The document outlines strategies for various sections of the IELTS exam, including reading tasks such as labeling diagrams and flow-chart completion, as well as listening and speaking components that focus on matching and the use of examples. It emphasizes the importance of skimming and scanning passages for relevant information, effectively structuring essays to discuss advantages and disadvantages, and improving speaking abilities through clear expressions and word stress. Additionally, it provides specific tactics for creating coherent paragraphs and utilizing cohesive devices.

1. Lecture # 8

2. READING SECTION-1
- Labelling a diagram
- Flow-chart completion
LISTENING SECTION-2
- Matching
- Labelling a diagram
SPEAKING PARTS 2 &3.
- Using reasons & examples
- Strategies for self-correctionand expressing oneself
more
WRITING TASK 2. DISCUSSING
AFDVANTAGES & DISADVANTAGES
- Introducing and linking ideas in paragraphs
- Constructing the middle paragraphs of an essay

3. Reading section-1: Labeling a
diagram
• This task tests your skills locating information in
the passage, relating the information in the diagram
and choosing appropriate words from the passage.
• You may be asked to choose words ot phrases
from a box or list or words from the passage. If you
are asked to choose words or phrases from a box or
list there will be more words than need.
• You will be told the maximum number of words
for each answer. The questions may not follow the
same order as the information in the passage.

4. Strategies for labeling a diagram
task
1. Skim the whole passage before you start working on any of the
tasks.
2. Read the instructions carefully. Study the drawing and the heading,
if it has one. Try to work out what the drawing shows.
3. Find the part of the passage that is relevant to the drawing – the
heading will help you. The information is usually located in one
paragraph or two in the passage. Read this part carefully and look
for the first answer. Write your answer, making sure you spell it
correctly and write no more than the maximum number of words.
4. Look for the other answers in turn.
5. Write the answers exactly as they appear in the passage.
6. Check answers. Make sure that they make sense: for example, if you
are giving the names of parts of a machine, they should be nouns or
noun phrases.

5. Reading section-1: Flow-chart
completion
• This task tests your skills
- locating specific information in the passage
- choosing appropriate words
- understanding details and order of information

6. • Strategies for flow-chart completion
1. Skim the whole passage before you start working on
any of the tasks.
2. Scan the passage for specific information.
3. Use the title of the flow chart if it has to find the right
part of the passage.
4. Use the direction of the arrows and boxes to follow the
order of information in chart.
5. Identify the type of word needed for each part of the
flow chart.
6. Select the appropriate words from the passage.
7. Check the number of words that can be used for each
answer.
8. Answers do not always come in order.

7. LISTENING SECTION-2
- Matching
- Labelling a diagram

8. • In the IELTS Listening exam, you may have to
match pieces of information. Such tasks can be
found in any section of the exam.
• In matching listening questions you will be
given a list of options to choose from. There will
usually be more options than you need to answer
the questions. The options are sometimes listed
alphabetically and not in the order you will hear
them. The questions will be listed in the order
that you will hear them.

9. • Strategies for matching task
1.Before you listen, focus on reaing the
questions first.
2.Then read the options.
3.Underline keywords.
4.Listen out for the keywords in the question and
match them to the keywords in the options.
5.Write only one letter for each question.

10. Labelling a diagram
• You may have to label a diagram which describes a
process. This question type can be found in any section of
the exam.
• You have to complete the diagram by writing the
information yortself or choosing the answer from a list of
options. Sometimes labelling a diagram will require you
to relate information to a visual representation of the
information you hear. The extent of the visual clues will
vary.
• You will need to study the diagram before you listen to
understand the order of events or process. The information
you need in order to answer the questions is in the same
order as it is on the recording.

11. Strategies for labelling a diagram task
• Read the instruction carefully. Study the drawing and the heading, if it has
one. Try to work out what the drawing shows.
• Notice how the numbers are arranged so you know in which order the
information will be presented. It means you have to think of ways you can
describe where places are before you listen.
• Make sure you understand what direction or location you need to be
following. Is it right or left? Front or back?
• Look carefully at the drawing, noting the words that are given in the
diagram. You can use these as reference points while you are listening.
Circle or underline any keywords or areas. Think of vocabulary for place
and location, such as at the top of, at the bottom of, next to, immediately
opposite, in the corner/ middle, at the side/ back, behind in front of,
opposite, in (a street, town), near, on the corner, next to, at the end of the
street etc.
• Try to understand the diagram by thinking about thow the different parts
relate to each other.
• Listen for each place name and find starting point once the CD begins and
follow the speaker’s direction.
• The words may be exactly what you hear on the recording, do not use your
own words.
• When you hear the relevant information, listen carefully for the answer. If
you miss an answer, go on to the next question or you may miss that too.

12. SPEAKING PART 2&3
- Using reasons & examples
- Strategies for self-correction and expressing
oneself more clearly

13. Using reasons & examples
• In speaking part 2, the topic is based on your
experience. Quickly think of something that is relevant to
the topic. If you can’t remember anything suitable, invent
something.
• The first 3 points are usually quite factual. Speak
about them in turn, fairly briefly. Allow yourself
enough time to talk about the last line. This often asks
for an explanation, so it gives you the opportunity to use a
wider range of language.
• In spaeking part 3, as mentioned before, the examiner
will ask you questions related to the topic of part 2. The
questions will use verbs describe, compare, recommend,
identify, outline, evaluate, speculate, suggest etc. Your
answers should be at least one or two sentences long.
Expand them, for example by giving reasons and
examples.

14. • When you expand your talking you can use some expressions as
belowed to give reasons and examples.
• Giving reasons:
- The reason (why) …
- I think that’s why …
- As a result (of) …
- Why I think is that …
- Another reason is that …
•
• Giving examples:
- For example
- For instance
- Such as
- Like* - please note that ‘like’ can’t be used as linking device in
academic writing.
- One example that springs to mind is …
- Probably the best example I can think of is …
- Let me give you an example.

