Irina Lutsenko

Do ideas matter in writing? Yes, they are the only thing that matters in writing. Well, maybe that's a bit of an overstatement, but writing is certainly not about commas alone. What is writing about then? It has somehow been established in the Russian ELT community that writing is all about language - grammar, vocabulary, linking phrases, maybe commas or dashes. But ideas - who cares? Well, I think ideas are the only reason to write. Why else would you sit down and spend an hour on this activity?! What is more, ideas are the only reason to read. No one reads for commas or linking words. People read for ideas. As a result of this erroneous understanding of writing, people tend to believe that this is an example of bad writing:  "It's important to protect the environment." But this is an example of good writing:  "Never has it been more crucial to protect the environment. Little do people realize how imperative it is. The environment - the world we live in - is ou...

I want to share an awesome IELTS essay written in my " Writing with New Scientist " course. The essay was so great when I first checked it that I had to read it several times in order to find something to correct or at least suggest. It's absolutely awesome now - it has academic lexis, hedging, a range of cohesive devices, a sharp focus - everything you need for a high score. The author of the essay decided to remain anonymous. Some people believe stress is such a detrimental force that it should be avoided and minimized as much as possible. Others, however, say that stress should be welcomed as it is a natural part of life and can even be beneficial. Discuss both these views and give your own opinion. ✽✽✽ It is generally agreed that stress is an integral part of life, but there is no agreement as to what attitude towards it is best to adopt. Some welcome stress, claiming that it could be turned to their advantage. Others, however, feel that stress should be eliminated o...

I want to share a great IELTS essay written in my " Writing with New Scientist " course. The author is the wonderful Anna Skopina . Just look at the plethora of cohesive devices she used (I highlighted some to make sure you notice).  Task: Some people think that economic well-being is the most important factor for achieving happiness. However, others think that there are other factors involved in happiness. Discuss both these views and give your own opinion. ✽✽✽ Some people claim that financial well-being is of paramount importance to an individual’s happiness, whereas others are convinced that other factors contribute more to life satisfaction. I am going to discuss both views and agree with the latter. One view is that money plays the most important role in people’s quality of life. This could be explained by a certain correlation between economic well-being and the level of life-satisfaction, with rich people in general being more satisfied with their lives than poor one...

St Petersburg is not the kind of city you should visit for a day. But Ekaterina Kachalova did and lived to tell the tale. Her conclusion is "If you’re saving up on comfort and time, your impressions will also come at a discount."  This is yet another awesome post written in my " Write for Real: Blogging in English " course. Enjoy the post and scroll down to find links to more. ✽✽✽ Save up on comfort and time, but not on impressions - that was my motto whenever the thought of hopping on the Sapsan train to St Pete became ripe enough for me to reap it. The pinnacle of that particular trip in July 2019 was meant to become "The Legend of Love” by the Mariinsky ballet. Staying true to my motto, I booked a one-day round-trip ticket with an intention to cover all the bases - to see everything that there was to see in one day. The high-speed train departed from Moscow at an ungodly hour, but what I sacrificed in terms of deep sleep and sound mind, I hoped to make up ...

In exam preparation, there are three main stages of learning to write - and all of them address different needs. 1. Introduction This stage is the first step you take right after you learn how to write a certain task type. You think your writing is awful. You have lots of questions. You get a lot of comments of all shapes and sizes. At this stage, make your peace with the fact that the first two-three writing answers will be roadkill - they hurt to look at, but you can’t save them, keep moving. There are two important things to keep in mind here: - These two-three awkward first answers are probably inevitable - you can’t really jump directly to smooth and beautiful ones. But you need to go through writing those first awkward ones simply to get used to the tasks. - The awkward first answers are the case for any new type of writing. In IELTS prep, you will have two-three awkward line graphs answers, then two-three awkward agree-disagree essays, then two-three awkward bar charts answ...

I want to share a great Writing Task 1 answer written by my former student Anna Skopina . The task is a process description from IELTS 16 Test 2 - making sugar from sugar cane.  With process descriptions, students usually have two problems: 1. The answer is either extremely short (= not fully developed) or extremely long (= with many irrelevant or even made-up details); 2. The description is mechanical and the stages are marked with same type of cohesive devices (first, then, in the next stage etc).  Anna's description is well-balanced and contains a range of cohesive devices, especially ones to indicates stages and sequences. Try to notice them as you read it.  ✽✽✽ The provided diagram gives information on the production of sugar, which is made from sugar cane. The process is divided into seven stages, including growing and harvesting sugar cane, extracting and purifying its juice, making syrup from the juice and, finally, separating sugar crystals from the syrup. The pr...

