Preparing for IELTS

Writing Task 1 - Australian Coal Production

2008-01-18T23:06:00.000-08:00

Task 1 requires to write at least 150 words. We should spend around 20 minutes on this task. This is my answer about the following topic:

The table below gives information about the Australian Coal Production by states, 1950-51 to 1985-86 (millios of tonnes).

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

Year	Raw Coal
Year	NSW	Qld	SA	WA	Tas./Vic.	Australia
1950-51	12.9	2.3	0.3	0.9	0.3	16.7
1955-56	14.8	2.7	0.5	0.9	0.4	19.3
1960-61	18.5	3.1	1.0	0.8	0.3	23.7
1965-66	25.4	5.6	2.0	1.1	0.1	34.2
1970-71	35.7	14.3	1.6	1.2	0.2	53.0
1975-76	40.6	32.4	1.8	2.1	0.2	77.1
1980-81	58.3	42.8	1.7	3.1	0.3	106.2
1985-86	77.2	80.0	2.2	3.8	0.5	163.6

The information given in the table relates to the production capacity of raw coal by each state in Australia during a 36 year period from 1950 to 1986. The total amount of coal produced in Australia is given as well. It is obvious that coal production grew dramatically over that period.

NSW was Australia's top producer of raw coal from 1950-51 to 1980-81. NSW generated 12.9 millions of tonnes of raw coal in a950-51, turning to 77.2 millions of tonnes in 1980-1981. Qld was also prominent as it took second place within the same period. Qld succeded to produce just over 21 times more coal in 1980-81 with 42.8 millions of tonnes than 1950-51 at merely 2.3 millions of tonnes. In 1985-86, Qld replaced NSW in first rank since the raw coal produced by Qld (80.0 millions of tonnes0 exceed that of NSW (77.2 millions of tonnes).

During the period from 1950-51 to 1985-86, SA and WA occupied the third and the fourth ranks respectively, whereas Tas./Vic. completed the table in the fifth spot. Both SA and WA had gradual increase throughout the period. Meanwhile Tas./Vic. started its coal production record with 0.3 millions of tonnes in 1950-1951, fluctuated slightly and eventually reached 0.5 millions of tonnes in 1985-86.

Turning to the aggregate coal production, Australia generated 100 times more coal in 195-86 than that of in 1950-51.
[228 words]

Writing Task 2 - the Best Age

2008-01-11T16:46:00.000-08:00

Task 2 requires to write at least 250 words. We should spend around 40 minutes on this task. This is my answer about the following topic:

What do you think as the best age: childhood, adolescent, young adult hood, middle age, or old age? Give reasons for your choice!

Most people would think about the perfect age differently as all ages have their own benefits. However, personally I believe that childhood is the best age. It is a beautiful time where children have a lot of fun. That is because there is so much love, fewer responsibilities, and plenty time to play without worries.

Firstly, most people would get so much love and a huge deal of attention from others when they are kids. Kids commonly steal other family members' attention, not only their parents but also their extended family. Kids, therefore, would experience so much fun living in a lovely surrounding area.

Another reason why childhood is the perfect age is that kids might have fewer responsibilities. Compared to the next ages, they have far less duties to do. A prime example in this case is that they need not work to earn money for their lives as adults do. It would be much more relaxing to live without obligations to work because their necessities have been fulfilled by their parents.

Furthermore, kids may have so much time to play with no worries. Dissimilar to adults, who may find difficulties in balancing work and play, kids might feel free to spend their majority of time with others. There might be no worries about anything in kids' mind. As a result, kids may not even know what stress is.

For all of these reasons, it is clear that childhood might be the best age. Commonly, kids might be the subjects of others' love, might have less duties, and also might enjoy time with no worries.
[266 words]

Writing Task 1 - Underground Railway Systems

2007-12-08T23:33:00.000-08:00

Task 1 requires to write at least 150 words. We should spend around 20 minutes on this task. This is my answer about the following topic:

The table below gives information about the underground railway systems in six cities.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

City	Date Opened	Kilometres of Route	Passengers per Year (in millions)
London	1863	394	775
Paris	1900	199	1191
Tokyo	1927	155	1927
Washington DC	1976	126	144
Kyoto	1981	11	45
Los Angeles	2001	28	50

The table reveals three categories of information about underground railway systems in six cities, namely date opened, its length, and a total number of its passenger annually.

The underground railway system in London, which was firstly operated in 1863, is the oldest among the others. 143 years after that, precisely in 1900, Paris opened its railway system. It was followed by Tokyo, Washington DC, and Kyoto, which began running their railway system in the year 1927, 1976, 1981 respectively. Meanwhile, the railway system in Los Angeles, which was operated in 2001, was recorded as the newest one.

In terms of length, London is rated the first with 394 kilometers long. The next is Paris which is practically half the length of London's. This is then followed by Tokyo, Washington DC, and Los Angeles, with Kyoto completing the table in the last rank. Its railway route -11 kilometers long- accounts for approximately fiveteen times less than that of Tokyo (155 kilometers).

Turning to the total number of passengers in a year, Tokyo has the greatest number among others, with 1927 millions passengers, eventhough it ranked the third in length of the railway route. Paris came as the second serving 1191 millions passengers per year. Similar to its rank in length, Kyoto occupied the last rank, with only 45 million passengers.

Overall, the older the railway system, the longer the route of the railway system.
[233 words].

