Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Two words joined by and, and the join is the whole difficulty. Range without accuracy scores badly, and so does accuracy without range.
Why they are one criterion
If only accuracy counted, the winning strategy would be short simple sentences. If only range counted, it would be to attempt the most complex structure you know in every sentence. Because they are scored together, both strategies cap out around band 6.
What the descriptors reward is complex structures you control. A subordinate clause you get right is worth more than two you get wrong, and it is worth more than the simple sentence you would have written instead.
Although the government have introduced many policy, but the problem is still remain.
Although the government has introduced many policies, the problem remains.
Same structure attempted. The first carries four errors: agreement, a missing plural, a redundant but after although, and a doubled verb. Attempting more and landing worse is the most common way to lose marks here.
What counts as range
Variety, not difficulty. A response using a mix of simple, compound and complex sentences, with different ways of joining and subordinating, shows range. A response where every sentence is a conditional does not, however advanced conditionals are.
Useful variety, in rough order of how often it earns its place in IELTS writing:
- Relative clauses — which, who, where
- Subordination for reason, contrast and condition — because, although, if, unless
- Passive voice, where the actor genuinely does not matter
- Participle clauses, sparingly
- Fronting and inversion — effective, easy to get wrong, use only if secure
What "frequent errors" means
Descriptors talk about how often errors appear, and candidates routinely overestimate their own density. A handful of slips in a 300-word essay is occasional, not frequent, and belongs in the upper bands rather than the middle ones.
The distinction that matters is not the count but the shape. A repeated pattern — every article missing, every past tense unmarked — costs a band, because patterns are what descriptors describe. Twelve different one-off slips cost much less than the same slip twelve times, which is why "I made 12 mistakes" is a less useful diagnosis than knowing which mistake.
Punctuation counts here
Comma splices, missing commas after fronted clauses, and run-on sentences all land in this criterion, and they are unusually cheap to fix because they follow rules rather than intuition.
The single most common one in IELTS scripts: joining two independent clauses with a comma. The policy failed, it was too expensive. Use a full stop, a semicolon, or a conjunction.
How to practise this specifically
Write a paragraph, then rewrite it using different structures for the same content. Not longer — different. That trains range directly, and it surfaces which structures you actually control rather than which ones you recognise.
Then check the rewrite for errors. If the more varied version has more mistakes, the structures you added are not yet yours, and using them in an exam would cost more than it earned.
Are your complex sentences actually landing? IELTS Writing Checker scores Grammatical Range and Accuracy separately and marks each error in your own text with a correction. Try it — writing is free, or see pricing.