IELTS Speaking vocabulary: Which words to use to get a high score?

IELTS Speaking vocabulary: Which words to use to get a high score?

Vocabulary (Lexical Resource) is one of the marking criteria of IELTS Speaking. The examiner assesses how rich your vocabulary is, whether you use synonyms, various fixed expressions and phrasal verbs .

Vocabulary (Lexical Resource) is one of the marking criteria of IELTS Speaking. The examiner assesses how rich your vocabulary is, whether you use synonyms, various fixed expressions and phrasal verbs .

If your goal is 7.0 or higher, you need to use advanced words and phrases to demonstrate the variety of your vocabulary.

Use a variety of expressions and words to express your point of view:

It was good. Very good.

Really good, yes! Nice, very nice.

Usually, we use simple words in informal conversations. In IELTS Speaking, however, you need to use more complicated words (to get a high score) despite the informality of this part.

It was amazing. Really enjoyable.

Fantastic! Exceptional.

Do you feel the difference? Of course, we exaggerate this way: good is not the same as amazing. But what does it sound like? And it doesn’t matter if it was really just "good". The examiners do not assess the content, but the vocabulary, and it should be rich.

So, we try to use the words which are more complicated:

Simple Complicated
Food Cuisine
Big Enormous
Tasty Delicious
I like I’m fond of
I’m keen on
I’m into
Good Excellent
Amazing
Incredible
Bad Terrible
Happy Ecstatic
Sad Depressed
Miserable
Important Crucial
Essential
Nice Enjoyable
Pretty Attractive
Gorgeous
Little Tiny
Hard Challenging
It' easy It’s a no-brainer
Like ABC
Interresting Entertaining
Funny Hilarious
Clean Spotless
Hot Boiling
Cold Freezing
I was tired I was exhausted.
Old Ancient

 

IELTS Speaking Part 2 linking words

To start:

I’d like to talk about…

I’m gonna talk about…

I’d like to tell you about…

What I’d like to talk about is… (my ipad/my trip to Liverpool)

The card contains the topics that you are talking about one by one. In order not to lose the logic of conversation, you can use the linking words:

First of all, … Secondly,… Finally,…

And also…

What’s more,…

Besides,…

Another thing is that…

Another reason why…

Phrasal Verbs

Want to speak like a native speaker? - Use phrasal verbs.

They will make your speech more natural - this is what you need for a high score for IELTS Speaking.

Phrasal verbs - verb + preposition

For example:
Put off
Go on
etc.

Enrich your vocabulary with these phrasal verbs:

I sometimes fall out with my colleagues. (argue)
My friends never let me down. (disappoint)
I was cracking up when I was watching this TV programme. (was laughing)
I really enjoy trying out new things. (discovering/doing)
I’m thinking of taking up tennis. (discovering/doing)
I usually hang out with my friends at the weekend. (spend time)

In order to get 7.0 and higher for the Speaking part, you also need to use such words correctly - advanced words and less commonly used expressions to show the range of vocabulary.

I reckon ...

I believe that ...

In my opinion, ...

I guess that ...

In my view, ...

I'd say that ...

I'm sure that ...

When you don't know what to say - say these phrases

  • That's a tough one ... (это сложный вопрос)
  • That's a challenging question!
  • I've never thought about that!
  • That's an interesting question!
  • I've no idea what to say, to be honest.

You can use more complex adjectives (extreme adjectives). For example, instead of "very good", it’s better to say "impressive" because "very good" is too simple)

Here are some good adjectives

Enormous

NY is enormous!

Tiny

My bathroom is tiny.

Fascinating

It's fascinating!

Crucial

It's crucial to learn foreign languages.

Gorgeous

We stayed in a gorgeous hotel.

Exceptional

The service was exceptional!

Essential

It's essential to success.

Awesome

We had an awesome time!

Complicated

Life is complicated :)

Spectacular

The view from the top was spectacular!

Impressive

The city was impressive.

Hilarious

This film is hilarious!

Entertaining

It was really entertaining.

How to master IELTS Writing: Task 1 & Task 2

Full IELTS Writing (Ac) Course
14 lessons / 7+ hours of video content
  • How to write an answer to ANY type of Essay task
  • How to write an answer to ANY type of Graph task
  • How to structure your answer
  • What to write in each paragraph
  • What grammar to use
  • How to link your ideas
  • What vocabulary to use
  • What you should write to get a high score

Bonus: IELTS Punctuation PDF Guide
Everything you want to know to have correct punctuation in your IELTS Writing for 7.0-9.0 Score
(31 pages, .PDF)