Advanced Grammar: Comparison Structures to Boost IELTS Writing Band 7+
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Want a high score in IELTS Writing & Speaking? Explore our comprehensive blog to master comparison grammar structures, including progressive, combined, and contrastive comparisons, with examples and exercises to implement in IELTS Writing and Speaking.
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To score Band 7.5 or higher in IELTS Writing and Speaking, mastering Grammatical Range and Accuracy is crucial. One area that sets high scorers apart is their use of advanced comparative grammar structures. This guide explains four key types of comparison in English grammar, accompanied by practical examples and exercises for IELTS exam preparation.
Why Is Comparison Grammar Important in IELTS?
IELTS Grammar is important in IELTS as the examiners look for:
- Variety in sentence structures
- Accurate comparative constructions
- Natural use of idiomatic expressions
Using comparisons in your IELTS Writing or Speaking shows flexibility and fluency, especially when discussing trends, opinions, or personal experiences. So, here's a post that will cover 4 types of advanced grammar as follows:
- Progressive comparison
- Combined comparison
- Contrast comparison
- Like and as
1. Progressive Comparison
We can describe how something increases or decreases by repeating the same comparative two or sometimes three times, putting and between the forms:
Structure:
- short adjective + -er and short adjective + -er
- more and more + long adjective
Examples:
- Her visits to the country to see her son became rarer and rarer (= increasingly rare)
- As the illness progressed the patients grew more and more detached from reality.
- Marching into the sunset, the figures became smaller and smaller and smaller.
- Her visits became rarer and rarer.
- The child grew more and more independent.
- The noise became louder and louder and louder.
Use this technique in IELTS Writing Task 1 to describe graphs or charts (e.g., "Sales became higher and higher throughout the year").
2. Combined Comparison
To describe how a change in one thing causes a change in another, we can use two comparative forms with the. Note the use of the comma after the first clause:
Structure:
-
The + comparative + subject + verb, the + comparative + subject + verb
Examples:
- The more you practice, the better you perform.
- The longer the delay, the higher the frustration.
Ideal for IELTS Writing Task 2 to link cause and effect:
"The more people rely on cars, the worse the urban air quality becomes."
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3. Contrastive Comparison
Used when comparing two qualities or making subtle differences clear.
A. More…than (Not -er)
Correct:
- I’m more sad than disappointed.
- Her dress was more blue than green.
B. Not so much…as
Used to highlight one quality over another:
-
I’m not so much tired as bored.
C. Rather than
Used to express preference or contrast:
-
She chose to walk rather than drive.
These patterns help in IELTS Speaking when you want to emphasize differences in opinion or description.
4. Like and As
4. Using Like and As in Comparisons
We often describe something by comparing it to something else which has similar qualities. These comparisons are known as similes’. There are two forms:
A. Similes with ‘as...as’
- She’s as quiet as a mouse.
- It was as boring as watching paint dry.
Informally:
-
She’s white as a sheet (instead of “as white as a sheet”).
B. Similes with ‘like’
-
The storm came like a monster.
Common Idioms:
- Slept like a log
- Swears like a trooper
C. Grammar Note:
- Use like before a noun when comparing:
✅ You look like a teacher.
❌ You look as a teacher. - Use as to describe function or role:
✅ She works as a nurse.
❌ She works like a nurse.
5. Metaphorical Comparisons
Metaphors compare without using like or as, offering richer expression, common in high-level IELTS Writing Task 2 essays or Speaking Part 3.
Examples:
- "The treaty is a bridge between two nations."
- "He has a heart of stone."
Use metaphors in Speaking to express emotions creatively or in Writing to boost lexical resource.
Practice Exercises:
Exercise 1: Match Similes
Match the situations (1-15) with the similes (A-P). Then use the similes to rewrite the sentences. You may need to use a good dictionary for this exercise.
| A | like a cat on a hot tin roof |
| B | like a trooper |
| C | like a lamb to the slaughter |
| D | like a bull in a china shop |
| E | like a bear with a sore head |
| F | like a log |
| G | like a chimney |
| H | like a rocket |
| I | like hot cakes |
| J | as a fiddle |
| K | as a feather |
| L | as ice |
| M | as the grave |
| N | as a sheet |
| O | as a mule |
| P | as the hills |
0. Stonehenge is incredibly ancient, more than 4.000 years old.==> Stonehenge is as old as the hills
1. She’s a heavy smoker………………………………………
2. He’s incredibly clumsy and often breaks things……………………………………
3. I slept really soundly last night………………………………..
4. It’s absolutely freezing in here!………………………………..
5. She so naive, she doesn’t realise what a dangerous situation she’s going into.
6. My grandmother maybe 85 but she’s incredibly fit and healthy.
7. Do you feel all right? You’re very pale………………………………………..
8. He’s terribly nervous, he can’t keep still for a moment………………………….
9. She’s in a foul mood this morning, shouting at and arguing with everyone.
10. Our new car goes really fast………………………………………..
11. My new flatmate never stops swearing…………………………………………..
12. Once the lights were out the dormitory became eerily quiet………………………….
13. She doesn’t need to diet, she weighs hardly anything!………………………………
14. Once the old man has made his mind up he never changes it. whatever you say.
15. These new mobile phones are selling amazingly well.
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Exercise 2: Choose the Best Explanation
Tick (✓) the best explanation, A or B.
1. The prices on the menu aren’t nearly as expensive as I expected.
- Prices are a little cheaper than I expected.
- Prices are much cheaper than I expected.
2. It looks as if your new car isn’t any more reliable than the old one!
- Both cars are equally unreliable.
- The new car is slightly less reliable than the old one.
3. Of all the teams in the league, theirs is the least successful.
- Their team is the most unsuccessful.
- Their team is less successful than some of the others.
4.They said it was one of the most powerful earthquakes ever.
- No other earthquake was as powerful.
- There may have been more powerful earthquakes
5. The new tax regulations are somewhat more rigorous than last year’s.
- The new regulations are much more rigorous than last year’s.
- Last year’s regulations were slightly less rigorous.
6. I have to say that the hotel wasn’t quite as luxurious as the brochure claimed.
- The hotel was much less luxurious than the brochure claimed.
- The hotel was slightly less luxurious than the brochure claimed.
7. This is by far the best seat in the plane. There’s loads of legroom.
- No seat in the plane is better.
- Other seats may be equally good.
8. She isn’t anything like as snobbish as you said.
- She is less snobbish than you said.
- She isn’t snobbish.
9. I’m afraid your figures are no more accurate than the ones Rachel gave me.
- Your figures are less accurate than Rachel’s.
- Your figures and Rachel’s figures are equally inaccurate.
10. As far as Daniel’s job is concerned, things are about as bad as they can be.
- Daniel’s job could get worse.
- Daniel’s job couldn’t be any worse than it is.
Exercise 3: Sentence Transformations
Complete each sentence so that it means the same as preceding one(s). Use the words in brackets but do not change the words given in any way.
1. She’s slightly angry but she’s very disappointed (than)
She’s…………………………………………………………………………………….
2. Approaching the church, we noticed the sound of the bells becoming increasingly loud. (and … and)
Approaching the church, we noticed the sound of the bells………………………………………
3. As dogs get older they become less aggressive. (the less)
The older dogs ……………………………………………………………………………
4. Their remarks were only slightly insulting, but they were extremely inaccurate (not so much)
Their remarks…………………………………………………………………………………
Mastering advanced comparison grammar enhances your IELTS band score by showing your ability to express complex ideas accurately and naturally. Practice regularly, especially using metaphors, similes, and combined comparisons in both writing and speaking contexts , and boost your overall IELTS Band Score.
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