in total medals See my answer This table shows the ten most successful countries in the 2012 Olympics, from it we can see the number of gold, silver and bronze medals each country won The ranking of the nations is organised according to the number of gold medals and not the total number of medals won In terms of gold medals, the two most successful nations were the USA and China which won 46 and 38 golds respectively After Great Britain and Russia in third and fourth place with 29 and 24 golds, there was a significant gap to the other nations (South Korea, Germany, France, Italy, Hungary and Australia), all of which won between 13 and gold medals only When we look at the total medals won, the United States was still the most successful nation with over 100 medals and Hungary the least with only 17 Russia with 82 medals overall, however, was only slightly behind China in second place, while Great Britain dropped to fourth place with 65 medals Of the other nations, it is notable how almost half of South Korea’s and Hungary’s total medals were golds, whereas only between one quarter and one fifth of Germany’s and Australia’s medals were gold France and Italy, in contrast, won an almost equal proportion of golds, silvers and bronzes Notes “The ranking of the nations is organised according to the number of gold medals and not the total number of medals won.” I choose to start with this summary type statement as it introduces my two main idea/paragraphs – gold medal count and total medal count there was a significant gap to the other nations (South Korea, Germany, France, Italy, Hungary and Australia), all of which won between 13 and gold medals only There is too much detail to include everything I put these countries in order to show the order they finished and group them together as there is a “significant gap” between the number of golds they won and those the other countries won It is not necessary to say exactly how many each country won When we look at the total medals won, the United States is still the most successful nation with over 100 medals and Hungary the least with only 17 I start the second para by giving the high figure and the low figure so the reader can picture the table 61 whereas/while These are excellent structures to allow you to combine information in one longer sentence and make a comparison/contrast at the same time Two pie charts and a line graph – farming in the UK This lesson gives you a sample task one report when you need to describe different charts/graphs This may look tough, but the principle is the same – organise your writing by selecting and reporting the main features in paragraphs If you can that, the writing is not so hard To help you, I talk you through the process of organising your report into coherent paragraphs with a series of mini tasks You can also download the report to read my writing notes Understanding the question The question is always the same for these charts and graphs: Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, making comparisons where relevant This means that when you look at the charts for the first time, you should ask yourself:    what are the main features? how can I summarise them? what are the comparisons? 62 Bao nhiêu paragraphs đủ? | How many paragraphs? – Normally two Before you write you want to decide how to organise the report This means deciding how many major paragraphs you will write Theanswer is almost always going to be two If you only write one main paragraph, you won’t be able to make the main points clear If you write three main paras, you are almost certainly writing too much Here it should be clear that the line graph describes one kind of data and the two pie charts another Therefore you should write one para for the line graph and another for the pie charts Line Graph Finding the main points This is the key stage Remember the task is to summarise the main points and this means “selecting” and not including absolutely everything Very often the main points are simple to see – obvious things Typically,there will only be 2/3 main points per chart Task Look at the line graph and select the main points that you will use to organise your writing At this stage you are not looking for numbers, just patterns The tip is to think visually here, look for:    extremes (highs and lows) (beginnings and endings) major changes (beginnings and endings again) comparisons (what is the same,what different) (which is greater,which smaller) twice as many dairy farms as arable farms (the blue line is higher) difference between the two narrowed (look at the beginning and end) both fluctuated and the pattern was different (look at the lines overall) Finding supporting detail The next step is to decide what details you want to include Again, you want to select here and not include all the detail The details you choose should support the main points Task Which numbers will you include in the report? These should support the main points above 63 twice as many dairy farms as arable farms – approximate numbers 1000 and 2000 and the years 2006 and 2011 difference between the two narrowed – fall to around 1900, rise to just under 1000 both fluctuated and the pattern was different – perhaps major fall in 2007 compared to rise in 2009 Pie charts Finding the main points When you have two charts with similar data, you should automatically look for comparisons between the two The main questions to be asked are: What has changed? What is the same?       What is the same? five crops – all should be named potatoes and barley not change What is different? rape seed rose dramatically corn and wheat both fell slightly Extremes corn and wheat were highest in 2006 rape seed almost at same level in 2011 The details – grouping information The challenge here is not to simply list all the data.One way to this is to group similar bits of info together In this case,   potatoes and barley belong together wheat and corn belong together If you can this, then you will avoid some repetition and summarise more effectively Read and download the report and notes These charts show the changes in the number of dairy and arable farms in the UK and the changes in the arable crops grown between 2006 and 2011 64 The line graphs show that there were almost twice as many dairy farms as arable farms throughout this period, with the numbers fluctuating around 2000 farms and 1000 farms respectively However, this difference did narrow by 2011, when the number of dairy farms had fallen from 2000 to approximately 1900, while arable farms had risen slightly to just under 1000 Although arable farming fluctuated only slightly, there was a steady decrease in dairy farms from 2007 onwards from a high of around 2050 The pie charts