雅思常见问答，考官详解

1. 做雅思阅读的时候要不要先读每一段的第一话再做题？
No, I would have a quick look at the title and maybe the first few lines of the whole passage (to see what the topic is), then go straight to the questions.

2. 我如何才能提高语法和减少语法错误？
Learn from your mistakes! Every time you make a mistake, you have a learning opportunity. If you analyse your mistakes and/or ask someone to explain what you did wrong, your grammar will gradually improve. This kind of hard work is the only solution.

3.雅思小作文的第一段可以直接抄图里的数据吗？
Yes, try not to use too many words from the question, but it's a good idea to take a few words from the graph/chart itself. The labels on the chart can help you to paraphrase the question statement.

4.雅思大作文主体段全用"firstly, secondly, finally"的结构可以吗？
It would be nicer to vary the way you organise or link your ideas in each main paragraph. However, the ideas and vocabulary are more important than the linking words, so using "firstly, secondly, finally" twice isn't a big problem.

5.雅思大作文agree or disagree的问题我都解释一遍可以吗？
Yes, but I hope you made it clear in your introduction that you 'partly agree'. You should find something about 'strong opinions' and 'balanced opinions'.

6."per household" 和"per a household"哪个是对的？
After "per" we don't put the article, so "per household" is correct.

7.如果我的四门平均分是6.125分那我是多少分？
Your score would be 6. You need at least 6.25 to get a 6.5.

8.写雅思小作文的流程图，我可以写如果优化流程的建议吗？
No, you should never include opinions or suggestions in your task 1 essay. Just describe what you see.

9.我可以使用 "illustrates", "indicates" or "mentions" 来代替 "shows"吗?
I tell my students to use "shows", "illustrates", "compares" or "gives information about". You don't need to learn any more ways. I wouldn't use "indicates" or "mentions" because they're not quite right for the context.

10.雅思口语P2中，1分钟里准备的东西雅思考官事后会看吗？
No, your notes do not affect your score at all.

11.在雅思写作中，“memorised language”(模板)到底是个什么概念？
'Memorised language' usually refers to phrases or sentences that can be used for any topic.
e.g. "This is a controversial issue nowadays, but every coin has two sides." These phrases don't help you to get a good score; the key to a high score is what I call "real content".

12. By contrast" 和"In contrast"有什么区别?
There is no difference. You can use either.

13.雅思口语P2和P3我可以使用一些英语成语像"pain in the neck" or "it was raining cats and dogs" 吗？
It really depends on the context, and there are various types of idiom. 
Note: I'd definitely avoid saying "it's raining cats and dogs" because no English speakers really use this expression nowadays.

14.雅思小作文占雅思作文评分标准多大比例？
Task 1 is worth one third of the score (33%).

15.如果听力问题两个空为一题那种我写错一个，写对一个，会给我一半的分吗？
No, there are no half points. The answer is either right or wrong.

16."15th November" 算两个字还是三个字?
It's two words, or one word and a number.

17.用 "T, F, NG" 代替 "true, false, not given"写作答案里可以吗?
Yes, it's acceptable, but I would write the full word because that's what the question tells you to do.

18.剑桥真题我已经做完了，下一步要做什么？
My advice is to do them again! This time, don't use the books for testing. Study and analyse the questions and answers carefully, use a dictionary to look up new vocabulary, try writing essays without a time limit, and record yourself answering the speaking questions. There is so much that you can learn from past exam papers.

19. 'sport' or 'sports'哪个对?
Both are correct. 'Sport' is uncountable and refers to all sports in general (e.g. I like sport). 'Sports' is the countable noun and refers to more than one individual sport (e.g. I like team sports).

20. Majority，few和many到底是多少？
'Majority' normally means more than 50%. 'Few' and 'many' are normally used with numbers rather than percentages: a small percentage of people could still refer to a large number of (many) people. 'Many' and 'few' are difficult to define because it depends on the context, but in general they refer to large and small numbers respectively.

21."water is evaporated"写法对不对?
Yes, you can write "water is evaporated by the sun", but I would probably just write "water evaporates".

