IELTS Aid (Practice Essays)

Many people from different countries have different views on possessing their own homes. Some prefer to invest in their own house more than renting one. This essay explains the possible reasons for this choice and the implications of this. A house is an investment. In the Philippines, many people dream of possessing a house of their own. This is because it is emphasized in the community that it is a symbol of success. Buying a property is expensive and requires dedication and hard work. People believe that being able to have a place where one can retire and keep their families safe and secure is the ultimate goal. In addition, having a place where you can exercise freedom, physically and financially, is an attractive idea for a lot of people. When renting, there is a threat of being kicked out if a person fails to pay their monthly dues. When this happens, families are forced to temporarily or permanently stay in desolate places or roadsides, therefore, making dreaming of having your...

My Sample: Television shows and computer games that show violence are thought to have negative influences on many viewers’ behavior while the opposite opinion is believed by others. They say that there are other elements that can affect a person’s actions. This essay will explain the author's perspectives on how both these points are correct. According to many studies, there is a connection between what a person watches and how he acts. This reaction can be compared to how food affects our mood. Television shows and digital games can directly stimulate the brain by producing certain chemicals that alter the mood of an individual watching a violent show or playing an aggressive game. Since science backs up the idea that these kinds of entertainments can impact our behavior, there is no question that this is true and highly agreeable. Try enjoyable, flexible teaching CPD courses from FutureLearn. Start learning for free. Although there is definite evidence for its influen...

Writing an essay is a challenge for both experienced and inexperienced writers. One reason is paragraphing. Most test takers know the basics of the task and they know what to expect. What they usually don't know how to figure out is how to start the essay. In my experience, I have often recommended my students to understand the different words and/phrases often used in the test. Furthermore, I ask them to broaden their knowledge on myriads of topics by reading a lot, watching news, and even by discussing them with other people. Well, that's just the "input" process.  Next, they are tasked to write down their ideas on the topic within a time limit to help them develop their critical thinking and decision-making skills. The catch is to ask them to write as honestly as possible and to stick with what they already now. That is easier said than done because most of my students concentrate too much on making an "impact". That is, they want to write somethi...

It has been a long time since I posted here. I was busy doing other stuff that I did not have enough time to do some practices. However, now I can concentrate on practicing again. Anyway, here's the third installation of the 13th Cambridge IELTS textbook. Maybe some of you already have a copy of this since I have been seeing a lot of pdf copies of this new book on the internet lately. But for those of you who do not have access to this pdf, here it is. You can check my other posts for some of the other test questions from this book, too. Well, if you look at the questions well, the first part is already a bit challenging to answer since it is considered somewhat a "taboo" to talk about money. On the other hand, we must also consider that the questions do not entirely ask about how you manage your money. Anyway, good luck! Again, I do recommend that you practice every day as much as possible and do try to ask someone's assistance. You need another person to tel...

Answers: 21. A 22. C 23. B 24. C 25. B 26. G 27. C 28. H 29. A 30. E

Answers: 11. B 12. C 13. B 14. E 15. D 16. B 17. G 18. C 19. H 20. I

Sample: Dear Sir or Madam, I am writing this letter as a response to the post I have read in your newspaper about awarding an exceptional individual who has given a great deal of help and support to our community. With this in mind, I believe I know a person who deserves to be recognized for her work. I am talking about none other than Ms. Natalia River, the Guidance Counselor of Brookside High School. As a Guidance Counselor to the youth in our community, I strongly think she has been doing her best to be the role model for not only the youngsters in our community but also the adults. Recently, she has launched an outreach program for our out-of-school youth. This program aims for these individuals to learn a technical skill for free. One of the offered courses here is web designing. These students, after finishing the course, would be able to utilize this newly-learned skill to be able to apply to companies in need of this technical comput...

