One of the marking criterions in the IELTS Writing and Speaking module is Lexical Resource. What exactly does it mean? Essentially, in the words ‘Lexical Resource’, the word ‘lexical’ comes from the word ‘lexis’ meaning all the words and phrases of a particular language which in the context of IELTS, refers to the English language. Hence, it becomes clear that ‘Lexical Resource’ would mean your use of words in English. By extension, if we refer to the Writing task 1, Writing task 2 and Speaking band descriptors, ‘Lexical Resource’ refers to the range, accuracy and appropriateness of the vocabulary you choose to use in writing and in speaking. Lexical Resource being one of the 4 marking criterions in both writing and speaking modules of the IELTS test, makes up for 25% of your total writing score and 25% of your total speaking score. This article aims to explain what Lexical Resource is and how you can improve your score in it. We will discuss exactly what you need to understand and work on to improve your performance in vocabulary for IELTS.

Accuracy and appropriateness are pretty straight forward. The former indicates you must use vocabulary accurately and the latter indicates the choice of words should be appropriate as per the context and tone of the discourse. However, what does ‘range of vocabulary’ refer to? That is exactly what this article intends to explore.

Range of vocabulary

Range of vocabulary refers to a wide variety of English words and expressions that are necessary to communicate effectively. To exhibit a good range of vocabulary, you must display your ability to use, understand and adapt English language across various situations and contexts. So, instead of compiling and memorizing a list of fancy-sounding words, you actually need to learn words that are relevant to variety of subjects. Below are key things to keep in mind if you want to provide a good range of vocabulary.

Topic-specific vocabulary words: The Writing and Speaking modules of the IELTS test often require candidates to discuss common, everyday and academic topics in detail. It would be a good idea to read articles or journals on a variety of topics and parallelly compile a list of commonly associated words to their respective fields. For instance, take a look at some the common topics below and frequently used words in those contexts to get a basic idea:

  • Education – schools, academic subjects, practical exposure
  • Environment – climate change, greenhouse emissions, deforestation
  • Science & Technology – social media, internet, AI adoption
  • Society – demographics, art, traditional values
  • Work and profession – remote working, job prospects, occupation
  • Health – nutrition, fitness, lifestyle
  • Tourism – tourism trends, transport, hospitality

Using these words while writing or speaking about their respective topics will certainly boost your chances of achieving a higher score in the Lexical Resource criteria.

Academic vocabulary: Especially for the Academic IELTS test, you need to learn words that are often used in academic discourse. For example, instead of saying ‘basic’, you should use the word ‘fundamental’. When you use the word ‘fundamental’ to replace the word ‘basic’, you also need to see the context in which you are using it. So, for instance, the word ‘basic’ in “Education should be a basic human right” can easily be replaced with the word ‘fundamental’ without having to make any additional changes or worrying about the context. However, in the sentence, “I rented a flat with basic facilities”, the word ‘basic’ should not be replaced with ‘fundamental’ as it would not match the context and sound unnatural.

To give yourself a better understanding of how you will need to modify sentences when using academic vocabulary, take a look at the examples below:

Note: the first word in each example is common and the second word is its academic version.

  • Ask – Please ask the manager about the schedule.
    Inquire – Please inquire with the management regarding the schedule.
  • Go – We will go for the next step.
    Proceed – We will proceed with the next stage.
  • Do – The computer will do the tasks.
    Execute – The computer will execute the assigned tasks.
  • Get – You need to get a driving permit before you buy a car.
    Obtain – You must obtain a driving permit before you purchase a car.
  • Big – He received a big hike on his salary.
    Substantial – He received a substantial raise.
  • Bad – Cutting too many trees is bad for the environment.
    Detrimental – Excessive logging is detrimental to the environment.
  • Keep – Hard drives keep their data even when turned off.
    Retain – Hard drives retain data even when powered down.
  • Change – We need to change the policy as per the market needs.
    Modify – We need to modify the policy to adapt to the market trends.
  • Help – Clear signs help people find their way around.
    Facilitate – Clear signage facilitates better navigation.
  • Look at – The doctor looked at the patient’s injury.
    Examine – The doctor examined the patient’s injury.

Paraphrasing: Another important skill you need to work on is paraphrasing. In fact, this is one of the most basic skills you will need to work on. Not only it will help you with writing and speaking, but it will also be useful in reading and listening since you will often find paraphrased versions of what you are looking for in the passage and not to mention listening audio will also mostly be paraphrased versions of the questions.

