💡 Insights about writing college applications 💡

Our awesome course "Writing College Applications" with our awesome American instructor is in full swing. 🇺🇸

Here are some super-useful brainstorming techniques that will help you find what to write about in your application.

1️⃣ Values
- List your values for 10 minutes.
- Go through and identify 5-7 values you’d really like to share.
- For each of these, come up with 1-2 life experiences you can use to demonstrate these values.

2️⃣ Who are you?
- Take 10 minutes to list nouns/noun phrases to describe you.
- Try to move beyond the obvious options (family relations, nationality, job, etc.).
- Identify the top 3 you want to highlight.
- Identify 3 you’re trying to build up and reflect on how you’re trying to build that in your life.

3️⃣ Timeline
- Create a timeline of the last 3-4 years of your life.
- Include all of the most important/informative events of each year.
- Pull out a few key events and list the values that these events demonstrate.

Once you’ve identified what you would like to highlight, go back and compare what you want to show with what you need to show. Now you're all set to write.

Even though our course is about writing college applications, these techniques are super-useful for many kinds of writing that require self-presentation.

💡 More insights from this course:

- https://news.1rj.ru/str/irinalutsenko/469

- https://news.1rj.ru/str/irinalutsenko/464

IELTS Writing Task 1: Commas with relative clauses in maps 🏝

Commas with relative clauses are one of the most common mistakes I have to correct. Most grammar books will tell you: "If the information is essential (necessary etc), you don't need commas. If the information is not essential (necessary etc), you need commas."

And then students spend valuable time racking their brains whether the information is essential—and then make mistakes anyway.

I explain this topic in a different way: It all boils down to whether there is one of something or more than one of something.

1️⃣ "The entrance, which was located in the western wing, was renovated." = There is only one entrance in the building. The relative clause provides a side comment.

2️⃣ "The entrance which was located in the western wing was renovated." = There are several entrances. Without the specification in the relative clause, the reader won't understand what entrance I mean.

To help you better understand this, here is an exercise. The two excerpts about the task above contain relative clauses. Do you need the commas? ❓

1️⃣ The first lava flow took place on 6 May and affected the western part of the town. Before the eruption there used to be a town square with houses around it. The whole square was buried under lava. The lava, however, did not reach the coastal line, so the houses [1] which were located along it were untouched. Another construction that was not destroyed was the castle [2] which was located in the central part of the town.

2️⃣ The eruption resulted in two large lava flows, one on 6 May and one on 12 May, affecting the western and eastern parts respectively. The first flow [3] which reached much of the coastal line buried the square and most of the buildings, with the only ones remaining intact being the castle and a few right on the coast. The flow [4] which reached the town six days later did not cause structural damage to any infrastructure.

KEY

[1] No comma_
[2] A comma__
[3] Commas__
[4] No commas

PS: My IELTS Task 1 pictures, including this one, are real tasks. They look oh so cute because they are drawn by my wonderful colleague Anna Skopina. 🏝

#ieltswritingtask1

How to read in order to write 💡

How? By paying attention to what you are reading and purposefully choosing what to steal for your writing.

In my "Writing Incubator" workshop yesterday, 20 people came together to steal and practice a bunch of patterns for writing. Here is just a tiny glimpse (with 22 pages of content, I had trouble choosing).

IELTS track (stolen from "New Scientist")

1. when combined (reduced clause)

Veronika Shirobokova: There are numerous ways to uplift one's mood, but vigorous exercise, when combined with groovy music, offers the best results.

2. rather than + -ing

Aleksandra: If you get a score lower than you expected, rather than sulking and feeling miserable, try to perceive this experience as a form of practice instead.

3. If so: clausal substitution

Irina Sidorkina: Are you struggling to come up with ideas for your essay? If so, it's high time you started reading good stuff—Irina keeps advising to.

CPE, social media track (stolen from "The Guardian")

1. Brackets, a self-answering question

nadya: If you want to get IELTS 9 (who doesn't?), then you need to pull yourself together and stop making excuses. sorry.

Lena Look: If you want to get IELTS 9 (who doesn't ?), then you need to enroll on Irina Lutsenko's course and follow her instructions ))))

2. Polysyndeton (overuse of a conjunction)

Aysel: So, you sit down to write an essay. You are determined. You are focused. But then, one by one, you face a whole host of distractions—kids and cooking and the boiling kettle and pets fighting and floors creaking.

Tatiana Zemlerub: So, you sit down to write an essay. You are determined. You are focused. But then, one by one, you face a whole host of distractions—kids and cooking and cats and students and dirty floors and Carrie Bradshow.

