7 Overused IELTS Essay Phrases to Avoid (and What to Write Instead)
Somewhere right now, an examiner is opening their 61st essay of the day. They have read your opening sentence about a thousand times before. Here are the seven lines that appear in almost every script, and what to write instead.
Affect or Effect? 10 Word Pairs That Trip Up Every IELTS Student
Some pairs of English words look almost the same and mean different things. You can be at a high level and still mix them up, because nothing feels wrong when you write them. Here are the ten that show up most often in IELTS essays.
Can I Use “I” in IELTS Writing? 9 Questions Students Always Ask
Can I say I? Does spelling count? What if I write 400 words? These questions cost students hours of worry and get answered differently by every teacher. Here are nine straight answers, with no myths attached.
Words That Travel in Pairs: The Fastest Vocabulary Win in IELTS Writing
You can know a word perfectly and still use it wrong. English words travel in pairs, and choosing the wrong partner sounds off to an examiner immediately. The good news: this is the one vocabulary win that needs no new words at all.
Comma Splice in IELTS Writing: What It Is and How to Fix It
Traffic is bad, many people arrive late. That sentence looks harmless and it is a grammar error. It is also one of the most repeated errors in IELTS writing, and there are four ways to fix it in under a second.
How to Start and End Any IELTS General Training Letter (All 3 Types)
General Training Task 1 is a letter, and the first line and the last line are the fastest marks on the page. Get the greeting and the sign-off right, match the tone to the reader, and you have protected your score before you write a single idea.
Firstly, Moreover, In Conclusion: When Linking Words Start Hurting You
You were taught that linking words raise your score. Half true. A few used well help you. A row of them at the start of every sentence lowers your Coherence and Cohesion, and it is one of the easiest fixes in IELTS writing.
A, An, The: The Three Smallest Words That Cost the Most IELTS Marks
Articles are three tiny words, and they are the most repeated error in IELTS writing. The good news is that most mistakes come from only three situations. Learn those and your accuracy jumps without learning a single new tense.
8 Words to Delete From Your IELTS Essay (And What to Write Instead)
Some words are not wrong. They are just empty. They fill your essay without adding meaning, and the examiner sees them in every second paper. Here are 8 to delete, and the simple, better words to use instead.
The Quick Check Before You Finish Your IELTS Task 1 Report
You have a few minutes left on your Academic Task 1 report. You cannot re-read every word, so check the things that carry the most marks. Here is the fast Task 1 check to run before you finish.
6 Big Mistakes That Lower Your IELTS Task 1 Score
Some Task 1 mistakes cost one small mark. But a few big ones make your score drop fast, all at once. The good news is that each of these six is easy to see and easy to avoid.
6 Task 1 Myths That Quietly Lower Your IELTS Score
You describe the chart, you use good grammar, but your Task 1 band stays stuck. Often the reason is not your English. It is a few things you believe about Academic Task 1 that are simply not true.