This section gives some idiomatic vocabulary in English, as a blog, or list to which I regularly add. This vocabulary is also given (in more detail) in the page ‘Idiomatic Vocabulary’ (under the ‘Vocabulary’ Section). So, you have the same input twice, since both forms can be convenient.
However, if you are accessing the information here, it is very important that you go to the ‘Idiomatic Vocabulary’ Section to read the introduction – as there are rules and issues about idiomatic vocabulary which you should know.
In the ‘IELTS Vocabulary’ section, I mentioned seven rules to learning vocabulary. Rule 7 is by reading. And here is some light, easy, and interesting reading pieces – all about … the country shown below.
Yes, Australia. My country is huge, diverse, and has a fascinating history, which all means there are many insights I can give.
So, relax, and scan through these factual, sometimes reflective, sometimes thought-provoking, but always interesting insights into my amazing country.
Collocation is the key to getting a higher IELTS Writing and Speaking score, but it is not easy. Students often do not collocate words very well (which is why they don’t receive IELTS 7 or 8). To do this, all the parts of speech [adjectives & nouns, verbs & adverbs, prepositions & nouns, and others] must fit together in accepted patterns, stylishly and nice, while all the time conveying clear and precise meaning – like the video at the top of this page. Watch it, and notice all the parts of this complex creation blend together perfectly. This is what your writing should be like.
Well, to have ‘a sense of collocation’ (= IELTS 7), you need to have some familiarity with English. So, start reading all my pixnet posts, and getting this familiarity, right?
In the meantime, the following exercises will help.
Time to Practice
Can you ‘fix’ the following sentences by changing (or removing) the underlined word? There may be different ways to answer these. The answers will be in the next ‘collocation’ post.
1.
Tourists enjoy travelling abroad to experience culture shock.
2.
Another negative effect is the demolition of local culture.
3.
I would suggest advertising domestic tourist attractions.
4.
Nuclear waste is dangerous, and the government does not save it well.
5.
Nuclear power is popular in many countries.
6.
The strong points of nuclear energy are more.
7.
Nuclear power is better than other forms of energy production.
8.
The Fukashima nuclear plant was broken by a tsunami.
Answers to Collocation 11of 16
Here are the answers to the previous collocation exercise. The first sentence has the wrong collocation; the second sentence has the correct one.
1.
Only by such publicity can people decline the temptation to smoke.
Only by such publicity can people resist the temptation to smoke.
2.
Society has to endure the cost.
Society has to suffer the cost.
We ‘endure’ pain, stress, annoyance, frustration, and so on.
3.
Society wants to reduce crime rates.
Society wants to lower the crime rates.
Society wants to reduce crime.
4.
An asteroid from space did great damage.
An asteroid from space caused great damage.
An asteroid from space resulted in great damage.
An asteroid from space wreaked great destruction.
In the third example, ‘wreak’ collocates much better ‘destruction’ (rather than ‘damage’). It also collocates nicely with ‘havoc’.
5.
The age of the dinosaurs went to an end.
The age of the dinosaurs came to an end.
6.
Accidental gun shots can cause irreparableproblems.
Accidental gun shots can cause permanentinjury.
7.
We would need more police officers to guard the safety.
We would need more police officers to maintain safety.
8.
Students at school can develop rigid friendships.
Students at school can develop lasting/better/deeper/more intimate friendships.
‘Rigid’ (= unbending/inflexible) is a negative word, which must be linked with negative nouns of attitude, or (when used literally), with materials.
Okay, it’s been a while since my last post. We’ve all been enjoying the Chinese New Year Holiday, and it’s been busy for me afterwards with IELTS related matters.In my teaching location, Term 2 has started, with every IELTS course running, so I’m back to being a very busy teacher.
Anyhow, let’s continue with this collocation series which we were doing before the Chinese New Year holiday. It was all about ‘collocation’, and we are now up to the 11th post of the series of 16. Why don’t you read the first and second post of this series to remind yourself about collocation, what it is, and why it is important.
