IELTS complex sentences Archives - Preparation for the IELTS Exam

What’s more important? grammatical range or accuracy?

September 10, 2019February 21, 2019 by Ray IELTS Focus

Let’s take a look at grammatical range and accuracy in IELTS writing.

Many IELTS test takers think that they need to have a wide range of grammar for a high score in grammatical range and accuracy in the writing section. This is only partly true. If you have a wide range of grammar but it is not accurate then it will not score very high.

My advice is to focus on accuracy rather than range at the start and when you get confident with accuracy you develop your range of grammar. You need to think of the reader when writing and essay. If you are just trying to impress the examiner then you are not considering the overall coherence of the essay. Keep it concise and simple. Of course, if you have a consistently wide range of grammar with good accuracy then you are well on the way to a Band 7 or more.

IELTS Writing: Keeping it simple

February 6, 2023February 18, 2018 by Ray IELTS Focus

Being concise and keeping it simple.

Updated: January 2023

I quite often get essays that contain ‘flowery’ or convoluted sentences and vocabulary which makes it hard to understand what point is being made. My advice here is to keep your wording simple, direct to the point and concise.

It seems that many students try too hard to use ‘complex sentences’ or ‘high level’ vocabulary and completely miss the point of communication, so in the end the reader (the examiner in this case) has trouble understanding.

IELTS Grammar: Conjunctions in writing

April 28, 2022October 5, 2017 by Ray IELTS Focus

Using conjunctions in IELTS writing.

Updated April 7th 2022

For a high band score in IELTS writing, it is important to use conjunctions effectively. This shows the examiner you can use grammar precisely and helps the flow of your essay, which makes it easier for the reader. A conjunction is a word used to connect clauses or sentences. These are marked under grammar and are directly linked to coherence and cohesion in the IELTS marking criteria.

If you make mistakes with conjunctions it will affect coherence and cohesion. In fact ‘complex sentences’ can be constructed using conjunctions. Let’s take a look at some of these and how to use them correctly.

IELTS Grammar: How to use complex sentences

February 18, 2020July 5, 2017 by Ray IELTS Focus

Writing Complex Sentences in IELTS.

It is important to use some ‘complex sentences’ in IELTS writing task 2 otherwise you are unlikely to get a band 6.5 or above. However, not all of your sentences have to be ‘complex’ you need to use simple sentences too.

Remember that grammar accounts for 25% of your marks in the writing tasks but there is some confusion in IELTS about what a ‘complex sentence’ actually is.

Forming complex sentences in IELTS

January 4, 2022April 4, 2017 by Ray IELTS Focus

Using ‘tend to’, ‘that’ clauses and modals in IELTS writing and speaking.

Updated: Jan 2nd 2022

A good skill to learn in academic writing is to soften your language or use what is often called ‘hedging’. This is useful in Discussion essays when you write about others opinions and it is also needed to soften your language so that you don’t generalise too much. This shows that you have a wider range of vocabulary and you can form complex sentences.

This is also very useful in the speaking section when you want to display a wider range of vocabulary and it shows that you can talk naturally.