Grammar & Vocabulary

What is the meaning of the prefix 'micro-' in the word 'microorganism'?

• AExtremely small✓
• BLarge
• CMany
• DDead

Answer: The prefix 'micro-' comes from Greek and means extremely small. A microorganism is a living organism too small to be seen with the naked eye.

Choose the correct sentence:

• AShe has been living in London since three years.
• BShe lived in London since three years.
• CShe is living in London since three years.
• DShe has lived in London for three years.✓

Answer: The present perfect 'has lived' is used with 'for' to express a duration of time that continues to the present. 'Since' is used with a point in time, not a period.

Which word is a synonym for 'investigate'?

• AIgnore
• BDismiss
• CExamine✓
• DAccept

Answer: 'Examine' is a synonym for 'investigate', meaning to look into something carefully and systematically. The other options have opposite or unrelated meanings.

Select the correct form of the verb: 'Neither the students nor the teacher ___ present yesterday.'

• Aare
• Bwere
• Cwas✓
• Dhave been

Answer: When 'neither...nor' connects a singular subject (the teacher) closest to the verb, the verb agrees with that subject. 'Teacher' is singular, so 'was' is correct. This is the proximity rule.

Choose the sentence that uses the passive voice correctly:

• AThe report had wrote by the committee members last week.
• BThe committee was written the report last week.
• CThe report wrote by the committee last week.
• DThe report was written by the committee last week.✓

Answer: The passive voice requires 'to be' + past participle. 'Was written by' correctly forms the past simple passive. The other options contain errors in auxiliary verb use or word order.

What does 'ubiquitous' mean?

• APresent everywhere or seemingly everywhere at the same time✓
• BExtremely valuable and therefore expensive to obtain or replace
• COld-fashioned and no longer commonly used
• DRare and difficult to find anywhere

Answer: 'Ubiquitous' means appearing or found everywhere. In academic writing, one might say 'smartphones have become ubiquitous in modern society.'

Which sentence correctly uses a relative clause?

• AThe scientist who she discovered the vaccine won a Nobel Prize.
• BThe scientist, discovered the vaccine, won a Nobel Prize.
• CThe scientist who discovered the vaccine won a Nobel Prize.✓
• DThe scientist which discovered the vaccine won a Nobel Prize.

Answer: 'Who' is the correct relative pronoun for people, and the clause 'who discovered the vaccine' correctly modifies 'the scientist'. Adding 'she' after 'who' repeats the subject, and 'which' cannot be used to refer to a person.

Choose the correct collocation: 'The company decided to ___ a new policy on data privacy.'

• Aimplement✓
• Bdo
• Cmake
• Dcommit

Answer: 'Implement a policy' is the standard collocation in academic and professional English. While 'make' can collocate with 'policy' in some contexts (make a policy decision), 'implement' is the most precise and common choice for putting a policy into effect.

Which word best completes the sentence? 'The discovery of antibiotics ___ revolutionised modern medicine.'

• Ahas undeniably✓
• Bundeniably has
• Cundeniably
• Dhad undeniably

Answer: 'Has undeniably revolutionised' is the correct present perfect form with the adverb 'undeniably' placed between the auxiliary 'has' and the past participle 'revolutionised' — the standard position for adverbs in verb phrases.

What is the difference between 'affect' and 'effect'?

• A'Affect' is typically a verb meaning to influence; 'effect' is typically a noun meaning a result✓
• B'Affect' relates only to emotions; 'effect' relates only to science
• C'Effect' is a verb; 'affect' is a noun
• DThey are interchangeable in academic writing

Answer: 'Affect' is most commonly a verb ('Pollution affects health'), while 'effect' is most commonly a noun ('The effects of pollution are severe'). Confusing these is a frequent error in academic writing.

Identify the error in this sentence: 'Despite of the rain, the match continued as scheduled.'

• A'as scheduled' is far too informal for use in written English
• B'continued' should have been written in the present continuous tense
• C'Despite of' is incorrect; 'despite' does not take 'of'✓
• D'match' should be written as 'game'

Answer: 'Despite' is a preposition used without 'of'. The correct forms are 'despite the rain' or 'in spite of the rain'. 'Despite of' is a common learner error.

Which sentence best demonstrates a concessive clause?

• A'The experiment failed because the temperature was too high.'
• B'Although the results were inconclusive, the researchers continued their study.'✓
• C'The researchers continued with the study and in the end the results were inconclusive.'
• D'The results were so inconclusive that the researchers stopped.'

