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Daily Lessons with Simon, ex-IELTS examiner
IELTS Reading
IELTS Speaking Sunday, January 29, 2012
IELTS Writing Task 1
IELTS Writing Task 2
IELTS Grammar: articles
Mistakes/Grammar Today I'm attaching some questions that a student asked about articles. You can
Questions/Advice read my answers below each question.
Click here to download
S e a r c h
Please note that I cannot provide a complete explanation of all article rules and
uses. Grammar books take many pages to do this!
Article rules can become very confusing, so don't worry too much about them.
Search Students who are good at using articles have normally learnt by copying what
they read and hear, rather than by learning the 'rules'.
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A r c h i v e s
Sunday, January 22, 2012
February 2012
January 2012 IELTS Grammar: capital letters
December 2011 A few people have asked me about using capital letters in different parts of the
November 2011 IELTS test. Here's my advice:
October 2011 In the reading and listening tests, they don't care about capital letters. So
September 2011 you can write everything in lowercase or in capitals, and it won't affect your
August 2011 score.
In the writing test, try to follow the normal rules for capital letters.
July 2011
Grammar books and websites explain these rules in detail. Click here to
June 2011 see a website that summarises the rules quite well.
May 2011
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- Use it with percentages e.g. the figure (for...) rose to 10%.
Note:
If you've read any of my task 1 essays, you'll see that I like "the figure for"
because it can be used in almost any situation.
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If you want a band 7, the most important thing is to be able to write error-free
sentences. If all of your sentences contain small mistakes, it's unlikely that you'll
get a 7. It might be better to take fewer risks with complex structures, and aim for
more error-free sentences.
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1. We usually say different from e.g. A is different from B.
2. The noun is difference e.g. There is a difference between A and B.
3. The verb is differ e.g. A differs from B (or A and B differ).
I'm sure you understood these words, but did you really know how to use them
correctly? We'll look at another word family next week.
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to make sure you have used the right verb with the right noun.
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IELTS Grammar: million or millions?
Students often make mistakes with thousands, millions and billions. It might
seem strange, but you should say "10 million" not "10 millions". It's the same
with hundred, thousand and billion.
Correct: 10 million people
Wrong: 10 millions people, 10 millions of people, 10 million of people
Note:
When there is no number, we do write "millions of".
e.g. Millions of people travel abroad each year.
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IELTS Writing homework should not be a test. You should aim to write "perfect"
essays. Check everything carefully. Homework is an opportunity to learn and
improve, not just a test of your current level.
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to notice small mistakes like this, and try not to make them again.
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