ConTEnTSlib.oup.com.au/general/ELT/samplepages/ieltsprepacademic.pdfPart 2 Academic Writing Task 1: Unit 2 Task Achievement 129 STEP 2. Write one or two sentences about the main message

ConTEnTSIntroduction – How to Use This Book v

ParT 1 aCadEmIC rEadIng 1Unit 1 About the Academic Reading Test 1

Unit 2 The Skills You Need 7

Unit 3 Multiple-choice Questions 14

Unit 4 True/False/Not Given Questions 21

Unit 5 Yes/No/Not Given Questions 26

Unit 6 Short Answer Questions 31

Unit 7 Sentence Completion Questions 36

Unit 8 Diagram/Flow Chart Completion Questions 41

Unit 9 Table/Note Completion Questions 46

Unit 10 Summary Completion Questions 51

Unit 11 Matching Headings Questions 56

Unit 12 Matching Features Questions 63

Unit 13 Matching Sentence Endings Questions 70

Unit 14 Academic Reading Practice Tests 76

IELTS Academic Reading Practice Test 1 77




ParT 2 aCadEmIC WrITIng TaSk 1 121Unit 1 About Academic Writing Task 1 121

Unit 2 Task Achievement 127

Unit 3 Coherence and Cohesion 144

Unit 4 Lexical Resource 164

Unit 5 Grammatical Range and Accuracy 190

Unit 6 Practice Questions 210

00_AUC_RWA2_20996_TXT_UB1.indd 3 05/08/13 10:02 AM

iv

ParT 3 aCadEmIC WrITIng TaSk 2 228Unit 1 About Task 2 228

Unit 2 Analysing the Task 230

Unit 3 Brainstorming Ideas 234

Unit 4 Planning the Essay 238

Unit 5 Writing the Essay 242

Unit 6 Lexical Resource 251

Unit 7 Grammatical Range and Accuracy 254

Unit 8 Editing 259

Unit 9 Common Problems 262

Unit 10 Practice Tests 263

Appendix 1 268

Answer Key 268

Appendix 2 318

Reading Answer Sheet 318

Academic Writing Task 1 Self-study Checklist 319

Editing Checklist for Task 2 320

Acknowledgments 321


Unit 2Task Achievement

tip To get a good mark, you need to make the report interesting.

Look at the data. Someone has collected this data for a reason, and it tells us something interesting. You need to explain why the data is important and interesting.

ExampleThe following tables describe bill-paying habits and attitudes to unpaid bills, by age group.

Table 1 Proportion of people who are worried about their unpaid bills, by age group.

Worried

Under 30 74%

30–45 66%

45–60 33%

Over 60 20%

Table 2 Proportion of people who usually pay their bills on time, by age group.

No

Under 30 65%

30–45 58%

45–60 30%

Over 60 15%

This data comes from a survey. A researcher asked the questions ‘Are you worried about your unpaid bills?’ and ‘Do you pay your bills on time?’ They asked thousands of people, and then put the results into these tables.


128 IELTS Preparation and Practice Reading & Writing – Academic

Activity 2.1Imagine that you are the researcher who did this survey. Who paid you to do it? Why do they need the information? Match the client (1–4) with the reason (a–d).

Client Need

1 A bank paid you … a … to find out about their customers, who are people over 60.

2 You were paid by a government department that regulates the bank system …

b … to find out about their customers, who are people aged 30 to 45.

3 A private pension fund paid you … c … to find out whether citizens are suffering financial stress.

4 A mortgage company paid you … d … to find out about their customers for a new advertising campaign.

Your job now is to show the survey results to the bank, pension fund, government department, etc. They don’t have time to look at every number in the tables – they just need the general idea. However, it is a technical report, so you need to prove that what you say is true by giving accurate details.

When people read data reports, they usually just skim-read the first sentences. Then they might read more, if it is interesting. That is why you should start with an ‘overview’ or ‘executive summary’ that summarises the most important information.

STEP 1. What is the main message you get from the data in the table?

Activity 2.2Write TRUE, FALSE or NOT GIVEN.