show that while there were the same five main crops in 2006 and 2011, there was a notable change in the proportion of these crops In 2006, wheat and corn accounted for just over and under one third of arable farming respectively, with potatoes, rape seed and barley all around 10% By 2011, however, almost a quarter of arable farmland was devoted to rape seed and corn and wheat were around 5% less common than before There was little or no change in potatoes and barley In conclusion, the main changes were the growth of rape seed farming and the fall in dairy farms Download version with notes On this download you will find notes on:    number language trend language approximation language 65 Structure The introduction simply summarises the question and what the charts and graphs show There is one main paragraph for each set of charts and graphs The conclusion is a simple summary sentence - one sentence long picking out the main points 66 Ngôn ngữ So sánh Task This lesson looks at some more advanced comparison vocabulary for academic task writing to talk about the degree or size of the comparison The idea is generally not enough to say that something is “bigger than” something else, you need to say by how much and that there are times you want to use words and not just numbers Why you need this language? Why not just use numbers? An extremely interesting comment on this site came from someone who asked whether it was wrong to say something was “far more” than something else on the grounds that this was a subjective opinion and the task is to describe the data objectively My answer to this is: this is a language task and you should try to use language and not just numbers in your answer this is a summary task and that means that you not include all the numbers, but describe some of them in language mostly, you should try and combine words and numbers together in order to give the examiner/reader as much information as possible in your summary statement, however, (normally either your introduction/conclusion) you may simply use words without numbers because it is a general description of the chart/graph/table Amounts and numbers Notes Considerably and significantly have similar meanings I would say that considerably is the stronger word, but someone else might tell you different! A useful alternative to marginally is fractionally 67 Be careful with countable and uncountable words You use amount and less with uncountable words such gas and number, and fewerwith countable words such as people I would avoid using a lot more as this is rather non-academic language Alternatives would include far more and a great deal more Differences notes You should be careful with the prepositions here You talk about a difference between two things, but say one thing is different from (or sometimes to) something else Similarities Notes While you cannot use , you can say almost the same as Other useful adjectives notes The preposition used with both these words is to So one thing can be identical or comparable to something else 68 69 Sử dụng Thời Task In this lesson I give you a quick outline on using tenses in task writing This is a common problem for many candidates who forget to use the correct tense In some ways, the advice is quite simple and can be summarised in these two tips: LOOK TO SEE WHETHER THE CHART/GRAPH IS ABOUT THE PAST, PRESENT OR FUTURE CHECK THAT YOU DON’T CHANGE TENSE HALF WAY THROUGH THE SUMMARY Một số ví dụ The golden rule is to look at the title of the chart/graph and the x/y axes to see what time is used there You then use that time to choose the tense you write in: if the time is 1999 then you choose the past if the time is 2030 you choose a future if there is no time you use the present simple It really doesn’t make too much difference if you are looking at a pie chart or a bar graph here The idea is the same Example Look at this pie chart What time does it show? Which tense would you choose? This should be easy The time is 1999 and so you will use the past tense Example Look at this bar chart What time does it show? What tense would you use? 70 This may be slightly more confusing You can’t see any time You should look though at the words in the title: “use most frequently” is a present tense and so the chart is about general present time and so you will want the present simple Example Look at this pie chart and the same thing: I hope you see that this pie chart refers to the future and so we’ll need a future tense to describe the information in it Some more complex examples – varying your tenses Sometimes you get charts/graphs that allow you to use more than one tense Example – charts with changes in time in the past – using different verb forms Look at this bar graph What are the times? Which tenses can you use? 71 You see here the years from 1999 to 2007 This means that you want the past It is possible just to use the past simple: The average price was £97,500 and then it rose to almost £130,000 and then it dropped slightly in 2006 and finally fell to around £110,000 in 2007 Correct English, but boring You want to try and vary your grammar to get a higher score What you can here is After it had reached a peak of almost £130,000 in 2005, the average price dropped slightly in 2006 before finishing the period at £117,000 in 2007 The change in time (from 1999 to 2007) allows you to use the past perfect (had tense) too and you can also use a participle (-ing form) in the same way Example – charts/graphs with the past and future – using two tenses In this next example you should see that the you will need to use more than one tense just because the two charts relate to different times – the past and the future [I should add that this is an unusual example] 72 Here the easy answer is that you use a future to describe the first chart and a past for the second one The simple thing to is use one paragraph for one chart and another for the other – being careful to get your tenses right each time But there is a more complex answer too You need really to compare the changes in sources of power – from 2012 – 2030 To this you may use one of the less usual tenses in English – the future perfect: By 2030 the use of coal will have decreased by 10% The idea remains the same though – if there is something in the future you want to use a verb form that is also future 73 Task 1: Hướng dẫn viết Kết luận How you write an academic task conclusion? Do you in fact need to write a conclusion at all? This is a common question/problem for IELTS candidates One answer is that there is no one answer! There are in fact different approaches that can work and it is one of those areas where candidates need to find out what works best for them Is that confusing? Here is