Right now, I’ll mention that collocation is the key to getting a higher IELTS Writing and Speaking score. Collocation means putting all the parts of speech [adjectives & nouns, verbs & adverbs, prepositions & nouns, and others] together in accepted patterns which are stylish and nice, while all the time conveying clear and precise meaning – like the video at the top of this page. Watch it, and notice all the parts of this complex creation blend together perfectly. This is what your writing should be like.
Of course, good collocation is not easy, and requires a deeper knowledge of a language. Consequently, students often do not collocate words very well (which is why they don’t receive IELTS 7 or 8).
Well, to have ‘a sense of collocation’ (= IELTS 7), you need to have some familiarity with English. So, start reading all my pixnet posts, and getting this familiarity, right?
In the meantime, the following exercises will help.
Time to Practice
Can you ‘fix’ the following sentences by changing (or removing) the underlined word? There may be different ways to answer these. The answers will be in the next ‘collocation’ post.
1.
Only by such publicity can people decline the temptation to smoke.
2.
Society has to endure the cost.
3.
Society wants to reduce crime rates.
4.
An asteroid from space did great damage.
5.
The age of the dinosaurs went to an end.
6.
Accidental gun shots can cause irreparableproblems.
7.
We would need more police officers to guard the safety.
8.
Students at school can develop rigid friendships.
Answers to Collocation 10of 16
Here are the answers to the previous collocation exercise. This was given before Chinese New Year, so that was quite a while ago.
The first sentence has the wrong collocation; the second sentence has the correct one.
1.
Cigarettes can help make more social contact with people.
Cigarettes can help create more social contact with people.
2.
Modern society causes a competitive environment.
Modern society creates a competitive environment.
3.
Teenagers want to push the limits of the rules imposed by parents.
· Teenagers want to cross the boundaries imposed by parents.
· Teenagers want to break the rules imposed by parents.
· Teenagers want to extend the limitsset by parents.
Notice that the original sentence was a bit ‘overwritten’, with three words: ‘push’, ‘limits’, and ‘rules’, each of them collocating with different words. It’s better to use two words, and an adverb, if possible.
· Teenagers want to deliberately cross the boundaries imposed by parents.
· Teenagers want to blatantly break the rules imposed by parents.
· Teenagers want to rebelliously extend the limits set by parents.
4.
Using guns could make unimaginable consequences.
Using guns could create/cause/result in unimaginable consequence.
5.
We can easily repair the law to make society safer.
We can easily change the law to make society safer.
6.
Mad shooters make irrecoverable harm to their victims.
Derranged shooters cause irrecoverable harm to their victims.
Derranged shooters irrecoverably harm their victims.
7.
Banning guns can avoid these tragedies from happening.
Banning guns can prevent these tragedies.
8.
We should remove these areas, creating a real non-smoking town.
We should remove these areas, creating a true non-smoking town.
Collocation is the key to getting a higher IELTS Writing and Speaking score, but it is not easy. Students often do not collocate words very well (which is why they don’t receive IELTS 7 or 8). To do this, all the parts of speech [adjectives & nouns, verbs & adverbs, prepositions & nouns, and others] must fit together in accepted patterns, stylishly and nice, while all the time conveying clear and precise meaning – like the video at the top of this page. Watch it, and notice all the parts of this complex creation blend together perfectly. This is what your writing should be like.
Well, to have ‘a sense of collocation’ (= IELTS 7), you need to have some familiarity with English. So, start reading all my pixnet posts, and getting this familiarity, right?
In the meantime, the following exercises will help.
Time to Practice
Can you ‘fix’ the following sentences by changing (or removing) the underlined word? There may be different ways to answer these. The answers will be in the next ‘collocation’ post.
Cigarettes can help make more social contact with people.
Modern society causes a competitive environment.
Teenagers want to push the limits of the rules imposed by parents.
Using guns could make unimaginable consequences.
We can easily repair the law to make society safer.
Mad shooters make irrecoverable harm to their victims.
Banning guns can avoid these tragedies from happening.
We should remove these areas, creating a real non-smoking town.
Answers to Collocation 9of 16
Here are the answers to the previous collocation exercise. The first sentence has the wrong collocation; the second sentence has the correct one.
1.
Once, people thought marriage was a necessary process.
