Concision Rides Again (3 of 12)

Remember, being concise helps give you that ‘clear progression’ in your writing (= IELTS 7). If you can make the same point in fewer words, WRITE THOSE WORDS!  You then have time to …

• move on,
• say more,
• and achieve more of the task.

All that helps get you that IELTS 7 (or higher).

Here’s some practice for you.

Try making the following sentences more concise.

The answers will be given and explained in the next post.

1.

The different cultural customs and spectacular landscapes can be experienced in the foreign countrues at lower prices, whereas it is unlikely for them to have a similar experience at home. [32 words]

2.

Once people smoke, the addictive material within the cigarettes makes them keep smoking for a long time, and sometimes they will never stop. [23 words]

3.

For many people who successfully quit smoking, the reason is that they cannot afford the cost of buying expensive cigarettes. [20 words]

4.

Nicotine can raise blood pressure and make people feel much more anxious about life. [14 words]

5.

Many people face pressure due to the busy work and often complex personal affairs. [14 words]

6.

Instead of exercising, smokers would rather smoke to ease their anxiety and bad feeling. It may not be wrong, since this way is more efficient and effective in some circumstances. [31 words]

Answers to Concision Rides Again (2 of 12)

1.

Generally speaking, the exportation of coal was the biggest part of Australia’s exports, and iron was the second biggest one, both in the year 2005 and the next year, 2010. These two items when combined together were more than one half of all the exports. [45 words]

… becomes …

Generally speaking, in both years, coal and iron were the biggest and second biggest exports, respectively, together amounting to over half of the total. [24 words]

The country, ‘Australia’ was already mentioned in the introduction, and so does not need to be repeated in this Writing-Task-One overview statement.

2.

They could threaten people who are going to attack them. [10 words]

… becomes …

They could threaten attackers. [4 words]

3.

Gun owners would say that people have a right to possess guns for protection of their lives and property. They believe people have responsibilities and abilities to fight back against criminals. [32 words]

… becomes …

Gun owners would say that guns allows them to fight back against criminals. [13 words]

4.

Iron and coal are the most popular products which were traded overseas. On the other hand, the exportation percentage of wheat and meat are much less significant. [27 words]

… becomes …

The exportation of iron and coal is much more than wheat and meat. [13 words]

5.

… countries which have different their culture and geographic features. [9 words]

… becomes …

…. foreign countries. [2 words]

6.

… which are easily available and accessible to the holiday makers as opposed to the previous tourists who could only find the information from travel agencies and purchase package tours. [29 words]

… becomes …

… which are now more easily available and accessible than before. [10 words]

By the way, you can learn more about me at   www.aisielts.com .

Concision Rides Again (2 of 12)

In the previous post, I quoted from my own IELTS Writing Task Two book (Page 33 of Edition 2, or Page 39 of Edition 3, both at the bottom), which states …

This new sentence is much shorter, and makes the same point. That is, the sentence is concise, and concision is a sign of a good writer.

Concision helps give you that ‘clear progression’ (= IELTS 7). Thus, if a sentence can make the same point in fewer words, WRITE THAT SENTENCES! You then have time to …

• move on,
• say more,
• and achieve more of the task.

Then, you are on the way to getting IELTS 7, got it? Time to practice.

Try making the following sentences more concise.

The answers will be given and explained in the next post.

1.

Generally speaking, the exportation of coal was the biggest part of Australia’s exports, and iron was the second biggest one, both in the year 2005 and the next year, 2010. These two items when combined together were more than one half of all the exports. [45 words]

2.

They could threaten people who are going to attack them. [10 words]

3.

Gun owners would say that people have a right to possess guns for protection of their lives and property. They believe people have responsibilities and abilities to fight back against criminals. [32 words]

4.

Iron and coal are the most popular products which were traded overseas. On the other hand, the exportation percentage of wheat and meat are much less significant. [27 words]

5.

… countries which have different their culture and geographic features. [9 words]

6.

… which are easily available and accessible to the holiday makers as opposed to the previous tourists who could only find the information from travel agencies and purchase package tours. [29 words]

By the way, you can learn more about me at   www.aisielts.com .

Concision Rides Again (1 of 12)

Now, I’ll go back to helping you with ‘concision’. I have given ‘concision’ posts before, but it’s an ongoing problem with IELTS writing, and (in my opinion), one of the biggest, and one of the reasons why IELTS marks are limited in this country.

Unfortunately, there is much IELTS ‘preparation’ out there teaching you long weird sentences, full of redundancy and fluff. Authors write books of ‘model’ sentences to remember, trying to create ‘style’ and ‘collocation’. The worst of these simply cannot be understood, but even what seems like an efficient sentence is often overwritten. I correct IELTS writing from my students everyday, so I am constantly getting examples of over-written sentences to correct.

So, let’s look at concision again, and since there are 30 posts to this series, a couple of introductory posts are needed. This is the first of them.

Let’s consider my IELTS Writing Books. The Task–One book has Tip 6. T Task–Two book has Tip 10. They both have the same name: CUT THE FLUFF! What is fluff? What’s wrong with fluff?

Let’s jump to a nice quote from a famous book called ‘The Elements of Style’, by Professor Strunk Jr., an English professor at Cornell University. The book was first published in the 1930s, and is now considered a classic. Here is Professor Strunk’s Rule 17, and his explanation to it.

Rule 17: Omit Needless Words

Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. This requires not that the writer make all sentences short, or avoid all detail and treat subjects only in outline, but that every word tell.

Well, my rule is exactly the same: Cut the fluff! Fluff = unnecessary words, unnecessary sentences, and unnecessary thoughts. An important word is ‘concise’ and ‘concision’. On Page 17 of my Writing Task Two book, ‘concise’ is defined as …

Concise = the words are not repetitive; every word is meaningful and counts.

