by Erica L. Meltzer | Mar 3, 2023 | The Digital SAT
Of all the pieces of advice I have for the Writing portion of the digital SAT, this is probably my #1, and it’s particularly important because it involves a new question type.
Whereas the paper-based post-2016 exam featured ACT knock-off “rhetoric” questions asking test-takers whether a given piece of information should be revised, added to, or deleted from a passage, the digital version has scrapped these items and replaced them with a much more complicated-looking type of question involving sets of bullet points representing notes that a “student” has taken about a topic.
Based on the material released by the College Board, it appears that this will be a very common question type: second in frequency only to questions involving transitional words and phrases, and potentially appearing as many as four or five times in a given module.
After working through a few of these questions, bouncing back and forth between the bullet-pointed information and the answer choices, occasionally losing track of exactly what I was supposed to be looking for and getting lost in a thicket of information, I had a classic “duh” moment: the questions themselves told me what type of information the correct answer had to contain—it was unnecessary to even look at the bullet points at all.
In this regard, “notes” questions are effectively the same as “specific focus” questions on the ACT, just with a bit more padding: although they are technically asked in relation to a passage, the context is for all intents and purposes irrelevant. All that matters is whether you can identify the key word or phrase in the question—what is being emphasized, presented, or introduced—and match it to the corresponding term(s) in the right answer. The language in some SAT questions is a bit more sophisticated, and the answers longer, but they basically work the same way. (I point this out for anyone who may need to take both the ACT and the digital SAT.)
Once I figured that out, I was able to answer most of these questions in a matter of seconds. A handful of times I had to read very carefully, but in some instances it was as simple as matching a word like “difference” or “compare” in the question to one like “whereas” or “however” in one of the choices.
They were—and I do not use this term lightly, given its history in relation to the SAT—trick questions.
For example, look at the following question. (Note: I didn’t want to run afoul of CB copyright restrictions, so I’m using one of mine, from the sixth edition of The Ultimate Guide to SAT Grammar). I mean that literally: do not read it, just look at it.
Pretty complicated, right?
But when you pare it down to the essentials, it’s actually asking this:
Variety of materials = diverse set of media. It’s literally that simple.
You can treat pretty much every single “notes” question this way, leaving you considerably more time to devote to other questions that genuinely require more thought.
Or you could just take a nap until the next module.
by Erica L. Meltzer | Feb 12, 2023 | Grammar (SAT & ACT), The Digital SAT
Note: The strategies covered in this post can also be applied to the paper-based. Just cover up the transition that is already in the passage; otherwise, the steps are basically the same.
On many versions of the digital SAT, you can expect to encounter about five questions per module testing transitional words and phrases, making this the most common question type on the Writing portion of the test. To ensure you earn what are usually fairly easy points, it is crucial to have an understanding of how to work through these questions before you walk into the exam.
The most important thing is to avoid getting caught up in the details—questions are designed not so much to test particular words as they are to test three main categories of relationships, namely continuation, cause-and-effect, and contrast.
As a result, the fact that therefore might appear in one set of answers, whereas a second might contain thus and a third hence is effectively irrelevant. These words serve the same rhetorical purpose—to indicate a result in a cause-and-effect relationship—and it is the relationship that is really being tested. The words themselves are secondary.
1) Read the question but not the answer choices
A quick glance at the question will tell you that it is testing transitions.
If you happen to notice that the answers consist of, say, However, Moreover, Specifically, and Therefore, that’s obviously a sign as well, but initially you should not worry about the specific words involved. In fact, you should do your best to ignore them because they are more likely to confuse you than to help.
2) Read the passage carefully from beginning to end, actively thinking about what you are reading
Just to be clear here, “from beginning to end” means from the first letter of the first word, all the way through to the final period. The passage will be short, so this is not a major imposition. It is very important that you read the whole thing because if you focus only on the area around the transition, you may miss information necessary to answer the question.
