Collocations are word partnerships that native speakers use without thinking — strong evidence, raise concerns, sharp decline. Examiners notice when you use them naturally, and notice even more when you reach for the wrong one (strong evidence ✓, powerful evidence ✗). Lexical Resource — one of the four scoring criteria — is largely a collocation game.
The 30 collocations every Band 7 candidate uses
Cause & effect
- have a profound effect on
- Climate policy has a profound effect on energy prices.
- play a key role in
- Education plays a key role in social mobility.
- lead to a sharp rise / decline in
- Lockdowns led to a sharp rise in online retail.
- give rise to
- Smartphone use has given rise to new forms of distraction.
- result in
- Poor planning resulted in long delays.
Strength & importance
- strong evidence (not powerful)
- There is strong evidence that early intervention works.
- compelling argument
- He made a compelling argument for reform.
- a major concern
- Wage inequality remains a major concern.
- of paramount importance
- Privacy is of paramount importance to users.
- a pressing issue
- Housing affordability is a pressing issue in most cities.
Trends & movement (huge for Task 1)
- rise sharply / steadily / gradually
- Energy prices rose sharply in 2022, then stabilised.
- decline / fall / drop by [percentage]
- Smoking has declined by 30 percent since 2010.
- reach a peak / hit a low
- Tourism reached a peak in 2019, then hit a five-year low.
- remain stable / flat
- Birth rates remained stable across the decade.
- fluctuate between X and Y
- Sales fluctuated between 200 and 400 units.
Argument & opinion
- raise concerns about
- Critics have raised concerns about data privacy.
- make / present / put forward an argument
- Both sides put forward valid arguments.
- share the view that
- Many economists share the view that the policy is overdue.
- draw a distinction between
- It's important to draw a distinction between cause and correlation.
- challenge the assumption that
- Recent research challenges the assumption that more screen time always harms learning.
Spot the natural collocation
- 1
There is _______ evidence that regular exercise improves mental health.
Pick one. You'll see why straight away.
- 2
The new policy will have a profound _______ on small businesses.
Pick one. You'll see why straight away.
- 3
Tourism _______ a peak in 2019 before the pandemic disrupted global travel.
Pick one. You'll see why straight away.