Strategies for IELTS Reading: TRUE FALSE NOT GIVEN

One of many problems in Reading Section is deciding whether a statement is True or False based on the passage. Basically, we still use the same strategy for this type of sentence as we already did with fill in the blank questions. There are several difference but the focus is still on the keywording and paraphrasing. Take a look at an example below:


Passage 2

The Nature of Sleep
Sleep is a naturally recurring state of mind and body characterized by disengagement from surroundings, relaxed muscle, lower blood pressure, as well as more regular breathing and heart rate. Despite the fact that sleep is something that naturally happens, it has a major impact in our overall quality of life.

Sleep is internally influenced by our daily biological clock or commonly referred as circadian rhythm. The amount of sleep needed by adults is different from that of babies. Infants need at least 16 to 18 hours of sleep a day, then the time spent for sleeping decreases gradually as one grows older. It is believed that the ability to sleep declines with aging, and this may be a key factor why many adults suffer from sleep deprivation problems.

Despite the prevalence of internal factors affecting humans' sleep, external factors have become the main concerns related to sleep. Sleep disorder is said to be affected mostly by external factors such as light's effect, anxiety, medical conditions, sleep environment, and medication as well as the use of other substance. Light affects humans' sleep both directly by making it more difficult for them to sleep and indirectly by means of affecting their internal clock and hence, changing their preferred time to sleep. Anxiety and stress level become the one of the most common reason why somebody finds it hard to sleep nowadays. This is due to the fact that our body is programmed to stay awake when facing dangerous or stressful situations, causing the inability to enter what's so called the deep sleep state.

The motivation to fall asleep is built gradually during the daylight. Longer waking time naturally results in higher drive to sleep. However, the drive is compromised by consumption of certain substance like caffeine, although it depends on individual tolerance level and the amount of caffeine being ingested. Sleep environment is another factor that becomes more and more prevalent nowadays. This particularly happens in urban setting where noise pollution is made worst by the increasing number of vehicles, industry, and residence designed extremely close one another.



Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading passage 2?

TRUE            If the statement agrees with the information
FALSE           If the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN  If there is no information on this

1. Heart beat is still on the same level as humans fall asleep

2. Babies spend most of their time sleeping during the daylight


3. Light becomes the most important factor of sleeping since it can affect humans' sleep in two different means


4. Humans' body gives no respond in a situation full of danger or psychological pressure


5. The drive to sleep is considerably enhanced by substance that has stimulant effect


6. The effects of caffeine works differently in different individuals


Strategies for Reading


1. Read and understand the instruction


2. Read the questions and find the keywords


3. Find the paragraph that contains the information. Remember that IELTS passage is always well structured. When you are working on question number 1, you will logically find the answer in paragraph 1 or paragraph 2 and not the others. When you are working on question number 4 and finding the answer in paragrah 4 or 5, then you will logically move on to next paragraphs when doing the question number 5. Note that the questions move along with the paragraph and hence going back to previous paragraphs is not likely to happen.


4. Find the sentence that contains the information. Remember that you are more likely to find the answers in the main idea of paragraph, and it usually lies either in the first or last sentence. However, it is still possible that you will find the answer in the middle of paragraph, although it is not likely to happen.


5. Find the paraphrased keywords in the passage. Remember that the paraphrasing is not always word for word paraphrasing. Types of different paraphrasing will be discussed in the next post, so keep yourself updated.


6. Decide whether the statement is true, false or not given by using these rules:


a. If you have three keywords and all of them are true, then the answer is TRUE


b. If you have three keywords and one of them (or more) is false, then answer is FALSE


c. If you have three keywords and one of them (or more) is not explained in the pasage, then answer is NOT GIVEN


Discussions

Note: * indicates that there is no equivalent paraphrase for the word

#indicates that the words/phrases are not paraphrased


1. Heart beat is still on the same level as humans fall asleep


Keywords: Heart beat, same level, fall asleep

Paragraph: Paragraph 1

Sentence: First sentence

Paraphrased keywords: heart rate, more regular, sleep

Answer: False. It is said that blood and heart rate is more regular when someone falls asleep. The phrase 'on the same level' makes the whole statement false.

2. Babies spend most of their time sleeping during the daylight

Keywords: Babies, sleeping, daylight

Paragraph: Paragraph 2

Sentence: In the middle of the paragraph

Paraphrased keywords: Infants, sleep, *

Answer: Not Given. There is information about the time spent by babies for sleeping everyday. But there is no information whether the sleep is mostly at night or during the daylight. The word 'daylight' makes the statement qualifies for option Not Given.

