My creative writing projects have to their inevitable end—and what an end it was! 💜

We had a meeting with a real published writer—Margo Gritt, the author of collections of short stories Вторжение and Чужеродные! We picked her brain about the process of writing, editing, and publishing. Here are just some insights:

1️⃣ The editor is not your enemy. They are your friend—their goal is to help you.

2️⃣ Writing intuitively is all well and good, but writing consciously is even better—being able to know and to explain every writing choice you make.

3️⃣ Reading your text out loud helps you to ensure that your text has a rhythm.

The meeting was arranged by the wonderful Irina Kireeva—an avid reader, a book club host, and the person responsible for all my reading over the last couple of years.

And the post card in the post is by the wonderful Anna Skopina—the artist behind the beautiful images on my socials, on my presentations, and in my projects.

And it will come as no surprise that one major source I get inspiration from is the wonderful people in my life. And the second major source is: I get inspiration inside. 💜

You? Share your sources in the comments.

Should my partner stop trying to kiss me after kissing our cat? Should it be off limits if I am grossed out by this? 😼

Well, you be the judge.

"You Be the Judge: Debating with The Guardian" is our brand new short, light, summer debate club based on dilemmas posed by The Guardian readers.

📝 What will you do?
- discuss trendy and hype topics
- debate on practical real-life situations
- work on your argumentation skills
- practice cool advanced vocabulary, like "off limits" and "grossed out."

📝 The course is perfect for you if you want to:
- boost your speaking with fresh new vocab
- engage in deep, meaningful conversation
- get better at building an argument and defending your point of view
- debate on current dilemmas that generated a lot of buzz - and that you might have faced in your life! Like...

❓Should others make accommodations for you if you have a vegan or a gluten-free diet?

❓Until what age is it OK for parents to track their children with location-tracking apps? Would you allow your spouse to track your location?

❓If your flatmate works from home full-time, should they pay more of the bills?

📝 Deets:
- Course duration: one month (4 classes)
- Classes: 60 minutes or 90 minutes, in real time on Zoom
- Homework: none!!!
- Price: 5,000 rub a month (four 60-minute classes) / 7,000 rub a month (four 90-minute classes)

📆 Summer 2025 schedule:

- Tuesday 11-12:00 Moscow time (60 minutes)
- Friday 13-14:30 Moscow time (90 minutes)

Course instructor: Mariia Botina - a huge enthusiast of all things English with an awesome American accent and a bunch of qualifications:
- 5-year teaching degree with honors
- 11 years of teaching experience
- Exchange program in the US: Wheaton College, MA, 2015-16
- CPE, TOEFL, TKT

Perfect for the summer - low prep and maximum practice!

To sign up dm me @iraluts 💌

And what about that cat kissing dilemma? Would you be grossed out? Should it be off limits? You be the judge and share in the comments! 😼

#IELTS 20: Writing Task 2 topics 🐼

You can think if this post as me thinking about these topics out loud. And join in -- share your thoughts in the comments. 

1️⃣

"Access to clean water is a basic human right. Therefore every home should have a water supply that is provided free of charge. Do you agree or disagree?"

I don't like this topic. It has a problem. Let's say you want to agree. What could be your reasons? The reason is given in the topic. Why should every home have a water supply that is provided free of charge? Because access to clean water is a basic human right. What else can you write? It seems we have no choice but to disagree. I see two reasons to disagree. Do you? 

2️⃣

"In many countries, primary and secondary schools close for two months or more in the summer holidays. What is the value of long school holidays? What are the arguments in favour of shorter school holidays?"

A great topic, albeit a somewhat superficial one to my liking. I would expect this topic in General Training. People who got it should consider themselves lucky. 

3️⃣

"Some people have decided to reduce the number of times they fly every year or to stop flying altogether. Do you think the environmental benefits of this development outweigh the disadvantages for individuals and businesses?"

This one is definitely my favorite. 🩷

Here are several potential traps for Task Response though: a) you need to focus on environmental benefits only, not, say, on financial ones; b) don't forget to include both parties involved: individuals and businesses. 

4️⃣

"Many aspects of the way people dress today are influenced by global fashion trends. How has global fashion become such a strong influence on people's lives? Do you think this is a positive or negative development?" 