3) Determine the relationship between the statements before and after the transition, without looking at the answers
Again, you have three main options: continue, cause-and-effect, and contrast.
From what I’ve seen of the new exam, I would argue that this step is even more important than before. The College Board appears to have caught on to the ACT’s habit of including multiple transitions in the same category, thereby allowing more than one answer to be eliminated without any knowledge of the actual passage.
Note that there are sub-divisions within some of these categories—for example, moreover and subsequently are both continuers, but they have very different uses. As a result, each of the four answers on the dSAT will generally have a distinct purpose, and there is usually no way to play games with them in order to eliminate two (or more) upfront.
4) Look at the answers, and find the option from the relevant category
In almost all cases, there will be only one choice in the correct category, so that answer will be correct by default.
Although there may be very rare instances in which you are asked to choose between two similar transitions of the same type (e.g., however and nevertheless), these questions are true outliers and should not affect your overall approach.
Let’s look at an example.
We’ll get to the answers in a little while, but for the moment the process is the point.
The passage contains two sentences:
- The first sentence tells us that the Aldabra giant tortoise is at risk of extinction.
- The second sentence tells us that the decoding of its genome will help ensure its survival.
Those are opposite ideas, so we’re looking for a word in the however/nevertheless/despite this category.
Now you get to look at the answers.
Unfortunately, none of the usual, straightforward options are available. You might be able to work by process of elimination, recognizing that (A)-(C) are not contradictors. But if you don’t know that still at the beginning of a sentence can act as a contradictor (meaning “despite this” or “at the same time, however,”), you might get cold feet about actually picking (D).
If you wouldn’t ever do that, great. But as a tutor, I saw this all the time: students would carefully eliminate answers that did not fit, but when they were confused by the last option remaining, they balked and went for an answer that they had conclusively eliminated, just because they knew what it meant. (Remember: whether you understand an answer choice is unrelated to whether it is correct.)
By the way, I made the answer still rather than something more obvious because the dSAT seems to have a bit of a thing for this word—presumably because fewer test-takers know that it can be used the way it’s used here.
This is where the whole thinking in categories bit comes into play. If you need to learn new transitional words or phrases while studying for the test, don’t worry about the nuances of their meanings. Instead, worry about what categories they fall into. (And tutors, if you have limited time with a student who is scoring anywhere below 790 in Reading/Writing, please, please do not waste it discussing minutiae such as nonetheless vs. nevertheless, which will never, ever be tested.)
To draw a STEM analogy, you essentially need to think of transitions as points in a data set that can be swapped with other, equivalent points without affecting an overall result. This time it’s still, next time it might be however. Doesn’t matter. If you know what belongs in what category, you’ll probably be good.
by Erica L. Meltzer | Feb 8, 2023 | Blog
We are very happy that the SAT Reading and Writing guides for the new digital SAT have received such an enthusiastic response, and we understand that the March exam is coming up very soon; however, if you have ordered the books, or if you plan to order them, we ask you to keep a few things in mind regarding shipping and tracking.
- As these are preliminary versions that were just released, we do not yet have a stock at our US-based warehouse or at our Korean distributor.
- All books are currently being printed and shipped via Amazon/KDP. It can take up to 10 days for the books to print, and shipping times will vary based on location and shipping service. Unfortunately, Amazon printing times can vary dramatically, and there was no way to predict this delay in advance.
- We are unable to ship the books faster at this time.
- We will send you any tracking information we receive from Amazon as soon as it is updated.
- If you live in certain countries, including India, you will be required to send a photo of your ID as per customs regulations. If we do not receive your ID within 48 hours of it being requested, we unfortunately will not be able to process your order (it will be canceled and refunded to original form of payment).
Please note that having the books printed and distributed this way is the only way we can keep prices within an affordable range while accommodating all customers. Using an alternate printer and shipper could easily push costs above $100 or, in certain regions, even $200 USD per order.
