Wednesday, April 3, 2013

BOOK 7 TEST 3 WRITING TASK 1


The chart below shows information about changes in average house prices in five different cities between 1990 and 2002 compared with the average house prices in 1989.

  


The bar chart illustrates the average house prices in five different cities during 1990 and 2002, in comparison with data in 1989. Overall, the average house prices fell between 1990 and 1995, but most of the cities saw increase in prices between 1996 and 2002. London experienced the greatest change over the 12 year period.

Over the 5 years after 1989, the cost of average homes in Tokyo and London fell by 7%, while New York house prices went down by 5%. In contrast, Madrid and Frankfurt house prices rose by 2% and 3% respectively.

Between 1996 and 2002, London house prices jumped to around 12% above the 1989 average. Similarly, house prices in New York , Madrid and Frankfurt rose by 5%, 4% and 1% respectively. However, average house price in Tokyo remained cheaper than they were in 1989.

In Summary, average home prices in all cities experienced growth except Tokyo , while, London experienced the greatest change over the 12 year period after 1989.

(164 words)

BOOK 7 TEST 2 WRITING TASK 2

Some people believe that there should b fixed punishments for each type of crome. Others, however, argue that the circumstances of an individual crime, and the motivation for committing it, should always be taken into account when deciding on the punishment.

Discuss both views and give your opinion.

In today's world, crime and punishment(s) associated to these crime is a controversial issue. Many believe that there should be fixed punishments for each type of crime while others believe that factors such as circumstances and motivation should be accounted when deciding on the punishment.

Firstly, by having fixed punishments has its own advantages. By having knowledge of punishment in advance would discourage many people to commit these crimes, hence, resulting in reducing crime rates. In addition, law and order system would be simplified . Processing times of court trials and cases would be reduced dramatically since there are pre-defined punishments.

However, it is obvious that people who commit crimes due to certain circumstances and motivation cannot be treated in similar manner to criminals ; such as , a murder committed as an act of self-defense is not same as a murder committed in order to terrorise people. Similarly, a father robbing a shop to save her daughter life at hospital is definitely not same as a professional thief robbing a bank. Also, law and order system can be deemed fairer in this arrangement as it takes circumstances and motivation into the account.

Finally, in either way there are pros and cons associated to it. In my view, by having fixed punishments would help to reduce crime , however, crime conducted due to certain circumstances and motivation should also be considered while deciding on punishment such as act of self-defense.

(237 words)

Sunday, March 31, 2013

Book 7 Test 2 Task 1




The graph above shows the consumption of fish and some different kinds of mear in a European country between 1979 and 2004.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.


The graph shows change in consumption of chicken, beef, lamb and fish in a particular European country between years 1979 and 2004. It is clear that over the period of 25 years , the consumption of chicken soared , while others experienced a downfall.

In 1979, the amount of beef consumed per person per week was around 220 grams which fell dramatically to just above 100 grams. A similar trend was noted in lamb consumption which stood at 150 grams in 1979 and was down to approximately 50 grams by year 2004. The consumption of fish was rather more stable as compared to beef and lamb though it's consumption also decreased. Starting with 53 grams of consumption of fish in year 1979 it decreased to just 47 grams.

In contrast, chicken displayed an upward trend ; the consumption of chicken starting for 140 grams per week per person in year 1979 soared to 250 grams by year 2004.

In conclusion, over the 25 years period , the consumption of chicken increased dramatically while popularity of other fish and meat decreased.

(176 words)

Saturday, March 30, 2013

Book 7 Test 1 Writing Task 1



The table illustrates average consumer spending over three categories in five countries in year 2002. The maximum amount of money spend was on food,drinks and tobacco followed by clothing and footware and further by leisure and education.

For the food, drinks and tobacco category, Turkey accounted for the highest spend at 32.14%. This was followed by Ireland with 28.91% and further followed by Spain, Italy and Sweden with 18.8 , 16.36 and 15.77% respectively.

