Teknik Outlining pada TOEFL

Outlining adalah metode yang baik untuk digunakaan pada saat anda menjelaskan ide anda dengan cara yang berkaitan dan logis. Dengan bantuan teknik outlining anda dapat mengembangkan, mengklasifikasikan dan menyusun pemikiran anda. Jika anda berencana untuk membuat tulisan berupa komposisi, penceritaan kembali, kisah atau novel, dan lain sebagainya, teknik outlining aka membantu anda untuk membuat tingkatan hirarki informasi yang anda miliki berdasarkan kepentingannya dan relefansinya. Poin-poin yang berbeda disusun dapal bagian logika, memindahkannya dari sesuatu yang abstrak ke hal yang lebih konkret. Cara ini akan selalu dapat mengungkapkan apa yang memang ingin anda ungkapkan, dan tidak pernah membuat anda melewatkan bagian-bagian yang memang penting.

Teknik outlining dapat digunakan pada tes area listening, speaking dan writing dalam TOEFL. Misalnya, saat mendengarkan percakapan atau pelajaran, anda dapat membuat daftar pendek yang berisikan poin-poin utama dari apa yang dibicarakan, berbagai sub-poin dan contohnya. Jika anda membuat outline yang seakurat mungkin, hal ini dapat membantu anda untuk menjawab pertanyaan-pertanyaan yang diberikan selanjutnya.

The Differences between IELTS and PTE Academic

For people who are still confused about the differences between PTE Academic and IELTS, here we have short explanation about it. IELTS usually tests the language skills such as listening, speaking, reading, and also writing separately whereas PTE Academic is always known as integrated skills test so there would be connection between those four skills and you are not just take those four skills tests at the same time but one skill and the other would be connected. Simply put, you would answer the questions that would likely evaluate more than one skill at that time and there also would not be section for each skill. For instance, you would be asked to read a text and then summarize it (reading skills and speaking skills).

Improving the Writing Skills of IELTS Levels

Looking into concepts of IELTS is fun because you will know how they learn the language and so on. And that is why we have four sections on IELTS which are listening, reading, speaking, and also writing. Listening and reading are said to be the receptive parts of language skills whereas speaking and writing are known as productive parts of language skills because the language users are required to produce something whether it is verbal language (for speaking) or written language (for writing). You can practice your listening and also reading by yourself because there are tons of materials and resources out there that will help you to learn these kinds of skills.

How to Make Sure You Pass Your Writing Section Test

From the four sections on IELTS, most people will have difficulties particularly on writing section because they have to finish it in a short amount of time and they have to write, basically, an essay. And the thing that we need to tell you is you have to try to write and complete your conclusion paragraph as fast as possible because this is the important and main part of the writing task and it will also never be looked over by the examiners. From the experiences of a lot of IELTS test takers that want to achieve higher band scores; more than 7; they said that they need to plan on writing the paragraph that functions as the conclusion of your essay that contains not only the restatement of the problem but also the sentence of the true concluding.

Tips on How to Increase the Scores on IELTS

One important thing you need to do when you are taking your test for IELTS, never leave a single question unanswered because it will also help you to get better score rather than getting none at all. This is like a gambling but a good gambling. You need to use your instincts and background knowledge to answer all the questions of the test. And by making sure that you have already answered all the questions, it will give you better chance to get good scores because you will never know whether your guessing is correct or incorrect because anything could happen.

How to Stay Focus on Your Test

Every candidate of IELTS test takers always has the common problem when they have to face the test. The main problem that they have to face is to focus on the test and the test alone. Actually, it is not only applied on this test but also other things that we have to do in regular basis. Trying to focus on something will be a hard task if you do not commit to it in the first place so if you want to get good scores in your IELTS and do not want to waste your money, your time, or even your energy and your emotion, you defiantly need to prepare yourself very well to face the test on the day that have been decided.

