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Wednesday, June 12, 2019



Hi Dear Simon,

I would like to thank you in advance for all your generous knowledge sharing.

Could you kindly check out the sentence from "opinion essay worksheet" of your 7th "writing task 2 tips" videos :

"It is much cheaper to train doctors, teachers, police and other public service workers than
it is to train astronauts or the scientists and engineers who work on space exploration

It is much cheaper to --- than--- it is to---

Is the second "it is" essential to write?

Thank you.

can i both agree and disagree ? can i give some example in agree part and disagree in another part of the essay ?
thank you


No, don't do that!


Is this means we need to either agree or disagree with one particular view? Because if I say I partially agree with this and majorly disagree with that, then it doesn't make any sense. Most people usually completely agree or completely disagree. I've rarely come across the situation where I had to sit on the fence.

Even if I do that, I mean I show partial agreement with one thing and major disagreement with another thing, will this affect my score in task achievement as my position is not clear?


There is an increasing trend around the world of married couples deciding not to have
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages for couples who decide to do this, and give your opinion.

In recent years, the scenario of not having sons and daughters has been on the rise among married people. While this is advantageous in terms of saving money for the future, I would say that the disadvantage of the rise in the chances of psychological issues later in people’s lives is more significant.

Husbands and wives can save a huge amount of money if they decide not to have children. This is mainly because the cost involved in bringing up a child is very high in today’s time. The school fees, as well as charges of childcare, have grown tremendously in the last few years, and in such circumstances, it has become next to impossible for parents to save money for their elderly lives. In India, for instance, the total cost of vaccination of a child is around
200 thousand rupees, which many Indians cannot afford even today.

On the other hand, there are all the chances that people, when growing old, would suffer from mental disorders if they had no sons or daughters to support them. That is to say, they usually need a company as well as the warmth of someone very close to them in their 60s, and in absence of that, they usually feel completely isolated and alone, which often cause them to suffer from depression and anxiety. In the worst case, they even prefer to commit suicide just to come out of this horrible life situation. For example, many elderly people who live in old-age homes die sooner than those who live with their families because they completely miss the true support of their loved ones.

In conclusion, it is evident from the above arguments that the benefit of financial freedom in the life after 60, which comes when people do not have children, is clearly outweighed by the drawback of the danger of life-threatening mental diseases.


Is it a right argument to say that one agrees because of some advantages and disagrees because of some disadvantages?

I often hear many candidates follow this line of thought.



Simon sir, can we disagree with two/both onions?


I never disagree with onions, although eating too much raw onion sometimes disagrees with me. Anyway that is my opinion. There are after all many options.


There are no rules in IELTS that say you have to agree or disagree. You can do whatever you want. The only 'rule' is that you have to express a 'clear and consistent' opinion.

Think of it like a sliding scale. On one end there is 100% agree, and on the other end is 100% disagree. Your opinion can be anywhere on the scale.

If you completely agree or disagree, then a 'consistent' opinion would mean that you only look at that side. If you 'partly agree', then a consistent opinion would look at both sides, but the side you agree with more would be stronger.


in today’s time -> is currently very high
for their elderly lives -> for their old age
"The school fees" -> School fees (ie school fees in general)
"charges of childcare" -> childcare costs/ the costs of providing daycare
"cost of vaccination" -> cost of vaccinating a child
"there are all the chances that people" -> there is the chance that people ...
"they usually need a company" -> they usually need company
-> which often causes
-> in life after sixty
-> outweighed by the danger of life-threatening mental diseases


I guess than means I must be mental then.


If you’re still confused, read this lesson:


Hi sjm,
can you share your email address with me?
mine is

There is no doubt that we are observing huge traffic congestion on the roads which is also the cause of air or noise pollution. So it is suggested by some Individuals to increment the price of fuel in order to decline the jams or pollution.
To begin with, there are numerous other sources are available to lessen the number of jams or pollution on roads. Firstly, the government should encourage people so that they can use less number of private vehicles and for travelling they can use public transport such as buses or train. Secondly, individuals are also getting affected by air pollution due to the overuse of cars and bikes hence they should limit the use of cars, they can adopt a carpooling method to commute from one place to another.
In addition, if the government will increase the price of oil this will not help to reduce the jams or pollution. The Government should aware people to use electric cars which do not run on fuel. Instead, for shorter distances, people can also use their bicycle which is eco-friendly for the environment. Apart from this, the government should ban or limit the entry of cars in city centres as well as the state government ought to make more extensive roads or flyovers to bypass the traffic. Moreover, it is also the duty of the government to provide better facilities in public transportation such as air conditioners, water coolers, reservation of seats for women and so on.
To conclude, I would assert that the higher price of fuel is not the best solution. the government and individuals both should take necessary steps to reduce the problem of traffic and pollution.

I forgot to include the opinion


1) Your grammar around 'suggested' is wrong. The best way is to follow 'suggested' with 'that'. It has been suggested that fuel prices should be significantly raised in order to reduce demand and thus traffic jams and air pollution. However I feel this is the wrong approach. See Pigovian taxation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pigovian_tax

2) other sources -> other methods

3) should encourage people so that they can use -> should encourage people to use ..

4) less number of private vehicles -> fewer private cars OR use private cars less (ie shorter distances)

5) such as buses or trains

6) -> to bypass the city center.

7) bikes; hence (either ; or : or . Hence)

8) " if the government will increase the price of oil": usually no 'will' in the 'if' clause. Also, this sentence seems to run counter to your argument.

9) -> should make people aware of using ...

10) -> run on fossil fuels

11) -> a higher price for fossil fuels

Thanks mam but I want to know about the band score also if u plz tell me about


The original question was not posted so it is difficult to assess whether the question has been properly answered or not. My guess is that in an exam the score might be around 6.5, so keep working on eliminating the mistakes and building the vocabulary.

Thanks a lot mam
The question is
We are witnessing traffic jams across all the cities in the world.
Some people say that increasing prices of petrol will help in reducing traffic jams and pollution.
Do you agree or disagree ??

You are going to arrange a special party at your home next week you want to invite a local artist who is a playback singer.
Write a letter to him
Explain the occasion to him
Invite him to the party
Tell him why you want him to perform

Dear sir,
I am writing this letter to invite you to a family function organized at my home and I want (request) you to perform there as you are one of the renowned singers in the city.
This occasion is related to the retirement party of my father as he successfully completed his service period and he had worked as a senior manager in the bank.
It will be a pleasure for me and my family if u can perform live at the party. This party will be at my residence, house number 668 in Leela Bhawan society.This party is on next Sunday, I have also invited some of the comedians to entertain the guests at the party. If you could make it possible from your busy schedule, it will be a great enjoyment for all of us.
I urge you to perform at our event because my father and my son both are your big fans. As this retirement party is very special and it truly belongs to my father. So, I really want you to perform at the party.
I will look forward to hearing from you soon.
Yours faithfully

Please mam evaluate my letter too
I want 7 band in writing

Hello , sir in the essay if I am agree with the opinion so what I written in body part 1 , 2 and conclusion
Help me solve out this problem

Hi Simon
I have similar question. if the question looks like this "These days, the number of cars owned by families increased, do the benefits of having more cars outweigh the negative aspect?"
Can I discuss both positive and negative ,conclude as the negative sides more than the positives?


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