Happy Friday
Hello campers!
Just a quick "hello" and query as to what you are all up to...
- Santhosh has been "captivated" by work
- Fahad has other pre-occupations
- Abdul Rahim has "done" his IELTS - good for him
- Certain members of the blog have never posted or commented on anything
- Mubs must be getting over what "incapacipated" her last Tuesday
- Mohammed Saeed is recovering from a gruelling Thursday
- Our other stalwart, Yasmeen, is ready to edit any task 1 / task 2 offerings
- The other blogger who has contributed a lot, namely Afaq, has been silent of late
And so, what to do? As well as seeing friends and family you could be:
- re-writing old reports / letters (Task 1) or essays (Task 2) that I have looked at and suggested improvements - then POST 'em on the blog!
- write sample essays for the 69 topics I gave you OR simply post your introductory paragraph to any of the 69 topics on the blog
- listen to 90.3 FM at least and see how they phrase their ideas and signal to you as the listener
- study those linking words / discourse markers / model answers at the back of the TEST book
- read the listening transcripts of tests 1 - 4 - see how they "caught" you by referring to the questions
- "reverse engineer" Aisha's writing and my model essay - what made them effective and successful
- read the INSIGHT book - we'll look at certain key areas - but Yasmeen recommended the blue highlighted "exam tips" very highly
- go over my handouts - believe me, they can help - my friend Abdelrahman applied what I recommended in speaking and listening, for which he got band 8.0 and 7.5 respectively. He did not do the same for reading and writing and "only" got band 6.0 - he lost track of time in the reading and over-elaborated in the writing. They seem to be marking very strictly in the IELTS writing. Don't be too complacent or over-confident!
- get down to that Learning Zone next week - you're wasting a fabulous resource
- Finally, assuming you have logged in and read the blog as far as this, then POST me a three sentence introduction to ANY task 2 essay on the 69 arguments list. Just write: SAMPLE INTRODUCTION/ ARGUMENT ESSAY NUMBER 1 - 69. I want you to: i) Make a general statement rephrasing the title in YOUR words; ii) Give an interesting topic sentence on what you understand by this question and iii) Write a clear thesis statement about what you will say/discuss/argue in your essay. A neat, sharp introduction "sets out your stall" and then you DELIVER in paragraphs 2 and 3. It also shows me that you have thought about the question and have the confidence to declare what is your position and then justify it with appropriate ideas and evidence.
Go for it or am I dealing with a feckless bunch of spoonfed braindeads?
Come on, surprise me! Make my day!
Off for prayers, then lunch and a swim. Logging back this evening.
Your ever-demanding taskmaster Tony
posted by Tony Beale @ 11:59 am
2 Comments:
Hey everyone,
just came in to see if any posting had been done by Saeed or Abdul Rahim regarding the exam.
Weekend can be very demanding.Its 1:30 and i still have loads of tasks piled up.
I plan to start working on one of the 69er's essay,around late night.
Oh btw, almost forgot, i was going through the financial times of today's news paper(khaleej Times).I really liked the way the authors used heterogeneous words to illustrate the graphs.
I recommend academic members to have a look at it.
Well thats all from me, catch you all later this evening
Hello there! Thanks to Mubs and Yasmeen - the "usual suspects"!!!
Zeena's practising away next door on her violin. When she plays beautifully in the end of term concert it isn't a) 'cos she has an excellent violin (she does, btw); b) 'cos she's so talented (she is, btw, but that's not enough); c) 'cos it's easy (playing the violin sure ain't a piece of cake) or d) 'cos we NAG her the way I've been nagging you feckless lot (we insist that she practises regularly and with a GOOD attitude - as you know I have very high standards for myself, my family and my students).
Anyway, I'll reply to Abdul Rahim's email and posting now. I'm still waiting on the other 13 members of our i-words "community of learners". Am I going to be disappointed YET AGAIN?
bfn
Tony
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