Writing Task 2
Exam information
• You write a discursive essay.
• The task may contain more than one part to address.
• You write at least 250 words in 40 minutes.
Q Work in pairs. Read this Writing task, then brainstorm some ideas that support the statement by discussing the questions below.
Write about the following topic.
Psychologists have known for many years that colour can affect how people feel. For this reason, attention should be given to colour schemes when decorating places such as offices and hospitals.
How true is this statement?
How far does colour influence people’s health and capacity for work?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
1 What activities take place in offices?
2 How would colour affect staff in these places?
3 Who else goes to offices? How might they feel?
4 How might colour affect patients in a hospital?
5 What about medical staff?
0 When you write a discursive essay, you are expected to express your opinions on the topic and give reasons for them. Read the sample answer on page 26, then complete this plan.
E s s a y p la n
Introduction - my view - statement is very true
2nd an d 3rd paragraphs - reasons why colour
^ is important in o ffic e s
• can’t concentrate with bright colours
" ** .
' 4th and 5th paragraphs - reasons why colour is important in hospitals
' Conclusion
Colour my world
Colour is arguably one of the earliest things that we learn about As we grow up, we develop preferences for colour, and ; these are shown in the decoration of our homes, the products | we buy and the clothes we wear. As colour plays such a huge \ role in our domestic lives, it is inevitable that it will also affect j how we feel outside of the home, particularly in places such as ' hospitals and offices.
As a matter of fact, businesses have been aware of the impact of colour on employees for some time. The general view has been th at if you work in an office th at has too many colours and patterns on the walls, you will end up finding it hard to co n cen trate Visitors may also be too taken up with the colours around them to focus on what they are doing. i Interestingly, however, th ere are some office areas th at suit | bright colours. For example, creative people often say they can j carry out their work b etter if a room is painted in bold colours.
In my university in Thailand, the creative room was painted j entirely in yellow to inspire its u sers to come up with exciting ! and novel ideas, s tu d e n ts commented th at they felt more ! energised in this type of environment.
While work is about output, hospitals are about the health of patients. Clearly, bright colours would be less welcome on i a hospital ward, where patients are trying to recover from operations and illnesses. Here, relaxing shades are needed, such as pastels.
Having said that, some hospital areas are the opposite. Unlike adults, children need some form of entertainment, and walls painted in bright reds and oranges with pictures and posters car. achieve that. Similarly, doctors and nurses might welcome brighter surroundings when they are taking a break from work.
As far as > am concerned, there is a direct link between colour and mood. This means that designers should think about who will occupy a building, and decorate its rooms in such a way that the occupants are able to get the best out of their surroundings.
© In the sample answer, the writer uses words and phrases to express his attitude to what he is about to say. Which of the underlined words/phrases does he use to say he thinks something is:
1 possibly true?
2 obvious?
3 his opinion (as opposed to anyone else’s)?
4 the opinion of most people?
5 certain?
6 a curious or unexpected point?
7 im portant to emphasise?
Q page 112 Attitude adverbials
2 6) Unit 2
0 6 ) Work in pairs. IELTS candidates often make mistakes using attitude adverbials. Find and correct the mistakes at the start of these sentences.
1 Mo3t important, people should be consulted about their views. Most iVportcwfi^-
2 In their opinion, some people totally disagree with this statement for the following reasons.
3 In my point of view, people who can still work should be encouraged to work regardless of their age.
4 Arguable, the media can play a significant role in conveying this message.
5 As the matter of fact, no matter what country you are in, you can always see rivalry between teams.
6 As far as I concerned, societies benefit from cultural differences.
Exam advice W riting Task 2
• Analyse the task carefully first. You will lose marks if you misread the question or fail to deal with all parts of the task.
• Brainstorm ideas, make a quick plan and write following your plan.
• Use comment adverbials to indicate your views.
O Key grammar: Nouns and articles
© Work in small groups.
1 Brainstorm ideas you could put into an essay which expresses the idea that the statement in the task in Exercise 1 is not very true.
2 Complete this plan for the answer.
^ Essay pUwa
Introduction - my view - statement Is not very true
' 2.nd and 5rd paragraphs - reasons why colour Is not Important In offices
4th a n d 5th paragraphs - reasons why colour Is not Important In hospitals
^ Conclusion
© Write your answer in 35 minutes. Write at least 250 words and leave a few minutes to check what you have written.
Key grammar
Nouns and articles
O Read these sentences from the sample answer on page 26.
1 Colour is arguably one of the earliest things that we learn about.
2 ... these are shown in the decoration of our homes, the products we buv and the clothes we wear.
3 ... creative people often say they can carry out their work better if a room is painted in bold colours.
