For reading, there will be problems that tell you exactly which paragraph to read. These are easiest.

Hence we must do these problems first!

Look at question 10-11

It asks for TWO advantages of using newer buildings for green roofs.

We have located the part where it starts talking about benefits of new buildings (red).

We keep going to find TWO advantages.

First, we see something about keeping enough water at roof height.
Then we keep going and see that its “also easier to grow a greater variety of plants”

So let’s look at our answer selection:

A – a longer growing season for edible produce (eliminate)
B – more economical use of water (economical use means sparringly. Passage talks about saving and distributing)
C – greater water-storage capacity (paraphrase – keep enough water)
D – ability to cultivate more plant types (paragraphse – to grow a greater variety of plants)
E – a large surface area for growing plants (eliminate)

Question 12-13

Which TWO aims of new variations on the concept of green roofs are mentioned in Paragraph E.

We find the keywords “new variations”. After that it gives three examples.

only solar panels (because it generates power as a sustainable source of power)

and maximize biodiversity (provides habitat)

matches what’s in our answers.

The ‘holding water over longer periods of time’ is vaguely given in E but the details are wrong.

“Blue roofs hold water instead of draining it quickly”
DOES NOT EQUAL
“to collect water to supply buildings”

So we E is not it.

A – to provide habitats for a wide range of species (paraphrase: maximize biodiversity)

B – to grow plants successfully even in the wettest climates (not mentioned X)

C – to regulate the temperature of immediate environment (not mentioned X)

D – to generate power from a sustainable source (paraphrase: solar panels)

E – to collect water to supply other buildings. (X)

Look at the problems right away. They are multiple choice problems where it tells you which paragraph to read.

This is by far the hardest as you’re not sure which paragraph is which and this section should be left for last.

The first one to read is for first paragraph.
The answer is B when ideas about the nature of intelligence began to shift

This is the exact paraphrase of the first sentence (hook):

“Over the past century, a powerful idea has taken root in the educational landscape”.

When you do process of elimination, we know that A and D cannot be it. B and C seems OK. B is closer to the paraphrase of the hook, but what about C?

Now, the other potential answer is the main-thesis, which is “Instead, educators …. argued that every child’s intelligence could be developed…”

Notice that answer C uses “scientists” and the thesis uses “educators”, and there was a use of “psychologist” in the paragraph. So it doesn’t match. Thus, B is the best answer. However, for context, always read the whole paragraph. Its just that when you’re down to selecting the answer, analyze the first and last sentence.

For 15, it tells you right away read the second paragraph to see “how schools encourage students to”.

Paragraph 2

Again, you must read the whole paragraph for context. There is a word that italicized: “believed”.

It says that athletes believed their way to the top. This is a synonym for confidence. And that schools is coaxing students students to see failures as a chance to improve themselves. “smart is something you can get”

So, process of elimination:

A obvious not
B not really – this paragraph is about improving, and believing. Not realize goals.
C Best choice. confidence is synonymous with believing.
D obvious not

For 16 It tells you right away to look in the third paragraph

Paragraph 3

it asks “the writer suggests that students with a fixed mindset” something.

As a habit, read the whole paragraph. The paragraph says that one group is pushed for their innate ability, and the other group is pushed for their efforts. The second group (effort, growth mindset) were more likely to put effort into future tasks.

fixed mindset –> fear of failure

This is just paraphrase for “are afraid to push themselves beyond what they see as their limitations”. So the answer is D

Questions 17-22 are matching List of People

This is medium hard and should be left for the middle. Let’s see if there’s anything easier.

Now we move on to paragraph 4, but we don’t see any authors in paragraph 4 so we skip.

We move on to paragraph 5, and then see Andrew Gelman. At this point, it’s about paraphrasing.

In the article, the passage is:

‘their research designs have enough degrees of freedom that they couldn’t take their data to support just about any theory at all.”

If you look at 17- 22, it’s kind of confusing because the answers all seem like they can go either way.

So my logic is that just keep reading the passage for an author until you get a more obviousi answer.

This came with the author Carl Dweck (B) “she argues that her work has been misunderstood and misapplied in a range of ways…..her theories are being misappropriated by being conflated with the self-esteem movement”.

18’s sentence mostly matches this so 18 should be B

17
18 B
19
20
21
22

If you keep reading into the next paragraph, you’ll see that “David yeager and Gregoy Walton” claim that interventions should be delivered ina. subtle way Go back to your questions and if you read it, 20 pops up to match E, because 20 says:

“the growth mindset should be promoted without students being aware of it” which is a great paraphrase for E.

