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Vocabulary for IELTS Writing: Topic Education

This is a really broad topic – and a very popular one in IELTS. Any part of IELTS can challenge you with questions related to education. We therefore need to focus on this topic as well.

Let’s start with the types of education. We distinguish several types.

Secondary education

Traditionally in the U.S. secondary education refers to school studies (grades 9 to 12) and culminates in a High School Diploma.

A typical next academic milestone is what is called higher education . Higher education is studies beyond high school.

Example : Higher education in the Western world is usually voluntary.

As a result of your studies you will hopefully receive an official recognition in the form of some qualification. General types of qualifications are:

Certificate – for short academic programs Diploma – university level programs shorter than a degree Degree – relatively long academic programs covering specific areas in great depth

Traditionally the first degree you acquire is the Bachelor’s . You can then apply for Master’s and PhD (doctorate).

Example : PhD courses may be a mix of theory and practice in your chosen subject.

To start your studies in a recognized university you normally have to meet specific requirements. Let’s talk about them using specific vocabulary.

Entry Admissions are requirements for prospective students and could be expressed as your minimum grade level during your previous studies, minimum score in specific standardized tests (like IELTS, TOEFL, ACT, GMAT, etc.). Another way to say it is entrance requirements.

While choosing your future institution you consider a number of aspects such as university rankings and curricula . Let’s stop here! Curriculum is another superpopular term. It means the content taught in a specific academic program. By curriculum we often mean courses offered by a school.

Example : Curriculum is one of the foundational elements of effective teaching.

Let’s continue. Another important thing you usually have to carefully consider is tuition and cost of attendance . Basically it’s money you have to invest in your studies. Tuition fees are what you pay directly to the university and the cost of attendance includes food, housing, transportation, books, and supplies. Top-tier institutions (another very useful expression which means leading or prestigious institutions) often charge thousands of dollars yearly. To ease the burden on their budget many students apply for financial aid. It could come in the form of a scholarship (scholarship is money for your education awarded based on various criteria defined by a sponsor).

Example : There are a number of scholarship schemes run by governments, charities, and other organizations.

There are other forms of financial aid which include bursaries, grants, fellowship, and scholarship.

• Scholarships are awarded for scholastic achievement.
• Bursaries are awarded on the basis of financial need, so it is a certain type of social financial help.
• Grants are funds provided by a certain party, often a government department, corporation, or foundation to an individual or institution.
• Fellowships usually refer to grants in support of post baccalaureate projects, or to pre baccalaureate projects pursued outside the standard curriculum.

All scholarships and fellowships are grants and need not to be repaid.

Example: Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton called for cutting student debt.

Now let’s talk about learning modes. The typical decision for most students is to study full-time , but for those who work part-time studying can be a more realistic solution. You can also choose to study distantly or via some trendy online program (e-learning) . Or you might prefer a combination of on campus and distance studying which is called the blended mode .

Talking about online programs I will mention some other hot terms and concepts.

MOOC is a recent development in distance education rapidly gaining popularity. It stands for Massive Open Online Course. It is an online course that has open access and interactive participation published on the web.

Example : Coursera, which emerged thanks to Stanford University professors in 2012, has by far the largest number of offered courses.

Educational verbs

• to revise – to make changes especially to correct or improve (something); to study (something) again;
• to enroll (in a degree course) – to enter (someone) as a member of or participant in something;
• to take (someone) as a member or participant; to become a member or participant
• to review – to look at or examine (something) carefully especially before making a decision or judgment; to study or look at (something) again; to describe or show (a series of things or events from the past)
• to research – to study (something) carefully; to collect information about or for (something)
• to attend (classes) – to go to or be present at some event
• to major in a subject – to pursue an academic major
• to deliver a lecture – to carry out/conduct a lecture
• to graduate (from a university) – to earn a degree or diploma from a school, college, or university
• to keep up with (your studies) – to go or make progress at the same rate as others
• to demonstrate academic gains – to show academic progress/education achievement
• to broaden horizons – to enlarge / expand someone’s scope
• to fall behind (with studies) – lag behind
• to evaluate – to determine or fix the value of something; to determine the significance, worth, or condition of usually by careful appraisal and study to procrastinate – to put off intentionally the doing of something that should be done
• And there is also a short list of great words that don’t fit into any category. You might already know some of them, others might appear to be new to you. Try to remember them or write them into your notepad and think of some examples with them! Practice makes perfect.
• Campus – the area and buildings around a university, college, school, etc.
• Essay – a short piece of writing that tells a person’s thoughts or opinions about a subject
• Debate – a discussion between people in which they express different opinions about something
• Attendance – the number of people present at an event, meeting, etc. the act of being present at a place; a record of how often a person goes to classes, meetings, etc.
• Compulsory – required by a law or rule; having the power of forcing someone to do something
• Inquisitive – tending to ask questions; having a desire to know or learn more asking too many questions about other people’s lives
• Dissertation – a long piece of writing about a particular subject that is done to earn an advanced degree at a university
• Discipline – a field of study Faculty – a branch of teaching or learning in an educational institution
• Peer – a person who belongs to the same age group or social group as someone else Literacy – the ability to read and write; knowledge that relates to a specified subject
• Alumnus (pl.-i-) – someone who was a student at a particular school, college, or university
• Assignment – a specified task or amount of work assigned or undertaken as if assigned by authority
• Thesis – a long piece of writing on a particular subject that is done to earn a degree at a university

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• Education Vocabulary

It’s very common for candidates to be asked about their school, college or university experience, so a good range of education vocabulary is something you definitely need to develop.

