Every week, we’ll be sharing a list of posts, stories, news, or opinions that we've run across the Internet during the past week or two. We won't be discussing them in detail here, but we do encourage you to check them out as they could contain valuable ideas and insights for your
IELTS exam.
If you're ready, here we go...
GRAMMAR
One clear lesson about language is that it's ever-evolving, but at the same time, the more things change, the more things stay the same. Take the case of whom.
Grammatical question: can something be hundreds of times slower than anything else?
Ditch the stodgy 'to be,' and shift your text into high gear.
Check this short discussion about "real close" vs. "really close."
It’s the most divisive punctuation mark, and not simply because it separates independent clauses. Here’s a cheat sheet to help—and maybe spark an argument.
Check out this child's grammar skills.
The author shares this advice: "Read the sentence out loud and any time you pause, put a
comma there."
Grammar Girl explains when you should
capitalize region names such as "Twin Cities" and "Bay Area."
The author shares her view on adjective use.
When using a modifier as an introductory participial phrase, the subject must be doing the action in the phrase.
When to use "and" in sentences and at the beginning of sentences.
Learn how to properly use however.
READING
Psychometric testing company Onetest surveyed 2,851 graduates from around Australia, exploring the outcomes (life satisfaction, salary and career progression) of people who had entered the workforce between 2002 and 2011, before cross-referencing this data against their social network of choice. Read the article for the results.
SELF-IMPROVEMENT
Making important decisions can be stressful, but being organized with your approach can make the decision-making process easier.
If you chase experiences and not things, those experiences will change you, the wisdom gained will be internalized, and that will be your greatest reward.
Surfing is a challenging sport that requires perseverance and risk. Srinivas Rao, writing for productivity and ideas blog the 99u, found it to be an apt metaphor for the risks we need to take in life.
Anyone can give up, and lots of people do, because it’s the easiest thing in the world to do. But to keep going when everyone would understand if you stopped, that’s what winners do differently.
SPEAKING
Where should I start? What should I say? What if I mess up? What if I trip? What if I freeze? What if people laugh when they’re not supposed to? What if I disappoint the audience? Learn to own speaking uncertainty.
VOCABULARY
Check out some of the strangest, and very rarely used, English words.
Read the results of Grammarly's Facebook Page poll on the coolest English word.
The American Psychologist Association asks: "Which spelling should be used, lite or light?"
Check out a number of idiomatic expressions that rely on the dog.
Check out some of the linguistic contributions America has given to the world.
What is the origin of the phrase “ten-dollar word”?
Check out this discussion on a pair of endings that many people find confusing: -able and -ible.
