Topic 1: Work and careers financial rewards any form of money Being a primary teacher may

payment (salary, be satisfying, but the financial

The Work and careers topic includes issues of opportunities and problems at commission, pension rewards are not high
work, ways of motivating and rewarding workers, the work/life balance, changes etc)
in patterns of jobs and work (for example, the growth in working from home), Bonuses money given in addition Apparently some investment
career choices and training, and occasionally the relationship between government to salary, usually in bankers can earn millions of
and businesses or industries. You are not expected to know any vocabulary return for achieving dollars in bonuses
connected to specialized areas of finance, marketing and so on. targets
Incentives any reward that makes Some employers offer
Vocabulary Meaning Example of using this people work harder vacations or parties as
vocabulary item in the incentives if the team hits its
IELTS Speaking Test sales targets.
Productivity The ability of people to ‘My country is not as Job satisfaction enjoyment of a job for I get a lot of job satisfaction
produce useful results at advanced as some other non-financial reasons from my work at the wildlife
work. countries in our industrial centre, although the financial
sector. Productivity and rewards are quite low.
quality are still quite low.’ Target-related dependent on hitting a My boss once offered me a
To subsidise To pay part of the cost of ‘The government could target target-related bonus, but it
something, usually in encourage children to be was almost impossible to
order to help people. healthier by subsidising achieve!
swimming lessons and sports On the job training while working, My sister has found that the
coaching at weekends.’ training not by leaving work to on the job training she gets at
Output The amount of work or ‘In Europe, industrial output go to college etc her bank is very useful, and
goods produced. has decreased, maybe because she has progressed well
of competition from producers because of this.
in other continents.’ Ongoing training training throughout your I enjoyed my work at the
Work/life balance The ability to work hard People are working long hours time in a job, not just at airline at first, but I soon
but also enjoy a good these days, and so their the start found that there was no
quality family and social work/life balance is affected, ongoing training and my skills
life leading to stress. weren’t really developed.
To motivate To give them positive If employees are given regular Day release programmes of training I feel that employers should
people reasons for working hard feedback, they will probably programmes or education when be much more flexible
be well motivated and employees can spend regarding training, for
committed. entire days out of work example by subsidising day
Pay increments Pay rises/increases In my country, pay increments release programmes or job
have been very low because exchanges with other
of the financial crisis. companies.
Perks Reward from an Personally, I’d like to work career the ability to advance The problem with being a
employer which are not for a company that gives lots progression your career freelance photographer is that
financial (eg free of perks, because I would find there’s no real career
lunches, a car etc) this very enjoyable
 progression, unless you now has less than five
become very famous. hundred.
to outsource to stop doing work inside Many American companies
job prospects the possibility of I remember an interview when the company and send it have outsourced their IT
promotion or higher the employer told me there to other companies or operations to Asian countries,
level work in future were excellent job prospects other countries, usually where productivity is similar
in their firm for young people. to save money and salaries are lower.
In reality, this was not really
true. the workforce the total number of The workforce in Northern
to measure to assess the dimensions Job satisfaction may be people working in an Europe is skilled, but it’s also
of something important, but can we really organisation, company inflexible and much older than
measure it? or country in other parts of the world.
superficial not addressing deep or I’m not a big fan of traditional
important issues music. I find the lyrics rather Human Resources The department in a When I graduate, I plan to
old-fashioned and superficial (or HR) company which manages work in the Human Resources
for modern listeners. recruitment, area of the oil industry,
performance meeting at which an I remember being worried employment and training possibly in the Middle East.
reviews/appraisals employer gives feedback about my job at first, but at
to a worker on their my six month appraisal my
work over a fixed period. manager told me she was Important: Please remember that these extra example sentences are designed to
pleased with my efforts. show you ways of using this vocabulary in IELTS Speaking, and so the examples
may include contractions (‘don’t’ etc) and personal stories about the speaker and
redundancy a situation where a In my home town, the textile their family or friends. This is fine in the Speaking test, but not in Task 2 writing,
worker loses their job factories have closed and which should never have contractions or personal stories. These Speaking
because of changes in many people have been made examples also sometimes include less formal words such as ‘really’ or ‘good.’
the company (not redundant. Again, these words are acceptable in Speaking, but try to use more formal words in
because of personal Writing, such as ‘substantially’ or ‘positive.’
mistakes) (verb = to
make someone
redundant)
to restructure to change the We used to have a large
organisation of a training department in my
company, usually in office, but in our recent
order to make it more restructure it was eliminated
effective or to save and the staff were made
money redundant.
to downsize to make an organisation My father’s college used to
smaller and employ employ almost one thousand
fewer people people, but then it downsized
and
Topic 2: Education and schooling higher education after age 18 at When I pass IELTS, I plan to go
education college or University, on to higher education in Canada
The Education and schooling topic includes teaching methods and resources, usually for a Degree and do a degree in engineering.
approaches to exams and testing, school management, pupil motivation, behaviour group work study where pupils discuss Personally, I think that group
and discipline, school sport, extra-curricular activities, higher/further education and agree a project work enables lazy children to do
and course funding. together less work than the eager ones
teacher-led traditional lessons where In my country, lessons are still
lessons the teacher delivers a long very teacher-led and interaction
talk and the is rather limited.
Vocabulary Description Example in IELTS Speaking students take notes
curriculum the full range of subjects The curriculum in private autonomous when a student learns At University, you are expected
offered by a school or schools is sometimes wider than learning through independent study to be an autonomous learner far
group of schools in state schools, because they and research more than at High School,
have more resources which is quite exciting for me.
pedagogical (experts in) education and I admire pedagogical pioneers study skills the skills of organising, My study skills were rather weak
(experts) teaching such as the Victorian English using and checking study until I read an excellent book by
thinkers who began free schools work a Japanese pedagogical
for all children expert
syllabus the content of elements The syllabus for geography at to synthesise to use a variety of sources I use the Internet to synthesise
taught in a specific subject my school included volcanoes, sources and combine them in one my sources, and I always cite the
earthquakes and tidal waves, project origin of the information. (to
which we found fascinating. cite sources = to acknowledge
formal exams where students publicly)
examinations answer set written or rote-learning learning by repetition and I used to think that rote-learning
spoken questions without At my school, our grades were memorising items was a negative approach, but my
assistance based 50/50 on formal recent experiences teaching in a
continuous giving students marks for examinations and continuous South African school have
assessment course work or projects, assessment, which we thought changed my view
rather than was very fair to all the children
formal exams to supplement to add extra content or My supervisor said that I should
material supplement my essay with more
academic the measurable In my country, children enjoy examples of experiments.
achievement performance of a student school, but academic to assimilate to absorb and understand it I always use a dictionary when I
in marks, exam results etc achievement is frankly quite low. knowledge study in English, to help me
further education after leaving Some governments encourage assimilate new phrases.
education school at the minimum age further education by allowing guided learning under the Lessons in Primary Schools
teenagers to claim benefits while learning supervision of a teacher should always contain guided
they study learning, otherwise the children
will lose focus.
data- collecting information, Mobile phone companies employ Task 2 Example:
gathering usually in numerical form many people in data-gathering ‘The Internet will never replace traditional course books in schools.’
Tasks, to see how users are
using the phones and Internet How far do you agree with this prediction?
distance learning by the Internet or My mother took an entire degree
learning email, rather than face-to- by distance learning over a Band 9 model essay
face period of five years.
self-study studying using a course There are many self-study guides There is a huge range of resources available to the modern teacher, and the right
without a teacher’s to improving your English, and selection is crucial in delivering effective lessons. I agree that there will always be
involvement some of them are actually a place for course books in the school curriculum, despite the many benefits of
quite good the Internet.
to to decide whether one Children should not study using
discriminate source is better or more unsupervised Internet access, Firstly, course books (whether conventional or digital) have been developed by
between reliable than another because they can’t discriminate pedagogical experts and designed to be incorporated into a subject syllabus,
sources source between the sources of leading to testing procedures such as formal examinations or continuous
information they find assessment. This means that they are proven to improve students’ academic
to sift to remove unwanted or I had to sift hundreds of pages of achievement, enhancing their potential for progression to further or higher
information less useful information data to arrive at my conclusions education. Furthermore, the use of modern course books allows pupils to
when I did my thesis coordinate their studies as part of group work, hopefully making their lessons less
to marshal to organise facts in support In IELTS essays, you should teacher-led and more about autonomous learning. This in itself teaches study
facts of an idea marshal a few facts to support skills such as independent research and synthesising sources, rather than old-
each idea in the argument fashioned rote-learning. This is where the Internet, in fact, can play a useful part:
an integral essential, central or Nutrition is an integral part of to supplement and add to knowledge which the students are assimilating via their
part of the indispensable food sciences these days course books.
syllabus
to work/study under the direction of a At college, I discovered I did not However, it is the role of teachers and school management generally to ensure that
under responsible person have to work under supervision use of the Internet remains a guided learning process, and not an exercise in data-
supervision all the time, and I was free gathering from Internet sources which may be unreliable or even misleading.
to do independent research It is true that the Internet can be invaluable for adults (for example in distance
learning or self-study modules) who are able to discriminate between sources
and sift information to marshal their facts. However, this is a mature skill and
we should not assume that school age pupils are ready to do this.

