Simon’s ielts writing task 2

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IELTS Writing Task 2
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Saturday, April 24, 2010 
IELTS Advice: the "Firstly, Secondly, Finally" structure 
I've had some great responses about the video lesson, but some students were surprised that you 
can get a band 9 using "Firstly, Secondly, Finally". 
Is the phrase "First and foremost" better than "Firstly"?
The answer is NO.
Using simple organising language like "Firstly, Secondly" makes you focus on the REAL CONTENT 
of what you are writing - topic vocabulary, collocations, examples. This is what the examiner wants to 
see. 
Spend your time preparing ideas, opinions and examples for IELTS topics, not learning alternative 
ways to write "Firstly". 
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Wednesday, May 05, 2010 
IELTS Writing Task 2: 'traffic' topic 
Today I'd like to show you a good essay by one of my students. This is the essay question: 
Traffic congestion is becoming a huge problem for many major cities. Suggest some 
measures that could be taken to reduce traffic in big cities.
I gave the student's essay a band 7, mainly because it contains some really good topic vocabulary. 
Open the file below to see the full essay, grammar corrections and my comments. 
Download Essay 

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Compiled by Diyorbek Hayitmurodov ielts-simon.com Page 4 
Traffic congestion is becoming a huge problem for many major cities. Suggest