# IELTS_LANGUAGE_BANK_TTS_ENGLISH - **Original Source:** `IELTS_LANGUAGE_BANK_TTS_ENGLISH.md` - **Category:** `drills` - **Original Format:** `.md` --- # THE LANGUAGE OF IELTS. A COMPLETE PHRASE BANK. AUDIO FORMAT. ## HOW TO USE THIS DOCUMENT This is not a grammar guide. This is the specific language the exam rewards: the phrases, frames, and word families that examiners are trained to recognize as band seven and above. Every phrase here is a tool. Hear it, say it out loud, then say it again inside a sentence of your own. A phrase you cannot produce at speed does not exist. The document moves through Speaking Part One, Part Two, Part Three, then Writing Task One in all its formats, then Task Two, then the paraphrasing engine that powers everything. Each section ends with the traps: the phrases that sound good but lower the score. # PART ONE. SPEAKING PART ONE. THE LANGUAGE OF NATURAL EXTENSION. Part One questions are simple. The language that scores is not the answer itself but the extension after it. The formula: direct answer, reason, small detail. Ten to fifteen seconds. Never one word, never a speech. ## Frames for likes and preferences I am really into... I am really into languages, actually. Especially the indigenous languages of Mexico. I am quite keen on... I have always had a soft spot for... It is not really my thing, to be honest. I would much rather... I cannot get enough of... If I had to choose, I would probably go for... ## Frames for habits and frequency I tend to... I tend to read in the evenings, once the day has settled. More often than not, I... Every now and then, I... I make a point of... I make a point of walking my dog every morning, whatever the weather. Hardly ever, to be honest. It has become a bit of a ritual. ## Frames for talking about your home, your work, your city I was born and raised in... I have been living there for as long as I can remember. What I love about it is... What I find frustrating about it is... It is a city of contrasts, really. My work is demanding but rewarding. No two days are the same, which is exactly what I like about it. I have been working as a psychiatrist for over a decade now. ## Frames for the future I am planning to... I am planning to relocate to New Zealand later this year. I am really looking forward to... If everything goes according to plan... It is still up in the air, but ideally... ## Part One traps Trap one: one word answers. Yes, I do. Silence. That caps fluency immediately. Trap two: over formal language. Part One is conversational. Furthermore and moreover do not belong here. Use and, but, so, because, actually, to be honest. Trap three: rehearsed autobiography. Answer the question that was asked, not the one you prepared. # PART TWO. SPEAKING PART TWO. THE LANGUAGE OF STORYTELLING. ## Setting the scene. Your first ten seconds. This happened about three years ago, back when I was still in training. It was during my first year of residency, so picture someone completely overwhelmed. Let me take you back to the day when... The whole thing started quite unexpectedly. To give you a bit of context first... ## Moving the story forward. Narrative connectors. At first... but then... and in the end... What happened next took me completely by surprise. Meanwhile, without me knowing it... The turning point came when... Looking back on it now... And that was the moment I realized... ## The language of feelings. This is where your tense collapses, so anchor the past forms. I was absolutely thrilled. Not just happy. Absolutely thrilled. I was completely taken aback. I felt a huge sense of relief. I was on the verge of giving up. It was nerve wracking, honestly. I could not believe my eyes. It meant the world to me. I was torn between two options. A wave of relief washed over me. It caught me off guard. Notice every single one of those is in the past. When emotion rises, these are the phrases that keep you anchored. Repeat them: I was thrilled. I was taken aback. I felt relieved. It meant the world to me. ## The language of significance. For cue cards that ask why it matters. It left a lasting impression on me. It shaped the way I practice medicine to this day. It taught me something no textbook ever could. It put things into perspective. If that had not happened, I doubt I would be where I am now. That mixed conditional is gold. Say it again. If that had not happened, I doubt I would be where I am now. ## Describing people. For cue cards about a person. She was the kind of person who... What set him apart was... She had a gift for putting patients at ease. He was demanding but fair. I owe her a great deal. We hit it off straight away. She always went the extra mile. ## Describing places. For cue cards about a place. It is a bit off the beaten track. The place has a charm of its own. It