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Topic word lists for the subjects that recur, the collocations examiners expect above Band 6, and the spelling rules that turn correct answers into wrong ones. 52 pages, free.
This is the vocabulary book from the IELTSforFREE set. It is organised by the topics that actually recur in IELTS rather than as an alphabetical list, because vocabulary you cannot retrieve under pressure is not vocabulary you have.
The section that matters most above Band 6 is collocation. Lexical Resource is not marked on how unusual your words are. It is marked on whether the words you choose sit together the way a competent speaker would put them, and that is a different skill from learning more words.
The spelling section exists because listening and reading are marked strictly. A word you know, spelled wrong, scores exactly the same as a word you did not know at all.
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What is inside
Six sections, in the order they appear.
Education, environment, health, technology, crime and law, work, transport, media and the city. The subjects IELTS returns to year after year.
The word pairings examiners expect. Heavy traffic rather than strong traffic, make a decision rather than do a decision.
The reason reading questions feel harder than they are. The passage says one thing, the question says another, and they mean the same.
Listening and reading are marked strictly. The book covers the patterns and the words that recur in answers.
When a formal word is right and when it is showing off. Overreaching on vocabulary is penalised, not rewarded.
Word lists do not work on their own. The book explains what to do with them so they survive contact with a test.
Method
Six things worth doing, and one worth avoiding.
A word with its usual partner is retrievable. A word on its own in a list usually is not.
There is no point revising the environment vocabulary you already have. Go to the topic you would struggle to speak about for two minutes.
Speaking Part 3 asks abstract questions on the same recurring topics, so topic vocabulary pays twice.
It changes how you read the questions, which is where the marks are.
A misused ambitious word costs more than a correctly used simple one. Examiners mark accuracy, not ambition.
Vocabulary you have only read is recognisable. Vocabulary you have written is usable.
Practice
Five questions on collocation and Lexical Resource.
Lexical Resource is not a rare word competition. It is about whether your words fit together.
Heavy traffic, not strong traffic. Make a decision, not do a decision.
A misused ambitious word costs you more than a plain accurate one.
1Which is the correct collocation?
Heavy traffic. All four are understandable, but only one is what a competent speaker says, and Lexical Resource marks exactly that.
2Lexical Resource is mainly assessing:
Whether your word choices are appropriate and accurate. Range matters, but only when the words are used correctly. Rare and wrong scores lower than plain and right.
3Why do parallel expressions matter in reading?
The question rephrases what the passage says. Question setters almost never repeat the passage wording, which is why scanning for identical words fails.
4You are not sure whether a word means what you think. What should you do?
Use a word you are sure of. A misused word is an accuracy error under Lexical Resource. Reaching for range and missing costs more than it gains.
5Which is the correct collocation?
Make a decision. Make and do are the collocation pair that causes the most trouble, and the book has a section on them specifically.
Lexical Resource is one of four criteria in writing and one of four in speaking. That makes vocabulary a quarter of both papers, which is more weight than most candidates give it.
The complete course on IELTStestONLINE builds topic vocabulary through the lessons rather than as lists, and assesses your Lexical Resource in your own writing and speaking. Take a look at the complete course
Word lists are a starting point. Using the words is what moves Lexical Resource.
IELTStestONLINE marks your writing and speaking against all four criteria, including Lexical Resource, and keeps every score in one place. See what full membership includes
Yes. It downloads directly with no signup, no email address and no account.
No. It is organised by topic and by collocation, with a section on how to learn the words so they survive contact with a test.
Yes, particularly the parallel expressions section, which is the reason reading questions feel harder than the passages themselves.
52 pages, organised by topic rather than alphabetically.
Only if you use them accurately. Lexical Resource marks appropriacy as much as range, so a misused rare word scores lower than a well used common one.
Full membership
A book can give you the vocabulary. It cannot tell you whether the words you chose in your own essay were the right ones, and that is what Lexical Resource is actually marking.
IELTStestONLINE assesses your writing and speaking against the four IELTS criteria, instantly and as often as you like, using a system built by a former IELTS examiner and examiner trainer. It carries no advertising.
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