Once, people thought marriage was a necessary step.
Marriage is a very common step.
2.
The government needs to build a good policy to deal with this.
The government needs to establish/implement/design/determine a good policy to deal with this.
3.
Fighting back can stop the development of bullying.
Fighting back can stop bullying.
Fighting back can stop the growth/rise of bullying.
‘Development’ is a positive word, for positive things. ‘Bullying’ is a negative thing.
4.
It is impractical to ask teachers to rescue students from a malicious situation.
It is impractical to ask teachers to rescue students from a dangerous situation.
‘Malicious’ is a word to describe people, not situations.
5.
The victims can express their bravery.
The victims can show/display their bravery.
6.
The degree of bankrupcy shows a remarkable descent.
The degree of bankrupcy shows a sharp descent.
‘Remarkable’ is a positive adjective, so it can’t collocate with the negative ‘bankrupcy’. Also,
‘remarkable’ is a subjective adjective – which means that the definition depends on you, the subject. What is ‘remarkable’? How much exactly is ‘remarkable’? In Task-One Writing, there can be some subjectivity, which I call ‘natural reactions’ [See Tip 5 Part Two, p.15), but in the case of this sentence, I don’t see that opportunity. Perhaps one could write …
The degree of bankrupcy shows a serious descent.
7.
It does not matter how many space missions a country makes, ….
It does not matter how many space missions a country has,
8.
Nuclear energy is better than using coal to transfer into energy.
Nuclear energy is better than using coal to generate energy.
Collocation is the key to getting a higher IELTS Writing and Speaking score, but it is not easy. Students often do not collocate words very well (which is why they don’t receive IELTS 7 or 8). To do this, all the parts of speech [adjectives & nouns, verbs & adverbs, prepositions & nouns, and others] must fit together in accepted patterns, stylishly and nice, while all the time conveying clear and precise meaning – like the video at the top of this page. Watch it, and notice all the parts of this complex creation blend together perfectly. This is what your writing should be like.
Well, to have ‘a sense of collocation’ (= IELTS 7), you need to have some familiarity with English. So, start reading all my pixnet posts, and getting this familiarity, right?
In the meantime, the following exercises will help.
Time to Practice
Can you ‘fix’ the following sentences by changing (or removing) the underlined word? There may be different ways to answer these. The answers will be in the next ‘collocation’ post.
Once, people thought marriage was a necessary process.Marriage is a very common activity.
The government needs to build a good policy to deal with this.
Fighting back can affect the development of bullying.
It is impractical to ask teachers to rescue students from a malicious situation.
The victims can express their bravery.
The degree of bankrupcy shows a remarkable descent.
It does not matter how many space missions a country makes, ….
Nuclear energy is better than using coal to transfer into energy.
Answers to Collocation 8of 16
Here are the answers to the previous collocation exercise. The first sentence has the wrong collocation; the second sentence has the correct one.
1.
When a bullied person fights back, the responsibility is given to both people.
When a bullied person fights back, the blame is given to both people.
2.
The bullies may start revenge.
The bullies may seek revenge.
3.
Louis Vitton has paid their effort to create a unique shopping experience.
Louis Vitton has made great effort to create a unique shopping experience.
4.
When people plan to do some purchases, they often ….
When people plan to make some purchases, they often …
5.
Individuals obtain more stress.
Individuals have/develop more stress.
Obtain is a positive word; stress is a negative concept, so they can’t be used together.
6.
The medical fare can be huge.
The medical fee can be huge.
7.
Living alone has become more popular than before.
Living alone has become more common.
Popular suggests that people want to live alone. This is probably not true. They live alone for other reasons.
8.
Only a part of the people believe this nowadays.
Only a minority of the people believe this nowadays.
Collocation is the key to getting a higher IELTS Writing and Speaking score, but it is not easy. Students often do not collocate words very well (which is why they don’t receive IELTS 7 or 8). To do this, all the parts of speech [adjectives & nouns, verbs & adverbs, prepositions & nouns, and others] must fit together in accepted patterns, stylishly and nice, while all the time conveying clear and precise meaning – like the video at the top of this page. Watch it, and notice all the parts of this complex creation blend together perfectly. This is what your writing should be like.
