IELTS Writing Task 2: Science and technology have improved the standards of living in all over the world. Some people claim that the role of the arts has become insignificant. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?

Science and technology have improved the standards of living in all over the world. Some people claim that the role of the arts has become insignificant.

To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?

There is no doubt that the quality of our lives in the 21st century has been greatly improved by various scientific and technological advances. Despite this, the arts and humanities too still have much to teach us about ourselves and life in general.

One area in which we can learn from the arts is that concepts such as beauty matter in and of themselves, whereas in the world of science and technology the only true measure is whether something works or not. This is a limited view of the world and the arts differ in that they offer us an alternative and more spiritual outlook. For example, if we listen to Mozart we can learn about harmony and joy through the medium of music or if even we read an author like PG Wodehouse we learn about the value of humour. These essential aspects of life are absent from the clinical world of science and technology.

The other way in which artists can teach us more about life is that enjoying art encourages the habit of self- reflection. If you walk into an art gallery, attend a concert or even just stay in to read a book, you will almost certainly begin to think about your inner values. For me, this is a invaluable lesson in life because if we begin to reflect about ourselves, we begin not just to become more human, but also consider the lives of others too.

So while science and technology may have made our physical lives more comfortable in the 21st century. It remains true that the arts and humanities are still absolutely necessary for ordinary people as they promote a more spiritual and reflective view of life that is essential to our humanity.

(289 words – Dominic Cole)

IELTS Writing Task 2: In the past lectures were the traditional method of teaching large numbers of students. Nowadays new technology is increasingly being used to teach students. Do the advantages of this new approach outweigh the disadvantages?

In the past lectures were the traditional method of teaching large numbers of students. Nowadays new technology is increasingly being used to teach students.
Do the advantages of this new approach outweigh the disadvantages?

As we move into the twenty-first century, technology is affecting many different areas of life and education is no exception. Indeed, in some institutions traditional forms of education have been revolutionised by new technology to the extent that the lecture is no longer the main method of delivery. While there are a variety of benefits to this new approach, there are also significant drawbacks.

Perhaps the greatest bonus of the introduction of technology is the flexibility it offers. This is evident in two different ways. Firstly, it is now no longer essential for students to be present in the lecture theatre for their courses. This means that part-time courses for adults who are in employment and distance learning courses for people in other countries are now much more practical. Another area of flexibility is of course that the lecturer and tutor are able to use Moodles, interactive whiteboards and other tools to deliver their courses in a more stimulating way to large numbers of students.

Not everything, however, about the introduction of this new technology into education is positive. One major problem is that not all students are comfortable with using technology, even if they are part of the digital native generation. This is a serious issue as they may suffer from their lack of technological skills. Another related issue is that education is a human activity and it works best with as much human interaction as possible. Impersonal technology cannot replace the human contact found in traditional face-to-face tutorials and seminars.

As we have seen, there are major benefits to the introduction of technology into education, not least because it enables modern forms of education such as distance learning courses. This is balanced, however, by the fact that it can be too impersonal for some and disadvantages others for their lack of technological skills.

(305 words – Dominic Cole) 

IELTS Blog: Why attitude is more important than IQ

IELTS Blog: Why attitude is more important than IQ: Why attitude is more important than IQ Success lies in how you handle defeat. Scott Barbour/Getty Images LinkedIn Influencer Dr. Travis ...

Why attitude is more important than IQ

Why attitude is more important than IQ
Success lies in how you handle defeat. Scott Barbour/Getty Images LinkedIn Influencer Dr. Travis Bradberry published this post originally on LinkedIn.

When it comes to success, it's easy to think that people blessed with (~ having something) brains will inevitably leave the rest of us in the dust (~leave smb far behind). But new research from Stanford University

will change your mind (and your attitude).

Psychologist Carol Dweck has spent her entire career studying attitude and performance, and her latest study shows that your attitude is a better predictor of your success than your IQ.

Dweck found that people's core attitudes fall into one of two categories: a fixed mindset or a growth mindset.

With a fixed mindset, you believe that you are who you are and you cannot change. This creates problems when you're challenged because anything that appears to be more than you can handle is bound to make you feel hopeless and overwhelmed.