This page should make that easy for you as it contains over 150 everyday words and phrases related to study, education and teaching. For each, I’ve included an explanation and added a sample sentence to show it in context. This will help you to learn how to use it correctly.

Don’t try to learn them all. Look at my suggestions below as to the best way to use this extensive list of education vocabulary.

Here are some of the categories covered:

• Educational institutions
• Course types & levels
• Qualifications
• People in education
• Subjects & facilities
• Academic work

As well as your own experience of education, you could be asked your opinion on wider issues such as the quality of teaching or education system in your country, equal opportunities, technology in schools and many other related topics. The list of education vocabulary will equip you to create answers for these types of subjects as well.

Also on this page are three other things that will help you prepare for questions about education:

• IELTS-style questions on the topic of education
• Sample answers
• Links to online reading & listening resources

You’ll find PDF downloads of both the questions and sample answers and the education vocabulary list at the bottom of the respective sections.

The questions relate to the Speaking test because this part of the exam offers the broadest range of possible questions on the topic of education. They give the best opportunity for me to demonstrate the vocabulary and for you to practise using it.

I’ve included IELTS-style questions and answers for all three parts of the Speaking test. I've highlighted key words and phrases in  bold .

You'll find these words and phrases, and many others, in the vocabulary list beneath. There’s an audio to listen to their pronunciation.

The education vocabulary list contains words and phrases relevant to all parts of the IELTS exam.

Finally, at the bottom of the page I've added links to topical articles, short videos and podcasts that will help you to improve both your education vocabulary and your reading and listening skills.

Let’s begin with the sample questions.

IELTS-Style Speaking Test Questions and Answers

Common education vocabulary is highlighted in  bold .

1) At what age do children begin school in your country?

Formal education starts at five years of age but most children go to preschool when they are around three. This isn’t compulsory but really helps them to develop socially.

2) What kind of school did you go to as a child?

My family moved around a lot when I was growing up so I went to many different schools including three primary schools , a grammar school and a co-educational comprehensive school . I even attended a private school for a year.

3) Did you enjoy your time at school?

I can’t say that I particularly enjoyed my early education . With changing schools so often, I was always the new kid which I found hard.

4) Would you say you were a good student?

Yes, I was definitely a good pupil . I was a quiet, shy child who never caused my teachers any trouble or played truant . I worked hard on my coursework and got on well with my peers .

5) Did you do any extra-curricular activities?

Back in my day, there weren’t many opportunities to do extra-curricular activities . However, I was in the school choir at my secondary school . We use to put on concerts and one year we did a tour of Germany.

Describe a subject you enjoyed studying at school.

You should say:

• when and where you started studying it
• what lessons were like
• what made it different from other subjects

and explain why you enjoyed the subject.

There There were three subjects I particularly enjoyed at school, English , geography and P.E. but if I had to choose a favourite, I guess it would be geography .

I suppose you start learning about the natural features around you and other countries in primary school but geography first appeared on the curriculum as a specific subject in secondary school . I’d been fascinated with other places and cultures for as long as I could remember. My dad had travelled a lot and had a large map on the wall with pins in all the countries he’d been to. I loved looking at it so perhaps that’s where my interest in geography first started.

The geography classroom was great; full of globes, atlases and books about places that were very different to where I lived. We had a nice teacher called Mrs Rose who used lots of pictures and maps in her lessons . This was perfect for me as I’m a visual learner. If Mrs Rose had just talked all the time, as some of our teachers did, I probably wouldn’t have enjoyed the subject so much or learnt so easily.

I even liked doing geography homework . I can remember sitting at my desk at home spending hours carefully drawing maps and adding all the features. When my mum took me to the library on a Saturday morning, I’d look for adventure stories set around the world or books on how people live in other countries.

When I reached the sixth form and had to choose just three subjects to study, geography was one of them, although I actually failed my final exam. My family moved house yet again just before I took it and I was very unsettled. I had a private tutor for a few months then retook the exam and got a good grade.

At university ,  I trained as a  teacher myself. I chose primary education so taught geography along with many other subjects. However, during one of my training placements, the headteacher asked me to spend three weeks teaching the subject to every class in the small village school, from 5 year olds up to 11 year olds. It was one of the happiest times in the whole of my career even though I hadn’t even got my teaching qualification yet.

1) What impact do universities have on the places where they’re located?

