Writing a successful proposal for TESOL Convention and Expo in Tampa, Florida 🇺🇸

A lot of people have asked, “Was it difficult?” The short answer is yes and no.

On the surface, no, it wasn't difficult. What it takes to submit is three simple actions:
- create an account;
- write 500 words or less;
- click "submit."

But under the surface, there is a lot of invisible work going on.

1️⃣ First, you need to come up with an idea for your talk. The idea should be interesting, new or special in some way. More importantly, it should be useful to others.

My topic was "Using similes to boost creativity in four simple steps." 🦋

A simile is a comparison with the word "like" or "as" in it. For example, on my way to the airport, I asked my Uber driver what Florida was like in summer. He said, "Living here in summer is like living in a bowl of soup."

I have four activities I do with similes in my writing courses. They are not particularly innovative or mind-blowing, but they are not something you find in any text book.

2️⃣ The second invisible component of a successful application is communicating your idea clearly. To do this, you need to understand what the TESOL Convention and Expo is. It's an event for teachers from all over the world: the USA, Mexico, Nepal, the Democratic Republic of Congo, you name it. The countries are very diverse, and so are the teaching contexts - in terms of ages, types of schools, access to resources, classroom sizes, etc. It's really crucial to communicate what context you work in and/or what context your ideas are useful in.

One important experience that helped me understand this was my participation in the ELEX exchange program last year, when I attended TESOL 2023 as a humble attendee.

So, going back to the original question - was it difficult to write a proposal that was accepted? In isolation, none of the actions above were difficult, but combined, they took time and careful thought.

So, who is applying for TESOL 2025? It's in Long Beach, California! 🇺🇸

📝 IELTS paragraph rewrite: Coherence and Cohesion 📝

What kind of CC do we want? We probably want what it says in the band 9 denoscription: "Cohesion is used in such a way that it very rarely attracts attention."

Here is a student's paragraph. Why does CC attract attention here?

Topic: "Some people believe that studying at university or college is the best route to a successful career, while others believe that it is better to get a job straight after school. Discuss both these views and give your own opinion."

📝 Original:

"Conversely, in my estimation, adolescents are better served by pursuing further education at a tertiary institution. Primarily, academic qualifications are imperative in numerous professions. For instance, aspiring teachers, doctors, or lawyers cannot be employed without completing relevant university programs and obtaining degrees. Consequently, graduates possess access to a broader spectrum of job opportunities and typically receive more lucrative remuneration compared to those lacking higher education credentials. Moreover, the job market is becoming increasingly competitive, with hundreds vying for a single position. Candidates without a college or university education are usually unable to compete with graduates on equal footing."

Because it relies the same type of cohesive devices in every sentence (but the last one, where cohesion is missing).

📝 Here is my rewrite:

"However, I believe that adolescents are better served by pursuing further education at a tertiary institution. The main reason is that academic qualifications are imperative in numerous professions. Some obvious examples are teachers, doctors, or lawyers, who cannot be employed without completing relevant university programs and obtaining degrees. This means graduates possess access to a broader spectrum of job opportunities and typically receive more lucrative remuneration compared to those lacking higher education credentials. Another reason is that the job market is becoming increasingly competitive, with hundreds vying for a single position. The most common result of this is that candidates without a college or university education are unable to compete with graduates on equal footing."

Now cohesion is used in such a way that it very rarely attracts attention. The beauty part is the original is almost intact.

This is not the only possible rewrite. If you are feeling creative, you can play around with this paragraph even more and change cohesion by making changes to sentences structures. Try your hand in the comments.

🦉 IELTS essays: idea extension 🦉

Topic: "In some countries, owning a home rather than renting one is very important for people. Why might this be the case? Do you think this is a positive or a negative situation?"

Take a look at a piece of the student's paragraph answering the first question. 

📝 "Another explanation for this would be that individuals see home ownership as a form of long-term investment. As a rule, property prices always increase, even during economic recessions, which makes investment into property a worthwhile and less risky decision."

The idea is relevant, but it could definitely use an extension. 

1⃣ My extension: As a rule, property prices always increase, even during economic recessions, which makes investment into property a worthwhile decision that allows the property owner not only to save money from inflation and other financial risks but also to earn even more money should they decide to sell the apartment later. 