So, what exactly is paraphrasing? In simple words, to paraphrase in writing is to rewrite a written sentence using different words while still retaining the original meaning. And, paraphrasing in speaking refers to repeating a spoken sentence using different words without changing the meaning conveyed by the original sentence. In order to paraphrase effectively, you will need to learn synonyms. It would be a good idea to learn synonyms of common words. 

The objective of paraphrasing in writing or speaking is avoid repeating the same words or phrases again and again. While some key words are okay to be repeated but not too frequently. Then there will be some words for which you might struggle to find a fitting synonym – in that case, it is a good idea to use pronouns or reference words like ‘such’. In the listening and reading modules of the test, you will need to recognise synonyms in the audio and in the passage alike. The questions that you will see in both those modules will not always had words or phrases that you may directly come across in the audio or in the passage and hence, paying attention to synonyms becomes paramount.

Collocations: Once you are comfortable with paraphrasing, the next logical area to start working on is usage of collocations. Please note that if you are new to IELTS preparation, paraphrasing skill should be prioritised over the usage of collocation since the former will be helpful in all the modules while the latter is mostly for writing and speaking.

Collocations or colloquial vocabulary is basically natural word pairs. For example, you take a base word such as ‘increase’ and then think about how many words it can be naturally paired with. For example, to describe something that increased by quite a lot of margin, you can use ‘significant increase’ or ‘considerable increase’ and to describe something that increased only a little, you can use ‘minimal increase’. You can easily find a list of collocations from a variety of sources online. To give yourself a better idea of what collocations are, take a look at the examples below:

  • Academic achievement 
    • Simple: She performed very well in school. 
    • With collocation: Her academic achievement was impressive.
  • Critical analysis 
    • Simple: The student carefully examined the article. 
    • With collocation: The student provided a critical analysis of the article. 
  • Strong evidence 
    • Simple: There is clear proof that the method works. 
    • With collocation: There is strong evidence that the method works. 
  • Key factor 
    • Simple: Hard work is very important for success. 
    • With collocation: Hard work is a key factor in success. 
  • Major issue 
    • Simple: Pollution is a serious problem in many cities. 
    • With collocation: Pollution is a major issue in many cities. 
  • Practical application 
    • Simple: Students learned how to use the theory in real life. 
    • With collocation: Students learned the practical application of the theory. 
  • Significant impact 
    • Simple: Social media greatly affects communication. 
    • With collocation: Social media has a significant impact on communication. 
  • Theoretical framework 
    • Simple: The study was based on an organized set of ideas. 
    • With collocation: The study was based on a theoretical framework. 
  • Reliable source 
    • Simple: The information came from a trustworthy website. 
    • With collocation: The information came from a reliable source. 
  • Scientific method 
    • Simple: The researchers followed a step-by-step process in the experiment. 
    • With collocation: The researchers used the scientific method in the experiment.

Idiomatic expressions or phrases: Having achieved comfort over the usage of collocations, the next logical step would be to work on learning idiomatic expressions or phrases. However, what most candidates do not understand is that idiomatic expressions and phrases are not plain old vocabulary words that you can just memorise and start using. Idioms require a lot more finesse to be used – they must fit in the sentence naturally and they must be spoken in a certain way using the right tone.

Usage of idiomatic expressions and phrases is mentioned in the band descriptors and often discussed as something the test takers must exhibit skill over to score more than a band 7.5 or 8 in lexical resource. After noticing that, many candidates compile a list of idioms, memorise them and try to use them anyhow by forcing them into sentences without adjusting anything else. This sounds very unnatural and makes it clear to the examiners that you may have memorised parts of the speech. Hence, it is best to exercise caution here.

In order to correctly and effectively use idiomatic expressions, you need to not only learn their meanings, but also observe how other native speakers use them in their conversation. You will also need to work on fluency, intonation and word stress when using idioms in your speech. It is quite understandable if you feel that this is too much work. That is exactly why, it is better to invest time in paraphrasing and collocations because you can still achieve a band 7+ without using idiomatic expressions given that you demonstrate your lexical ability in other areas discussed above.

Conclusion

Lexical Resource accounts for 25% of your IELTS Writing and Speaking score — so it is worth investing serious time in. The good news is that you do not need to memorise a dictionary to score well. Start with topic-specific vocabulary, move to academic word choices, then build your paraphrasing skills, followed by collocations, and finally idiomatic expressions.

With consistent effort and the right approach, improving your Lexical Resource score is entirely achievable — and Amin Migration is here to guide you every step of the way.