I believe that the presence of a university in a town or city has a significant positive impact on the area. For a start, it's often the largest employer, offering jobs at all levels from cleaners and maintenance staff to lecturers and top academics .

Large educational institutions like this bring in lots of investment from around the world from foreign students and for important research projects. The presence of thousands of students during term times is also a massive boost to the local economy.

In addition to the financial benefits, there several ways in which universities contribute socially. For example, university towns and cities tend to be vibrant, with a great social life due to the large numbers of young adults living there. What’s more, the campus itself usually has a number of facilities that can be used by local people. A university city I used to live in had an excellent theatre that attracted top plays, shows and performers from around the country.

2) What is it more important for academics to do, research or teaching?

It was only recently, after reading an article about a local university , that I realised just how much research goes on in them. It was about a new facility in the medical faculty and outlined the important research they will now be able to carry out on stem cells and brain tumours. This type of work is vital if we are to combat illness and disease in the future.

For most people though, universities are places of learning where you go to get your degree and prepare for your future career, so teaching must have a high priority. As teachers , academics have the role of passing on knowledge to the next generation.

Weighing it up, I think that the teaching side of their work is the most important because unless they instruct and inspire their students , there will be no-one to fill the most important jobs in society or to carry on the research work the academics do.

3) What are the advantages of studying a distance learning course?

For many people, especially mature students who work, distance learning is the ideal way to study. There are several benefits that immediately come to mind. Firstly, the cost is far less than it would be to attend a college or university with their high tuition fees .

Secondly, you can study anywhere and in your own time and at your own pace. Some students , myself included, find that this method of learning suits them better than sitting in lectures or going to tutorials . You do have to be self-motivated to keep up with the coursework though, and you still get assignments to write and sometimes a dissertation , but you can fit these around your daily life.

Thirdly, there’s a huge range of correspondence courses and online courses available these days so you can take almost any subject you want to and even study for a degree qualification this way. So all in all, distance learning courses have many advantages over other methods of study.

Click this link to get a PDF download of these practise questions & sample answers.

Download PDF Now

*  Important

• Do  not  try and learn this list of education vocabulary.
• Identify the vocabulary you find useful for answering practise questions about this topic.
• Record it in your vocabulary notebook and practise using it regularly.

I recommend that you create your own answers to the Speaking questions on this page. You will find many other IELTS-style practise questions by searching online. 

For help on how to learn vocabulary, what to learn and how to record it, visit these pages:

How to Learn Vocabulary for IELTS

Top 6 Types of IELTS Vocabulary & Topic Word Lists

Education Vocabulary  –  Common Words & Phrases

Education Vocabulary Set 1: Key Definitions

education – the process of teaching or learning, especially in a school, college or university, or the knowledge that you get from this

- Education is a low priority for the governments of some developing countries.

- Most children receive their education in schools but some are taught at home.

to educate – to give someone intellectual, moral or social instruction, typically at a school, college or university

- At the school I visited in Kenya the children are educated in classes of over 60 pupils.

educational – relating to the provision of education

- When I was at school we had an educational visit to the British Museum in London to see Tutankhamun’s treasures.

educational institution – a place where people gain an education, such as a school

- We are fortunate to have many excellent educational institutions in our area.

formal education – education  normally delivered by trained teachers in a systematic way in a school, college or university.

- In Norway, formal education starts when children reach the age of six.

compulsory education – the legally-required period of time that children are expected to attend school. In the western world, these laws generally require that children attend school from the ages of 5 to 16 or 18.

- One day, a formal education will hopefully be compulsory for all children.

Education Vocabulary Pronunciation

Education Vocabulary Set 2: Educational institutions

preschool – a school for children who are too young to begin their formal education

- Most children in the UK go to a preschool but it isn’t compulsory.

nursery school (UK)/ kindergarten (US) – preschool education

- In the UK, most children begin nursery school at the age of four.

primary school (UK)/ elementary school (US) – the type of school for children ages 5-11

- Bindi was so excited about starting primary school when the new term started in September.

primary education – the education of 5-11 year olds

- In an ideal world, primary education would be compulsory in every country.

secondary school (UK)/ high school (US)  – the type of school for children age 11 to 16, sometimes 18

- I want to teach in a secondary school when I finish my teacher training as I really enjoy working with older pupils.

co-educational/mixed – a school where girls and boys are taught together.