Well, to have ‘a sense of collocation’ (= IELTS 7), you need to have some familiarity with English. So, start reading all my pixnet posts, and getting this familiarity, right?
In the meantime, the following exercises will help.
Time to Practice
Can you ‘fix’ the following sentences by changing (or removing) the underlined word? There may be different ways to answer these. The answers will be in the next ‘collocation’ post.
When a bullied person fights back, the responsibility is given to both people.
The bullies may start revenge.
Louis Vitton has paid their effort to create a unique shopping experience.
When people plan to do some purchases, they often ….
Individuals obtain more stress.
The medical fare can be huge.
Living alone has become more popular than before.
Only a part of the people believe this nowadays.
Answers to Collocation 7of 16
Here are the answers to the previous collocation exercise. The first sentence has the wrong collocation; the second sentence has the correct one.
1.
Everyone who commits a crime must bear the result.
Everyone who commits a crime must take the consequences.
2.
Forcing students to work would provoke negative awareness.
Forcing students to work would provoke negative reactions.
Awareness is a positive work, and can’t collocate with provoke and negative.
3.
Capital punishment helps keep a steady society.
Capital punishment helps keep a stable society.
4.
Capital punishment fails to trust criminals have the potential to change.
[By the way, this one is very difficult.]
Capital punishment rejects the possibility that criminals can change.
Capital punishment denies the opportunity for criminals to change.
5.
At ony 5%, it plays a poor performance.
At only 5%, it plays a minor role.
Sometimes has a poor performance. For example, a company, your investment, or an actor.
6.
Hackers can steal individual information.
Hackers can steal private information.
7.
New online shopping platforms are rising.
New online shopping platforms are appearing.
8.
Online sellers sometimes make tricks on the photos of the products.
Online sellers sometimes play tricks with the photos of the products.
Collocation is the key to getting a higher IELTS Writing and Speaking score, but it is not easy. Students often do not collocate words very well (which is why they don’t receive IELTS 7 or 8). To do this, all the parts of speech [adjectives & nouns, verbs & adverbs, prepositions & nouns, and others] must fit together in accepted patterns, stylishly and nice, while all the time conveying clear and precise meaning – like the video at the top of this page. Watch it, and notice all the parts of this complex creation blend together perfectly. This is what your writing should be like.
Well, to have ‘a sense of collocation’ (= IELTS 7), you need to have some familiarity with English. So, start reading all my pixnet posts, and getting this familiarity, right?
In the meantime, the following exercises will help.
Time to Practice
Can you ‘fix’ the following sentences by changing (or removing) the underlined word? There may be different ways to answer these. The answers will be in the next ‘collocation’ post.
Everyone who commits a crime must bear the result.
Forcing students to work would provoke negative awareness.
Capital punishment helps keep a steady society.
Capital punishment fails to trust criminals have the potential to change.
At ony 5%, it plays a poor performance.
Hackers can steal individual information.
New online shopping platforms are rising.
Online sellers sometimes make tricks on the photos of the products.
Answers to Collocation 6of 16
Here are the answers to the previous collocation exercise. The first sentence has the wrong collocation; the second sentence has the correct one.
1.
The government can show pictures of unhealthy organs.
The government can show pictures of diseased organs.
2.
Peer pressure persuades many people to smoke.
Peer pressure forces many people to smoke.
3.
The gap between the two countries descends.
The gap between the two countries decreases.
4.
For example, the better qualified healthcare services.
For example, the better healthcare services.
Qualified is for people, not for services.
5.
Parents want to put the maximum resources on their single child.
Parents want to invest the maximum resources on their single child.
6.
The event of bringing back a deadly virus is impossible.
The possibility of bring back a deadly virus is nil/non-existent/negligle.
7.
Soldiers have to attend military training.
Soldiers have to do military training.
8.
When a horrible murder happens, the public are drastically alarmed.
When a horrible murder happens, the public are immediately alarmed.
Another good collocation here is to use intensifying adverbs, such as certainly and indeed.