17
18 B
19
20 E
21
22

Alfred Binet (A) was mentioned in paragraph 1 (intro) so when it comes to a list of people, you’ll have to scan the entire story to find them. Alfred Binet mentions intelligence being innate, so this matches up with 19 the best.

17
18 B
19 A
20 E
21
22

You keep going in this pattern

Yes Not Not Given questions

These questions are the easiest because it tells you which paragraph to look at. You should try to do this first.

23 – Dweck has handled criticisms of her work in an admirable way.

The answer is Yes because in Paragraph 7, it says:

“she deserves great credit for responding to it and adapting her work accordingly.”

This is just paraphrase for Dweck handling criticism.

24 – Students’ self-perception is a more effective driver of self-confidence than actual achievement is.

Self-Perception on self confidence > Achievement on self confidence?

This has been disapproved in paragraph 9:

The min-thesis statement matches we’re saying here: “There is a strong correlation between self-perception and achievement”.

self-perception –> achievement.

However!

“but there is evidence to suggest that actual effect of achievement on self-perception is STRONGER”

Achievement –> self-perception √

So the answer is NO. Student’s actual achievement has more effect on self-perception.

25. Recent evidence about growth mindset interventions has attracted unfair coverage in the media

In the next paragraph, we read that

“Recent evidence would suggest that growth mindset interventions are not the elixir of student learning.”

Nothing was mentioned about the media, so it would be “not given”.

Not Given.

26 – Deliberate attempts to encourage students to strive for high achievement may have a negative effect.

The last paragraph depicts clearer the message that “Teaching concrete skills such as how to write an effective introduction to an essay then praising students’ effort in getting there is probably a far better way of improving confidence than telling them how unique they are.”

Hence, “Deliberate attempts to encourage students to strive for high achievement” = praising their effort

may have a negative effect is True

Yes, No, Not Given questions

Questions 27-30

Let’s look at the format. It’s all paraphrases that needs to be checked in the essay so it’s very time consuming. Let’s skip this.

The answers from 27-30 is the main-thesis, and all of paragraph 2.

We start off with the hook (1st sentence), and then we have the thesis (last sentence). And the answer for Question 27 is the last sentence. But nevertheless, I find that its better to really read through the sentences.

27. Wegener’s ideas about continental drift were widely disputed while he was alive.

The answer is found in the main thesis of the introduction:

The Origin and Continents and Oceans, went through four editions and was the focus of an international controversy in his lifetime and for some years after death.

Answer – Yes

Paragraph 1

28. The idea that the continents remained fixed in place was defended in a number of respected scientific publications.

Nowhere does it say continent remained fixed in place was defended. Paragraph 2 talks how about how mysteries about Earth’s history could be solved IF THEY ASSUMED that continents moved. He used a large amounts of evidence from other sciences. But never did it mention anything about scientific publications defending fixed placed continents.

Answer – Not Given

29. Wegener relied on a limited range of scientific fields to support his theory of continental drift.

Wegener did rely on scientific fields, but they were not limited. The article says using evidence from a large number of sciences

Answer – No

Paragraph 2

30. The similarities between Egener’s theory of continental drift and modern-day plate tectonics are enormous.

Now in Paragraph 2, we keep reading and come to this line:

“Plate tectonics is in many respects quite different from Wegener’s proposal”.
But what is Wegener’s proposal?

In the first paragraph we see his “theory” is ‘continental drift’, thus:

“Plate tectonics is different from continental drift (Egener’s)”
So this is in stark contrast to where the problem claims there are many similarities.

Answer – No

Thus, we conclude Questions 27 to 30

Fill in the blank

This is the second hardest because even though the answer sentences are all in one paragraph, we’re just not sure WHICH paragraph. Let’s leave this for the middle.

The answers is Paragraph 3.

When you move to the next section in your answer, make sure you move along the paragraph too.
Read the paragraph line by line and honestly. You notice that the author is writing about Wegner, thus its an autobiography.

“When i started writing about Wegener’s life and work….”
Therefore 31 is I

Paragraph 3

32 something about atmospheric physics. So we read on.
“He trained as an astronomer and pursued a career in atmospheric physics.

Now career is a profession “His ________ 32 __________ were limited to atmospheric physics”….we’re trying to find a synonym of career. And we feel F “professional interests” fits best.