3. Asyndeton (omission of a conjunction)

Anastasia B: So you sit down to write your essay. You're determined. You're focused. But then, one by one, you're faced with a series of distractions—a dog with puppies on the street, a stranger walking past, a neighbor backing out of his garage.

💡 Your turn. Finish the sentences frames with your own ideas:

1️⃣ If you get a score lower than you expected, rather than ... ing,

2️⃣ Are you struggling to come up with ideas for your essay? If so, ...

3️⃣ If you want to get IELTS 9 (who doesn't?), then ...

4️⃣ So, you sit down to write an essay. You are determined. You are focused. But then, one by one, you face a whole host of distractions— ...

🎵 IELTS Writing Task 2: What can the arts tell us about life that science cannot? 🎵

This is one of the most challenging—and therefore interesting—topics I’ve ever had to write an IELTS essay on. That’s why I can’t help sharing.

Topic: “In today’s world of advanced science and technology, many still greatly value artists such as musicians, painters and writers. What can the arts tell us about life that science cannot?”

"Arts and sciences are often viewed in opposition to each other. Some people even argue that since arts—unlike science—do not deal with objective facts, they do not help us gain a deeper understanding of life. They do, however, give us insights into what science does not or cannot explain.

First and foremost, arts provide individual perspectives on and personal reactions to facts. While science aims to discover and describe the laws that govern our world, arts aim to communicate how these laws affect or are perceived by a specific person. For example, a scientific text can describe how malignant cells spread in a cancerous tumor, but it is a creative text that will give a first-hand account of what the patient feels upon learning the news they have cancer or of how they handle combating the disease. Thus, in a sense, arts allow one individual to access many different experiences, ones the individual might ever not encounter in their real life.

Another important function arts serve is explaining—or at least attempting to explain—some elusive concepts that science has thus far been unable to. “Soul” is a good case in point. As yet, scientists haven’t been able to detect it, with some even arguing that there is no such entity as a soul. Yet, most of us intuitively understand that we have one—an intangible combination of our feelings and thoughts. This is where arts come into play. Most people report that some works of art, music or visual arts in particular, speak to their soul in some unfathomable way. Other art forms, such as literature or cinematography, enable the creators to explore what a soul is by placing the characters of the narrative in testing life situations. More examples of similarly nebulous notions would be love or the meaning of life. Even when arts, like science, cannot provide a precise and coherent explanation of a certain phenomenon, audiences still relate not only to the topics explored but also to the search for explanations.

To conclude, dealing with the subjective and the ephemeral, arts play an important role in helping us make sense of the lesser-understood aspects of life. Given that such aspects are inherent in our human experience, is it any wonder that arts are as popular as ever?"

By Irina Lutsenko 🎵

#Irina_writes_IELTS #ieltswritingtask2

How to order data and ideas in IELTS writing (and elsewhere) 📊

If you want to arrive at a coherent text that is easy to follow, you can't just write whatever you want in any order you want (bummer, I know).

To organize information in a way that makes processing it easier for the reader, follow the principles below. Use them to organize your IELTS answer, particularly IELTS Writing Task 1, and any text that involves reporting facts and communicating objective information.

1️⃣ Chronological order: from beginning to end, from the past to the present to the future, from young to old. (This is a really strong one because we think chronologically.)

2️⃣ From the largest to the smallest or from the smallest to the largest.

3️⃣ From the least important to the most important and the other way around. (This can sound somewhat vague. I'll write a special post about this principle.)

4️⃣ From general to specific (or from specific to general—but this is less likely to be used in IELTS).

5️⃣ Order of familiarity: from familiar to unfamiliar, from the most familiar to the least familiar. ("Familiar" means familiar to the reader!)

6️⃣ Spatial, if applicable: from left to right, clockwise, from the entrance to the far end of the room (for example, in IELTS map/floor plan tasks).

In IELTS terms, these principles will fall under "Coherence and Cohesion" and, more specifically, "Progression." And perhaps "Task Achievement" too because well-organized reporting improves clarity.

These ways to order ideas will make your writing easier to follow. For example, compare the texts below. Which one is easier to read? Which principle is broken in the less effective piece? ❓

Example 1:

1. Make sure to proofread and edit your essay. But before you do, begin by brainstorming for ideas and lexical items. Then write the first draft. It's a good idea to take notes during the brainstorming stage.

2. Begin by brainstorming for ideas and lexical items on the topic. Make sure to take notes during the brainstorming stage. Then write your first draft. Finally, proofread and edit your essay several times if needed.

Example 2:

1. The highest level is observed in Japan, at 120. In Brazil, the level is only 60, while Canada is in second place with 100.

2. The highest level is observed in Japan, at 120. Canada is in second place, with 100. Meanwhile, the level in Brazil is fairly low—60.