This is similar to Professor Strunk’s ‘[make] every word tell’. In my book, Tip 7 states …

This new sentence is much shorter, and makes the same point. That is, the sentence is concise, and concision is a sign of a good writer.

And, I’ll quote Professor William Strunk Jr. one more time.

When a sentence is made shorter, it is usually made stronger.

I sometimes think that I share some of Professor Strunk’s DNA. His rule (which is my rule) should be your rule in IELTS Writing. If a sentence can make the same point in fewer words, WRITE THAT SENTENCES! You then have time to …

• move on,
• say more,
• and achieve more of the task.

That sounds like a good thing to do, right? That sounds like it can help raise your IELTS mark, doesn’t it? Well, it can, and that can be proved by looking at the public version of the IELTS band descriptors, which states that …

Coherence & Cohesion IELTS 7 = there is clear progression throughout

Task Response IELTS 7 = presents, extends, and supports main ideas

Concision helps give you that ‘clear progression’ (= IELTS 7). And, if a sentence can make the same point in fewer words, you then have time to …

• move on,
• say more,
• and achieve more of the task.

• in other words, you are better ‘presenting, extending, and supporting main ideas’ (= IELTS 7).

Got it?

Let’s continue this discussion in the next post by looking at some examples.

By the way, you can learn more about me at   www.aisielts.com .

Here is the last post of this current collocation series: Answers to Collocation 16 of 16.

Remember, the first sentence has the wrong collocation; the second sentence has the correct one.

1.

Nuclear power stations can produce the daily usage of power.

Nuclear power stations can meet/supply the daily usage of power..

2.

The Fukashima incident is just a single issue of the mistaken use of nuclear power.

The Fukashima incident is just an isolated example of the mistaken use of nuclear power.

3.

Guns have caused many disasters in America.

Guns have caused many tragedies in America.

4.

People live in a quick society.

People live in a fast-paced//rapidly changing society.

5.

The army forces men to do tasks over their limitations.

The army forces men to do tasks beyond their capabilities.

6.

People can always report to the police office.

People can always report to the police station.

Perhaps the student was thinking about ‘police officer’, which is the name for the person who wears the uniform.

7.

In the modern day, computers are dominant.

In the modern era, computers are dominant.

It is the addition of ‘the’ which makes ‘era’ necessary. Other ways to write this are …

In this modern age, computers are dominant.

In modern times, computers are dominant.

Nowadays, computers are dominant.

8.

Bullied students are also subject to verbal violence.

Bullied students are also subject to verbal abuse.

‘Violence’ collocates well with ‘physical’. A good phrase here would be:

Physical violence and verbal abuse.

Well, that is the end of the collocation series. Remember, there are many other ‘collocation series’ if you go back into past Pixnet posts – in fact, this pixnet blog has a wealth of material to help you get that better IELTS mark. 

As always, it requires you to WORK AT IT. Get cracking, move on, go forward, move ahead, and start learning. It’s all on this pixnet, and I have spend endless hours making it just for you. Use it!

In the next series of posts, I’ll look at …. hmmmm …. CONCISIONS. It’s always a BIG problem, and one reason you don’t get a good IELTS writing score. But I’ll talk about that in the next post. Get ready for it.

By the way, you can learn more about me at   www.aisielts.com .

