Five common Grammatical Errors


When you are writing an essay or a report ,In both cases people generally do very common mistakes because of the timelimit .But these errors looks very dumb to the examiners so be careful about these errors.
Here are five mistakes to avoid when Writing an essay for your IELTS Writing task 2 and task 1.

1. Your vs. You’re
This one drives me insane, and it’s become extremely common among IELTS test takers. All it takes to avoid this error is to take a second and think about what you’re trying to say.

“Your” is a possessive pronoun, as in “your car” or “your ball.” “You’re” is a contraction for “you are,” as in “you’re screwing up your writing by using your when you really mean you are.”

2. It’s vs. Its
This is another common mistake. It’s also easily avoided by thinking through what you’re trying to say.

“It’s” is a contraction of “it is” or “it has.” “Its” is a possessive pronoun, as in “this blog has lost its mojo.” Here’s an easy rule of thumb—repeat your sentence out loud using “it is” instead. If that sounds goofy, “its” is likely the correct choice.

3. There vs. Their
This one seems to trip up everyone occasionally, often as a pure typo. Make sure to watch for it when you proofread.

“There” is used many ways, including as a reference to a place (“let’s go there”) or as a pronoun (“there is no hope”). “Their” is a plural possessive pronoun, as in “their bags” or “their opinions.” Always do the “that’s ours!” test—are you talking about more than one person and something that they possess? If so, “their” will get you there.

4. Affect vs. Effect
To this day I have to pause and mentally sort this one out in order to get it right. As with any of the other common mistakes people make when writing, it’s taking that moment to get it right that makes the difference.

“Affect” is a verb, as in “Your ability to communicate clearly will affect your income immensely.” “Effect” is a noun, as in “The effect of a parent’s low income on a child’s future is well documented.” By thinking in terms of “the effect,” you can usually sort out which is which, because you can’t stick a “the” in front of a verb. While some people do use “effect” as a verb (“a strategy to effect a settlement”), they are usually lawyers, and you should therefore ignore them if you want to write like a human.

5. The Dangling Participle
The dangling participle may be the most egregious of the most common writing mistakes. Not only will this error damage the flow of your writing, it can also make it impossible for someone to understand what you’re trying to say.

Check out these two examples from Tom Sant’s book Persuasive Business Proposals:

After rotting in the cellar for weeks, my brother brought up some oranges.

Uhh… keep your decomposing brother away from me!

Featuring plug-in circuit boards, we can strongly endorse this server’s flexibility and growth potential.

Hmmm… robotic copy written by people embedded with circuit boards. Makes sense.

The problem with both of the above is that the participial phrase that begins the sentence is not intended to modify what follows next in the sentence. However, readers mentally expect it to work that way, so your opening phrase should always modify what immediately follows. If it doesn’t, you’ve left the participle dangling, as well as your readers.



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For ielts test takers...

Passive voice is used when the focus is on the action. It is not important or not known, however, who or what is performing the action.

Example: My bike was stolen.

In the example above, the focus is on the fact that my bike was stolen. I do not know, however, who did it.

Sometimes a statement in passive is more polite than active voice, as the following example shows:

Example: A mistake was made.

In this case, I focus on the fact that a mistake was made, but I do not blame anyone (e.g. You have made a mistake.).

Form of Passive
Subject + finite form of to be + Past Participle (3rd column of irregular verbs)

Example: A letter was written.

When rewriting active sentences in passive voice, note the following:

■the object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence
■the finite form of the verb is changed (to be + past participle)
■the subject of the active sentence becomes the object of the passive sentence (or is dropped)



















Passive Sentences with Two Objects Level: intermediate
Rewriting an active sentence with two objects in passive voice means that one of the two objects becomes the subject, the other one remains an object. Which object to transform into a subject depends on what you want to put the focus on.







As you can see in the examples, adding by Rita does not sound very elegant. That’s why it is usually dropped.

Personal and Impersonal Passive
Personal Passive simply means that the object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence. So every verb that needs an object (transitive verb) can form a personal passive.

Example: They build houses. – Houses are built.

Verbs without an object (intransitive verb) normally cannot form a personal passive sentence (as there is no object that can become the subject of the passive sentence). If you want to use an intransitive verb in passive voice, you need an impersonal construction – therefore this passive is called Impersonal Passive.