What You Need to Practice for Listening Section on IELTS

You must realize that IELTS is one of the hardest English proficiency tests ever existed and you cannot belittle it if you want to get good scores out of it. From the four sections you can find on the test, one of the most difficult tests especially for people who do not use English as second language is actually the listening section. And from a lot of test takers’ experiences, one thing that makes them do fatal mistakes is by belittling this part. For instance, if you are pretty sure about your answer of questions about date and then you write it in the incorrect form, it would mean that you throw away getting good scores on this section because this type of questions will appear not once but many times and if you keep doing the same mistakes then it will just only risk your score.

Tips on How to Pass IELTS Listening Section

Surely there are plenty of standardized tests that you have to take even only for fluency purposes if you want to move to and live in other countries that use other languages that are different from your mother tongue. It is such a requirement to make sure that when you are ready to move into those countries, you will be able to communicate using those languages fluently and also effectively and one of those skills that are needed to be tested is listening because this is the first step of communication. You need to hear before you make verbal or non verbal responses.

Sample Test for IELTS

People said that if you want to sign up for students exchange or want to study abroad; you have to pass your IELTS English-language exam first and so do when you have to get the validation for your emigration process. It is one of the many requirements you have to go through. And if you get good scores on the exam, it is also very good for you because you would have greater chances as emigrants and also as international student candidates because the institutions will certainly look over the results of your IELTS so it would also be a certain consideration for them.

“Pocket Tips” for Writing IELTS

One week before the D-day of your IELTS exam test, you should think that you have already learned all you need to Ace the IELTS test. What is left for you is to keep practice and repeat all so that you will never forget it on the test day.

3 Topics for an IELTS Essay: Argument, Hidden Argument, Situation | Part 2

If you want to walk out of the IELTS exam room with a huge smile on your face, keep these: follow the rules, keep the right structure, use some “advanced” and “smart” vocabularies, and practice. This article is the last part of the series 3 Topics for Essay Writing IELTS: Argument, Hidden Argument, Situation. And we will talk about Situation type in this article.

3 Topics for an IELTS Essay: Argument, Hidden Argument, Situation | Part 1

IELTS writing task 2 is essay writing: you do not have to be a writer to write a good essay. This task may look more difficult that the writing task 1. Follow the rules, keep the right structure, use some “advanced” and “smart” vocabularies, and practice! This way you can create such beautiful essay in roughly 40 minutes! In this series we will talk about the 3 different topics for IELTS Writing according to Simone Braverman from his book Ace the IELTS.

There are 3 topics on essay IELTS, let’s call them A, H, S.

1. Argument
For example: Modern society benefits greatly from computer technology. However, becoming more dependent on computer has its disadvantages. Discuss threats of computers.
Here the 2 sides of argument a re the advantages and disadvantages of computers.

In this type of topic, you need to explore pros, contras, and the reasons, and you have to support one side only. Here is the sample of structure for this type of topic.
Introduction: Clearly state the both sides of the argument. Do not copy from instruction, write it in other words.
Body : Write at least 2 paragraphs. Write the first paragraph to tell about the side you disagree with. The side you agree should be written in last body paragraph.
Conclusion: Write the summary of the points you made.

2. Hidden Argument
These topics usually ask “To what extent...?” or “How has something change…?” For example: “To what extent should television participate in our children’s education?”
What they really ask here is whether the television should educate the children or not.

The structure for this topic is similar with Argument type. What is slightly different is in the Introduction part. The introduction part must reveal the hidden argument by defining the question. Rewrite the topic, for instance, from “To what extent should television participate in our children’s education?” into “Does television participate in our children’s education?”

After that, write the structure similar to Argument type above. The next part of this series will talk about the last type of topic, that is situation type and about general suggestion on how to write them.
Reference: Ace the IELTS (Simon Braverman)

Menulis Esai IELTS? Gunakan 4C ini

Banyak yang bertanya apa cara sukses menulis esai. Sesungguhnya jawabannya hanya satu, ‘banyak berlatih, banyak bimbingan, dan banyak kesabaran.’ Tetapi, bagaimana caranya berlatih dengan benar? Ikuti cara 4C. wah, apalagi itu, ya?