- These days, most schools in the UK are co-educational .

single-sex school – a school for either male or female students but not both

- Both my parents went to single-sex schools but it’s more normal these days to go to a mixed school.

state school – a school that is funded and controlled by the government and for which no fees are charged

- The government is facing growing criticism for the underfunding of state schools .

comprehensive school – a state school that accepts pupils regardless of their level of academic ability or achievement

- There is an ongoing debate as to whether all young people should attend comprehensive schools or if schools that select pupils on academic ability are still relevant.

grammar school (UK) – state secondary  school  that selects their pupils by means of an examination taken by children at age 11

- Although many people are against selective education where some school places go to the most academically able pupils, grammar schools are still popular.

private school – a school that is not supported by government money, where education must be paid for by the children’s parents

- Jonah’s parents decided to pay for him to go to a private school because most classes only had 20 pupils in.

private education – education parents have to pay for

- Only a small percentage of parents can afford to give their children a private education .

public school (UK) – an exclusive, expensive school, run independently

public school (US) – a school which is free and paid for by the government

higher education (also called tertiary education ) – education beyond the age at which it is compulsory, usually in a college or university

- Most of Vijay’s friends wanted to leave school and get a job as soon as possible but he was determined to go on to higher education to improve his career prospects.

boarding school – a school where students live and study during the school term.

- Yu Yang hated boarding school as she missed her family and felt very homesick.

college – a place of higher education where people study specialized subjects or undertake vocational training for a skilled job

- Hugo applied for a place at the local college to train to be a chef.

university – a high-level educational institution where students study for degrees and academic research is done.

- Fuyuko wanted to study nursing at university in Australia but had to get a band 7 in her IELTS exam to be accepted.

Education  Vocabulary Pronunciation

Education Vocabulary Set 3: Course types & levels

course – a series of lessons in a particular subject

undergraduate – studying for a degree but having not yet achieved it.

postgraduate – having achieved a degree and now studying for a higher qualification, possibly a professions qualification

vocational – education or training directed at a particular occupation and its skills, often requiring practical skills

intensive – fast-paced courses which give a lot of information quickly and in a short time

Education Vocabulary Set 4:  Qualifications

qualification – an official record showing that you have achieved a certain level of education or skill in a particular subject or skill area

- Riya was determined to leave school with good qualifications so she could get a well-paid job to support her family.

certificate – an official record of achievement, generally issued for a short course

- Shona was delighted to be presented her TEFL certificate on passing her course to become an English teacher.

diploma – issued for a higher education course that is shorter than a degree

- Greg did so well in his two-year engineering diploma that his tutor persuaded him to study for another year to qualify for a degree.

bachelor’s degree / or just degree ( BA/BSc etc) – qualification issued by a university or college at the end of three or four years of study

- I’m studying for a bachelor’s degree in marine biology.

- I’m studying for a BA in history.

master’s degree /or just master’s ( MA/MSc etc) – qualification issued by a university when the student has completed further study beyond a degree, often in a more specialisn'ted field than a bachelor’s degree

- Alonso wanted to stay on at university an extra year to study for his master’s but his parents couldn't afford the fees.

doctorate ( PhD ) – the highest level of degree qualification issued by a university

- I’m so proud of my sister for achieving a PhD in biochemistry.

fellowship – a teaching or research post given to a person studying for an advanced degree.

- Being awarded a research fellowship at my university is a dream come true as it enables me to stay on and study for my doctorate.

Education vocabulary Pronunciation

Education Vocabulary Set 5:  People in education

headteacher/ principal  – the person in charge of a school

- Our headteacher had been principal for 12 years when he retired.

teacher – a person who teaches, especially in a school

- My favourite teacher at school was Mr Webber because he made lessons so interesting.

tutor – a teacher who works privately with one student or a small group

- Our son struggles with maths so we’ve got him a private tutor to help him with his work.

lecturer – a person who teaches at a college or university.

- My cousin is a lecturer in physics at the University of London.

professor – a teacher of the highest rank in a department of a British university, or a teacher of high rank in an American university or college

-  Professor Stephen Hawking  was one of the most influential figures in modern science.

an academic – a person who teaches in a college or university and continues to research and increase knowledge about their specialist subject

- She was such a bookworm at school and always in the library researching some topic or other, so it’s no surprise that she became an academic .

pupil – a person, usually a child at school, who is being taught

- The pupils loved Miss Lefebvre’s French lessons as she gave them fun learning games to play.

student – a person, usually a college or university, who is being taught

- The beginning of the academic year was so busy with all the new students starting their college courses.

mature student – an adult student who attends college or university some years after leaving school

- Jose was so grateful for the chance to study for a degree as a mature student having left school with very few qualifications.

a graduate – a person who has finished their college or university education

- University graduates can usually get higher paid jobs than people with vocational skills.

peer – a person who is in the same class, age group or social group as someone else

Pupils these days are under a lot of pressure to dress and behave like their peers .

Education Vocabulary Set 6: School subjects

curriculum – the subjects comprising a course of study in a school or college

- Her parents chose the school because it offered a broad curriculum including drama and dance which were her favourite subjects.

syllabus – an outline or summary of the subjects to be covered in a course

- The new syllabus included environmental science which was becoming more popular as a school subject.

maths/math/mathematics – the study of numbers, shapes and space

literature – the study of written works (such as poems, plays, and novels) that are considered to be very good and to have lasting importance

the three R's – the basic educational skills of r eading, w r iting and a r ithmetic (maths)

- Most schools put a high priority on teaching the three R's .

language – a system of communication used by a particular country or community often studied as a subject by non-native speakers

- To her surprise, Jenna found that she was quite good at languages at school.

humanities – studies about human culture, such as literature, languages, philosophy, and history.

