Collocations for IELTS Writing and Speaking: types and errors

A collocation is a group of words that sit together because English speakers put them together. You can say “heavy traffic” but not “big traffic”, although “big” and “heavy” both describe size or weight. Nothing in the grammar explains it. This guide explains what collocations are, the five types, the pairs that help in Writing Task 1, Writing Task 2 and Speaking, the errors to avoid, and a way to learn and check them. The topic lists on the vocabulary pages give pairs by subject; this guide gives the method those lists do not.

What IELTS says about word pairs

Lexical Resource is one of four equally weighted criteria in both Speaking and Writing, according to IELTS.org, whose Speaking guidance this site last checked on 17 September 2026 and whose scoring page it last checked on 1 October 2026. The public descriptors do not list collocations or count them. They describe, in this site’s paraphrase, a growing feel for which words go together.

On the Speaking explorer, the band 7 cell says you show a feel for style and for which words go together, though not a perfect one. On the Writing explorer, band 7 shows some sense of register and of natural word pairings, and the band 8 cell allows the odd inaccuracy in choice or pairing. At band 9 the pairing is natural throughout. Nothing here promises a band for any number of pairs. It is a reason to learn words in company.

The five types

Collocations can be sorted into a few patterns. Naming the pattern helps you notice it when you read. The examples below are ordinary English pairs, not taken from any test.

Each pair is a unit. Replace one word with a near synonym and the pair may fail: “a severe shortage” is natural, “a harsh shortage” is not. This is why a thesaurus alone is a risk. A synonym fits the meaning, and the partner word decides whether it fits the phrase.

Task 1: collocations for change

Task 1 asks you to describe a visual, and much of the language is change over time. The pairs below combine a noun or verb with an adverb or adjective that says how big and how fast. The numbers are invented.

• Noun forms: “a sharp rise”, “a slight decrease”, “a steady increase”, “a gradual decline”.
• Verb forms: “rose sharply”, “fell steadily”, “increased slightly”, “dropped considerably”.
• No change: “remained stable”, “remained unchanged”, “levelled off”.
• Peaks and lows: “reached a peak of 40 per cent”, “hit a low in 2010”.

Match the size word to the movement on the visual. “Sharp” and “slight” are different claims, and a reader checks them against the figures. The guide to Task 1 charts, graphs and tables shows how to choose which changes to describe.

Task 2: collocations by job

In an essay, a pair does a job in the argument. Learn them by the job. Examples:

• Cause: “give rise to”, “stem from”, “contribute to”, “be driven by” (“Rising rents are driven by a shortage of homes”).
• Effect: “have a serious impact on”, “place a strain on”, “bring about a change”, “take its toll on”.
• Solution: “tackle the problem”, “introduce a ban”, “invest in”, “raise awareness”, “impose a tax”.
• Opinion: “strongly believe”, “firmly argue”, “hold the view that”, “be widely seen as”.

Some of these carry a fixed preposition: “contribute to”, “invest in”, “impact on”. The guide to dependent prepositions covers that side. When you learn a pair, learn the preposition with it.

Speaking: natural spoken pairs

Speaking uses the same idea, with a plainer register. In a spoken answer, pairs that sound right are short and everyday:

• “get along with”, “have a lot in common”, “keep in touch”, “spend time with”.
• “take a break”, “make an effort”, “catch up with”, “pay attention”.
• “pretty tired”, “really enjoy”, “a close friend”, “a big change”.

Compare the written and the spoken version of the same idea. In an essay: “Public transport has a positive impact on air quality.” In a conversation: “It really helps keep the air cleaner.” Both are correct. The first is the wrong register in a Part 1 answer, where it sounds recited, and the second is too loose for Task 2. The band 6 Speaking explorer lists formal written vocabulary in a spoken answer as a trap for exactly this reason.

Errors to avoid

A collocation error can be a translation of the first language, word for word. The English word looks right, but the partner is wrong. The table shows examples, wrong beside right.

The pattern in the table is the point. Each wrong pair is a sound idea in another language. The right pair has to be learnt as a pair. The Writing explorer’s band 7 traps list a word with the wrong partner, such as “make a research” and “do a mistake”: even a good vocabulary can be undone by the partner word.

Over-reaching

A rare pair used wrongly does more harm than a plain pair used correctly. The Writing descriptors on this site list a thesaurus word swapped in for a plain one that was already right, as a trap at band 6. At band 8 the trap is reaching for the rarest word when the precise word is a plain one. Precision is what the higher bands describe, not rarity.

Use a pair you have met in at least one reliable source, and say it in a sentence before the test. If you are not sure that a pair is natural, use a plainer one you are sure of. The post on finding your vocabulary gaps shows how to find which topics leave you short of words. Also remember that a long list learnt for one topic does not transfer: the Speaking band 6 trap names long collocation lists learnt for one topic that never carry over to another. Learn the pattern, not only the list.

How to learn collocations

1. Learn in phrases. Write “make a decision”, not “decision”. Say it aloud inside a sentence of your own.
2. Keep a notebook by topic. One page for each topic you may be asked about, with the type next to each pair. A page for transport, a page for work, a page for health.
3. Read for pairs. When you read an article, underline the adjective before each noun and the verb before each object. These are the pairs that native writers choose.
4. Check in a dictionary. A learner’s dictionary shows the partners a word takes, and a corpus-based collocation dictionary lists them by type. Use either kind to confirm a pair before you commit it to your notebook. IELTS publishes no list, so a dictionary is the check.
5. Reuse within a week. Put each new pair into one Writing sentence and one spoken answer.
6. Test yourself. Cover the partner word and recall it from the noun: “a heavy ___“, “to make a ___“.

Where to find topic pairs

The vocabulary hub groups pairs by topic. Three pages to start: cities and transport, work and careers and environment. Take one page, choose five pairs you could use in a Part 3 answer, and write each into a sentence about your own life or country. The answer on what to do if you forget what to say covers the moment a word will not come: a prepared pair helps, and so does a plain way round the word you cannot find.