1. The majority of people under 30 are worried about their unpaid bills.

2. More than half of people aged 30–45 are worried about their unpaid bills.

3. The majority of people who are under 45 years old are worried about their unpaid bills.

4. The majority of people aged over 45 aren’t worried about their unpaid bills.

5. The majority of people aged 30–45 and 45–60 pay their bills on time.

6. The majority of people aged 45–60 and over 60 pay their bills on time.

7. The older someone is, the more likely they are to pay their bills on time.

8. There seems to be a change in behaviour and attitude around age 45.

9. Most people aged 45–60 and over 60 don’t have unpaid bills.


129Part 2 Academic Writing Task 1: Unit 2 Task Achievement

STEP 2. Write one or two sentences about the main message – this is your overview. It is best to give the overview at the beginning of your report. That way, the examiner is sure to notice it.

You should NOT copy the task prompt as your overview. For example: DO NOT write ‘The tables describe bill-paying habits and attitudes to unpaid bills, by age group.’ This is a waste of time. It is not your own language, so the examiner will ignore it. It doesn’t show how well you can use English, because you have copied it. It also doesn’t show how well you have analysed the data because it doesn’t say anything about the results of the study.

DO write: ‘This survey of bill-paying habits and attitudes to unpaid bills shows that as people get older, particularly after age 45, they become better at paying their bills on time and become less worried about their unpaid bills.’

tip Do NOT use your own ideas to explain the data. For example, ‘Older people have more money, so that’s why they can pay their bills on time.’ This may be true, but the information is not in the graph, so don’t write it.

STEP 3. Now you need to give details to prove that your main idea is correct. You need to quote some real survey results.

We made three main statements in the overview. We’ll describe them one by one, with a paragraph for each one.

Activity 2.3Match the overview statement (a, b, c) with the paragraph (D, E, F) that supports it.

a ‘The survey results show that as people get older, particularly after age 45, they become better at paying their bills on time.’

b ‘The survey results show that as people get older, particularly after age 45, they … become less worried about their unpaid bills.’

c ‘There seems to be a relationship between these things.’

Paragraph DOverall, there seems to be a connection between not paying bills on time and being worried about unpaid bills. Where there is one, you also see the other.

Paragraph EMost people aged under 45 (65 per cent of under 30s and 58 per cent of 30- to 45-year-olds) don’t pay their bills on time. Meanwhile, most people over 45 do pay their bills on time, with 30 per cent of 45- to 60-year-olds and only 15 per cent of the over-60s not paying. It seems that bill-paying behaviour splits the population into two groups: under 45 and over 45.

Paragraph FThis is the same with worrying about unpaid bills. In the two younger age groups, most people are worried about them: 74 per cent of the under 30s and 66 per cent of the 30–45s. In contrast, only 33 per cent of 45- to 60-year-olds and 15 per cent of over- 60-year-olds are concerned about unpaid bills.



Now, let’s put the answer all together.The survey results show that as people get older, particularly after age 45, they become better at paying their bills on time and become less worried about their unpaid bills. There seems to be a relationship between these things.

Most people aged under 45 (65 per cent of under 30s and 58 per cent of 30- to 45-year-olds) don’t pay their bills on time. Meanwhile, most people over 45 do pay their bills on time, with 30 per cent of 45- to 60-year-olds and only 15 per cent of the over-60s not paying. It seems that bill paying behaviour splits the population into two groups: under 45 and over 45.

This is the same with worrying about unpaid bills. In the two younger age groups, most people are worried about them: 74 per cent of the under 30s and 66 per cent of the 30–45s. In contrast, only 33 per cent of 45- to 60-year-olds and 15 per cent of over-60-year-olds are concerned about unpaid bills.

Overall, there seems to be a connection between not paying bills on time and being worried about unpaid bills. Where there is one, you also see the other.

tip A good Task 1 should give a clear message. Imagine you are a bank director who requested this report. Does it give you a clear idea for action? Yes. You would probably start advertising to people aged around 45, because this seems to be a pivotal age.

tip In this example, there are probably other ways to explain the data, but you don’t have that information. For example, people have more money as they get older, so they can pay their bills on time. This is why you should use Academic English expressions like ‘there may be’ / ‘it seems’ / ‘there could be’ / ‘there appears to be’.

STEP 4. Check your work.