（朋友無ptt帳號此文代Po）

雅思一戰6.5心得 （推薦華龍安德魯雅思補習班）

底子：2013年考多益沒讀書隨便考了不到400分，後來2016澳打了一年

2018/11/26開始上雅思考官安德魯補習班共約9週的課程

2019/01/31課程結束

2019/02/23考第一次 idp

2019/03/02考第二次 idp

2019/03/08 第一次成績公布 L:6 R:6 W:6 S:7 O:6.5

安德魯的寫作+聽力約5週（每週一三五），上完接著上閱讀+口說約4週（每週二四），1/

31結束課程。

不想要一次定生死，我一口氣報了2/23和3/2連續2週的兩場考試（有點土豪作法，但這樣

考試時比較不會緊張哦，會想著反正還有下次，或是上一次說不定考很好XD）

在11/26前我沒有補其他補習班也沒有針對雅思來念書，頂多就看看美劇跟背背單字，開

始上課後，才開始進入寫英文作文的世界。

一開始會害怕上外籍師的課會聽不懂，但其實安德魯講話語速都有拉慢，除了生字，基本

上都聽的懂！

我很佩服的是他教學用的投影片，相信他花了很多時間製作，很生動有趣。

安德魯和台灣老師不同的是，批改作文時，他不會直接告訴你答案是什麼，錯了什麼，他

會點出不對或放置不恰當的地方，然後你自己改，一開始我很不習慣，在自己改正的時間

時我都大放空。但後來發現，這樣做自身能力才會提升，才能應用到所有的作文題目。

每堂作文課下課都有作業，尤其週一週三很硬，隔天都不能出去玩，必須回家寫作業，一

定要寫，老師幫忙批改是很珍貴的！而且重點是：他曾是雅思作文閱卷官，現任口試官。

如果想報名安德魯全部課程且不趕時間的人，建議可以先上閱讀+口說，約一個月的課程

，熟悉他的教學方式和較易聽懂他說話後，再上寫作班，因為寫作班壓力不小，教的東西

很多，還要寫作業，需要有時間好好消化。

我這不是業配文，要了解的可以去網路谷歌：雅思 安德魯或Andrew ，他在華龍補習班。

課程結束後到考試前就是拼命練習安德魯出的2本試題本，練完他的作文題目，就每天到

處找題目來練。我報考手寫的考試，但練習是用電腦打字，因為想要先練想法，打字很快

可以一天練好幾篇，每次練習在時間上都有進步，其實很怕手寫會拖慢時間，結果第一次

考試時雖然Task1花了30分鐘，但task2只花了20分鐘，竟然還有10分鐘回頭檢查錯字和順

暢度。

口試拿了7分其實很意外，因為那是第一次很緊張加上考官僕克臉，但是他很多問題都類

似我們在安德魯課堂上練習過的題目！所以很多問題他一問我就馬上回答，他問我喜歡哪

個電影明星，這題我在安德魯書上有看到所以有練過答案，我當下立馬說李奧納多並解釋

，他還翻了一點白眼哈哈。

我每天都聽英國人Luke learning english的podcast，有2集在講如何準備雅思考試的，

剛好這2集是在我2次考試中間出的，因為他的建議，我第2次和口試官聊的非常愉快（或

許也是這位口試官特別活潑啦）我認為那次口試成績會超過第一次的7！

By the way 我第2次寫作Task1題目遇到大魔王Diagram圖片題，這聽說一年半年久久才出

一次的題型被我遇到了，因為我不擅長這類型，之前想說沒那麼衰就沒念了，所以分數應

該很慘，當初安德魯給的作業是table 和diagram2選1，我選了table啊啊啊啊～他練習本

也有但我也是跳過沒練。

同時Task2的題目也頗難（當次聽力、閱讀覺得有略簡單～不知道有沒有關聯）

如有問題可以問補習班 或是此篇考生本人的email： mini.lin0112@gmail.com

更正1:閱讀口說 課程是五週才對，平日班都是5週為一期

更正2:有任何問題可以到網址http://www.aisielts.com/，上面有聯絡人資訊。

—

Well, this is the last series of the current ‘collocation’ posts – although I will have to give the answers to it in the next post – so that one will actually be the finish. But before giving 16 of 16, I’ll just mention what you can see in the subject line. Here it is again, with a little more detail.

• Saturday IELTS Course: Join this coming Saturday!!!

It will be your last chance to join this course (making up the missed lessons in the Term 3 weekday courses).

• Term 3 Weekday Courses: Join this Monday/Tuesday!!!

It’s Monday for the IELTS Writing & Listening Course, andTuesday for the IELTS Reading & Speaking Course. Get in for the beginning of these.

Tell your friend about these, and don’t think so much: JUST DO IT. Check my qualification on the website: www.aisielts.com  , and you will realise.

Anyhow, let’s move on to the final of the ‘collocation’ series.

Collocation: the other key to IELTS 7 (16 of 16)

Collocation is the key to getting a higher IELTS Writing and Speaking score, but it is not easy. Students often do not collocate words very well (which is why they don’t receive IELTS 7 or 8). To do this, all the parts of speech [adjectives & nouns, verbs & adverbs, prepositions & nouns, and others] must fit together in accepted patterns, stylishly and nice, while all the time conveying clear and precise meaning – like the video at the top of this page. Watch it, and notice all the parts of this complex creation blend together perfectly. This is what your writing should be like.

Well, to have ‘a sense of collocation’ (= IELTS 7), you need to have some familiarity with English. So, start reading all my pixnet posts, and getting this familiarity, right?

In the meantime, the following exercises will help.

Time to Practice

Can you ‘fix’ the following sentences by changing (or removing) the underlined word? There may be different ways to answer these. The answers will be in the next ‘collocation’ post.

1.

Nuclear power stations can produce the daily usage of power.

2.

The Fukashima incident is just a single issue of the mistaken use of nuclear power.

3.

Guns have caused many disasters in America.

4.

People live in a quick society.

5.

The army forces men to do tasks over their limitations.

6.

People can always report to the police office.

7.

In the modern day, computers are dominant.

8.

Bullied students are also subject to verbal violence.

Answers to Collocation 15 of 16

Here are the answers to the previous collocation exercise. The first sentence has the wrong collocation; the second sentence has the correct one.

1.

They need guns for when they face dangerous conditions.

They need guns for when they face dangerous situations.

2.

What is happening in Taiwan tells a different result.

What is happening in Taiwan tells a different story.

3.

I am sorry for wasting your worthy time.

I am sorry for wasting your valuable time.

4.

By not seeing the product, customers undertake the risk of ….[~]ing…

By not seeing the product, customers run the risk of ….[~]ing…

By not seeing the product, customers risk [~]ing …

5.

I hope that you can challenge this cancer.

I hope that you can conquer/fight/overcome/beat/recover from this cancer.

6.

This can stimulate new ideas and creation.

This can stimulate new ideas and inventions.

7.

This can enhance the profit the companies make.

The can increase the profit the companies make.

We don’t ‘enhance’ numerical things (that is, things based on numbers). We enhance abstract factors, such as ‘quality’, ‘service’, ‘enjoyment’, and so on.

8.

Airline companies have launched significant discounts.

Airline companies have been offering significant discounts.

Present Perfect Continuous tense is more logical here.

Remember, you can learn more about me at   www.aisielts.com .

Collocation: the other key to IELTS 7 (15 of 16)

Collocation is the key to getting a higher IELTS Writing and Speaking score, but it is not easy. Students often do not collocate words very well (which is why they don’t receive IELTS 7 or 8). To do this, all the parts of speech [adjectives & nouns, verbs & adverbs, prepositions & nouns, and others] must fit together in accepted patterns, stylishly and nice, while all the time conveying clear and precise meaning – like the video at the top of this page. Watch it, and notice all the parts of this complex creation blend together perfectly. This is what your writing should be like.

Well, to have ‘a sense of collocation’ (= IELTS 7), you need to have some familiarity with English. So, start reading all my pixnet posts, and getting this familiarity, right?

In the meantime, the following exercises will help.

Time to Practice

Can you ‘fix’ the following sentences by changing (or removing) the underlined word? There may be different ways to answer these. The answers will be in the next ‘collocation’ post.

