IELTS Live - Task 2 Writing - Practice for Band 9

hi students welcome to today's live IELTS class my name is Adrienne and I am broadcasting to you from beautiful Budapest on a sunny day here on Friday and welcome for dobbs hi Yvonne hi Patricio good to see members in class on time this is a members chat class everybody is welcome to watch of course and we will have a academic reading class in 90 minutes where everybody can chat so this is again task 2 for the IELTS writing section materials come from our websites at AE help calm for the academic version of the test and for the general module check us out at G IELTS help.com on both of those websites we have lots of great materials for you this is our academic website you can click that red button to join get six exams 100 hours of videos fully interactive course for the general join us here with the green background click that red button there hi Paula good luck on your exam tomorrow Paula exciting times stay focused stay sharp and of course to all of our other viewers who are doing exams just stay calm remember the Sun will shine and do your best hi Rahul get to see you in class alright let's jump back to the lesson of today you can use the code live 20 l IV 20 for a 20% discount on our websites and send me an email to Adrian at AE help calm if you have questions about the exam or our products again today tasks to writing and it's followed by a reading and then tomorrow Saturday we'll have a speaking part 2 and a speaking part 3 lessons so make sure you join for that Alright task two question for today here we go you should spend about 40 minutes on this task make sure to spend 40 minutes on task two it is worth two thirds of your writing band score so it's worth about 65 percent of your total writing score task one is the other 35 percent roughly so make sure that you spend 40 minutes which is two-thirds of the time on this task don't take time away from task 2 for task 1 okay here we go playing video games has become a daily hobby for millions of people and even a profession for many what has led to this exceptional popularity of video gaming and is this a good or bad development alright kind of an interesting pop culture topic for today pop culture of course means popular culture in our time give reasons and explanations for your responses write at least 250 words a lot of students aren't quite clear on this at least means minimum so to have task completion you need to have at least 250 words and yes they do count your words in the exam so they will do a word count they have a method for that so make sure that you have 250 words if you are looking to get those really high band scores like 7.5 or higher then you should be thinking 300 320 words for task 2 to develop it well now task 2 you need 4 paragraphs you need the introduction you need body paragraph 1 body paragraph 2 and conclusion in the rare case if somebody is really skilled in the English language and English literature you can write five paragraph so you can add an extra body paragraph but for most students we suggest two well-developed paragraphs and the most important sentence of your essay is your thesis it's your argument sentence in your introduction so we will look at developing that alright let's take a look at this so you should always always paraphrase the question before you begin to write paraphrasing the question as many of you know it ensures that you understand the question you're clear on the details of the question and also it allows you to think deeply about the topic as well as gather valuable vocabulary to use in your essay so paraphrase the question sentence okay so write it in your own words now this is not a part of your essay this is just planning and you can use part of the paper and the exam sheet for planning okay so that's okay to do alright so paraphrase this question for me members Rahul Preeti Paula Patricio Yvonne for doves write this question using your own words I will do the same okay let's do it together and then we will compare alright and do your best ideally paraphrasing is a 60% minimum word replacement so 60% of the words are unique or different in the grammar okay that should be your goal at least 60% a really good paraphrasing is up to a hundred percent changed okay all right so there's my paraphrase okay again I'm waiting for the paraphrases members meanwhile I'll read this out so here's the original playing video games has become a daily hobby for millions of people and even a profession for many what has led to this exceptional popularity of video gaming and is this good or bad development is this a good or bad development and then here is my paraphrase so engaging in video game play has become an everyday activity for millions of individuals and even a career for some what are the reasons for the rave of video gaming is this a positive or negative social evolution so this is a paraphrase of the original question this is very accurately stating the same idea using my own words now of course I have a decent lexical resource which makes this a bit easier for me but if I don't know these words then what I can do is I can use the thesaurus so the way I do that if you have Microsoft Word is highlight a word like popularity and then in your review panel up at the top you can click the thesaurus option it's also shift f7 okay and then on the side here it gives me words now these might be too small for you to see so I'll just read them like admiration approval acceptance fame is quite a good one fame like famous