Obama Addresses World's Muslims

At the base of the Pyramids a president paid homage to an ancient past and in a domed hall like Cairo University he looked to the future.

“I have come here to Cairo to seek a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world; one based upon mutual interest and mutual respect”

This was the presidents much anticipated speech to the greater Muslim community, an effort to turn around what he acknowledges to be a troubled relationship.

“So long as our relationship is defined by our differences, we will empower those who sow hatred rather than peace, those who promote conflict rather than the cooperation that can help all of our people achieve justice and prosperity. This cycle of suspicion and discord must end.”

Mr. Obama presented himself as a bridge, an American Christian with Muslim relatives in Kenya who spent much of his childhood in predominantly Muslim Indonesia.

“So I have known Islam on three continents before coming to the region where it was first revealed. That experience guides my conviction that partnership between America and Islam must be based on what Islam is, not what it isn't.”

The president said it is time to do away with stereotypes and focus on common ground even in dealing with attorney’s issue of all the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

 Using the term Palestine for the Palestinian state he said both sides need to come to terms with reality and accept each others right to exist.

“That is in Israel's interest, Palestine's interest, America's interest, and the world's interest.”

President Obama said he would speak candidly and he did, resulting in shouts of approval when he spoke of democracy and nations that govern by consent of the people noe coercion.

Mr. Obama did not mention any names but human rights groups have raised concerns about Egyptian president, Hosni MUBARAK.

President Obama met with the Egyptian leader before the speech, saying America is committed to working in partnership with countries in the region .

Mr. Mubarak said the two had a candid talk.

But there are other meetings that will take place later either in the United States of America or anywhere else.

During his day-long visit, the Us president’s motorcade moved through deserted streets, security was tight, workers in Cairo were told to stay home.

On a day steeped in symbolism the president visited the 600 hundred year old Soltan Hasan mosque, with secretary of state Hillary Clinton  at his side, president Obama in stocking feet walked through the mosque, an opportunity to show his respect for the Islamic faith.

Biologist and nature photographer Mark Moffett uses his camera like a microscope. Moffett’ photographs in the exhibit "Farmers, Warriors, Builders: The Hidden Life of Ants" capture the mundane and the dramatic aspects their daily lives.

Including "the development of highways and the building of their cities, the communications systems, the detail in which they organize together, whether they form teams or assembly lines as people do in factories."  Much like humans, ants are social creatures. The exhibit follow army ants making roads, Australian bulldog ants tending to their young and honey pot ants preparing for battle.

They actually have a ritual in which they circle around each other standing high on their legs and rotating in a circle around each other and colony with the shortest ants gets frightened and runs away, although the photograph tells another story.

"One day I am out there watching these ants, and I see that one short ant climbs up on a pebble in this picture and freaks out the taller ant."

Moffett tracks strange and rare ants. He often makes discoveries like the eating habits of species of mud ants in Ecuador that he documents in exhibit.

 "These are perhaps the slowest of ants. They barely move all day and I found that they eat snails. No surprise there and the fun was that here is a snail being 'chased' by a mud ant, and you see that it is making a dramatic left-hand turn to make its escape."

The Smithsonian exhibit includes an aluminum cast of an underground ant city and a living colony of harvester ants.

But it's the photographs that captivate 11-year-old Cashmere Johnson and her mother Marjorie from Boulder, Colorado.

They’re hairy and when you look at them up-close their eyes are freaky.

"Their legs seem a lot longer than I thought, cause when you normally see an ant, they are so tiny, you just don't see these delicate intricacies"  

Mark Moffett hopes museum goers like the Johnson family will gain a new understanding of the importance of ants to the ecology of the planet.

“Getting those private lives up here at the Smithsonian where everyone can see them and forget that they are small, but understand that they have their own, in a sense, their own passions and dynamics that lead to all kinds of things that people would recognize in their own lives.”  

And perhaps, Moffett adds, think twice before stepping on an ant, even if it's at a picnic.

U.S. Department of Defense officials confirmed the launch, and the State Department expressed "grave concern."

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is expected to discuss Iran in meetings Tuesday with British Foreign Secretary David Miliband and German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The graph below gives information about the preferred leisure activities of Australian children.

Write a report for a university lecturer describing the information shown.

You should write at least 150 words.

model answer:

The graph shows the preferred leisure sctivities of Australian children aged 5-14. As might be expected, it is clear from the data that sedentary pursuits are far more popular nowadays than active ones.

