Today’s lesson will be a little different from usual. We normally do a lot of listening exercises, but I’d like you all to appreciate and enjoy this very funny and informative video. So, instead of doing dozens of questions about it, we’ll just do a few and I’ll encourage you to learn about grammar and punctuation from a true master: Mary Norris of The New Yorker. Her TED talk is called “The nit-picking glory of The New Yorker’s Comma Queen” and it manages to make grammar funny. There is a lot to learn here – even for native speakers.
The questions I have prepared below are also intended to train your ear for situational listening, rather than actual IELTS-style questions. I have also put together some unusual questions to help you correct sentence errors by listening to the talk.
Let’s start by looking at some useful vocabulary from the video.
Copy editor n. – a person who checks written material for errors in grammar, spelling, and punctuation
Emphasis n. – stress, prominence, or importance given to something
Compelling adj. – fascinating or highly interesting
Fabled adj. – very significant, almost legendary, as in having come from a fable (classical story)
Vernacular n. – the language or dialect spoken by ordinary people in a country or region
Pact n. – an agreement
Indiscretion n. – lacking secretiveness, being too obvious and open
Gratuitous adj. – indecent, without good reason
Use the above vocabulary to fill in the blanks. (Answers are at the bottom of this page.)
It is important to be able to discern a word’s meaning from the context in which it is used. This listening passage is filled with technical words relating to copy editing, or just used in the magazine, but in each case the speaker alludes to its meaning. Sometimes this is quite clear, and other times you need to listen and think carefully. You should be able to guess the meaning of each of the following words. Make a note of them and check your answers at the bottom of the page.
In this passage, Mary Norris explained some grammar rules. Listen again and try to correct the following, according to the speaker’s suggestions:
As you can see from the TED talk, even native speakers make mistakes in their writing – and even with a team of professional editors, copy editors, and proofreaders, mistakes can get printed. Yet, in the IELTS Writing Exam, as with all other forms of academic writing, you need to keep your own errors to a minimum. Always leave time to check your work for errors at the end of the exam, or before you submit an essay.
As English is your second language, you will need to study and practice your grammar. Everyone makes mistakes, but vigilance and practice keep these mistakes to a minimum. If you are confident of how to use complex and compound sentences, then use them. If you want to get fancy and try to use a compound-complex sentence, be absolutely sure that you know how it is used. In the IELTS Writing Exam you are allowed only three grammar mistakes at Band 7.
One of the biggest mistakes IELTS students make is incorrect punctuation. Learn where and when to use periods, commas, and semi-colons. The rules are not that difficult, and they can make the difference between a Band 4 and a Band 6. If you don’t know where to end a sentence, your Writing score will be very poor.
The Oxford Comma is used because it makes writing clear and easy to understand. It is also easy to learn how it is used, so make the effort. It will take you less than an hour, and make your writing far better! Study my lesson on parallelism for IELTS writing and then remember to use the Oxford Comma while following my instructions. It really will improve your IELTS score.
Vocab test
Meaning from Context
Listening for Spelling and Grammar
I've been teaching IELTS since 2010 and I've marked many thousands of essays as part…
I'm finally making videos again after a very long absence from YouTube! I hardly made…
In today’s grammar lesson, I want to show you how to make lists. I don’t…
I just posted a new video on my YouTube channel. This one is about comma…
I have given lessons on sentence types before on this website because it's such an…
In the IELTS exam, you could be asked a question related to health and for…