status reputation attractiveness regard esteem recognition so those are the different nouns which are possible to replace the word popularity okay so make sure you use your thesaurus okay sounds like a type of dinosaur but it's not a dinosaur it's the name of the synonym antonym quazy dictionary okay so use that when you get stuck use it the source if you don't have Microsoft Word there are online thesaurus options as well if you google thesaurus online that will work okay so Rahul says playing video games has become a daily practice for innumerable people as well as a as well as a profession around the globe Rucker will watch your parallel grammar form you can't just say as well as professionals there you have to say as well as a profession okay around the globe what are the reasons behind this popularity of digital games is this a positive or negative influence so again Rahul you have really good vocabulary and you have really good ideas your structure is getting quite quite strong Rahul your weakness is definitely grammar so I highly suggest spending extra time and effort to improve your grammar skills in English once you do that you will have advanced English okay so really focus on your grammar Evon it says millions of humans play video games every day for some of them this is their job why is the video game industry so popular or Evon you need to use present perfect why has the video game industry become so popular so present perfect and what are the pros and cons of this Evon good really nice paraphrasing I can really tell that's your own wording Petruchio says each day more and more people are playing video games for many of them it is a profession what is the cause of the video game boom patricio nice use of the word boom I love it is this positive or negative very good very good really nice paraphrasing students I love the originality all of your showing your own diction and style that's great aleksander spending time playing computer games has become a leisure activity for millions and even a way of making money good why has this become so viral why has it gone so viral just the word order there in that sentence Alexander so why has it gone so viral and what disadvantages and advantages does it have does it have okay but very good Alex and are very good again very original very good hi Buki dots how are you welcome to the class Paula says using video games for entertainment Paula a word that's better than using their more accurate verb is indulging indulging in video games as entertainment has become a common activity in people's lives and for some individuals it has become their job what are the reasons why video games have become so popular is it positive or negative okay Paula that's good a couple of slight grammatical mistakes careful with those but otherwise it's good pretty video games are most common playtime entertainment activity for millions of individuals and also it serves as a job for many what are the causes which have made it so attractive and is this positive or negative progress yeah pretty very good okay again some Corrections there indulge patricio means to to take part or do an activity with enjoyment so you can indulge in ice cream or eating ice cream okay patricio has the spelling palo just underneath your request there alright okay some nice paraphrasing their students so really good feedback for lexical resource hopefully all of our viewers were able to catch the valuable vocabulary that many of our members generated by these paraphrases so if you're learning the IELTS in a classroom it's a really good exercise to compare the paraphrasing between and among students so that you can pick up vocabulary from each other just like in the chat here okay so that's very good Gorka ah one more it has argue that video games are increasingly popular these days and everyone belongs to a profession or age loves to play them it is it is it positive because it reduces stress and makes life happy okay ger Cara you're jumping ahead with the thesis we're not quite there yet all right so here the topic of course is video games and the controlling ideas are the popularity of video gaming and the positive or negative okay so let's discuss that a little bit plan for it before we write our thesis so let's come up with some good ideas here so why are video games popular give me your thoughts now again students don't just randomly think of answers but really try to focus on the most popular answer so nine from ten people okay what would they say so what would most people say are the reasons the top one or two reasons for the popularity of video games why do people love them so much what's the reason man what's the logic I don't think technological advances patricio are the actual reason why people love them I mean people love them even when they were very basic remember the Nintendo addiction is what happens from constantly playing so it's not there the reason our Mandir says it's a source of entertainment sure that's intrinsic Paulo says they're fun and addictive those are very abstract okay Gork rod says because they release adrenaline in the brain and help people pass their leisure time okay so let me try to dig a little bit deeper why are they entertaining okay I still don't really see some top level answers I'd be a little bit worried at this point students if you tackled this essay with these points right now I think you'd get yourself into a tricky situation remember members that when you have really abstract ideas like it's fun it's entertaining those