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This article looks at how you can help yourself answer the more difficult questions in part 3 speaking by using cautious language. The tip is to avoid making strong statements that you cannot back up. Rather you can get yourself some valuable thinking time by giving cautious opinions that you then qualify. This will also help the coherence of your speaking. Inside you will find:

  1. advice on using cautious language for coherence
  2. a download with useful vocabulary
  3. an exercise to practise part 3 speaking

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Poll

My plan is to make a series of similar guides for each of the IELTS modules. I can do this in two ways:

  1. write one guide at a time: in which case they will be completed more quickly (one every 2/3 months approx)
  2. write all the guides at the same time: in which case they will be completed more slowly but all 4 skills will be covered

There are good arguments for each approach and I am willing to do it either way. If you have your own opinions, vote in the poll on this page

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If you are new here – welcome to my IELTS website. The site is open to anybody interested in IELTS or anyone bored by IELTS for that matter. It is still under construction but there is plenty to find inside.

Currently, I am updating the site 3/4 a week. You can find links to my most recent updates on the bar to the right of this page or if you like you can follow me on Twitter here


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Tip of the week

This week’s IELTS tip is to help you improve your IELTS essay writing skills and in particular the introduction. The introduction is important in two ways. It is the first thing the examiner reads: get it right and they like you, get it wrong…. As importantly, it matters to you: if you get it right, you can write a good essay; if it goes wrong, you are unlikely to.

So how do you write a good introduction? There are various approaches which I shall describe in my essay writing course. One thing every introduction needs to do, however, is to identify the question. Whatever you do, however, you must not repeat the wording of the question, as the examiner will cross it out and you may not then write enough words.

Here’s the tip. In an exam it is often very difficult to think of how to change the words in the question. The question is after all written in perfect English. It’s actually quite simple. When you write your introduction, do not look at the question, this way it is almost impossible for you to repeat it. You may use some of the same words but that is no problem. All you need to do next is to read the question after you have written the introduction to make sure you have included all the key points.

For more on this have a look at IELTS essays – answering the question.

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