1.

They need guns for when they face dangerous conditions.

2.

What is happening in Taiwan tells a different result.

3.

I am sorry for wasting your worthy time.

4.

By not seeing the product, customers undertake the risk of ….[~]ing…

5.

I hope that you can challenge this cancer.

6.

This can stimulate new ideas and creation.

7.

This can enhance the profit the companies make.

8.

Airline companies have launched significant discounts.

Answers to Collocation 14 of 16

Here are the answers to the previous collocation exercise. The first sentence has the wrong collocation; the second sentence has the correct one.

1.

It becomes a big problem for those smoking addicts.

It becomes a big problem for those tobacco addicts.

2.

They have no choice but to comply with the trend.

They have no choice but to follow the trend.

We ‘comply with’ the law, rules, and regulations.

3.

When people quit smoking, they feel very uncomfortable.

When people quit smoking, they suffer [uncomfortable] withdrawal symptoms.

The original sentence was true, and acceptable. Withdrawal symptoms are indeed ‘uncomfortable’, but I’m sure you’d agree that ‘uncomfortable’ is a very inexact word. A quarter of your IELTS score is based on vocabulary, and an IELTS 7 has the ability to write with ‘some flexibility and precision’ (quoted from the public version of the IELTS Band Descriptors). The key word is ‘precision’. Be precise! ‘Uncomfortable’ is vague. ‘Withdrawal symptoms’ is totally precise (not just having ‘some’ of this quality = higher than IELTS 7). Got it!

If you want, you could add the word ‘uncomfortable’ into the sentence- it does add more meaning and clarity – although withdrawal symptoms, by definition, are always uncomfortable, so adding this word isn’t necessary.

4.

In this information society, people are very busy.

In this information age, people are very busy.

5.

Employess are asked to have more creative ideas.

Employees are asked to produce/generate more creative ideas.

6.

Some of the products are under standard.

Some of the products are below standard.

7.

It could be argued that people have the right to bear guns.

It could be argued that people have the right to bear arms.

8.

These shootings have stimulated people to consider the dangers.

These shootings have forced/galvanised/prompted people to consider the dangers.

‘Stimulate’ is for postive things. Research, books, documentaries, museums, and stories can stimulate us. ‘Shootings’ are very negative, so we need a different verb.

By the way, you can learn more about me at   www.aisielts.com . Remember, the next term of IELTS course, Term 3, begins next Monday, so get in quick.

AIS Term 3 IELTS Courses begin in two weeks, so start thinking about that, everyone. In the meantime, here’s the next post in the collocation series.

Collocation: the other key to IELTS 7 (14 of 16)

Collocation is the key to getting a higher IELTS Writing and Speaking score, but it is not easy. Students often do not collocate words very well (which is why they don’t receive IELTS 7 or 8). To do this, all the parts of speech [adjectives & nouns, verbs & adverbs, prepositions & nouns, and others] must fit together in accepted patterns, stylishly and nice, while all the time conveying clear and precise meaning – like the video at the top of this page. Watch it, and notice all the parts of this complex creation blend together perfectly. This is what your writing should be like.

Well, to have ‘a sense of collocation’ (= IELTS 7), you need to have some familiarity with English. So, start reading all my pixnet posts, and getting this familiarity, right?

In the meantime, the following exercises will help.

Time to Practice

Can you ‘fix’ the following sentences by changing (or removing) the underlined word? There may be different ways to answer these. The answers will be in the next ‘collocation’ post.

1.

It becomes a big problem for those smoking addicts.

2.

They have no choice but to comply with the trend.

3.

When people quit smoking, they feel very uncomfortable.

4.

In this information society, people are very busy.

5.

Employees are asked to have more creative ideas.

6.

Some of the products are under standard.

7.

It could be argued that people have the right to bear guns.

8.

These shootings have stimulated people to consider the dangers.

Answers to Collocation 13 of 16

Here are the answers to the previous collocation exercise. The first sentence has the wrong collocation; the second sentence has the correct one.

1.

Guns are useful when people are suffering from dangerous situations.

Guns are useful when people are facing dangerous situations.

2.

People murder their leaders to make a revolution.

People overthrow their leaders to start a revolution.

Murder is too negative. The meaning here should be a positive one.

3.

People start smoking by curiosity.

People start smoking out of curiosity.

4.

Banning smoking would minimise the opportunity to receive passive smoke.

Banning smoking would minimise exposure to passive smoke.

This issue has happened many times in previous ‘collocation’ entries. The word ‘opportunity’ is positive, for positive concepts. E.g employment opportunities, career opportunities, opportunities to make friends, and so on. Think about it. You would never say ‘opportunities to die’, would you? You would say, ‘the risk/threat/possibility/chance of death’.

5.

Fathers start noticing that they have a responsibility to their children..

Fathers start realising that they have a responsibility to their children.

6.

People often smoke due to the peer-group effect.

People often smoke due to peer-group pressure.

7.

Some drugs can release people from the smoking hunger.

Some drugs can reduce the smoking cravings.

8.

Schools can teach students not to smoke.

Schools can convince/persuade students not to smoke.

Schools can inform/educate students of the dangers of smoking.

By the way, you can learn more about me at   www.aisielts.com .

The New Saturday IELTS Course begins this Saturday // Get in Quick!

We often start new courses, then have students contact us after the course has started. They can join in an IELTS course a little bit late (by doing scheduled make-up classes), but it is, obviously, much better to start a course at the beginning – particularly with respect to IELTS Writing. Writing is so complicated, so I have designed a progression in the lessons, where each new lesson builds on the previous one. Students should start at the beginning, then proceed through the lessons in order to best get the learning effect.

