This is the fourth sample report (Task 1) which follows IELTS guidelines for the Writing section of the Academic Module.  This task does not refer to a graph or table, but deals with a diagram or map. Candidates in this case need to describe a process.  The diagrams in this post refer to the changes the town of Langley underwent by presenting an image of the town in 1910 and a second one in 1950. The sample written is much longer than what a candidate would have time to draft (over 300 words), but the reason for this is to give candidates more words to underline and add to their list of phrases to use in such types of writing tasks.   First, make sure to have read my post 

The English oral examination for the Michigan State University (MSU) certificate at C2 level is a straight-forward affair if you know ahead of time what it is examiners might ask. This applies to all Speaking components of English-language certificate exams which means that the more varied the types of questions a candidate has knowledge of in advance, the more likely he or she is to stumble upon a similar question on the actual day of the test. Thinking about what answers could be given ahead of time and jotting down some ideas in note form lets candidates worry about finding the right words to use during the exam instead of searching for things to say, arguments to give, examples to support an opinion which they might even not have at that particular moment. This post therefore is not only geared towards those taking the MSU exam, but for candidates preparing for the IELTS, CPE, ECPE, ESB, LRN, TOEFL, PTE, BULATS, TIE, and similar tests whose list will doubtless increase with...

This is the second list of MSU-CELC examination description questions (Tasks 1 and 2 of the oral exam).   Twenty more questions should help keep candidates on their toes before the exam. If you missed the first post with description questions, you can read it here . This list can also be used by other learners of English to improve their speaking skills. Teachers could use it as a discussion or oral exam practice tool. If you are an MSU-CELP candidate, feel free to go over the topics but make sure to extend your answers to cover two minutes instead of one. Click on the image for IELTS Speaking tips

The following list will help candidates practice answering description questions (Tasks 1 and 2 of the MSU-CELC examination ), but can also be used by other learners of English to improve their speaking skills and teachers as a discussion or oral exam practice tool. MSU-CELP candidates could also use the same topics but should extend their answers to cover 2 minutes. Click on the image for IELTS Speaking tips How to use the list Students should time themselves and be able to continue to speak for about one minute on the following topics. By practicing regularly, they should be able to know how long their answer should be to cover the time set aside for this task.

Whet her you are preparing for a B 2, C1 or C2 language examinat ion in English, at some point during the test you are required to maintain discussion for about 1-2 minutes on your own. This is so mething students sometimes find difficult to do as they have very few ideas about what to say after having stated one or two basic points.  Regardless of the awarding body and certificate you are sitting an exam in (IELTS , Cambridge CPE or FCE/ First for Schools, ECPE or ECCE, MSU CELP or CELC, LRN, TOEIC, ESB, PTE) , you will have to find ways to ex pand you r answers to show that y ou can speak English w ith out needing a nyone 's help . To do this, you need to keep the examiner from having to ask you o ne o r two follow-up questions in order to el icit a longer res ponse from you. I n oth er words, if a task requires a can didate to speak for about two minutes on a t opic , and the candidate manages to speak for a min ute and 10 seconds only, the examiner wi ll have to ask a...

What is the IELTS? The IELTS, or International English Language Testing System, is a language proficiency test given by millions of candidates the world over. Teens and adults take the test as part of university application procedures at undergraduate or postgraduate level, or to acquire a visa, emigrate, work or train.  Scores are given in bands from 1 to 9 (1 being the lowest, 9 being the highest) with results available two weeks after the written part of the test was taken (13 days to be exact). Scores are awarded for each of the four sections tested and you are also given an overall score as a whole or half band, so for example, you can score a 7.0 in Listening, 6.0 in Reading, 7.5 in writing and a 7.5 in Speaking. Your final score would be a 7.0 overall. What constitutes a passing score depends on why you're taking the IELTS exam and who's asking to see your results.  Which module do I need?

In Task 1 of the Academic IELTS exam, candidates are asked to summarize a diagram, graph, table or chart of some sort (oftentimes more than one) in a descriptive text of at least 150 words.  As previously mentioned in my blog post IELTS: How To Grade Your Writing , examiners are looking for a wide lexical range, which in layman's terms means vocabulary. They want to see that a candidate can use a variety of words or phrases to navigate through a factual, academic description. Therefore, a selection of words are bound to be required by candidates so that they can clearly present the most important facts seen in the rubric (i.e. the question given).  In the case of process descriptions , this selection of words is not easy to pinpoint. The only phrases that may be of use for students are ones that have to do with