3. Light becomes the most important factor of sleeping since it can affect humans' sleep in two different means

Keywords: Light, most important factor, two different means


Paragraph: Paragraph 3


Sentence: In the middle of the paragraph


Paraphrased keywords: #, *, directly by making it more difficult for them to sleep and indirectly by means of affecting their internal clock


Answer: Not Given. The passage states that light can affect humans' sleep directly and indirectly, but there is no information whether light is the most important factor


4. Humans' body gives no respond in a situation full of danger or psychological pressure


Keywords: Body, no respond, danger and psychological pressure


Paragraph: Paragraph 3


Sentence: Last sentence


Paraphrased keywords: #, *, dangerous or stressful situations


Answer: False. It is stated that humans' bodies are programmed to give a respond when facing dangerous or stressful situations by staying awake


5. The drive to sleep is considerably enhanced by substance that has stimulant effect


Keywords: Drive to sleep, enhanced, substance, stimulant


Paragraph: Paragraph 4


Sentence: In the middle of the sentence


Paraphrased keywords: Drive, *, caffeine


Answer: False. The passage states that sleep is deprived by stimulant substance such as caffeine. The word 'enhanced' makes the statement false.


6. The effects of caffeine works differently in different individuals


Keywords: effects, caffeine, different individuals


Paragraph: Paragraph 4


Sentence: In the middle of the paragraph


Paraphrased keywords: *, #, individual tolerance


Answer: True.  It is stated that the effect of cafeine consumption depends on individual's tolerance and the amount of caffeine ingested


For Reading Strategies for fill in the blank questions, go to this link


Strategies for Reading: Fill in the blank

STRATEGIES FOR IELTS READING: FILL IN THE BLANK QUESTIONS



One of the most challenging part of IELTS is the Reading Section. 


There are several challenges in reading, and from what I usually hear from some folks out there, it is pretty hard to get rid of the problems related to Reading. The most common challenges in Reading are described as follows:

a. Too long passage is time consuming, leave alone finding the answers 

b. The topic is too difficult to understand I find it even more difficult to deal with the highly technical terms.


c. It doesn't feel like I can handle the vast vocabulary in Reading.


d. I'm having problem distinguishing False and Not Given.


e. I'm still trying to do effective reading and do the skimming and scanning.


.............and here are some of my solutions for those issues..............



First, you do not (in fact, you should not) read the whole passage. Just concentrate on what you need. Say, you need an Adjective as an answer, then why would y'all bother reading the Nouns, Verbs, Adverbs, Preposition, Conjunction, and any other irrelevant members of English Word Classes? The time allocation for Reading is 60 minutes and you have 40 questions, hence
60 minutes /40 questions equals to spending one and a half minute for each question
and hence,
You probably need half a minute to understand the question and one minute to look for the answer in the passage.


Second, don't you ever ever read the passage back and forth only for answering one question. I, personally, do not want to spend my time and energy reading back and forth, since I still have Writing and Speaking after the Reading section. Of course, I'm going to need considerable amount of energy for the next two sections (especially the writing, agree?) and thus, I have to do Reading far more effectively.
So, are you sure you want read the whole passage? Or even worse, reading it back and forth back and forth? Well, I don't think so.


Third, I don't think we have to master all topics appearing in IELTS Reading. I am not omniscience, I am not omnipotent, but I want to pass the test. So what I'm supposed to do is becoming more strategic. List of strategies for Reading is listed below. I hope you'll enjoy reading it. A little background knowledge is necessary, and you can get it by rigorous reading covering various topics.


Fourth, I don't think you have to master all vocabulary in English just to pass IELTS test. You may be interested in several fun facts below:

a. Any living language (especially English) is forever evolving. There are hundreds, or thousands, or even millions words coined everyday (sadly, this is made worst by the technological advancement and rapid growth of internet).


b. It is also believed that no one (or may be, not yet) can possibly memorize all the words in English listed even only in dictionary. You may ask yourself "but why some people are really good at structuring sentences using fancy words in English?" and the answer is because .... these folks use the most effectively-used, commonly-chosen words in English. I remember somebody saying it was around 10k words out of the total number of words (correct me if I'm wrong). These words belong to the most essential words in English. Let me give you another example.
If I were to say:

- My computer is susceptible to virus and malware

- My computer is vulnerable to virus and malware
Which one is more likely being used?
The second one, right? Then this kind of words are what you particularly need to master.