in themselves are not an explanation that's comprehensible to an audience you have to think about your reader as an alien okay Preeti says that it's an the animation attracts people so they're entertaining sure so if you think about it video games are visually stunning so they look amazing especially with modern technology they have great sound and they tell some kind of a story right okay Paula says they're competitive okay that's a good reason Paula so they allow for competition they are challenging for people sure so this is why they're entertaining they're entertaining is kind of like they're saying they're popular entertaining is that they're popular sure so they're challenging their comp competitive that creates excitement okay so that's a good reason I still don't see perhaps the most popular reason of why they are so popular now sometimes people say that video games are like a drug why is that so why do people say that their drug maybe some of you have said this opinion I just missed it yeah for dobbs so for doves it kind of has the answer I'm thinking of just in a little bit of a complicated way so for Dobbs says games give the chance to think about a role and to play that role right so how can you say that in a little bit more simple way for Dobbs video games are an escape from reality yeah definitely so now I think ya Paula now you're on the right track so we can do activities and video games that we can't do in real life like drive cars extremely fast shoot all kinds of guns at virtual characters so it allows us to explore our imagination and our desires right absolutely so that's what I would say are probably the three top reasons for the popularity of video games they provide escape from the stresses of real life or reality another way to say that is they provide an alternate reality where we can be heroes princes princesses here heroines so they provide an alternate reality they are visually stunning with sound and they tell an interesting story right video games actually have stories just like a book so we become engaged in the story of the video game that's that alternate reality and then of course they also allow for that competition to challenge your skills in your mind right okay so is this good or bad okay now again members and Paula like I know that you're going to be in your exam tomorrow I really really strongly suggest that when you're thinking about your essay and your thesis when you're planning your main points for your body paragraph 1 & 2 please don't panic and don't start writing the essay until you are confident that you have two good points for those body paragraphs okay it's really dangerous to begin writing without having those two good points and you will know when you have them so when you have your two good points you will think ah okay these two points are definitely clear they're unique they're top level answers I can write some good body paragraphs with this so make sure that even if it takes you five minutes Paula to come up with those points then just take the five minutes and spend 35 minutes on the essay okay don't rush into the essay it's very very dangerous to do that alright Rahul interactive same thing competition okay all right so yeah we can say that interactive sure there's social okay so let's get to the second member not to miss parts of the question right so this is a two-part question it asks you is this a positive or negative in fact the original question says is this good or bad development so is it good or bad development so you have to answer that question as well in your essay all right so here we go let's ask this question is this a good or bad development okay Oh Paula absolutely yeah when you have clear ideas it's it's it's not just easier it's actually possible to start writing when you don't have clear ideas it's really painful the whole essay and you can kind of feel that it's not working the way that it should it's like a car that just doesn't run right you know there's something wrong with it all right so is this a good or a bad development so Paula says it's good as long as people don't abuse it or get addicted sure so okay another way to express that is it's a great form of entertainment when done in moderation okay yeah absolutely so the opposite is its negative if people become addicted and spend too much time and energy with it okay great so we can get into that in the body paragraphs and yeah we can say it's good for brain development hand-eye coordination so there are definitely positive aspects to video games and in fact people can even make money which is kind of nice the question includes that right so you can use that in your essay okay all right so fantastic now let's write the thesis so here you have to be you know clever pay attention to the question to help you formulate the thesis so go ahead and write the thesis so that it shows your reader your argument clearly and it shows the structure of your essay clearly so by reading your thesis I should know okay here's here's a good way to test the quality of your thesis after a person reads your thesis statement they should know a the question you are trying to answer B your points for argument see the voice of your essay and D the structure okay so that's what you should get from your thesis statement but that's what the reader should get from your thesis statement so when the reader reads your thesis the last sentence of the introduction they should know what it is you're trying to answer they should know what points you're making for your