Penjelasan Tentang IELTS General Writing

Pada sesi writing dalam tes IELTS General, yang dinilai adalah kemampuan anda untuk berkomunikasi tentang hal-hal umum, isu-isu sederhana, dan pembahasan tentang topik yang anda sukai. Anda mungkin akan diminta untuk menyampaikan juga informasi bukti-bukti dari pernyataan anda, memberikan saran, mengungkapkan kesukaan atau ketidaksukaan anda, atau keberatan anda, pendapat atau pandangan anda.

IELTS General Writing Module (Pahami dengan baik)

Pada Writing Task 2 anda akan menerima sebuah topik dan anda akan diminta untuk menulis sebuah essai terdiri dari 250 kata. Tugas ini memiliki bobot yang lebih berat ketimbang Writing task 1. Tes ini juga membutuhkan waktu yang lebih lama – 40 menit, sedangkan Writing task 1 hanya memerlukan waktu 20 menit.

Frase yang Berguna dalam tes IELTS Area Writing (General)

Untuk melengkapi tugas menulis surat pada tes IELTS area writing dalam waktu 20 menit, akan sangat membantu jika anda mengetahui beberapa frase dan ekspresi yang biasa digunakan. Dengan dapat menggunakan kata-kata dan ekspresi ini anda dapat mengemukakan ide anda dengan cepat dan efektif, tanpa memikirkan setiap dan seluruh kata. Sambil anda mempelajari arti-artinya anda juga harus memastikan bahwa anda telah mencatat spelling dari setiap kata dengan sempurna. Berikut ini daftar beberapa kata dan ekspesi tersebut:

IELTS Academic Writing Module 1

Berikut adalah yang perlu anda ketahui tentang tes Writing Task 1 IELTS Akademik. Tugas anda adalah menjelaskan suatu grafik ke dalam sebuah laporan. Laporannya ditujukan pada dosen sebuah universitas, maka bahasa yang anda gunakan haruslah sesuai.

Kesalahan Umum IELTS Writing

Seperti yang telah diketahui, ada 2 tugas, Writing Task 1 dan Task 2, dan baik dalam modul Academic maupun General Training Task 1 lebih pendek (150 kata) ketimbang task 2 (250 kata). Sejauh ini tidak menjadi masalah, namun kita akan masuk pada hal yang penting.

Menyebutkan Perbedaan Formal dan Informal

Jika anda sedang mempersiapkan modul untul IELTS Academic, baik Task 1 ataupun Task 2 dalam tes Writing adalah formal. Bagi kandidat General Training, task 2 dalam tes Writing selalu formal, dan Task 1 bisa formal atau informal.

Seperti yang telah diketahui, Task 1 untuk modul GT adalah surat, dan jika topiknya meminta anda menulis surat pada seseorang yang anda kenal, maka surat tersebut dalam bentuk informal – dan sebaliknya jika ditujukan pada seseorang yang tidak anda kenal, maka sebaiknya formal.

Perbedaan antara gaya formal dan informal lebih pada kosakata. Kata-kata informal adalah yang digunakan dalam percakapan sehari-hari dan formal adalah yang biasa digunakan dalam buku, kontrak, surat bisnis dan essai. Jika tugasnya meminta penulisan formal – hindari penggunaan kosakata informal. Jika tugasnya meminta penulisan informal, seperti surat untuk teman, hindari penggunaan kata-kata formal yang “berat”.

Terlepas dari kosakata dalam penulisan informal sangatlah baik menghindari kata-kata seperti “I”, “you”, “we”, kecuali anda mengungkapkan sebuah pendapat. Misalnya dalam sebuah essai ketimbang menulis “You would find it difficult to get a job without proper qualifications”, tulislah sesuatu seperti “One would find it difficult to find a job without proper qualifications”, atau anda dapat menulis “Finding a job without proper qualifications would be rather difficult”.

Bagi anda yang tidak tinggal di Negara berbahasa Inggris dan tidak berbicara bahasa Inggris dalam keseharian akan sulit menyebutkan perbedaan antara kosakata formal dan informal, yang dapat anda temukan pada daftar berikut. Anda dapat menghapalnya dan menggunakannya dalam tulisan anda sambil berlatih – dengan demikian kemungkinan anda menggunakan kata yang tepat dalam tes yang sebenarnya dapat meningkat.