So, if you are interested in IELTS, or have a friend who is interested in IELTS, the Saturday IELTS Course begins this weekend! Get in quickly to do that first class, and keep the order perfect for the maximum learning ability. Click on the video above to get an idea about what happens, or go to the website: www.aisielts.com.

Collocation: the other key to IELTS 7 (13 of 16)

Okay, let’s move back to collocation. As you know, it is the key to getting a higher IELTS Writing and Speaking score, but it is not easy. Students often do not collocate words very well (which is why they don’t receive IELTS 7 or 8). To do this, all the parts of speech [adjectives & nouns, verbs & adverbs, prepositions & nouns, and others] must fit together in accepted patterns, stylishly and nice, while all the time conveying clear and precise meaning – like the video at the top of this page. Watch it, and notice all the parts of this complex creation blend together perfectly. This is what your writing should be like.

Well, to have ‘a sense of collocation’ (= IELTS 7), you need to have some familiarity with English. So, start reading all my pixnet posts, and getting this familiarity, right?

In the meantime, the following exercises will help.

Time to Practice

Can you ‘fix’ the following sentences by changing (or removing) the underlined word? There may be different ways to answer these. The answers will be in the next ‘collocation’ post.

1.

Guns are useful when people are suffering from dangerous situations.

2.

People murder their leaders to make a revolution.

3.

People start smoking by curiosity.

4.

Banning smoking would minimise the opportunity to receive passive smoke.

5.

Fathers start noticing that they have a responsibility to their children.

6.

People often smoke due to the peer-group effect.

7.

Some drugs can release people from the smoking hunger.

8.

Schools can teach students not to smoke.

Answers to Collocation 12 of 16

Here are the answers to the previous collocation exercise. The first sentence has the wrong collocation; the second sentence has the correct one.

1.

Tourists enjoy travelling abroad to experience culture shock.

Tourists enjoy travelling abroad to experience the different cultures.

Culture shock is a negative concept. That is not why people travel.

2.

Another negative effect is the demolition of local culture.

Another negative effect is the destruction of local culture.

‘Demolition’ is for buildings and constructions.

3.

I would suggest advertising domestic tourist attractions.

I would suggest promoting domestic tourist attractions.

4.

Nuclear waste is dangerous, and the government does not save it well.

Nuclear waste is dangerous, and the government does not store it well.

5.

Nuclear power is popular in many countries.

Nuclear power is common in many countries.

Nuclear power is never popular with anyone – but it is accepted as a reliable source of energy.

6.

The strong points of nuclear energy are more.

The good points of nuclear energy are more.

The support for nuclear energy is stronger.

In the original sentence, ‘strong’ and ‘more’ repeat.

7.

Nuclear power is better than other forms of energy production.

Nuclear power is better than other forms of energy generation.

8.

The Fukashima nuclear plant was broken by a tsunami.

The Fukashima nuclear plant was damaged by a tsunami.

By the way, you can learn more about me at   www.aisielts.com .

Collocation: the other key to IELTS 7 (12 of 16)

Collocation is the key to getting a higher IELTS Writing and Speaking score, but it is not easy. Students often do not collocate words very well (which is why they don’t receive IELTS 7 or 8). To do this, all the parts of speech [adjectives & nouns, verbs & adverbs, prepositions & nouns, and others] must fit together in accepted patterns, stylishly and nice, while all the time conveying clear and precise meaning – like the video at the top of this page. Watch it, and notice all the parts of this complex creation blend together perfectly. This is what your writing should be like.

Well, to have ‘a sense of collocation’ (= IELTS 7), you need to have some familiarity with English. So, start reading all my pixnet posts, and getting this familiarity, right?

In the meantime, the following exercises will help.

Time to Practice

Can you ‘fix’ the following sentences by changing (or removing) the underlined word? There may be different ways to answer these. The answers will be in the next ‘collocation’ post.

1.

Tourists enjoy travelling abroad to experience culture shock.

2.

Another negative effect is the demolition of local culture.

3.

I would suggest advertising domestic tourist attractions.

4.

Nuclear waste is dangerous, and the government does not save it well.

5.

Nuclear power is popular in many countries.

6.

The strong points of nuclear energy are more.

7.

Nuclear power is better than other forms of energy production.

8.

The Fukashima nuclear plant was broken by a tsunami.

Answers to Collocation 11 of 16

Here are the answers to the previous collocation exercise. The first sentence has the wrong collocation; the second sentence has the correct one.

1.

Only by such publicity can people decline the temptation to smoke.

Only by such publicity can people resist the temptation to smoke.

2.

Society has to endure the cost.

Society has to suffer the cost. 

We ‘endure’ pain, stress, annoyance, frustration, and so on.

3.

Society wants to reduce crime rates.

Society wants to lower the crime rates.

Society wants to reduce crime.

4.

An asteroid from space did great damage.

An asteroid from space caused great damage.

An asteroid from space resulted in great damage.

An asteroid from space wreaked great destruction.

In the third example, ‘wreak’ collocates much better ‘destruction’ (rather than ‘damage’). It also collocates nicely with ‘havoc’.

5.

The age of the dinosaurs went to an end.

The age of the dinosaurs came to an end.

6.

Accidental gun shots can cause irreparable problems.

Accidental gun shots can cause permanent injury.

7.

We would need more police officers to guard the safety.

We would need more police officers to maintain safety.

8.

Students at school can develop rigid friendships.

Students at school can develop lasting/better/deeper/more intimate friendships.

‘Rigid’ (= unbending/inflexible) is a negative word, which must be linked with negative nouns of attitude, or (when used literally), with materials.

• Rigid attitude
• Rigid control
• Rigid educational system
• Rigid discipline

• Rigid framework
• Rigid structure
• Rigid plastic

By the way, you can learn more about me at   www.aisielts.com .

