In this post: Core collocations for museums, the arts and global food culture, taken from my own essays, and breakdowns of my Task 21 (overall 7) and Task 39 (overall 7.5) paragraphs.
Culture and the Arts · 3 parts
- 1. Common questions and arguments
- 2. Vocabulary and two breakdowns (you are here)
- 3. Model, mistakes and practice
3. Core vocabulary and collocations
The right-hand column contains sentences from my own essays, exactly as I wrote them; the notes in brackets give a more natural version.
Museums and the arts
| Collocation | Meaning / use | Ting’s original sentence (source) |
|---|---|---|
| offer free admission / free entry | let people in without paying | Whether museums and art galleries should offer free entrance or not… (Task 21; free admission is more common than free entrance) |
| engage in / with art | take part in or experience art | it motivates people to engage in art (Task 21) |
| increase the number of visitors | attract more visitors | the authorities can successfully increase the number of visitors (Task 21) |
| achieve sustainable development | grow in a way that can continue long term | thereby achieving sustain development in related industries (Task 21; sustainable development) |
| decrease the revenue of… | reduce the income of… | one of which is that it decreases the revenue of the museums (Task 21; reduces museums’ revenue) |
| cover maintenance costs | pay for upkeep | expenditure likes the salary of facilities and maintenance cost is undoubtedly high (Task 21; expenses such as staff salaries and maintenance costs are high) |
| allocate budget to… | set aside money for… | it is recommended that the government allocate some budget to support museums (Task 21) |
Globalisation and food culture
| Collocation | Meaning / use | Ting’s original sentence (source) |
|---|---|---|
| long-distance international shipment | transporting goods far across borders | domestic goods, which are not necessary for long-distance international shipment (Task 39; do not require long-distance shipping) |
| be released into the atmosphere | be given off into the air | greenhouse gas likes carbon dioxide will release into the atmosphere (Task 39; greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide are released into the atmosphere) |
| an environmentally unfriendly behaviour | an action that harms the environment | purchasing foreign food or products is an environmentally unfriendly behavior (Task 39) |
| hinder the development of the local economy | hold back the local economy | exotic products always post a threat to domestic food, hindering the development of local economy (Task 39; pose a threat to domestic producers) |
| lower the revenue of local producers | reduce local producers’ income | importing food from other countries sometimes lower the revenue of local manufacturers (Task 39; lowers; for farm produce use producers or farmers) |
| cultural diversity / cultural exchange | a variety of cultures / sharing between cultures | (model) Cultural exchange helps people appreciate different ways of life. |
| cultural homogenisation | cultures becoming the same | (model) Globalisation may lead to cultural homogenisation, as cities around the world look increasingly alike. |
| preserve traditional customs | keep old traditions alive | (model) Tourism revenue can be used to preserve traditional customs and festivals. |
4. Breaking down my own paragraphs
The paragraphs below are the original versions I sent for marking, completely unedited.
4-1 Task 21: free museum admission (Outweigh)
The question, in short: some museums and art galleries charge admission while others are free; do the advantages of free admission outweigh the disadvantages? I argued that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. Below are my first body paragraph and my concession paragraph.
The main benefit of free entrance is that it motivates people to engage in art, since it enables more people to visit those places for free. To put it another way, by implementing the policy of free ticket, the authorities can successfully increase the number of visitors, further making the public stress the importance of art, culture, and history. In this situation, the importance of art in the society will not be ignored, thereby achieving sustain development in related industries.
The chain of reasoning is complete, but too abstract. Free entry → more visitors → the public values art → sustainable development of related industries: the reasoning never breaks. The problem is that the whole paragraph has no specific person, place or scene; “the importance of art will not be ignored” and “sustain development in related industries” are both huge concepts. The examiner will believe the reasoning but will not be persuaded by it. Adding one scene, such as “office workers and students who would never make a special trip walk in on the way past because it is free”, would turn the abstract “more visitors” into something you can picture.