Collocation is the key to getting a higher IELTS Writing and Speaking score, but it is not easy. Students often do not collocate words very well (which is why they don’t receive IELTS 7 or 8). To do this, all the parts of speech [adjectives & nouns, verbs & adverbs, prepositions & nouns, and others] must fit together in accepted patterns, stylishly and nice, while all the time conveying clear and precise meaning – like the video at the top of this page. Watch it, and notice all the parts of this complex creation blend together perfectly. This is what your writing should be like.
Well, to have ‘a sense of collocation’ (= IELTS 7), you need to have some familiarity with English. So, start reading all my pixnet posts, and getting this familiarity, right?
In the meantime, the following exercises will help.
Time to Practice
Can you ‘fix’ the following sentences by changing (or removing) the underlined word? There may be different ways to answer these. The answers will be in the next ‘collocation’ post.
The government can show pictures of unhealthy organs.
Peer pressure persuades many people to smoke.
The gap between the two countries descends.
For example, the better qualified healthcare services.
Parents want to put the maximum resources on their single child.
The event of bringing back a deadly virus is impossible.
Soldiers have to attend military training.
When a horrible murder happens, the public are drastically alarmed.
Answers to Collocation 5of 16
Here are the answers to the previous collocation exercise. The first sentence has the wrong collocation; the second sentence has the correct one.
1.
This could create a serious hurt.
This could create a serious injury.
2.
The damage of a nuclear bomb is great.
The destruction of a nuclear bomb is great.
3.
Nuclear eruptions can kill millions.
Nuclear explosions can kill millions.
4.
Army recruits cannot train peacefully.
Army recruits cannot train cohesively.
5.
Students must obey the laws of school.
Students must obey the rules of school.
6.
People need huge courage to fight back against bullies.
People need great courage to fight back against bullies.
Collocation is the key to getting a higher IELTS Writing and Speaking score, but it is not easy. Students often do not collocate words very well (which is why they don’t receive IELTS 7 or 8). To do this, all the parts of speech [adjectives & nouns, verbs & adverbs, prepositions & nouns, and others] must fit together in accepted patterns, stylishly and nice, while all the time conveying clear and precise meaning – like the video at the top of this page. Watch it, and notice all the parts of this complex creation blend together perfectly. This is what your writing should be like.
Well, to have ‘a sense of collocation’ (= IELTS 7), you need to have some familiarity with English. So, start reading all my pixnet posts, and getting this familiarity, right? In the meantime, the following exercises will help.
Time to Practice
Can you ‘fix’ the following sentences by changing (or removing) the underlined word? There may be different ways to answer these. The answers will be in the next ‘collocation’ post.
This could create a serious hurt.
The damage of a nuclear bomb is great.
Nuclear eruptions can kill millions.
Army recruits cannot train peacefully.
Students must obey the laws of school.
People need huge courage to fight back against bullies.
This medicine can improve the disease.
Extra taxes will enhance the price.
Answers to Collocation 4of 16
Here are the answers to the previous collocation exercise. The first sentence has the wrong collocation; the second sentence has the correct one.
1.
Some people commit severe crimes.
Some people commit serious crimes.
2.
This makes a vicious circle.
This creates a vicious circle.
This is Chinese English. In English, we have many specific verbs for creating things. We create, make, cause, engender, encourage, stimulate, and so on. These verbs are used in different ways for different things. In Chinese, there are fewer verbs, used more flexibly. So, good collocation can be difficult here. No. 7 shows the same problem.
3.
Fighting back will just stimulate the bullies.
Fighting back will just enrage the bullies.
Stimulate is a positive verb, for positive things.
4.
Lying will lose the relationship.
Lying will destroy the relationship.
5.
Smoking allows people to approve of themselves.
Smoking allows people to feel confident about themselves.
6.
Army life can train their courage.
Army life can develop their courage.
7.
Education is made by good teachers.
Education is created by good teachers.
As with No. 2.
8.
People should step out for their rights.
People should stand up/fight for their rights.
9.