Write about the following topic. The internet has greatly increased our access to information. To what extent do you think this is a good thing? Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.  You should spend about 40 minutes on this task. Sample: The world has never been more informed because of the internet. The ability to access almost all kinds of information has become easier and faster. However, I do believe that there are also consequences and all good things come at a price. In this essay, I will be enumerating some of the negative effects we have to consider. People from different ages use the internet for the purpose of research and learning. Free tutorials of every kind of skill can be found and studied via the internet. This allows individuals who find it hard to enroll in an institution, due to different consequences, study and improve a skill they have been wanting to develop at the comforts of their...

Sample: It has been mentioned by a number of people that computers by far, are the most essential and useful tool that was invented in the last century. This essay will focus on my complete agreement to this statement as well as some supporting examples. A world without computers is highly unimaginable. We know all too well that almost all people in the world, from different walks of life, use a computer for purposes like studying, entertainment and work. By using such device, individuals can juggle their tasks and time more effectively and productively. Students can try and get information faster on the internet than browsing each and every book they can get their hands on in a library. Plus, through the use of computers and the internet, distance learning has become one way for us to learn new things on our own time and convenience. This is especially helpful for those students and workers who both work and study at the same time. With this new platform, it is truly appropri...

Sample essay: The visual data presents the forested areas of six regions around the world in millions of hectares from 1990 to 2005. Overall, it can be seen that most of the woodlands have decreased in the area size and that Europe and Oceania have the widest and smallest measurement. To explain in detail, Africa, Oceania, and South America's forests have seen a noticeable decline in the total number of the area covered with trees in 2005. Surprisingly, an opposite trend can be noted in Asia and Europe. In the past years, these countries have seen a gradual increase in the size of their forests from 576 to 584 (in millions of hectares) in Asia and 989 to 1001 in Europe. It should also be mentioned that one area, North America, despite a reduction of 3 million hectares from 1990 to 2000, maintained its forested area size to 705 million hectares in 2005, respectively. Word Count: 152

Sample: Transportation plays a key role in the development of a country’s economy. As such, it is not surprising that some individuals believe the significance of creating new lines between cities and upgrading the transports that are being used now. Nonetheless, it is known by all that both these points require a huge sum of money. This essay will focus on the idea that these two do not have differences in their effects. Constructing new railway lines can experience drawbacks other than finance. One is location and/or space where the new road will be built. It should be considered that creating new lines needs a wide enough space and there is a high probability that areas, like farms and other open spaces, can be used and maybe destroyed for these projects. However, paving for new rails can result in a faster transaction of businesses, both big and small, between urban and rural areas. As a result, commerce and even tourism can boom. As for spending money on modernizing...

Sample: The visual information exhibits the regularity of Americans dining out at fast food restaurants from 2003 to 2013. Looking at the data, in 2003, less than 5% of Americans eat out daily. This number is almost equal to the total number of Americans who never dine out in these places. Another highlight is that 3 out of 4 Americans preferred to eat at restaurants once a week, which gained the highest percentage among all the other categories. Surprisingly, people who visit these kinds of restaurants once or twice a month almost showed the same percentage, about 30, to the ones who eat out one time a week. In addition, an average of 12-17% of individuals opt to eat junk food a few times a year and several times a week. Fast forward to 2013, a similar trend can be seen wherein fewer Americans choose to dine at fast food restaurants every day while the others do not at all which is around less than 5%. On the other hand, citizens who eat junk food once or twice a month ...

Sample: The increase in the total number of young people as opposed to older people has been seen in some nations recently. It has been assumed that this situation can give more benefits to a country. This essay will focus on the belief that having more young adults positively affects a nation. It is widely known that some nations, like Japan and Greece, are suffering from economic turmoil. Most experts have pinpointed their aging population as the main factor. A large number of their population belongs to the seniors who are incapable of doing physical labor. As a result, the smaller population, which is the young adults are forced to work harder and longer to pay taxes. As we all know, most governments provide financial support to the aging individuals. Of course, these kinds of financial support are costly and require proper budgeting to guarantee the continuous help they need. Having defined the effects of a large population of the older generation to a nation, let us...