4 In my university in Thailand, the creative room was painted entirely in yellow to inspire its users to come up with exciting and novel ideas.
5 While work is about output, hospitals are about the health of patients.
Put the words in bold into one of these categories.
Some can go in more than one category.
1 countable ...
2 uncountable
3 only found in the plural 4 a proper noun (i.e. a name)
0 Which underlined words/phrases in Exercise 1 illustrate these rules of article use?
Use the definite article ‘the’
a with particular or known places, e.g. the supermarket
b when you are talking about a particular example of a thing, e.g. the education o f young children c with superlative adjectives
Use the indefinite article ‘a’ or ‘an' d with a singular countable noun Do not use an article
e before the names of most places f when talking in general
O Pa9e 120 Use and non-use o f ai tides
© Circle the correct option in italics in these sentences.
1 The / A lighting in many restaurants is too bright.
2 White clothes can quickly end up looking grey if you wash them with the / - other colours.
3 Only a / - small percentage of people can read in bright sunshine.
4 If you are colour blind, some colours like green and blue look the / - same.
5 In sport, colour is often used to identify a / the team of players.
6 We saw some very interesting displays at the / - Colour Exhibition.
7 Colour can have a positive effect on a / - mood.
8 The / - children’s toyshops are usually very attractive to look at.
o© IELTS candidates often make mistakes using articles. Find and correct the mistakes in these sentences. One sentence is correct.
1 The government has encouraged the people to enjoy life, pe-cpfe
2 It is hard to find job in design after graduation.
3 In the capital of Czech Republic, there is a famous street that contains some old but very colourful shops.
4 We are living in the world where people have more choice.
5 Elderly have different views from young people.
6 Children should look forward to the bright future.
7 It can lead to a lack of communication between people.
8 In my opinion, it would be a wrong approach to the problem.
Colour my world (?.?)
Vocabulary and grammar review Unit 1
Vocabulary
O Complete these sentences by writing the correct preposition in each gap. Sometimes more than one answer is possible.
1 Finding a course that is suitable... f e .... me hasn’t been easy.
2 Some people are more capable than others studying late at night.
3 The interviewers were very im pressed...
the candidate’s qualifications.
4 Human beings should never underestimate their capacity... knowledge.
5 I’ve realised that I’m not as suited as I thought I w a s ... working in an office.
6 After such dishonesty, all the belief that I had him has gone.
7 Blaming others... your mistakes is never a good idea.
8 Most people regard m e ... a shy person, but I’m really quite outgoing.
Grammar
© Complete these sentences by writing the past simple, present perfect simple or past perfect simple form of the verb in brackets in each gap.
1 Prior to 2010, South Korea....WAS.... [be) the third leading source of international students in the US.
2 The research th a t... (conduct) on the subject so far is minimal.
3 In 2009, there were 300 admissions, but by 2012, this figure... [treble).
4 The presentation... {already begin) when the fire alarm went off.
5 The bottles were washed, sterilised, inspected and fin a lly...[fill) with fluid.
6 Between 2009 and 2011, the percentage of school leavers... (not alter).
7 Although I {not have) any experience as an analyst, I am very keen to learn.
8 When I asked for the bill, f was told it (just pay).
¡ 2h } Vocabulary and gram m ar review Unit 1
© Complete the gaps in the summary below of this graph using a comparative or superlative form of the words in brackets.
Undergraduates Year 1: average pass rates 90%-,
Business Computer Health Humanities Maths and Science
S n lA n m S n ta n r A ô Fn n ln A n n n n
The chart compares how well students from a range of disciplines did in their Year 1 assessments in 2008 and 2012.
At just over 80% in 2012 and 70% in 2008, average pass rates among Computer Science students were by far 1 M u te s t (high), while 2 ... (high) scores in 2012 were in Maths and Engineering. On the other hand, students studying Humanities had 3... (low) pass rates in both years.
Looking more closely at the percentage change between the two years, this was clearly 4 ...
(marked) for those studying Business. 2008 pass rates in Business, Science, and Maths and Engineering were considerably 5 ... (Zou;) in 2008 than in 2012, which means that 6 ... (great) level of improvement took place in these disciplines.
Meanwhile, the Health Sciences experienced 7 ... (stable) pass rates.
Overall, students in 2008 did consistently 8 ...
(good) than their counterparts in 2012, although there were significant differences among the subject areas in both years.
Vocabulary and grammar review Unit 2
Vocabulary
O Complete these sentences by writing a phrasal verb in the correct form in each gap. Add any necessary pronouns. The first letter of each word has been given.
1 Unfortunately, the shirt I thought was red tw m d ....ottt...to be orange in daylight.
2 It is unwise to present an argument in your essay unless you can b... i...u...
with examples or evidence.