In clothing and footware, Italy stood at 1st place with 9% followed by Turkey, Spain, Ireland and Sweden with 6.63, 6.51, 6.43 and 5.40 % respectively.

Finally, for leisure and education category, Turkey once again topped the chart with 4.35%. Both Sweden and Italy spend a little over 3% . Ireland was at 2.21% with Spain cited as the least spending country with 1.98%.

In Summary, Turkey was the most spending country amongst all five countries whereas Sweden had the lowest percentages for consumer spending overall with lowest in two categories i.e. food/drink/tobacco and for clothing and footware.

(185 words)

Linking Words Exercise

It's been few days since i have been practising IELTS . I came across this linking words and paragraph .  I hope it helps .

Exercise 1:

In all novels, incidents, actions, thoughts ____  descriptions are related,  ____ narrated, by an agent who is known as a narrator. The reader, ______ , sees the events of a novel to a greater or lesser degree through the eyes, _____  point of view, of the novel's narrator. It is obvious, ______ , that the narrator is an extremely significant element in considering a novel, _______  it is the narrator who decides what to show or tell us, _______ what emphasis is to be placed on an event  ______ character, _____ it is the narrator's language that describes events and characters.

Choose from: [and, because, consequently, however, or, therefore, whereas]. Each word can be used more than once.

Answer :

In all novels, incidents, actions, thoughts and descriptions are related, or narrated by an agent who is known as a narrator. The reader, therefore, sees the events of a novel to a greater or lesser degree through the eyes , and point of view, of the novel's narrator. It is obvious, consequently, that the narrator is an extremely significant element in considering a novel, because it is the narrator who decides what to show or tell us, or what emphasis is to be placed on an event or character, whereas it is the narrator's language that describes events and characters.


This is just a small exercise taken from the website below :
It is quite an interesting read and i am sure the website contains more relevant exercises to help you to improve English writing skills.

http://www2.ulg.ac.be/facphl/uer/d-german/remed/linkwords.htm


Thursday, March 28, 2013

IELTS BOOK 6 Test 4 Task 2

Some people prefer to spend their lives doing the same things and avoiding change. Others, however, think that change is always a good thing.

Discuss both these views and give your opinion.

 We live in a world, which is constantly changing and evolving . However there are people who prefer to have a steady lives by doing repetitive tasks and avoiding change around them. In contrast, there are people who think change is always a better thing to do.

People who avoid these changes are often known as the steady group, they are generally the older age people who have their own beliefs and values by which they must abide. These people are often considered as dull and boring people as they have developed habits and their own way of doing things which they comfortable with through their experience. With this comfort zone around them , they are often scared to what adverse effects a change might have thus resulting in living their lives in denial.

On the other hand, there are people who think a change is always good. Normally, they are the younger generation who are always up to date with latest technologies , new way of doing things , etc. At times, all these new changes are nothing but just another way of making money for the people who are powerful and can influence our society. They often try to do things in a different way to achieve the best possible results which helps them in being more self confident and experienced.

In my opinion, there are times when changes can make life much easier and safer but also there are times when these changes are extremely dangerous. Any new change must be looked in terms of pros and cons , specially cons as not always change is better thing to do !

(268 words)

Book 6 Test 4 Writing Task 1

The chart below give information about USA marriage and divorce rates between 1970 and 200, and the marital status of adult Americans in two of the year.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

The first bar chart shows the number of marriages and divorces between year 1970- 2000 in USA and the second bar chart shows marital status of adult American people in year 1970 and 2000. It is evident that number of marriages have declined from year 1970 to 2000. The majority of adult Americans were married, but proportion of single adults was greater in year 2000.

In year 1970, there were 2.5 millions marriages , this number had declined to 2 million by year 2000 . However , the number of divorces in 1970 stood at 1 million which rose to 1.4 million by next decade and then gradually falling to 1 million by year 2000.

Around 70% of American adults were married in year 1970 which has fallen to 59% in year 2000. At the same time , the proportion of single and divorced adults had increased . In 1970, there was approximately 12% of single people which rose to 20% by year 2000. Also, divorced adults rose from just about 1% in 1970 to 9% by year 2000.

