Importance of Vocabulary in IELTS Reading
If you want to do well in the IELTS reading test, then you need to have a good vocabulary and also be aware of essential test strategies. These can often be linked, as we’ll see in the following article.
First of all, vocabulary is very important for all parts of the IELTS exam. Quite simply, you need to know lots of words in order to do well, and that means understanding:
- The meaning
- The usage
- The connotation
- Common collocations
The more words you know, and the more fully you know them, the better you will do in your
IELTS reading test. That’s an undeniable fact. However, no one knows all the words in English and so you need to be able to deal with unfamiliar terms.
So, what should you do if you see a word you don’t understand?
Firstly, you must decide whether or not you really need to know the meaning of the word. Believe it or not, you really don’t need to understand everything. If the word is not repeated often and doesn’t specifically relate to a question, then you can pretty much ignore it!
Take the word “timid” for example. If you were reading an article about archaeology and discoveries, maybe one of the archaeologists mentioned is described as being a “timid” person. This is probably not important to the overall article meaning and if you have not been asked about an archaeologist’s personality, then you probably don’t need to understand it at all. You can just move on.
Learning Through Context Clues
However, if there is a question that relates to it, then you need to figure out its meaning from context. To do that, try to find out what kind of word it is. Here’s an example:
- Dr Smithers appears timid at first glance, but one soon realises she spends much of her time in dangerous locations and is often in close proximity to warzones and other hazards.
We have several clues here:
- If a person “appears timid”, then we can assume it is a way of describing someone. Thus, we know it’s an adjective that refers to their personality or some other characteristic.
- The word “but” shows contrast, so logically “timid” is surprising when you consider this person is often in dangerous places. We could thus infer that “timid” is the opposite of “brave.”
This is a good example of how people figure out vocabulary that they don’t know. It’s a really useful skill to have. Most people actually do this regularly in their first language because it’s just how we process the world. The average person has a vocabulary of about 20,000 words and there are nearly 200,000 words in fairly common use in English. That means even a native speaker has to do a lot of guessing when they read!
The Power of Synonyms in the IELTS Test
The main benefit of having a wide vocabulary and also being able to figure out the meaning of other words is that it can help you with synonyms. Of course, synonyms are useful in all parts of the IELTS test, but in the reading exam they are crucial for getting a good score. In fact, almost every IELTS tutor recommends making use of synonyms in order to boost your reading score.
Below is an example of the importance of synonyms. Read the following paragraph:
People tend to have different opinions on the importance of intuition compared to logical deliberation, with some suggesting that the former is preferable because it allows people to make quicker decisions. Meanwhile, it is hard to deny that the latter can lead to better decisions, but in some situations time is of the essence.
Having a good vocabulary, and particularly an awareness of synonyms, could really help you to find an answer for a question directed at this paragraph. For example, you might be asked to decide whether the following statement is true or false:
- Although some people find that it’s more beneficial to rely on their instincts, others think it’s better to think issues through carefully.
The answer here is TRUE and we could find that by using synonyms. But why? The key is to find words in the passage and in the question that have approximately similar meanings.
| Passage | Question |
| Intuition | Instinct |
| Logical deliberation | Think issues through carefully |
By looking at these words and recognising that they have approximately the same meaning, we can easily locate the right part of the text and then read it thoroughly to find the answer.
A Simple Reading Strategy That Works
This fits into a handy reading strategy:
- Quickly look over the reading passage, paying attention to headings, subheadings, captions, etc.
- Look at the questions.
- For each question, decide on key words and then search for them in the text. When you find them, you’ll know where to find the answer.
- Now closely read the text, again using your knowledge of synonyms to figure out the likeliest answer.
Conclusion
This is a very useful strategy and it’s something every successful IELTS candidate knows. You can improve your skills by constantly working to boost your vocabulary through studying and reading often.
Try to read from a wide variety of sources and look at lots of different topics, including IELTS topics like technology, education, healthcare, and society. Beyond that, make sure to continually apply this by doing practice tests.
You will find that over time you get better at locating the right answer as your vocabulary improves and your synonym skills keep getting better.
