Customer Reviews

Focus on Ielts

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"Focus on IELTS" is a fairly low-level text for the IELTS Test, and candidates would need to be of a higher level to do well with the test itself. Having said that, the text is very good in the way that it presents the test and tasks associated with the preparation for it.

Each unit tackles different skills, not taking on every single skill in each unit. Specific tasks are targeted at the variety of question types, and give focused, (no pun intended), practice for specific tasks that students will encounter in the test. In this sense, the text book is thorough and varied, as well as being completely detailed.

The only drawback that I have found is that the level of the listenings and reading tasks is a bit low for the test itself. If students require university level scores, they will need preparation above and beyond this book's scope. However, this book is aimed at the academic module.

This text would serve as a suitable entry level introduction, but it would need to be added to with more difficult material for the academic module of the IELTS.

Focus on IELTS by Sue O'Connell is regrettably out of print. Having used many titles over the past seven years to teach IELTS in the US to initially nurses and later university students, I feel this book has no equal. Sue O'Connell never confuses students; everything she introduces has been carefully worked through and when students do her reading comprehension questions they understand precisely why they got an answer wrong.(In other books I have found it very difficult to satisfy them with a reason why they have not produced a right answer. I am not always convinced myself.) In addition exercises incorporate teaching students new and interesting facts.I have not find an equal to this book and I am just annoyed that my teacher book went missing and when I got another it was a newer edition and did not match the exercises in the 2002 book. Please, publisher, reissue this book. I do not feel able to recommend my students to buy any other, except perhaps for an UCLES IELTS Practice test book 5 6 or 7. Another point about this book is that each unit has intrinsic interest.

(Editor : How do I include the stars for others to rate this book? I have removed my opinion and put one star following your note.)