Of the 10,000 children that were interviewed, all the boys and girls stated that they enjoyed watching TV or videos in their spare time. In addition, the second most popular activity, attracting 80% of boys and 60% of girls, was playing electronic or computer games. While girls rated activities such as art and craft highly – just under 60% stated that they enjoyed these in their spare time – only 35% of boys opted for creative pastimes. Bike riding, on the other hand, was almost as popular as electronic games amongst boys and, perhaps surprisingly, almost 60% of girls said that they enjoyed this too. Skateboarding was relatively less popular amongst both boys and girls, although it still attracted 35% of boys and 25% of girls.

(157 words)

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The diagram below shows how a central heating system in a house works.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

You should write at least 150 words.

model answer:

This diagram provides an overview of a domestic central heating system. It shows how the tank, boiler and pipes ensure a constant flow of hot waterto both the radiators and the taps.

The cold water enters the house and is stored in a water storage tank in the roof. From there ü flows down to the boiler, located on the ground floor of the house.

The boiler, which is fuelled by gas or oil, heats up the water as it passes through it. The hot water is then pumped round the house through a system of pipes and flows into the radiators, located in different rooms. The water circulates through the radiators, which have small tubes inside them to help distribute the heat, and this warms each of the rooms. Some of the water is directed to the taps to provide hot water for the house.

Once the water has been through the pipes and radiators, it is returned to the boiler to be re-heated and circulated round the house again.

Introduction: First sentence. Overview: Second sentence.

Key features: Entry of cold water into boiler; circulation of hot waterto radiators and taps; return of waterto boiler.

Supporting information: direction of flow; types of boiler; location of radiators; radiator tubes

Paragraph breaks: The paragraph breaks mark stages in the process.

Linkers: and, from there, then, once, again Reference words: it, both, there, which, this

Topic vocabulary: enters, stored, roof, flows, ground floor, located, passes, pumped, system, circulates, heat, directed, returned, re-heated

Less common vocabulary: ensure, fuelled by, heats up, distribute the heat, warms

Structures: An appropriate mix of active and passive structures and a range of sentence types are used.

Length: 172 words

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The graph and table below give information about water use worldwide and water consumption in two different countries.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

Write at least 150 words.

model answer:

The graph shows how the amount of water used worldwide changed between 1900 and 2000.

Throughout the century, the largest quantity of water was used for agricultural Purposes, and this increased dramatically from about 500 km³ to around 3,000 km³ in the year 2000. Water used in the industrial and domestic sectors also increased, but consumption was minimal until mid-century. From 1950 onwards, industrial use grew steadily to just over 1,000 km³, while domestic use rose more slowly to only 300 km³, both far below the levels of consumption by agriculture.

The table illustrates the differences in agriculture consumption in some areas of the world by contrasting the amount of irrigated land in Brazil (26,500 km³) with that in the D.R.C. (100 km²). This means that a huge amount of water is used in agriculture in Brazil, and this is reflected in the figures for water consumption per person: 359 m³ compared with only 8 m³ in the Congo. With a population of 176 million, the figures for Brazil indicate how high agriculture water consumption can be in some countries.

(180 words)

Economy: Sharpest decline in 26 years

Economic activity shrank by 3.8% in last three months of 2008, according to the government's gross domestic product report.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The U.S. economy suffered its biggest slowdown in 26 years in the last three months of 2008, according to the government's first reading about the fourth quarter released Friday.

Gross domestic product, the broadest measure of the nation's economic activity, fell at an annual rate of 3.8% in the fourth quarter, adjusted for inflation.

That's the largest drop in GDP since the first quarter of 1982, when the economy suffered a 6.4% decline.

The decline was less than the 5.5% drop forecast by economists surveyed by Briefing.com. The fourth quarter plunge followed a more modest decline of 0.5% in the third quarter.

Still, some economists cautioned that the smaller than expected drop in economic activity wasn't good news, but a warning sign about further weakness ahead.

"Today's GDP report is no cause for celebration," said Jay Bryson, global economist for Wachovia. "The economy is even weaker than the number would suggest."

Hit by tight credit and soaring job losses, Americans slammed the brakes on spending in the quarter.

Consumer spending fell at a 3.5% annual rate, which was the seventh biggest drop on record. Spending on big-ticket durable goods plunged at a 22% pace, the largest decline since 1987. Consumer spending accounts for more than two-thirds of overall economic activity.

But it wasn't just consumers pulling back. Fixed investment in equipment and software, taken as an indication of business spending, plunged at an annual 28% rate. That's the biggest drop in 50 years.

Healthy export demand helped to lift U.S. economic growth earlier in 2008, but that strength vanished in the fourth quarter, as exports fell at nearly a 20% annual rate, the sharpest decline since 1974. That set off more concerns about the slowdown in the global economy.