Passage 1

Not So Beautiful: Teens, Anxiety, and The False Standard of Beauty


Teenagers are the members of society ranging from the age of 13 to 19 years old. The definition of teenagers varies in different societies. There are several criteria used to define teenagers. One of them is the puberty. In this phase, there is a great deal of transformation in terms of physical and mental aspects of individuals. The onset of male and female puberty characterized with physical aspects is generally more apparent, although mental aspects are also quite prominent.

Teenagers are also said to be in a period of needing special attention. The tendency to be an attention seeker is probably caused by their need for social acceptance, the search for identity, and the desire for recognition from peers. This particularly happens since young generations are in the middle of shifting process, usually marked with teens separated from the shelter of childhood. The lack of, or even the absence of parents often motivate teenagers to look for acknowledgement from outside world.

At this stage, an individual becomes more psychologically unstable. The instability of their psychological state often makes them have trouble with their self-esteem. Change in terms of physical aspects, interest in other individuals of opposite sex, and the increase in hormonal activities make teenagers become more aware of their appearance. In some cases, teenagers even become cautious of how they look like, and this finally results in several problems regarding anxiety. On a more extreme level, this can even lead them to unhealthy practices such strict diet, or eating disorder like anorexia or bulimia.

This phenomenon is somehow enhanced by the exposure of youth to the false definition of beauty promoted by the mainstream media, in which boys are depicted with assertive and manly nature while girls are depicted in slim, feminine and flawless figure. Media dictates that having obesity or being normally bodied is a serious issue, that unrealistic representative appearing in advertisement eventually becomes a norm nowadays. This is not particularly happening to girls. The increase in the sale of supplement for height growth becomes a clear indication that boys are also having the same anxiety, although it is not on the same level as that of girls.

Teenagers' consciousness of their body image is often related to stress level. Those who do not qualify as ideal girls or ideal boys will tend to be alienated from the social life. Some teenagers end up having a tendency to completely withdraw themselves from the world and become a loner, some end up having a tendency for self harm. In the case of more unfortunate youngsters, their personal anxiety and the social alienation can even result in a suicidal tendency.








Answer the questions below (maximum two words)

1. Initial change in _____________ of teenagers is usually more visible

2. Acknowledgement from __________ along with personal and social factor are needed in transitional stage

3. Teenagers are becoming more unsettled since physical appearance makes them more ____________

4. The growth in demand for height _____________ explains that men also become more anxious

5. Teenagers' psychological pressure is closely related to the awareness of _____________

6. Excessive unease and withdrawal from society may lead to ___________


Strategies for IELTS Reading

1. Read and understand the instruction

2. Read the questions and find the keywords

3. Make several predictions

a. Grammatical prediction (what kind of words that you need)
b. Contextual prediction (what is being discussed)

4. Find the paragraph that contains the information. Remember that IELTS passage is always well-structured. It means that, when you do question number 1, the answer is likely to be found in paragraph one or two, but not the others. The same way when you do question number 2, then the answer is likely to found in paragraph 2 or 3. The exception is in List of Heading and Matching features, in which the questions are randomly arranged.

5. Find the sentence that contains the information. Remember that you will most likely find the answer in the main idea of the paragraphs, either in the first sentence or the last one. However, it is also possible that you will find the answer in middle of the paragraph, although it is quite unlikely.

6. Find the paraphrased keywords in the passage.

7. Test your answer by making an equation



Answers and Explanation on Reading Strategy



1. Initial change in _____________ of teenagers is usually more visible

Keywords: Initial, change, visible

Grammatical Prediction: in is a Preposition, so it will logically be followed by a Noun or a Noun Phrase

Contextual Prediction: What kind change is more visible in teenagers?

