# Ielts English

> IELTS exam prep and English learning assistant. Supports reading comprehension (Aeon article close reading), sentence collection with transfer practice, writing feedback with band score suggestions, and speaking topic practice. Designed for users at the 5.5-6 band level targeting higher scores. Use when the user does IELTS prep, English reading, writing practice, or sentence collection.

- Skill: `wuyue12-tech/ielts-english` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add wuyue12-tech/ielts-english`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/wuyue12-tech/ielts-english/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: wuyue12-tech (https://skillmd.com/u/wuyue12-tech)
- Updated: 2026-09-21
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/wuyue12-tech/ielts-english

---


# IELTS English Learning

IELTS preparation workflow designed for writing and speaking plateaus at Band 5.5-6.

## When to Use

- User wants to read Aeon articles and extract useful sentences
- User practices IELTS Writing (Task 1 / Task 2)
- User wants writing feedback and band score assessment
- User practices IELTS Speaking topics
- User wants to organize and review a sentence bank

## Aeon Article Scraping Strategy

**Aeon uses Vercel security (Cloudflare). Direct requests may be blocked with 429. Use layered fallback:**

### Strategy 1 (Preferred): WebFetch / Playwright
Use browser automation or web fetch tools to access article content.
```
Fetch article page → Extract body text → AI extracts sentences
```

### Strategy 2 (Fallback): Search + Fetch
If homepage is blocked, search for specific article URLs, then fetch individually.
```
Search "site:aeon.co/ideas [topic]" → Get article URL → Fetch single article
```

### Strategy 3 (Last Resort): Backup Article Library
Classic articles if Aeon is unreachable:
- https://aeon.co/ideas/what-is-the-purpose-of-education
- https://aeon.co/ideas/technology-is-valuable-but-it-can-also-be-a-trap
- https://aeon.co/ideas/the-city-is-a-machine-for-making-connections
- https://aeon.co/ideas/we-need-a-new-ethics-for-the-anthropocene
- https://aeon.co/ideas/why-we-should-cherish-our-embarrassment
- https://aeon.co/ideas/if-you-trust-science-you-should-trust-the-experts-too
- https://aeon.co/ideas/what-the-ancient-greeks-can-teach-us-about-the-art-of-argument

### newspaper4k Usage (NLP helper)
When HTML content is successfully obtained, use newspaper4k for NLP processing:
```python
from newspaper import Article
import warnings
warnings.filterwarnings('ignore')

# Note: Do NOT use article.download() — Aeon will 429
# Instead inject HTML obtained via fetch:
article = Article(url)
article.html = html_content  # HTML from fetch tool
article.is_downloaded = True
article.parse()
article.nlp()

print(article.title)       # Title
print(article.text)        # Clean body text
print(article.keywords)    # AI-extracted keywords
print(article.summary)     # AI-generated summary
```

## Core Workflows

### 1. Aeon Article Reading + Sentence Extraction

**Process:**
1. User specifies an Aeon article URL or topic
2. Fetch article using the layered fallback strategy
3. Extract 5-8 high-quality sentences (usable in IELTS writing/speaking)
4. For each sentence provide:
   - Original sentence
   - Chinese translation
   - Key vocabulary/collocations
   - Transfer demonstration (rewrite as IELTS-ready sentence)

**Sentence Selection Criteria:**
- Contains advanced collocations — critical for Band 7
- Varied sentence structures (inversion, subjunctive, participle, etc.)
- Topics relevant to IELTS (education, technology, society, environment)
- Prefer "universal templates" reusable across multiple topics

**Output Format:**

```markdown
## [Article Title] Sentence Collection

### Sentence 1
> **Original**: "..."
> **Translation**: ...
> **Key Collocations**: ...
> **IELTS Transfer**: Rewritten as "[IELTS writing/speaking version]"
> **Applicable Topics**: ...

### Sentence 2
...
```

**Output file**: `[workspace]/english-learning/daily/YYYY-MM-DD-[slug].md`

### 2. Sentence Bank Management

**File path**: `[workspace]/english-learning/sentences.md`

```markdown
# IELTS Sentence Bank

## Education
| Original | Key Collocation | IELTS Transfer | Source | Date |
|----------|----------------|----------------|--------|------|
| ... | ... | ... | Aeon/Article Name | 2026-05-26 |

## Technology
...

## Society
...
```

### 3. IELTS Writing Feedback

**Assessment Dimensions (strictly aligned with IELTS official criteria):**

| Dimension | Weight | Description | Band 6 | Band 7 |
|-----------|--------|-------------|--------|--------|
| Task Response | 25% | Complete response to prompt | Clear position but underdeveloped | Fully addresses all parts, well-supported |
| Coherence & Cohesion | 25% | Paragraph structure, flow | Paragraphs exist but mechanical linking | Logical progression, natural flow |
| Lexical Resource | 25% | Vocabulary range, collocations | Some less common words with errors | Flexible use, accurate collocations |
| Grammatical Range | 25% | Sentence variety, accuracy | Mix of simple and complex | Wide range of complex structures |

**Feedback Output:**

```markdown
## Writing Feedback Report

### Overall Band: X.0 / 9.0

### Sub-scores
- Task Response: X.0 — ...
- Coherence & Cohesion: X.0 — ...
- Lexical Resource: X.0 — ...
- Grammatical Range: X.0 — ...

### Detailed Corrections

| Original | Correction | Reason |
|----------|------------|--------|
| ... | ... | Grammar/Collocation/Logic |

### Upgrade Path (5.5→6.0→6.5)
1. ...
```

### 4. Speaking Topic Practice

- Part 1: Daily conversation (hometown, studies, hobbies, etc.)
- Part 2: 2-minute monologue (describe a time when...)
- Part 3: In-depth discussion (abstract discussion related to Part 2)

**Practice mode:**
- User selects topic → 1 minute preparation time → Generate model answer → Compare and analyze
- Encourage using collocations from the sentence bank during speaking practice

## Study Rhythm

- **Daily**: 1 Aeon article + extract 5 sentences
- **Weekly**: 2 writing exercises (1 Task 1 + 1 Task 2)
- **Weekly**: 3 speaking topic practices
- **Weekend**: Review weekly sentences, do transfer exercises

## Data Sources

1. **Aeon** (aeon.co) — Long-form essays, broad topics, refined language
2. **The Guardian** — News commentary, suitable for Task 2 materials
3. **BBC** — Multimedia resources, suitable for speaking materials
4. **IELTS Liz / Simon** — IELTS writing model answers