Collocation: the other key to IELTS 7 (11 of 16)

Okay, it’s been a while since my last post. We’ve all been enjoying the Chinese New Year Holiday, and it’s been busy for me afterwards with IELTS related matters. In my teaching location, Term 2 has started, with every IELTS course running, so I’m back to being a very busy teacher.

Anyhow, let’s continue with this collocation series which we were doing before the Chinese New Year holiday. It was all about ‘collocation’, and we are now up to the 11^th post of the series of 16.  Why don’t you read the first and second post of this series to remind yourself about collocation, what it is, and why it is important.

Right now, I’ll mention that collocation is the key to getting a higher IELTS Writing and Speaking score. Collocation means putting all the parts of speech [adjectives & nouns, verbs & adverbs, prepositions & nouns, and others] together in accepted patterns which are stylish and nice, while all the time conveying clear and precise meaning – like the video at the top of this page. Watch it, and notice all the parts of this complex creation blend together perfectly. This is what your writing should be like.

Of course, good collocation is not easy, and requires a deeper knowledge of a language. Consequently, students often do not collocate words very well (which is why they don’t receive IELTS 7 or 8).

Well, to have ‘a sense of collocation’ (= IELTS 7), you need to have some familiarity with English. So, start reading all my pixnet posts, and getting this familiarity, right?

In the meantime, the following exercises will help.

Time to Practice

Can you ‘fix’ the following sentences by changing (or removing) the underlined word? There may be different ways to answer these. The answers will be in the next ‘collocation’ post.

1.

Only by such publicity can people decline the temptation to smoke.

2.

Society has to endure the cost.

3.

Society wants to reduce crime rates.

4.

An asteroid from space did great damage.

5.

The age of the dinosaurs went to an end.

6.

Accidental gun shots can cause irreparable problems.

7.

We would need more police officers to guard the safety.

8.

Students at school can develop rigid friendships.

Answers to Collocation 10 of 16

Here are the answers to the previous collocation exercise. This was given before Chinese New Year, so that was quite a while ago.

The first sentence has the wrong collocation; the second sentence has the correct one.

1.

Cigarettes can help make more social contact with people.

Cigarettes can help create more social contact with people.

2.

Modern society causes a competitive environment.

Modern society creates a competitive environment.

3.

Teenagers want to push the limits of the rules imposed by parents.

·         Teenagers want to cross the boundaries imposed by parents.

·         Teenagers want to break the rules imposed by parents.

·         Teenagers want to extend the limits set by parents.

Notice that the original sentence was a bit ‘overwritten’, with three words: ‘push’, ‘limits’, and ‘rules’, each of them collocating with different words. It’s better to use two words, and an adverb, if possible.

·         Teenagers want to deliberately cross the boundaries imposed by parents.

·         Teenagers want to blatantly break the rules imposed by parents.

·         Teenagers want to rebelliously extend the limits set by parents.

4.

Using guns could make unimaginable consequences.

Using guns could create/cause/result in unimaginable consequence.

5.

We can easily repair the law to make society safer.

We can easily change the law to make society safer.

6.

Mad shooters make irrecoverable harm to their victims.

Derranged shooters cause irrecoverable harm to their victims.

Derranged shooters irrecoverably harm their victims.

7.

Banning guns can avoid these tragedies from happening.

Banning guns can prevent these tragedies.

8.

We should remove these areas, creating a real non-smoking town.

We should remove these areas, creating a true non-smoking town.

By the way, you can learn more about me at   www.aisielts.com .

作者erin88321 (pitschi)

看板IELTS

標題

時間Sun Jan 20 01:29:05 2019

我的成績：

2019/1/5 總分6.5 閱讀6.5 聽力6.5 寫作6 口說6

雖說成績不高，但有達到我申請學校需要的成績，所以看到成績的時候真的很開心！

想起當初發願若有拿到6.5就要來分享心得，現在是還願的時候了～

在工作幾年後，決定申請國外研究所繼續唸藝術。

其實原本並不認為這次就會達標的，因為自從大學的基礎課程後就幾乎沒碰過英文了。

因為太生疏，不知道該如何著手準備，

上網參考了很多心得分享後，決定報名Andrew老師的五週雅思課程。

我覺得週一到週五每天三個小時的課，收穫最多的是寫作task2的部分。

Andrew老師的系統對考試很實用，

另外也刺激我反省自己在生活中是否太少思考各類議題。

我是在剛上完五週的課程，隔幾天就直接去考試了。

考試前幾天有和班上同學約練口說，寫了三回Andrew老師的試題本(聽力與閱讀的部分)，

然後複習老師上課幫忙批改的作文。

這次考試的用意是想知道自己大概成績落在哪，便於知道哪部份該更加強。

原本打算是用接下來幾個月來認真準備、寫題目，

但很幸運地達標，所以不必再第二次了！

真心感謝Andrew老師，我覺得上課對我而言是最有效率的方式。

我想老師的課能做的是指引一條好的道路，

真的想拿高分也沒有他法，唯有踏實地培養自己的實力。

而這點也是Andrew老師一再強調的，沒有什麼一步登天的秘笈，背誦模板也是沒有用的。

因此，我覺得他是一位很誠實的老師，

他會說出事實，同時非常認真地幫助學生。

以下是分享一些考試的心得：

(抱歉沒有太多，因為我才正開始要好好準備就要跟它分手了…)

聽力：

平常在做無關緊要的事(例如化妝、刷牙、做伸展運動的時候)