Paragraph: 1

Sentence: Last Sentence

Paraphrased Keywords: Onset, transformation, apparent

Answer: Physical aspects

Equation: Initial change in physical aspects of teenagers is usually more visible = The onset of puberty characterized by transformation in terms of physical aspects is more apparent






2. Acknowledgement from __________ along with personal and social factor are needed in transitional stage

Keywords: Acknowledgement, personal and social factor, transitional stage

Grammatical Prediction: From is a Preposition, so it is logically followed by a Noun or a Noun Phrase

Contextual Prediction: The Noun has to be specifically a person or a group of people

Paragraph: 2

Sentence: In the middle of the paragraph

Paraphrased Keywords: Recognition, the search for identity and social acceptance, shifting process

Answer: Peers

Equation: Acknowledgement from peers along with personal and social factor are needed in transitional stage=need for social acceptance, the search for identity, and the desire for recognition from peers...in the middle of shifting process





3. Teenagers are becoming more unsettled since physical appearance makes them more ____________

Keywords: Unsettled, physical appearance

Grammatical Prediction: More (degree of comparison) is logically followed by an Adjective or an Adverb

Contextual Prediction: What is the consequence of teenagers' physical appearance

Paragraph: 3

Sentence: In the middle of the paragraph

Paraphrased Keywords: Anxiety, how they look like

Answer:  Cautious

Equation: Teenagers are becoming more unsettled since physical appearance makes them more cautious=In some cases, teenagers even become cautious of how they look like, and this finally results in several problems regarding anxiety




4. The growth in demand for height _____________ explains that men also become more anxious

Keywords: growth in demand, height, men, anxious

Grammatical Prediction: The sentence needs a Noun as a Subject

Contextual Prediction: What kind of thing men need to deal with their anxiety?

Paragraph: 4

Sentence: The last sentence

Paraphrased Keywords: The increase in the sale, boys, having the same anxiety

Answer: Supplement

Equation: The growth in demand for height supplement explains that men also become more anxious=The increase in the sale of supplement for height growth becomes a clear indication that boys are also having the same anxiety




5. Teenagers' psychological pressure is closely related to the awareness of _____________

Keywords: Psychological pressure, awarenes

Grammatical Prediction: Of is a preposition, so it is logically followed by a Noun or Noun phrase

Contextual Prediction: What is related to teenagers' psychological pressure

Paragraph: 5

Sentence: First sentence

Paraphrased Keywords: Stress level, consciousness

Answer: Body image

Equation: Teenagers' psychological pressure is closely related to the awareness of body image=Teenagers' consciousness of their body image is often related to stress level




6. Excessive unease and withdrawal from society may lead to ___________

Keywords: Unease,withdrawal from society

Grammatical Prediction: To is a Preposition, so it is logically followed by a Noun or a Noun Phrase

Contextual Prediction: Impact of unease and social withdrawal

Paragraph: 5

Sentence: Last sentence

Paraphrased Keywords: Personal anxiety, social alienation can

Answer: Suicidal tendency

Equation: Excessive unease and withdrawal from society may lead to suicidal tendency=...their personal anxiety and the social alienation can even result in a suicidal tendency


Best luck,
Ross

Click link below for Strategies on IELTS Listening


Strategies for IELTS Listening

WRITING TASK 2 SAMPLES (NATIONAL DEFENSE AND WELFARE)

Topic: Government is responsible for assuring the safety of its citizens. For this reason, government should increase spending on defense and reduce spending on social benefits. To what extent do you agree with this notion?


National security recently becomes a serious issue that some people think that it is necessary to have improvement in terms of national defense. However, improving defense will require considerable amount of funding that the authority may have to cut allocation for other sectors such as the social benefits. I personally agree that defense should be enhanced, because security of a nation has a positive correlation with its prosperity.

It is believed that immediate actions have to be taken to bring about betterment for the society. The need for better and affordable health care keeps growing, while budget to provide good schools for the younger generations are also increasing. Unemployment and the rise of poverty also increase society's concern that spending budget on defense may finally seem unnecessary. National security and the its well being are like the two sides of a coin. Improving state's social stability cannot be done without considering the safety of the citizens.

There are more and more threats coming both from inside a country and from the outside world. Conflict and dispute have risen government's concern. The threat is not necessarily in a form of physical attack, it can also manifest itself in other danger such as cyber attack, drug smuggling, human trafficking, et cetera. These attacks will be commonly addressed to the people and improving national defense it the only way to avoid them. Attacks from outside the country should also make us more cautious and improvement in terms of border security is definitely a necessity. In a country with abundant natural resources, defense is also essential. Natural resource them will guarantee the people's prosperity and thus defending from threats such as illegal fishing or smuggling is an important step to take.

