Collected and shared by Tran Manh Trung – Hong Duc University – Thanh Hoa 1
Collected and Shared by Tran Manh Trung – Foreign Language Department
Hong Duc University – Thanh Hoa Province
************************ THE BEST GUIDES
TO IELTS WRITING
Thanh Hoa City 12/2012

Collected and shared by Tran Manh Trung – Hong Duc University – Thanh Hoa 2

FORMAL AND INFORMAL WORD LIST
(Collected and selected by Tran Manh Trung – Hong Duc University)
Rules for formal writing are quite strict, though often unstated. Formal writing is used in academic and
scientific settings whenever you want to convey your ideas to a wide audience, with many possible backgrounds
and assumptions. Unlike casual conversation or emails to friends, formal writing needs to be clear,
unambiguous, literal, and well structured.
Table 01:

Ord


07
stuff
material
chất liệu, vật liệu
08
to find out
to ascertain/discover
tìm ra, tìm thấy
09
to do again
to repeat
lặp lại
Collected and shared by Tran Manh Trung – Hong Duc University – Thanh Hoa 3
10
to do well
to succeed
thành công
11
to set up
to establish
thiết lập
12
to cut down on
to reduce
giảm bớt
13
to go up

21
to take smth back
to retract (a statement)
rút lại
22
to put off smth
to postpone smth
hoãn lại
23
to put up with
to tolerate
chịu đựng
24
to put away smth
to save
tiết kiệm, để dành
25
to put down to smth
to attribute to
quy cho, gán cho
26
to come about
to occur
xảy ra
27
to give up
to relinquish
từ bỏ
28
to go back/give back

36
to use
to consume
dùng, tiêu dùng
37
to shorten
to decrease/ to abbreviate
giảm bớt/ rút ngắn
37
to show
to demonstrate
chỉ ra, chứng minh
38
to go
to depart
đi, khởi hành
Collected and shared by Tran Manh Trung – Hong Duc University – Thanh Hoa 4
39
to want
to desire
mong muốn
40
to end
to finish/ to terminate
kết thúc
41
to tell

49
at once
immediately
ngay lập tức
50
at the same time
simultaneously/ concurrently
đồng thời, cùng lúc
51
at first
initially
đầu tiên
52
on and off
intermittently
gián đoạn, lúc có lúc không
53
mainly
principally/primarily
chủ yếu
54
next
subsequently
tiếp theo
55
again and again
repeatedly
lặp đi lặp lại
56
so

64
whole
complete
toàn bộ
65
lively
energetically/animated
đầy sinh lực/ sống động
67
lucky
fortunate
may mắn
Collected and shared by Tran Manh Trung – Hong Duc University – Thanh Hoa 5
68
childish
immature/ infantile
như trẻ con (tính cách)
69
wrong
incorrect/questionable
sai/ có vấn đề
70
worse
inferior to
thấp kém hơn
71
cheap

79
empty
vacant
trống không
80
to ask for
to require/ to request
đòi hỏi, yêu cầu
81
hot (topic)
controversial
đang gây tranh cãi
82
more and more
Increasingly/ unceasingly/non-stop
tăng lên không ngừng
83
to get
to obtain/ to receive
đạt được, lấy , mua
84
bad
disappointing
tồi tệ, đáng thất vọng
85
to get worse
to deteriorate
trở nên xấu đi
86
horrible

94
Let’s consider …
It is important to consider …
hãy cân nhắc, xem xét
95
I love/like/prefer
Personally, I favour …
Tôi thích, tôi ủng hộ
96
On top of that
Another point is …
một điểm khác nữa là
Collected and shared by Tran Manh Trung – Hong Duc University – Thanh Hoa 6
97
Government must make laws
There is a need for laws
cần có luật về …
98
In a nutshell
To state it briefly/ In brief
tóm lại
99
Every coin has two sides
There are advantages and disadvantages to
mọi vấn đề đều có ưu điểm và nhược điểm
100
by chance

