Episode 7
(Please note, there are no questions for this episode but do use it to help you listen and learn new vocabulary/phrases and also practice pronunciation.)
What you need to know about IELTS/OET grammar.
This week’s episode is all about grammar! Which is not the most interesting subjects to talk about but it’s an extremely important one.
This episode is relevant for both IELTS and OET.
So, although most students hate grammar, unfortunately it’s an extremely important topic and a huge part of getting the score you need. It’s one of the main marking criteria.
The problems students have about grammar usually stem from the way they have been taught grammar, which is usually learning from textbooks and memorising. You can only learn so much in this way. There must be a practical approach.
The reality is that unless you score well in grammar, you won’t get the score you need overall….even if you are scoring well in the other marking criteria.
BUT, the good news is that this problem is easy to fix. You just need to remember these important 4 points and implement them.
1. Grammar must be learnt slowly
2. Understanding the marking criteria in relation to grammar is key
3. Must be aware of our own weaknesses when it comes to grammar
4. Get into the habit of proofreading.
Why are these 4 things so important?
1. It’s important to learn grammar slowly because, well frankly, there is a lot of grammar to learn and it takes time to learn it, process it, practice it and master it and English grammar can be quite confusing at times. Some grammar maybe quite unique to the English language and so that makes it difficult to learn some grammar structures. So e.g. articles don’t exist in some languages. So you need to be patient to build up your knowledge to get to that band 7 and above level for IELTS or that C+ and above level.
2. The previous episode was all about how important it is to understand the marking criteria, but in regard to grammar, you need to understand what the examiner is looking for. So for example, does the examiner want you to use every single grammar structure you can possibly think of in the test? Or, do they want you to use what is appropriate and with accuracy? Of course they want to see the last point. And these are two key words that I want you to take away from this podcast and apply in every speaking and writing test you do. Appropriateness and accuracy.
Let’s take a deeper look at what the marking criteria says about grammar for both IELTS and OET.
Both marking criteria for both tests talk in a similar way about grammar when it comes to getting a B7/ C+ or above. It mainly centres around 4 main areas:
1. Using a range of grammar
2. Using grammar that is appropriate
3. Using grammar with accuracy
4. Occasional errors
Let’s look at range first of all. You must be able to demonstrate a range of grammar structures, so a mixture of simple and complex sentences, using cohesive devices to link ideas together for example. Now some students see this and think ‘Right! Range? I’m going to learn as many structures as I can and use all of them in my speaking and writing test.
The next point should put range into the correct context.
You must be able to use the appropriate grammar. Anyone can go and learn all the different grammar structures and understanding when to use each one and which structure is the most appropriate to use in the context of your writing or speaking is the key skill being tested here.
So for example, in IELTS speaking part 3, the question could be a hypothetical scenario in the future so therefore the most appropriate grammar structure will be to use future tenses, will have, should have, using modals etc
For OET writing you are writing a formal letter so the most appropriate grammar to use is formal structures and passive structures.
The third aspect of grammar mentioned in the marking criteria, is accuracy. So, when you have chosen the most appropriate grammar to use, you are able to use it accurately and minimise errors.
This leads on to the next aspect which is all about mistakes. The marking criteria talks about ‘occasional mistakes’ in IELTS and not making ‘intrusive mistakes’ in OET. What does this mean? Must accept that you WILL MAKE SOME MISTAKES … BUTT you need to minimise them as much as possible. Mistakes are ok but as long as they are not intrusive meaning, they don’t interfere with the meaning of what you are trying to communicate or that the examiner has to struggle to understand you.
So what do we need to understand by all this, let me summarise it.
You need to show a range of grammar structures that are appropriate for the context and be able to use those structures as accurately as possible, although some mistakes are inevitable.
Train yourself to focus on what the examiner is asking and then think of what the appropriate grammar is to answer the question.
Also, to help you minimise those errors, get into 2 habits now!:
1. Work out what your weaknesses are when it comes to grammar. Where do you make the most mistakes? Do a bit of research yourself and also get some expert feedback from a teacher. Once you have this information work on improving those areas. But get into the habit of having that critical eye on your writing and speaking.
2. Get into the habit of proofreading your work. You must develop a consistent strategy of proofreading for both speaking and writing. With speaking, the best way is obviously to get expert feedback but to also record yourself and listen to the way you are speaking and analyse where you went wrong and how you would correct them.
With writing, get into the habit of reading the sentence after you have written it and then when you complete the paragraph, read that back to yourself and correct as write. Then, at the end of writing, read the whole thing back again. Si not only are your correcting as you go, you also doing it at then end. This means you need to incorporate the time to proofread as you are writing and this takes practice. The method also ensures that even if you don’t get time to proofread the whole letter or essay at the end, you have still proofread it as you were writing.
Most students don’t proofread, they are just so happy to get to the end and they never want to see the test again. But this is mistake. If you train yourself to see mistakes you will always be able to see them in your writing and correcting them means you are saving vital marks that could get you the score you need, otherwise you’re just throwing easy marks away.