Common Grammar Mistakes That Lower Your IELTS Band Score (And How to Fix Them!)

Grammar makes up 25% of your IELTS Writing Task 2 score, and even small errors can drag your score down. Many test-takers lose marks not because their ideas are weak, but because of grammar mistakes that affect clarity and coherence.

1. Incorrect Verb Tenses

Many students mix up verb tenses, making their essays confusing or inconsistent.

Wrong: People in the past was healthier than now.
Correct: People in the past were healthier than they are now.

📌 Quick Tip: In IELTS Task 2, you will mostly use the present simple (for facts) and present perfect (for trends).

2. Article Errors (a/an/the)

Wrong: Government should invest in education.
Correct: The government should invest in education.

📌 Use “the” for specifics and “a/an” for general references.

3. Subject-Verb Agreement Errors

Wrong: Many people prefers online learning.
Correct: Many people prefer online learning.

📌 Be careful with words like everyone, each, every—they take singular verbs.

4. Preposition Mistakes

Wrong: People should focus in their careers.
Correct: People should focus on their careers.

📌 Learn common preposition + noun/verb patterns.

5. Run-on Sentences & Comma Splices

Wrong: Technology is advancing rapidly, people are becoming dependent on it.
Correct: Technology is advancing rapidly, and people are becoming dependent on it.

📌 Break long sentences and use proper linking words.

6. Lack of Sentence Variety

Wrong: Technology is important. It helps people. It makes life easier.
Correct: Technology is important because it helps people and makes life easier.

📌 Use relative clauses and complex sentences for variety.

Final Takeaways: How to Avoid These Grammar Mistakes!

✅ Always check verb tense consistency.
✅ Use articles (a/an/the) correctly.
✅ Make sure subjects and verbs agree.
✅ Use the right prepositions.
✅ Break long sentences for better clarity.
✅ Mix sentence structures to sound more natural.

By improving these areas, you’ll boost your accuracy and increase your IELTS Writing score! 🚀