- Tuma couldn’t decide whether to study history or philosophy at university so opted for a degree in humanities .

science – the study of the structure and behaviour of the physical world, divided into subjects such as physics, biology and chemistry

• physics – the branch of science concerned with the nature and properties of matter and energy
• biology – the study of living organisms
• chemistry – the branch of science concerned with the substances of which matter is composed

geography  – the study of the physical features of the earth and its atmosphere, and of human activity as it affects and is affected by these

religious studies  – the study of religion and belief systems

history  – the study of past events, particularly in human affairs

information technology  (IT or ICT)  –   the study of the development, maintenance, and use of computer systems, software, and networks for the processing and distribution of data

physical education  (PE)  – instruction in physical exercise and games, especially in schools

art  – the study of artistic techniques such as drawing, painting, sculpture, etc. or the appreciation of works of art

music  – the study of how to play a musical instrument or sing, how to read music, how to compose music, etc

drama   – the study of acting and theatrical performance

home economics  –   cooking and other aspects of household management, especially as taught at school

Education Vocabulary Set 7: School vocabulary

to play truant – to be absent without permission from parents or teachers

- Helios was always playing truant from school which he regretted when he failed his exams and struggled to find a good job.

to skip classes – to be absent from lessons you are supposed to attend

- I was never brave enough to skip classes as my parents would have been furious if they’d found out.

bookworm – a person who loves reading and/or studying

- My best friend is a real bookworm but is a great person to have on your quiz team because his general knowledge is excellent.

rote learning – a teaching style based on learning by memorisation through repetition

- My parents’ education was based on rote learning but there was more emphasis on learning by investigation by the time I went to school.

literacy – the ability to read and write, sometimes use as a subject title for reading and writing

- Afghanistan has one of the lowest literacy rates in the world with just 28% of people able to read and write.

literate – to be able to read and write

- In the past 20 years, the proportion of adults in the world who are literate has increased from 75% to 84 % which is a great improvement.

illiterate –  to be unable to read and write

- There are many children in the poorest countries of the world who have little or no access to education and are  illiterate .

remedial – involving pupils who need extra help with a particular area of study or subject

- Pupils who got poor grades use to be put in a remedial class but now they are given extra support from a learning assistant.

additional needs/ special needs  – related to students who need special help due to a learning or physical difficulty

- Shona spend the later part of her teaching career working in a school for students with additional needs .

extra-curricular activities – activities or subjects offered in addition to the normal curriculum usually offered outside normal class hours, such as art, cooking or computer clubs and extra sporting activities

- The most popular extra-curricular activities at Westcroft School were pottery, badminton and computer programming.

school uniform – a particular set of clothes that has to be worn by pupils

- Do Hyan looked so smarting setting off for school on his first day wearing his new school uniform .

discipline – a set of rules governing conduct or behaviour

- Schools where a high level of discipline is maintained, generally have above average exam results

• impose discipline
• maintain discipline
• lack of discipline

timetable – a chart showing times of particular events, such as lesson times in the school day

- Ruby wasn’t very happy with her new timetable as she had double maths followed by double science on a Monday, both subjects she found hard.

Education Vocabulary Set  8:  Facilities

classroom – where lessons take place in a school

- The noisy classroom fell silent when the headteacher walked through the door.

lecture  theatre/ hall  – a room or hall for lectures with seats in tiers

- There was excitement in the lecture theatre as the famous actor stood up to give the drama students a lecture on method acting.

studio – a room where students studying art, photography, media studies, etc. create work

- The studio was set up with recording equipment for the students to practice editing techniques.

library – a building or room containing collections of books, professional journals and other academic literature and material relevant to student's studies

- Sabiha spent all day in the university library doing research for her essay on globalisation.

laboratory – a room or building with scientific equipment for doing scientific tests or for teaching science

- Kate’s favourite part of her degree course in molecular biology was the laboratory work.

campus – the buildings and grounds of a university or college

- It took me a long time to find my way around the campus when I first started at university.

halls of residence – a college or university building where students live

- In his first year at college, Somchai lived in a hall of residence , but in his second year, he rented a house with some other students.

student accommodation – living accommodation for college or university students

- The university offered a range of student accommodation including studio apartments, flats, halls of residence and shared houses.

Education Vocabulary Set 9: Academic work 

assignment – a piece of work given to someone as part of their studies

- I have three more written assignments to complete this term.

coursework – written or practical work done by a student during a course of study, often assessed in order to count towards a final mark or grade

- Helga was really bad at exams so she chose a course where 50 per cent of the overall marks came from assessed coursework .

dissertation – is a long formal piece of writing on a particular subject, especially for a university degree.

