How To Learn New Words For The IELTS Essay Question

Having a wide range of vocabulary is essential for the IELTS essay question. However, most students go about learning new vocabulary by simply memorising word lists. They fail to understand that have a good range of vocabulary involves more than just knowing a word’s meaning and pronunciation, you also need to know which words to use and how to use them effectively in different situations. In this article, you will learn about the right words to include in your vocabulary bank and how to learn new words for the IELTS Essay.

Know Which Words To Learn

The IELTS Essay Questions are sourced from a list of common core topics, which include

Familiarise yourself with the vocabulary and phrases related to these topics as part of your IELTS preparation. Remember to note down synonyms for each of the words you learn as the ability to paraphrase (rephrase) is an important criterion to obtain a high score. If you repeat the same words again and again, you will give the impression that you do not have a wide enough range of vocabulary on the given subject and this can severely affect your score.

How To Learn New Words

You can start off by sourcing words through active reading. Read for enjoyment. Pick topics that interest you, so that you will stay motivated while learning. Whenever you come across unfamiliar words, try to understand their meaning by looking at the context in which they were used.

You can these words in a vocabulary journal, and make sure to update your journal every time read or hear a new word. You can also organise these new words thematically. Record the new words and phrases in a way that’s easy for revision. Make sure you record more than just the meaning and pronunciation. You can also list different forms of the word as well as common collocations and idioms that include these new words.

I find that one of the best ways to commit new words to my long-term memory, is to actually write out sentences using these words. This will give you a better understanding of the usage and grammar related to each word, and it will also help you to recall these words when you need to use them for your essay.

Another neat new method to learn new words is to use vocabulary builder mobile apps. There are plenty of apps that help you memorise new words by using repetitions and a flashcard style of learning that helps you to commit new words to memory faster than ever.

In order to build up your vocabulary as quickly and effectively as possible, I recommend that you use a combination of the above-mentioned methods.