15. • Speaking part 2 & 3: Strategies for self-correction and expressing
oneself more clearly: You use these natural and simple expression to
explain your point again more clearly or get your answer back on track.
• Giving a detail / an explanation or clarification:
- What I mean is …
- What I want to say is …
- What I’m trying to say is …
- My point is that …
- As I was saying
- In other words, …
- By that I mean
- That means that…
- Plus …
- What people do is that …
- Let me explain why I think that.
• Referring back to something you said earlier in the talk
- As I mentioned before, …
- As I said earlier, …
• Looking for the correct word
- How do you say
- What’s the word

16. Pronunciation: Word stress
• Something the examiner will be thinking about as you talk is, ‘Does
this student impose a strain on the listener?’ This is a very important
concept in the IELTS Speaking exam. If you ‘impose a starin’, it
means that the listener has to struggle to understand you.
• Here are some ways you may impose a strain:
• Hesitating for too long
• Speaking too quietly
• Having poor pronunciation
• Improving these aspects of your speaking will improve your mark.
•
• Word stress is crucial in English. With words which have more than
one syllable, e.g. actually, we stress one syllable more than the
others. Actually contains three syllables: ac tua lly. If you stress
the wrong syllable, the listener may have trouble understanding you.
Always mark the stressed syllable when you note down a new word.

17. • WRITING TASK 2: DISCUSSING
ADVANTAGES & DISADVANTAGES
- Introducing and linking ideas in paragraph
- Constructing the middle paragraphs of the
essay

18. • As we learnt previously, an essay is a group of
paragraphs written about a single topic and a
central main idea.
• One type of essay is writing about advantages
or disadvantages of a topic. If you are writing
one topic, it is usually best to discuss
advantages and disadvantages in two separte
paragraphs, which is in block style.

19. To answer Outweigh questions you must:
1. Brainstorm ideas supporting both sides.
2. Answer the question – do you think the advantages or the
disadvantages are most important? Which one?
3. Put your answer to the question in the thesis statement in your
introduction.
4. Can use the word ‘outweigh’ in your introduction if you want or
can explain if there are more advantages or disadvantages in your
opinion.
5. Avoid to use memorized statements for your thesis statement.
6. Have one body paragraph which gives details about the opposite
side to your opinion.
7. Have either one or two paragraphs which give details of the side
you chose to support by refuting.
8. Restate your opinion in the conclusion using different language.
9. Be careful that the outweigh question is not exactly the same as the
Advantages and disadvantages essay question.

20. • As we know that an essay should be organized into an introduction, a body
and a conclusion. Ideas if these parts of essay should be connected to a single
topic to keep unity in an essay.
• One way to keep unity [‘uniti] in an essay is to edit the outline for ideas that
are not relevant to the thesis statement or topic sentences. Likewise, (uunii
zeregtsee) after you have written the essay, it is helpful to review the text and
look for ideas that do not relate to the thesis or the topic sentences.
• You can further increase your score for coherence by writing an effective
introduction and then linking your points to this introduction.
• It should be very clear to the examiner that what each paragraph is about and
then logically organize each sentence within that paragraph. At a sentence
level, main body paragraphs should follow this structure:
- Topic sentence
- Explanation
- Example
For example: The best way to improve the health and fitness of the public is
through advertisement campaigns. Many people are unaware of the health
benefits regular exercise and a healthy diet brings and an advertising
campaign could be used to educate people. For example, the ‘5-a- day’
campaign used in UK was extremely effective in getting people to eat 5
portions of fruit and vegetables a day.

21. • The topic sentence makes it clear to the reader what the
main point is and this is extended with an explanation
in the second sentence and a relevant example in the
third. If we were to order these sentences differently,
they would be more difficult to understand.
• In order to provide a good coherent in your paragraphs,
you have to use some cohesive devices (linking
devices, linking words) - words and phrases that
connect ideas, sentences and paragraphs together- those
are transitions, pronoun references and repetition of
key ideas.

22. • Transitions- words and phrases that are used to connect sentences together or relate
ideas to one another.
• Some common transitions, that are used in discussing advantages and disadvantages
essay, are as belowed.
• Comparison:
• likewise
• compared to
• similarly
• as …as
• and
• Contrast:
• however
• on the other hand
• but
• yet
• in spite of
• in contrast
• although
• instead

23. • Pronoun reference:
• Two sentences can be connected by the use of a pronoun. A pronoun (he,
she, it , they, etc) takes the place of a noun (a person, place, thing or idea) or a
noun phrase (several words that refer to a person, place, thing or idea). For
example:
• American sign language developed from the mixture of signs
used by deaf americans and French Sign Language. Today, it is
used by more than 500,000 deaf people in the United States and
Canada.
• The pronoun it refers back to the subject, American Sing Language, and
connects the two sentences together.
•
• Repetition of key ideas: Key words and phrases are used to connect ideas
in an essay into unity. This will help the reader remember the main ideas in the
text. For example:
• Modern medicine focuses on illness. If a patient with a cough
visits a modern doctor, then the doctor will give the patient a
medicine to stop the cough. If the the patient also has a fever,
the doctor may give a different medicine to stop the fever.

24. • Strategies for constructing middle paragraphs
• Write a brief outline including the thesis
statement and main ideas.
• Structure your answers in logical paragraphs
• Include one main idea per paragraph
• Link your main ideas of each paragraphs to the
introduction.
• Support main points with an explanation and then
an example.
• Use cohesive devices accurately and
appropriately.
• Vary your linking phrases using synonyms.

26. The End