22.雅思写作背了N篇进去考可不可以？
It is unlikely that you will be able to use an exact essay from a book because IELTS questions are always a bit different from questions that have been used before. I don't recommend memorising full essays; it's much better to learn a few key ideas, and to make sure you have an opinion about the mostcommon IELTS topics.

23. "years old" or "year-olds"哪个对?
Both are correct, but they are used differently. 
We can say: "the children in the class are all 8 years old" or "the children in the class are all 8-year-olds". It's important to note that "8-year-olds" is a noun and can be used at the start of a sentence (e.g. "8-year-olds like playing games"), but you can't do this with "8 years old" (you would need to write "children who are 8 years old like playing games").

24.如果知道我的表达和固定搭配对不对？
The only way to be sure is to check in a dictionary or to use a search engine like Google. For example, if you want to know whether we say "8 years old" or "8-year-olds" try googling them (with the speech marks); you will find good examples of each phrase.

25.雅思大作文没写conclusion会扣多少分？
If you have already written 250 words, missing the conclusion will not affect your score. It's nice to have a conclusion, but it only repeats or summarises your ideas. The main body paragraphs are much more important.

26.雅思大作文写的超过250字太多会扣分吗？
No, you can write as many words as you want.

27.如果题目是写的True，False和NG的结果我写的事Yes，No和NG算错吗？
I'm not 100% sure about this. Examiners are only trained to mark the writing and speaking tests, so I don't have any inside information about how they mark the reading and listening tests. I'll try to contact Cambridge to ask. For now, my advice is to check the instruction carefully and write what it tells you to write.

28. "first of all" 和"at the first stage" 用来代替"firstly"可以加分吗?
It won't make any difference to your score if you use "first of all" instead of "firstly" in your task 2 essay. "At the first stage" is completely different; only use that when describing a process in writing task 1.

29.雅思口语考官只忙着自己写，和我没有眼神交流是不是证明我讲的很差？
Don't worry about what the examiner was doing. Examiners often take notes, and it doesn't mean anything bad.

30.雅思小作文可以写summary和conclusion吗？
You can, but it's really a waste of time because you will probably repeat yourself. Forget the idea of a 'conclusion' for task 1, and simply write an overall summary. Put your summary either straight after the introduction or at the end of the essay; I prefer to put it after the introduction, but it makes no difference to your score.

31.雅思口语话题"describe a memorable event"可以说葬礼吗？
Yes, that would be fine.

32.雅思大作文写 "It is disagreed that" 和 "It is believed that" 会不会加分？
Be careful. If you write "it is believed", you are saying "people generally believe". Therefore, it doesnottell the examiner whatyouropinion is. If the question asks for your opinion, do not use these phrases to express it. You need to write "I disagree" or "I believe".

33."in + year" 和 "by + year"有什么区别？
When you write "in 2007", you are only talking about that year. 
For example, "House prices were at their highest point in 2007" does not tell us what happened before 2007.
We use "by 2007" to express what happened in the periodbefore and leading up tothat year. For example, "House prices had risen to their highest point by 2007" suggests that prices were rising in the years leading up to 2007.
Notice that I used the past simple "were" with "in 2007" and the past perfect "had reached" with "by 2007".

34.雅思写作大作文1和2的评分是同一个考官吗？

Yes, always.

 

35.雅思写作写人的时候可以写he和she吗？

I would try to avoid choosing between 'he' and 'she' by using plurals (e.g. they) and alternative words (e.g. individuals, employees). For example, instead of writing "when a child starts school, he learns...", you could write "when children start school, they learn..." or "school pupils learn...".

 

36.雅思大作文需要标题吗？

No, your essays don't need titles, so don't waste time inventing one.

 

37.雅思小作文可以用lunge, plummet, rocket and soar吗？

Personally, I wouldn't use those words because they usually seem too exaggerated, and make it look like you have simply learnt a list of synonyms. 

 

38.雅思口语如果考官问题里面有太难词可以让他解释下吗？

The examiner cannot help you in part 1 or 2, but you can ask him/her to clarify a question in part 3.

 

39. 用'due to the fact that' 代替 'because'可以加分吗?

Yes, it's fine, but don't repeat it more than once or twice.

 

40.雅思大作文可以写个人经历吗？

The question usually tells you to "include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience". I interpret this to mean that you can include personal examples if they are relevant, but you don't have to.