Example: he says – it is said

Impersonal Passive is not as common in English as in some other languages (e.g. German, Latin). In English, Impersonal Passive is only possible with verbs of perception (e. g. say, think, know).

Example: They say that women live longer than men. – It is said that women live longer than men.

Although Impersonal Passive is possible here, Personal Passive is more common.

Example: They say that women live longer than men. – Women are said to live longer than men.

The subject of the subordinate clause (women) goes to the beginning of the sentence; the verb of perception is put into passive voice. The rest of the sentence is added using an infinitive construction with 'to' (certain auxiliary verbs and that are dropped).

Sometimes the term Personal Passive is used in English lessons if the indirect object of an active sentence is to become the subject of the passive sentence.

Addition• in addition
• and similarly
• likewise as well as
• besides further more
• also moreover
• and then too
• not only … but even
• besides
Sequence• first(ly) initially
• second(ly) etc.to begin with then
• next earlier/later
• after this/that
• following this/that
Consequence

• as a result
• thus
• so
• therefore
• consequently
• it follows that
• thereby
• eventually
• then in that case
• admittedly
Contrast
• however
• on the other hand
• despite
• in spite of
• though
• although
• but
• on the contrary
• otherwise
• yet instead of
• rather
• whereas
• nonetheless
• even though
• compared with
• in contrast
• alternatively

Addition• in addition
In addition, I would like to point out that my neighbor is disturbing me late at night.
• and similarly
Your life will change forever and similarly, your whole family will feel the change.
• likewise
Some people have little time for a hobby, and have likewise little will to get one.
• as well as
Beauty, as well as smarts, is a remarkable quality

• besides
We aren’t friends. Besides, I don’t feel it’s my place to set him straight.
• furthermore
Computers are getting faster and faster these days; furthermore, their cost is getting lower and lower.
• also
• moreover
I’ve wanting a change for a long time, moreover, I feel I deserve one.
• and then too
• not only … but also
Not only this product is good for your hair, but also for the whole body.
Sequence
• first(ly) initially
Initially, you would start putting a plan together.
• second(ly)
• to begin with
To begin with, you will need to commit a portion of your time to studying.
• then
• next
• earlier/later
Later on there comes a stage when your skills are put to a test.
• after this/that
• following this/that
Consequence
• as a result
I studied well and as a result, I got a high score.
• thus
• so
• therefore
I was younger and therefore, less experienced.
• consequently
• it follows that
• thereby
I upset my friend, thereby causing her pain.
• eventually
• then in that case
• admittedly
Admittedly, he is the smartest person I know.
Contrast• however
The book is expensive, however it’s worth it.
• on the other hand
She says she feels fine, on the other hand, her face is pale and she doesn’t look healthy.
• despite
• in spite of
In spite of the difficulties, the task was completed.
• though
He still insists, though he knows that won’t do any good.
• although
• but
• on the contrary
The music didn’t lift her spirit, on contrary, it made her feel weak and vulnerable again.
• otherwise
• yet instead of
He felt unwelcome, yet instead of leaving, he stayed.
• rather
Eggs for breakfast is not a good idea, I would rather have some toast.
• whereas
He was her true love, whereas for him she was just another girlfriend.
• nonetheless
While they didn’t trust each other, nonetheless they worked together for many years.
• even though
• compared with
• in contrast
• alternatively

Not everyone knows that there is British and American ways of spelling words, and they are different. The question about the acceptable spelling came up a lot lately and I found out that many students are unsure how to spell words in the IELTS Listening, Reading and Writing tests – the British or the American way.
First, for those who have no idea what I’m talking about, let me explain: if you ask someone from USA and someone from the UK to spell a word such as color, the American will spell “color” and the person from UK will spell “colour”. There are many other examples:
favorite (USA) – favourite (UK)
honor (USA) – honour (UK)
memorize (USA) – memorise (UK)
check (USA) – cheque (UK)

There is no point in listing all of the differences here, you can see the whole list on this page.
As to the question, what is the right way to spell words in IELTS, American or British, the answer is both. You can use either form and it will be accepted, no penalties.