My thought exactly - how hard is it to drop a line to your teacher? To find out what the teacher goes through if you don't, read the post below - Alyona Vanina describes her thoughts and her feelings ever-so vividly (and I can totally relate). What would you answer, btw? This is yet another awesome post written in my " Write for Real: Blogging in English " course. Scroll down to find links to four more.  ✽✽✽ We all are people. People who have problems and in whose life accidents can happen all at once. But can it be considered as an excuse in teacher-student relationships?  See one curious example. There is a student who seems to be motivated to learn, determined to achieve his goals and is very cordial in communication. What is more, the-best-student-ever attends every class. You get on well with each other and your cooperative efforts bear fruits. The teacher sees the results of her work; the student, in turn, can be proud of his progress. Attention - the-best-student...

Is it easy for you to say "no"? Would you say "yes" to being the head of the parenting committee of your child's kindergarten group? I know I wouldn't. But Irina Krug did and shares her experience in this amusing but true-to-life and relatable post written in my " Write for Real: Blogging in English " course.  ✽✽✽ As an elderly Russian woman, I’m proud to have acquired a number of useful skills over my 38 years - ranging from making 3-ingredient sugar-free cookies to managing 50 teens at a Cambridge mock exam. One skill that I’m still working on though is saying “no”. When I agreed to become the head of the parenting committee in my daughter’s kindergarten group, I had no clue what I was getting myself into. I thought I had grown enough thick skin throughout my teaching career not to be bothered by occasional rants and heated arguments, but - alas! - it was more than that. Parents’ chats on social media are a zoo of their own: some crocodiles lurk...

Have you ever done a full body detox to cleanse it of toxins? Do you think it's a must or a scam?  Irina Tikhonova shares her experience in this awesome post written in my " Write for Real: Blogging in English " course.  ✽✽✽  Whether it’s a piece of lemon splashing into water or a model holding a bowl of veggies, it’s tough not to take the bait of the detox industry. You drink some juice, you take some pills, you stick some pads to the bottoms of your feet and that - oh, miracle – sucks all the evil right out of you. By “evil” I mean “toxins” that the modern era is spewing and that need to be flushed out of our bodies. Who doesn’t fantasize about it? I do. Or rather I did. Until one day, I heard Konstantin Prokhorov, a lead scientist in the local university, say: “Detox is utter bullshit. The real thing it cleanses is the money right out of your wallet.” I did the full detox: not of the body, but of the shelf. Cleansing the space, I was wondering how come an educated per...

In the world where Outcomes is all the rage, there’s at least one person who can't see what all this ballyhoo is about. This person is my student Vera , the author of the post below. ✽✽✽ 2 March, 2020 - I remember that day quite vividly. I couldn’t believe my eyes while I was holding it in my hands. It was 660 grams of sheer joy and happiness. It was Outcomes Advanced . Two years have passed since then and now I’m not jumping for joy having this book. After all, there’s only one step between love and hate, isn’t there? Don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate it - I just don't like it either. Even though I can’t pinpoint exactly what it is that puts me off it, I’d like to share a couple of thoughts as to why this book is not my cup of tea. 1. Walk on by if your memory is like a sieve Vocabulary is something lots of people lavish praise on this coursebook for. All those beautiful chunks and collocations, which are real, which are natural, which are extremely useful - and which are imp...

Writing helps people process events and feelings. Written by a student who wanted to remain anonymous, this piece helped them process some of their memories. I loved it so much I thought it deserved a much wider readership than just me.   ✽✽✽ The image of that graveyard is hard to forget – the parched knee-high grass, the scorching August sun, the rusty metal crosses and memorial plates with Russian names (some illegible, some with bullet traces). I can still remember that acute feeling of nonbelonging. The thought “I gotta get out of this city” was pulsing in my head. The mountainous Chechen Republic, so advertised in our local travel agencies, has indeed a lot to offer, especially for those who are brave enough to go off the beaten track and face its grim history. It was my first visit to Grozny, the name that translates as “fearsome” into Russian. The city used to be my mother’s home, and I was curious to see it with my own eyes. My suitcase was filled with humble long sk...

How can teachers make the most of IELTS writing sample answers? Here are some suggestions from the wonderful  Natalya Skachkova , my former IELTS student, a passionate writing teacher, and my first VK Donut subscriber - my subscription service with IELTS writing sample answers. Speaking of which... you will find links to some IELTS answers by both me and my students at the bottom of the post. ✽✽✽ Providing the example of strong performance While doing the course «Prepare your students for IELTS» with Norwich Institute for Language Education , not once were we reminded about the importance of providing sample answers, both strong and weak. However, it is the former that gives a clearer understanding of what is expected of your writing. All the criteria should be exemplified by an actual work; otherwise, they will just remain elusive notions that can be interpreted in a variety of ways. Teaching writing sub-skills In order to direct students’ attention to specific features of a samp...