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

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

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

Windows to the soul

Another post highlighting and analysing cohesive devices in academic writing, this time a summary of research looking into the facial expressions of animals. (more…)

coherence, coherence and cohesion, cohesion, cohesive devices, IELTS, referencing, substitution, vocabulary, writing

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

First Page IELTS #3

A third ‘first page’, again from Harry Potter! This time I’ve highlighted the suitablility of items for IELTS Speaking and/or IELTS Writing Task 1 and 2. (more…)

annotated, collocation, grammar, IELTS, reading, speaking, vocabulary, writing

Academic Collocation Flashcards

Reloading the page gives you a randomised collection of common academic collocations. Can you guess the missing collocates? (more…)

collocation, gapfill, IELTS, practice, reading, speaking, vocabulary, writing

First page IELTS #1

Please note this post, along with future installments, has moved to a dedicated page:
First Page IELTS

This is the first in what will hopefully be a series of posts focusing on the first pages of novels. (more…)

fiction, grammar, IELTS, language, novels, reading, speaking, vocabulary, writing

Random academic collocations

Can anyone guess why I chose this particular image for the post’s profile pic? Answers in the comments below..! (more…)

collocation, corpus, IELTS, speaking, vocabulary, writing