People with a growth mindset believe that they can improve with effort. They outperform those with a fixed mindset, even when they have a lower IQ, because they embrace challenges, treating them as opportunities to learn something new.

Common sense would suggest that having ability, like being smart, inspires confidence. It does, but only while the going is easy. The deciding factor in life is how you handle setbacks and challenges. People with a growth mindset welcome setbacks with open arms.

According to Dweck, success in life is all about how you deal with failure. She describes the approach to failure of people with the growth mindset this way,

"Failure is information—we label it failure, but it's more like, 'This didn't work, and I'm a problem solver, so I'll try something else.'"

Regardless of which side of the chart you fall on, you can make changes and develop a growth mindset. What follows are some strategies that will fine-tune your mindset and help you make certain it's as growth oriented as possible.

Don't stay helpless
We all hit moments when we feel helpless. The test is how we react to that feeling.

We can either learn from it and move forward or let it drag us down

Countless successful people would have never made it if they had succumbed to feelings of helplessness: Walt Disney was fired from the Kansas City Star because he "lacked imagination and had no good ideas"; Oprah Winfrey was fired from her job as a TV anchor in Baltimore for being "too emotionally invested in her stories"; Henry Ford had two failed car companies before succeeding with Ford; and Steven Spielberg was rejected by USC's School of Cinematic Arts multiple times.

Imagine what would have happened if any of these people had a fixed mindset. They would have succumbed to the rejection and given up hope.

People with a growth mindset don't feel helpless because they know that to be successful you need to be willing to fail hard and then bounce right back.

Be passionate
Empowered people pursue their passions relentlessly. There will always be someone who is more naturally talented than you are, but what you lack in talent you can make up for in passion.

Empowered people's passion is what drives their unrelenting pursuit of excellence. Warren Buffett recommends finding your truest passions using what he calls the 5/25 technique: Write down the 25 things you care about the most. Then cross out the bottom 20. The remaining five are your true passions. Everything else is merely a distraction.

Take action It's not that people with a growth mindset are able to overcome their fears because they are braver than the rest of us; it's just that they know fear and anxiety are paralyzing emotions and that the best way to overcome this paralysis is to take action. People with a growth mindset are empowered, and empowered people know there is no such thing as a truly perfect moment to move forward. So why wait for one? Taking action turns all your worry and

concern about failure into positive, focused energy. Then go the extra mile (or two) Empowered people give it their all, even on their worst days. They're always pushing themselves to go the extra mile. One of Bruce Lee's pupils ran three miles every day with him. One day, they were about to hit the three-mile mark when Bruce said, "Let's do two more." His pupil was tired and said, "I'll die if I run two more." Bruce's response? "Then do it." His pupil became so angry that he finished the full five miles. Exhausted and furious, he confronted Bruce about his comment, and Bruce explained it this way: "Quit and you might as well be dead. If you always put limits on what you can do, physical or anything else, it'll spread over into the rest of your life. It'll spread into your work, into your morality, into your entire being. There are no limits. There are plateaus, but you must not stay there; you must go beyond them. If

it kills you, it kills you. A man must constantly exceed his level." "Quit and you might as well be dead." If you aren't getting a little bit better each day, then you're most likely getting a little worse — and what kind of life is that? Expect results People with a growth mindset know they will fail from time to time, but they never let that keep them from expecting results. Expecting results keeps you motivated and feeds the cycle of empowerment. After all, if you don't think you're going to succeed, then why bother?

Be flexible
Everyone encounters unanticipated adversity. Empowered people with a growth-oriented mindset embrace adversity as a means for improvement, as opposed to something that holds them back. When an unexpected situation challenges empowered people, they flex (~prepare before doing physical activity) until they get results.

Don't complain when things don't go your
way
Complaining is an obvious sign of a fixed mindset. A growth mindset looks for opportunity in everything, so there's no room for complaints.

Bringing it all together
By keeping track of how you respond to the little things, you can work every day to keep yourself on the right side of the chart above.

IELTS Writing test in 2015 in Vietnam

10/01/2015:

Task 1: Percentage of UK people using internet. Bar chart.

Task 2: Leaders and directors in an organisation are normally older people. Some people think younger leader would be better. Do you agree or disagree?