"I don't want to say we were counting on the global economy to bail us out. But if it turns into a big drag, we've got more of a problem," said Gus Faucher, director of macroeconomics for Moody's Economy.com.

Faucher and other economists noted that the biggest surprise in the report was the sharp growth in business inventories.

Economists say that was false growth brought about by businesses being unable to sell the goods they had on hand. Excluding the growth in inventories, GDP would have fallen by 5.1%

"When the economy is dropping fast it is hard for firms with plummeting sales to halt inventory accumulation," said Robert Brusca of FAO Economics.

Since companies are likely to respond to the excess inventories by slashing production at the start of this year, GDP could be weaker in the next few quarters.

"As bad as this quarter was, it means the first quarter will be worse," said Faucher.

In addition, prices for goods and services fell more than expected during the quarter. That limited the decline in GDP, which is adjusted lower to account for inflation.

The prices paid by consumers during the quarter fell at an annual 5.5% rate in the quarter, due primarily to lower gas prices. That's the biggest such decline in that key price measure since the Commerce Department started calculating it on a quarterly basis in 1947.

While lower prices may provide some relief for consumers, economists warn that this phenomenon, known as deflation, can hurt economic activity.

Businesses worried that falling prices will cause them to lose money will cut back on production, which can lead to additional job losses. And even consumers who keep their jobs can hold off on purchases if they hope that prices of the goods they want will fall further if they wait.

The report comes as the Senate prepares for a vote on an economic stimulus package that is designed to pump more than $800 billion into the economy. The House passed the measure on a party-line vote Wednesday.

Christina Romer, chair of the White House's Council of Economic Advisors, issued a statement saying the weak GDP report is another argument in favor of the stimulus package.

"This widespread decline emphasizes that the problems that began in our housing and financial sector have spread to nearly all areas of the economy," she said in the statement. "Immediate action to support both the financial sector and overall demand is essential." 

What do you know about RECESSION?

In macroeconomics, a recession is a decline in any country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), or negative real economic growth, for two or more successive quarters of a year. However, this definition is not universally accepted. The National Bureau of Economic Research defines a recession more ambiguously as "a significant decline in economic activity spread across the economy, lasting more than a few months." A recession may involve simultaneous declines in coincident measures of overall economic activity such as employment, investment, and corporate profits. Recessions may be associated with falling prices (deflation), or, alternatively, sharply rising prices (inflation) in a process known as stagflation. A severe or long recession is referred to as an economic depression. A devastating breakdown of an economy is called economic collapse. Newspaper columnist Sidney J. Harris amusingly distinguished terms this way: a recession is when you lose your job; a depression is when I lose mine.

Recession : a period of temporary economic decline during which trade and industrial activity are reduced.

Cause and Effect

Background

Although it is possible for one cause to lead to one effect, academic subjects are rarely this simple. One cause can lead to more than one effect, for example heavy rain can cause landslides and flooding. Also, more than one cause can lead to one or more effects, for example, eating too much pizza and drinking too much coke for lunch can cause you to get fat and be late for class!

Vocabulary and Grammar

Grammar Note: don't use 'Because' as the first word in a sentence: it's bad style.
There are a number of alternatives. You can use:
- 'Due to...'; e.g. 'Due to the heavy rain there was flooding.'
- 'Owing to ...'; e.g. 'Owing to the heavy rain there was flooding.'
- 'As...'; e.g. 'As there was heavy rain, there was flooding.'

Grammar Note: use 'will' with adverbs that show a high probability, such as 'undoubtedly', 'definitely' and 'probably'. For other adverbs, which show a smaller possibility, use 'may', 'could' or 'might'; e.g. The rain could, perhaps, cause flooding.' or 'The rain may possibly cause flooding'.

Also, the position of the adverb is usually just in front of the verb for adverbs of possibility and probability. This is because the adverb gives more information about the verb. This is different from adverbs like 'Unfortunately', which give information about the whole sentence; e.g. 'Unfortunately, the heavy rain caused flooding.'

Other Cause and Effect Phrases:

Causes

·        There are several reasons for this. Firstly, ...

·        Other causes played a part. Firstly,

·        A key factor was... ('key' means 'important')

·        This is due to ...

·        This is a reflection of...

Effects

·        As a result, ...

·        This meant that...

·        One consequence of this is that ...

Grammar Note:
Don't write 'are lacking of ...' as a cause or effect. Use 'there is a lack of ...' OR 'they are lacking in ...'

