Irina Lutsenko: IELTS, writing, cohesion
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Empowering you to write in English: from IELTS to novels 🦋 - IELTS 9 x4 (W8.5 x3) - Alumna of 3 exchange programs in 🇺🇸 💎 - ELT degree, 22y teaching, 1y at university in 🇺🇸 - Speaker at TESOL 2024 🇺🇸 and ELT events 🇷🇺 - I write 💜 @iraluts
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доля реакций к просмотрам- 13 авг.Rise and fall 📈📉 One of my favorite YouTube channels to listen to while I'm cooking or warming up before a run is "Rise and fall" by Michael Girdley. And it's not just fascinating business stories. The videos contain a lot of #IELTS Writing Task 1 language too. The pattern "a whopping N%" is in every other video. And the business stories -- you can use them as a source of ideas or examples in IELTS Writing Task 2. Here are a couple of my favorites: 1️⃣ The story of the rise and fall of Nike https://youtu.be/SrsUlTtLLIM?is=UWVAYkCipUEq5Yu5 2️⃣ The story of the rise and fall of Craigslist https://youtu.be/31oqfd8myBI?is=XBxJlAySVB2qeA0N @iraluts3,76%
- 10 июл.How to launch 6 projects and maintain sanity I was recently launching six projects at the same time (note to self -- bad idea): 1. IELTS Writing Task 1 Overviews Sprint: 32 people joined 2. IELTS Writing Task 1 Overviews workshop: under 10 people 3. Duolingo Writing Sprint: 12 people joined 4. Creative Writing Club: 23 people joined 5. Creatie Writing Bootcamp: under 10 people 6. Writing with The Guardian: under 10 people That's a lot of people, a lot of messaging, and a lot of admin. When I launch many projects at the same time, I get tens and tens of messages a day. Some of them I don't reply to -- guilty as charged. I don't reply to poorly written messages because I just don't have the bandwidth (sorry not sorry). And that's how I maintain my sanity. It's a good idea to write very clear messages, following this formula, for example: "Hi Irina, my name is [Name Last name]. I would like to join [word-for-word name of project]. Here is my [the thing requested in the post.]" This simple formula will stand you in good stead in many situations. It communicates what you want clearly and concisely -- you can't go wrong with that. 💜2,11%
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- 25 февр. 2025 г.IELTS Writing Task 2: Repetition or development? 🐼 Repeating rather than developing an idea is a Task Response weakness I talk about on a regular basis in my IELTS classes. And, as usual, to vividly illustrate this weakness, I write two excerpts on the same topic. Here is an example. Which excerpt repeats the ideas and which one develops them? ❓ Topic: "The numbers of plants and animals is decreasing in most countries. Why is this happening? What can be done about it?" 1️⃣ "Both reasons for this development stem from human activities. The first one is that as the population of the planet grows, people increasingly encroach on territories where wildlife lives. They do so because they have to invade plant and animal habitats, and since the number of people is high, it, in essence, replaces biodiversity. After intruding into natural environments, people cause flora and fauna to die out due to human intervention." 2️⃣ "Both reasons for this development stem from human activities. The first one is that as the population of the planet grows, people increasingly encroach on territories where wildlife lives. They do so for a range of purposes, from construction and expansion of cities to clearing the land for farming and agriculture. These activities either obliterate flora and fauna entirely or cause them to move to new habitats, where they might not necessarily survive." KEY: The first excerpt repeats the same idea over and over again—in different words. The second one develops it. Don't let paraphrasing or fancy language fool you—or don't fool yourself by thinking that if you've written something complex, you've developed your ideas. "Development" means adding new bits of information—examples, comparisons, causes, effects, definitions, you name it—in every clause or sentence so that the paragraph moves forward. 🐼 #ieltswritingtask2 #ieltswriting1,73%
- 14 февр. 2025 г.❤️ IELTS Writing Task 2: Paragraph Rewrite ❤️ First and foremost: I love writing. I love rewriting. I love teaching writing. ❤️ Now, on to IELTS. The paragraph below was written by a student. It's not a bad paragraph—the ideas are there, and so is a lot of good language. But why don't we improve the flow and tone the language down? 