IELTS 1

WEEK 5

GRAMMAR
THE PASSIVE
WRITING
PARAGRAPHS
GRAMMAR
THE PASSIVE
FORM: (BE) + P2V
ACTIVE PASSIVE
SIMPLE S + V/ Vs S + am/ is/ are
V-ed was/ were + P2V
will + V will be

CONTINUOUS S + am/ is/ are + V-ing S + am/ is/ are + being + P2V
was/ were was/ were

PERFECT S + have/ has S + have/ has

had + P2V had + been + P2V
will have will have

NON-FINITE V-ing Being + P2V

(To) V (To) be + P2V
Having + P2V Having been + P2V
(To) have + P2V (To) have been + P2V
II. USE OF PASSIVE
1. We often use passive when the agent:
+ is not known
e.g. Her handbag was stolen when she was queueing for tickets. (We don’t know
who stole it)
+ is obvious from the context or from general knowledge
e.g. She has been sacked. (Obviously by her employer)
+ is not important
e.g. Wars have been fought throughout history. (Who fought them is not important.)
2. We use passive in formal English to:
+ focus on the issues rather than the people involved. (especially in academic and
scientific English)
e.g. The research was carried out over a period of six months.
+ describe rules and procedures
e.g. Answers must be written in ink.
Candidates will be interviewed in alphabetical order.
+ describe a process
e.g. Rubbish is collected and transported to recycling plants. (industrial)
The dollar has been devalued twice sine the war. (economic)
3. Passive verbs
+ The verbs in passive must be transitive.
e.g. They destroyed the building.  The building was destroyed.
Verbs that do not take an object (intransitive) cannot be used in
passive.
e.g. I slept for nearly ten hours last night.
Some transitive verbs and two-word verbs are rarely used in
passive, including have, get, let, fit, lack, resemble, suit, belong to,
get down, let in, let out, show off, take after.
4. The agent in the passive
+ We use by + agent, and with + instrument
e.g. He was hit by a branch. (it was an accident)
He was hit with a branch. (someone used a branch to hit him)
+ Some verbs are used with ‘with’, not by: cram, crowd, fill, hedge,
infest, pack, stuff
+ Some other verbs are used with either ‘by’ or ‘with’: coat, cover,
decorate, edge, surround
 SPECIAL PASSIVE SENTENCES

I. IT IS SAID THAT …/ HE IS SAID TO…

1. Use:
We often use this structure to report what people say, think, etc.,
especially when we want to avoid mentioning who says/ thinks
what we are reporting.
e.g. It is reported that the finance minister is to resign.
The finance minister is reported to be to resign.
2. Form:
a. It + (be) + P2V + that clause
e.g.- People say he has ten wives.
 It is said that he has ten wives.
- They used to believe that the earth was flat.
 It used to be believed that the earth was flat.
b. S + (be) + P2V + to V
e.g. He is said to have ten wives.
The earth used to be believed to be flat.
* If V1 in the active sentence is in present tenses and V2 is in past
tenses, we must make V2 perfect infinitive.
e.g. We know that the Antarctic winter killed the explorers.
 The Antarctic winter is known to have killed the explorers.
* If V2 has an object, we can make it the subject of the passive
sentence, and V2 has the passive infinitive form.
e.g. The explorers are known to have been killed by the Antarctic
winter.
II. HAVE SOMETHING DONE
1. Use:
+ We use ‘have something done’ to say that someone arranges for
someone else to do something for them. There is often the sense of
service and payment here. Compare :
- Claire decorated the room. (She did the decorating work herself)
- Claire had the room decorated. ( A decorator did the work)
+ We also use this structure with the meaning ‘experience
something’, often something unpleasant.
e.g. We had all our money stolen.
+ We use ‘have something done’ when we want to focus on the
effect on the people rather than the object.
e.g. Someone broke her window last night.
 Her window was broken last night. (focus on the object)
 She had her window broken last night. (focus on an unfortunate
thing that happened to her)
2. Form:
- Subject: the person who arranges/ employs, or the victim, who
receives the result of the action.
- Verb: have, in the same form as the main verb in active.
- Object: the thing that receive the action.
- P2V: the action carried out to the object.
* Get can be used
+ In informal situations.
+ When we use the imperative, USE GET, NOT BE
e.g. John! Get your hair cut today!
+ When we want to talk about a feeling of eventually managing to
do something:
e.g. I eventually got the car fixed.
III. IMPERATIVES
e.g.- Please hand in your essays by October 31st!
Your essays must be handed in by October 31st.
- Don’t feed the animals!
 The animals should not be fed.
* Form:
S(p) + should/ must (not) + be P2V

IV. IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO DO IT
e.g. It is impossible to move this piano.
 This piano cannot be moved.
It was impossible for a child to cause such damage.
 Such damage couldn’t be caused by a child.
* Form:
S(p) + cannot/ could not + be P2V
V. IT’S YOUR DUTY TO DO IT.
e.g. It’s your duty to clean the classroom every day.
 You are supposed to clean the classrooms every day.
It was Susan’s duty to prepare the documents.
 Susan was supposed to prepare the documents.
* Form:
S + (be) supposed + to V
* The subject must be people.