- It was hard getting my dissertation finished by the deadline and I handed it in on the very last day.

thesis – a long piece of writing on a particular subject, especially one that is done for a higher degree

- Adao wrote his PhD thesis on the effect of organic fertilizers on soil fertility in tropical climates.

presentation – a speech or talk given in front of an audience

- As part of their end of year assessment, the students had to give a presentation on the theories of learning for children under 3 years of age.

lecture – a formal talk on a subject given to a large group of students who would normally take notes

- She was so pleased that the lecture was cancelled as it gave her time to catch up on some coursework.

tuition – teaching or instruction, especially of individual pupils or small groups

- Dana was unable to get to lectures after breaking her leg but the college provided individual tuition for her until she recovered.

tutorial – a small group study session with a tutor often following a lecture

- He always found tutorials helpful as it was a chance to ask questions about what they’d heard in the lecture.

seminar – a class at university in which a specific topic is discussed by a teacher and a small group of students

- At university, I found seminars far more useful than lectures as I learn best in a small group.

lesson – a period of learning or teaching, usually in a school

- Walter was late for the history lesson and got into trouble with the teacher.

homework – additional coursework work given to pupils to complete in their own time outside school hours

- Most pupils hate homework as they’d rather be out with their friends or playing computer games than studying.

correspondence course – a course of study in which student and tutors communicate by post

- Juan’s local college didn’t offer a course in accountancy but he found a good correspondence course to give him the qualification he needed.

distance learning – a way of studying in which lectures are broadcast or lessons are conducted by post or via the internet without the student needing to attend a school or college or have in-person teacher interaction

- I prefer to study by distance learning as I can work when I want and at the pace I want.

online learning – Similar to distance learning but done 100% via the internet and often involving in-person interaction with a teacher online

- I find online learning ideal for preparing for my IELTS exam and enjoy connecting with my teacher via Skype.

to sit an exam – to take an exam.

- I want to carry on learning for the rest of my life but after I finish my training I hope I never have to sit an exam again.

Education Vocabulary Set 10: The cost of education

tuition fees – the money paid for a course of study, especially at a private school or a college or university

- High tuition fees mean that many young people can’t afford to go to university.

a grant – money given by the government to support a student while studying

- Bernice was successful in her application for a grant which meant that she could attend her local university.

a student loan – money which a student can borrow while they are studying, but which has to be repaid

- Geraint took out student loans of £9000 a year to pay for his tuition of fees and left university heavily in debt.

a scholarship – money given to someone, often by the institution they are studying at, to help pay for their tuition

- He was overjoyed to receive a scholarship to Oxford University as his parents couldn’t afford to pay the fees.

internship – a period of work experience (often unpaid) offered by an employer to give students and graduates experience of working in an industry related to their field of study

- All students on the course were expected to secure an internship during the long vacation between the second and third years of their degree course.

Education Vocabulary  Set 11: Common terms related to college or university

unconditional offer – the offer of a place at an educational institution for which you already meet the entry requirements

- Mustafa was delighted to receive an unconditional offer from his first choice university and accepted immediately.

conditional offer – the offer of a place at an educational institution which requires you to meet certain entry requirements, usually specific exam grades

- She was fairly confident that she would get the exam grades she needed to take up the conditional offer at Bristol University.

to major in – to choose as your main subject

- I want to major in primary education with a specialism in science.

to read (a subject) – to study a specific subject

- Hans read geology at university and is now working for an oil company in the States.

faculty – department in a university that specialises in a specific subject

- It was a proud day for the university when the faculty of science move into the new, state-of-the-art building.

research – a detailed study of a particular subject

- I’m really enjoying this research project on the migratory behaviour of the golden eagle.

• conduct research
• carry out research

Education Vocabulary Set 12:  More common words, phrases & expressions

to work your way through university – to have a paid job while studying to support yourself financially

- With the steep increase in tuition fees, many students are forced to work their way through university .

to keep up with your studies – to not fall behind with your work

- Giang would have to limit his time socializing with his friends if he was going to keep up with his studies .

to fall behind with your studies – to not get your coursework and assignments done in the time allowed

- She was a hard-working student but fell behind with her studies after catching pneumonia and having to spend time in hospital.

to learn something by heart – to memorise it

- By the end of his first week learning English, Elisha had learnt all the days of the weeks and months of the year by heart .

gap year – a period, typically an academic year, taken by a student as a break between school and university or college education

- Many students spend their gap year travelling to get more experience of life before they settle down to studying for a degree.

to take a year out – to take a gap year

- Before going to the university, I took a year out to travel and also earn some money.

to enrol – to officially register on a course at a college or university

- She didn’t know an old friend had enrolled on the same course until they met up on the first day.

sign up for – to commit to something for a specific period such as the duration of a course

- Having signed up for the photography course, she now had to ask her brother if she could borrow his camera.

to drop out –  to leave a course before completing it

- Hiran was forced to drop out of university when his father became ill and he had to take over the family business to support his family.

a dropout – a student who fails to complete a course of study and leaves the educational institution with no qualifications