🎵 Topic: "More and more people say that they do not feel safe when they leave home. Why is this? What could be done to address this issue?" ✏️ Body paragraph 1: Original paragraph by a student "Granted, this world has never been a perfectly safe place to live in, but never before has this imperfection seen such abundant evidence, distorting people’s perception of the environment beyond the walls of their homes. Nowadays, hardly a minute passes after a terrorist attack, a fatal car accident or even a casual brawl, when all the media start bombarding their vulnerable users with shocking headlines and damning reports, all of which subtly, but inevitably alter the human psyche – fragile and highly perceptive to everything that may compromise our safety in the street. While journalists and reporters are having a field day, intentionally exaggerating the extent of incidents and amplifying feelings of sorrow or horror in a bid to get more views, people cannot help but extrapolate these negative experiences to their own lives, thus becoming apprehensive, insecure or even paranoid about what might happen outside." ✏️ Body paragraph 1: My rewrite "The main reason for the people's fear is the distorted perception of the world, which, in turn, stems from increased exposure to bad news. Nowadays, hardly a minute passes after a terrorist attack, a fatal car accident, or even a casual brawl, when all the media start bombarding their vulnerable users with reports of these events. This is only exacerbated by the fact that journalists and news editors often intentionally exaggerate the extent of the incidents and amplify feelings of sorrow or horror in order to get more views. The audiences, however, cannot help but extrapolate these negative incidences to their own lives, thus becoming apprehensive, insecure or even paranoid about what might happen outside." Now the paragraph has the same ideas, but it flows better and is less emotional. #ieltswritingtask2 #ieltswriting1,69%
- 10 авг.🍁 Fall 2026 groups and courses 🍁 Writing: 1. IELTS Writing A long, thorough, meticulous, confidence-boosting skill-building course. 📅 Two new groups 7.5+ - Tuesday 11:00-12:30 Moscow time - Tuesday 13:00-14:30 Moscow time 📅 Two groups for old students - Thursday 10:00-11:30 Moscow time - Thursday 12:00-13:30 Moscow time 📅 Groups for 6.5/7 - Saturday 11:30-13:00 Moscow time (can be changed slightly) More: https://m.vk.com/product-47977221_3696544 2. Writing with New Scientist A writing course based on articles from the "New Scientist" magazine and geared towards exam writing -- IELTS or C2 Proficiency (two different tracks). A perfect pre- or post-exam course! 📅 Levels C1+/C2 - Old group, IELTS track: Wednesday 11:00-12:30 Moscow time - New group, C2 Proficiency track: Wednesday 13:00-14:30 Moscow time - New group, IELTS track: Friday 11:00-12:30 Moscow time 📅 Level C1, new groups - Thursday 11:00-12:30 Moscow time - Friday 13:00-14:30 Moscow time More: https://m.vk.com/product-47977221_5061302 🍁 Speaking: 1. "Speaking with New Scientist" A speaking course based on articles from the "New Scientist" magazine and geared towards some exam tasks but also good for those who have a penchant for deep, meaningful discussions. Very rich in lexis. 📅 Level C3 - Thursday, 14:00-15:30 Moscow time 📅 Levels C1+/C2 - Do you need a group? Drop me a line. More: https://m.vk.com/product-47977221_5911089 2. "You Be The Judge: Debating with The Guardian" A debate club based on dilemmas posed by The Guardian readers. A great boost to your speaking and argumentation skills! Rich in more casual lexis. No homework! 📅 Levels C1/C1+ - Tuesday 11:00-12:30 Moscow time - Friday 11:00-12:30 Moscow time More: https://m.vk.com/product-47977221_10315848 🍁 My secret C2 group We do everything: speaking with New Scientist, writing with New Scientist, C2 Proficiency writing, creative writing, text analysis, stylistic devices, You Be The Judge dilemmas, stand-up comedy, chinwagging, roasting Irina... . We are a cozy old group -- we do whatever we want. 📅 Friday 16:00-17:30 Moscow time 🍁 One-to-one: Available for IELTS below 7.5, TOEFL, Duolingo English Test, and unusual or unique needs. 💌 How to sign up My thorough and arguably annoying enrollment process: https://t.me/irinalutsenko/740 When you message me, it's a good idea to answer the first two points. 💌 @iraluts1,68%
- 27 мар. 2025 г.Order of ideas: order of importance 1️⃣2️⃣3️⃣ In a very long and very boring post above, I've outlined some principles to order ideas effectively. The third principle—writing ideas in order of importance—might seem bit vague, but in reality it isn’t. So, here is another long and boring post. Let's look at some examples from #IELTS Writing Task 1 and Task 2 (but the principles are universal). IELTS Writing Task 1 Let's say you are describing this map: https://t.me/irinalutsenko/519. Which order sounds better? 1️⃣ The eruption destroyed much of the residential infrastructure as the lava flows buired many residential buildings. The port, despite remaining intact, ceased operations. What did not suffer any damage was the castle. 2️⃣ The eruption did not damage the castle. The port was not damaged either, but it ceased operations. Finally, what suffered the most was residential buildings, many of which were buried under lava. The first one goes from to "most damaged" to "undamaged." The second one goes from "undamaged" to "most damaged." The first description reads better for two reasons: 1. We associate volcano eruptions with damage, so it's better to start from damage. 