Answer: A concessive clause introduces a contrast using words such as 'although', 'even though' or 'while'. Here 'Although the results were inconclusive' is set against the researchers' decision to continue.

Choose the correct preposition: 'Her research focuses ___ the impact of climate change on coastal communities.'

• Aat
• Bon✓
• Cabout
• Din

Answer: The correct collocation is 'focuses on'. 'Focus on' is a standard academic verb phrase. 'Focus about' is non-standard; 'focus in/at' are not used in this way.

What does the academic vocabulary word 'predominantly' mean?

• AMainly or mostly✓
• BPartly
• CEqually
• DOccasionally

Answer: 'Predominantly' means mainly or for the most part. For example: 'The workforce is predominantly female' means most of the workforce is female.

Which sentence contains a dangling modifier?

• AHaving finished the experiment, the researchers published their findings.
• BHaving finished the experiment, the findings were published.✓
• CThe researchers, having finished the experiment, published their findings.
• DAfter finishing the experiment, the researchers published their findings.

Answer: The participial phrase 'having finished the experiment' has no logical subject in that sentence — it appears to modify 'the findings', which cannot finish an experiment. The subject of the main clause must be the one performing the participial action.

Which of the following correctly uses the subjunctive mood?

• A'It is essential that he attend the meeting.'✓
• B'It is essential that he attended the meeting.'
• C'It is essential that he attends the meeting.'
• D'It is essential that he will attend the meeting.'

Answer: After expressions like 'it is essential that', 'it is recommended that', and 'it is vital that', the subjunctive uses the base form of the verb (attend, not attends). This is a formal/academic grammatical feature.

Choose the word that correctly completes the academic sentence: 'The study sought to ___ the relationship between poverty and educational attainment.'

• Acontradict
• Babolish
• Cundermine
• Delucidate✓

Answer: 'Elucidate' means to make something clear or to explain it. The verb is commonly used in academic writing when describing research aims. 'Undermine', 'abolish', and 'contradict' all have inappropriate meanings in this context.

Identify the type of error in this sentence: 'The data suggests that economic growth are directly linked to investment in education.'

• ASubject-verb agreement error: 'data' is treated as plural but 'are' conflicts with the singular subject 'economic growth'✓
• BWrong tense: 'suggests' should be in a past tense form here, because the research has already been completed and written up
• C'Suggests' should be 'suggested', because a plural subject such as 'data' always requires the plural verb form in academic writing
• D'Linked' should be 'linking' to form a continuous passive

Answer: The real subject of the complement clause is 'economic growth', which is singular, so 'is' not 'are' is required ('economic growth is directly linked'). Note: 'data' in academic usage is increasingly treated as singular too.

Which sentence correctly uses a mixed conditional?

• A'If I studied harder, I will definitely pass the exam next summer.'
• B'If I had studied harder, I would have passed the exam easily.'
• C'If I had studied harder, I would be more confident now.'✓
• D'If I study harder, I would pass.'

Answer: A mixed conditional combines a third-conditional if-clause (past perfect, a hypothetical past) with a second-conditional result (would + base form, a hypothetical present). 'If I had studied harder, I would be more confident now' expresses a past cause with a present consequence.

Which sentence correctly uses inversion for emphasis in academic writing?

• A'Rarely we have seen such a dramatic shift in policy.'
• B'Rarely such a dramatic shift in policy we see nowadays.'
• C'Rarely we see such a dramatic shift in policy nowadays.'
• D'Rarely do we see such a dramatic shift in policy.'✓

Answer: Negative adverbials like 'rarely', 'seldom', and 'never' trigger subject-auxiliary inversion in formal writing. The correct form is 'Rarely do we see...' — auxiliary 'do' comes before the subject.

Which sentence correctly uses reported speech to relay the question 'Are you planning to study abroad?'

• AShe asked me that are you planning to study abroad.
• BShe asked me if I was planning to study abroad.✓
• CShe asked me was I planning to study abroad.
• DShe asked me am I planning to study abroad.

Answer: In reported speech, yes/no questions take 'if' or 'whether', the tense shifts back so 'are' becomes 'was', and the subject changes from 'you' to 'I'. 'She asked me if I was planning to study abroad' applies all three rules.

Which word is the odd one out in terms of meaning?

• ASuccinct
• BConcise
• CBrief
• DVerbose✓

Answer: 'Verbose' means using more words than necessary — the opposite of the others. 'Concise', 'succinct', and 'brief' all mean expressing something in few words.