VI. MAKE, HEAR, SEE

e.g. The teacher makes us do a lot of homework.
 We are made to do a lot of homework.
We saw this boy climb into the old lady’s house.
 This boy was seen to climb into the old lady’s house.
* Form: Active Passive
S + (make/ see/ hear) + O + V  S(p) + (be) + made/ seen/ heard + to V
* Not that the object must be people
* S + (let) + O + V  S(p) + (be) + allowed + to V
e.g. Their parents let the children have lunch in the garden.
 The children were allowed to have lunch in the garden.
VII. INSIST ON, SUGGEST, RECOMMEND + V-ING
DECIDE, URGE, + TO VERB
e.g.+ The shop assistant insisted on checking the woman’s
shopping.
 The shop assistant insisted that the woman’s shopping should
be checked.
+ They have decided to redecorate the living room before
Christmas.
 They have decided that the living room should be redecorated
before Christmas.
* Form:
S(a) + (V) + that + S(p) + should be P2V
* It is also possible to use the structure:
It + (be) + P2V + that S(p) + should be P2V
 MODEL RESPONSE TO WEEK 4 TASK
TABLE
The table given compares the changes in the
numbers of women participating in senior
management in three companies over a period
of 40 years from 1960. In general, all the figures
followed an upward trend although Eastman
Ltd showed a different pattern from the other
two companies.
 Macrohand Ltd and Barnes Ltd’s situations were similar in
that there was a constant growth in the number of
women appointed to the position of senior management.
Interestingly enough, Barnes Ltd started the period at a
modest proportion of 8%, yet enjoyed a gradual increase
of exactly 2% of the women entering the senior
management board every five years. The number of
women managers here doubled, reaching 16% by the year
1985. Macrohand Ltd even experienced a more significant
rise than Barnes Ltd. With a very low percentage of 2% in
the beginning, this company took only ten years to
overtake the other, having twice as many women
managers as Barnes Ltd after 25 years. The last five years
of the period marked a boom in the proportion of
women’s participation in senior management in both
companies, with Macrohand Ltd contributing an
impressive percentage of 63% and Barnes Ltd 45%.
Unlike the other two companies, Eastman Ltd witnessed a
continual fluctuation throughout the period. The starting
point of 1960 recognised a remarkable participation of
15% women in senior managerial positions. This number
remained stable at around this point during the next ten
years before climbing up to 21% by 1975. The percentage
of women senior managers declined slightly to 19% ten
years later, only to increase again to a peak of 25%.
To sum up, all the mentioned companies had more and
more management positions filled by female employees,
with Macrohand Ltd holding the highest ratio and Eastman
Ltd the lowest.
MIXED TYPES
The graph indicates the amount of water used worldwide in three
main sectors in the twentieth century and the table compares the
average water consumption per capita in two countries namely
Brazil and The Democratic Republic of Congo. On the whole, people
use larger and larger amount of water for all purposes and each of
the Brazilians uses much more water than the citizens of Congo.
At the turn of the century, the world population used a very small
amount of water, with around 100 km3 each for industrial and
domestic purposes and 500 km3 for agriculture. Over the next 60
years, the figures for domestic use hardly changed, whereas
people’s use of water in agriculture and industry rose gradually,
accounting for 1,600 km3 and 300 km3 respectively. Then, from
that point on, the whole globe witnessed a dramatic surge in the
amount of water used in the first two sectors. Agriculture hit a peak
of 3,000 km3 at the end of the century, more than twice the
amount of water used for industry. In contrast, domestic use only
had a minimal increase to just over 300 km3.
 According to the table, Brazil and Congo show a sharp
contrast in all aspects. With a much bigger population of
176 million and larger irrigated land of 26,500 km2, it is
understandable that Brazil uses much more water per
year than her African counterpart, working out at 359 m3
per head. On the other hand, each of the 5.2-million
population of Congo only uses 8m3 water during the year
on their 100-square-kilometre irrigated land.
In summary, people all over the world tended to
consume more and more water, mostly in agriculture and
Brazil uses a great deal more water per person than
Congo.
 WRITING
PARAGRAPHS
STRUCTURE
TOPIC SENTENCES
CONCLUDING SENTENCES
TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION HEALTH TRAFFIC