A fairly good, standard topic that lends itself easily to ideas. How? Through movies and social media. Is this development good or bad? I'd go "bad." You?

What do you think? Which topics made you scratch your head? Which one is your favorite one? ❓

Summer is a time for unleashing your creativity. And what can be more creative than writing poetry? 🌸

To unleash your inner poet, join our poetry writing club this August!

This mini-course is for you if you want to:
- discover the poet within you
- learn how to jazz up your poems with sounds, colors and actions
- spend Sunday mornings in a nice, supportive, creative company!

📅 Schedule Summer 2025:
- Sunday, 11:00 am Moscow time, 17, 24, 31 August. You can join all three or just one.

📍 Place: Zoom, in real time, no recordings

Your host is the wonderful Veronika Shirobokova, a regular in all my creative writing projects and the queen of happy endings. 🌸

The project is free. To join, write a comment with a creative ending to "A good poem is like ... ." Make sure to message me @iraluts to confirm so that I can add you to the project chat. 💌

Workshops in August 🌻

All new courses will be starting in September. In August, I am running three workshops. 

1️⃣

"Coherence and Cohesion in exam essays"

📅 Friday, 22 August, 11-12:30 Moscow time

This workshop on coherence and cohesion will feature:
- explanation of the difference between coherence and cohesion;
- a summary of most common cohesive devices and techniques (at least eight - yeah, it's not just adverbs or pronouns);
- examples of good and flawed or even non-existing CC;
- exercises and quizzes.

All examples will be based on my IELTS essays, but the fundamental principles are the same for essays in different exams.

More: https://m.vk.com/product-47977221_8662991 

2️⃣

"Teaching IELTS writing with model answers"

📅 Wednesday, 27 August, 11-12:30 Moscow time

A workshop for IELTS instructors on how to make the most of IELTS model answers (both W1 and W2). 

In this workshop, I'll share a whole host of meaningful activities you can do with model answers. Each activity is aimed at a certain goal and and tailored to a specific task and/or assessment criterion.

More: https://m.vk.com/product-47977221_5648169 

3️⃣

"Dynamic writing: how to break a wall of text"

📅 Friday, 29 August, 11-12:30 Moscow time

No one wants to read a wall of text - and you don't want to write one. To learn to make your texts more dynamic and engaging with the help of structural tools, join this practical workshop.

Tools:
- Paragraphing
- Punctuation to enhance meaning: colons, brackets, dashes, ellipsis
- Varying sentence length, structures, and types
- Visual tools: all caps, italics, bold

More: https://m.vk.com/product-47977221_8621058

💌 Dm me at @iraluts

🍁 Fall 2025 groups and projects

🍁 Writing:

1. IELTS Writing

A through, meticulous skill-building course.

https://m.vk.com/product-47977221_3696544

2. Super-Advanced IELTS Writing Task 1

A course on unusual IELTS writing task 1's. For experienced IELTS writers.

https://m.vk.com/product-47977221_10797050

3. Writing with New Scientist

A writing course based on academic articles and geared towards exam writing - IELTS or CPE (two different tracks). A perfect pre- or post-exam course!

https://m.vk.com/product-47977221_5061302

🍁 Speaking:

1. "Speaking with New Scientist" C2 / C1+

A speaking course based on articles from the "New Scientist" magazine and geared towards IELTS and C2 Proficiency Speaking tasks but also good for those who have a penchant for deep, meaningful discussions. Very rich in lexis.

https://m.vk.com/product-47977221_5911089

2. "You Be The Judge: Debating with The Guardian" C1

"You Be the Judge: Debating with The Guardian" is a debate club based on dilemmas posed by The Guardian readers. A great boost to your speaking and argumentation skills!

https://m.vk.com/product-47977221_10315848

🍁 C2 General English CPE track (old group)

A speaking and writing C2 course based on New Scientist and The Guardian articles (and occasionally other things). Geared towards CPE prep (without an obsession with the format though).

Friday 16:00-17:30 Moscow time

🍁 The enrollment process looks like this:

1. If your profile name is a nickname or an alias, please introduce yourself properly - with your name and last name. My name is Irina Lutsenko - I want to know yours. Nameless subscribers and people with nicknames or aliases won't be considered.
2. Tell me about yourself in 100 words or less. Answer all or some of these questions as needed: What course do you want to join? Why? What are your goals and course expectations? What is your experience of learning English? What is your experience of writing? Have you taken any exams? What were you scores?
3. If you want to enroll in a writing course, I'll give you a placement writing task.
4. We'll schedule an interview.