Writing Task 2 - Tourism

2007-11-24T05:28:00.000-08:00

Task 2 requires to write at least 250 words. We should spend around 40 minutes on this task. This is my answer about the following topic:

Most of the world's poor live in countries where tourism is a growing industry. The issue that tourism does not benefit the poorest. How can the income generated by tourism benefit the poor? And how can we ensure that tourism does not destroy traditional cultures and way of life? What are your views?

Tourism has become one of the most profitable sectors which run well for most governments. However, there is a concern that their poor citizens do not benefit from the business of tourism, especially in an economic viewpoint. Furthermore, what some people worry about is that local cultures can be eroded due to tourisms. This essay will examine a numbers of solutions that could alleviate these side effects of tourism.

There are two good ideas for providing greater opportunities in taking part of this business to the poor. Firstly, inspite of allowing foreign firms to run business in tourism area, the government should strictly limit this number of businesses, such as hotels, shops, and restaurants. The government should open widely these business opportunities to the local communities. By limiting the number of foreign businesses, the local people could develop their businesses, such as ethnic shops, restaurants, and accommodation which in turn can raise their income too. Another vital role of the government might be by providing soft-loans for running a business by the poor. This would be a good idea as soft loans have low interest and long term payment. Unfortunately, some countries could not easily afford adequate funds to execute this solution.

In terms of preserving traditional cultures and ways of life, it would be useful to increase the pride and 'sense of belonging' of the local people. It could be done by the help of education. In Indonesia, there are a number of subjects in elementary to high school which relate to our cultures, for instance 'bahasa daerah' (language of certain area, e.g. Javanese and Balinese language) and arts. In addition, the business doers in tourism, such as travel agencies , tourist bureau, and also tourist guide could inform foreigners to understand better and respect the native cultures.

For all of these viewpoints, the government should limit the number of foreign cooperations and stimulate the poor to actively engage in the tourism businesses.
[324 words]

Writing Task 2 - Happiness

2007-11-24T03:44:00.000-08:00

Task 2 requires to write at least 250 words. We should spend around 40 minutes on this task. This is my answer about the following topic:

Happiness is considered very important in life. Why is it difficult to define? What factors are important in achieving happiness?

Generally speaking many people are often in search of happiness. There can be many definitions of the word 'happiness'. This word is quite hard to define. This essay, therefore, will evaluate why happiness is not easy to precisely explain and then will analyse several points that might be essential to obtain happiness.

The word happiness might mean different things for many people because each of them has different interest. Hence, no one has the same view of what happiness is. The things that make some people happy might seem boring to others. Listening to the songs of Bob Marley -reggae music- may make some people happy, for instance, whereas the others might see the music as boring.

Another reason why the definitions of happiness are varied is because people might experience various effects of being happy on their emotions. There are temporary and long-lasting conditions of happiness. A prime example of the previous one is when someone tells a joke. A funny joke may make some people laugh and feel happy, nonetheless this only last a moment. A deeper and longer effect of happiness into emotions might be explained when something good happens to someone, for example achieving a raise at work or obtaining a good result on a test.

Turning into influential factors in achieving happiness, they may be down to two points. Firstly, achieving happiness is mostly influenced by personal ambition. Many people might feel happy when they have succeed in achieving their own ideal target, which obviously will be different to each other. Some women, for example, may feel happy when they become a good housewife as this is what they wanted. Meanwhile working woman may find their happiness by obtaining a good position in their work. Another factor might be in terms of personal notion regarding the ideal, happy life they want to live in. May be being alone in nature or living in the countryside provide happiness for some people instead of living in big cities.

From all of these viewpoints, it might be hard to define the exact meaning of happiness due to various people interests and also the dissimilar effects of being happy on emotions. Furthermore, personal ambition and the idea of an ideal life may influence in achieving happiness. It can be concluded that what makes people happy might be difference to each other. This difference is what makes the world interesting.
[400 words]

Writing Task 2 - Starting University Studies

2007-11-23T01:38:00.000-08:00

Task 2 requires to write at least 250 words. We should spend around 40 minutes on this task. This is my answer about the following topic:

In some countries young people are encouraged to work or travel for a year between finishing high school and starting university studies.
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages for young people who decide to do these.

Youth have different habits in different countries in terms of study. What is common in some countries is that the young generation choose to work or travel after finishing their high school. A year after that, they will continue their studies at university. This essay will look at the positive impacts and the drawbacks of a recess in study.

The benefits of taking a year's break of study would be down to two major points, namely experience and money. It could be argued that some people who travels or works would obtain precious experiences that will significantly contribute to their success in life. That is because most people believe that experience is the best teacher. Moreover, people who have experience would have greater opportunities to have well-paid jobs rather than others who have no experience although they have a better mark at school (academic mark). A further benefit is that youth who work would have more money to pay for their tuition fees. In other words, they become financially independent as some of them probably are from low-income families. Thus, it is obvious that they create better opportunities to take their further studies themselves.

Despite all of those benefits, there are two negative impacts of this issue for youth, in regards with their motivation and their time. For some youth who have decided to work or travel before entering university, they may become reluctant to embark on studying. After working for some time, they may have second thoughts about whether it is necessary to take their undergraduate studies or not. Similarly, some people who have enjoyed their traveling might have the same feelings about studying. Another drawbacks is that they will have a longer study time compared to others who have chosen to go straight do their studies. There is also a probability that some youth who have traveled want to extend their travel time.

In conclusion, the benefits of this issue could be in terms of experience and money, whereas the disadvantages would be motivation and time. In my view, it could be a good idea for youth to work or travel for about a year while always maintaining their motivation to study.
[364 words]