17/01/2015:

Task 1: Line graph about the sales of books in 6 different years.

Task 2: Some people think that there should be some strict controls about noise. Others think that they could just make as much noise as they want. Discuss both views and give your opinion.

29/01/2015:

Task 1: A diagram shows the stages of producing canned fruits.

Task 2: It is now possible for scientists and tourists to travel to remote natural environment, such as South Pole. Do the advantages of this development outweigh the disadvantages?

31/01/2015:

Task 1: The bar chart shows the percentage of the total world population in four countries in 1995 and 2002, and projections for 2050.

Task 2: Some people say that too much attention and too many resources are given in the protection of wild animals and birds. Do you agree or disagree about this opinion?

07/02/2015:

Task 1: (Bar Chart + Table) Comparison of time spent, in minutes per day, by UK's Males and Females on household and leisure activities. Task 2: Many museums and historical sites are mainly visited by tourists but not local people. Why is this the case and what can be done to attract more local people to visit these places?

12/02/2015:

Task 1: Table about student's satisfaction level for various services at a school.

Task 2: Some people think that the best way to increase road safety is to increase the minimum legal age for driving cars or riding motorbikes. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

14./02/2015:

Task 1: Line graph 

Task 2: The use of mobile phone is as antisocial as smoking. Smoking is banned in certain places so mobile phone should be banned like smoking. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

28/02/15

Task 1: Bar graph (three categories and 5 different age group)

Task 2: Some students prefer to take a year off between school and university, to work or to travel. Do the advantages of this outweigh the disadvantages?

14/03/2015:

Task 1: Pie chart.

Task 2: Nowadays, many families have both parents working. Some working parents believe other family members like grandparents can take care of their children, while others think childcare centres provide the best care. Discuss both views and give your own opinion.

21/03/2015:

Task 1: Maps. Compare two school campus between 1978 and 2001.

Task 2: Some people think that famous people can help international aid organizations to draw attention to important problems. Others believe that the celebrities can make the problems seem less important. Discuss both views and give your opinion.

28/03/2015:

Task 1: Bar chart. How many hours each week people work in European countries

Task 2: Some people think that the increasing use of computers and mobile phones in communication has negative effects on young people's reading and writing skills. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

11/04/2015:

Task 1: Line chart and bar graph about traffic and CO2 emission by cars trucks and vans

Task 2: Nowadays, more and more older people who need employment compete with the younger people for the same jobs. What problems this causes? What are solutions?

18/04/2015:

Task 1: Table

Task 2: Some people think that schools should reward students who show the best academic results, while others believe that it is more important to reward students who show improvements. Discuss both views and give your own opinion.

25/04/2015:

Task 1: Bar chart

Task 2: Young people who commit crimes should be treated in the same as as adults who commit crimes. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

09/05/2015:

Task 1: Table about high School Teacher's salary from 5 countries

Task 2: Developments in technology has brought various environmental problems. Some believe that people need to live simpler lives to solve environmental problems. Others, however, believe technology is the way to solve these problems. Discuss both views and give your own opinion

16/05/2015:

Task 1: Process about cocoa production

Task 2: Many people argue that in order to improve educational quality, high school students are encouraged to make comments or even criticism on their teachers. Others think it will lead to loss of respect and discipline in the classroom. Discuss both views and give your own opinion.

21/05/2015:

Task 1: Bar chart about two years, 1960 and 2000.

Task 2: Nowadays, more and more people decide to have children later in their life. What are the reasons? What are the effects on society and family life?

30/05/2015:

Task 1: bar chart about size class

Task 2: many people believe that international tourism is a bad thing for their country. What are the reasons? Solutions to change negative attitudes?

06/06/2015:

Task 1: Maps about the changes in a park

Task 2: Some people prefer to provide help and support directly to those their local community. However, others prefer to give money to national and international charitable organisations. Discuss both views and give opinion.

13/06/2015:

Task 1: Mix bar chart + line chart. 

 Task 2: Accommodation and transport problems are increasing in many large cities. Businesses are encouraged to move to rural areas. Do advantages outweigh disadvantages?

27/06/2015:

Task 1: 2 line charts.

Task 2: People today do not feel safe either at home or when they are out. What are the causes? What are the solutions?