💌💌💌 Dm me @iraluts

A workshop for #IELTS instructors on how to make the most of IELTS model answers (both W1 and W2) 📊

Giving students IELTS model answers is certainly a great idea, but you can't just hand them the answers and say, "Look. These are good. Do the same thing." You need to make sure the model answers help your student develop their skills.

In this workshop, I'll share a whole host of meaningful activities you can do with model answers. Each activity is aimed at a certain goal and and tailored for a specific task and/or assessment criterion.

All the activities are based on my extensive IELTS taking, teaching, and writing experience:
- IELTS 9 x2, Writing 8.5 x3
- IELTS prep experience: over 10 years
- Answers written: over 200.

📌 Price: 2300 RUB

📅 Schedule: Wednesday, 27 August, 11:00-12:30 Moscow time

📍 Place: in real time on Zoom, camera must be on, some participation is expected

❗ You will get the pdf of the presentation, but there will be no recordings!

Why don't I record my sessions?

If I decided to make a recording, I would have to ask you to mute yourself and switch off your video, or you would want to do that yourself. But I expect participation and questions. I don't want to be a talking head, nor do I want to speak into silent black boxes on the screen. I want to be a real live person and expect the same in return. (And don't get me started on potential privacy concerns of the participants.)

💌💌💌 @iraluts

#IELTS format: the key to improving your writing? 🐼

Many people tell me, when they message me to sign up for my courses, "I want to improve my writing and get a higher score, so I need to learn to write to the exam format."

But what is format? All writing has the same format:
- Introduction
- Body paragraph
- Body paragraph
- Conclusion

In terms of improving your writing, it's not the format that matters. You can write the same essay in several different levels - in the same format.

Let's compare two examples.

Topic: In some parts of the world, many famous people are regarded as ‘role models’ and they are having an increasing influence on the young. Is that a positive or negative development?

1️⃣

Younger people are influenced by many things. One controversial effect is celebrities. In my opinion, while famous people can surely inspire good behaviors and values, the impact they have on the younger generation is mostly bad.

Celebrities can have a good influence, though. Many famous people promote important values, such as hard work or empathy. Indeed, many stars emphasize effort, labor, and similar qualities when they speak about their path to success. Some famous individuals also take part in activism and donate money to charities. This is noble and should be promoted. However, I believe this positive influence only works in a small number of cases, and the negative aspects are bigger.

2️⃣

Younger people are susceptible to a whole host of influences. One recent and particularly controversial influence is celebrities. In my opinion, while famous people can admittedly inspire positive behaviors and values, the impact they have on the younger generation is mostly detrimental.

When it comes to the positive influence, one could make a case that many celebrities promote important values, such as hard work or empathy. Indeed, many emphasize effort, resilience, integrity, and similar qualities when they speak about their path to success. Some also engage in activism and donate money to charities - undeniably noble activities that should be promoted. However, I believe this positive influence only works in a small number of cases and is significantly outweighed by the negative aspects.

See? Same format, different levels. If you want to improve your writing and get a higher score, you need to build your skill and your language.

🐼 My full essay in the pdf in this post: https://news.1rj.ru/str/irinalutsenko/551

Enrollment in my thorough, skill-building writing courses is now open. (Links in the comments.)

💌💌💌 @iraluts

Can you use my IELTS materials?

Some of my materials are available online for free. So, sometimes other instructors ask me, "Irina, can I use your IELTS answers (or worksheets or posts) in my classes?"

I answer, "Yes, but please credit them to me: add my name and the link to my social media." And I always add, "Do this for everyone, not just me." 🌸

This is just good practice. Find something you like? Share the creator's name and socials.

It's good for the creator. It's good for the community. And it's good for you. ❤️

💡 Some of my #IELTS answers in the public domain: https://news.1rj.ru/str/irinalutsenko/551

#IELTS Writing Task 1: a common mistake 📊

And a quiz right off the bat.

Do you see the difference between the two sentences in each set in terms of grammar?

