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How to use ‘despite’ and ‘in spite of’ in IELTS Writing Task 2

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  1. Let me argue from a prescriptive grammatical standpoint that “despite” is not synonymous with “in spite of.”

    Most sites, including this one, say that “in spite of” and “despite” are synonyms. And so you can argue this from a descriptive grammatical standpoint.

    But some time ago, if not today, a difference separated these two phrases.
    In spite of went, in a way of speaking, from good to bad:
    In spite of having an IQ of 183, she was a horrible chess player.

    Despite went from bad to good:
    Despite arriving 30 minutes late to the exam, she received the highest grade.

    For some of us, the difference still exists.