Overall, it appears that course books, with their quality and depth of material, are
set to remain an integral part of the syllabus. The internet can be judged a useful
supplement to this, if used carefully and under supervision.
 delinquency minor crime (often by Delinquency is a huge problem
Topic 3: Children and families young people) in urban areas, especially when
policing is minimal.
The Children and families topic includes child psychology and development, abduction the crime of taking or Child abduction is a great
ways of bringing up children, family discipline, child care, preschool learning, kidnapping people for a concern for many parents,
parental roles, family structures and roles (for example nuclear or extended criminal reason especially in South America.
families), adolescence, teenagers and elderly family members. peer pressure the pressure from people Many children start smoking due
in the same group to act in to peer pressure or bad role
a certain way models
Vocabulary Description Example dual-income a family where both the In many countries, the dual-
foster parents people who have children Being a foster parent is a difficult father and mother work income family is the norm
living in their existing and tiring role, I can imagine nowadays.
family for a fixed period, breadwinner the person who earns all or In some families, the father is
with the original parents’ most of the money in a still the only breadwinner
agreement family
guardians people who are legally In some countries, the child-minding caring informally (not in In some countries, the state
appointed to protect a government appoints a guardian schools) for children when subsidises the costs of child-
child’s interests in the if the parents die or experience parents are busy or minding
absence of parents severe difficulties working
role models people that children look In some countries, the royal after-school caring for children in a Many families rely on after-
to and respect as good family are good role models for childcare school setting, as above school childcare because both
examples youngsters, although in other parents work and commute
cases this is not the case. viable practical and possible to It is not really viable to expect all
ground rules basic rules governing the During the school holidays, my achieve children to get maximum grades
way people can behave in parents had strict ground rules in exams.
a situation for what we could do outside peers people in the same group Many of my peers from school
conventions traditions or social norms It’s a convention for or level as yourself are now working for charities.
that most people follow grandparents to live with their bonding the development of close Festivals and parties are an ideal
children in many countries. emotional connections time for families to bond.
codes of voluntary rules which The Boy Scouts have a firm code between people
conduct people accept in a of conduct, which seems to be a patterns of ways of acting and doing Unfortunately, some children
situation positive influence behaviour things (either positive or absorb dangerous patterns of
bullying when children attack and Bullying could be reduced negative) behaviour when watching
intimidate other children through better awareness and movies or playing computer
positive peer pressure in schools games.
truancy when a pupil leaves school I must confess that at secondary well brought- (to bring up children = to I was brought up in a very
without permission (verb school I sometimes played truant up raise and educate them in religious family, and I seem to
= to play truant from and went to the park with my your own moral, have absorbed their values.
school) friends behavioural or religious
conventions)
Topic 3 example Task

Some people believe that children should spend all of their free time with their
families. Others believe that this is unnecessary or even negative.

Discuss the possible arguments on both sides, and say which side you personally
support.

Band 9 model essay

Nobody can deny that parental influence is important for children, at least in cases
where children live with their parents, foster parents or guardians. However, it is
by no means clear that children should spend time exclusively in the family, as we
will see.

