Theory — Vì sao Formal Register = chìa khoá band 6.5+?
IELTS Writing = academic register — không phải blog / SMS / chat. Ngôn ngữ phải:
- Trang trọng — không contractions (don't, can't)
- Chính xác — không phrasal verbs mập mờ (get, put, make)
- Khách quan — không quá cảm xúc / personal ("I feel", "kind of")
- Hoàn chỉnh — không viết tắt informal (etc, ASAP, TV)
Rule of thumb: nếu Ba dùng cụm này trong email công việc trang trọng, dùng được. Nếu chỉ dùng khi chat với bạn, đừng dùng.
🚫 30 lỗi informal + cách sửa
Nhóm 1 — Contractions (5 lỗi)
Contractions = viết tắt (don't, can't, won't) — CẤM hoàn toàn trong IELTS Writing academic.
| ❌ Informal | ✅ Formal |
|---|---|
| don't | do not |
| can't | cannot (1 từ, không tách) |
| won't | will not |
| it's (= it is) | it is |
| there's / here's | there is / here is |
Nhóm 2 — Phrasal verbs mập mờ (8 lỗi)
Phrasal verb (verb + prep) thường có verb academic đơn thay thế:
| ❌ Phrasal verb | ✅ Academic verb |
|---|---|
| get better | improve |
| get worse | deteriorate / worsen |
| look into | investigate |
| find out | discover / determine |
| come up with | propose / devise |
| put up with | tolerate / endure |
| set up | establish / create |
| cut down on | reduce / curtail |
Lưu ý: KHÔNG phải mọi phrasal verb đều xấu. “Point out, focus on, rely on” vẫn OK. Tránh những cái quá spoken (get, put, come up with, deal with).
Nhóm 3 — Verbs quá chung chung (5 lỗi)
Verb yếu → thay bằng verb precise:
| ❌ Yếu | ✅ Precise |
|---|---|
| do research | conduct research |
| make a decision | reach a decision |
| get attention | attract / receive attention |
| give support | provide support |
| have an effect on | exert an influence on / have an impact on |
Nhóm 4 — Adverbs cường điệu / mập mờ (5 lỗi)
| ❌ Informal | ✅ Formal |
|---|---|
| very important | crucial / vital / of paramount importance |
| really good | excellent / highly effective |
| a lot of | a considerable / substantial number of |
| kind of / sort of | somewhat / to some extent |
| totally | entirely / completely |
Nhóm 5 — Từ personal / cảm xúc (4 lỗi)
Trong Task 2 opinion, được dùng "I", nhưng CÁCH dùng khác:
| ❌ Informal | ✅ Formal |
|---|---|
| I think | I believe / I would contend / In my view |
| I feel | I hold the view / It seems clear that |
| I guess | I would suggest / It might be argued |
| In my opinion, I think (thừa) | In my view / I believe (chọn 1) |
Nhóm 6 — Viết tắt & Ký hiệu (3 lỗi)
Trong academic writing, viết ĐẦY ĐỦ, không viết tắt informal:
| ❌ Informal | ✅ Formal |
|---|---|
| etc. | “…, and so on” / “…, among other things” / (liệt kê đủ) |
| e.g. | “for example / for instance” |
| i.e. | “that is / in other words” |
| & | “and” |
| TV / photo / plane | “television / photograph / aeroplane” |
📋 Bảng đối chiếu 30 lỗi (tổng hợp)
| Category | ❌ Informal | ✅ Formal |
|---|---|---|
| Contraction | don't | do not |
| Contraction | can't | cannot |
| Contraction | won't | will not |
| Contraction | it's | it is |
| Contraction | there's | there is |
| Phrasal verb | get better | improve |
| Phrasal verb | get worse | deteriorate |
| Phrasal verb | look into | investigate |
| Phrasal verb | find out | discover |
| Phrasal verb | come up with | propose |
| Phrasal verb | put up with | tolerate |
| Phrasal verb | set up | establish |
| Phrasal verb | cut down on | reduce |
| Weak verb | do research | conduct research |
| Weak verb | make a decision | reach a decision |
| Weak verb | get attention | attract attention |
| Weak verb | give support | provide support |
| Weak verb | have an effect on | exert an influence on |
| Adverb | very important | crucial / vital |
| Adverb | really good | highly effective |
| Adverb | a lot of | a substantial number of |
| Adverb | kind of | somewhat |
| Adverb | totally | entirely |
| Personal | I think | I believe / I would contend |
| Personal | I feel | I hold the view |
| Personal | I guess | It might be argued |
| Personal | In my opinion, I think | In my view (chọn 1) |
| Abbreviation | etc. | and so on |
| Abbreviation | e.g. | for example |
| Abbreviation | & | and |
Typing — Gõ đoạn văn tránh MỌI lỗi trên
Gõ chính xác đoạn dưới, chú ý MỌI cụm formal:
It is often argued that widespread contemporary reliance on private
vehicles has substantially deteriorated urban air quality across
most developing nations. In my view, this trend cannot be reversed
through voluntary measures alone; rather, governments must
implement decisive regulatory action. For example, cities such as
Singapore and Stockholm have established congestion charging