Sample essay: The visual information represents the proportion of physically active males and females from 15 to 65 years old and over in Australia in the year 2010. It can be noted from the graph that women exercised more than men. There was an evidence of a gradual increase in the number of women who regularly worked out while men showed a significant decrease in percentage. More than 50 percent of men from 15 to 24 exercised daily. This is approximately 5 percent higher than women from that age group. However, almost 10 percent of males stopped working out regularly from ages 25 to 34 while females slightly increased to almost 50 percent. This rise continued from ages 35 to 64 wherein the proportion was approximately around 52-53% then declined to less than 50 percent. As for the men, although they gained the largest proportion of people doing regular physical activity in their early twenties, their percentage saw a sudden more than 10 percent downfall from their early...

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task. It is sometimes said that people should be encouraged to get married before they are 30, as this is best for the individual and for society. Do you agree or disagree? Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience. Write at least 250 words. Sample essay: It has been believed by many that it is more ideal for individuals to be in holy matrimony before the age of 30. This custom, which is still apparent in some cultures, is thought to benefit both the people and their community. Although it can be true that positive effects can be noted, I strongly think that no age is ideal when it comes to marriage. Traditionally speaking, many people from before agree that starting a family at an early age is fundamental for some reasons. For one, humans’ physical strength and power deteriorate as we get older. As such, it is more appropriate for women to bear children and...

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task. Your local hospital has advised for people to do unpaid work helping at the hospital. You would like to do some work at the hospital in your free time. Write a letter to the hospital. In your letter •         Explain why you would like to do unpaid work at the hospital •         Say what type of unpaid work you would be able to do •         Give details of when you would be available for this work Write at least 150 words. You do NOT need to write any addresses. Begin your letter as follows: Dear Sir or Madam, Sample letter: Dear Sir or Madam, I am writing to inquire about an advertisement I saw posted on a newspaper last Sunday that mentioned about your hospital looking for volunteers to work part-time. I am very much interested and willing to be a part of this. I am a univers...

This is a sample graph in the Cambridge Official IELTS guide book. It can be found on page 94 in the first chapter of the Writing skills unit. Sample response: The line graph provides data on the increase of car, train, bicycle and other public transport traffic in the Netherlands for five decades since 1950. According to the graph, all categories increased in value, in percentage, especially car traffic which showed the most significant rise over the years while the other public transport systems have always had the smallest proportion. In 1950, all modes of transportation were the same percentage. Within the first decade, there was a noticeable 20% climb in the number of car usage. The rate of growth of car traffic continued greatly year after year until it reached its peak at 140% in 2000. Train and bicycle traffic rose to an almost similar rate of about 8% while the other modes of transport showed the slowest gain to less than 5%. From 1960 to 1970, the percentag...

The line graph provides information about the typical carbon dioxide emissions of an individual in metric tonnes in four European countries every ten years from 1967 to 2007. Overall, it can be noted that among the four nations, the United Kingdom exceeded the carbon dioxide emissions per person from that of Sweden, Italy and Portugal despite the decreasing trend it exhibited throughout the years. From 1967 to 1997, Portugal and Italy showed a continuous rise in the average release of gas per body with less than 2 and 5 metric tonnes to almost 6 to 8 metric tonnes, respectively. This number has been constant until 2007. In the UK, however, the total gas released by Brits was slightly higher than the Swedes in 1967. Nonetheless, a notable gain can be seen in Sweden after a decade. This upsurge did not go long as the years went by because lesser gas was emitted since then. Word Count: 154

Art, in general, can be of many styles and forms and is seen everywhere. As the old saying goes, "Beauty is everywhere but not everyone can see it." Thus, saying that art is no longer in existence in our society seems to be, as for me, absurd. In the United Kingdom, a certain tech company invented virtual reality glasses that shows paintings and sculptures exhibited in one of the most popular museums in London. This invention was made for people who, because of certain reasons, cannot go to museums personally. According to those who tried this new gadget, who were mostly children, this invention made them more interested in visiting museums. As a result, despite of their young age, these children have expressed their appreciation of contemporary art through their excitement. Of course, it can also be said that if children can be impressed, older people can also have the same feelings. As technology plays a big role in information dissemination, various kinds of artworks a...