was breathtaking, in the most literal sense. What struck me first was the silence. It felt like stepping into another century. I could picture myself living there. ## Part Two traps Trap one: idioms forced into the wrong place. One natural idiom raises the score. Three forced idioms lower it. If you have never said it out loud before, do not debut it in the exam. Trap two: the phrase in a nutshell used to open. It closes, it does not open. Trap three: filler inflation. You know, like, I mean, more than twice per minute reads as a fluency gap dressed up as style. # PART THREE. SPEAKING PART THREE. THE LANGUAGE OF ABSTRACT DISCUSSION. ## Stating a position with calibration I would argue that... My sense is that... Broadly speaking, I would say... I am somewhat skeptical about the idea that... There is a strong case for saying that... I am in two minds about this, actually. ## The language of causes This largely comes down to... One of the main drivers is... It stems from... The root of the problem lies in... This is partly a consequence of... Several factors feed into this. ## The language of effects This has far reaching consequences. The knock on effect is that... In the long run, this leads to... The ripple effects are felt across the whole system. One unintended consequence is that... ## The language of comparison and contrast between groups Older generations tend to... whereas younger people are more inclined to... There is a growing divide between... The gap between the two has widened considerably. What holds true in cities does not necessarily apply in rural areas. In wealthier countries the picture looks quite different. ## The language of speculation about the future It is hard to say, but my guess is that... I would not be surprised if... It seems inevitable that, sooner or later... There is every chance that... If current trends continue, we are likely to see... That said, predictions in this area have a poor track record. ## The language of concession. Band eight territory. Concession means giving the other side its due before answering it. This single move raises coherence and lexical resource at the same time. Admittedly, there are cases where... but on balance... While it is true that... the bigger picture suggests otherwise. I can see why people argue that... however, in my experience... That argument has some merit, but it overlooks one thing. Granted, the system has improved. The question is whether it has improved fast enough. ## The language of degree To a large extent. To some extent. Only up to a point. It depends enormously on the context. That is true in principle, but much harder in practice. The effect is real but often exaggerated. ## Part Three traps Trap one: basically and obviously. Both undermine the analytical register. Replace basically with in essence or fundamentally. Delete obviously entirely; if it were obvious, the examiner would not ask. Trap two: as I said before. Never signal repetition. If you must reuse an idea, reframe it with new words. Trap three: big empty nouns. Society, technology, the government as vague actors. Sharpen them. Public health systems. Social media platforms. Local authorities. Precision is lexical resource. # PART FOUR. WRITING TASK ONE. THE LANGUAGE OF DATA. ## The introduction. Paraphrase machines. The chart shows becomes: the bar chart illustrates, the graph compares, the table provides data on, the diagram gives information about. The number of people becomes: the figure for, the proportion of, how many people. From nineteen ninety to two thousand ten becomes: over a twenty year period, between nineteen ninety and two thousand ten, throughout the period shown. In three countries becomes: across three nations, in the three countries surveyed. One full model: The line graph illustrates changes in the proportion of households with access to the internet in three European countries between two thousand and two thousand twenty. ## The overview. Sentence starters. Overall, the most striking feature is that... Overall, it is clear that... rose across the period, while... moved in the opposite direction. At a glance, two trends dominate the chart. Taken as a whole, the data reveal... ## Trend verbs by direction, full families. Going up: rise, increase, climb, grow, surge, soar for very fast, edge up for very slow, recover after a fall, rebound. Going down: fall, decline, decrease, drop, dip for small and brief, plummet for very fast, slide for gradual, halve when it divides by two. Staying flat: remain stable, remain constant, level off after movement, plateau, hold steady, hover around a figure. Moving both ways: fluctuate, oscillate, follow an uneven pattern, show volatility. Reaching limits: peak at, reach a high of, hit a low of, bottom out at. ## Noun forms of the same trends. Alternate