Grammar Lessons 101: Understanding Phrasal Verbs

With roots in Gaelic, Arabic, Latin, French, and Saxon it is no wonder that the English language can be tricky to learn. While no language is easy to learn, English, with its multitudinous rule exceptions and quirky word spelling, can be especially difficult to master. One particularly challenging aspect of the English language is phrasal verbs.

According to the Oxford English dictionary, a phrasal verb is “a verb that is made up of a main verb together with an adverb or preposition or both. Typically, their meaning is not obvious from the meanings of the individual words themselves.”* Phrasal verbs may have a straightforward spelling, but unlike homophones, phrasal verbs tend not to provide us with contextual clues to provide clarity or meaning. Read more here…

Writing and Speaking: The Importance of Linking Words [IELTS TIPS]

Bridges, links, ties, bonds, joiners, connectors and ligaments – what do all these things have in common? They all connect things! They all bring things together. They take two or more things, join them in some way, and make them one. Now, imagine a world with no bridges. Imagine not having laces in your shoes. Imagine a human body without ligaments joining the bones together. Without important links, things fall apart, and things become isolated. So what does this have to do with IELTS? As you prepare for test day, a key point to writing and speaking is your ability to use linkers. Linkers are words and phrases that connect your writing and speaking. They help the reader form logical relationships between ideas. And in terms of speaking, they help the listener more clearly understand responses.

In addition to the above, linking words are important for your IELTS score. As you might already know, part of your writing mark includes organizing your writing clearly. As for speaking, the public band descriptors ask you to connect your ideas in a fluent and coherent way. So basically, if you want to be clearly understood, and improve your IELTS scores, you should have good linking-word skills. Read more here…

Is Translating Hurting Your IELTS Success?

It’s movie time! You’re about to watch a film in English, but English isn’t your first language. So the question is, subtitles or not? If you’re like most people, you will remember the subtitles in your language, but forget most of the English that was spoken. Why does this happen? It happens because learning a language is difficult! If you can understand something easily in your first language, why would you get a headache and trying to understand another language? And yes… Who wants a headache on a movie night?

I’m guessing you follow my point. When we translate, we tend to remember our own language because it’s easier. Conversely, while remembering our own language, we forget the other, which is English. Translating isn’t always a bad thing for English students, though. It can be used in lots of ways to study. It can also be an excellent way to prepare for the IELTS test. Let’s take a close look and see when it’s helpful and when it’s unhelpful to translate. Read More here…

Tips for Organizing Your Writing

One crucial aspect of the IELTS writing exam is that the writing responses be well organized. Having well-organized answers is one of the criteria your IELTS examiner will look for.

This blog provides some things to keep in mind to help you effectively prepare for and organize your writing on the IELTS exam.

A quick note on format. There are two tasks on the IELTS writing exam: Task 1 and Task 2. For the General Training version, Task 1 will be a letter requesting information or explaining a situation; for the Academic version, Task 1 will be a description and explanation of a diagram, graph, table or chart. Task 2 for both versions of the IELTS is an essay responding to an argument or problem.

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What Successful IELTS Candidates Want You to Know

Numerous people write the IELTS test each and every month. Some believe achieving a high score on the test is very difficult, while others say there are key points to follow to get the score you need. Let’s focus on the positive and look at the most beneficial strategies to maximize your band score.

Be Realistic

Being realistic is one of the best strategies to follow. The IELTS test can be difficult because English is a difficult language to master. You will not improve your IELTS score overnight. It can take months or possibly years to improve your English to get the score you need or want, depending on what level you are.

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IELTS Task 1- How to Write an Apology Letter

I wanted to begin this blog about writing IELTS exam letters with the above quote to help those of you who struggle with apologies to see that there’s a silver lining in the task.

There are two good reasons why you should smile if you’re given an apology letter on your General Training IELTS exam.

Getting to Know the IELTS Speaking Descriptors

If you’ve done any research and prep for your IELTS exam, including reading blogs on this site, you no doubt know the importance of having a solid understanding of how you will be assessed on the IELTS exam. This blog provides some details about a very important aspect of the speaking exam: the IELTS band descriptors. As mentioned in a previous blog post, a simple online search will get you to a public version of both the speaking and writing band score descriptors. I highly recommend taking some time to become familiar with these useful documents as they are invaluable in helping you prepare for your IELTS exam.