Writing
Writing tests whether you can produce clear, coherent academic English under exam conditions. Tasks may require a paragraph, a short essay, or editing sentences for unity and correctness. Markers reward a clear central idea, logical order, specific support, and control of sentence structure.
Core rules
- State one controlling idea in the topic sentence; every following sentence must support it.
- Use transitions that show the actual relationship: addition (moreover), contrast (however), cause (therefore), example (for instance).
- Keep pronoun reference unambiguous: a reader should know exactly what 'this' or 'they' points to.
- Combine short sentences only when the relationship is clear; otherwise keep them separate.
- Match register: avoid contractions and slang in formal academic writing.
- End with a sentence that closes the idea rather than introducing a new topic.
Worked example
Original: 'The campus is large. Many students take buses. The buses are often late. Students arrive stressed.' Revision: 'Because the campus is large, many students take buses; however, late buses often leave them arriving stressed.' Reasoning: The revision shows cause (large campus leads to bus use), contrast (however), and result (late buses lead to stress). It removes choppy repetition and keeps one controlling idea.
Traps
- Transition overload: linking words cannot repair unrelated ideas.
- Pronoun ambiguity: 'The manager told the assistant that she was late' leaves 'she' unclear.
- Sentence fragments presented as full sentences.
- Unsupported generalizations such as 'Everyone knows' without evidence.
- Shifting tense or point of view within one paragraph.