Introduction to IELTS Writing

Introduction to LPAT Writing is a 12 hour training course. It is intensive and focused on the LPAT Writing essay task and is suitable for any candidate, from a first time candidate who speaks English as a second language to native speakers of English.

What you’ll do

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    Learn three forms for the argumentative essay question.

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    Learn four forms for the report question.

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    Analyze essay and report topics to achieve strong task response / task achievement.

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    Construct a complete introduction to your essay that fulfills the requirements for task completion and lays the foundation for a coherent and organised answer.

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    Plan and execute a conclusion that perfectly fulfills the central purpose of your essay.

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    Create effective PIE paragraphs that support and elaborate your essay’s central purpose.

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    Practice using different text genres to achieve broad lexical resource.

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    Understand and achieve coherence and cohesion at the levels of the whole essay, between paragraphs and from sentence to sentence.

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    Identify and address the most frequent usage errors in your writing with a view to fulfilling the requirement for grammatical range and accuracy.

Prospectus

  • Session 1

    We review the first of our essay forms for the argumentative essay, “Agree/Disagree”.

  • Session 2

    We introduce the “Problem/Reason/Solution” form for the argumentative essay, and discuss the notion of using different text genres to illustrate our points. We introduce the shared experience text genre.

  • Session 3

    We introduce the notion of the “Concessionary Argument” form for the argumentative essay.

  • Session 4

    We begin discussing the report by looking at the “Differences” form.

  • Session 5

    We introduce the “Trends” form for the report and discuss the characteristic language differences between “Trends” and “Differences” forms.

  • Session 6

    We examine the “Stages” form for the report.

  • Session 7

    We discuss the “Before and After” report form.

  • Session 8

    We look at variants of the “Trends” form, including the case where there is more than one diagram to report on.

  • Session 9

    We introduce variants for the “Differences” form, including cases where there is more than one diagram to report on.

  • Session 10

    We look at hybrid reports where both “Trends” and “Differences” forms are used.

  • Session 11

    We look at more advanced methods for achieving coherence throughout an essay as a whole, and from paragraph to paragraph, and from sentence to sentence.

  • Session 12

    We reflect on the essays we have written. In light of the knowledge we have gained about text types, text genres and coherence strategies, we consider their strengths and weaknesses.

✺ Frequently asked questions ✺

  • We believe that a score of about 0.5 points above your assessed score will take you around 3 months to achieve. A score that is 1.0 points above your assessed score will take around 6 months to achieve. All these estimates assume reasonable effort on your part, and cannot be guaranteed.

  • Training with Mr Moore is either online using Zoom or at our offices in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong Island.

    As Mr May is based in New Zealand, IELTS training with him is conducted online using Zoom.

  • Assume about 2 hours of self-study for each hour spent with your trainer.

  • You are expected to complete one to two IELTS essays essay after each training session. You will need to submit this work in good time for Mr Moore or Mr May to evaluate in readiness for the next session.

  • In this case, we will complete the essays together, during the training. This usually means it will take quite a bit longer than 12 one hour sessions to complete the entire programme.

  • Both Mr Moore and Mr May hold recognised qualifications in English language teaching.

    Both have taught a wide range of candidates in preparation for IELTS and are highly experienced.

  • All resources you actually need will be provided as a part of your training, at no extra cost. If you wish to buy additional materials, the ONLY materials we recommend are the Cambridge IELTS past papers series.

  • If you have a recent (less than 12 months) IELTS results slip, we will take that as your current IELTS proficiency level.

    If it’s been longer than 12 months, or you have never done the IELTS assessment before, we highly recommend completing our IELTS assessment process. You can find the details for that below.

Book an appointment.

Before beginning training for IELTS, we strongly recommend, though do not insist, that applicants complete our IELTS assessment. This provides important benchmark and proficiency information that will allow Mr May to optimise the 12 week programme so that you make the best possible progress.

This assessment consists of an essay topic and a reading quiz to complete at home, followed by a 30 minute meeting with Mr May on Zoom.

There is a charge of HKD200 for this assessment. You can book this assessment online using the booking tool at the right, and paying by credit card, or by calling Ms Li at 5282-0157 to make other arrangements