Friday Feedback Takeaway Tips
Every week we learn something new.
This is where I put the quick takeaways from the live Writing Feedback session.
commas
The 3 most common comma mistakes.
male and female
Male/female vs males/females
pie charts
Ways of describing proportion and percentages using the CRAM or MARC system.
hyphens, dashes, colons and brackets
Common mistakes with countable and uncountable nouns.
youth vs young people
Synonyms for ‘young people’.
the least vs the lowest
The lowest vs the least – when to use which one?
The overuse of ‘would’
Are you choosing ‘would’ when you really mean ‘will’ ‘may’ ‘might’ or ‘could’?
the least vs the lowest
The least vs the lowest – what’s the difference?
albeit
‘Albeit’ is a nice formal word and works well in the right context.
redundancy
How to write in a more concise way, avoiding unnecessary words.
The number was higher vs there were more
How to use ‘there were more women’ instead of ‘women were more’.
countable vs uncountable nouns
Common mistakes with countable and uncountable nouns.
double
In order to show analysis, it’s great to use words like ‘double’ ‘half’ ‘twofold’ and ‘twice’. Here’s how.
run-on sentences
‘Run-on sentences’ are one of my top 5 most common corrections but they’re really easy to fix!
worth or worthy?
Worth/worthy have similar meanings but different uses. The L’Oreal adverts might help you remember the difference.
How to introduce your Academic Task 1 paragraphs
How to introduce new paragraphs/new information in Academic Task 1.
whereas, although or while?
Most common Task 2 mistakes: whereas, although and while.
with or at?
When you add data in Academic Task 1, you can introduce it with ‘with’ or ‘at’ but there are small grammar differences.
work vs job
The difference between a job and work (countable/uncountable).
fact vs opinion
An important feature of academic writing is the ability to distinguish between fact and opinion. Here are some examples.