Sorry! The December challenge is now over.
We spent November working on the A-Z of IELTS Writing Task 2.
Now December is here, it’s a great time to catch up and do a daily writing task.
Get all the December tasks on the Advent Challenge page, and post your answers in the private Facebook group, where I will mark them (totally free).
The notes below refer to the November Challenge which as now finished – you can still follow this in the Facebook group above (full course and book coming in January).
November 1st: ‘A’
Advantages/Disadvantages Essays
This is the first video of the challenge.
Watch it and then write ONE sentence describing the Advantages OR Disadvantages of migration to cities in the comments.
Nowadays the way modern society is developing is being shaped by people’s migration to large cities.
In what ways is migration to large cities affecting society? Is this a positive or negative development?
Other ‘A’ items
- Academic Word List (AWL) – get the lists here and practise them with my AWL Quizlets
- Academic Style – blog coming soon
- Agriculture – learn more here and with this 5-minute video.
- The Arts – watch this 5-minute video
- Articles – watch this 5-minute video
- Answer sheets – watch this 5-minute video
- Answering the question – watch this 5-minute video
- Accents
- Attitude
November 2nd ‘B’
Buildings (vocab topic)
Band Descriptors – how to go from 6.5 to 7.
In this lesson (YouTube LIVE) we reviewed your sentences in terms of the Band Descriptors.
Skip ahead to find:
03:11 – what the examiner is looking for
07:13 – your examples
KEY TERMS
Critical thinking = show your understanding of the issues
Precision = say exactly what you mean
Logic = make sure it makes sense
Clarity = using language clearly
Stance = showing where you stand
November 3rd: ‘C’
Conditionals
Click here to do the lesson (blog)
Click on the videos below to practise:
Your Tasks:
- Set up a Google doc account so you can check your own mistakes
- Watch the overview video/read the blog about Conditionals (links below)
- Post an example that you can use in IELTS Task 2 (relating to a problem in your country and the EFFECTS) e.g. If people/the government/parents….
Cities
Crime and Punishment (blog and video)
Civilisation (video)
Complaining (blog)
Complex Language (blog and video)
Computer-Delivered Test (blog and video)
Critical Thinking
Comparisons (video)
Concession/Conclusions (blog)
Cycles (blog and video)
Cohesion and Coherence (blog and video)
Collocation (video)
Correction (blog and video)
Countable/Uncountable
Chronological texts (blog)
November 4th: ‘D’
Developing ideas
Your Tasks:
- Review the key vocab related to Development (my Quizlet)
- Watch the MIDDLE PART of this video from 10:20:
- Write ONE ‘Point/IDEA – Example/Explanation/Evidence – So What?’ sentence in the comments.
This is the question:
Over-reliance on modern technology means that people are failing to learn, or are forgetting, many basic skills.
To what extent is this true? Are people becoming so reliant on modern technology that they are no longer able to do some things without it?
November 5th ‘E’
The environment
Education
Essays
Examiners
Examples/explanations
‘Educational qualifications are not necessary for success in life’.
Discuss both views and give your opinion.
November 6th: ‘F’
Covid Lockdown Lessons (April – August)
Go to the complete playlist.
Playlist 1: How to write an IELTS Academic Task 1 response.
Playlist 2: How to write an IELTS General Training Task 1 Letter
Playlist 3: How to write an IELTS Task 2 Introduction.
Playlist 4: The grammar you need for IELTS Writing.
Playlist 5 : The A-Z of IELTS
The playlists include:
How to describe static bar charts.
How to describe pie charts.
How to make your writing LESS formal.
How to write a Task 2 Conclusion.
How to write a Task 2 essay:
- Should retirees spend or save their children’s inheritance? (Get ideas here)
Anything else?
Please comment below if you have any suggestions, requests or queries.
Please teach me the best format of the thesis statement of the discuss both views essays (from Instagram)
Pls do a video on how to write..to what extent u agree/ disagree qstns (from Instagram)
In task 2, I can’t write 250 words..and sometime it takes a long time for me to answer the question properly. (from Instagram)
I wish to write an introduction and conclusion which relate to the bodies. (from Instagram)
Reduction adverbial in speaking/writing 🙏(from Instagram)
This was today’s video:
https://youtu.be/g9YNTvtMTR8
e.g. Having an MSc from isfahan uni, I’ve decided to apply abroad. (from Instagram)
As above Mohammad – thank you for your request, it was a really useful grammar point for everyone. https://youtu.be/g9YNTvtMTR8
Facing problem in paraphrase and structure of essay in ielts so pls u provide such information (from Instagram)
I’ve been stuck on 6.5 in writing after 3 attempts. I wish I knew what I have been doing wrong.