Why the thesaurus makes it worse
Lexical Resource is not a vocabulary-size test. The descriptors ask for words used with precision and appropriacy — and they explicitly count an inaccurate or unnatural word choice against you.
A thesaurus gives you words that are related, not words that are equivalent. English almost never has true synonyms, because if two words meant exactly the same thing, one of them would have died.
| The candidate wanted… | The thesaurus gave… | The result |
|---|---|---|
| important | paramount | This is a paramount problem — wrong register, wrong collocation. |
| big (a big increase) | capacious | A capacious increase — the word means roomy. It is about physical space. |
| people | denizens | The denizens of the city — an examiner will notice this is not how anyone writes. |
| think | cogitate | I cogitate that the government should act — no. |
First: some repetition is completely fine
If your essay is about pollution, the word pollution is going to appear repeatedly, and that is not a problem. Key topic terms are expected to recur — there is no natural way to write about pollution without saying pollution, and contorting yourself to avoid it produces exactly the strained vocabulary above.
What actually reads as a narrow range is the repetition of everything else: the same verbs, the same adjectives, the same connectors.
| Repetition that is fine | Repetition that caps you |
|---|---|
| pollution, government, education — the topic nouns | important, important, important |
| students in an essay about students | Firstly… Secondly… Thirdly… — mechanical signposting |
| increase in a Task 1 chart with three increases | a lot of, many, a lot of, very big |
| I think, I think, In my opinion, I think |
So stop trying to avoid your topic word. Look at your verbs and adjectives — that is where a narrow range is actually visible, and it is where the marks are.
Four fixes that work
1. Reference words — and this one pays twice
It, this, these, such, the latter, the former, the issue, the practice. English handles repetition mainly through reference, not through synonyms, and this is what a native writer actually does.
- Many cities have banned cars from the centre. This has reduced pollution significantly.
- Governments could raise fuel taxes. Such a measure would be unpopular, however.
- Some argue for stricter laws; others prefer education. The latter is slower but more durable.
2. Change the word form, not the word
Pollute / pollution / polluted / pollutant. Same root, different grammar — and it does not read as repetition, because the sentence around it has to change shape to accommodate it.
- Factories pollute rivers. → River pollution is largely industrial. → Heavily polluted rivers are difficult to restore.
This is one of the highest-value habits in IELTS writing, because it demonstrates word formation (explicitly inside Lexical Resource) and forces grammatical variety at the same time — a nominalisation changes the whole sentence structure. It is also safe: you already know the word.
3. Move up and down the ladder of generality
This is what range actually means, and it is not synonym-swapping — it is choosing a more or less specific term as the sentence requires.
| More general | The word | More specific |
|---|---|---|
| vehicles, private transport | cars | SUVs, petrol vehicles |
| measures, policies | laws | legislation on emissions, a congestion charge |
| young people | students | undergraduates, school leavers |
Every one of those is a word you already have, and moving between them is precise rather than decorative — you use the general term when you are generalising and the specific one when you are giving an example, which is exactly the movement the essay needs anyway.
4. Delete it
Often the best fix. A repeated word is frequently sitting in a clause that carries nothing:
- Pollution is a serious problem, and this problem affects everyone. → Pollution affects everyone.
- It is important to note that education is important. → Education matters — and here is why.
You lost a repetition, you lost some clutter, and the sentence got stronger. The words that get repeated most are usually the emptiest ones, which is precisely why they were easy to reuse.
The four words worth attacking first
Repetition is not evenly distributed. Almost every essay leans on the same handful of words, and replacing these four specifically is the fastest visible improvement available.
| Overused | Precise alternatives (that you already know) |
|---|---|
| important | crucial, significant, central, decisive, a priority — or say why it matters instead of asserting that it does. |
| a lot of / many | substantial, widespread, the majority of, a considerable number of — or give the actual figure. |
| good / bad | beneficial, effective, harmful, damaging, counterproductive — these are ordinary words and they are precise. |
| think | argue, maintain, contend, believe — and in an academic essay, often simply delete: The government should act is stronger than I think the government should act. |
None of those are thesaurus words. They are common words you can already use correctly, which is why they are safe — and precision is what the criterion is measuring.
How to find your own repetitions
You cannot see them by rereading, because you will read what you meant rather than what you wrote — the repetition is invisible from the inside, which is how it got there.
- Write an essay, then list every verb and adjective you used. Literally list them. The pattern is usually obvious and slightly embarrassing.
- Count your uses of important, many, good and think. For most candidates this is a short and unpleasant exercise.
- Rewrite one paragraph with reference words instead of repeated nouns, and see how much shorter it gets.
- Get it marked, and look specifically for word choice flagged as imprecise rather than wrong. That is the band-7 boundary.
And when you meet a new word, learn it in a phrase — pose a risk, raise a concern, a compelling argument. Words learned as definitions produce the thesaurus problem all over again; words learned as collocations are usable immediately, and collocation is what the top of the criterion is actually asking for.
Frequently asked questions
Does repeating words lower my IELTS score?
Repeating your topic words does not — an essay about pollution has to say pollution, and contorting yourself to avoid it produces strained vocabulary that costs more than the repetition would. What reads as a narrow range is the repetition of everything else: the same verbs, adjectives and connectors, especially 'important', 'many', 'good' and 'I think'.
Should I use a thesaurus for IELTS writing?
No. Lexical Resource measures precision and appropriacy, not vocabulary size, and a thesaurus gives you related words rather than equivalent ones — 'a capacious increase' or 'this is a paramount problem' are marked as inaccurate word choice, which is a penalty. The essay would have scored higher with the plain word repeated. A common word used exactly beats an uncommon word used approximately.
How do I avoid repetition without synonyms?
Mainly with reference words — 'this', 'such a measure', 'the latter' — which is how English actually handles repetition. That fix pays twice, because reference is a cohesion device and cohesion is a separate criterion from vocabulary. You can also change the word form rather than the word (pollute, pollution, polluted), move between general and specific terms (vehicles, cars, SUVs), or simply delete the clause, since repeated words usually sit in clauses that carry nothing.
What is the fastest way to improve my Lexical Resource score?
Attack four words: 'important', 'many/a lot of', 'good/bad' and 'think'. Almost every essay leans on them, and the alternatives — crucial, substantial, harmful, argue — are ordinary words you can already use correctly, which is what makes them safe. Precision is what is being measured, not rarity.
How do I find the words I overuse?
You cannot find them by rereading, because you read what you meant rather than what you wrote. Write an essay and then list every verb and adjective in it — the pattern is usually obvious once it is on a line by itself. Then get the essay marked and look specifically for word choices flagged as imprecise rather than outright wrong, which is where the band-7 boundary sits.