Choose the correct sentence using 'fewer' or 'less':

• AThere are less student enrolled on the course this year than last year.
• BThere are fewer students enrolled this year than last year.✓
• CThere are less students enrolled on the course this year than last year.
• DThere are fewer information available on this topic.

Answer: 'Fewer' is used with countable nouns (students, cars, books). 'Less' is used with uncountable nouns (information, water, time). Since 'students' is countable, 'fewer students' is correct.

What is the function of a 'discourse marker' in spoken or written English?

• AIt indicates the nationality of the speaker and their regional background to the listener
• BIt signals the relationship between ideas, such as contrast, addition, or consequence✓
• CIt corrects grammatical errors automatically
• DIt replaces a noun that has already been mentioned so as to avoid unnecessary repetition

Answer: Discourse markers (also called linking words or cohesive devices) signal logical relationships between clauses or sentences — for example, 'however' (contrast), 'furthermore' (addition), 'as a result' (consequence).

Which sentence demonstrates correct use of the present perfect continuous?

• AI have been studying for three hours and I am tired.✓
• BI have been studied for three hours now and I am very tired.
• CI was studying since three hours ago and I am very tired.
• DI am studying for three hours now and I am feeling very tired.

Answer: The present perfect continuous 'have been studying' expresses an action that began in the past and is still going on. 'Have been studied' is a passive past participle rather than the continuous form, and the remaining alternatives use the wrong tense altogether.

What does 'lexical sophistication' mean in the context of IELTS Lexical Resource assessment?

• AUsing a range of vocabulary with precision, including less common words, collocations, and idiomatic language used accurately✓
• BAvoiding all vocabulary errors by using only very basic words
• CWriting very short and simple sentences using only well-known words
• DUsing long and impressive-sounding words wherever possible, regardless of whether they are used accurately or in the right context

Answer: Lexical sophistication means using vocabulary that goes beyond basic, high-frequency words — including collocations, less common items, and context-appropriate idiomatic language — all used accurately and appropriately.

Which of the following is a correct example of a conditional sentence (Type 2) expressing an unlikely present situation?

• A'If I study, I will pass the exam.'
• B'If I studied more, I would pass the exam.'✓
• C'If I had studied more, I would have passed.'
• D'If I will study more, I pass the exam.'

Answer: A Type 2 conditional uses 'if + past simple, would + infinitive' to describe a hypothetical or unlikely present or future situation. 'If I study, I will pass' is Type 1, a real possibility, and 'If I had studied, I would have passed' is Type 3, a past hypothetical.

Which preposition correctly completes the collocation in academic writing? 'The results are consistent ___ previous findings.'

• Awith✓
• Bfor
• Cto
• Din

Answer: 'Consistent with' is the standard academic collocation. 'The results are consistent with previous findings' means the new results agree with what was previously found. Other prepositions do not collocate with 'consistent' in this meaning.

What does 'paraphrase' mean in the context of IELTS Reading or Writing?

• ASummarising several different paragraphs of the passage in a single short sentence
• BCopying the exact words straight out of the reading passage and into your own answer
• CExpressing the same meaning using different words and grammatical structures✓
• DTranslating a sentence word for word into another language and then straight back again

Answer: Paraphrasing means expressing the same idea in different words — changing vocabulary and sentence structure while preserving meaning. It is assessed in Writing (rewording the topic) and recognised in Reading (finding synonyms of question keywords).

A passage states: 'The proliferation of fast-food chains in developing nations has been linked to rising obesity rates.' A student paraphrases: 'The spread of fast-food restaurants in developing countries has been connected to increasing levels of obesity.' Is this a good paraphrase?

• ANo — the meaning has been changed
• BNo — a paraphrase must completely restructure the sentence
• CYes — key words have been replaced with synonyms and the sentence structure is maintained✓
• DNo — the grammar is incorrect

Answer: The student correctly substitutes: 'proliferation' → 'spread', 'chains' → 'restaurants', 'linked to' → 'connected to', 'rising' → 'increasing levels of'. Meaning is preserved and vocabulary varied — a good paraphrase.

Which of the following sentences uses a cleft structure to add emphasis, as might be used in high-band IELTS Writing?

• A'Education is by far the most important investment that any society could ever make in itself.'
• B'It is education that represents the most important investment a society can make.'✓
• C'The most important investment for society, education is.'
• D'Education, it is the most important investment for any society to make in its own future.'

Answer: A cleft structure emphasises one particular element. 'It is education that represents the most important investment' uses the standard 'It is X that Y' construction, a feature of sophisticated grammar that lifts Grammatical Range at the higher bands.