Therefore 32 is F

There’s a lot of paraphrasing and synonyms going on, so be mindful.

For example, “However, he was not an ‘unknown’. ” This just means that even though he is not famous, he is still know. And the article continues to list what made him quai-famous. For example, “In 1906 he had set a world record for time aloft…etc”

33. Therefor He was already a person of (modest fame). So A is the answer.
34. Naturally the next sentence talks about his 52 hours in a hot-air balloon, which was mentioned as a record breaker. So, C is the answer.

After the hot air balloon sentence, it says “Between 1906 and 1908 he had taken part in a highly publicized and extremeley dangerous expedition to coast of Greenland.

By paraphrasing, we see that the answer is “followed by his well-publicized but hazardous exploration of Greenland’s coast.
35. so H is the answer

Finally for 36, we continue with the sentence.

He had also made a name for himself amongst a small circle of meteorologists and atmospheric physicists in Germany …etc

So he had also come to the attention of a ‘select group’ of German scientists.

36, answer is E

Question 31-36

Multiple Choice Tip

The questions in this section tells you exactly which paragraph to read. So do this part first.

Let’s look at 37-40. These are multiple choice questions where it asks you what’s someone’s main point? Or in paragrah n, what is who doing…etc.

The answers are either last line (sum up) of paragraph, or the first line (mini-thesis). However, you should nevertheless read the WHOLE PARAGRAPH for context and understand the jist of its saying.

If you take a look at the answer, we notice that much of them are the last line of the paragraph. Only #40 is the first line of the conclusion.

Thus, as we know, the first line are the main point (or mini-thesis) of each paragraph.
The last line wraps up or supports

Answer on Sentences

Introduction (paragraph 1) – yes, no, not given

(Paragraph 2) – yes, no, not given

(Paragraph 3) – fill in the blanks

IELTS Writing part 2 analysis

Rewrite – 40 minutes (part 2)

Some people think that competition at work, at school and in daily life is a good thing. Others believe that we should try to cooperate more, rather than compete against each other.

Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant example from own experiences.

The Paraphrase

The first sentence is our paraphrase. It paraphrases the original statement.

In today’s hectic world, one group of people says competition facilitates better productivity, while the other group stands with cooperation.

Thesis

Next is our thesis, which is what we want we want to answer (argue for).
Make sure the prompt is appropriately addressed. A clear and fully developed position is presented which directly answers the question. (TR)

This essay will discuss the pros and cons of each, and argue that a healthy dose of both is needed to create a constructive environment.

Pay attention to cohesion here. Notice that in our writing question, it says

competition at work, at school and in daily life is a good thing

This is why in our thesis, we assigned constructive environment as the “good thing”.

Talk about Side A

We choose to talk about the pros of Side A (competition) because of cohesion. Notice in the assignment, it says:

Some people think that competition at work, at school and in daily life is a good thing.

1) So we need to support and talk about how competition is a good thing.
2) The first sentence of a body paragraph is always the mini-thesis, so we need to match this up with our main thesis.

Therefore, we choose our mini-thesis like so:
Competition challenges its participants to be their best and pushes their limits

By definition, challenging its participants to do their best and pushing them to the limit is an environment that is constructive. This satisfies our thesis. Because constructive means “having beneficial or useful purpose”. Thus, making someone do their best is beneficial to that individual.

Competition challenges its participants to be their best and pushes their limits. Individuals who are in a competitive environment experience hard work, self discovery, and are at the forefront of their respective expertise.

The rest of the paragraph must support this mini-thesis with examples. Again, make sure we’re cohesive (CC) and we explore it in depth (TR).So the examples we make should be in business, academics, and daily life just like the assignment prompt says.

For example, employees in large companies work fast, concentrate hard, and often reap the rewards. In an academic setting, competition pushes students to work harder, to get better grades, and in the process, to become better employees. In our daily lives, competitive sports have given participants an outlet to achieve their physical best.

Close it/rephrase mini-thesis:

Thus, competition is the ingredient that pushes us forward in every facet of life.

Talk about side B

Now, we need a mini-thesis that satisfies the other side (cooperation), and again, pay attention to cohesion with the assignment:

Others believe that we should try to cooperate more, rather than compete against each other.

So, our mini-thesis is:

On the other end of the spectrum, the opposing group says cooperation not only produce the better results, but is a necessity.