Now let's practice it!!!

Correct the grammatical mistakes and comment on the meaning mistakes in these sentences:

1. Because the server crashed the web site was unavailable and the company lost a lot of
    money.
 

2. The crash may had been caused by a denial-of-service attack by hackers.
 

3. The attack was attributed by an ex-employee who had been fired for using pirate software.


 

4. Owed to the financial losses and the reduced confidence in the company’s security, the
    stock price of the company went down.


 

5. To prevent further losses, the company may implementing a distributed computing
    approach by using thousands of PCs rather than a small number of servers.


 

6. Possibly this will solve the problem.


 

7. Owing to a lack of evidence, the hacker may probably not be arrested.
 

8. I am a patriotic person, so Hong Kong is the best place in the world to live.

The answer!!! 

1.                  Because the server crashed the web site was unavailable and the company lost a lot of money.
The server crashed, so the web site was unavailable and the company lost a lot of money. (Don’t start a sentence with ‘because’.)

2.                  The crash may had been caused by a denial-of-service attack by hackers.
The crash may have been caused by a denial-of-service attack by hackers. (Use an infinitive verb after modal verbs such as ‘may’.)

3.                  The attack was attributed by an ex-employee who had been fired for using pirate software.
The attack was attributed to an ex-employee who had been fired for using pirate software. (Use the preposition ‘to’ after ‘attributed’, ‘by’ for people.)

4.                  Owed to the financial losses and the reduced confidence in the company’s security, the stock price of the company went down.
Owing to the financial losses and the reduced confidence in the company’s security, the stock price of the company went down. (‘Owing to’ does not change to past tense.)

5.                  To prevent further losses, the company may implementing a distributed computing approach by using thousands of PCs rather than a small number of servers.
To prevent further losses, the company may implement a distributed computing approach by using thousands of PCs rather than a small number of servers. (Use an infinitive verb after modals like ‘may’.)

6.                  Possibly this will solve the problem.
This may possibly solve the problem. (For adverbs of degree, such as ‘possibly’, it’s better to put the adverb just in front of the verb that it defines; i.e. ‘possibly solve’. Only use ‘will’ for very high probability adverbs such as ‘will definitely’ and ‘will undoubtedly’.)

7.                  Owing to a lack of evidence, the hacker may probably not be arrested.
Owing to a lack of evidence, the hacker will probably not be arrested. (Don’t use ‘may’ for situations where the probability is high.)

8.                  I am a patriotic person, so Hong Kong is the best place in the world to live.
I am a patriotic person, so I believe that  Hong Kong is the best place in the world to live. (Don’t confuse personal beliefs with facts.)

Wish you all the best

A. Sadr

DOWNLOAD IELTS APPLICATION FORM FROM HERE

The chart shows the fluctuations in the numbers of international students attending the Sydney International Language Centre in 2001.
At the start of the year numbers were quite high at 170, this was because there were a large number of students in University Preparation (UP) before the March intake. The student population remained the same until the end of February when 40 graduated from ELI and took up their offers in Bachelors and Masters courses. In both April and May, 15 extra students enrolled into ELI courses. There was a sharp increase in June when 20 new students entered UP courses. In July there was only an increase of five students as the Winter course intake was at the end of July and this was too late for students who were entering university in the second semester. In comparison to the first semester, there was a sharp drop in numbers as 50 students left, leaving only 135 students in ELI for August. From here until the end of the year there was a steady rise in student numbers to a peak of 180 in December.
Overall it shows steady growth when compared to the 2000 enrolments.

Relax before the test!

Attempting to do one or two practice test before the real test won’t help you increase your score. In return, it will make you feel stressed and unconfident.

The Comma

Comma usage is in some respects a question of personal writing style: some writers use commas liberally, while others prefer to use them sparingly. Most modern North American style guides now recommend using fewer commas rather than more, so when faced with the option of using a comma or not, you may find it wise to refrain.