 

41.如果我想写作7分，那是不是我一半的句子不能出现任何语法错误

The examiner will not calculate the percentage of sentences that contain mistakes, but the mark scheme does say that you need to "produce frequent error-free sentences" in order to get a band 7 for grammar.

 

42.雅思小作文可以用X-axis和Y-axis形容图标吗？

Yes, but I tend not to bother with that.

 

43雅思口语可以用英语俚语吗？

No, it's not really appropriate to use slang.

 

44. 'programme' 和 'program'有什么区别?

The first is British English spelling, and the second is American spelling. Both are equally acceptable.

 

45.雅思大作文每个主体段应该有几个分论点？

I include between one and three ideas. If you only have one main idea, just explain it in more detail.

 

46. 'put more emphasis on' 和'put moreof anemphasis on'有区别吗?

No, not really. You can use either phrase.

 

47. 'ofthe five countries' 和'out ofthe five countries'有区别吗?

No, not really. You can use either phrase.

 

48.雅思口语我说的太多了有事吗？

Don't worry about saying too much in parts 2 and 3 of the speaking test; the examiner will stop you if he/she wants to. Just try to give short, direct answers in part 1.

 

49.雅思大作文可以以 "This essay will..."开头吗？

I prefer to simply answer the question directly (have a look through my lessons to see how I write introductions), but it definitely isn't wrong to write "This essay will...". It won't affect your score either way.

 

50. could, should 和would有什么区别?

For this kind of question, I'd recommend that you consult a dedicated grammar book or website. ENGLISH PAGE

 

51.雅思小作文如果我只写了130个字会怎样？

I can't give an exact answer to this. The examiner will give you a lower score for 'task achievement', but you might also lose marks for vocabulary - a shorter essay probably contains fewer examples of good language use.

 

52.雅思大作文开头段我写60-80字好不好？

Personally I wouldn't write that many words for the introduction. The main body paragraphs are much more important, so I would spend more time on those.

 

53雅思口语描述一部电影和小时态用什么比较好？

We normally use the present simple to describe what happens in a film or novel e.g. "the film is about a man who travels to..."

 

54.雅思G类和A类听力有区别吗？

No, there are no differences in either the listening or the speaking tests.

 

55.雅思写作和口语考7.5和8分有什么区别？

The difference is small. In the writing test, you need a small improvement in one of the following four areas: 1) answering the question in a bit more depth 2) developing your ideas in a more organised way 3) using a wider range of vocabulary 4) making fewer mistakes. In the speaking test, my advice is to focus on adding detail to your answers in parts 2 and 3.

 

56.考官笑话了我的口语回答，我是不是要跪了？

No, it's probably a good sign. Maybe you said something unexpected and the examiner liked it!

 

57雅思大作文和口语用名人名言好不好？

Personally I don't recommend including quotations because it's difficult to use them in a natural and relevant way. It usually seems like the student has 'forced' the quotation into his/her work, and this won't impress the examiner.

 

58.雅思大作文可以用小标题吗？

No, you should never use headings in any of your IELTS essays. Don't include lists or bullet points either. All of these things are considered incorrect format.

 

59.雅思大作文可以用I think和I like to say吗？

Those phrases are a bit informal. I prefer to write "I believe" or "I would argue".

 

60. "A and B showed an increase" 和 "A and B showed increases"哪个对?

Both are fine. Try Googling "they showed an increase" and "they showed increases". You'll find examples of both.

 

61.雅思听力是电脑评分吗？

No, this is a completely false rumour. 

 

62."Do you agree or disagree?" 和"To what extent do you agree or disagree?"有区别吗？

Not really. I would just answer both questions in the same way.

 

63.我应该复议吗？

I would only recommend applying for one if you are really confident that you did well, and you only need a 0.5 band improvement in speakingorwriting.

 

64.雅思大作文和小作文分别占多大评分体系？

You get one third of the score for task 1, and two thirds for task 2.

 

65.雅思小作文里的数据要面面俱到吗？

No, the question will always ask you toselectkey points. There is usually too much data for a 150-word essay. Also, your ability to select key data will impress the examiner.

 

66.阅读和听力的每个section难度是不同的吗？

The listening test does; section 1 is easy and section 4 is the most difficult. However, the same is not true of the reading test; sometimes the first section is the hardest.