• Look back at the Task 1 instructions. Have you followed them? Yes, ‘described the main trends and differences’ and ‘made comparisons’.

• Have you written an ‘overview’ (a short description of the main message)? Yes, the first sentence.

• Have you written about all the main points – the trends, differences or stages? Have you supported this with data? Yes. Every statement includes some numbers to explain it.

• Have you described the data accurately? Pay attention to any labels or headings. For example, does this table show number of people, or percentage of people? (Percentage of people.) Check that you have quoted numbers accurately. Yes.



Which diagram (1–4) shows:

A. a big gap that shrinks over time?

B. a gradual increase that suddenly increases more quickly?

C. two things that show a similar growth for most of the period?

D. something that starts out highest, but becomes the lowest?

E. something that starts out highest, but becomes middle-ranked?

F. two things that show a similar growth for a part of the period?

G. two countries with the same share of something?

45% 45%

40%25%

30%

30%

20%

50%

15%

China USA UK

Local Regional International

China UK USA

Activity 2.4The following graphs show exports from the UK, USA and China in one year.

1 2

USA

UK

ChinaUSA

UK

China

3 4



Activity 2.5Match the graph (1–4) to the overview.

A. The USA had the highest proportion of regional exports, but the lowest proportion of international exports. China and the UK had similar proportions of international exports, but different proportions of the other categories.

B. Exports rose steadily in every country, but increased sharply in the USA and the UK, and gradually in China. The UK showed the greatest increase overall.

C. The USA showed a reasonably steady decline in exports over the period, while the UK’s exports fluctuated, but showed an overall slight increase. China showed dramatic fluctuations in exports, but there was no overall increase or decrease over the period.

D. Exports showed an increasing trend, with some fluctuations, in every country over the period. However, in the future the most dramatic increase is predicted for China. It will go from the lowest of the three countries shown, to the highest.

10

8

6

4

3

2

1

0

10

8

6

4

3

2

1

0

Billions

Year

Industrialised nations Developing nations

Po

pul

atio

n

1750 1800 1850 1900 1950 2000 2050

Billions

Example activityThis activity is an example of how to do the following activities 2.6–2.8.

The following graph shows the population growth in developing countries and industrialised countries, with a prediction to 2050.



Activity 2.6The following tables show the average age of students at a college, and how happy the students were with their courses.What are the main features?Now write the overview.

How happy students were with their courses

Certificate Diploma

very happy 73% 5%

happy 16% 12%

unhappy 10% 42%

very unhappy 1% 41%

What are the main features?

Now write the overview.

Main features1. Both populations increase slowly at first.2. The increase in developing countries is much faster than in industrialised

countries, especially after 1950.3. After 2000, the population of industrialised countries stops growing.

OverviewThe populations of developing countries and industrialised countries increased at about the same, steady rate until around 1950, when the population in developing countries skyrocketed. In 2000, while that rapid growth was still happening, the population in industrialised countries began to plateau. These contrasting trends are predicted to continue until 2050.



Activity 2.7The following diagrams show changes to a museum.

What are the main features?Now write the overview.

2010

Entrance

Toilets

Visiting exhibition spacePermanent exhibition space

Staff area

Storage area

Average age of students

Certificate Diploma

15 to 25 79% 17%

25 to 35 18% 62%

35 to 45 1% 20%

45 and over 2% 1%

2012

Entrance

Toilets

ShopPermanent exhibition space

Staff area

Visitingexhibition

space

Storage area

[continued from previous page]



160

140

120

100

80

60

40

20

0

Year

Po

pul

atio

n (t

hous

and

s)

1861

1871

1881

1891

1901

1911

1926

1936

1946

1961

1971

1981

1991

2002

Activity 2.9: Spot the errorsThese overviews have incorrect facts. Can you find them?

1. The following chart shows the population of a certain town from 1861 to 2002.

Activity 2.8The following diagram shows the paper manufacturing cycle.

What are the main features?Now write the overview.

Paper

Forests

Customers Wastepaper

Woodchips

Pulp and paper factory

recycled paper

new paper



The population fell and then increased over the period. At the start of the period, in 1861, the population was 110 people, and after decreasing to nearly half, the population only exceeded the 1861 level in 2002, when there were around 130 residents in the town.