For instance, the use of a comma before the "and" in a series is usually optional, and many writers choose to eliminate it, provided there is no danger of misreading:

We bought scarves, mittens and sweaters before leaving for Iceland. (comma unnecessary before "and")

We ate apples, plums, and strawberry and kiwi compote. (comma needed before "and" for clarity)

Comma Usage

1. Use a comma before a co-ordinating conjunction that joins independent clauses (unless the independent clauses are very short):

   I wrapped the fresh fish in three layers of newspaper, but my van still smelled like trout for the next week. (commas with two independent clauses)

   She invited him to her party and he accepted. (comma unnecessary with short clauses)

2. Use a comma after an introductory adverb clause and, often, after an introductory phrase (unless the phrase is very short):

   After the hospital had completed its fund-raising campaign, an anonymous donor contributed an additional $10,000. (after introductory adverb clause)

   From the east wall to the west, her cottage measures twenty feet. (after introductory prepositional phrase)

   In the bottom drawer you will find some pink spandex tights. (no comma with short, closely related phrase)

3. Use a comma to separate items in a series:

   Playing in a band can be exciting, but many people do not realize the hardships involved: constant rehearsals, playing until 2 a.m., handling drunken audience members, and transporting heavy equipment to and from gigs. (the comma preceding "and" is optional unless needed to prevent misreading)

4. Use commas to set off non-restrictive elements and other parenthetical elements. A non-restrictive modifier is a phrase or clause that does not restrict or limit the meaning of the word it is modifying. It is, in a sense, interrupting material that adds extra information to a sentence. Even though removing the non-restrictive element would result in some loss of meaning, the sentence would still make sense without it. You should usually set off non-restrictive elements with commas:

   The people of Haiti, who for decades have lived with grinding poverty and mind-numbing violence, are unfamiliar with the workings of a true democracy.

   A restrictive modifier is a phrase or clause that limits the meaning of what it modifies and is essential to the basic idea expressed in the sentence. You should not set off restrictive elements with commas:

   Those residents of Ottawa who do not hold secure, well-paying jobs must resent the common portrayal of the city as a land of opportunity.

   Note that you can use two other punctuation marks to set off non-restrictive elements or other parenthetical information: parentheses and dashes. Enclosing parenthetical information in parentheses reduces the importance of that information:

   Mr. Grundy's driving record (with one small exception) was exemplary.

5. Placing parenthetical information between dashes has the opposite effect: it emphasises the material:

   Mr. Grundy's driving record -- with one exception -- was exemplary.

   Nevertheless, you should usually set off parenthetical information with commas.

Superfluous Commas

Equally important in understanding how to use commas effectively is knowing when not to use them. While this decision is sometimes a matter of personal taste, there are certain instances when you should definitely avoid a comma.

• Do not use a comma to separate the subject from its predicate:

  [WRONG] Registering for our fitness programs before September 15, will save you thirty percent of the membership cost.

  [RIGHT] Registering for our fitness programs before September 15 will save you thirty percent of the membership cost.

• Do not use a comma to separate a verb from its object or its subject complement, or a preposition from its object:

  [WRONG] I hope to mail to you before Christmas, a current snapshot of my dog Benji.

  She travelled around the world with, a small backpack, a bedroll, a pup tent and a camera.

  [RIGHT] I hope to mail to you before Christmas a current snapshot of my dog Benji.

  [RIGHT] She travelled around the world with a small backpack, a bedroll, a pup tent and a camera.

• Do not misuse a comma after a co-ordinating conjunction:

  [WRONG] Sleet fell heavily on the tin roof but, the family was used to the noise and paid it no attention.

  [RIGHT] Sleet fell heavily on the tin roof, but the family was used to the noise and paid it no attention.

• Do not use commas to set off words and short phrases (especially introductory ones) that are not parenthetical or that are very slightly so:

  [WRONG] After dinner, we will play badminton.

  [RIGHT] After dinner we will play badminton.

• Do not use commas to set off restrictive elements:

  [WRONG] The fingers, on his left hand, are bigger than those on his right.

  [RIGHT] The fingers on his left hand are bigger than those on his right.

• Do not use a comma before the first item or after the last item of a series:

  [WRONG] The treasure chest contained, three wigs, some costume jewellery and five thousand dollars in Monopoly money.

  [WRONG] You should practice your punches, kicks and foot sweeps, if you want to improve in the martial arts.

  [RIGHT] The treasure chest contained three wigs, some costume jewellery and five thousand dollars in Monopoly money.

  [RIGHT] You should practice your punches, kicks and foot sweeps if you want to improve in the martial arts.

An introduction to IELTS test structure for this post .

Not only has English become an international language; it is used by more and more people around the world as a medium of post-school study

To help universities and colleges select students with sufficient English skills to succeed in their courses, The IELTS test was introduced in 1989 to assess “whether candidates are ready to train in the medium of English”. It is now used for this purpose around the globe.

Depending in the course of study that students plan to take, students must elect to sit either the Academic IELTS test or the General Training IELTS test. This choice must be made when applying to sit the test. The Academic IELTS test is necessary for students who plan to study at university (undergraduate or postgraduate courses), and will test the student’s ability both to understand and to use complex academic language. The General Training IELTS test is required by other institutions, such as colleges and high schools, for courses that require less complex language skills, and is also as a general test of English proficiency e.g. for immigration purposes in Australia, Canada and New Zealand.

