Conquering IELTS step by step with the book "Step up to IELTS"

• Book Title: Step Up To IELTS
• Authors: Clare McDowell and Vanessa Jakeman
• Number of pages: 236
• Publication Year: 2003
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Unit

Topics

Content 

1

Take a break

• Guide to identifying topics and answering short-answer questions in the Listening section.
• Basic instructions on scanning and skimming techniques in reading.
• Speaking skills focus on introducing oneself and laying the foundation for Speaking Part 1.
• Learning how to use the words "go" and "play," distinguishing adjectives with the suffixes "-ing" and "-ed."
• Small test section as a summary of knowledge.

2

What’s on the menu?

• Learn how to determine context and review short-answer questions.
• Deepen your understanding of skimming and scanning techniques.
• Speaking focuses on the topic of hobbies, instructing how to adjust tone and expression.
• How to use the present continuous tense.
• Practice tests to summarize knowledge.

3

On the road

• Listening focuses on descriptive listening passages and how to approach form-filling tasks.
• The reading section focuses on instructions for effectively grasping the main ideas and techniques for completing IELTS Summary completion tasks.
• Dealing with descriptive tasks in Writing Task 1.
• Grammar provides knowledge about passive voice.
• Listening practice test with two main question types: Table completion and Note completion.

4

All at sea

• Practice Reading skills with two main techniques: skimming for main ideas and Sentence Completion.
• Explore the Reading IELTS question types that analyze charts and diagrams as well as images.
• Guidance on learning sentence structures to express preferences in the Speaking section.
• Grammar focuses on comparative sentence structures.
• Practice test for Writing Task 1.

5

Come rain or shine

• Listening focuses on instructing the technique of understanding opinions and reasons, practicing the note completion question type.
• Writing provides guidance on completing a Table - describing a table task and using comparative sentence structures to describe information trends.
• Speaking focuses on instructing techniques for emphasizing to express emotions.
• Grammar provides knowledge on linking ideas.
• Practice test for IELTS General Training Task 1. 

6

Value for money

• Listening focuses on identifying trends and strategies for multiple-choice questions and chart interpretation.
• Reading focuses on tracking the sequence of events in questions with flow charts.
• Writing provides guidance on describing column charts in Writing Task 1.
• Grammar explores the tenses commonly used in Writing Task 1.
• Practice test for practicing describing pie charts.

7

Ignorance is bliss

• Reading provides guidance on how to familiarize oneself with headings in IELTS texts.
• Learn about the process of generating ideas in writing.
• Emphasize the pronunciation of the "-ed" ending in the Speaking section.
• Grammar provides knowledge about the past tense and the usage of the "used to" structure.
• Practice test. 

8

Fit as a fiddle

• Guidance on specific information retrieval techniques in listening.
• Methods for describing data using noun phrases.
• Practice Speaking for IELTS Part 1.
• Usage of modal verbs, noun phrases, and conditional sentences type 1 and 2.
• Test practice.

9

The driving force

• Identify the structures in reading passages and how to answer True/False/Not Given and Summary with box questions.
• Guidance on comparing data in the writing section.
• Method for expanding answers by providing reasons in Speaking Part 1.
• Words indicating cause, result, and conjunctions.
• Practice test with Listening question types: note completion and table completion.

10

The silver screen

• Technique of reading the questions before listening.
• Approaches to handling long reading passages.
• Methods of expressing and supporting opinions in Speaking.
• Review of tenses in English.
• Usage of the structure "as long as."
• Practice test for Training Writing Task 2.

11

The written word

• How to use the technique of identifying the main idea of a paragraph and approach multiple-choice questions.
• Methods for constructing effective paragraphs.
• Usage of adverbs.
• Practice test for completing a full IELTS Speaking test.

12

Down to Earth

• Methods for answering different question types in Listening: short-answer questions, selecting words from a list, matching.
• Approaches to presenting two-sided arguments in Writing.
• Review of pronouncing /v/ and /pr/.
• Usage of the structures "stop + -ing" and "stop/prevent from + -ing".
• Test practice.

13

Safe as houses

• Methods for answering note completion and picture multiple-choice questions.
• Approaches to analyzing the requirements of the prompts in Writing Task 2.
• Guidance on how to compare events or objects.
• Practice test.

14

On the face of it

• Methods for identifying the author's viewpoint in reading passages.
• Approaches to handling scientific research texts with summary and matching question types.
• Review of modal verbs "should" and "ought to."
• Practice Test.

15

As far as I can see

• Methods for tracking the author's argument and techniques for identifying information in a passage.
• Approaches to paraphrasing information in writing.
• Methods for tackling future simulation questions in Speaking.
• Usage of "this/these + noun" and "such (a/an) + noun."
• Test Practice.

16

Mother tongue

• Guidance on understanding viewpoints and reviewing the Yes/No/Not Given question type in Reading.
• Language expressions of betrayal and support in Writing.
• Usage of indirect speech in Speaking.
• Usage of indirect speech with "if" and "whether."
• Practice test. 

Pros

Cons 

• The knowledge in the book is presented in a scientific, systematic manner, covering all four skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing.
• The question types and techniques in the book are arranged in order from easy to difficult, applying a progressive learning approach that yields high effectiveness.
• The book focuses on helping learners develop critical thinking skills and methods.
• The tips provided in each section and technique engage learners and are applicable to various question types effectively.
• The theory is concise and practical-oriented.
• Each lesson includes practice tests that allow learners to reinforce important IELTS skills.
• The book contains vivid images that facilitate learners' visualization and make it visually appealing.

• The book is entirely written in English, which can be challenging for learners without a strong foundation in the language.
• The book mainly provides small test exercises and does not offer complete IELTS test papers.
• Learners need to independently organize their knowledge as the book's presentation is scattered, and there is no overall summary of the content.