Grammatical range in essays: learn

In this lesson you will

Use mixed and inverted conditionals to link past causes, present results and possible futures
Report general views objectively with passive and reporting-passive structures
Add detail concisely with prepositional and quantifier relative clauses and perfect or passive participle clauses
Use inversion after negative and limiting adverbials for emphasis, accurately and sparingly

Before you start

Think about these questions, or answer them aloud.

→Which grammatical structure do you avoid in essays because you are not sure you can use it correctly?
→Finish this sentence in two different ways: “If I had started learning English earlier, …”

Range the examiner can see

Grammatical Range and Accuracy is one quarter of your IELTS Writing score. In the public band descriptors, band 7 requires a variety of complex structures used with some flexibility and accuracy, with frequent error-free sentences. At band 8, a wide range of structures is flexibly and accurately used and the majority of sentences are error-free.

Earlier in this course you practised concessive, relative and participle clauses, nominalisation and cleft sentences. This lesson adds five groups of structures that show genuine range in an argument essay. For each one, learn the form, the job it does in an argument and the trap that causes errors. Then use it only where its meaning is exactly what you need: a structure used for its own sake usually sounds forced.

Five structures for argument essays
Structure	Job in an essay	Example	Common trap
Mixed and inverted conditionals	Links a past decision to a present result, or states a condition formally	If the city had invested in rail twenty years ago, traffic would be lighter today. Should the policy fail, taxpayers would bear the cost.	Wrong: …traffic would have been lighter today (a past form for a present result). Wrong: If should the policy fail…
Passive and reporting passive	Focuses on the action, or reports a general view without naming its source	New rules have been introduced. Remote work is thought to improve well-being. The scheme is reported to have reduced traffic.	Wrong: Remote work is thought that it improves… Use It is thought that remote work improves… or Remote work is thought to improve…
Perfect, passive and with participle clauses	Shows sequence, cause or an accompanying detail concisely	Having failed to meet its targets, the government changed its approach. Designed for cars, many cities struggle to accommodate cyclists. Prices rose, with rents increasing fastest.	Dangling participle. Wrong: Having failed to meet its targets, a new approach was adopted (the approach did not fail).
Prepositional and quantifier relative clauses	Packs a detail or a qualification into the same sentence	a system in which students choose their own modules; volunteers, most of whom are retired; several proposals, none of which was adopted	Wrong: …volunteers, most of them are retired, … (a comma splice). Wrong: most of who. Wrong: a system in where.
Inversion after negative or limiting adverbials	Gives emphasis to a key point, usually once or twice per essay	Not only does the scheme reduce traffic, but it also raises revenue. Only when prices rise do most people change their habits.	Missing auxiliary. Wrong: Not only the scheme reduces… After Only when, invert the main clause, not the time clause. Wrong: Only when do prices rise…

Using range accurately

One structure, one job. Use a mixed conditional when you really mean past cause → present result, and inversion when a point deserves emphasis. Five inversions in one essay sound unnatural.
Check the verb pattern after each structure: an auxiliary after negative adverbials, a to-infinitive after reporting passives (to have + past participle for the past), whom after a preposition or quantifier referring to people.
Watch the punctuation. Non-defining relative clauses and participle clauses at the start of a sentence need commas; a defining clause such as a system in which… does not.
Keep the logical subject. The subject of a participle clause must be the subject of the main clause.
Mix sentence lengths. Range includes short, simple sentences used for emphasis.

One idea, several structures

Basic: The government did not build enough homes. Now many young people cannot afford one.
Inverted mixed conditional: Had the government built enough homes, many young people would now be able to afford one.
Reporting passive: The housing shortage is widely considered to be the result of decades of underinvestment.
Quantifier relative clause: The shortage affects young workers, many of whom now spend a large share of their income on rent.
Participle clause: Priced out of the city centre, many young workers now face long commutes.
Inversion: Only when supply increases will prices become affordable again.

The task

Many people now work in jobs that did not exist twenty years ago. What are the causes of this, and how should education systems respond?

The paragraph below answers the second question.

Model body paragraph (band 8 level)

Education systems should respond by teaching adaptable skills rather than training students for specific jobs, many of which may have disappeared by the time they graduate. Had schools twenty years ago placed less emphasis on memorising facts, many of today's workers would find it easier to retrain as their industries change. Not only would a stronger focus on problem-solving, communication and digital literacy help young people enter new fields, but it would also leave them less exposed when automation takes over routine tasks. Such skills are widely thought to develop best through project-based learning, in which students work in teams on open-ended problems. Universities, too, could offer shorter and more flexible courses, allowing adults to update their qualifications without giving up work for several years. Should governments fund these courses generously, much of the cost would probably be recovered through higher employment and tax revenue. In a labour market that changes this quickly, learning can no longer end when people leave school or university.