We thank you for your understanding.
Also, if you ordered a book immediately after the beta versions were released, please note that several updates for the grammar have been added to the Errata page (the file has since been updated, so this does not affect current printings). Corrections are extremely minor, primarily involving duplicated answer choices, and do not affect any correct answers.
by Erica L. Meltzer | Jan 29, 2023 | Books, The Digital SAT
I am happy to announce that the preliminary versions of The Ultimate Guide to SAT Grammar, Sixth Edition, and The Critical Reader, Fifth Edition are now available for international students preparing for the new digital SAT in March, as well as tutors working with International students and any U.S. students taking the digital school day SAT this spring.
If you live outside the United States and unable to order from Amazon locally, you can order directly through The Critical Reader. Students located in South Korea will be able to purchase books through our Korean distributor, JMK Education. As of 1/29/23, we are in the process of arranging to have an order shipped to them.
Both books have retained their core components but have been fully reworked to reflect the content and format of the digital SAT. While it is possible that there will eventually be some minor reshuffling of content (particularly in the grammar book, since it’s not entirely clear whether certain concepts will tested on the digital exam), I hesitate to call them beta versions because the bulk of the material is effectively final. The only major changes planned at this point are the additional of end-of-chapter practice questions/explanations in the reading book, and full explanations for end-of-chapter exercises in the grammar book.
In order to make the books available on the various international Amazon sites, there was no choice to publish to the main U.S. site as well—so yes, the books are technically available there now. However, I am aiming to release the expanded versions of both books by April, so you may want to wait to purchase them if you are planning to take the digital exam in June or later and do not need to start studying urgently.
Ensuring that the new editions matched the level of quality of the previous editions while getting them to publication in only a few months has been an enormously challenging process, and again, I very much appreciate everyone’s patience while I worked out all the unforeseen (but inevitable) last-minute kinks.
Note: comments on this post have been closed. If you have a question regarding book orders, please send us a message via the contact form, or email thecriticalreader1@gmail.com.
by Erica L. Meltzer | Jan 3, 2023 | Grammar (SAT & ACT), The Digital SAT
For those of you taking the digital SAT in March, I’ve made a new version of my free Writing cheat sheet available for download.
Although the core content of the digital Writing test is similar to that of the current paper-based version, there are a few key differences—most notably, the extremely high emphasis on transitional words and phrases; the introduction of student “notes” questions; and the elimination of diction/register questions—and the sheet has been updated to reflect these changes.
As I mentioned, it may take me a few more weeks to get the reading and writing books on international Amazon, but in the meantime, I’ll try to put up a few posts on the most important features of the digital exam.
by Erica L. Meltzer | Dec 1, 2022 | Blog, Books, The Digital SAT
I apologize for the delay and appreciate everyone’s patience. This is the fastest I have ever had to revise such a huge quantity of material (there was no way for me to begin serious work on the updates until the College Board released the first full digital practice test at the beginning of October). And because I am an actual person who sometimes has to deal with life beyond test preparation, I needed to take a break for a couple of weeks during the holidays.
Happy New Year, congratulations to everyone who got done with testing or into college, and wishing you a good 2023.
-EM
Update 12/1: As of the beginning of December 2022, I have completed drafts of new editions of The Ultimate Guide to SAT Grammar (6th edition) and The Critical Reader (5th edition).
While the books retain many key elements, they have been substantially overhauled and are now fully aligned with the digital exam—based on the four practice tests released by the College Board—and will be available for purchase for international test-takers in some capacity by late December or January 2023.
Both books will be in something very close to their final form; the only major difference will be in the number of exercises (particularly in certain chapters of the Reading book) and the presence of detailed explanations for every question in the end-of-chapter exercises, which are likely to be too time-consuming to produce in full for both books by the end of the year.
Also, full disclosure: there will only be time for the books to undergo one round of proofing, so there may be a few lingering typos (this is the unfortunate price for getting them out so quickly).