1️⃣

1. Turning to the table, she muttered, "I think we should get divorced."

2. Turning to the table, the figures for chicken consumption increased.

2️⃣

1. Focusing on the line graph, the professor provided the historical background of the trend.

2. Focusing on the line graph, the number of students with an arts major increased.

In each set, the second sentence contains a mistake called "dangling modifier."

A dangling modifier is a word or phrase that doesn't logically modify the subject of the main clause.

In other words:

- Turning to the table, the figures for chicken consumption... reads as if the figures turned to the table.

- Focusing on the line graph, the number of students ... reads as if the number of students focused on the line graph.

To avoid the mistake, you must make sure that the subject of the main clause does the thing in the modifier, like in each first sentence in the sets above.

- Turning to the table, she muttered...: She turned and she muttered.

- Focusing on the line graph, the professor provided...: The professor focused and the professor provided.

❗️In short, all these transition phrases in IELTS writing task 1 are wrong if used like this:

- Turning to the table, the figures ...

- Focusing on the data in the bar chart, the consumption...

- Examining the data provided in the pie chart, the percentage of women ...

💡 Alternatives:

- As for ...
- As regards ...
- When it comes to ...

What else?

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

#ieltswritingtask1 #ielts@irinalutsenko

My strength as an IELTS instructor 🐸

I first took IELTS in 2011. At that time, the exam was a mystery. Very few people knew about it, let alone got high scores. And writing was the biggest mystery of all (teachers included - I got 7 for writing that time).

Time passed. At present, there is no shortage of IELTS writing experts, videos, and model answers.

But for how many people does watching expert videos or reading model answers translate into a solid writing skill? Especially given how little practice the skills gets in the classroom...

In this ocean of IELTS experts (for lack of a better term), I see my strength in helping others build their skill. I am not just an achiever with IELTS 9s and 8.5s under my belt. I am an instructor with a whole host of activities designed to help you build your skill.

In the end, it's just you and the task in the exam room.

My writing courses this semester:

1️⃣ IELTS Writing - a long, meticulous, skill-building course

https://vk.com/market/product/ielts-writing-academic-47977221-3696544

2️⃣ Super-advanced IELTS Writing Task 1 - a course on challenging tasks, for experienced IELTS writers

https://vk.com/market/product/super-advanced-ielts-writing-task-1-47977221-10797050

3️⃣ Writing with New Scientist - a perfect pre- or post-IELTS course

https://vk.com/market/product/writing-with-new-scientist-47977221-5061302

🐸 @iraluts

#IELTS Writing Task 1: All mistakes are not made equal

What do different mistakes look like? ❓

I have written the intro and the overview for the task above in four different ways, with each one illustrating what mistakes in each assessment criterion – only one – look like.

1️⃣ TR

The table shows the number of registered marriages of two types and the age of those getting married in Australia between 1960 and 2000. Overall, the number of religious marriages decreased, albeit insignificantly, peaking at 50,000 in 1980. As regards the age, both brides and grooms got married at an older age in 2000 as compared to 1960.

2️⃣ CC

The table shows the number of registered marriages in Australia between 1960 and 2000. Overall, people of both genders got married at an older age in 2000, with the former being older than the latter in all the given years. As for civil marriages, they increased significantly. Nevertheless, religious marriages declined in number, being outnumbered by the first category by the end of the period.

3️⃣ LR

The table shows the number of registered marriages of two types and the age of those getting married in Australia between 1960 and 2000. Overall, the quantity of holy wedlocks decreased, while that of municipal matrimonies increased, outpacing sacred conjugality by the end of the period. As regards age, it increased by 2000 for both genders, with the better half being younger in all the given years.

4️⃣ GR

The table shows the number of marriages which were registered and the age of people which got married in Australia between 1960 and 2000. Overall, the number of religious marriages decreased. But the number of civil marriages increased as well as outstripped that of religious ones. Turning to the age, bridegrooms were older. Focusing on the change, the age increased by 2000 for both genders.

The mistakes are slightly exaggerated for illustration purposes. And, of course, a student typically makes different types of mistakes at the same time.

And now I challenge you to write a perfect, balanced, mistake-free overview for this task in the comments.