In longer texts, these principles are even more important because there is more information for the reader to process. Don't break these principles unless you have a good reason.

Breaking them, on the other hand, is great in more creative genres—precisely because it's unusual to organize information differently. For example, the chronological principle is often broken in novels or movies to keep the reader engaged and intrigued. But this is not the goal you want to achieve in IELTS.

Have I missed some organizational principles? Share in the comments. 📝

Order of ideas: order of importance 1️⃣2️⃣3️⃣

In a very long and very boring post above, I've outlined some principles to order ideas effectively. The third principle—writing ideas in order of importance—might seem bit vague, but in reality it isn’t. So, here is another long and boring post.

Let's look at some examples from #IELTS Writing Task 1 and Task 2 (but the principles are universal).

IELTS Writing Task 1

Let's say you are describing this map: https://news.1rj.ru/str/irinalutsenko/519. Which order sounds better?

1️⃣ The eruption destroyed much of the residential infrastructure as the lava flows buired many residential buildings. The port, despite remaining intact, ceased operations. What did not suffer any damage was the castle.

2️⃣ The eruption did not damage the castle. The port was not damaged either, but it ceased operations. Finally, what suffered the most was residential buildings, many of which were buried under lava.

The first one goes from to "most damaged" to "undamaged." The second one goes from "undamaged" to "most damaged."

The first denoscription reads better for two reasons: 1. We associate volcano eruptions with damage, so it's better to start from damage. 2. We typically value human lives and safety more than buildings. The destruction of residential infrastructure implies potential danger to humans, hence its more significant importance.

IELTS Writing Task 2

Let's say you have an essay about machines being more intelligent than humans. Here are two versions of an imaginary mini-paragraph about the potential dangers.

1️⃣ One of the possible dangers of AI is that it will at one point get out of control and decide to harm or even obliterate humans. Another danger is that many people will lose jobs as these will be performed by machines. Finally, creative content will be much less interesting or original because it will be written by AI, which relies heavily on tropes and templates.

2️⃣ One possible downside is that creative content will be much less interesting or original in the AI era because AI relies heavily on tropes and templates. Another negative effect might be that many people will lose jobs as these will be performed by machines. The biggest possible danger, however, is that AI might get out of control and decide to harm or even obliterate humans.

The first one goes from "less likely but more dramatic" to "more likely but less dramatic" and the second one goes the other way around.

The second one is better. First, why make the reader worry right off the bat about something that is unlikely to happen, at least in the near future? Second, if machines do indeed obliterate all of us, then the other downsides are no longer important—-we won't care about jobs and art if we don't exist.

To conclude, the order of ideas matters. Order wisely.

#ieltswriting

My eye surgery as an IELTS Writing Task 1 process denoscription 👁👁

Those of you who’ve known me for a while, or who’ve seen old photos of me, know that I used to wear glasses. I no longer do because I got eye surgery – and wrote about it as an #IELTS Writing Task 1 answer.

Even though there is no real IELTS task like this, there are still lots of things you can borrow from my answer.

"The process began from a full diagnostic test. Based on the results of the test, the ophthalmologist concluded that LASIK – the type of surgery I had intended to get – was not an option for me due to thin corneas and advised that I get PRK (photorefractive keratectomy) instead. This type of surgery has a longer and more painful recovery period. However, having weighed all the pros and cons, I decided to go through with it.

On the day of the surgery, I first had consultations with an ophthalmologist and an anesthesiologist, who walked me through the process. The surgery took place after that and consisted of several steps.

In the first step, a nurse put numbing drops in my eyes. After the anesthesia had taken effect, she walked me into the operating room and helped me lie on the treatment couch. In the next step, the surgeon placed an eyelid holder, also called an eye speculum, on my right eye to prevent it from blinking. He then positioned the laser over my face and shone a green light into my eye for several minutes. This was followed by the actual laser treatment, which lasted for several seconds and was barely noticeable. The same operation was then performed on my left eye. The final step was a postoperative assessment, after which I was discharged.

In the following days, I experienced severe discomfort and itching, which began to gradually decrease in intensity on the third day but lingered for about three more days. Another inconvenience during this period was having to go to the clinic for assessment every day – a requirement that was burdensome due to pain and excessive tearing.

Overall, while the surgery itself was short and painless, the recovery wasn't. The hellish recovery notwithstanding, I am glad I got the surgery because a life without glasses is more convenient."

And during my recovery, since I couldn’t look at screens, I spent my days listening to lectures by well-established writers. I then implemented some ideas in my Creative Writing Club. Silver lining.

What are some things you can borrow? And did you notice the summative modifier? Share in the comments. 💡

#ieltswritingtask1

IELTS processes: a common mistake

Let's say you have a model answer about making French fries and you see a sentence you want to borrow:

"The potatoes are first peeled and then cut into thin strips."