Otherwise, as in previous editions, each guide contains a full chapter devoted to each question type; numerous worked, in-chapter examples with step-by-step explanations; and numerous strategies for simplifying questions and zeroing in on key information.
I’ve worked incredibly hard on the revisions over the last couple of months, and I feel confident that they will provide thorough preparation for students taking the digital test in March.
I expect finalized versions that have detailed explanations for the end-of-chapter exercises and that have undergone multiple rounds of proofing to be available sometime in the spring of 2023. Current sophomores who are preparing for the digital PSAT next fall should have plenty of time to work with them over the summer.
I appreciate everyone’s patience and will be posting previews of both books as soon as possible.
by Erica L. Meltzer | Sep 30, 2022 | Blog, The Digital SAT
I apologize for not having posted an update sooner, but I’v had an unusual number of projects to juggle over the last several months and have only been able to begin serious work on the updated SAT books in the last few weeks. I understand, however, that everyone is very anxious for information regarding the new exam as well as eager to work out a prep plan, and that the earlier international rollout of the digital test has made things challenging for current eleventh graders living outside the U.S. So I’ll do my best here to outline my own timeline regarding book releases here and to provide some interim options for prep materials.
First, the basics. Yes, I will revising my SAT reading and grammar books to reflect the content and structure of the digital test. They updated versions will be completely new editions: 5th edition of The Critical Reader, 6th edition of The Ultimate Guide to SAT Grammar.
The essential content and structure of the books will not change, although they will likely be somewhat slimmed down to reflect the shorter, more focused digital reading and writing sections (two sections, 27 questions each, with performance on the first section determining the difficulty of the questions seen on the second).
I am tentatively aiming to make the books available on Amazon in February 2023 so that they can be used for the international March test, although I cannot guarantee that timeline at this point. I can, however, state with a fair degree of confidence that they will be ready by the summer of 2023, for students preparing for the digital PSAT in the fall.
If the books are not ready by late winter 2023, I will do my best to make a (physical) beta version available for international students only. Depending on the number of copies involved, this may involve some additional production costs. If this ends up being the case, I will post pricing information as soon as I can.
I am also planning to rework the current grammar workbook into a combined reading-writing test book, but that will most likely not be ready until summer or fall 2023.
Where things stand as of now (late September 2022):
As you may be aware, this past summer the College Board released a document with test specifications and sample exam questions for the digital test.
Working from that blueprint, I managed to put together drafts of all the major chapters in the updated Critical Reader, and my initial impressions were confirmed by the full digital practice exam released by the College Board several days ago. As a result, my future work will consist of reworking/reformatting old exercises and explanations to practice questions in previous editions, as well as writing some new ones. (Note: if you want to view the new exam, you will need to create a College Board account and download the Bluebook app.)
Because fill-in-the-blank vocabulary questions have been revived, I will also be reintegrating a fair amount of material from the original (2012-13) edition of The Critical Reader.
In terms of The Ultimate Guide to SAT Grammar: a substantial portion of the punctuation and grammar content will remain essentially the same. (There are really only so many ways one can test commas, dashes, and colons!) However, the Diction and Register chapter will be removed, as those question types will no longer appear on the exam. In addition, I will be adding new material covering “note-taking” questions (essentially a form of supporting-detail question; see RW #12, https://satsuite.collegeboard.org/media/pdf/digital-sat-sample-questions.pdf) and will be reworking numerous sample questions and exercises to cover the new “one passage-one question” format.
In the meantime:
If you are looking to get a jump on ways to prepare for the digital SAT now, my recommendations are as follows.
If you want to use the current (4th) edition of The Critical Reader, focus on vocabulary-in-context, main ideas, inferences, reading for function, extended reasoning, and graphs. Although the format of the new test will be different, the actual concepts tested are essentially the same. Although literal comprehension questions will not appear on the new exam, I would also suggest at least reading through that section: difficulties in this area will make it hard to answer questions that involve more advanced reasoning. You do not need to worry about paired “evidence” questions at all.
