Build an OET Grammar Revision Plan From Your Mistakes

A grammar score tells you how many answers you got right. It does not tell you which practice will be most useful tomorrow. Two learners with the same total may need very different work: one changes the meaning of case notes, while another preserves the facts but struggles with question forms.

The Jobins Training Grammar diagnostic and final checks contains two sets of 20 questions, explained answers and links to relevant lessons. Its purpose is to turn mistakes into a personal repair plan. The results are course practice results, not official OET scores.

Keep meaning and form in separate columns

A meaning error changes what the reader understands. Turning a possible review into a confirmed appointment adds certainty. A form error concerns the construction: for example, using “needs” after “does” in a direct question. A sentence can contain both kinds of error.

Record the actual problem rather than a broad label such as “bad grammar”. “I turned a requested visit into a booked visit” suggests a clear checking habit. “I used question word order inside an indirect question” points to a specific construction to practise.

Choose two priorities you can explain

Look for repeated patterns across your answers. If you often remove uncertainty, make preserving status and certainty one priority. If direct questions are accurate but indirect questions are not, focus the second priority on that difference rather than reviewing every question form equally.

Two priorities make a manageable starting point; they are not a rule that other mistakes should be ignored. Keep the remaining items in your record and return to them as your first targets become more secure. Choose based on the evidence in your work.

Move from correction to transfer

For each priority, write the incorrect sentence, a corrected version and a short explanation. Then close the answer guide and create a new example. Change the situation and the wording so you have to make the grammatical decision again.

For indirect questions, begin with a direct question about a document, then turn it into a polite enquiry. Later, ask about a date or a location. For status, compare a proposed lesson with a confirmed lesson. Explain aloud which words preserve the difference.

Include a short speaking task as well as writing. A construction you can repair slowly on paper may need more practice in conversation. Record a brief attempt, listen for your chosen target and try again with different facts.

Retest without relying on remembered answers

The source book pairs an initial diagnostic with a final check using new items. Keep the conditions reasonably similar so your records are easier to compare. Its suggested study timing is guidance for that resource, not an official exam timing requirement.

Compare error types as well as totals. Fewer tense mistakes alongside repeated changes to the facts means your next plan should still address meaning. If an answer differs from the key, check whether it is an accurate alternative and whether it meets the requested construction.

Fit the plan around your working week

Spread the cycle across available study windows: one session to diagnose, another to repair, then a fresh task to check transfer. Avoid treating a missed study day as a reason to abandon the whole plan.

Explore OET Grammar — Course 3 for the course associated with these diagnostic materials. For guidance on your priorities, request one-to-one tuition on dates and at times that fit your duty shifts and personal commitments. Your tutor will confirm availability before the sessions are booked.

Source: OET Grammar Diagnostic and Final Checks.pdf, Jobins Training. Examples labelled original or illustrative were written for this article. Independent exam preparation; no affiliation with or endorsement by the examining body. Practice does not predict an official score.