Idiomatic expressions – Rule of Thumb

I was recently asked by a student how appropriate it was to include idiomatic expressions in an academic writing essay. It’s certainly a good plan to use them in your speaking test – assuming you know how to use them accurately!

Make absolutely sure that you understand their meaning and that they are relevant to the topic you are speaking about. If you are not sure, don’t take the risk. An incongruous idiom is worse than no idiom at all.

‘Rule of thumb’  is one that’s well suited to a number of speaking topics and it means a general principle based on practice. It’s a principle with a broad application not meant to be totally accurate.

As a rule of thumb I Iike to start new projects first thing in the morning.

A good rule of thumb is to eat five portions of fruit or vegetables each day.

“The rule of thumb in making a sale is confidence, without confidence you don’t make a sale”