How Much Should a Student Emphasize Grammar in IELTS?

IELTS is a standardized exam to test proficiency in the English language which is required for people who wish to study or work in foreign countries but do not have English as their native language. IELTS stands for International English Testing System and is jointly owned by IDP: IELTS Australia, Cambridge English, and British Council. 

There are four sections of the test that assess a candidate's reading, writing, listening, and speaking capabilities in the English language. Though grammar is not a separate section in IELTS, it is an integral part of all the sections. You need to form sentences properly, use tenses correctly, and pronounce words accurately to score high in this exam. Grammar comprises 25% of the IELTS exam.

You can see tangible benefits of good grammar, mainly in writing and speaking sections where you are required to use grammar structures actively. But, if you know grammar it helps you understand the language better hence it would also be a huge help in reading and listening sections. As you get more familiar with grammatical structures, you can understand what others mean to say quickly.

IELTS GRA

GRA here stands for grammatical range and accuracy, and it has two parts; Grammatical range and accuracy. To achieve a good IELTS band, you must master both the above-mentioned concepts. Let us look at both the parts in detail:

• Grammatical range - This denotes the number or quantity for assessing the criteria in the IELTS writing section. 
• IELTS speaking section’s band descriptors are:
• Pronunciation
• Grammatical range and accuracy
• Lexical resource
• Coherence and fluency.
• The range of grammar in the IELTS writing section includes:
• Grammatical range and accuracy
• Task Achievement/Response
• Lexical resource
• Coherence and Cohesion

The factors mentioned above apply to both the tasks (task 1 and task 2) in the writing section.

• Accuracy - This refers to benign error-free in IELTS writing and speaking sections. The band score of a test taker depends on whether there are recurring errors or not. 

How Grammar Helps Immensely in IELTS

Language is the way we express ideas and thoughts which can be understood by the other person. Grammar is the backbone of any language, as it is the grammar that gives meaning to our sentences. If grammar is not used appropriately, it changes the whole meaning of a sentence.

The IELTS exam needs test takers to have adequate knowledge of grammar for all four skills in the English language. 

• If you make grammatical errors in your writings, you lose marks.
• The examiner marks every minute mistake and punctuation symbols such as exclamation signs, commas, semi-colons, periods, etc. 
• In the speaking section, your fluency and usage of correct grammar can give you a high band score.
• Those who get a band score of 7 or above have the capabilities to produce a blend of simple and complex sentences. If you use simple sentences or make grammatical mistakes, your band level goes down to 5 or below.
• For the reading section, you need to understand the text clearly and also the questions asked in the section. Good grammar helps immensely in understanding the tense differences and sentence meaning.

Importance of Grammar in the Four Sections of IELTS Elaborated

Let us look at all the four sections of the IELTS exam and how grammar affects your score in each of these sections.

• Reading section - Here, you are required to understand both the text and the questions. Though the questions are quite straightforward, you might be asked to infer a fact or idea from the text. Many times subtle grammatical changes in the text would change the meaning and also your answer.
• Listening section - Grammar does not hold a lot of value in this section, but it will surely be a huge help in having a good grasp. You should be able to figure out the difference in tenses between similar-sounding sentences. For example:
• Sentence 1 - ok, so today we talked about globalization's effect on the economy.
• Sentence 2 - ok, so today we have been talking about globalization's effect on the economy

The difference in the two sentences is subtle and small, but it impacts the meaning in a big way. You should be able to gauge the difference accurately.

• Speaking section - In this section, you are assessed on fluency, pronunciation, clarity of speech, spontaneity, right stress on the words, right pauses, and grammatically correct English. The GRA for different bands is ruled by grammatical ability. A band score of 7 means the candidate has made mistakes but has been able to produce a wide range of flexible sentences. Whereas, a band score of 5 means the test taker has made many grammatical mistakes and has been able to produce very basic and simple sentences (even though they might be without errors.) Let us clear it with an example:
• Sentence 1 - When I was young, I used to go to school on a bicycle.
• Sentence 2 - When I was young, I am going to school on a bicycle.

Though the difference here is quite obvious, (sentence 1 is the right one and sentence 2 is the wrong one), there could be several such subtle mistakes that the candidate might make and should be aware of.

• Writing section - Writing is the section where grammar plays a critical role. In this section, you need the expertise to express your thoughts and imaginations in lucid writing. Since this section does not test your verbal or speaking skills, you need to be quite skillful and tactful in expressing your ideas through writing. Your ideas will look meaningless and haywire if you make grammatical mistakes in this section. Grammar is the tool that sews your varied ideas into meaningful content. To achieve a band 7 in this section, you need to make only a few errors and also showcase a diversity of sentence structures. It is also important that you do not write too much and stick to the word limit. If you write more, you are likely to commit more errors.

Grammar gives a definite pattern to any language. With grammar, you can fine-tune your expressions in such a way that it all seems to be in place. Twenty-five percent of your overall score is governed by grammar, which is a lot. You do not need to learn grammar by heart, but it is essential to understand it and be able to practically apply it in written or speaking skills.

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