High-scoring writing is defined by what you prune. Eliminate unnecessary prepositions (despite of, insist on that), causative slips (had the team to inspect), and B2 register clutter.
Examine the single contaminating word that causes each common error:
Never place a preposition before a 'that' clause:
insist that (not insist ON that) • explain that (not explain TO that)
"The auditor insisted that all receipts be verified."
'Despite' takes a noun or -ing, never 'of':
despite the rain (not despite OF the rain) • in spite of
"Despite initial delays, the project finished on schedule."
'Have someone DO' takes a bare infinitive, never 'to':
had the engineer inspect (not had the engineer TO inspect)
"We had an independent surveyor assess the damage."
Never put 'would' inside the IF condition clause:
If we had known (not If we WOULD have known)
"If the company had known the cost, it would have halted."
| Common B2 Intrusion (Prune this!) ✗ | Clean C1 Academic Standard ✓ |
|---|---|
| The committee considered him as the best candidate. | The committee considered him the best candidate. (Drop 'as') |
| We look forward to meet you at the seminar. | We look forward to meeting you. ('to' is a preposition here) |
| The meeting will start in ten minutes time. | The meeting will start in ten minutes' time. (Possessive apostrophe) |
| He explained us that the route was closed. | He explained to us that... / He explained that... |
Complete the second sentence using between 3 and 6 words including the keyword:
Inspect the parchment card below. Click the single intruding word so Pencil's paw swats it off the screen:
Warm up your voice before writing. Speak for 2 minutes without stopping:
Describe a piece of writing or an important document that you had to revise carefully.