Insight into IELTS part 1

CAMBRIDGE
EXAMINATIONS
PUBLISHING
The Cambridge IELTS Course
Updated Edition
CAMBRIDGE
UNIVERSITY PRESS
CAMBRIDGE
EXAMINATIONS
PUBLISHING
Vanessa Jakeman and Clare McDowell
I
Insight into
IELTS
Updated edition
CAMBRIDGE
UNIVERSITY PRESS
PUBLISHED BY THE PRESS SYNDICATE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE
The Pitt Building, Trumpington Street, Cambridge, United Kingdom
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 2RU, UK
40 West 20th Street, New York, NY 10011-4211, USA
477 Williamstown Road, Port Melbourne, VIC 3207, Australia
Ruiz de Alarcon 13, 28014 Madrid, Spain
Dock House, The Waterfront, Cape Town 8001, South Africa

© Cambridge University Press 1999
This book is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception
and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements,
no reproduction of any part may take place without
the written permission of Cambridge University Press.

First published 1999
Updated edition 2001
Fourth printing 2002
Printed in the United Kingdom at the University Press, Cambridge
Text typeface Utopia 10.5/13pt System QuarkXPress®
ISBN 0 521 01148 5 Student's Book
ISBN 0 521 62660 9 Cassette
Cover design and graphic by Tim Elcock
Contents
INTRODUCTION
THE LISTENING MODULE
Introduction 7
UNIT
1
Orientating yourself
to the
text
8
Who are The speakers?
Where are they?
Why are they speaking?
UNIT
2
Listening
for
specific information
10
What are the key words?
IELTS Section 1 task -
table and note completion

IELTS
Section
1
task
-
form filling
UNIT
3
Identifying detail
14
When do we need to listen
for detail?
IELTS
Section
1
task
-
multiple-choice pictures
UNIT
4
Identifying
main ideas
16
What are the speakers
talking about?
What are the main ideas and
how are they are developed?
IELTS
Section
2

task
-
multiple choice and note
completion
UNIT
5
Seeing beyond
the
surface
meaning 19
What does the speaker mean
exactly?
How can we interpret
intonation?
UNIT
Б
Following signpost words
22
What are 'signpost words'?
How do they help us to
understand?
IELTS
Section
3
task
-
note completion and labelling
a diagram
UNIT
7

Being aware
of
stress,
rhythm
25
and intonation
How do intonation and word
stress help us to understand?
IELTS
Section
4
task
-following
a
flow chart
IELTS
Section
4
task
-
table/flow chart completion and
multiple choice
THE READING MODULE
Introduction
UNIT
1
Orientating yourself
to the
text
Titles and sub-headings

Paragraphs
UNIT 2
UNIT 3
UNIT 4
UNIT 5
UNIT 6
UNIT 7
UNIT 8
UNIT 9
Skimming/scanning for specific
information and detail
28
29
33
Short-answer questions
IELTS
task
-
labelling
a
diagram
IELTS
task
-
chart/table
completion
Identifying main and supporting 38
ideas
Multiple choice
IELTS

task
-
multiple
choice
IELTS
task
-
note-taking
Improving global reading skills
Paragraph headings
IELTS
task
-
paragraph headings
Summarising
Completing a summary
Understanding paraphrase
42
46
Understanding argument 49
Argument or fact?
IELTS
task
-
identifying
arguments
IELTS
task
-
matching

Identifying opinion/attitude and 53
making inferences
Fact, opinion or claim?
IELTS
task
-
Yes/No/Not
given
IELTS
task
-
Multiple choice
The General Training module, 57
Section 1
Multiple choice
IELTS
task
-
True/False/Not
given
IELTS
task
-
matching
The General Training module, 62
Section 2
IELTS
task
-
matching

IELTS
task
-
paragraph headings
THE WRITING MODULE
THE SPEAKING MODULE
Introduction
UNIT
1
Describing facts
and
figures
Bar charts
Pie charts
Tables
66
67
69
UNIT
2
Describing trends
Line graphs
Examining the axes
UNIT
3
Summarising data
73
Selecting important information
Comparing data
Grouping information

UNIT
4
Describing
a
process
76
IELTS Task 1
UNIT
5
General Training, Task
1 78
The task
The purpose
Explaining the situation
UNIT
6
General Training,
Task
1
contd
80
The message
IELTS Task 1
UNIT
7
Academic
and
General Training,
82
Task 2

Understanding the instructions
Approaching the task
Forming ideas
UNIT
8
Planning
a
structure
85
Organising ideas
The introduction
The conclusion
UNIT
9
Introducing
topics
and
main
ideas
88
Expressing views
Making concessions
Refuting an argument
Defining/explaining
UNIT
10
Developing
an
argument
91

Making the main argument clear
Providing support
UNIT
11
Writing your answer
93
Writing coherently
Building complex sentences
Introduction 96
UNIT
1
Part
one of the
Speaking test
- 98
the interview
Becoming more fluent
Willingness to participate and
expand
More practice for part one
UNIT
2
Part
two of the
Speaking test
- 102
the long turn
Preparing your talk
Explaining how you feel - now
and then

More practice for part two
Giving short answers to the
follow-up questions
UNIT
3
Part
three
of the
Speaking test
- 106
the discussion
Exploring the theme
Producing a reasoned response
More practice for part three
SUPPLEMENTARY ACTIVITIES
Listening 109
Reading 111
Writing 115
Speaking 122
IELTS PRACTICE TEST
Listening 127
Academic Reading 133
Academic Writing 144
General Training Reading 146
General Training Writing 157
Speaking 159
RECORDING SCRIPT
ANSWER KEY
SAMPLE ANSWER SHEETS 190
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Introduction
WHO IS THIS BOOK FOR?
Insight into IELTS has been designed as a course book for an IELTS preparation
course. However, it is equally appropriate as a self-study resource book for students
wishing to improve their IELTS skills on their own as it contains helpful advice,
sample IELTS material throughout the units and detailed answer keys.
The book is appropriate both for learners seeking to enter an English-speaking
university, school or college, as well as for people who may need to provide an IELTS
score for the purposes of immigration to an English-speaking country. The book is
targeted at students of approximately Band 6 level; however, the earlier units in each
section are designed for lower-level learners or students not familiar with the IELTS
test format, while the later units are intended to stretch the stronger candidates
beyond their immediate IELTS needs and enhance their language skills overall.
CONTENT OF THE BOOK
The book consists of four parts:
• Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking sections
• Supplementary activities for each unit
• A complete practice test
• Recording Script and Answer Key
Taken as a whole, the book contains ample classroom-based material within the units
for a preparation course of between 40 and 50 hours. When used with the
Supplementary activities which accompany each unit, the material will last much
longer.
The first part of the book is divided into four sections: Listening, Reading, Writing and
Speaking, to reflect the format of the test, and these are broken down into manageable
units. Each section begins with an overview of the IELTS test and students who work
their way through the book will become familiar with all question types and tasks that
they are likely to meet in the test. The skills covered are not restricted to test-taking
strategies alone but also reflect the broader range of language that students will
encounter in an English-speaking environment, whether at university or in the wider

community.
The units contain class and pair activities and the opportunity for individual practice.
Teachers may choose to work systematically through each section, taking advantage
of the graded approach, or, alternatively, select material to suit their learners' needs
as required.
The Supplementary activities can be used to expand the units as follow-up work in
class or as homework exercises. For students working on their own, they provide
further opportunity to practise and consolidate the language covered in each unit or
they can help students to structure their revision schedule once they have covered
the units in the first part of the book.