And then, imitating this perfectly wonderful sentence, you write this about noodle making:

1️⃣ "The flour is first mixed with water and then rolled into thin sheets."

And then you have a problem. The problem is that what is rolled into sheets is no longer flour. And you can't actually roll flour into sheets. What is rolled into sheets is dough. But there is no dough in the sentence.

Another manifestation of the same fundamental problem is pronouns that refer to other states of things. Consider this sentence about lemonade making:

2️⃣ "Water is purified, carbonated, and mixed with flavor, after which it is distributed to stores."

But what is distributed to stores is no longer water. What is distributed is lemonade.

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

How would you rewrite the problematic sentences? ❓

An introduction technique for IELTS essays 📝

There are many different ways to write a great intro. Here is one.

Topic: "Some people choose to have their first child at an older age. What are the reasons? Do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages?"

What many people write here is something like: "Many individuals opt to have offspring ... ." Not that this is wrong. But this is weak because the sentence is too close to the original and relies solely on synonyms. 💔

Let's try to step away from the direct paraphrasing—while retaining the original meaning, of course.

Let's try to find a shell noun or an umbrella term for the topic at hand. So, people who have children—who are they? Parents. Let's take this word one step further and talk about the state of having children. What would be the word for that? Parenthood. And what kind of parenthood is "at an older age"? There are words for that: late parenthood and delayed parenthood.

And then, after you've found a shell noun or an umbrella term, you can continue the sentence with:
- ... is becoming increasingly common.
- ... has become a (common) (choice / trend / phenomenon), with people increasingly …

Here is my first sentence of the intro: “Delayed parenthood has become a common life choice, with people increasingly choosing to have children in their thirties and forties or even later.”

Some other useful collocations that will allow for better paraphrasing of the topic might be "to enter parenthood" or "advanced parental age."

Over to you. Use this technique for one of the topics below and write the first sentence of the intro in the comments:

1️⃣ In the past, people stored knowledge mainly in books, but it is now being stored on the internet. Do advantages outweigh the disadvantages?

2️⃣ Films and games can be accessed at any time from mobile devices, like smartphones, tablets and laptop computers. Do advantages outweigh disadvantages?

3️⃣ In many countries, there is a growing trend for individuals to frequently discuss financial matters, such as their earnings or expenditures, in everyday conversation. What are the reasons behind this phenomenon? Is it advantageous or detrimental?

#ieltswritingtask2

"One" for "person" in IELTS essays 📝

I am a staunch opponent of "one" in the meaning "person" in IELTS writing. Yes, the meaning exists. But ... Here is a summary of my objections.

1️⃣ The meaning is very formal. VERY. Ten levels higher than IELTS more formal. As a result, this use so rare that when you use "one" in a very simple text, like an IELTS essay, it usually looks awkward.

2️⃣ There is potential for misreading.

Consider this example: "Stress has a negative impact on people's well-being in a whole host of ways. One might be affected by stress to such an extent that ... ."

Here, the reader's first reaction might be to understand "one" as "one way" because "one" for substitution is much more common.

Things might get even worse.

Sometimes I see texts like this: "Stress has a negative impact on people's well-being in a whole host of ways. One is related to physical health. One might experience high blood pressure... ."

Each "one" means a different thing. This doesn't read well.

3️⃣ It's hard to be consistent and use pronouns if you use "one" at the beginning.

What do you use in the gap here: "When one consumes large amounts of ultra-processed foods, [?] is likely to have health issues"?

He or she? This is possible, but this didn't really take off on English. They? "They" for singular, while possible, is very new and unconventional, but "one" is very old and formal. Or do you stick to "one"?

4️⃣ And above all...

You will inevitably want to switch to "people." Inevitably.

Consider this example: "When one consumes large amounts of ultra-processed foods, [?] is likely to have health issues. As a result, [?] who consume unhealthy food exert a significant burden on the healthcare system."

The second gap is begging for "people." So why don't you start with "people" in the first place? The pronoun is clear—they. Paraphrasing will also be easier and more natural further on: such individuals, those who, patients / consumers (or a specific category of people). So, the writing will look more consistent. ❤️

I personally never write "one" for "person" in IELTS essays. I see no reason to. But I see reasons not to.

When I think about my encounters with "one" in authentic contexts, I can only think of some introductory phrases like "One could argue ..." or comments like "One never knows what to expect in times like this." Or sometimes it might be used for humorous or sarcastic purposes—precisely because it's rare and formal. It's not really used to write long, coherent texts.

Do you use "one" in essays? Why? How do you deal with the problems above? What is your experience of encountering "one" in real life? ❓❓❓