2. The following graph shows the number of widgets, by type (A–N), that were produced by a company in one year.

The graph clearly shows that, after some early fluctuation, the production of widgets levelled out towards the end of the year.

3. The following graph shows the average monthly rainfall in two major cities.

The monthly rainfall averages show similar patterns in the dry months (January to April), but different patterns in the rest of the year. Each city has two main peaks at different times and the highest monthly rainfall happens in London, in June.

Widgets produced

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N

100 000

90 000

80 000

70 000

60 000

50 000

40 000

30 000

20 000

10 000

0

70

60

50

40

LondonBerlin

Monthly rainfall (mm) in major cities

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec




4. The following graph shows the percentage of people who recycle their rubbish, in five countries, over 12 years.

Between 1992 and 2004, there was a dramatic increase in the proportion of UK residents who recycle.

%

35

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

1992 2004

UK

US

A

Japa

n

Sin

gapo

re

Ger

man

y

Presenting the dataAfter the overview, you need to write some more paragraphs to give the detail that proves your statements. For example, if your overview said ‘men worked longer hours than women’, you need to give data to support that statement. Do not list every single number. You need to organise the data and select the most important data.



Activity 2.10Look at the answer and fill the gaps.The following diagrams show international student enrolments at a university from 1975 to 2009.

Students’ home region

1975 2009

Asia 20% 65%

Europe 20% 20%

Africa 15% 10%

North America 15% 10%

South America 30% 0%

There were ___________ stages of growth: a period of slow growth between

___________ and ___________; a period of faster growth between ___________

and ___________; and a period of rapid increase between ___________ and

___________.

It seems the increase came mainly from higher numbers of ___________

students (up from ___________ per cent in 1975 to ___________ per cent in

2009). Proportions of students from other regions stayed roughly the same, or

fell slightly, except for students from ___________. These students accounted

for ___________ per cent of all international students in 1975, but by 2009 there

were no students from this region.

1975 80 85 90 95 2000 05 09

3500

3000

2500

2000

1500

1000

500

International student numbers



Activity 2.11Look at this answer. What’s wrong?The following tables show the average age of students at a college, and how happy the students were with their courses.

How happy students were with their courses

Certificate Diploma

very happy 73% 5%

happy 16% 12%

unhappy 10% 42%

very unhappy 1% 41%

Average age of students

Certificate Diploma

15 to 25 79% 17%

25 to 35 18% 62%

35 to 45 1% 20%

45 and over 2% 1%

The tables show the average age of students at a college, and how happy the students were with their courses. There are certificate students and diploma students.

Certificate students were very happy with their course (73 per cent) or happy with their course (16 per cent) or unhappy with their course (10 per cent). Not many of them were very unhappy with their course (only 1 per cent). Diploma students were very unhappy with their course (41 per cent), unhappy with their course (42 per cent) or happy with their course (12 per cent) or very happy with their course (5 per cent).

Certificate students were 15 to 25 years old (79 per cent) or 25 to 35 years old (18 per cent). Not many of them were 35 to 45 years of age (1 per cent) or over 45 (2 per cent). On the other hand, 17 per cent of diploma students were 15 to 25 years old, and 62 per cent were aged 25 to 35, while 20 per cent were 35 to 45 years old and only 1 per cent were aged 45 and over.



Activity 2.12Look at this answer. What’s wrong?The following tables describe bill-paying habits and attitudes to debt, by age group.

Worried about unpaid bills Pay bills on time

Under 30 74%

30–45 66%

45–60 33%

Over 60 20%

Under 30 35%

30–45 42%

45–60 70%

Over 60 85%

CheckingWhen you have finished writing your Task 1 answer, remember to check it. These are the important points to look for to get a good mark for task achievement:

Task Achievement

Does it have an overview of main patterns? ✓

Does it have the most important details? ✓

Does it have any irrelevant information (for example, personal experience or opinions)?

✗ Do not include these.

Does it quote numbers and other data accurately? ✓

The survey results show that as people get older, particularly after age 45, they become better at paying their bills on time and become less worried about their unpaid bills. There seems to be a relationship between these things.