For vocabulary, you may also want to use the original (pre-2016 exam) Sentence Completion Workbook or, if you are very motivated, even GRE Vocabulary in Practice, focusing on one-blank completions only. Fill-in-the-blank vocabulary questions on the digital SAT may appear in the context of a short passage (as they do on the GRE) rather than a single sentence (as was the case on the pre-2016 SAT), so there will be considerable overlap between easier one-blank GRE vocabulary questions and dSAT ones. Remember that “hard” words may appear in the passages as well as the answer choices, and that these can involve alternate meanings of common terms.
If you want to practice with short passages and sentence completions, you may also find it helpful to purchase the first edition of The Critical Reader, which features many such passages, in addition to a chapter on sentence completions. Because this version does not include graph questions, you should not practice with it exclusively.
For Writing, you can use the current (5th) edition of The Ultimate Guide to SAT Grammar, focusing heavily on the chapters on transitions and punctuation, and skipping the material on diction and register. Aside from the fact that each dSAT Writing question will accompany a different passage, the actual concepts tested will be effectively identical, and the current book should leave you extremely well prepared for the exam.
If you do want a trove of single passages accompanied by one question, you can of course also use the Question of the Day archive.
For authentic SAT questions, you may want to work with short passages and sentence completions from pre-2016 exams. You can probably order an old Official Guide for very little money on Amazon, and I would assume that there are still many old tests floating around the internet as well.
And as always, I recommend spending 10-15 minutes a day reading a reasonably serious adult periodical such as the New York Times, The Economist, The Atlantic, Scientific American, and making a list of the words you don’t know. It does not matter how short dSAT passages are if you are missing key vocabulary or have difficulty following a person’s argument!
The bottom is line is that if you’re among the first cohorts to take the new exam, you may need to piece prep materials together for the next few months; however, given what is available for the previous and current versions of the SAT, you can still prep very effectively.
I will be posting updates as my work on the books progresses, so please stay tuned!
by Erica L. Meltzer | Aug 29, 2022 | ESL
After some unexpected delays, the Critical Reader Idiom of the Day email program is scheduled to launch on September 6, 2022. It is generally geared toward helping IELTS candidates prepare for the Speaking and Writing portion of the exam, but anyone who wants to improve their knowledge of idiomatic English is welcome to sign up.
The program is entirely free; to join, just enter your address below.
(more…)
by Erica L. Meltzer | Jun 23, 2022 | CELPIP, ESL, IELTS, Vocabulary
The Critical Reader is excited to announce the sometime in the next few weeks (exact date TBA), we will be launching a free daily email idiom program for English learners.
If you would like to sign up, please enter your email in the form below. (Note that you must use the form to register; comments for this post have been disabled.)
The focus will be on words and phrases that can be used in IELTS Writing and Speaking, but the content will also be broadly relevant to other popular tests, including TOEFL, PTE, and (especially) CELPIP. And if you’re just looking to improve your English in general, you’re of course welcome to join as well.
Every day, members will receive an email with a new expression + definition, along with a sample sentence clearly illustrating its use. Both informal and formal language will be covered and labelled appropriately.
This program does not focus on the clichés commonly taught in ESL classes or on social media (e.g., A piece of cake, once in a blue moon) but rather on common, contemporary phrases and collocations that can help your speaking or writing sound more natural.
In addition, if there are any expressions you find particularly confusing or would like to have a better understanding of how to use, please feel free to let us know, and we will do our best to incorporate them into the program.
by Erica L. Meltzer | May 4, 2022 | Blog, General Tips, Grammar (SAT & ACT)
Although but and however have the same meaning, they are punctuated differently when used to join complete sentences:
- but follows a comma and is not followed by any punctuation
- however follows a period or semicolon and is followed by a comma
For example:
Correct: An increasing number of people at the company bike or take public transit to work, but many employees still prefer to drive.
