IELTS Advantage Writing Skills: A step-by-step guide to a high IELTS writing score

IELTS Advantage

by Richard Brown, Lewis Richards

It is a fully comprehensive resource for passing the writing section of the IELTS exam with a grade of 6.5-7.0 or higher.

Students are guided step-by-step through the different tasks in the writing module, using material developed in the classroom, by authors with many years’ experience in helping hundreds of IELTS candidates achieve a high IELTS score.

“IELTS Advantage: Writing Skills” shows students how to organise and structure an answer for all types of task 1 and 2 questions; contains a model essay in each unit, showing students exactly what is required; contains a general interest article in each unit, developing ideas and vocabulary for a common topic in the exam; quickly develops students’ fluency and confidence in producing pieces of writing through a focus on academic vocabulary and collocations; and, contains grammar exercises in each unit, showing students how to apply a wide range of grammar items in their IELTS writing.

Key features:

Suitable for classroom study or self-study; includes answer key; real writing samples from IELTS students, with examiners’ comments, show in detail what is required to achieve a 6.5, for example, frequent exam tips from the authors’ experience as IELTS examiners help students achieve a higher score; and, check and challenge sections allow students to revise material and take their writing to the next level.

“IELTS Advantage” is a series of course books offering step-by-step guidance to achieving a high IELTS score. Shows students how to organise and structure an answer for all types of task 1 and 2 questions

- contains a model essay in each unit, showing students exactly what is required

- contains a general interest article in each unit, developing ideas and vocabulary for a common topic in the exam

- quickly develops students’ fluency and confidence in producing pieces of writing through a focus on academic vocabulary and collocations

- contains grammar exercises in each unit, showing students how to apply a wide range of grammar items in their IELTS writing


Key features:

Suitable for classroom study or self-study

Includes answer key

Real writing samples from IELTS students, with examiners’ comments, show in detail what is required to achieve a 6.5, for example

Frequent exam tips help students achieve a higher score

Check and challenge sections allow students to revise the material and take their writing to the next level

128 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2011

About the author

The English language has always got me places.

After an illustrious 4 year career crafting articles as a news and sports journalist, I came to the conclusion that a world must exist beyond the chip pan fires of Eastbourne and the goalless draws played out by my beloved Portsmouth Football Club.

My instincts were proved right, my wonderlust taking me to New York where, apparently, my English accent added charm in my role as a personal assistant then later helped to entice State Treasurers and other financial heavy-weights to jet in for conferences in Manhattan.

Feeling slightly lost in 2005 I headed to Bogota, Colombia, to visit a friend who had been making a living there as an EFL teacher and suggested that I also give it a go. Clutching a copy of Murphy, I posed as an English teacher delivering classes in the Mexican Embassy among other places. While at times I felt like a bit of a fraud, I realised that unlike my previous jobs, EFL teaching was a world in which I could genuinely help people and make meaningful connections with them. It was at that point that I decided to do a CELTA course. Ten years after graduating from the University of Surrey with a degree in English Language and Linguistics, I slowly began to realise that I had (re-)discovered my calling.

I had also come home, finding my first serious teaching job at Language Specialists International, an excellent independent school in my hometown, Portsmouth. It was there that I sat opposite and learned from a fantastic teacher who encouraged me to complete the DELTA at International House, London, in 2008. That teacher was Lewis Richards, the co-author of our first publication, IELTS Advantage: Writing Skills.

English teaching has now taken me to the Costa Azahar, Spain, where I live with my wife, Raquel, dabbling with flamenco guitar and grappling with the subjunctive in equal measure (me not her!). I continue to enjoy teaching and training teachers, placing emphasis on creating lessons which give learners the space to complete engaging tasks while responding to lexical gaps in their emerging language. As my inspirational DELTA course tutor from IH, Nick Hamilton, put it, ‘Don’t MIND the gap, GET IN IT!’ It is largely this shared principal of teaching which helped Lewis and I to create IELTS Advantage: Writing Skills.

Reviews

[Johanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's good practice and guidance, although it could have been clearer and shorter. I didn't like the answers being at the end of the book. These should be right below the task to compare after completing it. Besides this, some of the task responses were exceeded in the number of words allowed. This information can be misleading to new IELTS students. Apart from that, this book shows you "the map" of IELTS writings. This means it describes all the types of writings you might find. This may seem obvious, but I've read a couple of books that didn't clarify this. So, that gives an extra point for this one :)

[Minh Anh · Rating 3 out of 5]

This would be good with an instructor because there are grammatical requirements for optimal use. I have been using this for my students, they think it is helpful too.

[Narges Farshidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have review it twice. this book is so informative and helpful for me. I can see my improvment in writting essay. highly recomment it for IELTS candidates.

[Amodi777]

will read it soon