Mark Teacher’s Free Weekly IELTS Newsletter
Week 12: Eating
IELTS Warm-up / Part 1 Questions: Eating
Warm-up Questions:
- How often do you eat out?
- Is eating out expensive in your country?
- Do you enjoy cooking at home?
- Do many people have food delivered to their homes in your country?
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IELTS Lesson – A High-Band Storytelling Technique for ANY Part 2 Topic
Alright, let’s jump straight into this week’s lesson.
The example answer below contains one storytelling device I use in virtually all of my high-band IELTS Part 2 example answers.
Watch the video below and think:
What did I think about my friends’ decision to have their honeymoon in North America?
As always, you can download the transcript to my answer here: DinnerTranscript.doc
Anyway, did you catch it? What did I think about my friends’ honeymoon destination?
- At first, I thought it was an usual place to visit
- But, they showed me some pictures and told me some stories
- And they changed my mind.
As a storytelling device, this can be called ‘a twist’. You can create and use a twist in any Part 2 answer.
Why should you use a twist?
- It makes your story longer (if you’re struggling to reach 2 minutes)
- It makes your story more engaging (for the listener)
- It makes your story more complex (complex sentence with ‘subordinate clauses’ and a conjunction ‘but’)
- It helps you use less common constructions (‘After going’ / ‘After looking’ and stative verbs (‘realized’).
Generally speaking, there are 4 key pieces to creating a high-band twist:
- Signpost —> 2. First impression —> 3. Realisation —> 4. New opinion
1. (Signpost)
- [At first],
- [Initially],
2. (First impression)
- [At first], [I thought the book seemed long and slow],
- [Initially], [skiing seemed very easy]
3. Realisation – [But after verb-ing, I realised that…]
- [At first], [I thought the book seemed long and slow], [but after reading it, I realised that]
- [Initially], [skiing seemed very easy], [but after trying some of the steeper slopes, I realised that]
4. New opinion
-
- [At first], [I thought the book seemed long and slow], [but after reading it, I realised that] [it was actually thrilling and fast-paced].
- [Initially], [skiing seemed very easy], [but after trying some of the steeper slopes, I realised that] [it was very difficult to turn or to slow down!]
Here are some more examples from previous Part 2 answers I’ve used in weekly newsletters.
Can you see the 4 steps in each of these twists?
Describe a historical building you have seen
“I thought it would be quite simple and mainly a brown or copper color, but after seeing it with my own eyes, I realized that it’s very detailed and it’s actually laced with gold in many areas.”
Describe a time when your vehicle broke down
“At first I thought it was coming from another vehicle, but after driving a few more kilometers, I realized that it was actually coming from my car.”
Describe your favourite singer or band
“Even though I never really listened to much country music before, after hearing her wonderful voice, I realized that it could be very catchy and quite moving as well.”
That’s all there is to it! Try to put this device into your future Part 2 answers to create more complex, engaging and longer Part 2 answers!
This technique might seem tricky at first, but after practising, you will realise that it’s not as hard as you think!
Want to master more high-band IELTS Speaking storytelling devices that will get you the IELTS Speaking score of your dream? – You can get even more detailed descriptions, high-band examples and controlled practice activities to help you nail this skill in my 300-page IELTS Speaking eBook. Click below!
Loving the IELTS Lesson? Get even more in the Complete Edition of my IELTS Speaking E-book, Audio Book and Workbook below!
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IELTS Vocabulary and Levelled Reading
Read these 2 levels of about ‘Eating’. Every level becomes more difficult but every level has the same meaning. The new words are highlighted, so if you don’t understand a word in Level 2, look back at Level 1 to find the easier synonym! This is a great way to learn new vocabulary!
Level 1: Basic Level 2: Advanced
IELTS Question #1: What are the advantages and disadvantages of eating at restaurants?