On the one hand, it may appear advisable for parents to act as role models and to
establish ground rules for behaviour by spending as much time as possible with
their children. This allows the youngsters to absorb conventions and codes of
conduct which they can then follow themselves, hopefully leading to an absence
of problems such as bullying, truancy and delinquency later on. Furthermore,
being with the family should reduce the risk of children falling victim to crimes
such as abduction, or coming under the influence of negative peer pressure.

On the other hand, we have to ask whether this is a practical proposition. In a

society where many families are dual-income, or where one parent’s role as
breadwinner means he/she is away from the family for long periods, it is
inevitable that children cannot spend all of their time with the family. Child-
minding and after-school childcare are often used in these cases, and if managed
properly, these can be perfectly viable alternatives. Equally, it seems that children
can in some cases learn a considerable amount from their peers in addition to
adults, and allowing them to play without direct supervision may be a benefit.

To conclude, it appears that, while family time is essential for bonding and
absorbing patterns of behaviour, there are definite advantages when children are
outside the family too. This is provided that they are in a safe, well-behaved
environment with peers who are themselves reasonably well brought-up.
Topic 4: Nature, the environment and energy water table the layer of water below In my town, the water table is
ground very high, and water will appear
The Nature, the environment and energy topic includes fossil fuels and renewable in even a small hole
fuels, climate change, threats to the environment (deforestation, pollution etc) and tainted polluted or contaminated The Mediterranean is badly
their effects, the biosphere, and animal life/human attitudes to animals. tainted in some areas by sewage
In this topic, remember to show that you can write in an impersonal, academic pollution
way, even if you feel strongly about something. Remember that emotional words soil erosion the loss of soil by wind Deforestation has increased soil
such as terrible, shocking, disgusting or wonderful, fantastic, brilliant cannot be and rain activity erosion seriously in Brazil
used in Academic English essays of this type. You can use Academic English such logging cutting down trees for Logging has endangered many
as regrettable, worrying, inadvisable or admirable, helpful, invaluable instead, timber and industrial use species throughout the world
which are more accepted in these situations. dumping leaving waste deliberately In most countries, dumping
without storing or treating rubbish is a criminal offence
Vocabulary Descriptions Example in IELTS Speaking it
contamination pollution by poisons or The atmosphere in large cities is waste any material not wanted or In my country, we use waste
dangerous elements often contaminated by smog, as needed after a process from cotton manufacture for
we can see in China lighting fires.
the biosphere the relationship between Children should be educated on landfills organised areas where Surprisingly, Britain still sends
all living things on the the biosphere through field trips waste is buried in the most of its domestic waste to
planet and practical experiments. ground landfill sites.
emissions gases entering the Scientists spend their whole waste recycling or reducing My brother has a waste
atmosphere careers studying the effect of processing waste into manageable processing company, which is
emissions on the climate forms subsidised by the local authority
pollutant microscopic elements of I remember going to a factory poaching illegally hunting and Elephant poaching should be a
particles pollution and seeing the snow covered killing animals much higher priority for the
with pollutant particles world authorities, as elephants
run-off water that runs from the We should try to collect and use are an endangered species
ground into rivers and more run-off water, to avoid habitat loss destruction or Logging has caused substantial
lakes having to recycle water so much disappearance of an habitat loss for wildlife in many
the water the natural process of Scientists believe the water cycle animal’s natural home countries.
cycle water moving from clouds is responsible for various natural food chain the natural system of The food chain has been
to rain and seas events, especially in animals eating other disrupted by the loss of certain
coastal areas animals and plants species, with widespread impacts
aquifers underground, natural My family have a well which on all animals
water stores connects to an aquifer, giving dwindling (to dwindle = to steadily States seem to have dwindling
very pure water. numbers decline in quantity) funds to pay for animal
filtration the process of filtering and Water filtration might be a sanctuaries, although they are
removing impurities solution to water shortages in still able to pay for government
very hot countries officials and their perks.
extinction the final death of all Dinosaur extinction may have
animals in a species been caused by a meteor or
 volcano, but scientists seem outside of controlled landfills or waste processing centres. Even small amounts of
unsure about this abandoned waste can enter water supplies through the ground, often undetected.
famine a situation where there is a Many singers help make charity
lack of food in an area for songs to raise funds for famine The effects on animal life can be severe, especially for species which are already
a long time relief. endangered by such threats as poaching, habitat loss and food chain disruption.
drought = similar to famine, but Contaminated water can lead to dwindling numbers or even potential extinction,
a lack of water as may indeed happen to the Asian tiger populations. The impact on human society
irrigation supplying water to land If we want quick solutions to can also be distressing, including the poisoning of drinking water, famine or
for agriculture famine, better irrigation and drought due to lack of safe irrigation, and long-term loss of land as we see, for
farming methods would probably example, after the Bhopal poisoning catastrophe in India. Such effects tend to
be the first step. have an especially grave impact on the very poorest in society, with the least
catastrophe a great disaster affecting The continuing destruction of the resources to counter the environmental effects.
many people rain forests is a catastrophe for
the global biosphere Overall, we see that emissions and dumping are the main origins of the problem,
Exacerbated to make an existing Famine in Africa has been and that the effects on both humans and animals are exacerbated by the existing
(= to problem worse, exacerbated by civil war and environmental, criminal or social problems.
exacerbate) accidentally or political instability.
deliberately (316 words)

Topic 4 example Task

Pollution of rivers, lakes and seas is a major concern for people who seek to
protect the environment. What are the possible causes of water pollution, and what
effects does this have on animal life and human society?

Band 9 model essay

Water contamination is a serious form of pollution, and one that can be

challenging to rectify. There seem to be two main causes involved, and a variety of
damaging effects on people and the biosphere, which we will discuss here.