108
to make up for
to compensate for
đền bù, bù lại
109
to catch on smth
to understand
nắm bắt, hiểu
110
to go down with a disease
to contract a disease
mắc bệnh
111
to go up
to increase
tăng lên
112
to get in touch with
to contact
liên hệ. liên lạc
113
to let somebody know
to inform
cho biết
114
to call off
to cancel
huỷ bỏ, bãi bỏ
115
to sort out

123
a lot
a substantial amount, a considerable sum
nhiều
124
stand for
denote, represent
chỉ, thay cho
126
next
adjacent
kề cận
Collected and shared by Tran Manh Trung – Hong Duc University – Thanh Hoa 7
127
prove
confirm
khẳng định
128
rich
affluent, wealthy, prosperous
giàu có
129
the same as
equivalent to
giống nhau, tương đương
130
drink

138
to think (that)
to assume (that)
cho rằng
139
Because
Owing to or due to the fact that/As a result of
vì
140
Nobody can say
It is impossible to predict …
Không có thể dự đoán trước
141
I think that
It seems that/ It could be argued that
nNười ta nói rằng
142
About
Regarding/ Concerning
Về, về phần
143
And
as well as
còn, cũng như
144
but
while/whereas
nưng, khi mà
145
to write a cheque

154
lost
inadvertently mislaid
vô tình thất lạc
155
to make sure
to ensure
để đảm bảo rằng
156
to order
to authorise
uỷ quyền
Collected and shared by Tran Manh Trung – Hong Duc University – Thanh Hoa 8
157
to pay
to settle
trả tiền, thanh toán
158
to supply
to furnish
cung cấp
159
to take away
to withdraw
lấy ra, rút (tiền) ra
160
when we get …

168
e.g
For example,
ví dụ
169
vs.
versus/as apposed of
chống lại, ngược với
170
nice/ cute
attractive
hấp dẫn, lôi cuốn
171
smart
intelligent
thông minh
172
come
arrive
đến
173
lifestyle
way of life / manner of life
lối sống
174
19
th
century
The nineteenth century
Không viết tắt

extremely
cực kỳ, vô cùng
183
to go up to
to reach
lên tới (con số), đạt tới
184
to work
to function
hoạt động
185
breathing
respiration
sự hô hấp
Collected and shared by Tran Manh Trung – Hong Duc University – Thanh Hoa 9
186
meat-eater
carnivore
động vật ăn thịt
187
chance
opportunity
cơ hội
188
wrong
erroneous
sai sót

to find
tìm thấy
197
to do away with
to abolish
bãi bỏ
198
to build up
to accumulate
tích luỹ
199
to finish off
to conclude
kết luận
200
to back up
to support/to advocate
ủng hộ
201
to put forward
propose
đề xuất, đề nghị
202
to put across
to express
biểu lộ, bày tỏ
203
to obey a law
to comply with a law
tuân thủ pháp luật

manner/solution
giải pháp
212
money
currency
tiền tệ
213
to imagine
to conceive / conceivably
tưởng tượng
214
place
location
nơi, vị trí
Collected and shared by Tran Manh Trung – Hong Duc University – Thanh Hoa 10
215
viewpoint
stance
lập trường, quan điểm
216
fast/quickly
rapidly/ as a matter of urgency
nhanh
217
how much
to what extent (not applicable to price or amount)
tới mức độ nào

as can be seen
như ta có thể thấy
227
wood
timber
gỗ
228
to describe
to depict
mô tả
229
to learn by heart
to memorise
ghi nhớ
230
to go on
to continue
tiếp tục
231
may be
possibly, perhaps
có lẽ
232
somehow
in a certain way
bằng cách nào đó
233
job
occupation
nghề nghiệp

annually
hằng năm
242
glasses
spectacles
kính đeo mắt
243
shop
retail outlet
cửa hiệu
244
fridge
refrigerator
tủ lạnh
Collected and shared by Tran Manh Trung – Hong Duc University – Thanh Hoa 11
245
TV/ telly
television
tivi
246
boss
employer
ông chủ
247
change
transform
chuyển đổi