Incorrect: An increasing number of people at the company bike or take public transit to work. But, many employees still prefer to drive.
Correct: An increasing number of people at the company bike or take public transit to work. However, many employees still prefer to drive.
Correct: An increasing number of people at the company bike or take public transit to work; however, many employees still prefer to drive.
Incorrect: An increasing number of people at the company bike or take public transit to work, however, many employees still prefer to drive.
On the surface, the fact that these two words must be punctuated differently might seem odd—the kind of persnickety little rule that tends to give grammar a bad name. However, it actually exists for a reason. (more…)
by Erica L. Meltzer | Apr 30, 2022 | ACT English/SAT Writing, Blog, Grammar (SAT & ACT)
I recently encountered someone who, after many years of hearing tutors advise students to “pick the shortest” answer on ACT English and SAT Writing, decided to see how often that option actually was correct. After going through a bunch of ACTs, she discovered that the shortest answer was in fact correct only a relatively small percentage of the time. She was quite incensed about this fact, and took it as evidence that students should not be encouraged to select their answers based on length.
Now, for a tutor who advises a blunt, just-pick-the-shortest-answer-if-you’re-not-sure approach, this is a reasonable criticism.
Otherwise, however, I think it misses the point.
Fundamentally, “shorter is better” is a general guideline; it is not intended to be an ironclad rule for choosing answers. If the shortest answer were indeed always correct, even just on rhetoric questions, then SAT and ACT grammar would be far too easy to game, and many more students would receive high scores than is actually the case. (more…)
by Erica L. Meltzer | Apr 22, 2022 | Issues in Education, Phonics, Reading (SAT & ACT), Tutor Interviews, Tutoring, Tutors
At the beginning of March, I spoke with Amy Seeley and Mike Bergin at the Tests and the Rest podcast about some of the issues involved in helping struggling teenage readers prepare for standardized tests. The interview was originally scheduled for 25 minutes, but our conversation picked up so much steam that Amy and Mike decided to keep going and turn the interview into a two-parter.
The first part aired a few weeks ago, but I’ve been so busy that I actually forgot to post it (whoops!), but now that the second part has aired, I really don’t have an excuse.
Listen to Part 1, and Part 2. (more…)
by Erica L. Meltzer | Apr 5, 2022 | CELPIP, English Proficiency Exams, IELTS
I’ve recently encountered a number of essays that were written for the CELPIP but that seemed to have been produced by candidates who appeared to have switched from the IELTS (GT) and were still writing essays geared more to that test, or to have been advised by people who did not fully understand how the two tests differ.
To be sure, there is significant overlap between IELTS and CELPIP writing, particularly in terms of Task 1 (formal, semi-formal, or informal letter in both cases; approximately 20 minutes for IELTS, 27 minutes for CELPIP). However, there are real differences when it comes to Task 2. Candidates who are either trying to decide which exam to take, or switching from one to the other, must understand the expectations and criteria for each. (more…)
by Erica L. Meltzer | Mar 26, 2022 | Phonics, Tutoring
I recently had the pleasure of being interviewed (for the third time!) by Amy Seeley and Mike Bergin on their podcast Tests and the Rest. During the course of what ended up being a marathon conversation about how to help struggling older readers—Amy and Mike ended up having to split our discussion into two parts!—we covered a wide range of topics, and it was only after we had finished that I realized I hadn’t gotten in quite as many practical tips as I would have liked. So obviously I had to post my top ones here instead. And if you’re interested in the full webinar (covering the basics of what’s come to be known as “the science of reading” and walking you through a full, age-appropriate phonics program for teenage readers), you can find it at video.thecriticalreader.com.
1) Have students put their finger on the page and follow along with the text as they read
I’ve written about this in a number of posts over the years, but this is one strategy I truly cannot emphasize enough. For students who habitually remove their eyes from the page, it is absolutely crucial to improving comprehension. You cannot understand what a text literally says if you’re not looking at the words!