Probably the main factor is the issue of emissions from cars, factories and other
human activities. These emissions contain damaging pollutant particles which
can contaminate rainwater run-off and thus enter the water cycle, by transferring
through the water table into aquifers, streams and rivers. Filtration and
processing are not really viable options for such large volumes of water, and so the
water table remains tainted with these elements over long periods, as we see in
Eastern Europe today. In situations where soil erosion and logging have already
damaged the local environment, the accumulation can be very serious. The other
major cause is accidental or deliberate dumping of waste products in places
Topic 5: Culture, art and traditions Self-sacrifice the willingness to suffer or We remember the self-sacrifice
die for a cause of our wartime generation each
The Culture, art and traditions topic includes human folklore, ceremonies and year
rituals, myths and legends, social customs, traditional languages, dress and arts, the Cultural traditions carrying cultural Hospitality is a great cultural
impact of modern life on traditional lifestyles and differences in national habits. traditions importance tradition in Mediterranean
Please remember that IELTS will not ask specifically about religion, politics or countries.
spiritual beliefs, and you should not base your answers in the Writing or Speaking Mythology, a classic story from the There are old myths about
tests on your personal beliefs in these areas. For example, if the Task asks whether myth past which people know is gigantic animals in my part of
you agree with a certain idea, you would get a low mark if you say ‘Yes, because not true but which the countryside
my religion agrees with it/ because my President has this policy’ or similar. carries meaning
You can certainly use religious or political situations as evidence or examples to To evoke to bring back memories or Our national flag evokes strong
support an argument, but not as a starting point. For example, ‘We should give feelings emotions whenever we see it.
money to charity because it benefits society, as we can see for example in countries Medieval = adjective for the Middle France has some superb
where religious observance requires people to do this regularly.’ This is a more Ages, roughly 1050 to medieval architecture, which I
logical and academic way to respond. 1400 in European history saw on my gap year
Ceremonies a ceremony is similar to a The government enters office
ritual, usually involving with a long ceremony at the
Vocabulary Description Example in IELTS Speaking people in authority presidential palace
To preserve to protect and keep The state preserves ancient Cultural standards expected of In some countries, marriage
something, usually buildings because they are part norms behaviour or ideas between cousins is a cultural
because it is valuable for of our heritage. norm.
some reason The fabric of the way that society is drugs and crime are damaging
To conserve a synonym for ‘to Conservation of old treasures is society connected and maintained the fabric of society.
preserve’ the main role of our city To hand (from one generation to Cultural values have been
museum. something the next) = to pass it from handed down for hundreds of
Rituals highly traditional In some countries, wedding down parents to children and to years, but now they are starting
ceremonies which have rituals continue for several days their children etc to disappear.
meaning for the
participants Heritage something inherited (= Our countryside is part of our
Parades organised processions in In my home town, we have a received/handed down) by national heritage and we should
public by groups of military parade each year to one generation from the preserve it carefully.
people, usually to mark our Independence Day previous generation
commemorate an event Legends similar to myths, but Robin Hood is a British legend,
To transmit to communicate a The monarchy transmit symbols sometimes containing an although most historians agree
message, literal or of power through dress and ritual element of reality the character is based on a
symbolic real person.
Social memes social habits or patterns In Britain, punctuality is a social Folklore old stories and African folklore is rich in stories
which are transmitted meme myths/legends, usually of gods and monsters.
between people transmitted verbally
Public duty the willingness to serve Civil servants need a sense of
the public or the state public duty
 Inheritance a synonym for ‘heritage’ Our greatest inheritance as a such as public duty and mythologies, for instance the historic Swiss national dress
nation is our independence and which evokes their medieval independence. Self-sacrifice. Traditional costumes
fighting spirit. also remind us of the origins of cultural traditions and mythologies, for instance
fine art art by famous or Florence in Italy is a key the historic Swiss national dress which evokes their medieval independence.
acclaimed painters destination for lovers of fine art.
However, it must be said that costumes are an accessory in these situations, and do
Handicrafts skills of making objects by Many indigenous people make a not appear to constitute the central message. It is the ceremonies themselves which
hand, and also the objects living by selling handicrafts to convey the cultural norms that help to maintain the fabric of society. In this
themselves tourists. sense, the costumes are of secondary importance.
Opera a very formal play with a La Scala is the name of a famous
musical score opera venue in Italy, which I’d Furthermore, it seems that there are in fact much more powerful ways in which
like to visit. culture is conserved and handed down between the generations. Most countries
shanties and very traditional songs Children sometimes sing shanties have a rich heritage of legends and folklore about the birth and development of
dirges about basic subjects at primary school their nation, some of which are mythological and some being grounded in truth (as
Linguistic the adjective meaning Linguistic skills are essential for we see in the English stories about Robin Hood or George and the
‘about language’ a tour guide in the modern Dragon, for example.) These stories are a cultural inheritance which embodies
economy. important symbols and concepts far more effectively than dress. Similarly, we
Media* a way of communicating Folklore is a very effective must remember the significance of art and music in passing on our traditions, in
media for transmitting our forms ranging from fine art to handicrafts, and from opera to traditional
cultural heritage shanties and dirges. The presence of visual or linguistic messages in these media
make them more effective than costumes, which convey no language.

*(The phrase ‘the media’ is used to mean all the newspapers, broadcasters, Overall, we must recognise and welcome the use of traditional dress in helping to
websites and magazines commenting on issues in a country: The president maintain our cultures. However, the forms of story, art and music would appear to
resigned due to pressure from the media, who disliked his policies) be the driving forces in this invaluable process.

Topic 5 example Task (321 words)

In many countries, traditional dress and costumes are considered effective ways of
maintaining links with the past.
How effective can traditional costumes be, in this sense? What other ways exist to
help citizens connect with a country’s past?

Band 9 model essay

Most people would agree that preserving connections with our past is an
admirable objective, especially as the world evolves so rapidly. I feel that
traditional costumes are one part of doing this, but they are by no means the most
important, as we shall see.