#ieltswritingtask1

🐸 https://news.1rj.ru/str/irinalutsenko

Super-advanced #IELTS Writing Task 1 (Academic) 📊

As a seasoned IELTS instructor, I keep track of recent exams and have seen oodles of tasks. Most look fairly standard, but some look unusual and, therefore, super-interesting. I have created a collection of such tasks and decided to launch a mini-course dedicated exclusively to them.

📝 This course features low-frequency, unusual, and overly complicated tasks:

- Usual-looking tasks with hidden traps and challenges
- Tasks that don’t fall within the standard categories
- Tasks that ask you to compare something other than years or figures
- Tasks that are very rich in data and/or that don’t have discernible patterns
- Tasks that describe how something works (a mechanism denoscription)
- Tasks that require very low-frequency or specific lexis

For example:

- Results of a survey on how to reduce global warming: a task that has no figures or places – only opinions
- A comparison of two types of mountains: tropical and temperate
- How a hot air balloon works
- Building a storage unit using concrete canvas
- A Japanese house

These can befuddle even experienced IELTS writers. But I got your back.

📝 Here is how one class is organized:

- We meet online to discuss the task and possible ways to organize the answer
- We work on some lexis or grammar relevant to the task
- You write in class (!)
- I give detailed, personalized feedback (after class, on Google Docs)
- I share my answer for the task.

📝 Class duration: 60 minutes (40 minutes to prepare, 20 minutes to write)

📝 Course duration: 3 months, 12 classes

📝 Schedule: Thursday, 10 am Moscow time

📝 Place: Zoom, classes meet in real time

📝 Price: 6000 RUB a month (4 classes), feedback included

💃 A little bit about IELTS and me:
- IELTS 9 x2, Writing 8.5 x3
- IELTS teaching experience over 10 years
- A prolific IELTS writer myself, with 200+ answers under my belt.

This mini-course is for advanced IELTS writers – those who have already mastered all the standard tasks. It’s a great addition to any other IELTS writing course you might be taking and a great personal challenge. 🐸

💌💌💌 @iraluts

#IELTS Writing Task 1: Word Count ↗️

Fun fact: The last time I got 8.5 for writing, my Task 1 and Task 2 answers were almost the same length - about 320 words. On a more serious note, 320 is a very high word count for most Task 1 answers. I tell my students not to write over 280.

Of course, all word count recommendations are just that - recommendations. There is no direct connection between word count and meaning, but there is some connection.

As usual, let's compare.

Set 1.

1️⃣

Oranges were by far the most exported fruit, with South Africa being the main exporter, at one million metric tons. Slightly less was sold by Egypt and the USA: 900,000 and 700,000 tons respectively. (36 words)

2️⃣

Oranges were by far the most exported type of citrus fruit, with the country of South Africa being the main exporter, at the mark of one million metric tons. As regards Egypt and the USA, a slightly smaller amount of the product in question was sold by these countries: 900,000 and 700,000 tons respectively. (56 words)

These two paragraphs contain identical information, yet the second one is 20 words longer because it contains clutter (words that don't add meaning).

Set 2.

3️⃣

Lemons and grapefruits were exported in significantly smaller quantities. Lemon exports stood at approximately half the figure for oranges. Turkey and Mexico exported 500,000 and 450,000 metric tons respectively. Argentina exported half the volume Turkey did – 250,000 tons. As regards grapefruits, the USA and South Africa supplied around 225,000 metric tons each. Following some way behind came Turkey, with 175,000 tons. (66 words)

4️⃣

Lemons and grapefruits were exported in significantly smaller quantities. Lemon exports came second at approximately half the figures for oranges. The two countries with the largest volumes were Turkey and Mexico, at 500,000 and 450,000 metric tons respectively. The third country, Argentina, exported half the volume Turkey did – 250,000 tons. Grapefruits were sold in even smaller amounts, with the USA and South Africa being the main suppliers at 225,000 metric tons each. Following some way behind came Turkey, with 175,000 tons. (86 words)

Now the second paragraph is also 20 words longer, but it has more information - information that will contribute to Task Achievement.

So, if you have a high word count, make sure it's because of valuable information, not because of clutter.

↗️ See my full answer in the Writing Recap 2024 book in this post: https://news.1rj.ru/str/irinalutsenko/551