Irina Lutsenko: IELTS, writing, cohesion

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Irina's Sunday morning ☀️🌲📝

The morning sun was yelling at her, ruthlessly and insistently, "Irina! Irina! Irina! Wake up, wake up, wake up!" As if the yelling was not enough, it decided to burn her face with its bitter, acidic touch.

Irina complied and stumbled to the kitchen. The mumbling of the bubbling coffee pot was more reassuring.

IELTS joined the cacophony of the morning concert.

Task 1 whispered ever-so tenderly, "Irina, write me first. Look - just three lines. Forest industry. You will smell the pine trees as you write, I promise."

"Irina," Task 2 roared, "Write me first," its roar reverberating and bouncing off the walls.

"No, Task 2! This is no way to lure me into writing! Tone it down!"

Irina sat down at her computer. A subtle coniferous smell emanating from the keys as she clacked away...

My imagination can run wild sometimes, especially with proper guidance. But seriously though, can you think of a better way to spend a Sunday morning than doing some writing, both creative and IELTS?

IELTS Writing is like a delicious layered cake you get to have for dessert after you eat your stinky Brussels sprouts (i.e. reading and listening).

🦋 Please welcome our next Writing Incubator workshop:

🦋 "Feeling the Words: using the five senses in writing" by Elizaveta Zanozina

A good text is like a good croissant. It should fill your nostrils with its rich buttery smell and your mouth with its almondy notes. You should hear it crunch under your soft fingers, its chocolate filling warming your fingers. Its perfect shape and color should make your eyes go wide - a sign of wanting more and more.

Let's face it: not every croissant is like this. Let alone a text. But what if we try to change that?

In the workshop, we are going to practice using the five essential senses in our own writing by creating both traditional descriptions and mixing the unmixiable.

📅 26 May, Sunday, 11:00 am MSK, Zoom

🦋 The workshop is free. To join, write a comment on this post finishing this sentence frame: "IELTS writing is like + food + explanation."

For example, "IELTS Writing is like a delicious layered cake you get to have for dessert after you eat your stinky Brussels sprouts (i.e. reading and listening)."

💌 Then message me to get the link to the workshop @iraluts.

Umbrella terms in IELTS W1: use them wisely

An umbrella term is a term used to cover a broad category of things rather than a single specific item.

For example, some umbrella terms for "rice" would be: grain, crop, ingredient.

Umbrella terms are a great way to avoid repetitions.

One noun can have several umbrella terms, but they depend on the task and are not interchangeable.

For the task above, "rice" is a type of grain. It's not a crop because crops are not consumed - they are grown commercially on a large scale. That said, "crop" would be a good umbrella term for a task about rice production. Rice is not an ingredient here either because ingredients are only used in cooking. But "ingredient" would be a good umbrella term in a cooking process description.

Your turn. What would be some umbrella terms for the nouns below and what kinds of IELTS tasks could you use them in?

- Coca-cola
- Cotton
- Aluminum

❓

Ways to avoid repetitions, ranked from best to worst

1. Ellipsis*
2. Reference, substitution
3. Shell nouns
4. Nothing wrong with actual repetitions
5. Synonyms

In the quiz above, can you write, say, "in the next three age groups"? Of course, you can. It's not a wrong answer. But it's not the best answer.

First, ellipsis* is just more elegant. Second, think about the big picture. It's likely that you will have to write "age group" (and synonyms) many more times in your answer. (This specific sentence was taken from my answer to an IELTS task with seven age groups and two genders.) Even if you do find many ways to paraphrase "age group," they will still attract attention and make the answer bulky.

* Ellipsis = the omission from speech or writing of a word or words that are superfluous or able to be understood from contextual clues.

So, if you see an opportunity for ellipsis, seize it.

IELTS processes: a common (referencing) problem

"The diagram gives information about the process of making carbonated drinks."

Look at this part of the overview written by a student. Do you notice the problem?

1️⃣ "... a series of various machines, passing through which water is treated with some chemicals, carbonated and mixed with additives before it is ready for distribution."

What does "it" refer to? Water. The problem is what is distributed is not water.

Here is a part of another overview with the same problem.

2️⃣ "Before being packaged, water undergoes processing, which involves thorough purification, carbonation, and mixing with additives."

We don't have a referencing problem per se here, but the fundamental problem is the same: the subject for the first clause is "water," but it's not water that is packaged.

In processes, things change their state and turn into new things. Be mindful of the nouns, pronouns, and verbs.

Btw, how would you rewrite the first or the second sentence?

New IELTS Writing group starting soon 🎉

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- Schedule: Sunday 11-12:30 Moscow time
- Course duration: 4 months (16 classes)
- Classes meet once a week, in real time, on Zoom
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This short booster course will prepare you for every IELTS writing task imaginable and give you the confidence you need during the exam.

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Message me @iraluts. 💌

"If I write IELTS answers every day, will it help me increase my score?"

When I was visiting Ad Astra yesterday, I was asked a lot of good questions. Here is one: "If I write IELTS answers every day, will it help me increase my score?"

The short answer is the annoying "It depends."

Here are some considerations:

1⃣ Writing every day certainly helps with timing. If timing is a problem, then the answer is Yes.

2⃣ In order to improve though, you need to add new things to your writing. It’s totally possible to write 30 IELTS essays in one month, and they will all be the same old level. To improve, you need to add something you haven't used before: higher level lexis, a complex grammar structure, a new cohesive device, deeper development of the idea. 

