How to Effectively Build Your Vocabulary for the IELTS Exam

Yes, vocabulary is essential for success on the IELTS exam. Your vocabulary will be tested in the reading section and it is vital to the writing section (Lexical Resource (LR)).

So, what should you do?

Let’s start with what you shouldn’t do: memorize academic word lists.

Memorization of random words is not an effective strategy. For one, it’s harder to do. It also limits your ability to learn words in contextual usage. In many cases, this implies you may not be fully aware of the words’ intentions in reading passages or you may be forcing them into your writing unnaturally.

Examiners are not impressed by “big” words; they are impressed by natural and functional word choice.

Let’s get back then to what you should do. First, learn vocabulary with writing in mind. This will naturally spill over to your reading skills. Second, study vocabulary with intention and focus on a few core areas.

1. Variety: If you use a word in a paragraph more than once, think of alternatives. The only exceptions are words that do not have any/many synonyms. For example, parents may be repeated as often as necessary. Once, maybe twice, you can say mother and father, but this becomes wordy and distracting. Ideally, change your sentences so that you do not need these words at all or can refer to them with pronouns (e.g., they). Even good, high-end words should not be repeated. For example, do not use the verb face (e.g., face a problem) more than once in an essay. Opt for deal with, handle, cope with, manage, etc.
2. Precision: Collect words that are directly tied to a variety of contexts. This will help in two ways: a) it allow you to minimize the use of extra words to explain an idea that can be accomplished by these single precise terms; b) it will help you avoid words that are overused and targeted by IELTS examiners. For example, when writing about government or politics, most test takers rely on words such as citizens, residents, a country’s people, those who vote for their leaders, and so on. Knowing the word electorate will allow you to stand out from this crowd while also clearly and efficiently expressing your intended idea. Another benefit is demonstrating you know other forms of an everyday word like elect.
3. Options—Avoid the 5 basic verbs (do, have, make, take, get): There are plenty of other options to the basic verbs. Own, for instance, is an everyday word that hardly anyone utilizes in their essays. Most test takers use the word have. This makes own a lower-frequency word (consider: I have a sports car. vs. I own a sports car.). Own is also more direct and implies information that have does not. Even this basic choice helps raise your LR score.
4. Collocations: Vocabulary isn‘t just words; it’s also groupings of words. These groupings usually work as a single concept. So, while implications, for example, is a high value term and has a particular meaning, there is a notable difference between political implications and economic implications. More importantly, some collocations can be idiomatic, which would further raise your LR score if used well. For instance, to accept something at face value means to accept it as it is without looking for anything deeper. This expression will certainly not be in your academic word list.

Above all else, be practical with your vocabulary building. Make sure the words you employ are spelled correctly, that they mean what you think they mean, and that they are used in the correct forms (e.g., patient can be a noun or an adjective with unrelated meanings, whereas patience is only a noun). Make sure collocations, idioms, and phrasal verbs are correct and appropriate to formal writing. Lastly, make sure the materials you study with are helping you learn, not asking you to memorize.