MARRIAGE FAMILY ENVIRONMENT SOCIAL ISSUES

 MODEL PARAGRAPH
Studying abroad could bring Vietnamese learners a great many
benefits. In the first place, they would have an opportunity to get
access to the most advanced technology and teaching methods from
the universities in developed countries. The modern libraries, the
most up-to-date laboratories would give students every chance to
acquire the most useful scientific knowledge, and the thought-
provoking, practical ways of teaching would make creative learners
and active workers in life later on. The second gift that students
would enjoy is the chance to know the many cultures form all parts
of the world. In an environment that hosts people from various
countries, a Vietnamese student could be exposed to and thus gain
vast understanding about the customs and ways of living of people
from every corner of the globe. Finally, a long time living overseas
would help to form good qualities of students. Being alone far from
home, they would have to manage everything by themselves, thus
making confident and independent people. On the whole, studying
in a foreign country is advantageous in many ways.
QUESTIONS:
1. What are the red sentences about? Do they have similar
or different content?
(They tell us the topic of the paragraph, and they have
similar content, yet written in different ways)
2. What are the blue sentences about? How are they
linked?
(They are all about the benefits of studying abroad. They
are linked by connectors)
3. What are the functions of the purple sentences?
(They explain and make the blue sentences persuasive.)
 STRUCTURE OF A PARAGRAPH
1. TOPIC SENTENCE
+ has 2 parts: the topic and the controlling idea.
e.g. 1. Studying abroad could bring Vietnamese learners a great
topic
many benefits.
controlling idea
e.g. 2. While studying abroad, students may have to face a number
of difficulties.
+ directs the readers to the ideas that the writer is going to discuss.
+ covers all the ideas in the paragraph.
+ goes straight to the topic.
2. SUPPORTING IDEAS
+ usually from 3 to 4 supporting sentences
+ support the topic sentence.
+ must be relevant to the topic and controlling ideas.
+ are linked by connectors

3. DEVELOPING DETAILS
+ support the supporting ideas
+ make the supporting ideas convincing
+ can be: examples, explanations, descriptions, reasons, results