Again, just like competition, we make examples according to the assignment.

company:

Great software with a tight deadline requires a team: the manager manages time, the coders crank out code, and the testers assures quality. Even in startups, successful teams are assembled with exceptional people.

school:
As opposed to a homeschooled child with no social skills, pertinent life skills can only be learned in a group setting offered by public schools, which is imperative for a child’s growth.

daily lives:

In our daily lives, one cannot ascend a mountain alone, as it is always safer in a group.

rephrase to close it:

Therefore, cooperation is essential to success.

Your opinion

mini thesis for our opinion

Personally, I feel that a mixture of both competition and cooperation produces the most constructive environment.

Examples should depict how one side is too much and by adding a little bit of the other, creates a perfect balance.

Specifically, too much cooperative work may be counterproductive. This is particular true for those students who take group achievements as their own. It creates the illusion of personal capability, feeds their ego, and impedes their individual progress. In these scenarios, incorporating moderate competition can be a counterbalance, pushing students to pursue personal growth while working in group settings.

Notice how we created an example with students in an academic environment. The cohesion is strong here.

Additionally, employees in the corporate world with their heavy workloads are often marred by physical ailments. The workloads often culminate to burnout, which affects employees’ health, and in turn, their life satisfaction. If we throw in more cooperation, employees would offload what they can’t finish, and this directly means more time at home, happier employees, and better life satisfaction.

Again, our example is in the workplace, tying in with the original statement of:

workplace, school, and personal life.

Conclusion

rephrase the assignment: competition and cooperation are opposing doctrines
rephrase your argument: but from my personal experience, a little bit of both works best
Then wrap it up

In short, competition and cooperation are opposing doctrines, but from my personal experience, a little bit of both works best. Competitive entities will find solace and balance with cooperation. And cooperative groups will gain competitiveness by welcoming competition. This balance is something that our workplaces, schools, and personal lives can all benefit from.

Rewrite – 40 minutes (part 2)

Some people think that competition at work, at school and in daily life is a good thing. Others believe that we should try to cooperate more, rather than compete against each other.

Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant example from own experiences.

There are currently two trends that stand out when it comes to maximizing productivity: competition and cooperation. This essay will discuss the pros and cons of each, and argue that a healthy balance of both is needed to create the best results.

Competition challenges its participants to be their best and pushes their limits, but is known to create burnout if they’re not careful. For example, many employees in fortune five hundred companies grow their technical expertise very quickly. In addition, they often hustle and bustle amidst a never ending competitive rat race. On the downside, the onslaught of the heavy workload in their environment leads to insomnia, weight gain, and early onset of male pattern baldness. Thus, if we add a dash of competition into cooperative teamwork in the corporate world, its employees can still maintain competitiveness and enjoy a proper work-life balance at the same time.

Cooperation is the essential ingredient in getting things to run smoothly, but we need to make sure each cog is well oiled and running. Let’s take a look at team projects in public schools. Many kids in public schools enjoy many group projects. However, their time away from individual work and taking accountability for their efforts will wane. In order to prevent this, we should emphasize more competition in schools in order to push and maintain personal growth. Students should be accustomed to fierce competition so that they are pushed to learn more about hard work, study methods, and above all, themselves.

In conclusion, competition is the fire that forges the iron, but cooperation shapes the iron into usable tools. While competition and cooperation undoubtedly have their strengths, a complete adaptation to either doctrine will lead to its respective detriments.

Some children spend hours every day on their smartphones. Why is this the case? Do you think this is a positive or a negative development?

main thesis –
Children spend too much time on their smartphones because it gives them cheap entertainment, and as a result leads to retinal damage, stunted growth, and robs them of human interactions.

Intro

Since the early 2000s, smartphones have taken over the world. From students to professionals, smartphones have become everyone’s preferred tool of communication. Unfortunately, its long cables of influence have taken its toll on our most vunerable demographic: children. Children spend too much time on their smartphones because it gives them cheap entertainment, and as a result leads to retinal damage, stunted growth, and robs them of human interactions.

Body 1

mini-thesis 1 – Prolonged time in front of a mobile screen can damage the human eye, especially children’s.

Prolonged time in front of a mobile screen can damage the human eye, especially children’s. Naturally, latchkey kids would glue their faces to smartphones, spending countless hours in front of a screen. Electronic screens can damage the human eye, especially children’s. The white blare of the screen radiates against their tender eyes. Its white heat burns their retina, and after a while, their faces would scrunch together in order to lubricate their damaged eyelids. This is why optometrists would always encourage their young patients to put some distance between themselves and the screen, take more breaks, and always go outside to recalibrate their vision with the real world.