會開著英文演講來聽，順便吸收新知。

原本以為聽力算是我各科中比較有信心的一項，

然而考試當天可能因為太早起床頭痛，在聽力的part2昏沉到一片空白，

意識到的時候已經進part3了。

在此提醒大家，在考試前要好好調整自己的作息，千萬不要像我一樣嗚。

閱讀：

速度的練習很重要，要訓練自己在20分鐘以內寫完一篇。

而且似乎前面的文章是比較簡單的，所以最好前面再快一點，留點時間給後面。

我沒有做到，所以考試的時候最後一篇沒寫完…

寫作：

我是完全按照Andrew老師課堂教學的邏輯寫的。

因為距離考試只有幾天時間，來不及增加什麼字彙量或複習複雜的文法，

所以我找出最適合自己的簡明扼要的風格，在準備時間不多時這應該是很安全的做法。

口說：

在Andrew老師的課程裡，除了一週一堂的口說課以外，還有很多可以練習口說的機會。

我的個性比較害羞，不太容易與陌生人說話，

可是雅思考官就是個陌生人，所以不能像平常一樣。

雖然短短五週並不可能讓我短期內有什麼突破性的進步(尤其本來我的口說就最弱)，

但對於建立我開口的信心有很大的幫助。

另外，在考試現場：

我一直以為中間有休息所以沒先去上洗手間，寫作開始的時候想上了就有點緊張。

所以考前不能喝太多水，各項考科中間完全沒有休息唷

(還是說其實只有我這麼大意><)。

最後感謝大家看完這篇文章～也祝福大家都能順利地和雅思分手唷！

—

Collocation: the other key to IELTS 7 (10 of 16)

Collocation is the key to getting a higher IELTS Writing and Speaking score, but it is not easy. Students often do not collocate words very well (which is why they don’t receive IELTS 7 or 8). To do this, all the parts of speech [adjectives & nouns, verbs & adverbs, prepositions & nouns, and others] must fit together in accepted patterns, stylishly and nice, while all the time conveying clear and precise meaning – like the video at the top of this page. Watch it, and notice all the parts of this complex creation blend together perfectly. This is what your writing should be like.

Well, to have ‘a sense of collocation’ (= IELTS 7), you need to have some familiarity with English. So, start reading all my pixnet posts, and getting this familiarity, right?

In the meantime, the following exercises will help.

Time to Practice

Can you ‘fix’ the following sentences by changing (or removing) the underlined word? There may be different ways to answer these. The answers will be in the next ‘collocation’ post.

1. Cigarettes can help make more social contact with people.

2. Modern society causes a competitive environment.

3. Teenagers want to push the limits of the rules imposed by parents.

4. Using guns could make unimaginable consequences.

5. We can easily repair the law to make society safer.

6. Mad shooters make irrecoverable harm to their victims.

7. Banning guns can avoid these tragedies from happening.

8. We should remove these areas, creating a real non-smoking town.

Answers to Collocation 9 of 16

Here are the answers to the previous collocation exercise. The first sentence has the wrong collocation; the second sentence has the correct one.

1.

Once, people thought marriage was a necessary process.

Once, people thought marriage was a necessary step.

Marriage is a very common step.

2.

The government needs to build a good policy to deal with this.

The government needs to establish/implement/design/determine a good policy to deal with this.

3.

Fighting back can stop the development of bullying.

Fighting back can stop bullying.

Fighting back can stop the growth/rise of bullying.

‘Development’ is a positive word, for positive things. ‘Bullying’ is a negative thing.

4.

It is impractical to ask teachers to rescue students from a malicious situation.

It is impractical to ask teachers to rescue students from a dangerous situation.

‘Malicious’ is a word to describe people, not situations.

5.

The victims can express their bravery.

The victims can show/display their bravery.

6.

The degree of bankrupcy shows a remarkable descent.

The degree of bankrupcy shows a sharp descent.

‘Remarkable’ is a positive adjective, so it can’t collocate with the negative ‘bankrupcy’. Also,

‘remarkable’ is a subjective adjective – which means that the definition depends on you, the subject. What is ‘remarkable’? How much exactly is ‘remarkable’? In Task-One Writing, there can be some subjectivity, which I call ‘natural reactions’ [See Tip 5 Part Two, p.15), but in the case of this sentence, I don’t see that opportunity. Perhaps one could write …

The degree of bankrupcy shows a serious descent.

7.

It does not matter how many space missions a country makes, ….

It does not matter how many space missions a country has,

8.

Nuclear energy is better than using coal to transfer into energy.

Nuclear energy is better than using coal to generate energy.

By the way, you can learn more about me at   www.aisielts.com .

Collocation: the other key to IELTS 7 (9 of 16)

Collocation is the key to getting a higher IELTS Writing and Speaking score, but it is not easy. Students often do not collocate words very well (which is why they don’t receive IELTS 7 or 8). To do this, all the parts of speech [adjectives & nouns, verbs & adverbs, prepositions & nouns, and others] must fit together in accepted patterns, stylishly and nice, while all the time conveying clear and precise meaning – like the video at the top of this page. Watch it, and notice all the parts of this complex creation blend together perfectly. This is what your writing should be like.

Well, to have ‘a sense of collocation’ (= IELTS 7), you need to have some familiarity with English. So, start reading all my pixnet posts, and getting this familiarity, right?

In the meantime, the following exercises will help.

Time to Practice

Can you ‘fix’ the following sentences by changing (or removing) the underlined word? There may be different ways to answer these. The answers will be in the next ‘collocation’ post.

1. Once, people thought marriage was a necessary process. Marriage is a very common activity.

2. The government needs to build a good policy to deal with this.

3. Fighting back can affect the development of bullying.

4. It is impractical to ask teachers to rescue students from a malicious situation.

5. The victims can express their bravery.

6. The degree of bankrupcy shows a remarkable descent.

7. It does not matter how many space missions a country makes, ….

8. Nuclear energy is better than using coal to transfer into energy.

Answers to Collocation 8 of 16

Here are the answers to the previous collocation exercise. The first sentence has the wrong collocation; the second sentence has the correct one.

