5 Useful Tips To Avoid Grammar Mistakes
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Introduction
The IELTS (International English Language Testing System) is an exam taken to measure the proficiency of an individual in writing, speaking, reading, and listening to British English.
Annually, millions of candidates go through the IELTS exam while only hundreds get succeeded. According to the British council, more than 5 million people across 140 countries try their luck in IELTS every year.
The biggest reason for candidates to fail in IELTS is their grammatical errors and omissions.
There are majorly two types of IELTS tests: first is Academic IELTS (for students to get admission to universities) and the second is General IELTS (for citizenship and employment purposes)
The major parts of an IELTS test are writing, speaking, reading, and listening. Grammar is involved mostly writing and speaking sections. Lack of vocabulary, irregular use of ‘the’, countable/uncountable nouns confusion, noun-verb agreement abnormality, wrong use of article before nouns, irregular punctuation marks, wrong prepositions, apostrophe misuse, spelling mistakes, etc. are major grammatical issues that people face.
Here in this post, we will discuss five useful tips to avoid grammar mistakes along with examples. So, stay tuned and follow the below tips.
1. Read Daily
We all hear that reading is a great habit and everyone should read books and newspapers. But, today we will tell you the logic behind this advice. Reading can help in improving your vocabulary as well as your grammatical mistakes. Reading from quality sources will make your grammar strong enough to secure a good band in your IELTS test.
Moreover, there is also a comprehensive test of reading in IELTS. So, the habit of reading content daily can also help you with this reading test. Make sure to read only from authoritative websites and authors because they rarely have grammatical mistakes.
For example, a common grammar mistake is the wrong use of ‘the’.
It is only used where we talk about specific or uncommon things, such as; ‘the ozone layer’, ‘the sun’, the police station in the United States of America, etc. Moreover, we don’t use ‘the’ with plurals and single place or country. Hence, reading can make you accurate in using ‘the’ in your sentences because it is the most common grammar mistake that people make while pursuing IELTS.
2. Use Grammar Guides
Using grammar guides is another way to improve your grammar skills which ultimately leads you to avoid grammar mistakes in the IELTS test. Grammar guides are basically short manuals with grammar rules mentioned in them with examples.
Before buying a grammar guide for IELTS, you should ask your instructor or coach of IELTS to suggest one. You can also ask your university librarian to suggest a grammar guide. Going through the rules and examples in a grammar guide can enable you to enhance your grammatical skills.
A grammar guide can make you clear about sentence structure, the correct selection of words, and the right use of punctuation marks and prepositions.
A few famous grammar guides for IELTS are mentioned below:
- Cambridge Grammar for IELTS
- Oxford Practice Grammar Advanced, G.Yule (Oxford)
- Oxford Practice Grammar with answers, J.Eastwood (Oxford)
- English Grammar in Use Book with Answers, R.Murphy (Cambridge)
3. Take IELTS Training Course
Multiple institutes offer IELTS training courses in every county. Although, they charge massive fees. But, with their experience in training people for IELTS and knowledge of common mistakes, they can enable you to get a high band.
Therefore, opting for training for passing the IELTS exam is not a bad option. The instructors over there are generally well aware of common grammatical mistakes done by people. Moreover, they usually have knowledge of every good and bad practice while pursuing IELTS.
Hence, getting help from their expertise will not only help in passing IELTS exams but also help in improving your grammatical mistakes.
Some common mistakes with examples are mentioned below that most students make while giving IELTS exams. These mistakes can easily be corrected by getting training from a professional coach.
- There are some nouns in English that do not have plurals. So, writing them as plurals is a common grammatical mistake e.g. Advice, Advertising, Food, Information, Knowledge, etc.
- Noun verb agreement: if you are taking a noun as plural, then the verb should also be plural and vice versa. E.g. “There are some apples in the basket.” You cannot write “There is some apples in the basket.”
- Correct use of articles before nouns: ‘a/an’ are known as articles in English grammar. ‘A’ is used with singular noun phrases starting with consonants while ‘an’ is used with noun phrases starting with vowels. E.g. a few, a large number, an equal amount, etc.
- Wrong use of punctuation marks: commas, full stops, apostrophes, colons, semi-colons, etc.
- Incorrect use of prepositions: wrong use of (at, about, in, between, of, etc.)
Take a Grammar quiz:
Blend Words Quiz4. Consult Others and Get Feedback
Reading and then writing is another way to improve your grammar and avoid grammatical mistakes. Writing some content daily and getting it checked by others can help a lot in finding mistakes in your content. Remember, getting feedback and taking it positively to implement in your next attempt is the best practice to improve your grammar.
Always consult and get feedback from related people. And in terms of IELTS, your English professor or a person who already passed IELTS is the best for consultation and feedback.
5. Use an Online Grammar Checker
If you find the aforementioned tips difficult to practice in implement, then take assistance from a grammar checker to identify and improve the mistake in your content.
A grammar checker uses ML and AI to read your content and identify the grammatical mistakes in it. So, for getting a good band in IELTS using a grammar checker can help a lot. Just write content on daily basis and check it with a grammar checker. After checking, do analyze the mistakes manually and try not to make them again.
Again saying, practicing, checking, and improving is the best way to avoid grammar mistakes in the IELTS test.
Conclusion
In this post, we have discussed the best and most useful tips to avoid grammar mistakes in the IELTS test. To perform spectacularly and get a high band in IELTS, do implement the aforementioned tips. Hope you enjoy this post. Thanks for reading!
About the author: Jhon Butler is a professional Content Writer with extensive experience in the education and technology fields. His expertise lies in creating informative and engaging content that explores the intersection of education and technology. With a background in education and a passion for the latest tech trends, Jhon delivers clear, concise, and captivating writing that resonates with readers.