Tentative Sentence

"Tentative' means that you say that something might be true, or might happen, rather than saying that something is always true or always happens. This is important in Academic English because it shows you understand that situations are complex and there tend to be exceptions rather than 100% certainty in life.

There are many examples of tentative language in this essay (underlined here):

• the expense involved can be prohibitive

• Perhaps the major factor

• the cost of day to day life (in addition to fees) can be almost overwhelming

• Such work tends to be

• A second remedy might be

• students themselves should perhaps be

• and consider attending University at a later stage

• A coordinated response ... may well lessen the severity

These expressions will achieve a much higher score than if you say The expense is prohibitive/The major factor is/Such work is and so on. This would be too simple to gain a very high score in IELTS.

In your essays, try to use this type of tentative language at least twice, to show the examiner that you understand it. For example, instead of:

The police should have guns, because this protects them

Try to say:

The police should consider having guns, because this tends to protect them.

Practice Task

Crime appears to be rising in most countries in the world, especially among young people. Identify the possible causes of this trend, and propose some solutions you think would be effective.