Cambridge Vocabulary for IELTS

Cambridge Vocabulary for IELTS contains 25 units each featuring a different IELTS topic and filled with vocabulary exercises and practice materials. The aim of the book is to help you build the vocabulary needed to reach bands 6 to 7 in IELTS. It is useful for candidates who are now at band 5 or 6 and will help you learn and practise new vocabulary in the context of IELTS reading, listening, speaking, and writing test materials. In addition, at the end of each unit, there is a section from an IELTS practice test that focuses on the same topic as the unit.

I have worked on the IELTS test since 1995, so I have a good working knowledge of all parts of the test as well as the type of vocabulary that will feature in the test. The book helps you increase your receptive (or passive) vocabulary, so you can understand more in the listening and reading sections of the test, but it also highlights your active vocabulary (the vocabulary you produce in the writing and speaking tests) so that you can write and speak more fluently and more accurately. Rather than simply giving you lists of words or phrases to learn, the book helps you to practice key words in the context of IELTS materials. This means that you also learn how to apply approach vocabulary problems in the real test. For example, you will learn recognise synonyms of the words you are learning, which is important for both the reading and listening tests. In speaking and writing, you will learn about accuracy and using the right form, as well as the correct collocations. There is also a focus on correct spelling and pronunciation. If you are learning vocabulary from free materials and videos, then you are likely to be learning words that are not relevant to the real test. Many free materials focus on words that are highly technical and unfair, and so are simply not suitable for IELTS. Read the vocabulary chapter of my free book to see why this is important.

Although there is no separate vocabulary test in IELTS, vocabulary is a key element of each part of the test. A lack of vocabulary means you cannot follow the listening recordings and that you cannot quickly read the passages in the reading test. In both writing and speaking, the vocabulary you use is assessed by the examiner, who will be looking to see if you can use words accurately and precisely. Vocabulary is extremely important in IELTS and so building your vocabulary will help you to improve your score in each part of the test. In the classroom, it is often difficult for teachers to focus on vocabulary for very long. At band 5 or 6, there are many words in IELTS reading passages that students do not know, but students who do know these words can easily become bored if the teacher stops the class to explain. Cambridge Vocabulary for IELTS helps self-study students and teachers in the classroom to focus longer on vocabulary by making the learning interesting and relevant to the test. After each 5 units, there is a test to help you see if you can remember the words you have learned from the previous units. My band 7+ IELTS vocab app fits together very nicely with this book and helps you to build your active vocabulary so that you can keep practising and learning wherever you are.

Cambridge Vocabulary for IELTS focuses on building vocabulary, but you also need to focus on skills as well as doing test practice. The Official Cambridge Guide to IELTS meets both of these needs. If you want to work further on your vocabulary, look for Cambridge Vocabulary for IELTS Advanced and my band 8+ vocabulary app. If you think that grammar is also a problem for you, look for my grammar-based books: Common Mistakes at IELTS Intermediate, and Cambridge Grammar for IELTS.