Irina Lutsenko: IELTS, writing, cohesion

#IELTS Writing Task Response mistake ❗️ As usual, before I explain the mistake, I will illustrate it – see if you can notice it. Topic: “Some people believe that children that commit crimes should be punished. Others think the parents should be punished instead. Discuss both views and give your own opinion.” I will give short, simplified examples for illustration purposes. Paragraph 1️⃣: The reasoning behind the view that the punishment must be imposed on parents relies on two arguments. First, the offense might be seen as a direct result of upbringing … Paragraph 2️⃣: I, however, do not consider these arguments convincing and believe that parents must not face any punishment. The main reason for this is that it is unfair to punish those who did not commit any crimes. More importantly, parents cannot be held accountable for their child’s upbringing because their child might have become susceptible to a negative influence elsewhere – for example, at school. … Do you see what I did wrong in the second paragraph? Instead of arguing in favor of the second point of view, I argued against the first point of view; i.e. instead of arguing that children must be punished, I argued that parents must not be punished. Make sure you argue the actual view in the topic – not the just opposite of another view. ❗️ Lifehack: Look at the actual topic several times as you write. See my full essay on this topic in a pdf collection of around 100 sample answers: https://t.me/irinalutsenko/551

Writing Incubator - where writing skills hatch 🦋 "Writing Incubator" is a series of workshops by stellar professionals who love writing. Please welcome our third workshop of the season! 🦋 "Hedging in C2 Proficiency essays: good or evil?" By Alena Nikitina Hedging is allegedly familiar to many. (Or is it?) But have you ever found yourself wondering how exactly you should use it? Let's be brutally honest: how many times have you completely forgotten to use hedging in an exam essay? For CPE candidates, hedging might be a trap. We know we should use "might" or "tend to" , but do we hedge the summary of the input texts? The evaluation? Both? Neither? Get it wrong, and you sound either arrogant or uncertain. Get it right, and you demonstrate C2 precision. In this 90-minute workshop, we are going to solve the dilemma and practice using this helpful tool in your writing. Stop guessing how to use hedging. Start writing with confidence. 📅 22 March, Sunday, 11:00 am MSK, Zoom 💌 The workshop is free. To join, message me @iraluts with a meaningful ending to this comment, "Wow, I can't miss this one! I'd love to join because ... ." ❗️ Please note that this is a workshop, not a webinar or a lecture. If you join, you have to write. "Ghosts" will be kicked out. We don't record our workshops, so this is a safe space to participate.

A sad reminder to my Russian subscribers: 💡 I have a community on VK: https://m.vk.com/iralutse 💌 And here is my profile link: https://m.vk.com/iraluts

#КнижныйКлуб Я давно не писала про свой книжный клуб, а у нас планируется важная встреча по творчеству обэриутов.  Все началось с обсуждения «Козлиной песни»  К.Вагинова, потом случилась невероятная кураторская экскурсия в квартире А.Введенского, превращенной в музей ОБЭРИУ,  а дальше нас было не остановить. Куплены театральные билеты на «Козлиную песнь» и другие спектакли и лекции в музее ОБЭРИУ. Чат книжного клуба постоянно пополняется квизами.  Мы встречаемся 22 марта.  Повестка: - стихи Д. Хармса, А. Введенского, Н. Олейникова и Н. Заболоцкого  - Д. Хармс «Старуха»  - А. Введенский «Ёлка у Ивановых»  -  Н. Заболоцкий «История моего заключения» - В. Глоцер «Марина Дурново: Мой муж Даниил Хармс» Организатор и модератор встречи — Ирина Луценко, единственная и неповторимая. Ирина читает книги с карандашом в руке и умеет разобрать любой текст на атомы.  Встречаемся: 📍22.03.2026 📍15.30 📍кафе «Зелёные люди» 📍Кронверкский пр.,45 (6 минут пешком от станции м. Горьковская) P.S. Мы всегда рады новым людям. Если вы  присматриваетесь к нашему клубу,  хотите прийти на встречу, пишите в ЛС: @vifslatofsla -------- 📚 Изнанка 📚

Претензия на самом деле не у меня, а у Александра Введенского. А я провожу встречу в Питере по его творчеству и по творчеству других обэриутов. Присоединяйтесь! ☀️

Ещё есть у меня претензия, что я не ковёр, не гортензия.