How a strong writer does it

Quantifier relative clause: specific jobs, many of which may have disappeared.
Inverted mixed conditional: Had schools… placed (past condition) → would find (present result).
Inversion for emphasis: Not only would… but it would also…, used once, for the paragraph's central claim.
Reporting passive: are widely thought to develop, a general view stated objectively.
Prepositional relative clause: project-based learning, in which students work in teams.
Participle clause: allowing adults to update their qualifications, which shares the subject of the main clause (Universities) and shows the result of offering such courses.
*Inverted conditional with Should**: Should governments fund…, much of the cost would probably be recovered, hedged with probably*.
Balance: the paragraph ends with a short, plain sentence. Seven structures appear, but each one carries a real idea, and none is repeated.

Gap fill

Transform the sentence

Complete the second sentence so that it has the same meaning as the first. Write ONE or TWO words in each gap.

1. If the council had not cut the bus service, fewer people would drive today. → the council not cut the bus service, fewer people would drive today. 2. If the scheme fails, the government will have to rethink its strategy. → the scheme fail, the government will have to rethink its strategy. 3. People say that the new law has reduced crime. → The new law is said reduced crime. 4. The company employs 300 people. Most of them work part-time. → The company employs 300 people, most of work part-time. 5. Under this system, workers are paid according to their results. → This is a system workers are paid according to their results. 6. People rarely change their habits overnight. → Rarely people change their habits overnight. 7. The city became safer only when it improved its street lighting. → Only when the city improved its street lighting it become safer. 8. The minister had resigned, so she could speak freely. → resigned, the minister could speak freely.

Matching

Complete the sentences

Match each beginning to the ending that completes it correctly. Two endings are not used.

Ahow popular the new park would become.
Bthe island's economy began to grow.
Cthe crisis might have been avoided.
Dthat the town centre was closed for a month.
Ethe most important of which concerns funding.
Fdid the island's economy begin to grow.
Gmany rural families would struggle to get to work.
Hthe crisis would have avoided.

1.Had the warning signs been noticed earlier,
2.Not until the new bridge opened
3.The report makes several recommendations,
4.Were taxes on fuel to rise sharply,
5.So severe was the flooding
6.Little did the planners realise

Build a sentence

Build an emphatic sentence

Put the chunks in order to make one accurate sentence with inversion.

Tap the words below in the right order

Writing task

Your turn: range with control

Plan your main idea first, then decide which structures fit it. After writing, underline each target structure and check its form against the table in this lesson.

Essay question: In many countries, young adults are leaving their home towns to live in large cities. What problems does this cause, and what can be done to solve them?

Write ONE body paragraph (at least 140 words) about the problems OR the solutions. Use at least FIVE different structures from this lesson accurately, for example a mixed or inverted conditional, a reporting passive, a quantifier or prepositional relative clause, a participle clause and one inversion. Each structure should express something you genuinely mean.

Write at least 140 words · about 15 minutes

15:000 / 140 words

Save words to review them later with flashcards.

inversion
putting an auxiliary verb before the subject, for example after Rarely or Not only
“Use inversion once or twice in an essay for emphasis.”
mixed conditional
a conditional in which the condition and the result refer to different times
““If I had saved more, I would be richer now” is a mixed conditional.”
reporting passive
a structure such as “It is said that…” or “X is believed to…”, used to report general opinion
“A reporting passive avoids naming a vague source.”
adaptable
able to change to suit new conditions
“Employers increasingly value adaptable graduates.”
retrain
to learn the skills needed for a different job
“Many factory workers retrained as technicians.”
automation
the use of machines and computers to do work previously done by people
“Automation has replaced many routine office tasks.”
labour market
the supply of workers and the jobs available in an economy
“The labour market is changing faster than ever.”
underinvestment
spending too little money on something over a long period
“Decades of underinvestment have left the railway in poor condition.”
deprived of
without something that is needed
“Deprived of young workers, the town's economy declined.”
depopulation
a fall in the number of people living in an area
“Rural depopulation has closed many village schools.”
landmark
a building or place that is easy to recognise and important to an area
“The old station is now a local landmark.”

Key points

Band 7+ grammar means a variety of complex structures used accurately, not the most complex sentence possible.
Mixed conditionals link past causes and present results; Had, Should and Were inversion is a formal alternative to if.
Reporting passives (is thought to, is said to have) present general views objectively.
Prepositional and quantifier relative clauses and participle clauses add detail concisely: check whom, commas and the logical subject.
Use inversion after negative adverbials for emphasis, once or twice per essay, with the auxiliary in the right place.

Check your answers in the practice exercises to record a score.

Up next · Writing C1 Advanced

Academic discussion: top-score responses

Go to lesson

Warm-up

In this lesson you will

Before you start

Range the examiner can see

Using range accurately

The task

Model body paragraph (band 8 level)

How a strong writer does it

Accurate or not?

Transform the sentence

Complete the sentences

Build an emphatic sentence

Your turn: range with control

Key points

Warm-up

In this lesson you will

Before you start

Range the examiner can see

Using range accurately

The task

Model body paragraph (band 8 level)

How a strong writer does it

Accurate or not?

Transform the sentence

Complete the sentences

Build an emphatic sentence

Your turn: range with control

Key points