Common Grammatical Errors That Cost Marks

This final lesson brings together the most frequent grammatical errors that IELTS candidates make — errors that directly lower scores in both Writing and Speaking. Many of these are "fossilised" mistakes: habits so deeply ingrained that candidates do not even realise they are making them. By identifying and eliminating these errors, you can make an immediate and significant improvement to your band score.

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Error 1: Run-on Sentences and Comma Splices

A run-on sentence fuses two independent clauses without proper punctuation or a conjunction:

❌ Pollution is increasing the government must take action.

A comma splice uses only a comma where a full stop, semicolon, or conjunction is needed:

❌ Pollution is increasing, the government must take action.

Corrections:

✅ Pollution is increasing. The government must take action. (full stop)

✅ Pollution is increasing; therefore, the government must take action. (semicolon)

✅ Pollution is increasing, so the government must take action. (conjunction)

✅ Because pollution is increasing, the government must take action. (subordination)

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Error 2: Subject-Verb Agreement with "There is/are"