Did you notice the following sentence in my essay on Wednesday?
Online courses are becoming a common feature of university education.
It might seem strange to mix a plural with a singular like this, but it's correct. The reason is that the courses are being grouped together as one feature. Look at some similar examples:
- Traffic jams are a feature of everyday life in modern cities.
- Online courses are a positive development.
- Electric cars are a good idea.
- Lower birth rates in America are an interesting trend.
Hi,Simon!
Thanks for your lessons and advice on IELTS. I find them highly useful!
I've got two questions when preparing for the exam:
1. May I use "a large number of" and "a host of" to replace the word "many"? Are those two phrase informal for the IELTS Writing?
2. The other day I wrote an essay on this topic:
Food can be produced much more cheaply today because of improved fertilizers and better machinery. However, some of the methods used to do this may be dangerous to human health and may have negative effects on local communities. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
I'm not sure whether I should agree with both parts: "food can be more cheaply" and "this may have negative effects", or just the latter part.
Could you please give me some advice on that? I'd really appreciate it!
Posted by: Alice | April 01, 2017 at 12:17
Thank you Teacher Simon! 2 days ago I read your comment about this, but I thought that we had to use a singulat verb also( like: online courses is afeature...) If it hadn't been for this post, I would still be mistaken!
Posted by: Nam Anh | April 01, 2017 at 12:32
Dear Simon,
I took ielts academic last month and although it was my first attempt, I got R8 L7,5 S7 W7. I am so glad becaouse I needed 7. I only studied cambridge books 8-9 and your website and e book. I would like to thank you for your great help.
Best wishes
Posted by: isil | April 01, 2017 at 12:38
Thank you Simon! It is a clear explanation for how to use plural with singular.
I always make mistakes whether I should use an A in front of noun or not. I believe practise make me better all the time.
I will try to take an exam this year sometime...
Congratulation Isill! I will use same materials with you. I hope I can achieve my goal score 7!!
Posted by: Tae | April 01, 2017 at 21:31
My Dear guru , mentor and IELTS expert
Thank you for your efforts . Your efforts are a good way to make the world a better place .
Your writings are a great source for improving one's skills .
I have scored L 8 , R 8 , S 7.5 , W 7 , that was 2 years ago .
I wrote a topic 2 days ago and I had it corrected online , Surprisingly , I scored only 5.5 .
I feel that I am going south and I will take the test cold and bomb it afterwards .
Let me be guided by your experience .
Have a nice day dear
Posted by: Muhammad Khattab | April 02, 2017 at 21:52
Muhammad,
Unfortunately you can't always trust online essay marking services. I would advise you to find an experienced IELTS teacher who can double-check the essay that you wrote.
Posted by: Simon | April 03, 2017 at 16:31
497/74 Thong Nhat Street, Ward 16, Go vap District
Posted by: Tam Le | May 29, 2017 at 11:24