In conclusion, national prosperity and social well being depend on the capability of the government to ensure the safety of the residents as well as the natural resouces. Thus, national defense is an important aspect to consider since they are closely related despite the fact that it will require considerable proportion of national spending.

For Writing Task 2 Layout, go to this link

WRITING TASK 2 LAYOUT

SIMPLE YET POWERFUL LAYOUT FOR WRITING TASK 2

There are so many people having problems with writing, especially Writing Task 2. To be frank with you all, I myself had taken IELTS test and had a problem when doing the writing in my very first attempt. The problem was mainly with the time allocation. I did not do it well within the time pressure and thus I started trying to figure out what it takes to produce quality writing consisting of 250 words only in 40 minutes.

I come to a conclusion that in my previous test, I spent too much time for planning my writing instead of looking for ideas, reasons, and examples. And as you may have assumed, I had no more time for evaluating the writing, paraphrasing the repeated words or monotonous sentence structure and 6.0 was the score that I got.

So I have been doing some research from books and online sources formulating a simple yet powerful layout for writing, especially Writing Task 2. I am not going to make any judgement on how you should do the writing since I have never found a single authoritative layout giving a guarantee to pass the test. The one I'm going to explain below is just the most common layout for Writing Task 2 in IELTS I formulate from different sources of material.

Let's make this topic as an example

Some people think that public health is the responsibility of the government while others think that people should be responsible for their own health.
Discuss both sides and give your opinion

[Paragraph One]

1. Giving an Overview

In this very first part, you have to present a very general information by paying a very serious attention to the keywords in the topic. From the topic above we have four essential keywords to consider namely: health, responsibility, government, and people.

There are more and more health issues nowadays and hence there is now a higher need for health care. This results in an increasing cost for public health that finally becomes a burden for the people since there is more and more personal obligation in keeping their own health. Government is also considered having a great responsibility in providing good health service for the people.

2. Stating Your Basis of Argument

In this step, you have to decide your stance before you give any elaborated explanation in the next two paragraphs. Your stance will be based on the question, and since the question is asking you the both sides of argument, then you can explain both of them by contrasting both ideas.

Despite the fact that government is responsible for assuring public's wellbeingness, I personally think that health is a personal responsibility.

3. Explaining the Flow of Your Writing

I'm not actually sure about this point, since some people believe that you need to have this in your writing, while some people say you cannot have this since it is considered cliché and unnecessary. But let's just talk about it anyway. In this part, you need to explain how your writing is going to be organized. I only know one way to do this step, so please enlighten me if you know how to do it different way.

This writing aims to explain whether health should be a personal responsibility or government's responsibility by providing several examples and reasons.

[Paragraph Two]

4. Giving Balanced Argument

This is another part which is still debatable point in Writing Task 2. Here are the two common arguments regarding this step:

a. You should focus on your argument and not being tentative by giving balanced argument. However, you still have to consider the fact that you have to write at least 250 words and it would be pretty hard to meet this requirement only by having your own argument, especially when you are not familiar with the topic or when the topic is very specific.

b. You should use balanced argument since it is actually used to give more emphasis on your argument by applying a contrastive explanation in your writing. Will discuss it further.

If you feel like being a little confused giving arguments, you can do a brainstorming first before you make the complete writing. So I believe that health is a personal responsibility, so I need to explain the opposite argument, explaining that health is not 100% personal responsibility. Say I have these conceptions of public health:

a. Health civil rights
b. Government provides facilities
c. Tax allocated for health

After dealing with the brainstorming, it is time to realize them in the writing. Hence, they'll be:

Some people believe that health is one of the most fundamental aspects of civil rights. Health is a public's sake and thus government is responsible for providing good and affordable health service for the people. The citizens pay the tax, so they definitely have the right for health insurance. Government should do all necessary effort to maximize the budget for health service since government is the one having the authority to regulate the budget. Government has the responsibility for providing health facilities such as hospitals, clinics, ambulance, etc. since they have not only authority but also resources required for keeping their people in a good health.

5. Bridging the Two Arguments by Using Contrasting Statement

The reason why you need to put the balanced argument first and then followed by your own argument is actually to give more emphasis on your argument (as I have said before). By doing this, you basically say that:

It is probably right that government is responsible for assuring the people's health [balanced argument], but it is inevitable that keeping health is more effectively done by individuals, which means that the government helps with everything people cannot do by themselves, like building hospitals, for example [my own argument].

