Attention international students: if you are planning to sit for the IELTS, I have created a new page covering 25 of the top grammar concepts necessary for success on the Writing portion of the exam. While you will not of course be directly tested on them, you will absolutely be expected to integrate many of them into your Task 1 and Task 2 essays. And if you want to have a shot at a Band 7 score or higher… you need to have a pretty solid grasp of them.

This material is also available as a free PDF download. If you’d like the super-condensed version, I’ve also posted a two-page “cheat sheet” (free as well).

Also: I am releasing an almost 150-page downloadable ebook covering this material, plus a lot more, in much greater detail. This is not a traditional grammar book but rather a practical guide designed to systematically target the areas of greatest difficulty for ESL students (based on an analysis of more than 100 sample essays by IELTS candidates).

At every point, the book emphasizes contemporary usage favored by native speakers and discusses nuances rarely addressed in traditional language classes.

Among other things, it covers:

• Articles (it is almost impossible to overstate their importance)
• Major tenses and how/how not to use them
• Vocabulary for common IELTS Task 2 essay-topic categories
• High-frequency preposition-based collocations
• Use of transitional words and phrases (i.e., linking devices)

In addition, all example sentences are based on the types of statements typically used in the IELTS Writing and Speaking tests.

And please note: If you are applying to college in the United States and are planning to take the TOEFl, most of the material is applicable to that exam as well.

Read a preview.