argument they should know if you're writing a first second or third person essay and they should know roughly the structure what you're going to state first second and third okay yes Paul I can go back to the question here we go all right so playing videogames has become a daily hobby for millions of people and even a profession for many what has led to this exceptional popularity of video gaming and is this a good or bad development so basically your thesis should be answering these two questions clearly with two points okay showing the voice all right go ahead members write your thesis statement I'm going to do the same so I'll write my thesis statement with you and then we'll compare okay all right so there's my thesis statement and I'm looking for our members three thesis statements as well now this time I wrote my thesis statement is two sentences and I wanted to show you that you can write a great thesis as two sentences especially when the question is two parts okay so here my thesis statement reads the ever increasing boom of video gaming it can be attributed attributed means connected to or caused by to an escape from reality and can competition with others notice my parallel grammar here escape from reality right so I have verb preposition noun competition verb with preposition others noun right so these two points here are parallel grammar okay they're parallel grammar so this is a positive or negative for gamers brain development gamers notice how I have the apostrophe after the S because it's plural and I'm showing possession so the brains of the gamers so negative for gamers brain development comma depending on the intensity of their video playing video game I should say here video game playing habits okay now if I don't want to repeat video so much I can say digital game digital gaming habits okay so for dogs I know it's an exciting topic and it's great to throw out facts like they're more popular than real games these days but don't get ahead of yourself make sure to structure your writing and you want to include that later in the essay okay Preeti says I believe that video gaming is a great source of entertainment not only is it good for the brain but also it gives jobs for many people to earn money okay Preeti remember that the question okay and this is why it's really good to look at the question before you create your thesis because the question is asking for why have video games become so popular now Preeti you haven't answered that question yet okay the first part of the question is why have video games so what has led to the exceptional popularity of video gaming so the controlling idea is what's leading to the popularity of video gaming your thesis Preeti doesn't answer that so if I read your thesis and I ask what question are you trying to answer then what I think is you're answering the question of why are people enjoying video games okay so it doesn't really clearly show me the reasons for why video games are popular okay petruchio says although playing video games can be addictive for some people I believe that this development is positive because it helps individuals to both keep entertained and avoid routine so patricio again yeah you realize that even before I said it you realize that you have the same problem in your thesis right so Patricia you're answering kind of the second part of the question which is is this a good or bad development students in the IELTS when you have this kind of a question you have to realize that this is your primary part of the question so this is your number one you have to focus on this part of the question first and foremost okay so that's the most critical part of the question that first part okay what has led to this popularity of video gaming you have to focus on that part first and then you need to focus on this part okay Paula says the popularity of video games is due to their visual effects and pretended reality Paul a very good pretended reality it's a bit strange alternate alternate reality is the correct way alternate reality okay so the popularity of video games is due to their visual effects an alternate reality it could be either positive or negative for brain for the brain depending on video game use and intensity okay sure yeah so Paulie you're kind of close especially with the second part that's a good sign all right and definitely you answer the question of why are they so popular in the first half so good Paula you have a two-part thesis there as well two sentence thesis that's good it works all right Rahul says playing video games has become popular as well and it has positive influences on innumerable people around the globe because they are a source of entertainment and comprehensive - oh hey Rahul I think you've got the information a little bit mixed up you want to separate it a little bit clear all right so take a look at my thesis again remember what I said so when you have a good thesis then the person should know the question your answer your points for argument the voice of your essay the structure of your essay so if I have this as my thesis the ever increasing boom of video gaming can be attributed to an escape from reality and competition from others right away the reader knows that okay this person wants to answer the question of what is leading to the boom or the popularity of video gaming what are the points while this author's points are that it's because of an escape from reality and competition from others what's the voice of the author the author does not use I or you