2. We typically value human lives and safety more than buildings. The destruction of residential infrastructure implies potential danger to humans, hence its more significant importance. IELTS Writing Task 2 Let's say you have an essay about machines being more intelligent than humans. Here are two versions of an imaginary mini-paragraph about the potential dangers. 1️⃣ One of the possible dangers of AI is that it will at one point get out of control and decide to harm or even obliterate humans. Another danger is that many people will lose jobs as these will be performed by machines. Finally, creative content will be much less interesting or original because it will be written by AI, which relies heavily on tropes and templates. 2️⃣ One possible downside is that creative content will be much less interesting or original in the AI era because AI relies heavily on tropes and templates. Another negative effect might be that many people will lose jobs as these will be performed by machines. The biggest possible danger, however, is that AI might get out of control and decide to harm or even obliterate humans. The first one goes from "less likely but more dramatic" to "more likely but less dramatic" and the second one goes the other way around. The second one is better. First, why make the reader worry right off the bat about something that is unlikely to happen, at least in the near future? Second, if machines do indeed obliterate all of us, then the other downsides are no longer important—-we won't care about jobs and art if we don't exist. To conclude, the order of ideas matters. Order wisely. #ieltswriting1,65%
- 1 авг.New groups will be starting in September, but some people are already messaging me to sign up. I first thought, "I'm on vacation. No signing up, no no no." But then I thought, "Why not?" I have a long placement process after all. We can save some time now, while I'm on vacation. So... The enrollment process looks like this: 1️⃣ If your profile name is a nickname or an alias, please introduce yourself with your name and last name. My name is Irina Lutsenko - I want to know yours. Nameless subscribers and people with nicknames or aliases won't be considered. 2️⃣ Tell me about yourself in 100 words or less. Answer all or some of these questions as needed: What course do you want to join? Why? What are your goals and course expectations? What is your experience of learning English? What is your experience of writing? Have you taken any exams? What were you scores? 3️⃣ If you want to enroll in a writing course, I'll give you a placement writing task. 4️⃣ We'll schedule an interview. If you already know what group you want to join, let's do steps 1-3 now and schedule interviews for after my vacation (week 17--22 August). 📅 And then we'll be all set to rock and roll in September. 🍁 The courses and schedules are available here: https://m.vk.ru/market-47977221 (Sorry, it's VK again. If you don't have VK, just ask me, but please please please write your first message with information from points 1 and 2 above.) 💌 @iraluts1,58%
- 29 июл.My #Creative Writing Club has come to its inevitable end 🦋 I love love love this project because we write what we want -- for self-expression. For example, ... I'll share a story I wrote. I am rarely satisfied with my creative work, but I really like this story. "The blazing sun is hoisting up out of the sea a piercing stare that doesn’t burn. It scours the seascape and stumbles on a small rowboat gently rocking on waves. Small waves gently lap against the boat. The oars are submerged into water on both sides, like arms of a desolate, disconsolate old man. The oarlocks creak quietly in tune with the waves. Moist, squishy eelgrass blades are twining around the right oar, clinging to it, as if they were the hands of a witch trying to drag it to her dark underworld. Seagulls are squawking and squealing. One large seagull is screeching. It is flying alone around the boat: it alights on the side, then ascends again, then makes a circle around and screeches, screeches, screeches. Inside the boat is another seagull. It sits on the floor. It doesn’t have feathers in places. The bald patches of the body, desolately, disconsolately gray, ooze puss and stench. Its eyes are covered with a semi-transparent patina that looks like egg white. One webbed foot is sticking out at a crooked angle, as if it fell off and a passer-by picked it up and placed it nearby so that it doesn’t get lost. The seagull blinks occasionally, oblivious to the screeching around it. The blazing sun is hoisting up out of the sea a piercing stare. It doesn’t burn, it doesn’t heal. It doesn’t judge, it doesn’t soothe. It doesn’t frown, it doesn’t cry. It watches in silence." (By Irina Lutsenko @iraluts) The image, like all creative images on the channel, is by Anna Skopina. And I'll ask the participants to share their stories or impressions about my Creative Writing Club in the comments. ⬇️1,39%
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