 

67.如果才能减少我母语对我的影响？

You probably won't eliminate it, but I think it's possible to take control of the influence of your mother tongue by getting to know the differences that cause you problems. For example, some students say "before two weeks" instead of "two weeks ago"; this mistake is caused by interference from the students' first language. If you are aware of this problem, you can avoid it in future.

雅思考官讨厌"Nowadays... is a controversial issue"这种模板句吗？
Examiners don't hate these phrases, but they don't love them either! It's fine to use a few memorised phrases, but don't fill your essay with them and don't expect them to get you a high score. 

69.雅思口语老说"you know"可以吗?
Yes, it's fine. Try not to say "you know" too many times, but it's nothing to worry about if you say it a few times. The important thing is the real content of your answers.

70.雅思老师如何帮助学生丰富话题场景词汇？
I find that the best way to help my students is by using relevant articles or online videos. I try to find good texts, and I pull out the useful language. My ebook is a good shortcut for self-study, but extensive reading and listening is the key to building students' vocabulary knowledge.

71.雅思口语考官边考边喝咖啡是不是不正常？
No, that isn't normal. While I usually tell students to ignore what the examiner does (e.g. checking his/her watch or making notes), I think in this case your examiner's behaviour was wrong. Maybe you should report the issue to your test centre.

72.雅思口语 "describe a person" 的话题我可以说我自己吗？
No. This question always asks you to describe someone else. You'll lose marks if you describe yourself.

73.雅思口语没听清问题怎么办？
In part 1, you can ask the examiner to repeat a question, but he/she is not allowed to explain what the question means. In part 2, the examiner will not help you. In part 3, you can ask him/her to explain the question in a different way.

74.我可以一个月雅思总分从5.5分提升到7分吗？
Probably not.It's important tobe realisticabout the time it takes to improve your ability to speak, write or understand a second language. It's a reallydifficult task. There is no magicrecipe for successand there areno shortcuts.Take your time, work hard and be patient.

75.IDP和 British Council有什么区别?
The IELTS exam is the same wherever you take it. IDP, the British Council and Cambridge University work together to make the test.

76.写作地图题如果没有指南针标志在里面，我可以用North，south和east，west来写方位吗？
Yes, I often do. I think it's fine to assume that the top of a map is north.

77.雅思口语或写作考官如何知道我是套的模板写或者说的？
Every word that you know is copied from somewhere and held in your memory. However, the phrases that examiners don't like are the ones that students learn because they can be used in any essay about any topic. For example, examiners are not impressed by the phrase "this is a controversial issue nowadays". On the other hand, you might have memorised the words "the greenhouse effect", but if you're writing about the environment, it's perfectly fine to use them.

78.雅思写作话题可以被预测吗？
No. I've tried predicting before, but it's a lottery! I wouldn't believe any predictions you read on the Internet if I were you. Just make sure you are prepared for the most common topics, like education, family, work...

79.雅思口语中我听懂题目但是脑子完全没货说不出来答案怎么办？
You could use this formula: "Well, I don't really know much about... because..., but I suppose..." In other words, you admit that you don't really know what to say, you explain why, then you invent an answer anyway.

80.要是我说英语是英国口音混合美国口音有事吗？
that's fine. Just focus on speaking clearly.

81.雅思口语P2我可以要求换卡片吗？
No, I'm afraid you can't.

82.雅思大作文可以用I，My和We这种第一人称吗？
Yes, it's perfectly ok to use those words. You might be told to avoid them in university assignments, but the advice for IELTS is different. If the question asks for your opinion, you will probably need to write "I agree", "I believe" or "in my opinion".

83.如果我说英语是美国口音，那雅思口语有事吗？
Examiners just want to hear good, clear English, wherever it's from.

84. "a number of" 和 "the number of"有什么区别?
There are many grammar websites on the Internet that explain this kind of thing.Click hereto see one that I found just now.

85.如果提高的雅思听力和阅读？
The simple answer is: do more listening and reading. There are no shortcuts I'm afraid; it takes time to develop a "good ear" for a language, and the reading exam is basically a test of your vocabulary knowledge. Your listening and reading will improve gradually with time, practice and exposure to the language.

