Subject-Verb Agreement

　　Check every subject and verb to make sure that if you have used a singular subject, you have also used a singular verb. Similarly, a plural subject needs a plural verb. Pay extra care to add an 's' to present simple tense verbs in the 3rd person singular.

　　e.g. The IELTS exam tests our level of English.

　　Sentence Length

　　Keep sentences reasonably short. General guidelines for academic writing recommend a maximum of 25 words per sentence.

　　Break long sentences into shorter units.

　　If too short, perhaps you could link them using a conjunction or other transitional device, but do not overdo this (e.g. by starting nearly every sentence with a linking word.)

　　Cohesion (sentences)

　　Ensure that each sentence follows clearly and logically from the one before it. Note that it is not necessary to keep all sentences the same length; sentences of different lengths in each paragraph makes for a more interesting writing style.

　　Cohesion (paragraphs)

　　Each paragraph should contain a topic sentence which states the main idea, fact or opinion.

　　Paragraphs should be around 4 -5 sentences long. Task one will probably contain 2-3 paragraphs, task two, 4 - 5. Try to use the last sentence to connect in some way with the paragraph after, or the first sentence to link with the paragraph before. Limit paragraph length to a maximum of 100 words.

　　Before the test, when you practise writing tasks, check the spelling of any word you are unsure about. Be especially careful of the "ei" and "ie" words, words which add "-ing" and/or "ed," and words with one or more sets of double letters.

（实习编辑：袁梅）