Formal	Informal
Inform me	Let me know
Cancel	Drop
Contact	Get in touch
Obtain	Get
Apologise	Say sorry
Postpone	Delay
Request	Ask for
Compensate	Make up
Establish	Set up
Discover	Find out
Handle	Deal with
Investigate	Check up on
Tolerate	Put up
Increase	Go up
Children	Kids
Many / Much	A lot of
Many / Much	Heaps of

Catatan Penting: memahami dengan tepat penggunaan bahasa formal dan informal akan lebih mempermudah anda dalam meraih nilai lebih pada sesi writing dan speaking.

IELTS Kampung Inggris

Belajar IELTS

Cara terbaik sebelum menjalani tes IELTS area writing

Cara terbaik untuk mempersiapkan diri anda sebelum menjalani tes IELTS area writing tidak lain adalah dengan cara latihan menulis sebanyak mungkin. Idealnya, apa yang anda tulis dibaca oleh orang yang lebih mahir berbahasa inggris dari anda, sehingga Ia dapat mengoreksi permasalahan grammar yang ada dalam tulisan anda. Kerja keras dalah kuncinya, namun beberapa tips dibawah ini dapat membantu anda untuk lebih mengenal tentang tes IELTS area writing.

Sperti apa Skor 6 tes IELTS

Beberapa diantara kita menjalani hidup dengan tidak memaksimalkan potensi yang telah ada. Terkadang kita mengebiri talenta yang kita punya, terkadang kita membatasi ruang gerak kita hanya untuk menginginkan kenyamanan semu. Dan Ketika kondisi ini terus dialami, krisis kepercayaan diri dan keterasingan sudah pasti melekat dalam diri kita. Alhasil, kegagalan demi kegagalan selalu setia bersama.

IELTS Speaking Test - Speaking Fluently

See how important fluency is in IELTS Speaking Test - Speaking Scoring Indicators (Scoring The Independent Speaking Response). So here we will learn to speak fluently.

IELTS Speaking Test Exercises - Pronunciation # Part 6 : Word Stress

In linguistics, stress is the relative emphasis that may be given to certain syllables in a word, or to certain words in a phrase or sentence. The term is also used for similar patterns of phonetic prominence inside syllables. The word accent is sometimes also used with this sense. (wikipedia)

IELTS Speaking Test Exercises - Pronunciation # Part 5 : Tongue Twister

A tongue-twister is a phrase that is designed to be difficult to articulate properly, and can be used as a type of spoken (or sung) word game (wikipedia). Tongue twister is one of good way to make us exercise our pronunciation.

IELTS Speaking Test Exercises - Pronunciation # Part 4 : '-ed' form & '-s' ending

The letters ed are added to verbs to change the tense (from present to past). Sounds of -ed could changed because of phonetic symbol on its word pronunciation. There are some rules:

IELTS Speaking Test Exercises – Pronunciation # Part 3 : Consonants

A consonant is a sound in spoken language that is characterized by a closure or stricture of the vocal tract sufficient to cause audible turbulence. The word consonant comes from Latin and means "sounding with" or "sounding together", the idea being that consonants don't sound on their own, but only occur with a nearby vowel. Consonants may be voiced or unvoiced (voiceless). The 'th' in 'the' is voiced, but in 'breath' is not. (wikipedia)

IELTS Speaking Test Exercises – Pronunciation # Part 2 : Vowels

Vowels

definition: The word vowel comes from the Latin word vocalis, meaning "speaking", because in most languages words and thus speech are not possible without vowels. In English, the word vowel is commonly used to mean both vowel sounds and the written symbols that represent them. (Wikipedia)

IELTS Speaking Test Exercises – Pronunciation # Part 1 : Symbols

Pronunciation refers to the ability to use the correct stress, rhythm and intonation of a word in a spoken language. Learning pronunciation will give us some advantages in speaking test. For basic example, lets see the word 'pronunciation'. It should be /prəˌnʌnsɪˈeɪʃ(ə)n/ but some of you may read it as /prəʊnaʊnsɪˈeɪʃ(ə)n/, because we are more familiar with word 'pronoun' /ˈprəʊnaʊn/ or 'noun' /naʊn/. You will hear very different sounds when you listen native speaker speaks those words.

