YOU

Describe yourself.

FAMILY

o Describe your family?

o Do you have a large or small family?
o How much time do you spend with your family?
o What do you like to do together as a family?
o Do you get along well with your family?
o Are people in your country generally close to their families?

WORK

o What do you do?

o What are your responsibilities?
o How many hours do you work each day?
o Do you enjoy your work?
o Is there some other kind of work you would rather do?
o If you could change your job or profession, what would you do?
o Describe the process of getting a job in your country.
o Describe the company or organization you work for.
o What is your position?
o What do you like about your job?
o What do you dislike about your job?

EDUCATION

o Describe your education.

o What kind of school did you go to as a child?
o Did you go to a co-educational school?
o What was your favourite subject as a child?
o Who was your favourite teacher?
o What is the education system like in your country?
o Do you think your country has an effective education system?

STUDIES

 What are you studying now?

 What is your area of specialization?

HOMETOWN

o Describe your hometown.

o What’s special about it?
o Where is your hometown located?
o Is it easy to travel around your hometown?
o What is it known for?
o What do people in your town do?
o What are the main industries in your hometown?
o What problems face your hometown?
o What languages are spoken in your hometown?
o What are the advantages of living in your hometown?
o What are some problems faced by your hometown?
o Compare your hometown with another city.
 o What are some environmental problems faced by your hometown?

WEATHER

o What’s the weather like in your country?

o Does the weather affect your mood?
o How do rainy days make you feel?
o What’s your favourite season of the year?
o What do you like to do when it’s hot?
o What do you usually do in the winter?
o How many seasons does your country have?

HOME

o Describe your home.

o What kind of building do you live in?
o How long have you lived there?

WEDDING

o Have you ever been to a wedding?

o Whose wedding was it?
o Where was it held?
o What clothes do people wear?
o Describe the wedding ceremony.
o What sort if gifts do people buy for the bridal couple?
o What kind of clothes did the bride and groom wear?

TRAVEL

o Do you like to travel?

o What kind of places have you visited in your life?
o Which place would you really like to visit? Why?
o What’s the best place you’ve ever visited?

COMPUTERS

o Do you think computers help society?

o Do you think computers are bad for health?
o How do you think computers have changed the world?

INTERNET

o Do you use the Internet much during the day?

o What do you usually do on the Internet?
o What are some advantages of the Internet?
o What are some disadvantages?
o Do people in your country use the Internet a lot?
o Do you do any shopping on the Internet?

EMAIL

o Do you send and receive email regularly?

o Who do you usually communicate with?
o How often do you check your email?
o Do you think writing email has strengthened or weakened people’s writing skills?
 o What are some disadvantages of email?

FRIEND

o Describe a friend.
o How long have you known each other?
o What do usually do together?
o What do you like the most about him / her?
o How often do you see each other?

PLACE

o Describe a place you like to go.

o Why is this place special to you?
o When did you first visit this place?
o Where is this place located?
o What language is spoken here? Do you speak this language?

SMOKING

o What do you feel about smoking in public places?

o Do you think smoking should be banned in people’s homes?

MARRIAGE

o What is the attitude toward marriage in your country?

o Do most young people plan on getting married in your country?
o What are some of the advantages of marriage?
o What are some of the disadvantages?
o Is the divorce rate high in your country?
o Do you think people should be allowed to get divorced?

HOBBIES

o Do you have any hobbies?

o What are some of your hobbies?
o When did you first develop tis hobby?
o What are some of the advantages of having a hobby?
o How much time do you spend on your hobby?

FILMS

o Do you enjoy watching movies?

o What’s your favourite film?
o Who are your favourite actors?
o How often do you watch films?
o

What kind of shows do you like to watch?

What are some advantages of television?
What are someof the disadvantages of television?
What did you last watch on television?
Why do you think certain TV shows are so popular?

TOURISM
o Which places would you recommend to a visitor to your country?
 o Do a lot of tourists visit your country?
o What do they usually do there?
o How has tourism changed your country?
o Is your country expensive for most tourists?
o What are some famous landmarks in your country?

DAILY ROUTINE

o Describe your daily routine.

o What do you usually do?
o What do you do on the weekend?
o What is you typical weekday like?
o Does your life change much from week to week?
o Do you have any free time during the week?

YOUR COUNTRY

o Which country are you from?

o Where is this country located?
o Which part of the country do most people live in?
o What are the main industries in your country?
o Is it easy to travel around your country?

