雅思考官simon给烤鸭的建议advice for ieltsWord格式.docx

1、Saturday, October 05, 2013IELTS Advice: words that I would banI ban my students from using certain words in the IELTS test. The easiest way for me to explain why I ban these words is that most native speakers wouldnt use them if they were doing the test. Here are a few of my least favourites:1 Moreo

2、ver- Native speakers hardly ever use this word, and students tend to use it wrongly. Just use furthermore or also.2 Demerits- Its ok to talk about the merits of something, but the word demerits seems unnatural. Just use disadvantagesdrawbacks3 Hence / Thusly- These words sound too formal and old-fas

3、hioned. Just use thereforeas a resultRemember that topic vocabulary is the key to a high score, not words.Sunday, September 29, 2013 dont worry about the examiners opinionSome students are worried about expressing their real opinions in the speaking and writing exams. They think that the examiner mi

4、ght disagree and therefore give a lower score.Dont worry about this. The examiner only cares about your language. Express your opinions, talk about your interests, and give examples from your own experience.Sunday, September 15, 2013 different teachers, different methodsDifferent teachers, books and

5、 websites will give you different advice, methods and techniques, and its important to remember that there isnt a best way to approach the test. For example, its possible to achieve a band 9 in writing using various different essay writing approaches.It only becomes a problem when you start to get c

6、onfused about which method is right or which person you should believe. If you get confused, heres the solution: choose one method, believe in it, and persist with it.Saturday, September 14, 2013 noticing your mistakesLast week I suggested that mistakes can be stepping stones that help you to improv

7、e your English. But you need to notice your mistakes before you can learn from them.Here are some tips about noticing and learning from mistakes:4 The most obvious strategy is to get someone （e.g. a teacher） to check your written work and correct your mistakes.5 Before your teacher checks your work,

8、 did you check it carefully yourself?6 Study your teachers corrections, and make sure you understand what you did wrong.7 Pay special attention to any repeated mistakes that you make.8 If you have a one-to-one teacher, you could also ask him or her to listen for mistakes that you make when speaking.

9、9 Try recording yourself. Listen to the recording, and transcribe it. Analyse what you said carefully and ask someone to check it.Sunday, September 08, 2013 mistakes are stepping stonesEvery time you make a mistake, you have an opportunity to learn something. Use your mistakes as stepping stones to

10、take you closer to your goal.Students questions1） In the reading test, are the answers for summary completion questions in order in the passage?Usually, yes. Ive seen one or two summary questions where one of the answers breaks this rule, but you can assume that answers will almost always be in orde

11、r in the passage.2） Is it ok to write T, F, NG instead of True, False, Not given?Yes, Ive been told that is fine （although I prefer to write the full words）.3） My teacher told me to avoid using Firstly, Secondly, Finally because too many other students will use the same words. What do you think?I di

12、sagree. Examiners are not comparing you with other students, and they care much more about the content between the linking words than the linking words themselves. Read this lesson.4） Is there a maximum number of words in the writing test?No, there is no maximum.5） What linkers can I use to improve

13、my lexical resource score?Linkers dont help your lexical resource （vocabulary） score! They only help you to organise your essay. If you want to improve your vocabulary score, you need to use good words and phrases that relate to the question topic （e.g. global warming is vocabulary for the environme

14、nt topic）.Sunday, August 25, 2013 whats the secret?I try to persuade my students that there is no secret to language learning. If there is a secret, its that you need to work hard, practise and try to enjoy the process.I often compare learning a language to learning the piano. Nobody would expect to

15、 find a method to take them from intermediate to advanced on the piano - why do we expect language learning to be different?Saturday, August 24, 2013IELTS Speaking Advice: get to the pointYesterday I wrote that you should avoid using long phrases to begin your answers. So what should you use instead

16、? Native speakers say things like:- I think.- I guess.- Well,.These words/phrases might seem less impressive, but you have to remember that examiners are not impressed by the long phrases either! The important thing is to get to the point of your answer.Saturday, August 17, 2013IELTS Vocabulary Advi

17、ceThis is a question that students often ask:Millions of students take the IELTS exam in my country, so should I try to write differently and use original ideas?Heres my answer:No, dont try to write differently. This will lead to mistakes. Remember, each examiner only reads 10 to 20 students essays,

18、 so you are not competing with millions of students.The key is to write clear English, answer the question, and try to include some good vocabulary related to the topic. Forget completely about the other students, and forget about trying to use strange words or phrases.Saturday, August 10, 2013IELTS

19、 Writing Advice: keep checking the questionOn Wednesday I showed you a task 2 essay that I wrote with some of my students. After reading the essay again, I noticed that we hadnt fully answered all parts of the question. Paragraph 3 needed to say more about alternative sources of funding for artistsO

20、ne thing that this shows you is that nobody is perfect! A more important lesson to learn is that you should keep checking the question as you write your essay. Make sure you cover everything that the question asks you to cover.Saturday, July 27, 2013 why do my scores fluctuate?Students often wonder

21、why their scores fluctuate, especially in the writing and speaking tests. One reason could be that they dont have a method; they approach the exam in a different way every time.You can only measure your progress if you use the same method every time you take the test. If you always approach the exam

22、 in the same way, you will know when you have done well or badly, and if your scores go up or down, you will probably know why.Sunday, July 21, 2013 understanding is only the first stepIts easy to read something （e.g. a lesson on this site） and think that you understand it. But understanding is not

23、the same as usingCan you really USE everything that you have read?Can you use it correctly, without any mistakes?Look again at yesterdays lesson about lead to. Im sure you understand these words, but not many students are able to use them accurately. This is important because it could make the diffe

24、rence between a band 6 and a band 7.Try to think about these steps when you are studying:10 Understanding a word is only the first step （e.g. means cause）11 The next step is seeing how words are used （e.g. lead to + noun12 Try to use what you have learnt13 Ask a teacher to correct your work14 Learn

25、from your mistakesSunday, July 14, 2013 for people with 6.5When students are stuck on band 6.5 in writing, they often think that they need a new technique, a new book or some new advice. This is wrong!If you have a 6.5, it means that you are already getting band 7 in 50% of the scoring criteria. For

26、 example, you might be getting 7 for task response and 7 for organisation, but 6 for vocabulary and 6 for grammar （examiners cant give half marks in these criteria）. Just a small improvement in one area will take you to band 7 overall （e.g. 7,7,7,6 = band 7）.If you are getting band 6.5, your method

27、is fine. Dont change what youre doing; just try to find a small improvement in one area.Saturday, July 06, 2013 be more than readyIf you are able to get a band 7 score when you do a test at home, can you be confident that youll get a band 7 in the real test? Probably not.The stress of a real exam me

28、ans that your performance level will probably drop, so youll need to be more than ready. In other words, you probably need to be achieving band 7.5 when you do practice tests in the comfort of your home. Only then can you be confident of getting a band 7 under exam conditions.Sunday, June 23, 2013 i

29、dentify the problemMany students ask me for advice about how to improve their scores. Or they ask me to explain why they didnt get higher scores in their exams.Unfortunately, I cant give good advice if I dont know the person. To give good advice, I need to be able to identify the problem, and the only way