Two full worksheets for my "New Scientist" courses ... ... and they are available online FOR FREE! 1️⃣ "Writing with New Scientist" (13 pages!) https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JJVxEWgLj8DFA9qb43ZLKUjReUNXrzNYpvB4D3eWhb0/edit?tab=t.0 2️⃣ "Speaking with New Scientist" (12 pages!) https://docs.google.com/document/d/1tqn0xkQ38AtbiixHA9hHSfrHvMPT3P16IDOwOuSBSjQ/edit?tab=t.0 🐸 Irina Lutsenko

Writing Incubator - where writing skills hatch 🦋 "Writing Incubator" is a series of workshops by stellar professionals who love writing. Please welcome our second workshop of the season! 🦋 "Poetry in class? Fear not! Give it a hand and pass it on to your students." by Svetlana Kukharevich Poetry can be joyful, meaningful, and surprisingly simple to write. Whether you are a newbie to poetry or a seasoned verse lover, you'll discover simple yet powerful ways to bring poems to life. This practical hands-on session is designed to make poetry accessible, engaging, and enjoyable. We are going to put our pens to paper, give poetry a whirl and flex our creative muscles together.  On top of that, you’ll leave with a toolkit of strategies that can be implemented immediately. 📅 1 March, Sunday, 11:00 am MSK, Zoom 💌 The workshop is free. To join, message me with a meaningful ending to this comment, "Wow, I can't miss this one! I'd love to join because ... ." ❗️ Please note that this is a workshop, not a webinar or a lecture. If you join, you have to write. "Ghosts" will be kicked out. We don't record our workshops, so this is a safe space to participate.

#IELTS Writing Task 2: Paragraph rewrite 🐸 In today's post I want to share my rewrite of a student's paragraph -- a rewrite that was very easy to do because the student originally had solid ideas. What was needed was just a little ... Scroll down to see. Topic: Some people believe that it is best to encourage children to have a healthy diet at school while others believe that parents should be the ones to teach children to have a healthy diet. Discuss both views and give your opinion. 1️⃣ Original The idea that one’s parents should be held accountable for fostering healthy eating habits in their children is based on the premise that it is they who introduce their children - starting from toddlerhood - to a variety of meals. By doing so, they shape a child’s palate and food preferences from the youngest age, long before educational institutions exert any influence on them. Naturally, young children’s psyche is hard-wired to mirror adult behaviour: if they see their parents choose a salad and steamed meals over fried alternatives, they are considerably more likely to perceive such a pattern as normal and adopt it as their own. A further explanation is often related to the assumption that parents provide a larger number of food intakes - at least breakfast and dinner. Therefore,parental food choices play a profound role in what their children consume most of the day, while educational establishments usually provide students with a single midday meal. 2️⃣ Irina's rewrite Admittedly, there might be reasons to believe that parents can play a profound role in fostering healthy eating habits in their children. First, it is parents who introduce children to food – starting from toddlerhood. By doing so, they shape the child’s palate and food preferences from the youngest age, long before educational institutions can exert any influence. Second, children are hard-wired to mirror adult behaviour, so they are likely to acquire the habits they see daily. For example, if they see their parents choose a salad and steamed meals over fried alternatives, they are considerably more likely to perceive such a pattern as normal and adopt it as their own. Finally, parents are responsible for more meals than any institution: they typically provide breakfast and dinner as well as all meals at the weekend, while schools only serve one meal a day. Thus, parental choices can have a more profound impact than schools. What was needed was just a little Coherence and Cohesion: we now have the same ideas, but they are clearly signposted, so the paragraph flows better. 🐸 Irina Lutsenko