If scientists owned more knowlege about space, they could …
If scientists had/acquired more knowlege about space, they could …
Collocation is the key to getting a higher IELTS Writing and Speaking score, but it is not easy. Students often do not collocate words very well (which is why they don’t receive IELTS 7 or 8). To do this, all the parts of speech [adjectives & nouns, verbs & adverbs, prepositions & nouns, and others] must fit together in accepted patterns, stylishly and nice, while all the time conveying clear and precise meaning – like the video at the top of this page. Watch it, and notice all the parts of this complex creation blend together perfectly. This is what your writing should be like.
Well, to have ‘a sense of collocation’ (= IELTS 7), you need to have some familiarity with English. So, start reading all my pixnet posts, and getting this familiarity, right?
In the meantime, the following exercises will help.
Time to Practice
Can you ‘fix’ the following sentences by changing (or removing) the underlined word? There may be different ways to answer these. The answers will be in the next ‘collocation’ post.
Some people commit severe crimes.
This makes a vicious circle.
Fighting back will just stimulate the bullies.
Lying will lose the relationship.
Smoking allows people to approve of themselves.
Army life can train their courage.
Education is made by good teachers.
People should step out for their rights.
If scientists owned more knowlege about space, they could …
Answers to Collocation 3of 16
Here are the answers to the previous collocation exercise. The first sentence has the wrong collocation; the second sentence has the correct one.
1.
Government can remind people of the risk.
Government can warn people of the risk.
2.
Army life makes interaction between people.
Army life creates/provides interaction between people.
3.
The government has problems depositing nuclear waste.
The government has problems storing nuclear waste.
4.
Earth may not be available for human life.
Earth may not be suitable for human life.
5.
This enhances the cost of living.
This increases/raises the cost of living.
6.
Space missions could inspire the development of technology.
Space missions could stimulate the development of technology.
Only people can be inspired.
7.
People need to realise this planet and its environment.
People need to understand this planet and its environment.
This is Chinese English. In English, we have two verbs: realise and understand, and they are used in slightly different ways. In Chinese, there is only one verb, used more flexibly.
8.
People need to leave such violent behaviour.
People need to stop/abandon/reject such violent behaviour.
Collocation is the key to getting a higher IELTS Writing and Speaking score, but it is not easy. Students often do not collocate words very well (which is why they don’t receive IELTS 7 or 8). To do this, all the parts of speech [adjectives & nouns, verbs & adverbs, prepositions & nouns, and others] must fit together in accepted patterns, stylishly and nice, while all the time conveying clear and precise meaning – like the video at the top of this page. Watch it, and notice how all the parts of this complex creation blend together perfectly. This is what your writing should be like.
Well, to have ‘a sense of collocation’ (= IELTS 7), you need to have some familiarity with English. So, start reading all my pixnet posts, and getting this familiarity, right?
In the meantime, the following exercises will help.
Time to Practice
Can you ‘fix’ the following sentences by changing (or removing) the underlined word? There may be different ways to answer these. The answers will be in the next ‘collocation’ post.
Government can remind people of the risk.
Army life makes interaction between people.
The government has problems depositing nuclear waste.
Earth may not be available for human life.
This enhances the cost of living.
Space missions could inspire the development of technology.
People need to realise this planet and its environment.
People need to leave such violent behaviour.
Some countries have set rockets into space.
Answers to Collocation 2 of 16
Here are the answers to the previous collocation exercise. The first sentence has the wrong collocation; the second sentence has the correct one.
1
The granules are sent into an oven.
The granules are transported/conveyed into an oven.
2
Participating in the army can be risky.
Being in the army can be risky.
We participate in activities.
3
Army life practises personal skills.
Army life develops personal skills.
4
We must take attention to national defence.
We must pay attention to national defence.
5
Countries should put more resources into space.
Countries should invest more resources into space.
We invest money, resources, time, and effort into things. There are other possible answers, with more specific meaning, such as ‘allocate’ and ‘divert’.
6
It has taken great effort to reach nowaday’s achievements.
It took great effort to reach the present achievements.
7
We are offering coupons with this letter.
We include coupons with this letter.
You could also use passive. ‘Coupons areincluded with this letter.’
Collocation is the key to getting a higher IELTS Writing and Speaking score, but it is not easy. English words: adjectives and nouns, verbs and adverbs, must connect together stylishly, in accepted patterns giving precise meaning – just all the parts of the above video.