However, there are some downsides associated with free tickets, one of which is that it decreases the revenue of the museums. For instance, expenditure likes the salary of facilities and maintenance cost is undoubtedly high, if they unable to earn money from visitors, the museums authorities will encounter some difficulties to pay for their bill. In other words, there is no denying that offering free tickets results in financial burden of museums; therefore, money issue is one of the significant adverse effects of offering free entrance.
The concession paragraph does its job: an Outweigh question needs you to admit the disadvantages and then “weigh them up” in the conclusion. This essay’s conclusion says that the benefits of motivating people and providing entertainment outweigh the difficulty of paying maintenance costs, and adds a recommendation that the government allocate a budget to support free museums. That directly answers the financial problem raised in the concession, which is a clever way to finish.
Language problems: the salary of facilities (facilities do not get paid; it should be staff salaries), expenditure likes (such as), if they unable (missing are), and the whole sentence is a comma splice that should break after high. All four criteria scored 7, which in my analysis means content, structure and language were all at a “competent but not outstanding” level. To move up, the first step is to replace the abstract statements in body paragraph 1 with a concrete scene.
4-2 Task 39: supermarkets selling food from around the world (Positive / Negative)
The question, in short: in many countries consumers can buy food produced all over the world in supermarkets; is this a positive or negative development? I argued that it is negative, and my second body paragraph was about the threat to local industries.
Another factor supporting my opinion is that exotic products always post a threat to domestic food, hindering the development of local economy. Since the demand of each product in a nation is limited, if an increasing number of foreign food imported, the competitiveness that local market needs to face will witness an upward trend simultaneously. For instance, rice from China, which is cheaper, has definitely threatened the industry in Taiwan since 1990. Due to the fact that Chinese labor and raw materials are far cheaper than that in Taiwan, Taiwanese factories lose the whole market share after Chinese rice has been imported. Hence, importing food from other countries sometimes lower the revenue of local manufacturers.
Why it reached TR 8 and CC 8: the reasoning in this paragraph is solid. “Demand for each product is limited” is a premise; from it follows “the more imports, the fiercer the competition in the local market”; “labour and raw materials are cheaper, so prices are lower” explains why local businesses lose; and it ends with “local producers’ revenue falls”. The introduction states a clear negative position, and each body paragraph has one complete argument. This is the standard high-scoring approach for Positive / Negative questions.
What to watch: the example is too absolute and hard to verify. “Chinese rice has threatened Taiwan’s industry since 1990” and “Taiwanese factories lost the whole market share” are a specific year and an “entire market” claim that I had not checked at the time. Also, rice is farm produce, so factories and manufacturers are not quite right; it should be rice farmers or local producers. IELTS marking is not about fact-checking, but over-absolute claims (definitely, the whole market share) make an argument look exaggerated. A safer version is a hypothetical situation: If cheaper rice were imported in large quantities, local farmers might struggle to compete. The logic is the same, but it cannot be challenged.
Language: post a threat (pose), demand of (demand for), foreign food imported (missing are), and lower needs an s. These are typical errors I collected in Topic Vocabulary (Part 2). Content at 8 with language stuck at 7 was my normal pattern during that period.
Continue reading · Part 3 of 3
IELTS Notes in English · Topic Guides (post 8 of 10)
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Task 1 Structure · Task 2 Structure · Topic Guides · Writing Language · Band Score Samples · Practice Methods · Speaking & Study Tips
✦ Target Your Future
Some days you practise for hours and the score still does not move. I hope these notes remind you that the setbacks are part of the road: every recording you replayed, every essay you rewrote and every sentence you finally dared to say is progress you have already made.
I wrote this down so the next person can take fewer detours. You do not have to follow my method exactly. Find a rhythm that works for you, rest when you need to, and come back for the next small step.
I hope what you take away is more than a number on a score report: a little more confidence in yourself, and the courage to step a bit closer to the world.
— Ting
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