CLOTHES

o What type of clothes do you like to wear?

o What kind of clothes do people in your country usually wear?
o How important is fashion to you?
o What kind of clothes do you dislike?
o Do you think people behave differently in different kinds of clothes?
o What kind of clothes do people wear to work in your country?
o Are clothes expensive in your country?

GOING OUT

o Do you like going out or staying at home?

o What do you like to do when you go out?
o How often do you go out?
o Do people in your country go our a lot?
o How and where do people in your country usually socialize?
o What kind of entertainment is popular in your country?

GAMES

o Do you enjoy playing any games?

o What kind of games do you play?
o Do you think adults should play games?
o What do children learn from games?
o What kind of games did you play when you were a child?
o What games are popular in your country today?
o What kind of games were popular when you were young?
o Do you think mental games like chess are good for you?

 COLOURS
o Do you have a favourite colour?
o What are your country’s colours?
 o Do you think colours affect our moods?
o Can you learn anything about a person from the colours he / she likes?
o Do you like the same colours now as you did when you were a child?

MUSIC

o Do you like music?

What kind of music do you like?

When do you usually listen to music?
What kind of music did you like when you were younger?
What kind of music is popular in your country?
Do you play any musical instruments?
Do you wish you could play any musical instruments?
Which is your favourite instrument?

ELTS Writing -
Key Words & Expressions

By learning to use common phrases and set expressions, you can add variety and interest to your
writing. You will also be able to write more quickly and effectively during exams, when time is limited.

Of course, you won't need to use all of the expressions on the IELTS. Ideally, you should be
comfortable using at least three or four expressions from each group below, so they come to mind easily
during the IELTS. It is also helpful to have someone call them out so you can test your spelling.
Unfortunately, students sometimes make spelling errors even in these commonly occurring expressions.
Practice sufficiently so you don't lose points unnecessarily on something that's within your control.

KEY WORDS for IELTS WRITING

Stating Your Opinion

In my opinion, According to me,

In my view, To me,

From my point of view, I think

It seems to me that I believe

From my perspective To my way of thinking

It appears that I suppose

I realize I understand

I imagine I feel

Giving Examples

For example, For instance,

such as In other words,

as like

that is namely

To illustrate To paraphrase

Comparing

Similar to As...as

in common also

Either...or In the same way,

Neither...nor At the same time

Just as resemble

Contrasting

However, But

On the contrary, On the other hand,

Differ from Nevertheless

Although Though

Otherwise Instead
Alternatively, Even though

Generalizing

Generally, Generally speaking,

Overall, On the whole,

In general, By and large,

It seems to me that I believe

All in all, Basically,

Essentially, As a rule,

All things considered For the most part

Expressing Certainty

Certainly, Undoubtedly,

Doubtless, No doubt,

Definitely, Of course,

Expressing Partial Agreement

More or less, To some extent,

Up to a point, Almost,

In a way, So to speak,

Showing cause

Due to Because

Because of Owing to

 
 Showing effect

Therefore, As a result,

Consequently, For this reason,

Thus, So,

thereby Eventually,

Hence, The reason why

Marking time

First, Last

Second, Lastly,

Third, Then,

Firstly, First of all,

Secondly, Before

Thirdly, After

During While

To begin with At the same time

Simultaneously After this / that

Since Meanwhile

Afterwards Following this

When As soon as

Adding Information

Furthermore In addition

Also And

Moreover Similarly

Likewise As well as
 Besides Too

Even What’s more

Expressing condition

If Whether

In case Unless

Provided that So that

Concluding

To summarize In conclusion

Lastly, Finally,

To conclude with, In short,

To complete your IELTS letter writing task within 20 minutes, it is helpful to know some common
phrases and set expressions. Being able to use these will allow you to express your ideas quickly and
effectively, without thinking about each and every word. While you're learning their meaning, also make sure
you can spell them perfectly. Finally, try the quiz at the bottom of the page to see how well you know these
important expression.

Apologizing
I'm sorry about...
I am sorry that...
I'm very sorry about...
I'm very sorry for...
Please forgive me for...
I'd like to apologize for...
Please accept my apologies.
Please accept my sincere apologies. (very formal)

Asking for Help

I'd be grateful if you could...
I would be grateful if you could...
I would appreciate it if you could...
Could you please...
I was wondering of you could help me.(informal)
I would like to know...

Asking for Information

I am writing to enquire about...
I am writing to find out about...
What I am looking for is...
I would like to know about/if...

Closing
I look forward to seeing you.
I look forward to hearing from you.
I look forward to meeting you.