- Many famous and very wealthy entrepreneurs are college dropouts , which proves that you don’t need a degree to succeed in life.

well-educated  – someone who has received a high level or good standard of education

- You could tell that he was  well-educated  by the way he spoke.

to meet a deadline  – to complete a piece of work by the required date

- I didn’t think I’d get my essay written in time but I just  met the deadline .

note-taking  – to take notes in a lesson or lecture when the teacher is talking

- I find  note-taking  in a lecture really difficult as I miss much of what is being said while I’m writing.

to revise  – study or read something again in order to remember it better, often before exams

- No matter how hard I  revise , my mind goes blank as soon as I get into the exam room.

to review  – to read over something again. Similar to revise, but generally done just after a lesson or lecture rather than in preparation for an exam

- Bella found that  reviewing  her notes just before going to sleep helped her to remember the key points.

workload  – the amount of work that has to be done

- The course  workload  felt overwhelming at first but became more manageable once the students had covered the theory and moved on to the more practical part of the course.

to pass with flying colours   –  to pass an exam or test easily and with excellent result

- He was sure he was going to fail his maths exam but  passed with flying colours .

scrape through  – to just pass an exam

- She ran out of time in the exam and left many questions unanswered but just  scraped through  with a pass mark.

to resit/retake an exam   – to take an exam again in order to get a better result

- Madee needed band 7 in her IELTS Speaking test but only got 6.5, so she had to  retake the exam .

Click this link to get a PDF download of this list of education vocabulary.

Other Useful Education Vocabulary

It’s also a good idea to create your own list of education vocabulary related to any courses you are currently taking so that you are ready to talk about them if asked.

Ways to Improve Your Education Vocabulary

One of the best ways to improve your vocabulary is through reading. Watching topic related YouTube videos and listening to podcasts is also hugely beneficial.

Here are some online resources I recommend.

Education Articles

BBC News – Education

The Independent

New York Times

The Conversation

I love TED Talks. They are short videos with a powerful message and are generally very interesting. They’re ideal for improving your vocabulary and give valuable listening skills practise.

Search  YouTube TED Talks - Education  to help you improve your education vocabulary.

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Education Vocabulary for IELTS

 This is a list of useful Education vocabulary for IELTS.

Education is common topic in IELTS. This vocabulary will help you with all parts of the test if the topic arises.

As with the other vocabulary on these pages, although common word forms are given, not all word forms are here, so remember that once you understand the word you should study it further to make sure you understand exactly how it is used in different contexts.

You will see here:

• The word/phrase

At the bottom of the page you will find links to essays connected to education topics. 

List of IELTS Education Vocabulary

The action or state of going regularly to or being present at a place or event.

• Attendance is mandatory for all students during the school term.
• Regular attendance is important for academic success.

To behave in a dishonest way in order to get what you want.

• He did really well in his exams but he cheated. He copied from a friend.
• Cheating on exams is not recommended.

Co-educational

When male and female students are taught together in the same school or college rather than separately

• I believe that co-educational schools prepare students for their future better than single-sex schools.
• Co-educational schools provide an inclusive environment where boys and girls learn together, fostering mutual respect and understanding.

Concentrate

To direct your attention or your efforts towards a particular activity, subject, or problem.

• It is difficult to concentrate on my college work if there is a lot of noise.
• I keep losing concentration due to the noise.

Regular work done by students as part of a course, but assessed independently of formal exams.

• The coursework on my degree was really difficult.
• The coursework for my biology class includes conducting experiments, writing lab reports, and completing research assignments.

The group of subjects studied in a school, college, etc.

• Schools must ensure they have an excellent curriculum.
• The school's curriculum includes a diverse range of subjects such as mathematics, science, literature, and physical education to provide students with a well-rounded education.

Distance Learning

Education that takes place remotely, often utilizing online resources and communication technologies.

• Many universities offer distance learning programs for students who are unable to attend classes on campus.
• The pandemic led to a surge in popularity for distance learning platforms.

Extracurricular

Activities pursued by students outside the regular curriculum.

• I participate in several extracurricular activities like debate club and chess team.
• Extracurricular activities help students develop a well-rounded skill set.

To complete a first university degree successfully.

• I graduated from the University of Salford in 2009.
• My graduation ceremony was in 2009.

Higher (tertiary) Education

Non-compulsory education after finishing school, such as university, as well as vocational education and training at colleges.

• 60% of children now go into higher education after they finish school.
• After completing secondary school, many students choose to pursue tertiary education at universities or colleges to further their academic and career goals.

Tasks assigned by teachers to be completed outside of class.

• I have a lot of homework to do tonight, including a math worksheet and a history essay.
• Homework reinforces what we learn in class.

Unable to read and write.

• Many children in the poorest countries are illiterate.
• Due to the lack of access to education, many adults in the rural village remained illiterate, unable to read or write even basic texts.

The ability to read and write.

• Literacy rates have declined considerably in Western countries over the last decade.
• However, most children are literate.

