Or how “advanced vocabulary” can have a negative impact on writing scores
If you consume any English-learning content on the internet, you must have come across social media accounts highlighting the difference between English and IELTS English. According to these profiles, “regular English” simply won’t do, and you’ll only ever be able to achieve your desired scores if you do use the words they claim to be the “IELTS” variety. But is it true?
The truth lies in a lot of gray in this matter.
I’ve seen many students struggle with getting their ideas across because they keep trying to use the “big words” they think they should. Words like “ameliorate”, “erroneous” and “abominable” are just a few among the many found on endless lists available on the internet.
Naturally, there is nothing wrong with those words. But they sound extremely formal and, if the rest of your text is not as formal, they will seem odd. Style and collocation are assessed under Lexical Resource.
Using words and expressions you are not familiar with might impact your ability to convey precise meaning – yet another component of Lexical Resource. And if it is the case, you will be losing marks rather than scoring them. This is what I call a dilemma.
Should you use only common words and keep grammatical structures simple but accurate? Well, this might get you around band 5.5 or 6. If this is what you need, then, by all means, stick to what works for you.
If you need more than that, however, then simple vocabulary and grammatical structures – no matter how accurate – won’t be enough. However, a mix of those will. And this is what should be the focus: finding complex structures and less common lexical items that you are comfortable with and mixing them with simpler tried and tested ones.
What I always tell my students is that they need to find their voice. They need to be true to themselves, to their style and to what sounds authentically them. Just elevated.
On the day of the test, you will probably be nervous. It is, after all, a high-stakes test. Some of your future choices probably depend on this test’s results. There is a ton of pressure on you, and the last thing you need is to worry whether “improve” or “ameliorate” is going to be a better choice. Perhaps you will spend valuable time trying to fit the expression “chief among + sth/sb” instead of going with other perfectly good options such as “major” or “key”. Spending time on it doesn’t seem like the wisest of choices, does it?
Instead, use your time to make sure your sentences make sense, that your connectors and transitions link your ideas well, that you use synonyms and referencing to avoid repetition. Check spelling. Make sure your paragraphs are well organized and clearly indicated either by skipping a line or indenting the first line.
At the end of the day, a text is way more than a bunch of words put together. Don’t lose sight of that.
vspoke language 