Few people aged under 45 (only 35 per cent of under-30s and 42 per cent of 30- to 45-year-olds) don’t pay their bills on time. Meanwhile, 70 per cent of 45- to 60-year-olds pay their bills on time. It seems that bill-paying behaviour splits the population into two groups: under 45 and over 45.

This is the same with worrying about unpaid bills. In the two younger age groups, most people are worried about them: 75 per cent of the under-30s and 66 per cent of the 30–45s. In contrast, only 33 per cent of 45- to 60-year-olds are concerned about unpaid bills.

Overall, there seems to be a connection between not paying bills on time and being worried about unpaid bills. Where there is one, you also see the other.



United States

Germany

France

China

Japan

6.09

3.04

1.63

.67

.44

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7Tons per person

CO2 produced per person (2010)

$5.74 trillion

$14.62 trillion

$5.39 trillion

$3.30 trillion$2.55 trillion USA

ChinaGermanyJapanFrance

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

$15

$14

$13

$12

$11

$10

$9

$8

$7

$6

$5

$4

$3

$2

$1

$0

GD

P (i

n tr

illio

ns)

Activity 2.13Check this example answer using the checklist.

The following tables compare the total value of exports and the amount of CO2 produced per person for five countries.Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.



Task achievement Yes/no Example

Does it give an overview of main patterns?

Does it talk about the most important details?

Does it have any irrelevant information (for example, personal experience or opinions)?

Does it quote numbers and other data accurately?

tip Another good way to check your answer is to ask a friend to read it and recreate the original diagram.

Sample answer:The data shows that the country with the largest GDP (the USA) also had the highest per-person CO2 production. However, Japan and China, the countries with the second-largest GDPs, had the lowest per-person CO2 production.

Throughout the period (2000 to 2010), the USA had the highest GDP, rising steadily from $10 trillion to $14.62 trillion over the period, with only one small dip around 2009. This country also had the highest CO2 production per person in 2010. In contrast, Japan’s GDP fluctuated around $5 trillion, with no major growth over the period, and although Japan’s GDP was around 30 to 50 per cent of the USA’s, its CO2 production was less than 10 per cent of the USA’s.

The GDPs of Germany and France remained fairly constant over the period, only increasing by about $1 trillion, to $3.30 trillion and $2.55 trillion, respectively. Although their GDPs were similar, Germany’s CO2 production was double that of France.

China’s GDP was the same as France’s until 2005, when it began to increase rapidly. By 2010, China’s GDP was $5.74 trillion, although it still only produced 0.67 tonnes of CO2 per person.




Activity 2.14Draw the diagram that this answer is talking about.

1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005

1.5

1

0.5

0

–0.5

380

360

340

320

Year

CO2

Tem

per

atur

e an

om

aly

(deg

C)

The graph shows that CO2 levels increased steadily between 1960 and 2005, while average global temperatures also rose, but not as steeply and with some fluctuation. Despite a slow start at the beginning of the period, by the middle of the period, the temperature anomaly was rising fairly quickly, increasing by nearly 5°C in 20 years.

In 1960, CO2 levels were at around 310 ppmv, but they increased steadily by around 15 ppmv per decade. Halfway through the period, in 1980, they had reached 340 ppmv and by the end of the period, in 2005, they had risen to around 380 ppmv.

Meanwhile, the increase in average global temperature also increased between 1960 and 2005, though not so smoothly. For almost the first 20 years (1960 to 1978) there was no net increase, and the temperature difference remained under 0, with troughs of nearly –2°C in 1965 and 1976 and a small peak, at nearly –1°C, in 1971. From around 1978, the average temperature anomaly began to increase, with small peaks in 1982 (at 1°C), 1989 (at 2°C) and 2000 (at 4°C). At the end of the period, the average temperature difference was 0.5°C.

When you use the practice answers at the back of this book, remember to check them with the checklist, and then ask a friend to recreate the diagram.

You can check all your answers to the activities in this unit in the Answer Key in Appendix 1.


Documents

ConTEnTSlib.oup.com.au/general/ELT/samplepages/ieltsprepacademic.pdfPart 2 Academic Writing Task 1: Unit 2 Task Achievement 129 STEP 2. Write one or two sentences about the main message