schemes that have significantly reduced peak-hour traffic while
simultaneously generating substantial revenue for public transport
investment. It would be reasonable to conclude that such measures
represent a crucial step in tackling the broader environmental
crisis facing modern cities.Phân tích: Đoạn ~90 từ, dùng 8 cấu trúc formal:
- “It is often argued that” — thay "many people think"
- “substantially deteriorated” — thay "got much worse"
- “In my view” — thay "I think"
- “cannot be reversed” — thay "can't be fixed"
- “implement decisive regulatory action” — thay "do something strict"
- “For example, cities such as X and Y” — thay "e.g. X, Y"
- “substantial revenue” — thay "a lot of money"
- “such measures represent a crucial step” — thay "these things are very important"
Speaking — Đọc to 12 cặp INFORMAL ↔ FORMAL
Đọc mỗi cặp, nghe rõ khác biệt:
- “don't” ↔ “do not”
- “can't” ↔ “cannot”
- “very important” ↔ “crucial”
- “get better” ↔ “improve”
- “a lot of” ↔ “a considerable number of”
- “I think” ↔ “I believe / I would contend”
- “kind of” ↔ “somewhat”
- “look into” ↔ “investigate”
- “e.g.” ↔ “for example / for instance”
- “etc.” ↔ “and so on”
- “do research” ↔ “conduct research”
- “come up with” ↔ “propose / devise”
Chú ý phát âm formal:
- "cannot" đọc /ˈkæn.ɒt/ — 1 từ, không tách
- "considerable" /kənˈsɪd.ər.ə.bəl/ — 5 âm tiết
- "conduct" (v.) /kənˈdʌkt/ — nhấn cuối; "conduct" (n.) /ˈkɒn.dʌkt/ — nhấn đầu
Grammar — Sửa 5 câu informal
1. “I don't think we can fix pollution with just laws.”
Đáp án
“In my view, pollution cannot be resolved through legislation alone.”
Sửa: don't → cannot; fix → resolve; can → be [passive]; just laws → legislation alone.
2. “The government should look into ways to cut down on car use.”
Đáp án
“The government should investigate strategies to reduce private vehicle use.”
Sửa: look into → investigate; ways → strategies; cut down on → reduce; car → private vehicle.
3. “Kids these days spend a lot of time on their phones, etc.”
Đáp án
“Young people today spend a considerable amount of time on digital devices such as smartphones, tablets, and computers.”
Sửa: Kids → Young people; these days → today; a lot of → a considerable amount of; phones → digital devices such as…; etc. → liệt kê đủ.
4. “I really feel that we need to do research on this issue.”
Đáp án
“I firmly believe that further research is required on this issue.”
Sửa: really feel → firmly believe; need to do → is required (passive); on → into.
5. “It's a big problem & we can't ignore it.”
Đáp án
“It is a pressing issue that cannot be ignored.”
Sửa: It's → It is; big problem → pressing issue; & → and; can't → cannot; ignore it → be ignored (passive).
Game — Nhặt lỗi informal trong đoạn
Tìm 8 lỗi informal trong đoạn dưới:
“I think it's very important to look into why kids don't like reading these days. A lot of them get bored quickly & can't focus on long texts. The gov should come up with new ways to make reading fun, etc.”
Đáp án — 8 lỗi
| # | ❌ Informal | ✅ Formal |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | I think | In my view / I believe |
| 2 | it's | it is |
| 3 | very important | crucial / vital |
| 4 | look into | investigate |
| 5 | kids | children / young people |
| 6 | don't like | do not enjoy |
| 7 | these days | today / in the modern era |
| 8 | a lot of | a substantial number of |
| 9 | get bored | become disengaged / lose interest |
| 10 | & | and |
| 11 | can't | cannot |
| 12 | gov | government |
| 13 | come up with | devise / propose |
| 14 | new ways | novel strategies |
| 15 | to make reading fun | to make reading engaging |
| 16 | etc. | (liệt kê đủ) |
Thực ra có 16 lỗi! Đoạn này quá informal — điển hình cho band 5.5.
Đoạn sửa (band 6.5+):
"In my view, it is crucial to investigate why young people today do not enjoy reading. A substantial number of them lose interest quickly and cannot focus on lengthy texts. The government should devise novel strategies to make reading more engaging for younger audiences."
Điểm cần nhớ
- CẤM contractions trong IELTS Writing (don't → do not, can't → cannot)
- Thay phrasal verbs mập mờ bằng verb academic đơn (look into → investigate)
- Thay "very / really / a lot of" bằng crucial / highly / a substantial number of
- Thay "I think / I feel" bằng In my view / I believe / I would contend
- Viết đầy đủ etc., e.g., & — không viết tắt informal
- Rule: nếu Ba dùng cụm khi chat với bạn → chắc chắn KHÔNG dùng trong IELTS
- Bài tiếp theo (F-07) sẽ đi vào Punctuation nâng cao — semicolon, colon, em-dash