Students often do not collocate words very well (which is why they don’t receive IELTS 7 or 8). To have ‘a sense of collocation’ (= IELTS 7), you need to have some familiarity with English. So, start reading all my pixnet posts, and getting this familiarity, right?
In the meantime, the following exercises will help.
Time to Practice
Can you ‘fix’ the following sentences by changing (or removing) the underlined word? There may be different ways to answer these. The answers will be in the next ‘collocation’ post.
The granules are sent into an oven.
Participating in the army can be risky.
Army life practises personal skills.
We must take attention to national defence.
Countries should put more resources into space.
It has taken great effort to reach nowaday’s achievements.
Collocation: the other key to IELTS 7 (1 of 16): Introduction to Collocation
Okay everyone, it’s time (once again) to return to collocation. But let me begin by (re)introducing this concept. Let’s look at the public version of the IELTS Band Descriptors. These state that for your Writing Vocabulary Mark …
Band 7
Uses less common words with some awareness of style and collocation.
Band 8
Skillfully uses words but there may be occasional inaccuracies in word choice and collocation.
Notice the word, ‘collocation’. So, what does it mean? Collocation means putting together groups of words in accepted and stylish way. For example, in English, we don’t usually say …
big rain,
big damage,
big wind,
… as you do in Chinese. In English, it is much better to say …
heavy rain,
serious damage,
strong wind.
Looking at verbs, we don’t usually say …
make heavy rain,
make serious damage,
make strong wind.
It does depend on the situation, but it would be better to say …
create/causes heavy rain,
inflict/cause serious damage,
generate/produce strong wind.
All the words must fit together well – they must ‘mesh’, just like all the parts of the video at the top of this post. By the way, I have already presented some very useful material on collocation on my website. Click Teacher Andrew’s website: Good Collocation to see that.
Students mostly do not collocate words very well (which is why they don’t receive IELTS 7 or 8). Bad IELTS material encourages students to memorise wordy phrases that no native writer would ever produce, and which often don’t make sense (for example, one student wrote: ‘concluding theories representing the solution can be portrayed in detail’). The collocation is strange, and the word choice weird.
So, collocation is important, but not easy – but is the key to getting a higher IELTS Writing and Speaking score. The exercises to help you with this will begin in the next post.
By the way, you can learn more about me atwww.aisielts.com .
Yes, it’s Back to Concision, Again (30of 30): Re-writing the ‘Circling Paragraph’ from 28 & 29 of 30
In the last post, we reduced a 81-word paragraph to 24. 81 words cut to 24. Wow! That first paragraph had so much unnecessary stuff. But now, let’s consider how to continue this sentence, and build a real paragraph in a strong and convincing way. We will build it piece by piece, just like the picture above. Tip 16 of my book (‘Include Specific Support’) mentions a simple way to do this.
Approach
1
Why?
2
Result/
Consequence
3
General Example
4
Specific Example
Let’s try these approaches. Look at the cut paragraph again.
The first reason is that unemployed people can be freely trained in teamwork and responsibility, which helpscareer prospects.
[19 words]
Now, let’s think.
One: Why would these skills be useful?
Let’s add ….
The military offers a unique compression of people with diverse backgrounds, in many ways a microcosm of society, with its myriad traps and pitfalls. Involuntary immersion and the resultant forced cohesion cultivates learning of human dynamics – intangible assets which are necessary today,
Two: What is the result of knowing these skills?
Let’s add ….
… , where success in the corporate ladder is determined by interpersonal prowess of the sort best learnt in pressured military environments.
Now, let’s put the whole paragraph together.
The first reason is that unemployed people can be freely trained in teamwork and responsibility, which helpscareer prospects.The military offers a uniquecompression of people with diverse backgrounds, in many ways a microcosm of society, with its myriad traps and pitfalls. Involuntaryimmersion and the resultant forced cohesion cultivates learning of human dynamics – intangibleassetswhich arenecessary today, where success in the corporate ladder is determined by interpersonal prowess of the sort best learnt in pressured military environments.