To the greatest extent possible, the student’s finger should be under the word they are reading at any given time—it should not lag behind, trail off, or suddenly jump ahead. Hand-eye coordination: it’s not just for sports. (more…)
by Erica L. Meltzer | Feb 13, 2022 | The New SAT
If you’re someone with any sort of interest or stake in the college admissions process, you’ve probably heard that the SAT is going digital in the next couple of years. If you or your children will be preparing for the SAT when the test changes, or you work with students who will be prepping during that time, you’re probably wondering how everything is going to play out. And if you use Critical Reader guides, or are planning to use them, you’ll obviously want some idea of whether you should do your best with the current material or wait for updates.
So, to start with the basics.
First, yes, I will be revising my books to reflect the updated test. Unfortunately, however, I can’t begin that process until I see official practice material that reflects the exact structure and content of the digital version, and the only sample currently provided by the College Board doesn’t fit the bill. They seem to have taken an old exam and plugged it into the new software so that it is possible to see how things are literally formatted on the screen, but not how the new sections and test are actually structured, the number and types of questions, etc. Disappointing, but not particularly surprising.
According to the CB, more accurate practice material will be available in the summer or fall of 2022, so I’m essentially stuck until then. As always, I’ll post updates when I have a better idea of when things might be available, but at this point, I just don’t have a clear sense of how extensive the revisions will need to be. That said, I will do my utmost to have new editions available by Fall 2023. (more…)
by Erica L. Meltzer | Feb 5, 2022 | Blog, IELTS
It’s not exactly a secret that many IELTS candidates are unpleasantly surprised when they receive their Writing scores; it’s not uncommon for marks in this area of the test to be a full band, or even a band-and-a-half, lower than in the other three sections. Very often, they wonder whether there has been some kind of mistake, and one of their first question is usually whether it’s worth it for them to request an Enquiry on Results (EOR) and have their essay re-marked.
As I’ve written about before, one of the overlooked challenges of the IELTS Writing test is that it is always administered third, after Listening and Reading. By that point, most test-takers are already starting to get tired from the intense concentration required in the previous sections, and shifting into writing mode can be very difficult. If a normally strong writer does take a little while to warm up, it is entirely possible that the beginning of their Task 1 response will not in fact be representative of their overall skill level.
In other cases, a test-taker may get through Task 1 without a problem and then crash at the beginning of Task 2, only to recover partway through their essay. By that time, however, the damage may have already been done. (more…)
by Erica L. Meltzer | Jan 27, 2022 | ESL, IELTS
Even if you’ve studied English for years and are very proficient in the language overall, you might still have trouble with some of the constructions covered in this post. Because they are so common, learning to use them correctly will immediately make your English sound more natural and fluent.
1. One of the + plural noun
The emphasis is on the group that one belongs to.
Correct: One of the things I like most about my city is the beautiful architecture.
Incorrect: One of the thing I like most about my city is the beautiful architecture.
Another common mistake involving one of the is to use the “base” form of an adjective rather than the superlative form (most + adjective or adjective-est). While this construction is technically acceptable, it is not something that native speakers say. The point is to emphasize that something belongs to an extreme group.
Correct: Skiing is one of the most popular winter sports.
Avoid: Skiing is one of the popular winter sports.
(more…)
by Erica L. Meltzer | Jan 19, 2022 | Grammar (SAT & ACT), IELTS
Of all the misunderstood grammar terms in the English language, “complex sentence” is perhaps the one that occupies the very top spot.
The problem essentially results from the fact that the word complex has one meaning (very complicated) in everyday language, but a very different meaning in formal grammatical terms.
Not realizing this, most students assume that being asked to write complex sentences means that they are supposed to write sentences that are extremely long and stuffed with all sorts of high-level constructions when that is not at all the case. (more…)
