Find the pattern
We look beyond isolated corrections to the recurring issue: an unclear overview, a comparison that changes meaning, or an answer that loses structure under time pressure.
IELTS & EXAM PREPARATION
Practice the task. Understand the next move.
Preparation for IELTS, TOEFL, TOEIC, and EIKEN begins with your target, your timeline, and a recent attempt. We work on the skills that will make your next answer stronger, then check whether the change holds.
HOW PREPARATION IS CHOSEN
Focused work, not a stack of generic worksheets
I make most lesson material myself. Published exam practice can establish the task; your response determines the feedback and what we practise next.
Make a useful correction
Feedback explains why a change helps. We distinguish a real error from a stylistic preference, then practise the structure in a new response.
Retest independently
After guided practice, you try a fresh prompt without the previous answer in front of you. That gives us better evidence for the next lesson.
TEACHER-CREATED ILLUSTRATION · IELTS ACADEMIC WRITING TASK 1
See the decision behind the feedback
This chart and practice answer were invented for this page. They show the kind of reasoning I teach; they are not a student's work or a reported exam result.
01 · READ THE CHART
Ways of travelling to work
Illustrative share of trips in one city
| Mode | 2010 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|
| Bus | 50% | 45% |
| Cycling | 15% | 35% |
| Walking | 35% | 20% |
Light blue: 2010 · Dark blue: 2020
WHEN THE PATTERN CHANGES
The plan changes with your work
In an anonymized teaching sequence, errors in one learner's earlier verb tenses stopped recurring. The next task could then concentrate on the overview, ranking, and links between figures. Repeating the first worksheet would have missed the new need.
Lessons can also target speaking, reading, listening, timing, or a specific task type. An IELTS Academic chart is one illustration here, not the whole exam-preparation offer.
A PRACTICAL STARTING POINT
Bring a recent answer, your test date, and the score or skill you are working toward.
We can then choose a realistic focus for the first lesson and a way to check progress.
Bring the exam task you want to improve
Tell me which exam you are preparing for and what has been difficult so far.
Discuss exam preparationThe booking calendar is available for preview, but checkout is currently in test mode. A test booking is not a paid lesson.
Teaching cannot guarantee a score or admission outcome. Sirius English is independent of the exam organizations named here.
02 · SHORT PRACTICE ANSWER
“Bus travel was 50% in 2010 and 45% in 2020. Cycling rose from 15% to 35%, while walking fell from 35% to 20%.”
The figures are correct, but the reader has to work out the main relationship.
03 · BRANDON'S MARGIN NOTE
Put the overview first
Bus remained the largest category, but cycling gained ground while walking declined. Lead with that comparison; then use selected figures to support it. Listing every number first hides the point.
04 · FRESH TASK
Try a different chart. Write a two-sentence overview that identifies the largest category and the biggest change before giving individual figures.
The new response shows whether the strategy transfers beyond this example.