The Test Format
There are four sub-tests, or modules, to the IELTS test: Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking. Students must sit all four sub-tests. While all students take the same Listening and Speaking tests, they sit different Reading and Writing tests, depending on whether they have selected the Academic IELTS test or the General Training IELTS test.

On the day of the test, the four subsections will be taken in the following order:

The Speaking test may even take place a day or two later at some centres.

IELTS listening test lasts for about 30 minutes. It consists of four sections, played on cassette tape, in order of increasing difficulty. Each section might be a dialogue or a monologue. The test is played once only, and the questions for each section must be answered while listening, although time is given for students to check their answers.

IELTS Reading test lasts for 60 minutes. Students are given an Academic Reading test, or a General Training Reading test. Both tests consist of three sections, and in both tests the sections are in order of increasing difficulty.

IELTS Writing test also lasts for 60 minutes. Again, students take either an Academic test, or a General Training test. Students must perform two writing tasks, which require different styles of writing. There is no choice of question topics.

IELTS Speaking test consists of a one-to-one interview with a specially trained examiner. The examiner will lead the candidate through the three parts of the test:
An introduction and interview, an individual long turn where the candidate speaks for one or two minutes on a particular topic, and a two-way discussion thematically linked to the individual long turn. This interview will last for approximately 11-14 minutes.

How to write an introduction!!!

The Introduction

You don't need much here. You only have 150 words to fully answer the question and this is not much. So, you need 1 or 2 sentences describing the following:

• The type(s) of graph you are describing
• The titles of the graph(s)
• The date of the graph(s)
• The scale (see the paragraph above)

You might not have all this information but you should report what you do have. So, for example, your beginning could look like this:

In this report I am going to describe 2 graphs. The first one is a bar chart showing the relationship between age and crime and the second is a pie chart showing the types of reported crime in the UK in 2002.

What you need to do here is factually describe the graphs. You don't need to analyse the data, For example you don't need to give reasons for why figures are high or low. Sometimes, when there is more than 1 graph, there is a relationship between the two and you can bring in some comparison but more than this is not necessary. In the same way, no specialised knowledge of your own is needed or wanted nor your opinions.

Remember the function of many graphs is to describe a trend so be sure that you describe the trends. A trend is how values change generally over time and it is important to describe the changes along with some of the individual values. We will look at trends a bit later under line graphs.

One important issue with The IELTS Academic Task 1 Writing is how much detail to include in your report. This depends really on how much detail there is in the question. If there is only 1 graph and it doesn't have much numerical data in it, then you will be expected to include all or nearly all of the numerical detail. If, however, you have 2 graphs, both of which are very complicated with lots of values, you will not be expected to include everything as you only have 150 words to do the job. What you will have to do is to include a selection of what you feel is the most important and significant detail that needs to be included to accurately describe the graph.

You must always have some numerical detail though.

Now let's look individually at the types of graph that you are likely to meet in the exam and how to describe them.

Bar Charts for The IELTS Academic Task 1 Writing

Hopefully you will have described the title of the bar chart in your introduction so you can go straight into the description. Basically, with a bar chart, you need to describe the bars and their values. When describing a bar chart you first have to decide in what order to describe the bars, highest value to lowest value or lowest value to highest value. It may be a mixture of this. If there are very many bars, you can sometimes group together for description 1 or 2 or 3 bars which have similar or the same values. If there are very many and you can't group them, then just describe the ones that are the most significant.

Pie Charts for The IELTS Academic Task 1 Writing

Pie charts are relatively straightforward as they only usually have a few sections though this is not always the case. You need to describe the segments and their values. If there are very many then just describe the ones that are the most significant. The values are often expressed in percentages but not always so be careful what scale you are using.

Tables for The IELTS Academic Task 1 Writing

These can sometimes be tricky as they provide a lot of information and it is often awkward and difficult to describe every piece of information. You have to decide and describe the values and sections that are the most significant.

Line Graphs for The IELTS Academic Task 1 Writing

The function of a line graph is to describe a TREND pictorially. You therefore should try and describe the trend in it. If there are many lines in the graph(s), then just generally describe the trend. If there is only one or two, then use more detail. So, describe the movement of the line(s) of the graph giving numerical detail at the important points of the line.

