For both IELTS writing and IELTS speaking, you are given a grade for Lexical Resource. This roughly means “vocabulary” and it accounts for 25% of your score. Whilst it includes things like spelling and collocation, one of the biggest aspects of Lexical Resource is choosing the right word.
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Why Word Choice Matters
Word choice is essential in English because it helps us convey an accurate meaning. If you pick the wrong word, your meaning may be unclear or incorrect. This issue often troubles IELTS candidates when they think in terms of synonyms. A common piece of IELTS writing advice is to paraphrase the question, but most IELTS candidates make a big mistake by simply using synonyms for various words from the question, which results in really strange meanings. This can continue throughout the whole essay as those people try to avoid repeating a keyword.
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The Problem with Using Synonyms
Let’s say you are writing an IELTS essay about petrol-powered cars and you want to talk about governments potentially banning them. (This is actually quite a common IELTS topic.) Naturally, you will need to use the verb “ban.” However, you don’t want to repeat yourself and so you will most likely need to use similar words. If you have a wide vocabulary, you might know that the following can have similar meanings:
- block
- forbid
- impede
- halt
- hinder
- outlaw
- prohibit
- restrict
Similar Words with Different Usage
These are all synonyms of “ban” but they are not exact synonyms and they are not used in exactly the same way. For example:
- INCORRECT: I think governments should halt new petrol-powered vehicles so that people are forced to switch to electric ones.
- CORRECT: I think governments should halt the production of new petrol-powered vehicles so that people are forced to switch to electric ones.
- CORRECT: I think governments should ban the production of new petrol-powered vehicles so that people are forced to switch to electric ones.
- CORRECT: I think governments should ban new petrol-powered vehicles so that people are forced to switch to electric ones.
The word “halt” has a similar meaning to “ban” but we do not halt a thing like a car. We halt a process. The words “forbid,” “prohibit,” and “restrict” are similar in that sense.
Verb vs Noun: Word Form Awareness
You also need to be aware of the type of word used. The word “ban” can be a verb but it can also be a noun. Most of the list above are only verbs, so they would not work as synonyms of the noun “ban”:
- INCORRECT: The government should place a prohibit on the production of new petrol-powered cars.
- CORRECT: The government should place a ban on the production of new petrol-powered cars.
- CORRECT: The government should prohibit the production of new petrol-powered cars.
The word “prohibit” is a verb and even though it means something very similar to “ban,” and can sometimes be interchangeable, it does not replace “ban” when “ban” is a noun.
Choosing Words Effectively
As you can see, it’s essential to know the precise meaning of these words and not be limited by just the basic meaning. You also need to know how these words are used if you have any chance of using them correctly. Remember: If you use a word wrongly, it will not help you get a higher score even if it seems like an advanced word.
IELTS Speaking
IELTS SPEAKING PRACTICE
When you are choosing a word, then, you need to think of a few things:
- its meaning
- its precise meaning
- its connotations (i.e. positive or negative)
- its usage
- its part of speech
- words that commonly go with it, such as prepositions
Practice:
Here’s a simple list of common “ban”-synonyms with one incorrect vs. correct sentence each, plus a brief explanation:
- block
- Incorrect: “The government blocked new petrol cars so citizens must buy EVs.”
- Correct: “They blocked access to the conference hall while speakers were arriving.”
- Why: block means “stop movement or access,” not “legally prohibit” a product.
- forbid
- Incorrect: “They forbade new petrol cars to protect the environment.”
- Correct: “They forbade the sale of new petrol cars to protect the environment.”
- Why: forbid needs a clear object (e.g. “the sale of…”), not the thing itself.
- impede
- Incorrect: “The policy impedes cars from switching to electricity.”
- Correct: “Heavy traffic impedes emergency vehicles from reaching the hospital quickly.”
- Why: impede means “make difficult,” not “stop or prohibit” entirely.
- halt
- Incorrect: “The council halted petrol cars next year.”
- Correct: “The council halted production of petrol cars next year.”
- Why: halt applies to processes or actions, not concrete items.
- hinder
- Incorrect: “High taxes hinder petrol cars.”
- Correct: “High taxes hinder small business growth.”
- Why: hinder means “create obstacles,” so pair it with an action or process.
- outlaw
- Incorrect: “The city outlawed new housing developments.”
- Correct: “Parliament outlawed ivory trade nationwide.”
- Why: outlaw implies criminalization, usually reserved for serious offenses.
- prohibit
- Incorrect: “They prohibit a ban on plastic straws.”
- Correct: “They prohibit the use of plastic straws in all restaurants.”
- Why: prohibit is a verb and needs to directly apply to the action (the use of…).
- restrict
- Incorrect: “The law restricts petrol cars completely.”
- Correct: “The law restricts petrol cars to two days a week.”
- Why: restrict means “limit,” not “completely stop.”
Learning Vocabulary in Context
This is why it’s best not to think of vocabulary as single words but rather to look at it as groups of words. You also should try to learn vocabulary by looking at new words in context to see how those words are used. If you just learn them from a list, they will not prove very helpful for you.
