GuruEAP

Academic English not only for Indonesians

Aid and Aids

Receiving any aids from developed countries might be benefitial for developing countries.

OK so there is a difference between aid (countable) and aid (uncountable). (more…)

countability, countable uncountable, IELTS, speaking, vocabulary, writing

When listening to an English native speaker, it can sometimes be difficult to hear where one word ends and another begins. Native speakers join or link words when they speak so that it’s easier to speak quickly. (more…)

connected speech, IELTS, linking, pronunciation, sounds, speaking

Fallacies Browser

Fallacies are fake or deceptive arguments. Although they seem to make sense, they can be shown to be false. Fallacies are not always deliberate, but a good scholar’s purpose is always to identify and unmask them. (more…)

argument, logic, logical fallacies, speaking, writing

Meanwhile, ‘On the contrary’

Restaurant sales peaked on Friday. On the contrary, the restaurant gained its lowest earnings on Sunday.

If you are contrasting two things that are both true, do not use on the contrary (more…)

compare contrast, contrast, IELTS, signals, speaking, vocabulary, writing

The next topic is that of ‘that of’

Thanks to GuruEAP follower Devina who has requested an explanation of the use of that of. (more…)

comparatives, comparing, IELTS, speaking, statistics, Task 1, vocabulary, writing

IELTS speaking ‘echo’

What kind of bag do I use to carry my personal belongings? The bag that I use to carry my personal belongings is a ruck sack.

Consider this dialogue: (more…)

IELTS, lexical resource, paraphrase, reformulation, speaking

Songs censored by the BBC

For some reason I posted this as a page some time back, but here it is again as a post so that it shows up more easily in searches. Enjoy! (more…)

annotated text, collocation, IELTS, speaking, vocabulary, writing

Reconstructing public transport

Transportation, and the future of transportation, are common topics in the IELTS Speaking test. Reconstruct the text below to reveal an extract from an essay by Marcus Enoch in which he presents four visions for the future of public transport. (more…)

coherence, coherence and cohesion, cohesion, IELTS, jumbled sentences, reading, speaking

Comparing crash landings!

In this post we take a look at some nice language comparing two crash landings in which all passengers and crew survived! (full news story here). (more…)

analysis, compare contrast, discourse markers, grammar, IELTS, signals, speaking, vocabulary, writing

What is my IELTS score?

If you’re wondering what your IELTS score might be, take a look at these descriptions of language performance prepared by IELTS! What do you think your band scores might be in IELTS Speaking and Writing? (more…)

assessment, band descriptors, IELTS, self-assessment, speaking, writing