This lesson show you how you can use synonyms in IELTS to increase your band score.
Synonyms are words or phrases that have the same or similar meaning as other words or phrases. You can use them to improve the cohesion as well as the quality of your writing.
By using a synonym for something written earlier, you are summarising the previous text, and as a consequence, you are linking the ideas in different clauses or sentences.
Furthermore, using synonyms in IELTS helps you to avoid repetition and they also stop you from relying too much on conjunctions (e.g. while, although, and, so etc) and transitions (e.g. however, firstly, therefore etc) to make connections.
So overall, the use of synonyms in IELTS will increase the quality of your writing significantly.
To explain further how they can be used, here are some examples.
Parents should get punished with high fines if their children are involved in anti-social behaviour at night. Introducing such a measure would ensure parents control their children.
Unemployment and poverty are reaching record levels due to the lockdown, facts that can no longer be ignored by governments who continue to use them as a tool against Covid 19.
In Both of these examples, the words in red refer back to the information in the previous sentence or clause of the same sentence.
They help to link the information together in the sentences and express ideas while avoiding repetition.
The synonyms quiz below will help to show you how differing words can be used to replace words, phrases or clauses used previously.
Look up in a dictionary any words you do not understand.
Synonyms in IELTS
Choose the right word that would fit in the space. Some words that may appear to fit may not do as they do not work grammatically or are incorrect collocations.
"I think these eBooks are FANTASTIC!!! I know that's not academic language, but it's the truth!"
Linda, from Italy, Scored Band 7.5
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