[81 words]
I’ve put in some difficult words. Find out the meaning of …
to be unique (adj)
a compression (n)
a microcosm (n)
myriad (adj)
a pitfall (n)
to be involuntary (adj)
immersion (n)
cohesion (n)
dynamics (n)
to be intangible (adj)
an asset (n)
the corporate ladder (n)
prowess (n)
Notice that this new paragraph is the same length as the original one, but now it goes somewhere! The ideas are developed and show progress. This gives a higher IELTS mark.
Well, that’s the end of this 24 part ‘Concision Series’. I hope you liked it. Remember, it is important to a higher IELTS mark.
In the next series of posts, we’ll go back (once again) to collocation.
Yes, it’s Back to Concision, Again (29of 30): Answer to ‘Circling Paragraph’ from 28 of 30
Remember, we are now looking at concision in a bigger way: by looking at the whole paragraph (rather than just at the sentence level). Let’s keep looking at the paragraph from the previous post, and cut all the circling stuff out of it. Make it simple and clear, like the above picture. The original paragraph is …
The first reason for compulsory military service is that unemployed people can learn useful skills. By joining the services, citizens are trained for free. Aside from the skills of teamwork and responsibility, some young people have the chance to fly a helicopter, which even helps their careers after they leave the services. In addition, individuals who are uneducated also can become competent when doing a military job, because of developing skills. Consequently, governments can solve the problems of high youth unemployment.
[81 words]
I will cut this to ….
The first reason is that unemployed people can be freely trained in teamwork and responsibility, which helpscareer prospects.
[19 words]
Huh? I cut so much out! Why? Because the first part …
… for compulsory military service ..
… was stated already in the introduction. The second sentence …
By joining the services, citizens are trained for free.
… only adds the word ‘free’, which can be put in the first sentence. The next sentence …
Aside from the skills of teamwork and responsibility, some young people have the chance to fly a helicopter, which even helps their careers after they leave the services.
… gives some information – teamwork and responsibility – which we can add to the first sentence. The ‘helicopter’ example only involves very few people, so it is not good. The next sentence…
In addition, individuals who are uneducated also can become competent when doing a military job, because of developing skills.
… just repeats all the ideas of the first sentence. The final sentence …
Consequently, governments can solve the problems of high youth unemployment.
… gives some new information at the end, which we can add to the first sentence, but I will change it a bit to be more logical, resulting one just one final sentence.
The first reason is that unemployed people can be freely trained in teamwork and responsibility, which helpscareer prospects.
[19 words]
81 words cut to 24. Wow! That first paragraph had so much repetition and unnecessary stuff. But now, let’s consider how to continue this sentence, and build a real paragraph in a strong and convincing way. Tip 16 of my book (‘Include Specific Support’) mentions a simple way to think, and we will look at that in the next post.
Yes, it’s Back to Concision, Again (28of 30): Another ‘Circling Paragraph’
Remember, we are now looking at concision in a bigger way: by looking at the whole paragraph (rather than just at the sentence level). Go to my IELTS Writing Task Two book, Tip 15: ‘Organise Your Paragraphs’, which gives two examples of ‘circling’ paragraphs. These paragraphs just repeat, and repeat, and repeat, the same thoughts, leaving the reader trapped in a maze (like the picture above). The reader wants to go somewhere, not in circles. The section of the book concludes by saying ..
These paragraphs do not go anywhere. Look at Task Response IELTS Five = ‘Ideas not developed enough’ and Coherence & Cohesion IELTS Five = May have unclear progression’. We want to move far away from these, right? So, ideas need to be developed and show progress.
Let’s look at another example.
Try making the following paragraph more concise.
Remember, it is not just words, but ideas which we do not want to repeat.
Cut them all out to just leave the main message remaining.
Can you then continue the paragraph in a better way?
The first reason for compulsory military service is that unemployed people can learn useful skills. By joining the services, citizens are trained for free. Aside from the skills of teamwork and responsibility, some young people have the chance to fly a helicopter, which even helps their careers after they leave the services. In addition, individuals who are uneducated also can become competent when doing a military job, because of developing skills. Consequently, governments can solve the problems of high youth unemployment.
