Grammar
What the band descriptors mean when they ask for a variety of structures. With an error correction exercise.
Sentence structure in IELTS is what the band descriptors mean when they ask for a variety of complex structures. That phrase is often read as a demand for difficult grammar, when it describes something far more ordinary: sentences built in more than one way.
Three shapes cover nearly everything. A page written entirely in the first of them satisfies accuracy and fails range, which is the most common reason careful, error-free writing scores Band 6.
The rules
Six points: the shapes to use, and the three ways they collapse.
Traffic congestion has worsened. One subject, one verb, one idea. Useful for emphasis after a long sentence, and limiting if it is all you write.
Joined by and, but, so, or or yet, with a comma before the joining word: Fares have risen, but services have not improved.
Joined by because, although, while, if, when, since, whereas. If the subordinate clause comes first, it takes a comma: Although fares have risen, services have not improved.
Two complete sentences joined by nothing but a comma. Fares have risen, services have not improved is an error, not a stylistic choice. Use a full stop, a semicolon, or add but.
Two complete sentences joined by nothing at all, or a sentence that keeps adding clauses with and until the reader loses the subject. Break it into two.
A subordinate clause standing alone is not a sentence: Although many people disagree. It needs a main clause to attach to.
Method
Six ways this earns marks under Grammatical Range and Accuracy.
Roughly one simple, one compound and two complex sentences. Counting them once on a practice essay tells you more than any rule.
If four sentences in a row begin with the subject, you have a range problem you can see for yourself without a teacher.
Because fares have risen, fewer people commute by train. Same content, different shape, and it requires the comma.
Read each comma and ask whether what stands on either side could be a sentence on its own. If both could, the comma is not enough.
Length is not complexity. A sentence the reader cannot follow costs marks under Coherence as well as Grammar.
Although because and but although produce sentences that cannot be finished. One joining word does the job.
Practice
Each sentence contains one error. Choose the correction.
Read the whole sentence before you choose. Every option below is a real form of English, so the question is not which word exists but which one this sentence needs.
This is how examiners see your writing: not as rules broken, but as sentences that do or do not work.
1Correct the error: Fares have risen sharply, services have not improved at all.
Risen sharply, but services. This is a comma splice: two complete sentences joined by a comma alone. A full stop or a semicolon would also fix it.
2Correct the error: Although many people support the policy. It has not been introduced.
Policy, it has. The first part is a fragment. A clause beginning with although cannot stand alone, so it must be attached to the main clause with a comma.
3Correct the error: Although fares have risen, but services have not improved.
Both A and B are correct. English uses one joining word, not two. Keep although with a comma, or keep but without although, but never both in the same sentence.
4Correct the error: Because of the traffic was heavy, the journey took two hours.
Both A and B are correct. Because introduces a clause with a verb; because of introduces a noun phrase. The error is mixing the two patterns together.
5Correct the error: The scheme was expensive however it was widely supported.
Expensive. However, it was. However is not a joining word like but. It needs a full stop or a semicolon before it, and a comma after it.
6Correct the error: While some argue that tuition should be free others believe students should contribute.
Free, others believe. A subordinate clause placed first needs a comma at the point where the main clause begins. Without it, the reader has to work out where one idea ends.
That is normal, and it is the whole problem with grammar study. Recognising an error in a sentence someone has told you contains one is far easier than finding it in your own essay, where every sentence looks correct because you wrote it.
The complete IELTS course on IELTStestONLINE has video lessons on every question type, many more exercises like this one, and your own support tutor you can ask when an answer does not make sense. Take a look at the complete course
Choosing the right option from four is not the same as producing the structure accurately under time in an essay.
IELTStestONLINE keeps every score you get in one place, gives you an estimated band as you work, and assesses your writing and speaking against the four criteria so you can see where you stand before test day. See what full membership includes
A main clause plus a subordinate clause joined by a word such as because, although, while or if. It is not a long sentence, and length alone earns nothing.
Two complete sentences joined by only a comma. It is treated as a grammar error, since punctuation is assessed under the same criterion.
There is no number. What matters is that a variety of structures appears naturally through the essay rather than the same shape repeated.
No. However needs a full stop or a semicolon before it and a comma after it. Only and, but, so, or and yet join two clauses with a comma.
No. They are effective for emphasis and clarity. The problem is an essay written entirely in them, which satisfies accuracy but not range.
Full membership
Neither is a number you can count for yourself. Knowing which half is holding you back is the difference between studying efficiently and studying blindly.
IELTStestONLINE assesses your writing and speaking against the four IELTS criteria, instantly and as often as you like, using a system built by a former IELTS examiner and examiner trainer. It keeps every score in one place with an estimated band, and it carries no advertising.
See what membership includesQuick question, 10 seconds
Where do you want to study or move to?
When are you planning to go?
How far along are you?
Want free IELTS practice sent to you?
Optional. Leave it blank and your answers are still counted.
Thanks. That helps.
Back to your practice.