in these sentences so the author's voice must be third-person what's the structure of this author so I'm speaking about myself in the third person I know it's kind of weird but what is the structure of the essay that I'm planning to write according to this thesis what do you think I will do so what will I write about and how will I structure this essay can anybody tell me that while you answer that question I will read a couple more or I will read four dogs here popular because of the wide range of interest that they cater to sure I think you're for dogs you're kind of going into a much bigger essay okay so Patricio says that maybe my body paragraph 1 will be escape from reality yep and even more specifically Patricio popular because it's an escape from reality yeah absolutely it could be that definitely you're on the right track of course the question here is am i writing a four paragraph essay so introduction body one body two conclusion or am i writing a five paragraph essay right here if I wrote a or paragraph essay I would actually do it as body paragraph one is this sentence all the way to here okay so this would be my body one my body one would be video games are popular because they're an escape from reality and you get to compete with other people and my body too would be about this part here so that would be my body paragraph two if I wrote a five paragraph essay then body paragraph one would be escape from reality body paragraph two would be competition with others and body paragraph three would be a positive or a negative on brain development depending on intensity so that would be my body paragraph three okay so a body one could be if I'm writing four paragraphs for the essay so if I'm writing two body paragraphs then the first sentence would be my body paragraph one the second one we meet would be my body paragraph two if I'm writing three body paragraphs then I would do one body paragraph on escape from reality one on competition with others and the third one on it could be both negative or positive does that make sense members that explanation on the structure okay so Paula I would not combine body paragraph two as competition with others and positive negative effects rather I would do competition with others together with escape from reality as one body paragraph even if it's a bit longer and then I would do a second body paragraph on the positive and negative brain development okay it makes a lot more sense - if I'm doing two body paragraphs it makes a lot more sense to group this into one body paragraph and to group this into the second body paragraph okay yeah Petruchio absolutely so Patricia is asking it another way and it's a good question so if if there's two questions is it better to separate each one into a body paragraph yes in most situations you have to really pay attention to the questions patricio but in most cases it is okay Paula yeah that's a good question if you can but in this situation you can't so much so in this situation it's better to group these two together and it's better to group this so it's better to group the reasons for popularity into one paragraph and group the positive and negative of this into a second one in some questions Paula it makes sense to group positive negatives which with each reason but not in this case okay in this case it doesn't make sense so I'll make a note on this okay so when you're practicing these at home and then when you get to your real IELTS exam remember this okay so it's it is a it is a good tip and there are [Music] situations for both in the IELTS okay so when you have multiple questions to answer use the most logical grouping for your body paragraphs okay otherwise it can get really confusing even if you have good English skills and you'll get a lower mark so be very careful okay all right let's go to the introduction so introduction begins with the hook all right hook is an interesting sentence I'm going to write one go ahead members write your hook okay if something doesn't make sense do you ask me the hook definitely do it a lot of students think that it's not important some teachers too I highly disagree if you look at any half-decent literature or even movie scripts or movies you will notice that they always include some kind of a hook to catch your attention get you focused on the story highlight the topic of the story or the essay that's all reasons for including the hook okay so again video gaming is the topic should be included in the hook ok yeah Rahul I'll take a look at it in just a moment after I write my hook here okay so here we go okay so did something a little bit more advanced there so keep your hooks simple I just thought I'd show you something a little bit more high-level video gaming has swept the globe in the past thirty years as one of the most popular pastimes for millions of people okay that definitely will catch the attention of the reader okay Rahul I'll take a look at your thesis real quick playing video games has become popular due to entertainment as well as it has positive influences on innumerable people around the globe because it is comprehensive I'm not sure what you mean by comprehensive still Rahul I don't think that's the best word there it's much better than before Rahul but when the question asks what are the reasons video games have become so popular you should give at least two reasons okay one is not going to be enough okay petruchio simple beautiful for the IELTS exam it works great video games have become popular in the past two decades I