There are several ways to make a bridging statement, namely:

a. Using linking words such as however, despite, in spite of, on the other hand, etc.

b. Using expressions, such as
-The positive impact and the negative impact of modernization are like the two sides of a coin

-The positive impact of modernization has to come with a price

The later is actually preferable since it makes you seem more insightful and of course, you can avoid repetition as well as being too literal by using expressions.


Okay, so for this topi, I will use this linking statement:

Despite the fact that government has to ensure its citizens' health, it is inevitable that the responsibility will be partial. Individuals also have to take any necessary effort to keep their health while supporting the government to do their role.

[Paragraph Three]

6. Explaining Your Own Argument
In this part, you will explain your argument, stating that people are responsible for their own health. Let's do another brain storming before we do the entire paragraph.

a. Health starts from individuals

b. Government cannot entirely control people's health
c. People are supposed to promote healthy life

Okay, now let's do the writing now



It is argued that health is something that we should start from ourselves, just the way sickness does. Factors regarding individuals are more likely to cause sickness, such as stress level, diet, or any other unhealthy practices. Since avoiding is far better than curing, it is actually better for the people to not depend on the government only when it comes to health. Health problems are mostly caused by individuals' tendency not to live a healthy life, such as drinking alcoholic beverage, lacking of exercise, smoking, and many other unhealthy lifestyles. It is not possible for the government to control these factors, and thus, there is always a limit to their endeavor in assuring the people's health. Government is capable of formulating a policy on health service, promoting a healthy lifestyle, banning the excessive production of cigarettes, etc, but all these efforts will end up being useless if the people are not aware of the importance of staying fit and healthy.

7. Giving a Conclusion and Solution
Conclusion and solution should be the summary of all ideas you have previously proposed, aiming to bridge the two arguments and suggesting a solution for the problem. For the topic above, the conclusion and the solution can be formulated as follows:

In summary, government can only be partly responsible for the health of the people and individuals should be aware that healthy life actually starts from themselves. Hence, government's goodwill to do their duty and the people's awareness of healthy lifestyle is the best solution for the problem.

The whole writing will look like this:

There are more and more health issues nowadays and hence there is now a higher need for health care. This results in an increasing cost for public health that it finally becomes a burden for the people since there is more and more personal obligation in keeping their own health. Government is also considered having a great responsibility in providing good health service for the people. Despite the fact that government is responsible for assuring public's wellbeingness, I personally think that health is a personal responsibility. This writing aims to explain whether health should be a personal responsibility or government's responsibility by providing several examples and reasons.

Some people believe that health is one of the most fundamental aspects of civil rights. Health is a public's sake and thus government is responsible for providing good and affordable health service for the people. The citizens pay the tax, so they definitely have the right for health insurance. Government should do all necessary effort to maximize the budget for health service since government is the one having the authority to regulate the budget. Government has the responsibility for providing health facilities such as hospitals, clinics, ambulance, etc. since they have not only authority but also resources required for keeping their people in a good health. Despite the fact that government has to ensure its citizens' health, it is inevitable that the responsibility will be partial. Individuals also have to take any necessary effort to keep their health while supporting the government to do their role.

It is argued that health is something that we should start from ourselves, just the way sickness does. Factors regarding individuals are more likely to cause sickness, such as stress level, diet, or any other unhealthy practices. Since avoiding is far better than curing, it is actually better for the people to not depend on the government only when it comes to health. Health problems are mostly caused by individuals' tendency not to live a healthy life, such as drinking alcoholic beverage, lacking of exercise, smoking, and many other unhealthy lifestyles. It is not possible for the government to control these factors, and thus, there is always a limit to their endeavor in assuring the people's health. Government is capable of formulating a policy on health service, promoting a healthy lifestyle, banning the excessive production of cigarettes, etc, but all these efforts will end up being useless if the people are not aware of the importance of staying fit and healthy. In summary, government can only be partly responsible for the health of the people and individuals should be aware that healthy life actually starts from themselves. Hence, government's goodwill to do their duty and the people's awareness of healthy lifestyle is the best solution for the problem.

*PS: I am actually not familiar with the topic and making writing is actually hard for me. If feel like having a suggestion or having a better writing, post it on comment section.

Cheers!

