July 14, 2012

Weekly Finds: July 14, 2012

A Man With Magnifying Glass by digitalart
Image courtesy of digitalart / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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...

Taking issue with us

"Touched on an issue" or "touched on a subject." Which is correct?

Whence “-ency” and “-ence”?

Both are suffixes. One however represents "qualities or states," while the other represents "actions or processes."

A Semicolon Example: When to Use or Not

Here are tips and examples for using commas and semicolons.

Dirty, sexy, grammar – prepositions

Read examples of the author's old-fashioned and modern rebellious versions of sentences with prepositions.

The 13 Trickiest Grammar Hang-Ups

More grammar errors to consider and avoid.

How to Learn A Language in 90 Days

Actionable things that could also help you with your IELTS review or preparation.

Social occasions vocabulary

Learn more words that could substitute for "party."

Verbs followed by infinitives and gerunds

Discover the distinct uses of each.

Words for entertainment

Learn more words that could substitute for "tv" or "movie."

Why Smiling is Required

Read why this could help you in your IELTS Speaking test.

Blithering idiocy on the subjunctive

Here's one criticism on the glossary attached to the UK's National Literacy Strategy.

What can language research tell us about the ‘real world’?

What does "real world" mean?

Avoid 5 Pesky Grammatical Errors With These Rules of Thumb

Avoid grammar errors relating to adverbs, antecedents, commas, and some others.

“The reason is because”

Is this phrase grammatically fine?

Of game changers and moving goalposts – football idioms in the English language

A selection of idioms relating to the sport of football.

When the complement was roses

There are tips here so you'd know how to tackle the two common problems in subject-verb agreement.

Grammaric: Few vs. A few

Learn the distinction between the two.

“Informational” vs. “informative”

There's a difference. We'd like you to read the article though.

Word building using suffixes

Very helpful resource when paraphrasing.

10 ways to work more efficiently

Very sound pieces of advice.

Sound-Word Index Is A Dictionary Of Those Weird Interjections You Use While Chatting Online

In case you're curious about the sound of "eeeek," "tsss," "zzzzz," and other interjections, this is a good resource.

The “Silent Period” in Language Acquisition: Truth or Myth?

Is silence the path to speaking?

15 Grammatical Errors That Make You Look Silly

If you're into infographics, this one is worth checking out.

Does Writing Make you Feel Like a Failure or a Fraud? (How that Can Boost Your Creativity)

Read how negative feelings could jumpstart your creative process.