3 During the sales meeting, staff c...
u... w... some good ideas about how to improve the appearance of the showroom.
4 The assistant d... w... the customer’s complaint by giving her a refund.
5 It was decided to s... u...the
exhibition in the town square in order to attract as many passers-by as possible.
6 The assistant gave me a reference for the item, but unfortunately I forgot to n... i ...
d... on my iPhone.
7 I cannot p... u...w... these dark walls any longer - I’m going to paint them.
8 In this economic climate, it’s hard to g...
b... when you don’t earn very much money.
0 Find nine more words in the grid all connected with colour. You can find the words horizontally, vertically and diagonally and in any direction.
E K 0 L M j D W H V i c
S R I P u R P L E D M O
H 0 D F A V S B P O I L
A W E T O T R H 0 N F O
D B R I G H T D I L P U
[e X S E F J B E G P D R
A P A S T E L U R E B B
Q j P E N c R 0 V N I L
T U R Q U O I S E T Y I
I D I S N K C U O L E N
C A M 0 U F L A G E W D
Grammar
0 Circle the most appropriate adverbial in italics.
1 Car colour is directly linked to safety,(uTfaci)/
in my view, surveys have shown that white cars have fewer accidents.
2 Frankly / Apparently, if you fill a black tin and a green tin with the same amount of paint, people will think that the black tin is heavier.
3 Everyone has some form of artistic talent, but some people are understandably / arguably more talented than others.
4 Generally speaking / As far as I’m concerned, I don’t believe in making children do things they don’t want to do.
5 You can ask children not to spill paints but, inevitably / as a matter of fact, they will.
o Complete this paragraph by writing a , an, the or - if you think no article is needed. In some cases, more than one answer is possible.
Making natural dyes
Natural dyes made from 1 ...:... plant material produce much softer colours than 2
commercial dyes and contain no chemicals. If you want to make 3 ... blue dye, for example, all you need to do is cut up 4 ... red cabbage and boil it in water for 30-40 minutes. Let 5
mixture stand overnight, then boil it again and remove 6 ... plant material.
Before you dye a garment, 7 ... important process known as fixing ensures that 8
colour will not run. 9 ... most common fixers are lemon juice and vinegar. They also need to be boiled with your garment as part of 10 .
dyeing process.
Once you have done this, you should put the garment into 11... stainless steel pot w ith 12
dye and simmer 13... two together tor 30 to 40 minutes (until you get 14 .. right colour). 15 more you stir during this time, 16 better your dye will fix.
Vocabulary and grammar review Unit 2 (^29^
5 The girl is being given an injection ...
0 Have you or som eone you know ever experienced any of these treatments? W hen and where?
4 The elderly man is
receiving physiotherapy ...
3 The man is having acupuncture ...
A healthy lofe
Starting off
Q Work in sm all groups. Complete the photo captions w ith these phrases (a-f).
a to inoculate her against disease, b to relieve her headache,
c to. treat an injured knee joint, d to set a broken bone,
e to check his sight, f to cure his migraine.
0 W hich photo illustrates:
an alternative form of medical treatment?
ii large-scale preventative medical treatment?
iii the use of medication to alleviate pain?
iv the treatm ent of a muscle injury?
v treatment following an accident in the playground?
vi a routine check-up?
1 The boy is having a plaster cast put on his leg ...
The young woman is taking a tablet .
30) Unit 3
Listening Section 3
Exam information
• You hear a conversation between two or more speakers on a study-based topic.
• The questions may cover both factual information and opinions.
Q Work in pairs. You are going to hear two students talking to a physiotherapist. Discuss these
questions before you listen.
1 What does a physiotherapist’s work involve?
2 When might someone need a physiotherapist?
0 Look at Questions 1-5 below and the comments.
Underline the key ideas in options A-F.
Questions 1-5
What comments do the speakers make about each treatment or service?
Choose FIVE answers from the box and write the correct letter; A-Ft next to Questions 1-5.
Treatments and Services 1 Manual therapy 2 Stability training 3 Electrotherapy 4 Video analysis
5 Workstation analysis ...
Comments A It strengthens the whole body.
B It is the most popular.
C It requires special sportswear.
D It is the most effective.
E It is best done in the evening.
F It is rarely used.
© ^ Now listen and answer Questions 1-5.
Exam advice Matching
• Underline the key ideas in the questions and/or options.
• You will hear the questions in the same order as they are written on the question paper.
• Write your answers as you listen.
© Look at Questions 6-10 below (ignoring the underlined words for nowl.
1 What does the flow chart describe?
2 What type of information is needed to complete each gap?