Improve Your Skills Writing for IELTS 4.5-6.0 Student's Book with key

■ Unit 9Ensuring verb-subject agreement Technique ■ 1 Complete the following sentences with is, are, has or have. a The number of people who are suffering from stress ___ on the increase. Check that the b The fact that people live longer nowadays led to an increased number subjects and the of elderly people in society. verbs in your sentences agree. c Predictions about how long a patient with cancer will live ___ often Remember that the inaccurate. subject is not always the closest noun to d A ban on advertising all types of junk food __ probably the only way the verb, e.g. the to stop the spread of obesity. number of people rises each year (not e The pressurized situation in many hospitals resulted in a stressed workforce and low morale amongst nurses. rise because the verb agrees with number, nQ!people). f Elderly people who have a large family generally healthier and happier than those who have fewer contacts with other people. g The reason why allergies are becoming more common ___ still not known. h An increasing number of patients seem to be dissatisfied with conventional medicine and turned to alternative therapies. 2 In sentences a-g, replace the countable nouns in italics with an uncountable noun from the box. Make any other necessary changes in verb forms or pronouns. progress ■ evidence ■ information ■ work ■ advice Technique research ■ equipment Remember many general or collective a Everyone is aware today of the bad effects of smoking nouns like information are uncountable in on people's health. Thesefacts are published all around English. Make a list of common uncountable us, even on cigarette packets. nouns like these, with examples of their use. b Most doctors recommend a diet low in sugar and fat, and high in fibre. Unfortunately, these suggestions are not often followed. c Many nurses nowadays do not carry out basic care such as washing and feeding patients. Instead, these tasks are carried out by health care assistants. d Enormous advances have been made in understanding how disease spreads, but the possibility of a worldwide pandemic is still with us. e Many people eajoy keeping fit in the gym by using rowing machines, walking machines, and so on. However, these devices can be dangerous if they are not used properly. f Many doctors do not believe in homeopathic medicine. However, there are certainly some indications that it can be beneficial. g Some studies have been carried out which show that elderly people live longer if they live with a partner.

Health ■■ Practice Test 9 Task 1 You should spend about 20 minutes on this task. The graph below shows the average monthly use of a health club in Miami, Florida by all full-time members in 2013. The pie charts show the age profile of male and female members. Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the mainfeatures, and make comparisons where relevant. Write al lea:sl 150 words. Health club use over last year Male membership by age Others 900 20% ■800 Female Female membership by age Others 700 Male 17% 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 FMAMJ J A SO N D J Useful language In general, the health club was used more ... men/women who used the health club ... The number of users rose/increased/decreased/ male/female health club users ... declined gradually in January/from January to members aged between 21 and 45 ... March/between January and March members aged 65 or over ... other age groups ... 21 to 45 year olds made up/accounted for ... Task2 You should spend about 40 minutes on this task. Write about the following topic: The number of elderly people in the world is increasing. What do you think are the positive and negative effects of this trend? Give reasonsfor your answer and include any relevant examplesfrom your own knowledge or experience. Write at least 250 words. Useful language As far as the workplace/home life/the economy is concerned ... Societies with a greater number of older people ... One obvious disadvantage is ... Another drawback ... If a country has a substantial number of elderly One benefit associated with ... people ... Elderly people are more/less likely to ...

individual and soc·ety Task 1 Using the correct word order 1 Describe the role of money in the lives of the people in photos a and b. 2 The list below contains factors which influence career choice. Choose the three that have influenced you most in choosing a career then answer questions a-e. money • interest ■ friends ■ ambition ■ role models ■ parents ■ teachers a Why have you chosen these three factors? b b How did they contribute to your career choice? c Why did you not choose the other factors? d What other factors might influence you? e Which factor has influenced your choice the most? 3 Read the Task 1 question. Then answer questions a-e. ..-, -•-•11'!1••- a�k 1 Main reasons for choosing a career 30-r:;:::======::::;----------.--;-7 •. The bar chart shows the results 20-35 age group of a Greek survey from two selected ■25 40-50 age group age groups in 2012 on the relative 20 importance offive factors in choosing % 15 a career. 10 Summarize the information by 5 selecting and reporting the main 0 --+--'----.---'---.--'---....--'------,----'----l features, and make Teachers Role Money Friends Parents comparisons where models relevant. a What does the chart refer to? b What do the items along the bottom of the bar chart refer to? c What are the most noticeable features of the younger age group? d What are the most noticeable features of the older age group? e What differences can you see in how the factors were rated by the younger and older age group?