Admittedly, historic dress plays a key role in social events such as religious rituals
or military parades, and these events are helpful in transmitting social memes
Topic 6: Healthcare, health and sport convenience food which is cooked in its British and American people eat
food packaging, usually in a a large amount of convenience
The Healthcare, health and sport topic includes health problems and disabilities microwave food
(physical and mental), ways of keeping fit and healthy, diet/nutrition and exercise, addiction the state of being unable to Many young people are addicted
ways of providing (and educating people about) healthcare and health services, live without something to social media or Internet use
medical innovations and treatments, the benefits and management of common to socialise to meet with friends and At weekends, I like to socialise
sports. other people in a friendly at parties and in cafes with my
way old friends.
Vocabulary Description Example in IELTS Speaking interpersonal the skills of dealing with My boss used to be very
to stem from to come or derive from, A lot of delinquency these days skills people successfully annoying, but then he went on a
often used for negative stems from the use of drugs or course to develop proper
things alcohol. interpersonal skills.
sedentary a lifestyle where people sit
I used to keep fit, but since I to to perform below your My football team are
lifestyle for long periods and are started working as an architect underperform peers or expectations underperforming badly this year
generally inactive my lifestyle had become mostly active lifestyle a lifestyle with proper The government tries to promote
sedentary exercise and fitness an active lifestyle, but this is not
obesity the medical condition of In some countries, obesity is the successful
being seriously overweight major cause of death among a regime, a a planned system of I adopted a vegetarian regime for
young adults programme exercise, diet or sport three months before my exams.
inadequate insufficient or obstructed If children smoke, this can cause (‘regime’ also means a very strict
development growth of the body inadequate development of their government: ‘In the 1970’s,
lungs and brains many South American countries
strain stress or overwork, I had to take a vacation due to were ruled by police regimes.’)
physical or mental the strain of working such long to detoxify to remove impurities and I went to a clinic to detoxify
hours your body poisons because I was eating too much
symptoms indications that a medical A sore throat and headache are fatty food.
problem is present symptoms of a cold or flu sponsorship payment from a company Motor racing is often sponsored
impairment (verb = to impair = to His hearing was impaired when to a sport or other activity by energy drink brands.
hinder or damage an he heard a loud explosion as a in return for publicity
ability child. participation to participate in something I participated in wrestling when I
poor diet a lifestyle diet without Malnutrition happens due to a = to join and take part in it was at college, but then I gave
sufficient nutrients poor diet and lack of medical up.
care competitive the adjective of Canadians are very competitive
(‘a diet’ can also mean a ‘competition’ about ice hockey teams
programme of reduced calories ameliorating to ameliorate = to make a The effects of his injury were
intended to help you lose weight: problem less damaging ameliorated by extensive
‘My sister is always trying new physiotherapy
diets because she wants to lose 2 remedies cures or answers to a There are many remedies for
kilos before the summer’) problem or situation cold and flu available in
pharmacy stores.
 an initiative a new programme or idea, We need initiatives to tackle nature of the hand muscles when playing these games, and about the poor diet of
usually in government or obesity, anti-social behaviour convenience food which often accompanies this lifestyle.
business and delinquency
raise to make people more We organised a marathon to raise The most alarming psychological impact of such activities is possibly the risk of
awareness aware of or caring about awareness of heart disease and addiction, meaning that children become obsessed with the games and are unable
an issue ways to prevent it through to socialise with family or peers. This undermines their interpersonal skills and
exercise makes them underperform both academically and socially.
health notices on cigarette or Almost all countries have health
warnings alcohol packaging warning warnings on tobacco these days Turning to possible solutions, perhaps the immediate step would be to promote a
about the medical more active lifestyle through exercise regimes or sports programmes which
effects would help to detoxify the lifestyles of children affected. This could be done
champions highly successful people Roger Federer is a champion through sponsorship of sports, or participation in competitive events such as
in sport or business tennis player, and a good role races or matches, hopefully ameliorating the physical effects of excessive games
model too. use. Potential remedies for the danger of mental addiction may be, firstly, an
initiative to raise awareness of the risks of the situation, for example through
figureheads people who represent part The singer Adele is a figurehead health warnings on games packaging or through high-profile spokespersons
of society, officially or for many young women these spreading such a message. For example, if sports champions or figureheads speak
unofficially days out about these dangers, the message may well get through to children.
dependency the condition of relying on The player was treated for drug
something in an addictive dependency at a detox clinic in To sum up, the risks posed by excessive gaming are connected to an unhealthy
way Paris. lifestyle and the possibility of dependency on the activity. Possible answers might
pursuits hobbies or sports which Skiing and cycling are my main involve stronger education about the dangers and the health benefits of more active
people do for enjoyment pursuits at weekends. pursuits.

(313 words)
Topic 3 example Task
Many doctors are concerned about the high use of computer games by children
and young people. What mental and physical problems may arise from excessive
use of these games? How could these problems be reduced?

Band 9 model essay

Children appear to enjoy playing video games, and while there are undoubted
benefits, various negative effects stem from this too. Let us consider the main
issues, and then outline possible remedies.

Perhaps the major physical problem is the sedentary lifestyle which these games
encourage, meaning that youngsters may incline to obesity or inadequate
development. Added to this is the strain on eyesight resulting from excessive use
of screens and consoles, meaning that children may suffer symptoms of poor
vision. There are also concerns about impairment of reflexes due to the repetitive
Topic 7: Global challenges social the ability of people to The greatest aid to social
mobility progress in terms of mobility is good education and
The global challenges topic includes economic issues, their impact on people and salary, lifestyle and social training
society, changes in demographics, movements of populations between countries status
and inside countries, long term trends in population and industry, severe global the private private businesses, as I definitely want to work in the
problems such as famine, drought and malnutrition, and also the possible causes of sector opposed to ‘the public private sector after I graduate. It
all these issues, their effects and possible solutions to them. sector’ meaning state- is a more stimulating
owned or controlled environment than the public
There are often connections between this topic and the other topics, especially services sector
4 Nature, the environment and energy, 8 Cities and infrastructure, 9 The demographics the changes in society in Demographic changes in
countryside and agriculture, and 10 Government and the authorities. This terms of age, income, Scandinavia have been dramatic,
means that you may sometimes need to combine vocabulary from two (or possibly numbers, origins and with substantial immigration and
three) topics to answer a Task. For example, a Task may ask about the effect of location in a country an ageing indigenous population
economic problems on the countryside, and you would then use vocabulary from longevity the tendency to have a Japanese people have perhaps the
Topics 7 and 9. long life expectancy highest longevity in the world.
to migrate to move permanently Migration within the Eurozone is
Vocabulary Description Example in IELTS Speaking between countries a highly controversial issue at
a challenge a problem or difficulty to The West faces many challenges present.
be faced due to its ageing population ‘brain drain’ the tendency for intelligent Southern Europe is experiencing
economic or a rapid, unmanaged Economic instability causes or successful workers to a high ‘brain drain’ these days,
political change in a country’s many people to move abroad to migrate out of a country because of the lack of economic
instability economy or seek reliable work. (usually expressed in prospects
political situation quotes ‘’)
social unrest riots, protests or fighting Social unrest is spreading from existential a threat to existence or life The economy of my country
by the public against each the countryside to the cities, and threats faces an existential threat from
other or the government the police are not responding collapsing oil revenues.
an issue a topic, subject or question The issue of petrol price inflation an outbreak the start of a widespread The outbreak of Ebola is a great
that must be considered is not often discussed in the problem such as disease or concern for doctors globally
media conflict
pressing urgent, important issues I could not go to the college civil war war between people inside It will take many years for our
matters reunion because of more pressing a country nation to recover from the civil
matters at home with my family. war of the 1990s
joblessness a synonym for Joblessness among older people livelihood the way a person makes a Many villagers sell handicrafts,
‘unemployment’ is actually higher than among living as this is the only livelihood they
recent graduates can find.
economic the future possibilities for The economic prospects for very developed countries considered to Developed countries contribute
prospects a national economy small countries are quite positive countries have advanced economies, aid to those nations affected by
these days. industries and famine.
social infrastructure
 developing countries not generally Illiteracy is a huge challenge for countries and the presence of physical dangers in developing countries should be
countries considered to be fully developing countries to regarded as at least as severe.
developed yet overcome
(290 words)

