Grammar
The errors that appear in almost every candidate script, and how to find them in your own. With a practice exercise.
The common grammar mistakes in IELTS are remarkably consistent. Examiners see the same handful of errors across thousands of scripts, and most candidates make three or four of them repeatedly rather than making many different ones occasionally.
That is useful, because it means the fix is targeted. Identifying your own three and working on those is far more efficient than trying to improve your grammar in general.
The errors
Six that appear in almost every script.
The number of students have risen should be has risen. The subject is number, not students. Long subjects are where this goes wrong.
Discuss about, emphasise on, consist of. Some verbs take a preposition and some do not, and there is no rule. Discuss and emphasise take none.
The increase of pollution should be the increase in pollution. Also economic and economical, effect and affect.
Switching between present and past within a paragraph for no reason. Most Task 2 essays sit in the present, so stay there unless the time genuinely changes.
More easier, most cheapest. Use either the -er ending or more, never both.
Is important to consider should be It is important to consider. English requires a subject even when the meaning is clear without one.
Method
Six steps, and the first is the one that matters.
Almost nobody makes all of these. Look at three marked pieces of your own writing and find the errors that repeat.
Read your essay once for subject-verb agreement, then once for articles. Reading for everything at once catches almost nothing.
In a long sentence, cover the middle and check that the subject and the verb still agree. This finds most agreement errors.
Do not learn discuss. Learn discuss something, with no preposition. The word and its grammar belong together.
If you cannot control a structure, write two shorter sentences. Accuracy is worth more than an ambitious sentence you get wrong.
Write down every mistake someone corrects. After three pieces of work, the pattern will be obvious and short.
Practice
Choose the correct version.
Each pair contains one of the six errors described above.
Where the sentence is long, find the real subject before you check the verb.
1Which is correct?
B. The subject is the number, which is singular. Students is inside a phrase describing it, and long subjects like this are where agreement errors cluster.
2Which is correct?
B. Discuss takes no preposition. The same applies to emphasise and mention, both of which are commonly given an unnecessary about or on.
3Which is correct?
Increase in. This is a fixed pairing, and it appears constantly in Task 1 writing, where getting it wrong is very visible.
4Which is correct?
B. Use either the -er ending or more, never both. More easier is a double comparative.
5Which is correct?
B. English requires a subject, even when the meaning is obvious without one. Many languages do not, which is why this error is so common.
6Which is correct?
Affect. Affect is the verb and effect is the noun. The effect of the policy, but the policy will affect people.
Most candidates make three or four errors repeatedly rather than many different ones occasionally, which is why identifying your own is worth more than general grammar study.
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Spotting an error in an isolated pair is easy. Spotting it in your own writing, which sounded correct when you wrote it, is the hard part.
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Articles, subject-verb agreement, prepositions after verbs, word form, tense consistency and missing subjects. Most candidates repeat three or four rather than making many different ones.
Discuss, with no preposition. The same applies to emphasise, mention and enter, all of which are commonly given an unnecessary preposition.
Affect is normally the verb and effect the noun. The policy will affect people; the effect of the policy was significant.
Identify which three you actually make by looking at marked work, then check for those specifically. General grammar study is far less efficient.
A single slip does not. The same error repeated across an essay is treated as evidence about your level, and that is what affects your band.
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Your errors sounded right when you wrote them, which is why they survived. Someone else has to point out which three are yours.
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