AIS Term 3 IELTS Courses begin in two weeks, so start thinking about that, everyone. In the meantime, here’s the next post in the collocation series.
Collocation: the other key to IELTS 7 (14 of 16)
Collocation is the key to getting a higher IELTS Writing and Speaking score, but it is not easy. Students often do not collocate words very well (which is why they don’t receive IELTS 7 or 8). To do this, all the parts of speech [adjectives & nouns, verbs & adverbs, prepositions & nouns, and others] must fit together in accepted patterns, stylishly and nice, while all the time conveying clear and precise meaning – like the video at the top of this page. Watch it, and notice all the parts of this complex creation blend together perfectly. This is what your writing should be like.
Well, to have ‘a sense of collocation’ (= IELTS 7), you need to have some familiarity with English. So, start reading all my pixnet posts, and getting this familiarity, right?
In the meantime, the following exercises will help.
Time to Practice
Can you ‘fix’ the following sentences by changing (or removing) the underlined word? There may be different ways to answer these. The answers will be in the next ‘collocation’ post.
1.
It becomes a big problem for those smoking addicts.
2.
They have no choice but to comply with the trend.
3.
When people quit smoking, they feel very uncomfortable.
4.
In this information society, people are very busy.
5.
Employees are asked to have more creative ideas.
6.
Some of the products are under standard.
7.
It could be argued that people have the right to bear guns.
8.
These shootings have stimulated people to consider the dangers.
Answers to Collocation 13 of 16
Here are the answers to the previous collocation exercise. The first sentence has the wrong collocation; the second sentence has the correct one.
1.
Guns are useful when people are suffering from dangerous situations.
Guns are useful when people are facing dangerous situations.
2.
People murder their leaders to make a revolution.
People overthrow their leaders to start a revolution.
Murder is too negative. The meaning here should be a positive one.
3.
People start smoking by curiosity.
People start smoking out of curiosity.
4.
Banning smoking would minimise the opportunity to receive passive smoke.
Banning smoking would minimise exposure to passive smoke.
This issue has happened many times in previous ‘collocation’ entries. The word ‘opportunity’ is positive, for positive concepts. E.g employment opportunities, career opportunities, opportunities to make friends, and so on. Think about it. You would never say ‘opportunities to die’, would you? You would say, ‘the risk/threat/possibility/chance of death’.
5.
Fathers start noticing that they have a responsibility to their children..
Fathers start realising that they have a responsibility to their children.
6.
People often smoke due to the peer-group effect.
People often smoke due to peer-group pressure.
7.
Some drugs can release people from the smoking hunger.
Some drugs can reduce the smoking cravings.
8.
Schools can teach students not to smoke.
Schools can convince/persuade students not to smoke.
Schools can inform/educate students of the dangers of smoking.
By the way, you can learn more about me at www.aisielts.com .