Problem: studied tenses stay in their chapters — present drills pass, past drills pass, then letters mix them freely and wrongly. Answer in brief: integration training forces tenses to work together: present flow sustained across paragraphs, past sequences ordered correctly, passive principles governing voice throughout. This guide teaches integration with a two-paragraph integration drill, and OET Grammar — Course 16 trains tense integration across 30 topic sections.
Present-tense integration in letters
Present must flow unbroken through status paragraphs: findings, observations, current regimens, today’s function — all present, no time-travel. The integration fault is the stray past (“was comfortable” mid-status) that yanks the reader to yesterday. Drill: write status paragraphs with a present-only constraint, then verify every verb. Constraint drills build the flow that free writing assumes.
Using past tenses together
History paragraphs sequence three pasts: simple for events (“was admitted Tuesday”), continuous for background (“was becoming increasingly breathless”), perfect for before-history (“had stopped smoking in January”). Order them oldest-first with explicit sequence markers (following, after, previously, until). Past paragraphs fail by flatness — all simple, no depth. Layer the three and history gains dimension.
Integrate everything supervised? The full OET Grammar — Course 16 teaches present-tense integration with past-tense sequencing and passive principles across 30 topic sections with 89 lessons and mock tests. Explore the course →
Passive voice principles throughout
Three principles governing every letter: slot discipline (procedures, findings, arrangements only); agent discipline (owners on recommendations, dates on events); density discipline (roughly one passive per paragraph). Principles beat rules because they decide novel cases — any new sentence resolves through the three disciplines without a rule search.
Integration drill: two paragraphs
Fictional drill, newly written. History (past layered): “Mrs Osei was admitted on Tuesday with increasing breathlessness (simple + continuous background); she had stopped her diuretic the previous week after running out (perfect before-history).” Status (present sustained): “She is comfortable today with minimal oedema; she takes her re-started diuretic daily and walks to the bathroom independently.” Layered past, sustained present — integration demonstrated in eight verbs.
FAQs
How do I know tenses are integrated?
Zone-audit any paragraph: every verb in-zone with transitions announced. Integration means no verb surprises the reader about time — audit until surprises reach zero.
Why principles over rules?
Rules cover known cases; principles decide novel ones. Exams always include novel sentences — principles travel, rules do not.
What is in the course?
Thirty topic sections on present-tense integration with past-tense sequencing and passive principles, 89 lessons and 5 complete mock tests.
The matching course
OET Grammar — Course 16 integrates everything: present flow, past layers, passive principles — 30 topic sections, 89 lessons, 5 mock tests. If chapters pass but letters mix, integrate here.
Sources and note
- OET Writing criteria per the official OET site: oet.com — Writing. Check current format guidance before the exam.
- Course details verified from its public staging page (read-only): 30 topic sections, 89 lessons, 5 mock tests.
- Examples are newly written and fictional; other valid structures exist.
Put this into practice
Compare these course outlines and choose the practice that matches your next goal.