In conclusion we can see that less americans got married , and percentage of single people increased in year 2000 than in 1970 .

(167 Words)


Wednesday, March 27, 2013

IELTS Writing Sports and Other Professionals Earnings

Successful sports professionals can earn a great deal more money than people in other important professions. Some people think this is fully justified while others think it is unfair.

Discuss both these views and give your opinion.


Unlike many years ago, sports is now a multi-billion dollar industry. Some people believe that famous sporting icons and role models such as Sachin Tendulkar , David Beckham , Micheal Schumacher earnings are rather unfair compared to other professionals whereas others believe it is justified.

It is understandable that objectors of this issue consider it as unfair. Professionals such as lawyers,doctors, engineers etc. play an important role in society. They are the creators and supporters of the society around us . Secondly , in order to contribute to the society they have to study and work hard for many hours. It is more of a mental challenge for these professionals as they can have serious impacts on our society which differs  from physical work completed by sports professionals.

On the other hand, sports players do deserve to be paid handsomely. Firstly,  the ability to be physically fit at all times , risks and injuries are much greater in the short career of these sport professionals. Also, constant competition to maintain their top rankings. Secondly, a winning of a prize can bring fame and honour to a team , region and country they represent which should be rewarded in some monetary form. Finally, these professionals lack element of personal life as there is constant media attention, requirement of regular travel for different competitions.

Personally, I believe that sports professionals earnings are justified considering the numerous risks and sacrifices , however it also indicates that  our society places more value on sports than on our essential professions.

(250 Words)

Saturday, March 16, 2013

Local OR host country customs

Day - Unknown .

I need to push myself constantly to write these essays . I am good at speaking and other skills but when it comes to writing damm i hate myself.

But here we go, another day


Writing Task 2

Some people believe that visitors to other countries should follow local customs and behaviour . Others disagree and think that the host country should welcome cultural differences.

Discuss both views and give your opinion.

Travel is an enormous industry in modern times, where people travel to different countries willing to learn and experience new things. Travellers are often expected to behave as per local customs and traditions while other think that a country should welcome the new culture.

Firstly, travellers following local traditions and being mindful of local sentiments display a sign of respect in eyes of local community. It creates an awareness of what is acceptable and what may be regarded as offensive . For example, asking for beef in country like India can make a big difference as cow holds a religious significance in Hinduism. Secondly, it provides an opportunity to learn the culture better and enrich the travelling experience . They can communicate and integrate within the local's and get insights about how they feel, think and share the culture differences.

In contrast, the host country should always welcome visitors with open hands and a big smile. They should realise that visitors are only travelling for a limited period of time and its likely for them to have no idea about a culture. Secondly, tourists are accustomed to their way of living life which should not be regarded as offensive as they are there to enjoy and travel. Thirdly , tourists bring an economic value to the host country , more travellers with a happy sentiments will bring more benefits to a country. Countries such as Singapore , Malaysia are examples of hot tourists destinations as they provide excellent travel experience to their travellers.

Thus, I strongly believe that the host country should be tolerant of mistakes made by travellers which are unintentional , having said that it is also responsibility of travellers to abide and respect the culture and traditions of the host country.




This essay took me whole day to write as i was busy procrastinating . I believe by spending more time on planning is definitely helping me to write better essay.

Monday, March 11, 2013

IELTS WRITING PREPARATION - Day 1

Yet another day of disappointment . I wasted the whole day and still no report or essay have been written . Why ? Because I have lost my motivation again . Finally , I have realised the only way to improve myself is to write more . I am starting this blog with the intention of improving my english writing skills and achieving the required score. If this is your case too !  then i believe it is worth following , to see how my writing goes. 



 I have decided instead of writing it on paper , I will use my blog to put my ideas and thoughts which is comparatively easier and quicker to write. 



Day 1  : No output but a beginning of something new i.e. ( Blog )

From today onwards, every report and essay will be written on the blog.