Articles: a, an, the
The ZONES system, and the specific article error your first language predicts. Five rules, then ten drills with instant feedback.
Available now
Drill your articles →Grammar drilled · free IELTS resources · one-to-one lessons · proper British English
English grammar, taught properly.
Clear rules, drilled with instant feedback and tied to the level they earn, by Adam J. Smith, a working English teacher.
Most grammar sites hand you a static rule and a gap-fill. Here the grammar is drilled with feedback, linked to the band it earns, and tied to the errors your first language predicts. And the whole IELTS suite sits alongside it: papers you sit in the browser, a writing scan, speaking and essay banks. Free to use, with a real teacher behind it when you want your own work marked.
·Find your way around
Everything here, one tap away.
Grammar drilled with feedback, the full IELTS suite, and a real teacher behind it. Start anywhere.
IELTS Writing
- Task 2 essay questions, sorted by type
- Scan your writing, free instant structural read
- 12 Academic papers, every task type
- Worked example 00: commuting and cities
- Worked example 01: energy, and what we fund
- Worked example 02: food, and an ageing population
01Grammar
i. ii. iii. iv. v. vi. vii. viii. ix. x. xi.
Fix the grammar that holds you back.
The errors that keep capable speakers from the next level are predictable, often from your first language. Drill them, with instant feedback, free. Each page is a short set of rules, then ten drills marked as you go.
Grammar by band
The structures that mark you at Band 6, 7 and 8+, pick your target and see exactly what to aim for, with an example of each.
Available now
See the ladder →Conditionals
The five forms, the one error that caps Band 7, the Part 3 deployment map, and ten drills with instant feedback, the structure that moves you from 6.5 to 7.
Available now
Drill conditionals →Tenses
The six forms that matter, the boundary that caps Band 7, and a map of which tense each part of the test is asking for, then ten drills.
Available now
Drill your tenses →Vocabulary & cohesion
Lexical resource is a quarter of your mark, and it's rarely about more words. See the same idea climb from Band 6 to 8+, the linker chart by function, and how to link ideas with the right clause.
Available now
Upgrade your vocabulary →Sentence structure
A range of complex structures is the phrase the grammar band turns on. The four sentence types, the joins that build them, the comma-splice error that caps accuracy, and ten drills with instant feedback.
Available now
Drill sentence structure →Gerunds & infinitives
The verb-pattern error that quietly caps a band. Which verbs take -ing, which take to, the gerund-after-preposition rule, the meaning-change pairs (stop doing vs stop to do), and ten drills.
Available now
Drill verb patterns →Comparatives & superlatives
Vague comparison is a Band 6 habit; precise comparison is a Band 7 one, and it shows most in Task 1. The forms, the degree modifiers that quantify a gap, the errors that mark you down, and ten drills.
Available now
Drill comparison →Modal verbs
How you grade certainty and soften a claim, exactly what Task 2 and Part 3 reward. The certainty ladder, obligation, hedging, the modal + have + past form, and ten drills.
Available now
Drill modals →Education vocabulary
The first topic-vocabulary bank. The collocations that lift one of the most common IELTS themes, the basic-to-Band-8 upgrades, and ten drills with instant feedback.
Available now
Drill education vocabulary →Relative clauses
The main tool for combining two ideas into one Band 7 sentence. Defining vs non-defining, who/which/that/whose/where, when to drop the pronoun, the comma rule, and ten drills.
Available now
Drill relative clauses →Browse the whole Grammar section → · Every resource here is free. When you want a person to mark your work and tell you exactly what's holding you back, that's what the lessons are for.
02IELTS resources
i. ii. iii. iv.
Practice you can actually sit.
A full IELTS suite, free: full papers marked the moment you finish, a writing scan, and topic and essay banks. No download, no sign-up.
Reading
Twelve complete Academic passages, each with fourteen questions across the four question types. Sit them online; mark instantly with an explanation for every answer.
12 tests · Available now
Open the Reading tests →Writing
Twelve full Academic papers, a Task 2 essay-question bank sorted by type, and a free writing scan that reads your structure in seconds.
Available now
Open the Writing papers →Speaking
The three-part structure with band-graded answers, plus a topic bank: Part 1/2/3 questions, a practise generator, and the same answer shown at Band 6, 7 and 8+.
Available now
Practise the topics →Understand & Listening
How IELTS is scored, with a target-band tool. A free Listening module built around chosen audio is in preparation.