2⃣ My extension of the extension: This type of investment is particularly common in countries with unstable economic and political situations where the need to save money is dire.

Now the idea is not only relevant, but also fully extended.

What would be one more reason? Do you think this is a positive or a negative development? When you answer in the comments, make sure to extend the ideas. 📝

Humor is certainly not my strong suit. If it isn’t yours either, join this workshop by the wonderful Evgenia Karabatova!

Evgenia thinks that humor is far from being a mystery - it has a structure, a formula.

In this workshop, we will demystify humor writing while:

- Looking at the value of humor and the whys of using it.
- Checking different types of humor and exploring where to find humorous ideas.
- Learning about the rules and techniques to create a funny joke for your run-of-the-mill article, blog post, and whatnot.
- Taking notes on culture-specific humor and the slippery slope of topical jokes.

📅 21 April, Sunday, 11:00 am MSK, Zoom

💌 The workshop is free. To join, write a comment on this post on what kinds of writing humor is useful in and then message me to get the link to the workshop @iraluts.

📝 Cohesion and coherence through lexis 📝

Sometimes we might read a paragraph and feel that something is wrong in terms of CC, without being able to put our finger on what exactly it is. The cohesive devices might be in place, but the paragraph just doesn't read well anyway.

Take a look at this paragraph from an article from "New Scientist." I've removed CC - try to notice where.

📝 Version 1: CC removed

"Conventional wisdom says our innate curiosity is quashed by the tedium of school and then the practical demands of adult life. But there is little hard evidence for that. Instead, curiosity seems to get expressed differently as we mature. We don't use an expansive, exploratory kind of curiosity - we resort to a style geared towards gaining information towards a specific end."

📝 Version 2: Original

"Conventional wisdom says our innate curiosity is quashed by the tedium of school and then the practical demands of adult life. But there is little hard evidence for that. Instead, curiosity seems to get expressed differently as we mature. As we get older, we shift from an expansive, exploratory kind of curiosity to a style more geared towards gaining information towards a specific end."

In my version, the last sentence starts very abruptly and seems isolated. What I have removed is some lexical choices that connect the last sentence to the penultimate one:
- "get older" is your connection to "mature";
- "shift from ... to a style more geared towards" is your connection to "expressed differently."

📝 "Instead, curiosity seems to get expressed differently as we mature. As we get older, we shift from an expansive, exploratory kind of curiosity to a style more geared towards gaining information towards a specific end."

Some other lexical choices that we could use here:
- ... as we mature. With age, ...
- ... gets expressed differently. We no longer ... OR ... is replaced with ...

See, CC is not about pronouns or linkers only. Lexis helps too. 🦋

🦋 My IELTS essay: speedwriting 🦋

Here is an essay I wrote in 21 minutes. As is, not a single edit.

📝 "In many countries, a few people earn extremely high salaries. Some people say that this is a good thing for the country. Others say that governments should not allow salaries above a certain level. Discuss both these views and give your own opinion."

📝 "Salary capping is a controversial idea that many agree with and some do not. I personally believe introducing upper limits on salaries is a bad idea.

On the surface, however, it might seem fair to cap salaries. The rationale behind this is rooted in the philosophy of equity – since people are all equal, which is written in numerous bills and laws, they should all get more or less equal outcomes in terms of financial rewards for the work they do. This philosophy is further underpinned by the belief that positions with extremely high salaries, such as CEOs or CFOs, are in no way more challenging than menial or manual jobs, such as plumbing or construction.

However appealing this reasoning might sound, it does not hold water. First, financial outcomes of a job should be based on merit rather than equity. If the individuals who earn large amounts of money are doing so due to the outstanding quality of work they provide, it is only fair to reward them accordingly. Second, it is an illusion that the job of a CEO is simpler than that of a plumber. In fact, it is likely even more challenging as CEOs are responsible for the livelihoods of hundreds, if not thousands, of people in that one wrong decision can lead to massive losses and layoffs.

Finally, the major reason against the salary capping policy is that the opportunity to earn more serves as an inspiration and an impetus for many to work not only harder but also smarter. Were salaries to be limited, an employee would become complacent, having little incentive to put in extra effort, which in turn makes the company less competitive. It is in competitive environments that people and companies thrive, eventually improving the lives of others.

