Simons IELTS WRITING TASK 2 WORKBOOK

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My name is Simon Corcoran. I'm an ex-IELTS examiner and I now run IELTS exam preparation courses in Manchester, UK (I'm a native speaker of English).

The aim of this website is to provide good advice about the IELTS exam, and also to help you improve your English language skills.

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Some advice about how to use ielts-simon.com:

1. You can begin anywhere; there is no special lesson order.

2. I write a short lesson every day because I believe that daily practice is important.

3. Please use "comments" to communicate with me and with other students.

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Every day I'll add another lesson:

 Monday: IELTS Reading (Academic)

 Tuesday: IELTS Listening

 Wednesday: IELTS Writing Task 2 (Academic)

 Thursday: IELTS Writing Task 1 (Academic)

 Friday: IELTS Speaking

 Saturday: Grammar / Advice

 Sunday: Grammar / Advice

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Good luck with your studies. I hope this website helps!

Simon

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Thursday, September 24, 2009 IELTS Academic Writing Task 2 In the second part of the IELTS Academic Writing Test, you have to write 250 words. You should spend 40 minutes on this task. Writing Task 2 is worth more than Task 1, so you need to do it well.

For IELTS Writing Task 2, you have to write an essay discussing a topic. You will be given an opinion/ argument, different points of view or a problem to discuss.

Most students prepare phrases for introducing and linking ideas. However, not many students prepare good ideas and opinions for IELTS topics.

We'll work on these areas:

 How to structure a good Task 2 essay.

 Preparation of ideas, opinions and good vocabulary for each IELTS topic.

 How to build and link sentences to create coherent paragraphs.

 Common mistakes in grammar and word usage.

Some hard work on these areas can make a big difference to your writing score. Posted by Simon in About the exam, IELTS Writing Task 2 | Permalink | Comments (36) Saturday, April 24, 2010 IELTS Advice: the "Firstly, Secondly, Finally" structure

I've had some great responses about the video lesson, but some students were surprised that you can get a band 9 using "Firstly, Secondly, Finally".

Is the phrase "First and foremost" better than "Firstly"?

The answer is NO.

Using simple organising language like "Firstly, Secondly" makes you focus on the REAL CONTENT of what you are writing - topic vocabulary, collocations, examples. This is what the examiner wants to see.

Spend your time preparing ideas, opinions and examples for IELTS topics, not learning alternative ways to write "Firstly". Posted by Simon in IELTS Writing Task 2, Questions/Advice | Permalink | Comments (19) Wednesday, May 05, 2010 IELTS Writing Task 2: 'traffic' topic

Today I'd like to show you a good essay by one of my students. This is the essay question:

Traffic congestion is becoming a huge problem for many major cities. Suggest some measures that could be taken to reduce traffic in big cities.

I gave the student's essay a band 7, mainly because it contains some really good topic vocabulary. Open the file below to see the full essay, grammar corrections and my comments.

Download Essay