Scoring live · Listening soon
How you're scored →
Who makes this
Everything here is built by Adam J. Smith, a working English teacher, London-born, in proper British English. He teaches one to one online: grammar and fluency, IELTS, professional English, and more.
2,068 lessons taught · 5.0★ across 45 Preply reviews · Level 5 TEFL Diploma · London-born, RP accent · co-author of Keto Dive
About Adam →
03Lessons
i. ii. iii. iv.
Work with a real teacher, not just a website.
The free resources will take you a long way on your own. When you want a person to hear your English, mark your writing and tell you exactly what to fix, that is a lesson. One to one, online, in proper British English.
Grammar & fluency
General English for speaking and writing: the grammar that holds you back, and the confidence to use the language naturally.
IELTS preparation
Speaking, Writing and Reading marked against the criteria, with an honest read on the band you are sitting at and the plan to lift it.
Professional & exam English
Business and workplace English, interview preparation, and OET for healthcare professionals.
Conversation
Structured conversation practice to build fluency, range and confidence, at your level.
Book a lesson → · Lessons are £20 for fifty minutes, one to one. The first step is a short introduction so we can plan around your goals.
·The books
i. ii. iii.
Written down, properly.
Adam writes as well as teaches. The grammar here, the band-by-band structures and the first-language guidance, is drawn from his forthcoming book, with more to come.
Ultimate Guide to IELTS Speaking
The full framework behind the Speaking resources here: the three parts, the response scaffolds, band-by-band models, and first-language guidance.
Forthcoming
Keto Dive
Co-authored with Krzysztof Miszczuk (2026). A different subject entirely, and proof that the writing is the work, not an afterthought.
Published 2026
View on Amazon →Articles in Revolve Magazine
Published feature writing, the same plain, properly British style the lessons are taught in.
Published
·Reviews
What the lessons did for them.
Forty-five reviews on Preply, every one of them five stars. A handful, in their own words.
★★★★★
He is excellent for IELTS Academic preparation and provides a lot of writing practice, which is extremely helpful for making real progress.
★★★★★
We practice some writing tasks on a given topic and Adam provides a detailed review of my texts according to the IELTS scoring system and suggests possible improvements.
★★★★★
Adam has a natural talent for explaining even the most complex grammar structures in a simple and accessible way. Concepts that used to confuse me now finally make sense.
★★★★★
Adam and I completed numerous mock tests, and his constructive feedback was invaluable. He assigned targeted homework that addressed my weakest points, which greatly enhanced my skills.
★★★★★
He organizes the lessons according to what I need to improve, and he adapts the topics to things I am interested in. That makes the classes much more engaging and enjoyable.
Verbatim from Adam's Preply reviews. 5.0★ across 45 reviews.
·Lessons & packages
What lessons cost.
No bundles you'll regret, just lessons, and a flat discount for booking ahead.
Start with a free twenty-five-minute introduction. Your first lesson is then £9; after that a single lesson is £20 for fifty minutes, and every lesson drops to £17 if you book a package, the same flat 15% off whichever one you take.
Starter
4 lessons
£68
£17 / lesson
A focused start, enough to find the gaps and agree a plan.
Progress
8 lessons
£136
£17 / lesson
The usual rhythm, steady work towards a target band.
Mastery
16 lessons
£272
£17 / lesson
A full campaign, for a serious jump against a deadline.
The discount is identical across all three, £17 a lesson either way. Pick the commitment that suits you, not the bigger number. The free introduction and the £9 first lesson stand whichever you choose, so there's a low-risk way in.
·Book a lesson
Start with a free introduction.
Free resources get you a long way. A second pair of eyes gets you the band.
No leap of faith required. We begin with a free twenty-five-minute introduction, and you take it from there, one step at a time. Lessons run Monday to Friday, 12:00–21:00 Indochina Time (UTC+7).
01
A free 25-minute introduction.We say hello, you tell me what you're aiming for and whether there's a test date, and I explain how lessons work. No cost, no obligation.
02
Your first lesson, £9.A full fifty-minute assessment: a short speaking test, a look at your grammar, a glance at your writing, and an honest read on your current band. A written report and targeted homework follow.
03
Then £20 a lesson, or £17 in a package.Regular one-to-one lessons, with a written report and homework after every one.
Booking opens shortly
About my approach
The booking calendar is being finalised. In the meantime, the about page sets out how I work.