Topic 7 example Task

‘Unemployment remains the biggest challenge to school-leavers in most countries’
How far do you agree with this assessment? What other challenges face young
people today? (school-leavers = young people who leave school without going on
to further studies.)

Band 9 model essay

Youth unemployment is certainly a worrying challenge for most countries,

especially at a time of economic instability and social unrest. However, to say
that this is the largest issue is to overlook a range of equally pressing matters, as
we will discuss now.

It must be admitted that joblessness can undermine a young person’s economic

prospects and consequent social mobility. Nevertheless, this issue can be
ameliorated by coordinated action between the state and the private sector, as we
have seen, for instance, in Canada recently. When this is realized, we can see that
other concerns are at least as serious.

Foremost among these is perhaps the issue of age demographics, whereby young
people bear the burden for an increasingly elderly population with high longevity.
This means that young people will pay higher taxes and work longer hours,
possibly forcing them to migrate to countries where this pressure is lower. The
effect of this is the ‘brain drain’ situation which can be seen in southern
Europe, where young, ambitious people prefer to leave their countries altogether,
exacerbating the problem for those remaining.

Furthermore, we must remember that a substantial proportion of young people

globally face existential threats such as famine, drought or outbreaks of
disease. These problems are often caused by (or are compounded by) civil war,
political instability or the corruption of people in power locally. Such risks are a
danger to their safety in addition to their livelihood, and so would appear to be far
more serious than unemployment.

To conclude, it seems logical to accept that joblessness is a major challenge for

young people. However, persistent trends in demographics among developed
Topic 8: Cities and infrastructure facilities and places providing any My home city has many
amenities service to the public, amenities such as swimming
The cities and infrastructure topic includes the organisation of urban transport, either private or public pools and parks, and several
communications and housing, trends in city life, social problems associated with sector facilities for elderly people such
cities such as overcrowding and petty crime, the growth of cities, possible future as care homes.
developments in city living, and comparisons of urban and rural lifestyles. a bottleneck a place where congestion The connection from a motorway
This topic is often used for Task 2 Ideas>problem/solution and Ideas>cause/effect regularly happens to a local road is always a big
type essays. There is also sometimes a connection to Topic 9 Countryside and bottleneck
agriculture, so you may need to combine vocabulary from the two topics. overcrowding a situation where too many Hong Kong has managed its
people try to live in one overcrowding problem very
Vocabulary Description Example in IELTS Speaking place skilfully.
urban adjective meaning ‘about Urban crime is a great concern hinterland the area around a city I live in the hinterland of our
cities’ for the authorities in most affected by its capital city, where we regularly
countries today development go for shopping and for work
investment or money to pay for an My home town secured projects.
funding activity, either from investment from a charity for a to settle in a to move and live there I was born in Asia, but my
government or business new stadium, and funding from a place permanently, usually with parents settled in the USA when
local company for sponsorship work and a family I was very young
infrastructure the physical and system The UK railway infrastructure urban sprawl the situation where a city Urban sprawl has resulted in the
organisation of a city, area dates back to the 1860’s in many expands and buildings are rapid expansion of many Asian
or country, especially in places. constructed without cities, with resulting damage
terms of transport and control or laws to the environment.
communications public-private projects funded jointly by My country has just installed a
high-capacity able to handle high Sea container ships are high- partnerships the government and new tunnel under the central
volumes of goods or capacity international freight business, to reduce the mountains, run by a public-
people providers cost to the taxpayer private partnership.
public transport such as buses I usually get to work by public
transport and trains funded by the transport, even though it’s very civic pride the pride felt in the As a symbol of civic pride, we
state (as opposed to crowded town/city where you live, built a new park zone with sports
‘private transport’ such as its people and amenities and educational
cars owned by individuals) infrastructure exhibitions.
congestion situation of too much I have to leave home very early tax incentives reductions in tax to We should use tax incentives to
traffic, causing delays (the in the mornings, because of the encourage people to do or encourage more people to try
phrase ‘traffic jam’ is not congestion on the way to my buy something using their own solar panels at
generally used in college. home.
Academic English) home working in your home for Home working can be quite an
conurbations very large cities which Sao Paolo is a huge conurbation working all or part of the week isolated way to do your job
have absorbed other towns in Brazil, and is still expanding to commute to travel a long distance to I live in the suburbs and
transport centres where many routes Heathrow airport is the largest work every day commute by train to the city
hubs converge transport hub in Europe centre.
 suburbs the residential areas Life in the suburbs can be rather Regarding potential solutions, probably the main remedy would be to encourage
around a city boring, to be honest investment in better infrastructure, for example through subsidies or public-
the inner city the older, central part of a Inner city housing is often private partnerships as was tried successfully in Germany during the 1990’s.
city overcrowded and noisy This enhances the network and fosters a sense of civic pride, to everyone’s
communal a voluntary system for I tried car-pooling, but it was benefit. Another solution may be to use tax incentives to allow more home
car-pooling people to travel in a shared difficult to arrange the journeys working, so that there is less need to commute from the suburbs to the inner city
car, to reduce fuel use with three other people for work. A final response might be the development of more flexible patterns of
outdated old-fashioned and not I find that our political parties are transport, such as communal carpooling, which would reduce reliance on existing
relevant today very outdated these days. systems and vehicles.
innovations new ideas or things (which Mobile computing was one of
are usually useful or the great innovations of the last In conclusion, it seems that outdated infrastructure and overcrowding are the key
exciting) ten years. factors behind our transport frustrations. Possible solutions would involve better
a burden a weight or responsibility The burden of income tax is funding, and also innovations in ways of working and travelling to reduce the
which is difficult to cope much too high these days for burden on the system.
with normal people
(311 words)