3⃣ It's probably best to write daily-ish rather than daily. I'm afraid writing every single day might result in getting fed up with IELTS, and this is not a feeling conducive to improvement. Alternatively, you can write daily, but not always full answers, especially if you want to focus on adding new elements.

Overall, it is certainly a great idea to write often - this will give you confidence and courage.

Where do you stand on writing IELTS answers daily? Any important considerations I missed? 

It was a pleasure meeting Irina Lutsenko, whom we had heard many great things about from Alisher teacher. Today, after meeting her, any doubts, if any, about her expertise vanished. She shared her experience and perspectives on various areas, including, but not limited to education. Interestingly, as someone who struggles to socialize with new people, I found myself deep-knee in open conversation with her in no time, which was quite surprising to me, frankly. I hope I didn’t overwhelm her with my questions. Her lively nature and broad horizon added an extra layer of depth to our interaction. I truly enjoyed every second of it. I am thankful to her for her positive vibes and energy! 🙏 Here’s to lifting each other up and inspiring one another! 😇

Visiting the famous Ad Astra school in Bukhara was pure pleasure. No words can say how absolutely awesome everyone is!!!!!

So grateful to Alisher Soliev and Mukhammadali Sodikov and everyone I met here! 🌟🌟🌟

🦋 My IELTS essay: speedwriting 🦋

Here is an essay I wrote in 21 minutes. As is, not a single edit.

📝 "In many countries, a few people earn extremely high salaries. Some people say that this is a good thing for the country. Others say that governments should not allow salaries above a certain level. Discuss both these views and give your own opinion."

📝 "Salary capping is a controversial idea that many agree with and some do not. I personally believe introducing upper limits on salaries is a bad idea.

On the surface, however, it might seem fair to cap salaries. The rationale behind this is rooted in the philosophy of equity – since people are all equal, which is written in numerous bills and laws, they should all get more or less equal outcomes in terms of financial rewards for the work they do. This philosophy is further underpinned by the belief that positions with extremely high salaries, such as CEOs or CFOs, are in no way more challenging than menial or manual jobs, such as plumbing or construction.

However appealing this reasoning might sound, it does not hold water. First, financial outcomes of a job should be based on merit rather than equity. If the individuals who earn large amounts of money are doing so due to the outstanding quality of work they provide, it is only fair to reward them accordingly. Second, it is an illusion that the job of a CEO is simpler than that of a plumber. In fact, it is likely even more challenging as CEOs are responsible for the livelihoods of hundreds, if not thousands, of people in that one wrong decision can lead to massive losses and layoffs.

Finally, the major reason against the salary capping policy is that the opportunity to earn more serves as an inspiration and an impetus for many to work not only harder but also smarter. Were salaries to be limited, an employee would become complacent, having little incentive to put in extra effort, which in turn makes the company less competitive. It is in competitive environments that people and companies thrive, eventually improving the lives of others.

To conclude, while seemingly good, the idea that people in certain jobs should not be paid above a certain level will only be harmful in the long run as it, being built on erroneous assumptions, prevents progress."

I see the imperfections, but editing them is exactly what the remaining 15-20 minutes would be for.

#Irina_writes_IELTS

📝 Cohesion and coherence through lexis 📝

Sometimes we might read a paragraph and feel that something is wrong in terms of CC, without being able to put our finger on what exactly it is. The cohesive devices might be in place, but the paragraph just doesn't read well anyway.

Take a look at this paragraph from an article from "New Scientist." I've removed CC - try to notice where.

📝 Version 1: CC removed

"Conventional wisdom says our innate curiosity is quashed by the tedium of school and then the practical demands of adult life. But there is little hard evidence for that. Instead, curiosity seems to get expressed differently as we mature. We don't use an expansive, exploratory kind of curiosity - we resort to a style geared towards gaining information towards a specific end."

📝 Version 2: Original

"Conventional wisdom says our innate curiosity is quashed by the tedium of school and then the practical demands of adult life. But there is little hard evidence for that. Instead, curiosity seems to get expressed differently as we mature. As we get older, we shift from an expansive, exploratory kind of curiosity to a style more geared towards gaining information towards a specific end."

In my version, the last sentence starts very abruptly and seems isolated. What I have removed is some lexical choices that connect the last sentence to the penultimate one:
- "get older" is your connection to "mature";
- "shift from ... to a style more geared towards" is your connection to "expressed differently."

📝 "Instead, curiosity seems to get expressed differently as we mature. As we get older, we shift from an expansive, exploratory kind of curiosity to a style more geared towards gaining information towards a specific end."

Some other lexical choices that we could use here:
- ... as we mature. With age, ...
- ... gets expressed differently. We no longer ... OR ... is replaced with ...

See, CC is not about pronouns or linkers only. Lexis helps too. 🦋

Alisher Soliev - a dream student, a source of inspiration, and a role model. Honored to have been part of his path to IELTS 9!!!

Find out more in this episode of Ad Astra Muse. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Humor is certainly not my strong suit. If it isn’t yours either, join this workshop by the wonderful Evgenia Karabatova!

Evgenia thinks that humor is far from being a mystery - it has a structure, a formula.

In this workshop, we will demystify humor writing while:

- Looking at the value of humor and the whys of using it.
- Checking different types of humor and exploring where to find humorous ideas.
- Learning about the rules and techniques to create a funny joke for your run-of-the-mill article, blog post, and whatnot.
- Taking notes on culture-specific humor and the slippery slope of topical jokes.

📅 21 April, Sunday, 11:00 am MSK, Zoom

💌 The workshop is free. To join, write a comment on this post on what kinds of writing humor is useful in and then message me to get the link to the workshop @iraluts.