might throw just one more word in there Patricio extremely popular just to add a little bit more pizzazz to that hook alright yeah who will really pay attention to the plural if it says what is the reason then one reason is okay but if it says what are the reasons you should think of at least two okay so really pay attention to plurals singular Xin the questions for Dobbs the video games are a source of rest and fun for billions of people worldwide yes for dogs it's good just make sure that you don't make mistakes okay video games are a source of rest and fun okay our source of rest and fun for billions of people worldwide all right rehan good to see you in class video games have riehen watch your plural video games have become the most popular source of entertainment in the last two decades rehan brilliant again watch your plural and make sure to use the word to T W oh okay alright Preeti video games are very popular source of entertainment for the last three decades for millions of people Preeti millions of people paula video games have become a popular leisure activity in the last few decades last decade if it's one Paula or last few decades you're missing word there if it's multiple okay Rahul says video games have become a popular trend for thrills in the daily life of millions of people again Rahul good idea but you got to pay attention to the grammar okay then comes the background which is definitions and importance okay so I'm gonna move along here a little bit again try it out I'm gonna move along here just so we get to the end of the introduction okay again remember think about your reader as an alien so what are video games all right so okay so this is my background again it's like you're speaking to an alien here so what do we mean by video gaming well from simple and again this is what you do is you think about the topic and you ask it as a question so what is video gaming today so from simple games played by many on smart phones to the most advanced virtual reality games played in stadiums and digital gaming consumes an average of 300 a in a modern person's life okay this clearly has a massive impact on society so there is my definition and there is the reason why it's important to discuss this question because it has a huge impact on society now it's okay to use the word huge in conversation but you should avoid it in your writing it's too colloquial okay and now here all I do is put the thesis at the end of the introduction and I have my full introduction so read it with me members video gaming has swept the globe in the past thirty years as one of the most popular pastimes for millions of people from simple games played on many smartphones to the most advanced virtual reality games played in stadiums digital gaming consumes an average of 300 ma durn person's life this clearly has a massive impact on society the ever-increasing boom of video gaming can be attributed to an escape from reality and competition with others this is a positive or negative for gamers brain development depending on the intensity of their digital gaming habits okay that is a band 9 level introduction grabs the reader's attention clearly addresses the question that's being asked use is a variety of words with complex compound grammar and sets the structure for a high-level essay okay all right now I'm going to stop with the introduction members I challenge you to finish this essay on your own at home and I will schedule another members chat class for next week where we will finish this task 2 essay together and then you can compare the essay you wrote at home with this one in class okay that's all the time I have for this lesson but not to worry in 30 minutes I will host another class for reading everybody has welcomed to chat the chat will be open to everyone for that so make sure to join me if you have questions Adrian at AE help.com keep it up students you're on the right track just really make sure to pay attention to the question details and think about the best way to structure and convey the information Paula advances in technology allow people to play online and virtual games on many devices such as laptops and smartphones this has a great importance for people who spend a lot of their time playing spend too much time Paula's a little bit opinionated I would take that out to spend a lot of time or spend more than three hours a day Paula don't forget about quantitative language ok quantitative language is very valuable in your writing and in your speaking so remember quantitative language Paula alright students so again I will see you hopefully in 30 minutes for some reading we will take a look at a reading passage and some questions we'll work through it together much love to all of you best of luck for those who are doing their exam this weekend and do make sure to check out our websites AE help calm for academic IELTS and G IELTS help calm for the general version of the exam see you shortly

Channel: AcademicEnglishHelp

Views: 7,940

Keywords: IELTS, Task 2, writing, essay, paragraphs, sentences, vocabulary, introduction paragraph, band 9, body paragraphs, conclusion, IELTS description, English examination, writing IELTS, writing for task two, second part of writing, writing strategies, IELTS task 2, Lesson, Teacher, Learn, Student, Lessons, Learning, Free, Intro, Tutorial, IELTS task 2 explain, IELTS task 2 learning, IELTS task 2 explanations, plan, planning, understand, skills, strategies

Id: abrnj44vF0Q

Length: 56min 29sec (3389 seconds)

Published: Fri May 31 2019