Crucial 15 minutes in IELTS Speaking Test

In IELTS, all skills of language are tested, including speaking which is tested at the end of the test session. Test takers need to wait up their chance to have it because they need to do it one by one. Test takers have to deal with native speaker who gives some questions during the test. Time provided for this speaking test is for about 15 minutes. In its implementation, the examiner has prepared a tool to record the result of the test. In order to be successful in the test, it is very important for the test taker to know about the parts of the test for smoothing the flow of the speaking test.

Conquer the Second Part of Speaking in IELTS

After completing the first part of speaking test, test taker has to deal with the next part which is more complex than the previous one. The rule of this session is quite different as well because there is a card used as the media. There is also a topic that will be given so that test taker needs to give some explanations related to the given topic. Test taker gets one minute to prepare for the answer and 1,5 until 2 minutes to speak about the topic in the card. It is okay if the test taker wants to make notes.

Making the Last Part of Speaking IELTS as the Best One

The last part of speaking section in IELTS is two-way discussion or topic discussion. The duration of this part is for about three to four minutes. Examiner gives some questions which are linked to the previous part. For example, if in the second part test taker gets a topic on tourist resort, then examiner might ask some questions such as “What do you think about mass tourism?”, “What is the positive thing of tourism for the local people?”, or “What are the solutions for coping the environment’s problem regarding the high level of tourism?”

A Little Step to Understand on Things Should be done in Writing IELTS

In completing the first task in writing IELTS, test taker should remember that he or she has to describe “only” information or data in the visual information chosen for him or her. It means that test taker may not add his or her opinion about the information. Besides, there are some important things to emphasize in completing task one.

Crumbling the Fear in Dealing with Task 1 Writing IELTS

Are you afraid in describing visual information like graph, diagram, or chart? Well, test taker might actually get the fear because he or she has no idea on the word choice that should be used. Talking about visual information, there are some vocabularies that test taker can hold as a ‘secret code’ to get the hidden treasure. The followings are some words that test taker can pick for finishing a battle with task 1 writing.

Aware of Some Traps in Writing IELTS

Indeed some traps given in writing IELTS. In task 2 of writing test for example, test taker who gets the motion seems to get a kind of pressure in giving his or her best ideas on the related topic. Actually, the real point is not on ideas that are proposed by test taker. Therefore, test taker must not worry so much on the idea for writing itself. For example, test taker gets the motion to write “Is an English teacher has to be a graduate student of English department?”. In this case, the point is not on the pro side or contra side. It should be noted by test taker that the examiner does not care on test taker’s choice. So what the examiner care about?

How to Manage Data in Writing IELTS

Data is important in building paragraphs for describing the visual information. Nevertheless, its function is only for supporting ‘the big picture’ of visual information. Test taker must be careful in inserting the data, especially if it is related to number. Sometimes, test taker does not pay enough attention then makes a simple but fatal error such as writing “480 people were failed to get the expected driving license in USA in 2009”, when he or she should write “480 thousand people were failed to get the expected driving license in USA in 2009”.

Getting to Know Better about Types of Questions in Task 2 Writing IELTS

In task 2 writing IELTS, test taker will not deal with any visual information. Instead, test taker gets a topic that should be described in 40 minutes. The topic is in one of the following possibilities:

Punctuation in writing

In written English, punctuation is vital to disambiguate the meaning of sentences. For example, "woman, without her man, is nothing" (emphasizing the importance of men) and "woman: without her, man is nothing" (emphasizing the importance of women) have greatly different meanings.

Check Brief Information about Listening IELTS Out!

Listening is the first skill which is tested in IELTS. In IELTS, listening section will be done manually with the help of test supervisor. In listening IELTS, there is also a possibility that test taker is going to get some voice disturbance from the surrounding. Test taker has to realize it because in IELTS, listening is conducted without the use of headset. Therefore, other voices outside might give some additional obstacles for test taker.