Collected and shared by Tran Manh Trung – Hong Duc University – Thanh Hoa 12
IELTS Writing Task 2: Useful Language
Memorising set phrases for use in the IELTS test is a highly effective way of achieving a higher score. Try
learning the following signposting language which will make you sound more confident and sophisticated when
writing an opinion or argument essay in Task 2.
Introducing the topic
 Some people argue that…
 Have you ever considered… ?
 The question raises the issue of…
Stating an opinion (thesis statement)
 I believe that…
 It is my belief that…
 This essay will argue that…
Indicating the scope of the essay
 In this essay, I will state…
 This essay will examine…
 … will be covered in this essay. Collected and shared by Tran Manh Trung – Hong Duc University – Thanh Hoa 13
Giving reasons

 To return to my original idea,…
Collected and shared by Tran Manh Trung – Hong Duc University – Thanh Hoa 15
IELTS Writing Task 1: Useful Language
1. THE LANGUAGE OF APPROXIMATION

In report writing it is good style to use approximation. Approximation means describing numbers or
statistics by using a fraction that is similar to the exact number. There are a number of reasons for doing this.
Firstly, it is easier for people to understand and remember. Secondly, the numbers or statistics may be more
detailed than necessary.
Table 02:
Ord
numbers/statistics
similar fractions
Ord
numbers/statistics
similar fractions
1
65 %
about two-thirds of
13
1,043

several
7
92 %
most of
19
749,982
about three-quarters of a million
8
98,5 %
almost all
20
1,256,890,534
over 1.2 billion
9
19.98 %
about a fifth of
21
101,997
about 100,000
10
26 %
just over a quarter of
22
248.112
a quarter of a million
11
48.873 %
almost a half of
23
1,695,193

a dip
Verbs
to rise
to increase
to surge
to grow
to peak
to skyrocket
to fluctuate
to vary
to fall
to decrease
to decline
Collected and shared by Tran Manh Trung – Hong Duc University – Thanh Hoa 17
to dip
to dive
to plunge
Phrases
to show an upward trend
to show a downward trend
to hit the highest point
to hit the lowest point
to reach a peak
to show some fluctuation
to fluctuate wildly
to remain stable
to remain static

Adjectives sharp
sudden
rapid
abrupt
dramatic
steep
significant
steady
considerable
marked
slight
gentle
gradual

Collected and shared by Tran Manh Trung – Hong Duc University – Thanh Hoa 19
MORE WORDS AND PHRASES TO DESCRIBE TRENDS:
A. Introduction
1. The graph (biểu đồ)/table (bảng)/ shows (cho thấy)/indicates (chỉ)/ illustrates (minh hoạ)/ reveals (tiết lộ)/
21
D. Prepositions and prepositional phrases
1. In/within the range of … and … :Trong phạm vi
2. For/During the first six months, …: Trong sáu tháng đầu
3. During the remainder of the year, …: Trong thời gian còn lại của năm …
4. During the first half of this century, …: Trong nửa đầu thế kỷ này …
5. Between 1950 and 1960, …: Giữa năm 1950 và 1960 …
6. In the period from 1960 to 1990, … :Trong giai đoạn từ 1960 to 1990 …
7. In the period between 1950 and 1960, … : Trong giai đoạn giữa năm 1950 và 1990 …
8. From that time on: Từ thời gian đó trở đi
9. Over a ten-year period, … : Trong giai đoạn 10 năm
10. Throughout the nineteenth century: Trong suốt thế kỷ 19
11. Unlike …: Không giống với …
12. In contrast to …: so với … /tương phản với …
13. In comparison with … : so sánh với …
Collected and shared by Tran Manh Trung – Hong Duc University – Thanh Hoa 22
E. Nouns and noun phrases
1. overview: cái nhìn khái quát, cái nhìn tổng quan
2. a large number /percentage of … : một số lớn /một tỷ lệ phần trăm lớn của …
3. the whole/total amount/quantity of … : tổng lượng của …
4. the total number of … : tổng số của … 5. An increase of … %: sự tăng lên … %
6. trend: khuynh hướng 7. correlation: mối liên hệ
8. a drop of … %: sự giảm … % 9. an increase in … : sự tăng về …
10. a slight increase: sự tăng nhẹ 11. a drop in …: giảm về ….
F. Comparison