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Week 3: Handwriting

Even though Part 1 features simple, personal questions, there are still lots of opportunities to demonstrate some high-band skills. Watch this short video lesson to learn how to discuss different opinions (or ‘sides’) of a topic in your answer.

IELTS Warm-up Questions: Handwriting

Warm-up Questions: 

• Do you think you have clear handwriting?
• Do you prefer to write with a pen or write on your computer?
• It’s a popular joke that doctors have terrible handwriting, is this a joke in your country too?

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IELTS Grammar Lesson

Read the following Grammar Guide to learn about ‘Separable Phrasal Verbs’

Grammar Lesson: Separable Phrasal Verbs

Separable Phrasal Verbs

Big, scary, horrible, confusing phrasal verbs! These are some of the trickiest things to learn for some English students. There are so many different combinations, and every combination has a different meaning! D:

On top of that, sometimes you can separate phrasal verbs and put an object in the middle. (After the verb, and before the preposition).

For example:

• To call off  = to cancel an event, a meeting or appointment
• “The weather was so terrible, we had to call the picnic off.”
• “Lady Gaga was scheduled to perform in New York, but the singer fell ill and had to call the concert off. Ticket holders will receive a refund.”
• “We wanted to go to the beach last weekend, but my husband was sick so we called it off. We’ll try again next week.”

Here are some more separable phrasal verbs related to Handwriting.

• Write down = to write
• Jot down = to write quickly and in a short form (e.g. ‘call HR dept. tmrw)
• Note down = to write important information to remember it later

You try! 

Here is the object. Can insert it into the phrasal verb?

For example:

His phone number – jot down

= Can you jot his phone number down?

• The flight number – note down
  = Can you ____________________________________________?

• The reference number – write down
  = Let me ____________________________________________ on my phone.

• His address – take down
  = Let me get a pen, I need to _________________________________________________.

• The directions to the hotel – jot down
  = It’s a good idea to __________________________________________ in case your phone runs out of battery!

• The cake ingredients – write down
  = Let me just ___________________________________________ quickly.

Nicely done!

Answers:

1. Can you [note the flight number down]?

2. Let me [write the reference number down] on my phone

3. Let me get a pen, I need to [take his address down].

4. It’s a good idea to [jot the directions to the hotel down] in case your phone runs out of battery.

5. Let me just [write the cake ingredients down] quickly.

Loving the Grammar Lesson? Get the Complete Edition of my IELTS Speaking E-book, Audio Book and Workbook below!

IELTS Vocabulary and Levelled Reading

Read these 3 levels of about ‘Handwriting’. 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: Beginner  Level 2: Intermediate  Level 3: Advanced

IELTS Question #1 – How can children today improve their handwriting?

Level 1: I think they just need lots of practice. If they practise writing over and over, they should eventually improve their handwriting skills until they can write neatly and clearly. Schools could also help their writing skills with handwriting books where students can improve their writing and get good at it.

Level 2: I think they just need lots of practice. If they practise writing repeatedly, they should eventually improve their handwriting skills until they can write legibly and clearly. Schools could also help their writing skills with handwriting books until they can improve their writing and get good at it.

Level 3: I think they just need lots of practice. If they practise writing repeatedly, they should eventually sharpen their handwriting skills until they can write legibly and clearly. Schools could also nurture their writing skills via handwriting books until they can neaten their writing and get the hang of it.

IELTS Question #2 – What impression does a person’s handwriting have on other people?

Level 1: I think the impression from someone’s handwriting isn’t important and can also be unreliable. Even though a lot of people think that bad handwriting means that whoever wrote it is poorly educated, doctors often have bad handwriting too, so that can’t be true! I believe that anyone can write well if they absolutely have to, so I don’t think about it very much.

Level 2: I think the impression from someone’s handwriting is quite negligible and can even be unreliable. Even though a lot of people think that messy handwriting means that whoever wrote it is poorly education, doctors often have bad handwriting too, so that can’t be true! I believe that anyone can write neatly if they absolutely have to, so I don’t think about it very much.

Level 3: I think the impression from someone’s handwriting is quite negligible and can even be misleading. Even though a lot of people think that messy handwriting implies that whoever wrote it is poorly educated, doctors often have illegible handwriting too, so that can’t be true! I believe that anyone can write neatly if they absolutely have to, so I don’t read much into it. 

Links and Resources

Extra Vocab: Click here for more vocabulary and collocations with ‘Handwriting’ by clicking here!

Video: Do you want to improve your handwriting for IELTS Writing? Here’s how!

IELTS Practice Questions

Putting it all together:

Try these Part 1 IELTS Questions all about Handwriting!  

• Do you usually write by hand or using a computer?
• Nowadays, how to most people write things?
• Do you think handwriting is important nowadays?
• Do you think computers might replace handwriting one day?
• When do children begin to write in your country?
• How did you learn to write?
• How can children today improve their handwriting?
• What impression does a person’s handwriting have on other people?
• Did you like writing things when you were a child?

Why not go back and answer the Warm-up Questions with your new skills?

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Good luck!