Level B2 (approx. band 5.5-6.5) · Academic and General Training In Writing, capital letters and punctuation are assessed as part of your grammar. Many essays have good ideas but sentences like "Prices rose, people bought less" or "the citys transport improved it's service". Each error is small, but together they make an essay look less controlled. In this episode: • Comma splices and run-ons • Commas that help the reader • Semicolons and colons • Capital letters and apostrophes • Model • Language bridge • Practice • Self-check questions with answers Key points: • a comma alone cannot join two complete sentences. • put a comma after an opening phrase, but never between a subject and its verb. • a semicolon joins two related sentences; a colon follows a complete sentence and introduces a list or explanation. • its means belonging to it, it's means it is, and a plural never needs an apostrophe. IELTS Complete Course: a self-study podcast from A1 to C2 for Academic and General Training. Listen, pause and answer, then take the 52-question quiz. Audio voiced with AI from an original script by Dr. Rashmi R Nair. Independent course, not affiliated with the IELTS test owners.