Best in class: grammar (EN core)
Agreement, tense consistency, and articles — the fastest grade lifts for written English at school level.
Case: a paragraph audit
Take any paragraph. Count: main verbs in present vs past. If the topic is a finished story, past should win; if general truth, present — mixed only when the rule of your genre allows.
3 tasks
1) article gap-fill
Insert a/an/the/∅ where needed: “___ European student won ___ prize for ___ research on urban bees.” (there is a precise pattern here — do it, then check “European” and “prize”.)
Key: “A European …” (consonant sound /j/); “the prize” (specific in context you build); “research” often uncountable without article in general sense — adjust if your sentence makes the research definite.
2) subject–verb, third person
Fix: “The data is clear” vs “The data are clear” — pick the register your exam expects and stay consistent, then one sentence on why this trips people up (Latin plural “data”).
Key: In school and much journalism, data is is common; in strict science, data are — choose, declare, and don’t switch mid-essay without reason.
3) if-clauses, three types
One example each: zero conditional, first conditional, second conditional in one short mini-story about exam stress.
Form: If + present + present; If + present + will; If + past simple + would — do not mix “will” in the if-clause in standard first conditional.