You have an idea for your IELTS essay. You know the point you want to make and the example that would explain it. Then, halfway through a sentence, you pause.

Should that be “has” or “have”? Is the event finished, or does it still need the present perfect?

These small decisions can make writing feel painfully slow. In Speaking, you have even less time to think about them.

Grammar becomes easier to manage when you connect it to something you want to say. Describing a change, explaining a possibility and giving advice each call for different structures. Here are the essentials to practise, with examples you can adapt to your own answers.

What IELTS Examiners Look for

Grammatical range and accuracy is one of four equally weighted assessment criteria in both IELTS Writing and Speaking. It accounts for 25% of the assessment in each section, alongside the other criteria described in the official IELTS scoring guidance.

“Range” means being able to use different grammatical structures. “Accuracy” means using them correctly.

For IELTS Writing, the higher bands require increasingly flexible and controlled grammar. At Band 7, sentences without errors should be frequent. At Band 8, most sentences should be correct. At Band 9, grammatical errors should be extremely rare. These are descriptions of the grammar criterion; your final Writing score also depends on the other criteria.

Your aim is to develop enough variety to express your ideas clearly while keeping errors under control.

Start with Tenses You Can Use Confidently

A useful way to choose a tense is to identify the time you are talking about.

Consider these examples:

What you want to describe	Example
A habit	I read English articles every morning.
Something happening around now	I am preparing for my IELTS test.
A finished past event	I joined an English course last year.
A situation continuing into the present	I have lived in Sylhet for five years.
A future intention	I am going to apply for a scholarship next year.

Pay particular attention to the difference between the past simple and present perfect.

“I visited Dhaka last month” refers to a finished time. “I have visited Dhaka several times” describes experience without naming a finished period.

In Academic Writing Task 1, check the dates before describing a chart. Past data, current information and future projections may require different verb forms.

Build Variety into Your Sentences

A paragraph made entirely of short sentences can feel repetitive. You can connect related ideas using compound and complex sentences.

Simple: Public transport reduces traffic.

Compound: Public transport reduces traffic, and it makes commuting more affordable.

Complex: When public transport is reliable, more commuters may choose it.

Each version has a purpose. The complex sentence adds a condition that helps explain the point.

Practise combining two related ideas, then check whether the connection is clear. Words such as because, although, when and if can help.

Be careful with unfinished sentences. “Although the journey was expensive” leaves the reader waiting. Complete the thought: “Although the journey was expensive, it saved us several hours.”

Use Relative Clauses to Add Useful Detail

Relative clauses let you explain which person, place or thing you mean.

Take these two sentences:

“Some students receive regular feedback. These students can identify their mistakes more easily.”

You can combine them:

“Students who receive regular feedback can identify their mistakes more easily.”

Here, who receive regular feedback identifies the students you are discussing.

Use who for people and which or that for things when appropriate. For example: “I prefer courses that include individual feedback.”

Try this with your own answers. Look for repeated nouns and see whether a relative clause would make the sentence smoother.

Use Conditionals to Discuss Possibilities

IELTS questions often invite you to discuss consequences, imagine a different situation or reflect on the past. Conditionals help you express those differences.

A possible future situation:

“If the city improves its bus services, more people may use public transport.”

An imagined present situation:

“If I had more free time, I would learn another language.”

An imagined change to the past:

“If I had left home earlier, I would have caught the train.”

Choose the structure according to your meaning. You can practise by answering three questions about yourself: what might happen next year, what you would change now, and what you would have done differently in the past.

Choose Modals That Match Your Meaning

Words such as can, could, may, might, should and must change the strength of a statement.

“Governments could subsidise public transport” presents an option.

“Governments should subsidise public transport” makes a recommendation.

“Governments must subsidise public transport” expresses a strong obligation.

That difference matters when you develop an argument. Use the modal that reflects your position.

Remember that these modals normally take the base form of the next verb: “She can speak confidently,” rather than “She can speaks confidently.”

Use the Passive Voice When the Action Matters

The passive voice is useful when your focus is on what happens to something.

Active: Workers sort the plastic bottles.

Passive: The plastic bottles are sorted.

This can be helpful when describing a manufacturing or recycling process in Academic Writing Task 1.

The basic pattern is a form of be followed by the past participle:

“The materials are collected.”

“The bridge was built in 2015.”

“The new station will be opened next year.”

Choose the tense first, then form the passive. Include the person performing the action when that information matters.

Make Your Linking Words Earn Their Place

Linking words show how ideas relate. However signals contrast; therefore introduces a result; for example introduces an illustration.

Read the two ideas before choosing the link:

“Online courses are convenient. However, some learners find it difficult to stay motivated.”

The contrast is clear. Adding several more connectors would do little to help.

Also check combinations such as although and but. In this sentence, one is enough:

“Although online learning is convenient, it requires self-discipline.”

Punctuation matters too. Avoid joining two complete sentences with only a comma. A full stop is often the clearest solution.

Catch the Small Errors You Keep Repeating

Some mistakes are easy to recognise in somebody else’s work and surprisingly difficult to notice in your own.

Common mistake	Correction
People is becoming more aware.	People are becoming more aware.
I am agree with this view.	I agree with this view.
She gave me many advices.	She gave me some advice.
We discussed about the problem.	We discussed the problem.
He studies at an university.	He studies at a university.

Keep a short record of errors from your own practice. Write the correction and one fresh example underneath it.

A list of mistakes you actually make gives you something specific to check before submitting your next essay.

Turn the Rules into a Practice Habit

Start with one paragraph or a one-minute recording. Choose a familiar topic, such as your hometown, studies or daily routine.

Review it for one issue at a time. First, check the tenses. Then check whether subjects and verbs agree. Finally, look at how you connect your ideas.

Rewrite the paragraph or record the answer again after correcting it. If you are unsure about a correction, ask a teacher to explain the reason.

Return to the same topic a few days later without looking at your earlier answer. Notice which structures come more easily and which errors return.

For your next practice session, take one sentence from your last essay. Work out why it went wrong, correct it, and use the same structure to express a new idea. That gives you a small, concrete improvement to carry into your next answer.