The vegan health trap - but not a lexical one 🥦🥒🥑 Firsr off, a shoutout to all the vegans out there. But even if you are not one, you might still want to write about a vegan diet. How many "synonyms" can you think of for "vegan"? Not the easiest word to paraphrase... Look, here is a list I mined from a New Scientist article: - Plant-based diet / Plant-based foods - Plant-based meat alternatives - Meat alternatives - The meat-alternative market - Diet without meat and dairy - People who avoid meat and dairy in their diet - People who avoid animal-based foods - Live without consuming animal-based products - This diet / Individuals who follow this diet - This way of eating - Your eating patterns This is more than enough for your essay. And note that not all of these phrases are synonyms - there are other techniques to avoid repetitions. This is just a tiny glimpse of what we do in "Writing with New Scientist" - a course that is designed to keep you in a good IELTS writing shape without the pressure of the format. Two groups started in September. Two groups started recently. IELTS track. To join, @iraluts 💌 📅 Started in September: - Friday 13:00-14:30 MSK (C1/C1+) - Wednesday 12:00-13:30 MSK (C2) 📅 Started recently: - Friday 11-12:30 MSK (C1+) - Saturday 11:30-13:00 MSK (B2+/C1) Details and student testimonials (sorry, it's a link to my VK community page again).

#IELTS Writing Task 1: "This sounds awkward." 📊 "This sounds awkward" is a comment I sometimes have to give to my students. I know it's not very helpful. But sometimes what students write looks so awkward I don't know how to even begin to explain ... So I wrote a paragraph in Russian to illustrate. Касаясь пианино, дети учились играть в количестве 30% - то, что понизилось до 27% в 2016 году. Скрипко-играние было менее популярно: в 1996 году 14% будущих музыкантов сделало этот выбор однако двадцать лет спустя скрипка упала до числа 10%. Цифра акустической гитары оказалась на уровне 6%, но спустилась к финальному завершению данного рассматриваемого периода до 2% - они выбирали этот вид гитары меньше всего среди всех. Even though the language is Writing Task 1 type of language, the paragraph is just a hodgepodge of awkward mistakes and collocations. In our native language, the awkward phrasing is obvious even when we can't explain why every single case is awkward. In English, getting the hang of Writing Task 1 language might take time, effort - and meticulous research. But if you don't invest in this, you might end up writing something that's just... awkward. And "awkward" can't take you above Band 7. #ieltswritingtask1

#TOEFL has gone through a complete overhaul in January 2026, and the writing part did not escape this fate. What is writing in the new TOEFL like? Join our workshop this Sunday to find out. 🦋 "The new #TOEFL: Is there any writing?" by Maria Botina In our Writing Incubator workshop, we’ll take a look at these new tasks and answer the questions: • Is it enough to really show off your writing skills? How do we adapt to shorter and shorter yet task times? • What are some of the techniques to write faster? • How can we show off our writing skills in such a time frame? • What can we do when the format is new and there are barely any prep materials? In class, we will get a taste of a few sample task and actually write them! 📅 8 February, Sunday, 11:00 am MSK, Zoom 💌 The workshop is free. To join, message me @iraluts with a meaningful ending to this comment, "Wow, I can't miss this one! I'd love to join because ... ." ❗️ Please note that this is a workshop, not a webinar or a lecture. If you join, you have to write. "Ghosts" will be kicked out. We don't record our workshops, so this is a safe space to participate. 🦋 "Writing Incubator" is a series of workshops by stellar professionals who love writing. 🦋 Writing Incubator - where writing skills hatch

"Irina, I want to join your course. I am ready to pay. How do I pay?" I get such messages sometimes. And I appreciate the enthusiasm, but there is more to signing up for my courses than paying. I have a very thorough enrollment process in place: 1️⃣ If your profile name is a nickname or an alias, please introduce yourself properly - 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. This process might seem lengthy and annoying. What do I get out of it? Groups of student who all have the same level and the same mindset. ❤️ Would you rather be in a group like this or in a group where people join by simply paying? ❓ Two new "Writing with New Scientist" groups starting this week: - Friday 11-12:30 Moscow time, C1+/C2 - Saturday 11:30-13:00 Moscow time, C1 💌 Dm me @iraluts