This post is basically a common mistake alert. As you know I’m receiving a lot of emails from IELTS test takers and they tell me about their exams, what went right, what went wrong, and we analyze the situation and what should have been done differently.
And here is a point regarding the latest exam. As you know it was identical in many countries and apparently many people had the same problems, because they weren’t mentally prepared.
Assumption # 1
People assumed that task 1 in Academic IELTS will be a chart or a graph – and when they were given a diagram, it came as a complete shock. As a result, it took them longer to get their head around the task and they spent over 30 minutes only thinking what they are going to write in their report. Then it’s a chain accident – if the first task takes you longer, you don’t have enough time for your essay and you are stressed, so the performance goes down the drain.
This could be easily solved by practicing beforehand. Guys, when you practice – don’t choose just graphs, prepare for diagrams as well, it;s important to be prepared for whatever they throw at you and not things you think are likely to appear. If you’re under time pressure and have only a week to study – fine, do just one or two diagrams, but at least try yourself at it.

Assumption # 2
I don’t know why, but people assume that IELTS questions never repeat – when this blog is a proof that they do, and quite often. I’ve got an email from a student that said: “You know what is really ironic? I saw my speaking question the night before my exam in IELTS-Blog, but thought I will never get the same and didn’t practice for it.”
Do yourself a favor – go through the list of recent exams and familiarize yourself with the latest questions. The best chances to get the same questions as before are, of course, in the Speaking test, however in the Writing test we too have seen that the questions were repeated over time.
And above everything else – good luck with your preparation and I wish you an easy exam!

Transitions
Transitional words and phrases are what gives your essays coherence, we need them to join sentences and thoughts together. Look at the lists below. These are transitional phrases that you can memorize and keep in your arsenal for the IELTS writing module.
AGREEMENT: also, plus, in addition, further, furthermore, moreover, additionally, to add to that, next, in accordance with, accordingly, in agreement, finally, for instance, for example, in exemplification, exemplifying that, in fact, factually speaking, in terms of, and so forth, looking at the nexus between, in coordination with, along those lines, collectively speaking, generally speaking, indeed, undoubtedly, obviously, to be sure.
CONTRAST:
however, contrastingly, in contrast, on the contrary, on the other hand, To put it into perspective, from a different angle, nonetheless, nevertheless, but, yet, a catch to this is, sadly enough, as a hindrance, looking at the holdups, oddly enough, instead, in direct opposition, still, and rather.

RESULT:
as a result, as a consequence, consequently, thus, therefore, hence, thereby, resulting in, ultimately, in the end, finally, in the overall analysis, in hindsight, in retrospect, retrospectively, vicariously, the long term effect, as a short term result, significantly, as a major effect, effectively, heretofore, hereafter, thereafter, in short, generally, over all, concluding.
If you have an IELTS exam this weekend, this post can literally save your score. Many people get in trouble with their IELTS Writing for no reason, just because they don’t realize some things are not acceptable in IELTS letters, essays or reports.
Here is a number of ways you can get in trouble with your IELTS writing tasks:
1. Using informal English in the IELTS Writing tasks.
Informal English is OK for your Speaking test – it is not OK for your Writing test. Even though not every informal word gets penalized, the more formal your style is, the better your score will be. To demonstrate the difference, informal expression “loads of / tons of” should be replaced with “many” or “much”; “fed up with” should be replaced with “lost his patience”, etc.
2. Using contractions.
Contractions are “it’s” instead of “it is”, “I’ve” instead of “I have”, “we’re” instead of “we are” (these are only a few examples). Contractions are a bad, bad thing to use in your essay, they don’t save you much time and can cost you marks. Do me a favor and forget about contractions in your IELTS writing. Write “should not” instead of “shouldn’t”, “could not” instead of “couldn’t”, “would not” instead of “wouldn’t”. You get the idea.

3. Using slang.
You can use slang any time talking to your friends, but this is the only place where it belongs, in a conversation between friends. Keep it out of your IELTS essays, letters or reports. You can’t write “dunno” instead of “don’t know”, “wanna” instead of “want to” or “gonna” instead of “going to”.
4. SMS-like spelling.
We all are typing SMS messages, chatting on Skype and the like, and there is a bunch of shorter ways to write longer words. We type “u” instead of “you”, “c” instead of “see”, “IMHO” instead of “in my humble opinion”. None of these can appear in your IELTS work, unless you are specifically trying to mess up and get a lower score than you deserve. You need to write the full word and spell it correctly, period.
I hope this post has caught you in time to prevent any of the above mistakes. Good luck with your exam!