1.

When a bullied person fights back, the responsibility is given to both people.

When a bullied person fights back, the blame is given to both people.

2.

The bullies may start revenge.

The bullies may seek revenge.

3.

Louis Vitton has paid their effort to create a unique shopping experience.

Louis Vitton has made great effort to create a unique shopping experience.

4.

When people plan to do some purchases, they often ….

When people plan to make some purchases, they often …

5.

Individuals obtain more stress.

Individuals have/develop more stress.

Obtain is a positive word; stress is a negative concept, so they can’t be used together.

6.

The medical fare can be huge.

The medical fee can be huge.

7.

Living alone has become more popular than before.

Living alone has become more common.

Popular suggests that people want to live alone. This is probably not true. They live alone for other reasons.

8.

Only a part of the people believe this nowadays.

Only a minority of the people believe this nowadays.

By the way, you can learn more about me at   www.aisielts.com .

Collocation: the other key to IELTS 7 (8 of 16)

Collocation is the key to getting a higher IELTS Writing and Speaking score, but it is not easy. Students often do not collocate words very well (which is why they don’t receive IELTS 7 or 8). To do this, all the parts of speech [adjectives & nouns, verbs & adverbs, prepositions & nouns, and others] must fit together in accepted patterns, stylishly and nice, while all the time conveying clear and precise meaning – like the video at the top of this page. Watch it, and notice all the parts of this complex creation blend together perfectly. This is what your writing should be like.

Well, to have ‘a sense of collocation’ (= IELTS 7), you need to have some familiarity with English. So, start reading all my pixnet posts, and getting this familiarity, right?

In the meantime, the following exercises will help.

Time to Practice

Can you ‘fix’ the following sentences by changing (or removing) the underlined word? There may be different ways to answer these. The answers will be in the next ‘collocation’ post.

1. When a bullied person fights back, the responsibility is given to both people.

2. The bullies may start revenge.

3. Louis Vitton has paid their effort to create a unique shopping experience.

4. When people plan to do some purchases, they often ….

5. Individuals obtain more stress.

6. The medical fare can be huge.

7. Living alone has become more popular than before.

8. Only a part of the people believe this nowadays.

Answers to Collocation 7 of 16

Here are the answers to the previous collocation exercise. The first sentence has the wrong collocation; the second sentence has the correct one.

1.

Everyone who commits a crime must bear the result.

Everyone who commits a crime must take the consequences.

2.

Forcing students to work would provoke negative awareness.

Forcing students to work would provoke negative reactions.

Awareness is a positive work, and can’t collocate with provoke and negative.

3.

Capital punishment helps keep a steady society.

Capital punishment helps keep a stable society.

4.

Capital punishment fails to trust criminals have the potential to change.

[By the way, this one is very difficult.]

Capital punishment rejects the possibility that criminals can change.

Capital punishment denies the opportunity for criminals to change.

5.

At ony 5%, it plays a poor performance.

At only 5%, it plays a minor role.

Sometimes has a poor performance. For example, a company, your investment, or an actor.

6.

Hackers can steal individual information.

Hackers can steal private information.

7.

New online shopping platforms are rising.

New online shopping platforms are appearing.

8.

Online sellers sometimes make tricks on the photos of the products.

Online sellers sometimes play tricks with the photos of the products.

By the way, you can learn more about me at   www.aisielts.com .

Collocation: the other key to IELTS 7 (7 of 16)

Collocation is the key to getting a higher IELTS Writing and Speaking score, but it is not easy. Students often do not collocate words very well (which is why they don’t receive IELTS 7 or 8). To do this, all the parts of speech [adjectives & nouns, verbs & adverbs, prepositions & nouns, and others] must fit together in accepted patterns, stylishly and nice, while all the time conveying clear and precise meaning – like the video at the top of this page. Watch it, and notice all the parts of this complex creation blend together perfectly. This is what your writing should be like.

Well, to have ‘a sense of collocation’ (= IELTS 7), you need to have some familiarity with English. So, start reading all my pixnet posts, and getting this familiarity, right?

In the meantime, the following exercises will help.

Time to Practice

Can you ‘fix’ the following sentences by changing (or removing) the underlined word? There may be different ways to answer these. The answers will be in the next ‘collocation’ post.

1. Everyone who commits a crime must bear the result.

2. Forcing students to work would provoke negative awareness.

3. Capital punishment helps keep a steady society.

4. Capital punishment fails to trust criminals have the potential to change.

5. At ony 5%, it plays a poor performance.

6. Hackers can steal individual information.

7. New online shopping platforms are rising.

8. Online sellers sometimes make tricks on the photos of the products.

Answers to Collocation 6 of 16

Here are the answers to the previous collocation exercise. The first sentence has the wrong collocation; the second sentence has the correct one.

1.

The government can show pictures of unhealthy organs.

The government can show pictures of diseased organs.

2.

Peer pressure persuades many people to smoke.

Peer pressure forces many people to smoke.

3.

The gap between the two countries descends.

The gap between the two countries decreases.

4.

For example, the better qualified healthcare services.

For example, the better healthcare services.

Qualified is for people, not for services.

5.

Parents want to put the maximum resources on their single child.

Parents want to invest the maximum resources on their single child.

6.

The event of bringing back a deadly virus is impossible.

The possibility of bring back a deadly virus is nil/non-existent/negligle.

7.

Soldiers have to attend military training.

Soldiers have to do military training.

8.

When a horrible murder happens, the public are drastically alarmed.

When a horrible murder happens, the public are immediately alarmed.

Another good collocation here is to use intensifying adverbs, such as certainly and indeed.

By the way, you can learn more about me at   www.aisielts.com .