constantly. A sharp rise. A steady increase. A gradual climb. A modest recovery. A marked decline. A slight dip. A sharp fall. A steep drop. A period of stability. A plateau. An overall upward trend. A downward trajectory. Two ways to say the same fact. Say both out loud. Sales rose sharply. There was a sharp rise in sales. The figure declined gradually. The figure showed a gradual decline. ## The language of comparison Twice as high as. Three times higher than. Half the level of. By far the largest category. The second most popular option. The least common choice. Considerably more than. Marginally lower than. Roughly equal to. On a par with. While A accounted for a third of the total, B made up barely a tenth. ## The language of proportion Accounted for. Represented. Constituted. Comprised. Made up. One in five respondents. Two out of every three households. The vast majority. A small minority. A negligible share. Just over half. Slightly under a quarter. Approximately two thirds. Around forty percent. ## Time phrases that hold the tense steady Over the period as a whole. Throughout the two decades shown. During the first half of the period. By the end of the period. In the final year. At the start of the century. From that point onward. In the subsequent five years. ## Maps. The exam's own dialect. The site underwent a complete transformation. The area was redeveloped into... The woodland made way for a housing estate. A new road now cuts across the northern section. The town expanded considerably toward the coast. The rural character of the area was largely lost. The layout remained essentially unchanged in the southwest. ## Processes. The exam's other dialect. The process consists of six distinct stages. The cycle begins with... and culminates in... At the initial stage. At the subsequent stage. At the final stage. Once this step has been completed... The output of this stage becomes the input of the next. The material undergoes filtration. The mixture undergoes heating. Undergo plus noun is a quiet band raiser. ## Task One traps Trap one: emotional or evaluative language. Fortunately, unfortunately, impressively, it is worrying that. All banned. You are a camera, not a commentator. Trap two: the phrase as can be seen from the chart repeated three times. Once at most, ideally never. The citation is implicit. Trap three: describing the axes. The vertical axis shows percentage. The examiner can see the axes. Describe the data, not the furniture. Trap four: rounding errors of language. Almost fifty percent when the figure is fifty three. Almost means below. Say just over fifty percent. # PART FIVE. WRITING TASK TWO. THE LANGUAGE OF ARGUMENT. ## Introductions. Two sentence machine. Sentence one paraphrases the issue. Sentence two states your position or maps the essay. Model one, opinion: The question of whether governments should fund the arts divides opinion sharply. This essay argues that public funding is not only defensible but necessary, for two reasons developed below. Model two, discussion: Some regard remote work as a permanent improvement in working life, while others see it as a threat to collaboration. This essay examines both positions before concluding that the benefits outweigh the costs for most, though not all, professions. Model three, problem and solution: Urban housing has become unaffordable for a growing share of the population. This essay identifies speculation as the central cause and proposes two policy responses. ## The language of stating your position This essay argues that... I largely agree with this view, with one important reservation. On balance, the advantages outweigh the drawbacks. The claim is only partially convincing. My position is that the responsibility falls primarily on governments, though individuals are not exempt. ## Topic sentences. Claim first frames. The strongest argument for X is... The central problem with this view is... A second, less obvious benefit concerns... The most damaging consequence appears in... What critics of X consistently overlook is... ## The language of argumentation inside the paragraph The reason is straightforward. The mechanism works as follows. The logic runs in one direction. This follows from a simple observation. The evidence for this is not hard to find. Consider what happens when... ## The language of exemplification Take housing as an example. A case in point is... This pattern is visible in... To illustrate: in my own clinical practice... Nowhere is this clearer than in... Never invent statistics. A recent study found that seventy percent, with no source, reads as fabrication. Your professional experience is a stronger card than a fake number. ## The language of counterargument and refutation Opponents of this view argue that... The objection