To describe the movement, there is some language which will always be useful. Below is a list of language you can use. Check with your dictionary words that you don't understand and practice using the words/phrases so you use them in the right way. As you will see, there are a number of words which are similar in meaning. This means that you will be able to use a variety of vocabulary which gives a good impression to the examiner who will read and mark your writing. The words below are particularly useful for line graphs but they can also be used where appropriate to describe the other types of graph.

Expressing the Movement of a Line

Verbs	Nouns
Rise (to)	a rise
Increase (to)	an increase
Go up to
Grow (to)	growth
Climb (to)	a climb
Boom	a boom
Peak (at)	(reach) a peak (at)
Fall (to)	a fall (of)
Decline (to)	a decline (of)
Decrease (to)	a decrease (of)
Dip (to)	a dip (of)
Drop (to)	a drop (of)
Go down (to)
Reduce (to)	a reduction (of)
	A slump
Level out	a leveling out
No change	no change
Remain stable (at)
Remain steady (at)
Stay (at)
Stay constant (at)
Maintain the same level
Adjectives	Adverbs
Dramatic	dramatically
Sharp	sharply
Huge	hugely
Enormous	enormously
Steep	steeply
Substantial	substantially
Considerable	considerably
Significant	significantly
Marked	markedly
Moderate	moderately
Slight	slightly
Small
Minimal	minimally
Describing the Speed of a Change
Adjectives	Adverbs
Rapid	rapidly
Quick	quickly
Swift	swiftly
Sudden	suddenly
Steady	steadily
Gradual	gradually
Slow	slowly

The Ending for the IELTS Academic Task 1 Writing

You do not need a long and analytical conclusion for The IELTS Academic Task 1 Writing, but I do feel that you need to write something to end the report for reasons of structure. All you need to do is to write:

This ends my report.

This is all you need to end your Task 1; I think it's important to do this as it rounds off the report for the reader.

Describing a Process for the IELTS Academic Task 1 Writing

We have looked at the various types of graph that you might be asked to describe but you also might have to describe a diagram representing a process.
First of all, the introduction and the ending should be more or less the same.

Then, work out the various stages of the process. Take each one separately (it's only probably going to have a limited number of stages) and describe them fully. Fully is the important word as reaching the word limit has proved harder in this task. If you have this problem, don't be afraid to use your imagination to add to detail about the process.

Other Hints for the IELTS Academic Task 1 Writing

• DON'T copy any part of the question in your answer. This is not your own work and therefore will be disregarded by the examiner and deducted from the word count. You can use individual words but be careful of using long "chunks" of the question text.
• Don't repeat yourself or the same ideas. This gives a bad impression and the examiner realises that it isn't adding to the content of your report.
• If you are weak at English grammar, try to use short sentences. This allows you to control the grammar and the meaning of your writing much more easily and contributes to a better cohesion and coherence mark. It's much easier to make things clear in a foreign language if you keep your sentences short!
• Think about the tenses of your verbs. If you're writing about something that happened in the past, your verbs will need to be in the past tenses. If you're describing the future, you will need to use the future tenses. If it's a habitual action, you'll need the present simple tense and so on. If you have time, a quick check of your verbs at the end of the exam can help you find errors. For describing graphs you will probably need past tenses whereas, for describing a process, you will probably need the present simple. Think about the verbs while practising and then it will become easier when you do the exam.
• As I just said, if you have finished the exam with time to spare, DON'T just sit there!! Check what you have done. If you have time after the check, check again. And so on....
• Don't be irrelevant. Although you can use your imagination to expand on your answer, if any part of your report is totally unrelated to the question and put in to just put up the word count, then the examiner will not take it into account and deduct it from the word count.
• If you want to improve, there's no secret. Practice. Practice. Practice. You won't get better sitting and doing nothing. Even good English users need practice for the IELTS exam. It could make all the difference between your getting the band that you need, and getting half a band less than you need and having to wait 3 months to do the exam again.

Finally, there are no correct answers or methods. Here I've given you some ideas to guide you and hopefully to help you but the questions can be answered well in different ways. Good luck with the IELTS Academic Task 1 Writing.

Wish you good luck.

A. Sadr

The IELTS Academic Task 1 Writing will be marked in three areas. You will get a mark from 1 to 9 on Task Fulfillment, Coherence & Cohesion and Vocabulary and Sentence Structure. Your final band for task 1 will be effectively an average of the three marks awarded in these areas. Task 1 writing is less important than task 2 and to calculate the final writing mark, more weight is assigned to the task 2 mark than to task 1's mark. To get a good overall mark for The IELTS Academic Task 1 Writing though, both tasks have to be well answered so don't hold back on task 1 or give yourself too little time to answer it properly.