86.雅思考试答案可以全用大写吗?
Yes. In all parts of the test, answers written in capital letters are accepted.

87.可以美式和英式拼写混用吗？
Not really. This isn't something that is likely to change your score.

88.雅思我很努力在做题，但一直没提高怎么办？
Are you analysing your mistakes carefully? If you analyse and understand a mistake, that's an improvement. Also, improvements happen gradually when you're learning a language; you might not notice that you are getting better. Just keep working!

89.雅思四项备考有什么实用建议？
Speaking
Focus on vocabulary instead of grammar or linking. In parts 2 and 3, explain your ideas in detail to increase your vocabulary score.

Listening
Use the breaks to read ahead. When they give you half a minute to check your answers,don't. Use the time to get ready for the next section.

Reading
Get to the end! Miss the questions you find difficult, and make sure you do all of the easier ones. Return to the harder questions if you have time.

Writing Task 1
Write a good overview. Examiners want to see a summary of the information, as well as detailed description.

Writing Task 2
Spend more time planning. A good plan will help you to write a more organised essay with better ideas.

90.如何知道自己雅思准备好了？
If you've never taken the exam before, take it as soon as you can. You'll be surprised how difficult a full day of testing is! Treat your first attempt as a practice test to get used to what it 'feels' like. Also, taking the exam is the best way to assess your level.

Your next step could be to read about the best ways (techniques, methods) of doing each part of the exam; this is what I try to provide here on the website. Read my advice, analyse my model answers, and try to copy the way I approach each part of the test.

Using what you have learnt, you need to practise and train yourself. This is not the same as testing yourself. 

Finally, you need to do some tests and get feedback. You need to find out what you are doing wrong and what you need to do to improve. The best form of feedback is from a teacher who can read your essays or listen to you speak.

You will know that you are ready when you consistently get the score you need in all of your practice tests.

91.雅思口语可以撒谎吗？
Yes, it's ok to lie, but it's better to 'adapt' the truth. 

92.什么英语阅读书适合雅思考生？
Anything that you read in English will help. My tip is to read things that you find interesting; if you enjoy reading, you'll read more, learn more, and improve http://faster.In my experience, people become good at what they focus on. Are you constantly reading things in English, thinking about English, watching English videos, and making notes of anything new that you learn? If English is your main focus each day, I'm sure you'll improve.

93.为什么我的雅思分数浮动不定？
People often wonder why their IELTS scores fluctuate. For example, they might get a band 7 in writing one week, but only band 6 or 6.5 the next week.Does this mean that the test is unreliable or that you had a bad examiner?Probably not. Fluctuations are normal, both in the exam and when you are practising at home. For example, I've seen the same fluctuations in the quality of students' homework. Sometimes they have great ideas for the essay topic, or they find the answers easily in a reading test. Other times everything seems to go wrong; they have a bad day, and get lower scores.

1. Keep retaking the test
This advice might surprise you, but I remember a student who booked 4 tests in one month. He understood that his scores would fluctuate, but he hoped to improve his chances of having a 'lucky day' when everything went well. It worked! The student told me that the main benefit of taking the test every week was that he stopped feeling nervous. On the third Saturday he performed well in all 4 parts of the test and achieved the scores he needed.*But read the warning below!

2. Practise until you over-perform
To get a band 7 in exam conditions, you probably need to be achieving band 7.5 when practising at home. Most people perform worse in real tests due to nerves, so make sure you can comfortably get the score you need before taking the test.

3. Be more consistent in your approach
You might think that you always write essays in the same way, but most people don't. One of my aims in these lessons is to encourage people to use the exact same method every time. For example, I always try to write9 sentencesfor writing task 1, and13 sentencesfor task 2. If you can't say how many sentences you usually write, you're probably not being consistent. I'm using writing as an example, but there are methods for the other parts too.

Notes:
*Warning: Strategy number 1 can be expensive, and there are no guarantees that it will work. Only try this if you are able to get the score you need in each part and you keep missing your target by 0.5 band in just one part of the test.Strategynumber 2 is sensible, but some people don't want to wait until they can over-perfom.Strategynumber 3 is my favourite. If I can help students to become more consistent, I feel like I'm doing my job as a teacher!