Topic 8 example Task

Transport delays and long journey times are a widespread phenomenon in many
cities today. What are the causes of this problem, and how could the situation be
improved?

Band 9 model essay

Transport is an essential part of urban life, and lengthy journeys are frustrating
and expensive for those concerned. There appear to be two main causes of this,
and several possible solutions, as we will explain here.

Perhaps the main cause is the lack of investment or funding for infrastructure in
the form of high-capacity public transport and increased road space for private
vehicles. This means that too many vehicles use the existing network, and
congestion is inevitable. We see this in most large cities globally, such as London
or Tokyo. Many conurbations also lack finance for transport hubs, such as
integrated road and rail facilities which could connect public and private
transport, thus reducingbottlenecks. A further cause seems to be the problem of
overcrowding in cities, whereby people migrate from the hinterland and settle in
urban areas, putting strain on amenities, housing and above all on transport
capacity. This means that an already stretched system is often pushed to a critical
point, causing cancellations and breakdowns in the technology used, especially in
situations of urban sprawl such as in Latin America.
Topic 9: Countryside and agriculture an abundance a very high level of supply In the mountains, there’s an
or availability of abundance of wild flowers and
The Countryside and agriculture topic covers social and physical changes in the something goats.
countryside, rural versus urban lifestyles, ways of using the countryside, and wildlife animals living naturally in It’s surprising how much
methods of farming including animals and crops. the wild wildlife you can see in the
It may seem surprising, but agriculture is actually one of the most common topics suburbs in Australia
in IELTS across the Writing, Reading, Speaking and Listening tests. This means forestry the industry of growing When I graduate, I want to work
that you should definitely learn to use agriculture vocabulary as part of your exam and cutting trees for a responsible forestry
preparation, even if the subject is not personally interesting for you. company
water bodies inland areas of water My country is very arid and has
Vocabulary Description Example in IELTS Speaking (rivers, lakes, reservoirs almost no water bodies.
rural the adjective for I come from a rural area etc)
‘countryside’ originally, although these days I subsistence adjective meaning Subsistence farmers grow their
live in our capital city. ‘producing just enough to own food but have little left to
a backwater an area of a country where I used to live in an agricultural live on’ sell for profit.
little of interest happens town, but frankly it was such a self-sufficient not needing to import or During the war, our country
backwater that I moved to one buy resources from became self-sufficient in crops
of the larger cities outside the farm or and fuel.
rural the long-term trend for Rural depopulation can cause country
depopulation people to migrate from the huge problems with local smallholders farmers managing very I worked on a project training
countryside to cities, infrastructure, as there aren’t small farms, usually with smallholders in South America
leaving the rural areas enough people to run the their families in how to lobby politicians for
with few people services and transport. reform.
country people who live in the My parents were country the wider the national economy in a My business is growing, despite
dwellers countryside (‘city dwellers when they first married, economy country the decline in the wider
dwellers’ = people who but now we all live in a coastal economy.
live in cities) town to afflict to affect (used for Many forests in my area are
a scarcity a lack or shortage of The worst problem I problems or diseases) afflicted by wood disease which
something experienced in the countryside attacks the trees.
was a real scarcity of sports animal the skill of keeping My sister studied animal
events and music festivals husbandry animals husbandry at college and
rural unemployment affecting Rural unemployment has been enjoyed it enormously.
unemployment rural workers specifically ameliorated by innovative crop rotation the process of using Some smallholders do not
Internet start-ups different fields each year practise crop rotation, and so
rural poverty being extremely poor in Rural poverty is a long-term to keep the soil healthy their land becomes infertile
the countryside situation exacerbated by lack of remote viewing places by I took a remote viewing tour of
infrastructure and training viewing Internet, not in person the Metropolitan Museum in
material concerns about money and You can’t only think of material New York, and found it very
considerations material possessions considerations when deciding impressive
who to marry, I feel.
 environmental an understanding of Environmental awareness is part awareness. This is especially true now that communications are reducing the risk
awareness environmental issues of the school curriculum these of isolation in such far-flung communities.
days for most children
far-flung remote or far away My fiancé lives in a very far- (317 words)
flung village, but we keep in
touch by Skype

Topic 9 example Task

It is sometimes said that the countryside offers a high quality of life, especially for
families. What are the arguments for and against families choosing to live and
work in the countryside, for example as farmers? What is your own view about
this?

Band 9 model essay

There can be few choices in life more important than where to settle as a family,
and the question of an urban or rural location is complex. There are strong
arguments for and against living in the countryside, as we will discuss now.

On the one hand, it might be said that the countryside is rather a backwater, with
fewer cultural amenities than a city in the form of museums, theatres and even
sporting events. This may mean that families become isolated, especially as rural
depopulation leaves fewer country dwellers in the area, as we see, for example,
in central France. Added to this is the scarcity of schools and colleges, meaning
that children may need to travel long distances for their education. Finally, career
options may be more limited in the countryside for both parents and children,
resulting in rural unemployment and long-term rural poverty in the worst cases.

