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IELTS 9 Project

IELTS writing: 12

advanced grammar tips.

This presentation offers 12 advanced English language grammar tips that

may aid instructors who teach the writing components of the International
English Language Testing System (IELTS) exam. Furthermore, this
presentation also aims to assist those who plan to sit for the General or
Academic version of this global language test. This presentation is suitable
for future IELTS examinees who are upper intermediate to advanced English
language writers.
IELTS Academic Writing Task
Write at least 150 words.
1 : Illustration Question

The graph on the right shows total

expenditure by expense type for XYZ

Consulting Inc. from 2005 to 2016.

Summarize this information by

selecting and reporting the main

features, and make comparisons

Author: Jericho (IELTS simulation)
where relevant.
IELTS Academic Writing Task
Give reasons for your
2 : Illustration Question
You should spend about 40 minutes on this answer and include any
task. Write about the following topic.
relevant examples from
Housing and accommodation has become a
major problem in many countries around the
your own knowledge and

What are some of the main factors that have experience.

contributed to this problem?
Write at least 250 words.
What can be done to help reduce the number
of homeless people?
Source: IELTS
IELTS General Writing WRITING TASK 2
Task 1 : Illustration Question
You should spend about 40 minutes
You should spend about 20 minutes on this on this task.
Write about the following topic:
A friend has agreed to look after your house
Some people believe that teaching
and pet while you are on holiday. Write a
children at home is best for a childs
letter to your friend.
development while others think that
it is important for children to go to
In your letter
school. Discuss the advantages of
give contact details for when you are away
both methods and give your own
give instructions about how to care for your
describe other household duties.
Write at least 250 words.
Source: IELTS
Write at least 150 words.

12 points It is acceptable to use any major versions

of the English language in your written
answers, so long as you are consistent.
1. And
You should adopt a common version
2. Acronyms such as American English or British
3. Wide dash English and not switch between versions.
4. Ampersand
5. Paragraphs Since 2017, The Free School only uses
American English as a matter of policy.
6. Apostrophes
This policy aims to avoid confusing
7. Long sentences English language learners who consult
8. Double negatives our resources.
9. Compound words
10. Numbers as words This presentation uses American
English, except when it cites extracts
11. Bracketed discussion
from IELTSs exam preparation notes.
12. Single and double quotation marks
IELTS uses British English.
And Example
Avoid commencing a sentence with the

word and. Some examiners may consider My uncle Subash was my

this to be a violation of English grammar private chemistry tutor

rules. Consider joining two sentences by
when I was at high school.
using punctuation such as a semicolon,
Furthermore, he also
comma, wide dash or column. Alternatively,

you may start a new sentence with a assisted me with my biology

substitute word such as furthermore.
homework on occasion.
Popular acronyms Popular global acronyms

Acronyms that are frequently used 24/7 24 hours a day (do not use)
in the public domain sometimes do 3D Three dimensional
not need to be defined.
AD Anno Domini

BCE Before the Common Era

I advise you to avoid using
CEO Chief Executive Officer
acronyms when writing for the
NGO Non Governmental Organization
IELTS exam. Ambiguous writing
will score lower than discussion VP Vice President

that conveys a clear message. UN United Nations

Wide dash Polar opposite word
The use of the wide dash serves two main
purposes in the English language.
The first is to denote polar opposite words
such as East and West. truefalse
The second use of the wide dash is to connect

You may also join sentences using punctuation

such as a column, comma or semicolon. When I was a high school
student, I found truefalse
Wide dash Column :
questions the easier to answer.

Comma , Semicolon ;
Ampersand & Wrong

Please do not use the My mothers & fathers values

deeply inspire me.

ampersand symbol & in

place of the word and. This Correct

looks unprofessional and will

My mothers and fathers values
be penalized by the marker.
deeply inspire me.
Paragraphs Paragraph structure
You should aim to discuss one
1. Open with an argument
core message within each
2. Expand the argument
paragraph. If your paragraph
3. Offer support:
discusses multiple issues, you
Cite specific details from the
may confuse your reader and will
diagram (Task 1)
receive a lower band score.
Offer your example (Task 2).
An apostrophe denotes ownership.

If ownership is singular, the apostrophe goes before the letter s. Examples:

Martinas athleticism, Roseannes sense-of-humour, Adeles voice.

If ownership is collective, the apostrophe goes after the letter s. Examples: These

students books, the Gulf States oil, those Kangaroos tails.

Avoid long sentences Example
I argue that people who work hard and
As a general rule, writers who use short and
pursue their passions are more successful
sharp sentences are more effective because empirical evidence shows that
such people are more likely to succeed at
communicators. Using long sentences may work, have a longer life span and report
higher levels of happiness. (39 words)
irritate the reader because it is harder for
I argue that people who work hard and
them to follow your message. pursue their passions are more successful.
(14 words). Empirical evidence shows that
If your sentence is longer than around 20 to such people are more likely to succeed at
work. (13 words) Furthermore, they are
22 words, you should consider splitting the more likely to have a longer life span and
report higher levels of happiness (17
sentence into two shorter sentences. words).
Double negatives Acceptable

I suggest that you avoid using double It is not untrue that I am a

negatives to describe something positive.
university graduate.

Double negatives are grammatically correct.

You earn higher credit when you write in a

manner that is more direct, such as when

I am a university graduate.
you use positives.
Compound words Widely recognized compound words
Sometimes a string of words may be 2 base words

regarded as a single word. A compound clear-cut

word exists when the collective meaning of near-future
the individual words are widely recognized Chief-Commander
as having one meaning.
3 base words

Sometimes it is subjective whether you

should use the dash to group multiple face-to-face
words to show that you consider them to year-to-date
be one word. When you do this
Longer compound words
appropriately, it shows you are an
advanced writer. run-of-the-mill state-of-the-art
Numbers as words

A popular convention in academic writing is to write numbers less than 13 as words.

Example: I interviewed eleven staff, including one executive manager.

An exception to this rule is when you refer to numbers greater than 12 and pair this
analysis with numbers smaller than 13. You should write both sets of numbers in
numeral form so that there is consistency within your passage of discussion.

Example: I interviewed 250 staff, including 9 senior managers.

Bracketed discussion
Avoid making statements inside a bracket
Not advisable
within your sentences. Bracketed discussion My only brother (who was born two years
is comparable to conducting two before me) is my favorite person.

conversations simultaneously. Bracketed

discussion distracts the reader. You should Better
consider adopting one of these options: place
My only brother, who was born two years
the bracketed discussion in a new sentence;
before me, is my favorite person.
omit the brackets; insert punctuation. In
many cases the use of brackets is not Alternatively,
necessary. Using commas or omitting the
brackets is grammatically correct and more My older brother is my favorite person.

Double quotation marks Single quotation marks

Single quotation marks are normally used

Double quotation marks are normally to highlight a word or a string of words, i.e.
to add emphasis in the readers mind.
used when you quote another source
Single quotation marks may also be used to
highlight an irregular feature. Examples of
these include colloquial words and coarse
Example: language.

My grandmother is my greatest Example:

inspiration. She always told me to

The term cheesy may mean tacky even
work very hard for your success and though few dictionaries recognize this
never take short-cuts. definition of the word cheesy.
Further IELTS reading

This presentation is updated from legend,
time-to-time on this webpage. you.
The Free School

English for Academic

Purposes free course.

IELTS Academic Free