94.雅思大作文可以编造数据吗？
You can, but I tend not to. I'd just write something like: "a growing number of children watch violent films". Instead of inventing a statistic, you can probably find a better way to express the idea.

95.雅思小作文我可以写A glance at the graph shows..." 在首段吗?
No, I don't recommend using this phrase. It's not normal to use the word "glance" when describing graphs or charts, and it seems strange to me as a native speaker. If you try too hard to use 'original' words, your writing will probably seem forced, unnatural or inappropriate to the examiner.

96.我可以用 "the rate of" 代替"the figure for"吗?
In many cases, no you can't. I like the phrase "the figure for" because it can be used instead of "the number of" e.g. "the number of people who live in cities" could be "the figure for people who live in cities". But I wouldn't write "the rate of people who live in cities". You have to be careful with the word "rate" - look it up on Google to find common uses e.g. unemployment rate, birth rate, crime rate, rate of change. Here's my tip: if you're not sure, don't use it.

97.我可以用 "the data of" 代替"the number of"吗?
No. I would only use "data" instead of the word "information" e.g. "the chart gives/shows information about..." could be "the chart gives/shows data about...".

98.考生可以要求口语考官重复问题吗？
Yes. They can say something like: "Sorry, can you repeat that please?". It won't affect your score if you do this.

99.考生可以要求口语考官解释清楚问题吗？
Not in part 1 or 2. The examiner can only repeat the same question in part 1, and refer you to the task card in part 2. In part 3, it's fine for students to ask for clarification e.g. "Sorry, I'm not sure what you mean by that". The examiner is allowed to rephrase the question in part 3. If you ask for clarification once, it shouldn't affect your score, but don't do this too many times!

100.考生可以要求解释清楚问题中具体听不懂的一个词吗？
Again, only in part 3. The student could say: "Sorry, could you explain what you mean by... (unknown word)?"

101.考生可以请求给多点时间思考下问题吗？
I don't recommend doing that. Students lose marks for long hesitations, so it's best for them to practise answering quickly.

102.考生可以P1，P3要求直接换换题吗？
They can, but they will lose points, so I don't recommend doing this. It's always best to attempt an answer.

102.考生可以要求P2换题吗？
No. They must take the topic card that the examiner gives them.

103.雅思小作文Task1可以用被动语态吗？
Sometimes, yes. But don't write things like "the number was increased". When describing numbers, just write "the number of... increased". I'll say a bit more about this question in tomorrow's lesson.

104如果问题问的是 "Is this a positive of negative development?", 我应该正反两面都写吗？
It's your choice. You can take a strong view and argue that the development is 100% positive (or negative), or you can take a balanced view and give the positives and negatives. If you do discuss both sides, it might be best if you make an overall decision e.g. "In spite of the negative effects of..., I believe that it is a positive development overall."

105. 如何训练雅思听力的选择题？
Everyone finds multiple choice questions difficult, including me! The reason is that there's a lot to read, and a lot of information to keep in mind while you're listening. My advice is to underline one or two key words in the question and in each choice; this means that you'll have less information to focus on when listening. Also, the keywords will act as "signposts" so that you don't get lost in the middle of the recording.

106.雅思口语P2部分我要按照考官发给我卡片上面的问题顺序来答题吗？
Personally, I think it's easier to follow the order of the points on the card. However, there isn't a rule about this, and it's fine to return to a previous point if you need to fill time.

107. 雅思口语中我发现自己说错了，需要马上自我纠正吗？
Yes. Occasional self-correction is good. It only becomes a problem if you self-correct so often that you lose fluency.

108.雅思阅读中，题目都是按照每段顺序出来的吗？
Often they are all in order (but not always) so try searching in order first. For example, when you get to question 7, start searching in the passage from where you found the answer to question 6. If you don't find the answer, you'll have to go back to the beginning of the passage.

109.如果在文章中找不到Keyword，那是否就选NG？
Yes. If you can't find part of the information in the question, the answer must be 'not given'.

110.我考A类雅思，那雅思真题的G我要不要玩玩？
Yes, I think it is worth practising some general reading tests. They are easier than academic tests, but the question types are the same. It's good to be able to practise the 'keyword' technique with some easy questions.