Task Fulfilment This where you can really make a difference through careful preparation. This mark grades you on basically "have you answered the question".

Cohesion and Coherence These two are interrelated which is why they are done together. Cohesion is how your writing fits together. Does your writing with its ideas and content flow logically? Coherence is how you are making yourself understood and whether the reader of your writing understands what you are saying. An example of bad coherence and cohesion would be as follows:

1 We went to the beach because it was raining.

Probably the writer of this sentence does not mean "because" as people don't usually go to the beach when it is raining. The writer should have written:

2 We went to the beach although it was raining.

Sentence 1 has made a cohesion and coherence error (as well as a vocabulary one). "Because" does not join the ideas of the sentence together correctly and, as a result, the reader does not understand what the writer wants to say. This is an exaggerated example but it shows what I mean.

Vocabulary and Sentence Structure This area looks at the your grammar and choice of words. The marker will look at whether the right grammar and words are used and whether they are used at the right time in the right place and in the right way. Many people are worried about their grammar but, as you can see, grammar is only half of one section of three used to grade your writing. IELTS is much more interested in communication rather than grammatical accuracy.

In the name of the Supreme Being

To begin with I have chosen some stuff about GRAMMAR.

A phrase may function as a verb, noun, an adverb, or an adjective.

Verb Phrases

A verb phrase consists of a verb, its direct and/or indirect objects, and any adverb, adverb phrases, or adverb clauses which happen to modify it. The predicate of a clause or sentence is always a verb phrase:

Corinne is trying to decide whether she wants to go to medical school or to go to law school.

He did not have all the ingredients the recipe called for; therefore, he decided to make something else.

After she had learned to drive, Alice felt more independent.

We will meet at the library at 3:30 p.m.

Noun Phrases

A noun phrase consists of a pronoun or noun with any associated modifiers, including adjectives, adjective phrases, adjective clauses, and other nouns in the possessive case.

Like a noun, a noun phrase can act as a subject, as the object of a verb or verbal, as a subject or object complement, or as the object of a preposition, as in the following examples:

subject

Small children often insist that they can do it by themselves.

object of a verb

To read quickly and accurately is Eugene's goal.

object of a preposition

The arctic explorers were caught unawares by the spring breakup.

subject complement

Frankenstein is the name of the scientist not the monster.

object complement

I consider Loki my favorite cat.

Noun Phrases using Verbals

(by David Megginson)

Since some verbals -- in particular, the gerund and the infinitive -- can act as nouns, these also can form the nucleus of a noun phrase:

Ice fishing is a popular winter pass-time.

However, since verbals are formed from verbs, they can also take direct objects and can be modified by adverbs. A gerund phrase or infinitive phrase, then, is a noun phrase consisting of a verbal, its modifiers (both adjectives and adverbs), and its objects:

Running a marathon in the Summer is thirsty work.

I am planning to buy a house next month.

Adjective Phrases

An adjective phrase is any phrase which modifies a noun or pronoun. You often construct adjective phrases using participles or prepositions together with their objects:

I was driven mad by the sound of my neighbour's constant piano practising.

In this sentence, the prepositional phrase "of my neighbour's constant piano practising" acts as an adjective modifying the noun "sound."

My father-in-law locked his keys in the trunk of a borrowed car.

Similarly in this sentence, the prepositional phrase "of a borrowed car" acts as an adjective modifying the noun "trunk."

We saw Peter dashing across the quadrangle.

Here the participle phrase "dashing across the quadrangle" acts as an adjective describing the proper noun "Peter."

We picked up the records broken in the scuffle.

In this sentence, the participle phrase "broken in the scuffle" modifies the noun phrase "the records."

Adverb Phrases

A prepositional phrase can also be an adverb phrase, functioning as an adverb, as in the following sentences.

She bought some spinach when she went to the corner store.

In this sentence, the prepositional phrase "to the corner store" acts as an adverb modifying the verb "went."

Lightning flashed brightly in the night sky.

In this sentence, the prepositional phrase "in the night sky" functions as a adverb modifying the verb "flashed."

In early October, Giselle planted twenty tulip bulbs; unfortunately, squirrels ate the bulbs and none bloomed.

In this sentence, the prepositional phrase "in early October" acts as an adverb modifying the entire sentence.

We will meet at the library at 3:30 P.M.

In this sentence, the prepositional phrase "at 3:30 P.M." acts as an adverb modifying the verb phrase "will meet."

The dogs were capering about the clown's feet.

In this sentence, the prepositional phrase "about the clown's feet" acts as an adverb modifying the verb phrase "were capering."