To conclude, while seemingly good, the idea that people in certain jobs should not be paid above a certain level will only be harmful in the long run as it, being built on erroneous assumptions, prevents progress."

I see the imperfections, but editing them is exactly what the remaining 15-20 minutes would be for.

#Irina_writes_IELTS

It was a pleasure meeting Irina Lutsenko, whom we had heard many great things about from Alisher teacher. Today, after meeting her, any doubts, if any, about her expertise vanished. She shared her experience and perspectives on various areas, including, but not limited to education. Interestingly, as someone who struggles to socialize with new people, I found myself deep-knee in open conversation with her in no time, which was quite surprising to me, frankly. I hope I didn’t overwhelm her with my questions. Her lively nature and broad horizon added an extra layer of depth to our interaction. I truly enjoyed every second of it. I am thankful to her for her positive vibes and energy! 🙏 Here’s to lifting each other up and inspiring one another! 😇

"If I write IELTS answers every day, will it help me increase my score?"

When I was visiting Ad Astra yesterday, I was asked a lot of good questions. Here is one: "If I write IELTS answers every day, will it help me increase my score?"

The short answer is the annoying "It depends."

Here are some considerations:

1⃣ Writing every day certainly helps with timing. If timing is a problem, then the answer is Yes.

2⃣ In order to improve though, you need to add new things to your writing. It’s totally possible to write 30 IELTS essays in one month, and they will all be the same old level. To improve, you need to add something you haven't used before: higher level lexis, a complex grammar structure, a new cohesive device, deeper development of the idea. 

3⃣ It's probably best to write daily-ish rather than daily. I'm afraid writing every single day might result in getting fed up with IELTS, and this is not a feeling conducive to improvement. Alternatively, you can write daily, but not always full answers, especially if you want to focus on adding new elements.

Overall, it is certainly a great idea to write often - this will give you confidence and courage.

Where do you stand on writing IELTS answers daily? Any important considerations I missed? 

New IELTS Writing group starting soon 🎉

- Level: 6.5/7
- Schedule: Sunday 11-12:30 Moscow time
- Course duration: 4 months (16 classes)
- Classes meet once a week, in real time, on Zoom
- Course instructor: Anastasia Alexandrova (IELTS 8.5, my student, degree in teaching)
- Detailed, personalized feedback on every answer
- Price: 8000 RUB per month (4 classes)

This short booster course will prepare you for every IELTS writing task imaginable and give you the confidence you need during the exam.

More in the attached product denoscription (don't need an account to view): https://vk.com/iralutse?w=product-47977221_3696544%2Fquery

Message me @iraluts. 💌

IELTS processes: a common (referencing) problem

"The diagram gives information about the process of making carbonated drinks."

Look at this part of the overview written by a student. Do you notice the problem?

1️⃣ "... a series of various machines, passing through which water is treated with some chemicals, carbonated and mixed with additives before it is ready for distribution."

What does "it" refer to? Water. The problem is what is distributed is not water.

Here is a part of another overview with the same problem.

2️⃣ "Before being packaged, water undergoes processing, which involves thorough purification, carbonation, and mixing with additives."

We don't have a referencing problem per se here, but the fundamental problem is the same: the subject for the first clause is "water," but it's not water that is packaged.

In processes, things change their state and turn into new things. Be mindful of the nouns, pronouns, and verbs.

Btw, how would you rewrite the first or the second sentence?

Ways to avoid repetitions, ranked from best to worst

1. Ellipsis*
2. Reference, substitution
3. Shell nouns
4. Nothing wrong with actual repetitions
5. Synonyms

In the quiz above, can you write, say, "in the next three age groups"? Of course, you can. It's not a wrong answer. But it's not the best answer.

First, ellipsis* is just more elegant. Second, think about the big picture. It's likely that you will have to write "age group" (and synonyms) many more times in your answer. (This specific sentence was taken from my answer to an IELTS task with seven age groups and two genders.) Even if you do find many ways to paraphrase "age group," they will still attract attention and make the answer bulky.

* Ellipsis = the omission from speech or writing of a word or words that are superfluous or able to be understood from contextual clues.

So, if you see an opportunity for ellipsis, seize it.