For learning some common mistakes in IELTS Writing Task 2, go to this link

COMMON WRITING TASK 2 MISTAKES AND HOW TO AVOID THEM

The second task in IELTS Writing is Writing Task 2, in which the test takers will be given a topic (with a question) and asked to write 250 words in 40 minutes. Since Writing Task 2 is something more like an argumentative writing, it is then important to give our opinion and support it with relevant examples and reasons.
Here are some common tips for IELTS Writing Task 2:

a. Make your writing well structured by separating your ideas into different paragraphs

There are several typical mistakes made by the test takers when doing the writing.

First, they only have one paragraph in the their writing. For this case, you may want to consider the fact that a writing is defined as "the activity of composing text with regard to its style or quality". You see there that writing means "creating a text" and we presume that a text usually consists of several paragraphs. If your writing only consists of an extremely long paragraph with multiple main and supporting ideas, then it would be difficult to categorize it as a writing. It should be regarded as a paragraph (instead of text/passage/writing) if there is only one paragraph. So, you may want to consider arranging it better from now on.

First Rule: If you make a writing that consists of one paragraph, then it's not a writing at all. It is a paragraph

Second, apart from writing a very long and tedious writing consisting of only one paragraph, some people also write a paragraph that only consists of one sentence. It is not likely for somebody to consider it as a paragraph since paragraph is defined as "a distinct section in a piece of writing, usually having a single theme (main idea) and several supporting ideas, indicated by new line, indentation or numbering". 

Second Rule: If you make a paragraph that consists of one sentence, it's not a paragraph at all. It is a sentence


b. Make sure that you are writing a complete sentence


It is commonly known that a sentence can be considered as a sentence (grammatically and syntactically, although not necessarily happens semantically) if it has at least a Subject and a Verb. If you write incomplete sentence, the score will surely be reduced since grammatical accuracy is fundamental in writing, not only the IELTS writing but any writing.

c. Avoid using the same word over and over again


This is where the rule of paraphrasing works. To be completely honest, it's not just the use of similar words but also the use of similar sentence structure. Like when you use active sentence all the time, then there is a chance that your score will be very low. Try at least using these kind of sentences:

-Active voice, as well as
-Passive voice, and if possible
-Multiple clause sentence, and sometimes you can also use
-Conditional sentence
-etc.

d. Avoid slang or any vernacular form of English


There is one fundamental difference between writing and speaking in IELTS. As far as I know (and experience), speaking is a way way more casual since the way you speak is supposed to be as natural as possible. When I took my first test in August 2017, I was interviewed by a very nice guy. I was kinda carried out by the way he conducted the interview that I, somehow, often used a very colloquial expressions such as:

gonna, instead of going to

wanna, instead of want to
gotta, instead of got to

Using double negatives such as "You can't do nothin about 'bout it"


Alternating the -ing ending in gerund form with a cooler -in ending like those in takin (instead of taking), stayin (instead of staying)


Using informal words such as dudes (instead of friends), or folks (instead of people)


Using informal expressions such as "kick the bucket" or "skeleton in the closet" *this one I did not use in my speaking of course, although it could just happen since it is not sociolinguistically possible to always monitor your speech*


and so on and so on


You see how compromising it was to use such informal form of English. But I was lucky enough since I used it in speaking and it was actually not a big deal (I suppose). I got 7.0 and I think that's not too bad for a way too informal conversation), or may be it was just because I could manage answering the topic.


But that, was, speaking. Now, let's talk about writing.


Writing is tremendously strict when it comes to using a formal expression. It happens all the time, not only in IELTS. So you should avoid any informal form of writing. In some cases, I even hear that we are not supposed to use:


-Symbols: such as using & instead of and, or using / instead of or

-Abbreviation such as bcz for because. Abbreviation is accepted when it is an official, commonly known abbreviation such UN for United Nations or ASEAN for Association of South East Asian Nations
-Contraction, such it's (instead of it is) or I'm (instead of I am)

*This is what I hear though so please correct me if I'm wrong*


e. Having a thoughtful and neutral tone


Okay, this is kinda hard to explain if you have never tried writing an academic writing. I got some bright insight regarding academic writing during my study in college, such as the use of reference, emphasis on logical thinking, avoidance of logical fallacy, etc.


