Answers to the proof reading lesson

Hi guys,

Below are the answers to yesterday’s lesson on proof reading for writing.

  1. Research in space explorations can lead to new cutting edge technology.
    1. Answer: There are two problems with this sentence. “space exploration” is uncountable and therefore there is no “s” needed. Also the word “cutting-edge” requires a hyphen when it is used as an adjective but not when it is used as a noun. In our sentence, it is used as an adjective.
    2. Full correct sentence: Research in space exploration can lead to new cutting-edge technology.
  2. Improving handwriting skills is still essential even in todays modern world.
    1. Answer: There is only one mistake in this sentence. The word “todays” should have an apostrophe = today’s.
    2. Extra comment: “Improving handwriting skills” is a noun phrase and is singular. Therefore the verb is singular.
    3. Full correct sentence: Improving handwriting skills is still essential even in today’s modern world.
  3. Increasing number of people are choosing to to travel by car rather than public transports.
    1. Answer: There are two mistakes in this sentence. An article is missing at the start = an increasing number & “transport” is uncountable so no “s”
    2. Full correct sentence: An increasing number of people are choosing to travel by car rather than public transport.
  4. If students are involved in making decisions about how a school is run it might lead to problems.
    1. Answer: There is only one mistake in this sentence. The sentence needs a comma to divide the clauses.
    2. Full correct sentence: If students are involved in making decisions about how a school is run, it might lead to problems.
  5. While some people think that children should be given more homework, others believe that children should be free for enjoy their leisure time.
    1. Answer: there is only one mistake with this sentence. The proposition is wrong: for = to.
    2. Full correct sentence: While some people think that children should be given more homework, others believe that children should be free to enjoy their leisure time.

Summary of common mistakes

Uncountable nouns: This is one of the most common mistakes in IELTS writing. Students do not pay attention to them. See this list of Uncountable Common Nouns

Gerunds and noun phrases are singular. A gerund is a verb+ing which is used as a noun and it is always singular. See the video below to see an example of this.

Articles: “a” and “the”. So many students miss articles. The most common mistake I see is: “Government should …”. The word “government” is a noun which requires an article. “The government should …”. Always review your articles.

Punctuation: Don’t forget your commas between clauses 🙂

Video Lesson

Making a complex sentence: Using a gerund

[su_youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nkwOxLwyQ8″]

 

Comments

  1. Ukegbu Nnenna Mercy says

    Hi ma’am Lizzy, thanx so much for the good work you are doing on this platform. I just started,God bless u

  2. shaheen says

    This information is so good and extremely beneficial for test takers.You are a great blessing Liz!

  3. emmanuel says

    wow, this is helpful.love it.

  4. shimi mathew says

    Thank u soo much Liz..May god bless u..

  5. Harry says

    Hi Liz
    Great work
    Keep it up
    I want to know is it acceptable to write in every alternative line rather than writing over every line as I find difficulties while writing f and g and they superimpose on the next line.
    Make it any difference in markings during essay writing
    Lots of Regards

    • Sorry I don’t understand. The only time you leave an empty line is when there is a paragraph. Don’t confuse the examiner.

      • Ank Sik says

        Kindly allow me to clarify the question asked by my fellow. It is asked if it is acceptable to write the characters of a word above the printed lines on the answer sheet or if it is alright to write in such a way that the characters if split horizontally, have their upper half above the printed line and lower half below the line. Hope my understanding is clear.

        • I have never heard of anyone writing letters that sit with the line in the middle of them. It makes it really difficult to read. Don’t make things difficult for the examiner.

  6. Miriam Arday says

    Hi Lizmy name is Miriam and I must commend you for a great job you doing. Keep them coming please. My concern is I can not seem to find the sample answers on the questions on Robot. Please help

  7. Sergei says

    Is the double ‘to ‘ in the sentence ‘An increasing number of people are choosing to to travel by car rather than public transport’ just a misprint?

  8. Poseidon says

    Hi Liz, You are doing a great job! Thanks for sharing. I have a doubt. as “accommodation” is uncountable noun, should I say, “May I get accommodation?” or “May I get an accommodation?”
    Thanks!

  9. ruwan says

    thanks a lot liz…

  10. Thank you it was so helpful

  11. rupinder says

    hii mam i want to improve my speaking .when i speak about any topic i can not do explian topic easily bcz about many words i have no english .

    • This is an English language test. You should take IELTS when your level of English is strong enough – not before.

  12. ahmed naeem says

    Hi liz

    It was very helpful. I have one question to ask. i often see in answers that some words are written in Brackets. Would it affect our scores if we did not write those words?Also, while following instruction of Write no more than Three words, would those words be counted or not?

    Regards

    • The answers written in brackets are in the answer key and they show the various possible answers. You can’t do that in your test. You must choose one answer only.

      • Ahmed says

        Okay i got it now. Thanks for the reply. One more thing, in one question i wrote the answer Time whereas in answer key it shows Message Time. How would my answer be treated while calculating total score?

        • IELTS decide on the possible answers. Sometimes it is possible to have one word or sometimes two words. It depends on the question. But there are no half points given.

  13. Felicitas says

    Thank you for the gerund. This very new to me . Thank you

  14. meluleki says

    Thank you ,for such wonderful lessons and tips.

  15. Aditya says

    omg! that was an eye-opener

    thanks!

    • I’m so glad it was useful for you. I’ll try to do more lessons like this one 🙂

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