IELTS Aid (Practice Essays)

Vocabulary and spelling: The words in this mini-test were derived from the videos we featured this week. Check if you can remember them.  Identify and spell the word defined: 1.      _______________ = to watch and check a situation carefully for a period of time. 2.      ________________= the rate at which a person, company, or country does useful work. 3.      ________________= affecting someone in a way that annoys them and makes them feel uncomfortable. 4.      ________________= treating a person or a particular group of people differently because of their skin color, gender, etc. 5.      ________________= causing little or no damage to the environment and therefore able to continue for a long time. 6.      ________________= a person who buys goods or services for their own use. 7.      ________________= to sort and collect r...

Weekend Quiz Spelling: A.      Which is correct? ·         Address ·         Adress B.      Which is correct? ·         Occured ·         Occurred C.       Which is correct? ·         Government ·         Goverment D.      Which is correct? ·         Influential ·         Influencial E.       Which is correct? ·         Acheive ·         Achieve F.       Which is correct? ·         Knowledgeable ·        ...

English spelling can be really daunting and intimidating. If you try to look up for 'rules' in spelling over the web, you'll be overwhelmed with how many rules there are and their exceptions. Although memorising these technicalities can be helpful, it is not really advisable. Leave the memorising part to expert linguists! Here are some of the rules I have gathered from research. So here are 6 (sort of) easy spelling rules/guides to get you one step closer to English spelling mastery! 1.       Use i before e, except after c, or when sounding like “ae” For example: a.       i before e: believe, achieve, piece b.       except after c: receive, ceiling, perceive c.       except when c sounds sh: proficient, ancient, efficient d.       except when ie sounds like “ae”: neighbor, eight, foreign 2.       C can say /k/ or /s/...

Spelling can be a skill that most people overlook. However, English language learners must realize the significance of this skill, especially when taking academic tests like the IELTS. In the listening, reading and of course, writing tests, spelling each word correctly promotes the impression of the mastery of the English language. Here are some of the "guidelines" learners should remember when it comes to spelling. Take note, I used the word guideline since the English language has a lot of exceptions. so technically speaking, the word "rules" cannot be used because a rule must not be bent. This presentation is a compilation of all the stuff I researched regarding spelling. The contents were taken from academic sites I trust provide well-researched information.

We all know that the IELTS test can be challenging to most non-native speakers (like me) due to a lot of factors. We may be excellent in one skill but weak in another. I am particularly unconfident with my Writing skills because of the fact that I find myself having a hard time producing an output within the given ideal time limits for both tasks. I tend to overlook or overthink of my ideas and examples that I simply cannot plan for my essays in a short span of time. However, one particular micro skill in writing has been bothering and sometimes crushing my students' dreams of getting a high band score in Writing  - Spelling.   Spelling can be tricky at times. Sometimes, even if we try and study rules and patterns, there will always be exceptions. But for this blog, I'm going to concentrate on one of the most commonly asked questions that have constantly bugged my learners, "Should I use the British or American English spelling in writing my essays?"  We...