Listening IELTS: Learn then Grab a Good Score!

Is it possible for upgrading listening score? With a lot of practices, the answer is going to be yes! Test taker who does regular practice will increase his or her concentration in catching the words. His or her ear will also be trained as time goes by.

Assumptions you shouldn't make about IELTS

Assumption # 1

People assumed that Task 1 in the Academic IELTS will be a chart or a graph – and when they were given a diagram, it came as a complete shock. As a result, it took them longer to get their heads around the task and they spent over 30 minutes only thinking what they are going to write in their reports. Then it’s a chain accident – if the first task takes you longer, you don’t have enough time for your essay and you are stressed, so the performance goes down the drain.

Nothing is Impossible, Including Improving Listening IELTS Score!

Many people argue that improving listening skill is the most difficult thing to do. Some other people say that listening skill is a gift instead of a skill. Well, those are wrong opinions about this skill. Same as other skills tested in IELTS, we could do some efforts in improving our score. Test taker can pick some websites to help them learning more some different accents that are usually used such as British, American English, or other accents. Mostly, in IELTS, the recording uses British accent.

What to Do with Paragraphs in Writing IELTS

Well, in the previous articles, we have talked about some ideas about the surface of writing IELTS. Now, let’s discuss on paragraphs in this section.

Simple but Useful Strategies for your Essay in Writing IELTS

When you are facing a piece of blank paper where you should write approximately 150 words in task one and 250 words in task two, you might be panic if there is no idea comes to your mind. Being panic in this kind of situation is a big NO! You should take a deep breath when you are in this kind of situation. Then force yourself to mechanically go though the steps as listed in the previous article (managing first paragraph, body and conclusion paragraph).

Grading Criteria in Speaking IELTS

When we talk, sometimes, we do not apply effective and efficient factors. In some opportunities, we only speak without having a clear idea. We just talk! But you may not apply it in IELTS’ speaking section. In this context, you have to be able to grab the examiner’s attention that you are deserved to get a good score in speaking section because you have fulfilled the criteria of it well.

Perubahan IELTS General Training Reading

 Situs resmi IELTS mengumumkan suatu perubahan yang mereka buat dalam General Training Reading sejak 1 Mei 2009.

Saat ini Passage 2 pada lembar soal Reading berfokus pada muatan pendidikan (universitas, kursus, dll). Mulai 1 Mei akan berfokus pada konteks kerja (missal melamar pekerjaan, peraturan perusahaan, upah dan kondisi, fasilitas tempat kerja, pengembangan staf, dll).

Alasan perubahan kecil ini adalah bahwa sekarang ini ada lebih banyak pekerja, asosiasi professional dan badan imigrasi mengakui tes IELTS. Perubahan ini akan memastikan bahwa modul IELTS akan diadaptasi pada situasi kehidupan nyata dan karenanya akan lebih mendekati kebutuhan kandidat yang memilih tes IELTS untuk tujuan pekerjaan atau imigrasi.

7 Alasan Mengapa IELTS Menjadi Nomor 1

1. Diterima – untuk alasan pendidikan, pekerjaan dan imigrasi di perbagai negara, lebih banyak dari tes serupa lainnya.
2. Dihormati – IELTS dimiliki juga dan dibuat oleh gabungan organisasi ahli pendidikan dan bahasa dengan tingkat global: British Council, IDP: IELTS Australia dan University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations (Cambridge ESOL).
3. Mudah diakses – 48 tanggal pelakasanaan tes untuk setiap tahunnya di lebih dari 200 tempat pelaksana.
4. Jujur – tes yang memberikan anda kesempatan yang lebih besar untuk mengeluarkan kemampuan terbaik anda. Tidak seperti tes serupa lainnya, IELTS memberikan anda ruangan yang sunyi untuk tes speaking tanpa adanya gangguan dan interupsi dari manapun. Kemampuan speaking anda akan dinilai dengan sangat hati-hati oleh seorang penguji yang memiliki jaminan mutu tinggi – anda tidak akan dinilai oleh system computer untuk tes ini.