Speaking of the which, I found several examples of writing in which the author say "a is 100% good or b is 100% unreliable". Complete "all" or complete "none" types of argument are really dangerous since it is statistically not possible for something or someone or any entity to be 100% true or wrong or good or bad. So, try to avoid giving this kind argument. Other than this, sometimes I also found several logical fallacies in writing. Here are several examples logical fallacies one commonly have when doing a writing:


a. Argumentum ad Hominem, in which one refers to a man rather than their validity of evidence or logicFor example: I do not agree with his opinion regarding policy on child foster, since he himself does not have a family


b. Argumentum ad Populum, it kinda means believing in certain logic or argument simply because it is the belief of the majority

For example: I believe that gender fluidity is something unacceptable considering the fact that most people are actually straight


c. Circular Argument, in which one keeps repeating a claim without supporting the claim or providing any evidence

For example: Gay marriage is illegal. It is illegal because it is a gay marriage.


d. Non-testable Thesis, this happens when one considers something to be true simply because no one can prove it to be wrong

For example: I believe that alien does exist, because no one can prove that it does not (dude, c'mooon -_-)


e. False Dilemma, in which two extremes are presented without any middle pointFor example: You either vote for Bush or you support the terrorist (whereas you can still vote for other candidates and not being a supporter of terrorism)


f. Argumentum misericordiam, in which one appeals to pity by exploiting others' feelings and sense of guilty to win an argument

For example: We should put aside all the crimes he committed because the world has treated him so cruelly


There are many more logical fallacies, and I'm not gonna list them all here. It may seem bookish but it is really important that you become more cautious of these thoughts when doing argumentative writing



e. Make your ideas relevant by linking words list



In writing, you are not just presenting several ideas and writing some paragraphs without considering the relevancy of one idea with other ideas. In this case, you are going to have to use some linking words such as:


-When listing several ideas

Firstly, secondly, thirdly,...lastly

-Giving additional information

In addition, furthermore, moreover, also, and, as well as, etc.

-Giving examples

For example, for instance, such as, namely, etc.

-Explaining results and consequeces

Therefore, as a result, consequently, thus, hence, so, for this reason, etc.

-Giving emphasis

In particular, particularly, especially, specifically, etc.

-Showing a contrast

However, despite, in spite of, in contrary, on the other hand, although, even though, by contrast, in comparison, nevertheless, etc.

-Reasons and causes

because, since, for, due to, etc.

-Giving an opinion

I believe, it is argued that, it is believed that, in my opinion, in my view, etc.

-Concluding linkers

In conclusion, In summary, to sum up, etc.


f. Giving a highly relevant ideas by focusing on the keywords



I have never known any other website or blog mention this (or may be they just have different term for it), but what I am trying to say here is that your writing has to be relevant with the topic and the question. A topic poses a problem, then your writing has to focus on discussing the problem. The question gives you a hint on how you should answer it, like when you have to agree/disagree, or explaining advantage/disadvantage, or explaining the extent of your agreement, or even just giving a descriptive explanation with reason and examples. Your answer has to answer the question, and provide solutions for the problem. This is done usually by using keywords in the topic. Say, we have this kind of topic:


Technology such as smartphone and computer has more negative impacts since it makes people become less sociable


From this topic, we have two essential keywords namely "technology" and "sociable". It can be concluded that your writing has to discuss both technology and social life. If it only focuses only on the negative impacts of technology in general, then it is too broad and you will eventually find it irrelevant with the main topic.


g. Meeting the required number of words


I'm not actually sure with this point, since I have read different books and other sources. Some of them say: "you have to write at least 250 words and if you don't, you will get a penalty for writing less than 250 words". However, there are also some sources saying that it is okay to write less than 250 words as long as the writing has been thorough. Here are some insights I want you to consider:


a. Okay, I myself, prefer to take any necessary precautions and write at least 250 words rather than having to retake the test


b. I found a book stating that it is okay to write less than 250 words. But remember, you are gonna be tested by a human, not a book. So I think it is better to do some mitigation step and not compromising yourself



h. Avoid using weak words or statement


-It seems like...(this is too tentative)

-Kind (use type instead)
-Absolutely, definitely, surely (it is dangerous to have arguments containing these words)
-Redundant phrases such as anonymous strangers (if they are strangers, they must anonymous)
-Empty phrases such as "as far as i'm concerned", or "as a matter of fact"
etc.

Alright, so those are some mistakes commonly done in writing. If you have any other examples of mistakes commonly made in IELTS writing, kindly list them on the comment section.


Cheers!


For material on writing task 1, please refer to this link


Writing Task 1 Material


For Writing Task 1 Exercise, click link below

Writing Task 1 Exercise