Body 2

mini-thesis 2 – Addictive games and monotonous cartoons stunt a child’s growth by putting their feeding and sleeping time in a dishevel.

Addictive games and monotonous cartoons stunt a child’s growth by putting their feeding and sleeping time in a dishevel. Growing children need to eat on schedule and addictive entertainment can lead them astray. Instead of eating three to four meals a day, they would often eat too late or even skip meals in order to stay online. This is detrimental to their nutritional needs and therefore, their health. Even worse, children will play on smartphones late into the night. This is one of the worse problems to a child’s growth because it ruins their Circadian Rhythms. Twelve hours of sleep from eight at night is very different than twelve hours from midnight. Too many late nights will affect their bodies and can potentially lead to serious disease later on in life.

Body 3

mini-thesis 3 – smartphones will steal the child’s life away.

Last but not least, all that time with a smartphone will steal the child’s life away. With its addictive chat apps, games, and cartoons, technology today easily wipes away the child’s precious moments with the real world. A child needs positive human interaction to strive and learn. But if these important interactions are not given, the smartphone will create artificial memories with the child, rather than meaningful memories with humans. This will damage the child’s psyche after they mature and will create bad habits later on.

Conclusion

Smartphones and technology have been a detriment to our future generation. It damages eyes, creates unhealthy living habits, and removes our children from the natural world. If this is a precursor to how our future generation will be raised, then we are in a world of trouble for what’s to come. Because happy adults who contribute to society are raised with lots of communication with their peers, family, and the natural world. And those who are raised without it, fare much worse.

ref – https://www.grammar-monster.com/glossary/adjective_phrases.htm

An adjective phrase is a group of words headed by an adjective that describes a noun or a pronoun.

In front of nouns

Attributive Adjectives

Position: These are adjectives that come directly before the noun they modify. They are part of the noun phrase.

Example: the blue car, a happy child, delicious food
Function: They give us essential information about the noun, helping to define or identify it.

Not After a Linking Verb: Attributive adjectives do not come after a linking verb like “is” or “seems.”

She had extremely menacing eyes.

She – subject
had – linking verb
extremely menacing – adjective phrase (group of words)
eyes – noun

Examples

Incredibly talented: [The incredibly talented musician] played the piano beautifully.

Very old: [The very old tree] stood tall in the forest.

Rather large: [The rather large house] didn’t cost much.

Extremely happy: [The extremely happy children] plays in the snow.

Prepositional Phrases as Adjective Phrases

The dog covered in mud is mine.

The dog – subject
covered in mud – prepositional phrase
is – linking verb
mine – sc: noun

Predicative

Sarah(s) was(lv) hostile towards me (adj phrase).

People(s) are(lv) so sick of them (adj phrase).

Adjective Phrase Usage

Modifying a Noun

1. With Infinitives (To + Verb)
Example:

I need a [pen to write with].

“to write with” describes “pen.”

2. With Prepositional Phrases
Example:

The girl with curly hair is my sister.

“with curly hair” describes “girl.”

3. With Present Participles (-ing Verbs)
Example:

The man carrying groceries is my neighbor.

“carrying groceries” describes “man.”

4. With Past Participles (-ed/En Verbs)
Example:

We admired the painting created by Van Gogh.

“created by Van Gogh” describes “painting.”

5. With Relative Clauses (Who/Which/That)
Example:

Students who study hard succeed.

“who study hard” describes “students.”

6. Modifying a Noun (Before the Noun)
Example:

She wore a brightly colored dress.

“brightly colored” describes “dress.”

7. With Quantifiers (Some, Many, Few, etc.)
Example:

She has [many friends] at school.

“many” describes “friends.”

8. With Demonstratives (This, That, These, Those)
Example:

I prefer [these shoes].

“these” describes “shoes.”

9. With Possessives (My, Your, His, Her, etc.)
Example:

She loves her new bike.

“her new” describes “bike.”

10. With Compound Adjectives (Hyphenated)
Example:

He bought a [state-of-the-art laptop].

“state-of-the-art” describes “laptop.”

11. With Appositives (Renaming the Noun)
Example:

Paris, the capital of France, is beautiful.

“the capital of France” describes “Paris.”

• Adjective phrases add detail to nouns.
• They can appear before or after the noun.
• They can include prepositions, infinitives, participles, or clauses.