fails, however, because... It might be objected that... Yet this overlooks... The standard reply is that... That reply holds only if... Admittedly... Nevertheless, the core problem remains. ## The language of solutions The most direct remedy would be to... A first step would involve... Governments could address this by... A more ambitious response would require... No single measure will suffice; a combination of X and Y stands the best chance. ## Conclusions. Decisive frames. The conclusion restates the position with force and adds nothing new. The evidence points in one direction. For these reasons, the case for X is compelling. Unless the underlying incentives change, the problem will persist. The choice, ultimately, is between short term convenience and long term stability. ## Hedged certainty. The register of band eight. The exam rewards precision about how sure you are. Absolute claims read as naive. Pure vagueness reads as evasive. The middle register sounds like this: This strongly suggests, though it does not prove, that... The connection is well established, even if the mechanism remains unclear. In most contexts, though not all... The trend is unlikely to reverse without intervention. There are good reasons to believe, on current evidence, that... ## Task Two traps Trap one: the inflated opener. In this day and age, in the contemporary epoch, since the dawn of time. Every examiner has read these thousands of times. Open with the issue itself. Trap two: firstly, secondly, thirdly as the entire coherence strategy. Use them at most once. Let topic sentences carry the structure. Trap three: last but not least. Banned. It adds nothing and signals template. Trap four: rhetorical questions. Should we not care about our children's future? The essay answers questions, it does not ask them. Trap five: the double conclusion. In conclusion, to sum up, in summary, stacked together. One signal, then the content. # PART SIX. THE PARAPHRASING ENGINE. THE SKILL UNDER EVERYTHING. Every task in the exam, including Listening and Reading, is a paraphrasing test. The question never uses the words of the answer. Train the transformations. ## High frequency exam transformations. Say each pair out loud. Children becomes young people, minors, the younger generation. Old people becomes the elderly, senior citizens, older adults. Money becomes funding, resources, financial support, income depending on context. Job becomes employment, occupation, position, career. Important becomes essential, crucial, central, significant. Problem becomes issue, challenge, difficulty, obstacle. Good for becomes beneficial to, advantageous for. Bad for becomes detrimental to, harmful to. Cheap becomes affordable, inexpensive, economical. Expensive becomes costly, unaffordable for many. Many people think becomes it is widely believed, a common view holds. More and more becomes an increasing number of, a growing proportion of. Nowadays becomes currently, at present, in recent years, or simply delete it. Very big becomes considerable, substantial, extensive. Get worse becomes deteriorate, decline, worsen. Get better becomes improve, recover, strengthen. Help becomes assist, support, facilitate, contribute to. Show becomes demonstrate, indicate, reveal, reflect. Cause becomes lead to, give rise to, result in, bring about. Because of becomes owing to, as a result of, driven by. ## Structural paraphrase. Changing the grammar, not just the words. Original: The government reduced spending on healthcare. Passive: Spending on healthcare was reduced. Noun form: The reduction in healthcare spending... Cause frame: Cuts to healthcare spending led to... Original: People who live in cities suffer more stress. Relative clause removed: Urban residents experience higher stress levels. Noun form: The link between urban living and stress... That is the whole engine. Same fact, four grammatical bodies. Practice it with any sentence you produce today. # CLOSING DRILL. THE TEN PHRASES TO OWN BEFORE SATURDAY. If everything else fades, keep these ten. Say each one three times, out loud, in the past or the register it belongs to. One. It meant the world to me. Two. If that had not happened, I doubt I would be where I am now. Three. Admittedly, there are cases where that is true, but on balance... Four. It depends enormously on the context. Five. Overall, the most striking feature is that... Six. The figure rose sharply before levelling off. Seven. The site underwent a complete transformation. Eight. This essay argues that... Nine. What critics of this view consistently overlook is... Ten. The evidence points in one direction. That is the language of the exam. Not decoration. Machinery. Every phrase you can produce without thinking is one unit of cognitive load freed up to guard the tense, guard the S, and tell the story.