a brief summary of what is possible You can write a quick conclusion at the end or a summary statement at the beginning In either case you should give an overview/summary of what the chart shows, focussing on the main points not include any “opinions” of your own about what the chart shows The information you include will likely be the same in either case – it’s largely just a question of where you put it The key is to recognise that at some point you need an overview or summary Why you might not write a conclusion at the end You won’t need a conclusion if you have written a strong introduction with a summary statement and identified the main patterns/trends of the chart/graph in the introduction,so you don’t need to repeat yourself in the conclusion you have written very clear “topic” sentences in your main paragraphs and the main points are already clear and cannot easily be summarised Why you might choose to write a conclusion You may want one if: your introduction is weak and merely rewords the title of the chart/graph and doesn’t pick out any main points you have only written one “content paragraph” in which case it may not be easy to see what the main points are you just feel happier writing conclusions and/or you are not certain of the main points before you start writing You really need to find out what works best for you you want to make sure you hit the word limit and want more words (though you should be aware the examiner will not count any words that are simply repeated) Kết luận Task nên về… 74 Độ dài | Length You don’t have to write too much A sentence is enough It can even be quite a short sentence It can be a mistake to include too much detail in the conclusion as the examiner will cross it out if it is simply copied from the main body of your report Ý tưởng | Ideas The danger is you put your own ideas into the conclusion as this is one of the things that you in academic essays This is a reporting/summarising task though, so it is a mistake to this or to interpret the data Nội dung | Content The usual rule applies that you should not put any new detail into a conclusion, but only summarise what comes before This means in practice that you pick out the main details of the chart/graph you have been looking at This will be typically the main trends or patterns in the chart/graph Hướng dẫn | How to it Here’s the trick When you write the conclusion, don’t look at the graph or what you have already written If you that, you may write too much or write something too complex The conclusion should be simple Try this Look away See what you remember about the graph There should be or main points These are the points you include in your conclusion 75 [...]... quite easy, so I’ve made it more challenging by making it timed!  làm bài tập ở đây http://www.dcielts.net/exercises /task1 /percentages1.htm write a task 1: can you use the language for yourself by doing a practice task 1 from the pie chart above Try and write a good paragraph of between 60 – 75 words  làm bài tập ở đây http://www.dcielts.net/exercises /task1 /pie2.htm 26 Pie chart: Hướng dẫn từng bước... details in a bar chart This lesson is designed to help you think about how part 1 IELTS writing works The idea is that many of the problems with task 1 writing are caused by the thinking part – analysing the data That matters because the goal in task 1 is not just to describe the information in the chart, but to summarise it 16 by selecting the key data To do this, you need to spend time thinking – it is... grammar for this task 31 “with the result that“: note the structure here The fall in popularity means that it has become less popular This is an idea you can borrow 32 Bảng biểu | Tables Advice on how to write an academic task 1 report from a table Table: cách bố cục bài | Using paragraphs to organise your answer in a task 1 table In this lesson I help you with a complex table in IELTS task 1 The idea I... Advice on how to write an academic task 1 report from a pie chart Bài giảng videos | A video lesson on pie charts This post contains a long training video on how to analyse a pie chart for IELTS writing part 1 In it, I look at and suggest how to approach a part 1 question In brief, my tips are: 1 See the big picture: do not get lost in the detail – it is a summarising task 2 Learn to identify the correct... language to use by reading the question carefully – often this language is explaining and comparing language 4 Decide how to organise the information For an explanation of how to use these tips in practice, here is my video lesson: http://www.dcielts.com /ielts- writing/ academic -task- 1- pie-charts/ Pie charts – những cách để miêu tả tỷ lệ | Pie charts – different ways to describe percentages One task that seems... adjectives 10 notes  “marginal” is a particularly useful word for describing very small changes Other useful adjectives These adjectives can be used to describes more general trends notes   “overall” can be used to describe changes in trend over the whole period: very useful in introductions and conclusions “upward” and “downward” are adjectives: the adverbs are “upwards” and “downwards” 11 IELTS task 1. .. easier to write All the “ideas” are there (good for your Task Response score) and it becomes much easier to organise the report (good for your Coherence and Cohesion score) Thực hành This is a simple bar chart similar to one you might find in task 1 Your task is to analyse and decide what information you would choose to include in your writing 1 Look at the chart and think for 3/4 minutes 2 Make notes... camping (both around 12 %) 14 Bar chart: tổng quan In academic task 1 it is important to learn how to read a chart and a graph This is because the instructions always tell you to summarise and select and report on the main features of the graphic Many candidates make the mistake here of including as much detail as possible in their report This brief tutorial gives you a sample task 1 report and some tips... charts Sample task The bar chart below shows the different types of accommodation chosen by the British when they went on holiday in 2 012 Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant Phân tích những thông tin chính và nổi bật | Analysing the key details Don’t look at the whole chart, look at the x axis and the y axis separately 12 The first... on how to write an IELTS task 1 report from a bar chart Identifying patterns in bar charts This lesson looks in detail at one way to organise your answer when describing a chart or graph in part 1 The suggestion is that you should try and look for patterns in the data When you write, you report those patterns and note any exceptions to them This works on several levels:    your writing becomes more