I recently helped my good friend Khoa make a video about IELTS Writing for his new English channel: Hey it’s Khoa! Khoa has been teaching English and IELTS in Vietnam for five years. He’s an enthusiastic and amazing teacher, and a humorous and kind friend. I highly recommend checking out his work!
[ 5-minute IELTS ]
Video Notes
- IELTS Writing! Everyone’s favorite skill!
- Some differences between Vietnamese and American writing style:
- Choose the right words.
- Get to your point as quickly as possible.
- Some suggestions for strong writing:
- Start your essay with a fact.
- Try to use formal word choices.
- Common stylistics mistakes to avoid:
- Avoid redundancies: get right to the point and don’t repeat yourself unnecessarily.
- Use strong words like “will” or “definitely” only for things that are factual, not opinion.
- Use ambiguous / tentative words and phrases, such as “to some extend” or “I would argue that” to make an unbiased argument.
- Support your main ideas with a variety of examples that add new supporting considerations, rather than repeating the same
- DOs and DON’Ts
- DO use objective words to describe facts.
- DO use suggestive words such as “could”, “might”, or “may” instead of absolute words like “will”.
- DON’T use personal opinion to present ideas as fact.
- DO use your personal opinion to state your main arguments or conclusion.
- DON’T repeat yourself! Avoid redundancies, repetition, using the same ideas or examples again and again and again…
- DO vary your ideas and examples.
- DO appreciate Khoa’s cute cats!
Whether you’re a Vietnamese student studying English or interested in learning more about Vietnamese culture, his channel offers quality content with helpful tips and advice! Plus, Khoa’s cats are adorable!