04/07/2015:

Task 1: Bar chart - so sánh boys and girls tham gia vào các hoạt động.

Task 2: Some people think that young people should be required to do unpaid work helping people in the community. Are disadvantages of this requirement greater than the benefits for the community and individuals?

11/07/2015:

Task 1: Line chart

Task 2: Advertising discourages people from being different individuals by making us want to be and to look the same. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

23/07/2015:

Task 1: Bar chart.

Task 2: Some people say taxes should be spent on health care. Other ppl say that there are more important priorities for tax-payers' money. Discus both these views and give your own opinion.

25/07/015:

Task 1: bar chart

Task 2: As well as making money, businesses also have social responsibilities. Do you agree or disagree?

01/08/2015:

Task 1: Map about different room layouts

Task 2: The world natural resources are consumed at an ever-increased rate. What are the dangers of this situation? What should we do?

08/08/2015:

Task 1: Line graph

Task 2: Some people who have been in prison become good citizens later. Some people think that having these people to give a talk to school students is the best way to tell them about dangers of committing a crime. Do you agree or disagree?

13/08/2015:

Task 1: pie chart.

Task 2: international travel can make people prejudiced rather than broad minded. Why people fail to benefit when they travel? What we can do to improve their understanding of the countries they visit?

29/08/2015:

Task 1: Two bar charts about male + female do tasks at home

Task 2: Some people think that the government should give financial support to artists such as musicians, painters and poets. Others think that it is a waste of money. Discuss both views and give your opinion.

03/09/2015 :

Task 1: bar charts about favourite subjects of 60 purpils from 2 different junior high schools.

Task 2: Many people are afraid to leave their homes because of the fear of crime. Some believe that more actions should be taken to prevent crime. Others feel that little can be done. Discuss both views and give your opinion.

12/09/2015:

Task 1: Table 5x5 about the number of people living in other countries.

Task 2: Fewer and fewer people walk on a daily basis. What are the reasons and how to encourage them to spend their time walking?

26/09/2015:

Task 1: Line chart.

Task 2: Studies show that criminals get low level of education. Some people believe that the best way to reduce the crime is educating people in prison so they can get a job after leaving prison. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

08/10/2015:

Task1: maps so sánh sự thay đổi của 1 tòa nhà theo thời gian.

Task 2: In some countries, secondary schools aim to provide a general education across a range of subjects. In others, children focus on a narrow range of subjects related to a particular career. Which of these two systems is more appropriate in today's world?

10/10/2015:

Task 1: 2 pie charts

Task 2: Some people think that in order to prevent illness and disease, governments should make efforts in reducing environmental pollution and housing problems. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?

24/10/2015:

Task 1: bar chart

Task 2: students today can easily access information online, so libraries are no longer necessary. Do you agree or disagree?

31/10/2015:

Tast 1: So sánh 2 pie charts.

Task 2: Scientist agree that people are damaging their health by eating too much junk food. Some people think that the answer to this problem is to educate people. Others think education will not work. Discuss both views and give your opinion.

07/11/2015:

Task 1: Bar chart

Task 2: Whether or not someone achieves their aims is mostly by a question of luck. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

14/11/2105:

Task 1: pie chart, a mountain of data

Task 2: The consumption of the world's resources (oil, and water etc.) is increasing at a dangerous rate. What are causes and solutions?

21/11/2015:

Task 1: table

Task 2: Too much emphasis is placed on going university for academic education. People should be encouraged to do vocational training, because there is a lack of qualified tradespeople such as electricians or plumbers. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

03/12/2015:

Task 1: maps 

Task 2: The government and individuals are spending too much money on national celebrations like new year or festivals. Do you agree or disagree?

05/12/2015:

Task 1: Table.

Task 2: There is a general increase in anti-social behaviors and lack of respect for others. What are the causes and solutions?

12/12/2015:

Task 1: table

Task 2: People who live in foreign countries should follow the traditions and customs. To what extent do you agree or disagree.

19/12/2015:

Task 1: process jam made out of fruit

Task 2: Children are facing more pressures nowadays from academic, social and commercial perspectives.

What are the causes of these pressures and what measures should be taken to reduce these pressures?