4. CONCLUDING SENTENCE
+ has similar content to the topic sentence
+ is written in a different way from the topic sentence.
+ Begins with a connector.
 STEPS TO WRITE A PARAGRAPH
BEFORE YOU WRITE
1. Read the question carefully and find the controlling
idea.
2. Brainstorm the supporting ideas. Use mind maps. Note
down any ideas that come to your mind.
3. Choose 3 or 4 most convincing ideas
4. Think of the ways to prove your ideas
5. Find relevant examples/ explanations for your ideas.
Note them down.
 WHILE YOU WRITE
1. Write the topic sentence. Make sure it includes the
topic and the controlling idea.
2. Write the supporting ideas. Make sure you use
appropriate connectors
3. Write the developing details. Do not ramble on with
too many details. Just one or two sentences for each
idea is enough.
4. Write the concluding sentence. Make sure you do not
repeat the words in the topic sentence.
5. Time yourself. Remember that you have only 10
minutes to write a paragraph. Make sure you do not
leave your writing unfinished. Leave 1 minute for
checking after you write
 AFTER YOU WRITE
1. Read through your paragraph as a reader, not a writer.
2. Check if there are any irrelevant ideas.
3. Check if you included appropriate connectors.
4. Check for grammatical and spelling mistakes
 STRATEGIES TO USE
1. Choose the ideas that are easy to support.
You might have many ideas coming to your mind.
However, after listing them down, you should
consider each idea carefully so as to make a
sensible choice. Do not choose the ideas that
you like but find no way to develop.
2. Be realistic.
Your ideas must be based on real life experience,
not something of science-fiction or just your
imagination.
3. Use typical ideas.
You may have to argue about the advantages/disadvantages
of something. You should choose the ideas that only belong
to the category that you are writing about.
4. Keep to the topic.
When you are writing about a certain aspect, try to keep to
that direction. Do not swerve to the opposite argument.
5. Don’t waste time worrying about whether the evaluator
agrees with your opinions and arguments.
Your essay is evaluated on how you present your argument,
not on whether the evaluator agrees with you. Be sure you
have supported your argument well and have answered all
parts of the question.
 PRACTICE WITH TOPIC SENTENCES
EXERCISE 1
Your topic sentence should tell the reader what the paragraph is about.
Read the following paragraph and decide whether the topic sentence is strong or
weak.
Example
Baseball is a popular sport in the United States. There are two teams of nine
players each. Players on one team take turns batting, and the other team tries
to put the batters out. The batter hits the ball and then tries to run around the
bases and get “home” safely. The other team tries to put the batter out by
catching the ball before it hits the ground, throwing the ball to the base before
the batter gets there, or by tagging the batter with the ball. The batter can
stop at any one of the three bases if it is impossible to make it “home”.
The topic sentence in the paragraph is weak because it tells us that “baseball is a
popular sport”, but the rest of the paragraph tells us how baseball is played. A
strong topic sentence would tell us, the readers, that the paragraph is going to
describe how baseball is played. Here is a strong topic sentence.
Baseball, a popular game in the United States, is played in the following way.
Read the following paragraphs. If the topic sentence is weak,
rewrite it in the space provided.
1. ……………………………………………………………………………………………
Even though the procedures followed to enroll in an American
university vary according to each university, some steps are the
same. First, you should contact the registration office of the
university you want to attend to get the necessary forms and
information concerning that particular university’s entrance
requirements. Then you must follow the steps outlined in their
response. You will probably have to send copies of your high
school diploma, get letters of recommendation, and write an
essay on why you want to study there. You may have to achieve
a certain score on the TOEFL test and have your scores
forwarded to that university. Finally, you will have to contact
the American Embassy to start the procedures to obtain a
student visa.
2. ………………………………………………………………………………………………
I like to go to the beach whenever I have the opportunity. I start
the day by enjoying a refreshing swim. Then I walk along the
beach and collect shells. Later you’ll find me relaxing in the warm
sunshine and making sand castles. Then I sleep for a while before
I open the basket of food and drinks that I always pack to take.
3. …………………………………………………………………………………………………
Many students cannot afford a car. The city bus service usually
passes the university so those students can get to class on the
bus. Many universities have a special shuttle bus that is provided
for student transportation. Some students like to ride to class in
bicycles. This is good exercise. Also it is easier to find a place to
leave a bicycle than to find a parking space for a car on a
crowded university campus. Those students who live close to
campus or on campus can enjoy a leisurely walk to their classes.
Exercise 2: Writing topic sentences
The following paragraphs consist of the supporting ideas. Read each
paragraph write a topic sentence for each paragraph.
1. ………………………………………………………………………………………………
Pictures or posters on the wall make a dormitory room feel more like home.
A rug on the floor beside the bed is a nice addition to an otherwise cold
and hard floor. Besides textbooks, favorite books from home on the
bookshelf and a photograph or two of the family on the desk also add a
comforting touch to the impersonal dormitory room. 
2. ………………………………………………………………………………………………………
The white pages of an American telephone book give the phone numbers of
residences. The blue pages contain the number of government offices, and
the yellow pages have advertisements and business numbers. There are
maps as well as indexes at the back of the book. The telephone books of
larger cities may provide separate books for different sections of the city,
while those of small towns may have room to include the numbers from
several towns all in one book. 
3. ……………………………………………………………………………
First, the fast-food restaurant is good for people who
must have a quick bite because of a busy schedule.
Second, the food is inexpensive yet tasty. A person
can eat an enjoyable meal out and stay within a
limited budget. Finally, the food is usually
consistent. For example, a cheeseburger from a
well-known fast-food restaurant looks and tastes
about the same no matter where in the world it is
purchased. Consequently, buyers know exactly
what they are getting.
PRACTICE WITH THE TOPIC SENTENCE
1. Technology:
+ How can a smart phone help you in your study?
+ Does the advances in technology change the world for the better?
+ What kinds of electronic devices can help women in their
household tasks?
2. Education:
+ Should exams be eliminated?
+ What should you prepare for university life?
+ What skills can you learn at school?
3. Health:
+ What can you do to stay healthy?
+ Why do many people ignore physical exercise?
+ Do you want to live to 100? Why?/ Why not?
4. Traffic:
+ What are the benefits of using public transport?
+ What solutions could you suggest for the situation of traffic
congestions in big cities in Vietnam?
+ Why should one cycle more?
5. Marriage:
+ At what age do you think people should get married? Why?
+ What consequences could parents’ divorce leave for the family?
+ Why are more and more people getting divorced?
6. Family:
+ Do you think only men should be the breadwinners?
+ What do you think makes a happy family?
+ What are the problems of living in an extended family?
7. Environment:
+ What are the environmental problems facing mankind today?
+ What are the consequences of deforestation?
+ How can you contribute to solving the problem of pollution?
8. Social issues:
+ What are the main threats facing the world nowadays?
+ What are some solutions to school violence?
+ What are the consequences of using drugs?
 Homework:
Choose 1 question for each topic
and write the related topic
sentences and concluding
sentences.
* KEY WORDS
+ How  ….in many ways/ in the following ways.
+ What?  ….many benefits/ advantages/
disadvantages/ problems/ difficulties.
+ Why?  ….for many reasons/ for the following
reasons.
+ A smart phone can be useful to my study in many
ways.
+ Women’s household tasks nowadays have been
made easier thanks to many kinds of
technological devices.