IELTS Speaking Vocabulary and Paraphrase
Build flexible Speaking vocabulary: topic idea banks, paraphrase moves, and collocations that raise Lexical Resource without sounding scripted.
Idea banks beat word lists
A list of 50 rare adjectives is hard to use under pressure. An idea bank is a small set of reusable content: two concrete examples, one advantage, one drawback, one recent change, and two paraphrase frames. You can recombine them for many questions on the same theme.
For hometown, keep: a landmark, a transport note, a cost-of-living comment, and a personal routine. Those four pieces cover "where you live", "has it changed", and "would you recommend it" without a fixed script.
| Theme | Content slots | Paraphrase frames |
|---|---|---|
| Work / study | Role · daily task · challenge · motivation | mainly because… / these days… / compared with… |
| Hometown | Landmark · transport · change · lifestyle | what stands out is… / it used to be… / on the other hand… |
| Technology | Daily use · benefit · drawback · limit | it depends on… / for some people… / in the long run… |
Four paraphrase moves examiners notice
Paraphrase shows Lexical Resource and protects Fluency when you forget a word. Practise these four moves until they feel automatic.
- 1Synonym swapReplace a repeated noun or verb: important → useful / valuable; like → enjoy / prefer.
- 2Change the structureTurn "I go there because it is quiet" into "The main reason I go there is the quiet atmosphere."
- 3Define around a blankIf you forget a word, describe it: "the machine you use to wash clothes" instead of freezing.
- 4Zoom in or outMove from general to specific (or reverse): education → university lectures → a seminar on statistics.
- Prefer accurate mid-level words over rare idioms
- Learn collocations: take a break, make progress, raise awareness
- Reuse topic nouns carefully — vary verbs and adjectives around them
- After each practice recording, list three words you overused and one alternative
Part-specific vocabulary behaviour
Part 1 rewards everyday precision. Part 2 rewards concrete detail (senses, sequence, feelings). Part 3 rewards abstract framing: causes, effects, comparisons and speculation.
Do not force academic vocabulary into Part 1. Do not stay purely personal in Part 3 when the question asks about society or policy.
How many new words should I learn per week?+
Ten to fifteen high-use chunks with examples is enough. Depth beats volume.
Are idioms necessary for band 7?+
No. Clear paraphrase and accurate collocations matter more than idioms.