- Level 1: I suppose the biggest advantage of eating out is that you don’t have to cook! Instead of cooking, you can enjoy talking and socializing with friends, family or colleagues, and after you’ve finished, you don’t have to wash the dishes either! On the other hand, restaurants can be quite expensive, especially if you eat out very often. Also sometimes the quality of the service or the quality of the ingredients can be lower than you expect. So those are some pros and cons of eating out.
- Level 2: I suppose the chief advantage of eating out is that you don’t have to cook! Instead of cooking, you can enjoy chatting and socializing with friends, family or colleagues, not only that, but after you’ve finished, you don’t have to wash the dishes either! That being said, restaurants can be quite pricey, especially if you eat out constantly. Also sometimes the quality of the service or the quality of the ingredients can be subpar. So those are some pros and cons of eating out.
IELTS Question #2: Do you think it is possible that everyone will eat at restaurants instead of at home in the future?
- Level 1: There are a lot of people can afford to eat out at restaurants, I still think there are plenty of people who enjoy homemade food. Most people love their mother’s cooking, for example. So I think there will always be people who prefer eating at home with their family or friends instead of going out to a restaurant. In bookstores, you can also see lots of cookbooks and also on TV you can see lots of cooking shows. So I think that shows there are lots of people who enjoy trying new recipes and cooking at home. So I think people will always enjoy eating at home and it won’t be completely replaced.
- Level 2: Even though there are a lot of people can afford to eat out at restaurants, I still think there are plenty of people who enjoy homemade food. Most people love their mother’s cooking, for example. So I think there will always be people who would rather eat at home with their families than go out to a restaurant In bookstores, you can see whole shelves of cookbooks, while also on TV you can see an abundance of cooking shows. So I think that proves there are lots of people who enjoy trying their hand at new recipes and cooking at home. So I think people will always enjoy eating at home and it won’t be completely replaced.
———
“I can never think of any ideas.”
“I can’t find the right IELTS vocabulary anywhere.”
Are you having any of these problems?
If you’re struggling with vocabulary and ideas for your IELTS Speaking answers, you can find HUNDREDS more high-band example answers (written and recorded by me) to help you tackle any IELTS Speaking Topic you might encounter.
This week in fact, I’ve just uploaded the 200th example answer to the library! With hundreds more to come!
Get lifetime access to my IELTS Answer Library on Udemy for just $10.00 (that’s 50% off for Newsletter Subscribers only!)
>>> http://bit.ly/IELTSVOCAB <<< Click here if the picture link doesn’t work.
Links and Resources
You can find even more IELTS-appropriate vocabulary, collocations and phrases about Eating here:
- http://www.freecollocation.com/search?word=cooking
- http://www.freecollocation.com/search?word=cook
- http://www.freecollocation.com/search?word=eat
- http://www.freecollocation.com/search?word=restaurant
According to this site, there is a huge list of perks to cooking at home, from better mental health, to lowering the chance or kids or teenagers smoking! :O
- Read more IELTS-ready ideas here: https://www.fix.com/blog/perks-of-home-cooked-meals/
Just are there are advocates of eating in, there are plenty for eating out as well. See this article for the benefits of going out to eat in a restaurant: https://goodmenproject.com/families/7-reasons-eating-out-will-strengthen-your-family-bond-bbab/
IELTS Practice Questions
Putting it all together:
Part 2 Questions:
- Describe an occasion when you invited your family or friends to dinner. You should say:
- When you invited them
- Where you had the dinner (At home or at a restaurant?)
- Why you invited them
- And how you felt about this dinner.
- Describe an occasion when you went out with your friends and had a good time. You should say:
- Where you went
- When you went out
- What you did
- And explain why you had a good time
Part 3 – Questions
- Do you think it is possible that everyone will eat at restaurants instead of at home in the future?
- What are the advantages and disadvantages of eating at restaurants?
- Why do more and more people like to eat at restaurants rather than at home?
- Fewer and fewer people are cooking food at home, why do you think that is?
- Why do some people prefer to eat alone?
- What are the benefits of having dinner together with your family or friends?