Conversely, life in the countryside has rewards which go beyond material

considerations. For example, the abundance of natural resources such as land,
wildlife forestry and water bodies means that a comparatively simple life can be
lived at a subsistence level. Many country residents are self-sufficient
smallholders in this sense, safeguarding them from the changes in the wider
economy which can afflict city dwellers. If the parents are farmers, children learn
the importance of animal husbandry, methods of farming such as crop rotation
and irrigation, and generally may become more in tune with the natural world as a
result. Finally, as technology enables children to undertake distance learning or
remote viewing of cultural attractions such as museums, they should be less
isolated from their cultural heritage.

Overall, it seems to me that quality of life in the countryside today is indeed quite
high, with its advantages of resources, self-sufficiency and environmental
Topic 10: Government and the authorities conviction the percentage of accused Conviction rates for burglary are
rates people who are convicted low; only about 30% of trials
The Government and the authorities topic mostly includes law and order, crime and of (= found to be result in a conviction.
policing, justice and punishment. Occasionally the Task may refer to ways of guilty of) a crime
managing public services, and relations between countries. The Tasks may ask about a deterrent something that makes We have a guard dog as a
public policy in terms of funding (Eg ‘How should prisons be run – by governments or people not want to do deterrent against intruders at
by private organisations?’) but will not ask for your political views or about actual something (verb = to deter) night. It deters people from
events in specific countries. coming into our garden.
sentencing the action of telling a
Vocabulary Description Example in IELTS Speaking convicted criminal what the
trustworthy capable of being trusted In most countries, politicians are punishment is
regarded as untrustworthy and (verb = to sentence)
possibly corrupt. Imprisonment punishment by being in He was sentenced to five years
paramount of the greatest importance It is paramount that we find a prison imprisonment for the armed
solution to the problem of Internet robbery of a shop.
piracy. A fine = money paid as a
devious extremely clever in a Online criminals today are punishment
dishonest way devious, and use many different community punishment by doing Her community service consisted
methods to deceive their victims. service manual work for the public of cleaning the town parks and
minutiae small details Nobody really understands the sweeping litter in the streets.
(pronounced minutiae of the new tax code A fine money paid as a The fine for speeding in my
‘my-new-shy’) punishment country is about 200 Euros.
grievance an issue which makes Some towns in the countryside rehabilitation = the process of changing a Her community service consisted
people upset or angry for a have a grievance with central criminal’s character so that of cleaning the town parks and
long time government because of land he does not commit sweeping litter in the streets.
reform laws. more crimes (verb = to
sensitivity being alert to the Teachers should show sensitivity rehabilitate someone)
circumstances of a specific to students who have language Imprisonment punishment by being in Some prisons use music and
group of people difficulties. prison drama to rehabilitate offenders.
to commit an to do it The President committed murder Others say there is no point in
offence/a crime when he arranged for his trying.
opponent to be assassinated an offender = a person who commits an Some prisons use music and
informants people who tell the police The police paid the informant for offence drama to rehabilitate offenders.
useful information about information about who organised Others say there is no point in
criminals in their area the riots. trying.
evidence material presented in court The police had a lot of DNA an offender a person who commits an The government should provide
to prove that someone is evidence against her, but no offence training for offenders in prison, so
guilty or innocent witness statements. that they don’t turn to
a trial the legal procedure of A murder trial can last for many crime again when they leave
prosecuting someone for a weeks and cost millions of Euros tendencies inclinations due to your Some young people in cities have
crime to conduct. character (usually negative) tendencies towards graffiti and
vandalism.
corruption the crime when an official Corruption is widespread in the
breaks laws to help people police in some developing Topic 10 example Task
that he knows countries. Some observers say that police officers should be recruited from the communities
bribery the crime of giving money I had to bribe a customs inspector where they work, so that they have local knowledge. Other people say that this is
to officials to get something to get my luggage through the unnecessary, or even undesirable. Where do you stand on this debate? Is local
done (verb = to bribe airport. knowledge essential in modern policing?
someone)
to enforce laws to apply them to people The police are not enforcing the Band 9 model essay
laws about dropping litter in
public. They should arrest more The need for effective, trustworthy police officers is paramount in society today,
people for this. especially as criminals become more devious and creative. Regarding whether police
unequitable unfair or different for It is unequitable to arrest young should be locally hired, there is a case to be made on both sides of the debate.
different groups people for speeding, but not older
people. Those who support local recruitment of officers point to the need for the police to
law-abiding following all the laws in a I am a law-abiding citizen. I never understand the minutiae of the local community. For example, a community may have
proper way break the speed limit or any other certain frictions or a history of a specific grievance, whether religious, political or
laws otherwise. In such situations, the argument goes, the police need to show sensitivity,
transferable skills that can be used in I have transferable skills which I and also be able to anticipate the kinds of crimes that may be committed. Furthermore,
skills different situations use in both my professional career local officers may find it easier to gain informants in the community, leading to
and my fund-raising work stronger evidence at trials, higher conviction rates and a deterrent to crime through
for charities sentencing, imprisonment, fines or community service leading to rehabilitation of
lateral thinking the ability to think Facebook and Google are great the offender.
creatively and in new ways examples of companies that have
grown on lateral thinking. On the other hand, it seems likely that officers from the community may in fact share
investigative adjective from ‘to The police refused to investigate some of the tendencies of the people they grew up with. For example, in countries
investigate’ = to enquire the Prime Minister, leading to such as Mexico, we see a high incidence of corruption among the local business and
about the causes of a crime accusations of corruption government community which is equaled by bribery among the police. A second
or a problem objection is that local sensitivity may lead to the police failing to enforce laws fully,
to transcend to be bigger or go beyond it The need for reducing financial and effectively making exceptions for some offenders, which is unequitable towards
waste transcends the government law-abiding citizens. Finally, we must remember that police officers should have
– everybody should be spending transferable skills, such as lateral thinking and investigative ability, which should
money more carefully. transcend their background or the environment they are working in.
a context a specific situation Armed police evidently work well
in the American context, but Overall, it seems to me that local knowledge is not absolutely essential for the police,
would be less effective in a whose skills should be effective in any context. Indeed, I agree with those who say
British context that the risks of local recruitment outweigh the benefits, because of the danger of
corruption and over-familiarity with potential offenders.
to outweigh to be more important than The advantages of having a diesel
car outweigh the costs.
(318 words)
over- when an official is too We should discourage over-
familiarity friendly with the public familiarity between judges and
lawyers, because it could lead to
corruption