The practice of taking someone else's work or ideas and passing them off as one's own.

• Plagiarism is a serious offense in academic settings and can result in disciplinary action.
• The student was expelled for plagiarizing an entire research paper.

Primary Education/School (Elementary School)

First years of formal education from around age 5 to 11.

• A good primary education is crucial for a child's development.
• Elementary school teachers focus on building foundational skills in reading, writing, and mathematics to prepare young students for future academic success.

Qualification

An official record showing that you have finished a training course or have the necessary skills, etc.

• Good qualifications are really important if you want to get a well-paid job.
• I am qualified to teach English.

Secondary Education/School (High School: USA)

Education during the time as a teenager.

• I loved it at my secondary school as I had so many friends.
• In secondary school, students typically study a broader range of subjects in preparation for higher education or vocational training.

A division of the academic year, typically lasting several months, during which classes are held.

• We have finals at the end of each semester.
• The fall semester begins in September and ends in December.

A sum of money charged for teaching or instruction by a school, college, or university.

• The university increased tuition fees by 10% this year.
• Many students rely on scholarships to help cover their tuition costs.

Undergraduate

A student at a college or university who has not yet earned a bachelor's degree.

• I'm an undergraduate majoring in biology.
• Undergraduate students often take a variety of general education courses.

Virtual Classroom

An online learning environment where students and teachers interact in real-time.

• Due to the pandemic, we shifted to a virtual classroom for the remainder of the semester.
• The virtual classroom allows students to participate in discussions from anywhere with an internet connection.

A seminar or series of meetings for intensive study or training in a particular subject.

• I attended a writing workshop to improve my essay skills.
• The workshop on time management was very informative.

View model essays that include IELTS education vocabulary:

University Education Essay

Free University Education Essay

Paying Attention in Class Essay

Examinations or Formal Assessment Essay

More Topic Related Vocabulary:

Environment Vocabulary for IELTS

Environment vocabulary words and definitions that you can learn in order to increase your score for the IELTS test.

Crime Vocabulary for IELTS

Crime vocabulary to help you with IELTS essays and speaking. Common Crime Words.

Health Vocabulary

This health vocabulary includes useful words to talk and write about health, ftiness and food

The Arts Vocabulary

Learn about the Arts vocabulary to help you in the IELTS test for speaking, writing, reading and listening.

Work Vocabulary for IELTS

Work vocabulary to improve your IELTS score. The words are related to the topics of jobs, careers and occupations.

Information Technology Vocabulary for IELTS

Learn information technology vocabulary, which provides you with a new word, a definition, and then the word in context.

Children and the Family Vocabulary

Children and the Family Vocabulary for IELTS - essential vocabulary to help to improve your score for IELTS

Science Vocabulary for IELTS

Science vocabulary to improve your score for the IELTS test. Learn words that can be used in the test, with examples and definitions.

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IELTS Vocabulary: Vocabulary lists, exercises and free resources

Welcome to the IELTS Vocabulary page! If you’re preparing for the IELTS exam, you already know that a strong vocabulary is crucial for success.

Here we put together lists of topic-specific vocabulary and the way you can use them in the exam.

You’ll find detailed explanations and an IELTS vocabulary list to practice and improve your vocabulary.

Table of Contents

How can i improve my vocabulary for ielts.

• Vocabulary for IELTS Speaking topics

Vocabulary for IELTS Writing Task

Video: how to expand your writing vocabulary (+ 10 words), what is a vocabulary collocation.

• Important Vocabulary to learn for IELTS

What is the best way to learn topic-specific collocations?

Video: ielts topic specific vocabulary and collocations, other ielts vocabulary lessons.

• Audio Tutorial

Vocabulary or lexical resource is responsible for 25% of your final grade, in both the speaking and writing sections.

Here we have a list of the topics you can expect to find on the exam, we are updating it each week.

It’s common to be stuck with an IELTS exam score of 6.5 and believe in order to get a band 7 they need to improve their IELTS vocabulary.

However, without feedback, evaluation or expert exam help, it is difficult to pinpoint exactly which area you need to get help for.

Constantly build your passive vocabulary word lists by reading and listening. Then move these words into your active vocabulary by using them when speaking or writing.

To improve faster, when reading, listening or watching English material, try to capture new words in a phrasebook. If you have time add the context too.

The next time you write an essay , review it and look for opportunities to add the words from your list into your text.

Likewise, when speaking try to incorporate your new vocab into your conversations, don’t force them though because it will sound odd!

Idioms can be extracted from films and English podcasts, however, I’d recommend audio material because there are no visual clues, making listening a little harder.

Active reading is a great habit to develop and a vital exam preparation skill. Active reading is where you circle, underline and mark the text you are reading, so as to ease comprehension.

If you want to accelerate your learning, have a look at some tutorials about vocabulary acquisition. This page includes how to use a vocabulary phrase book and flashcards. 

Take a look at our article which will provide tips and strategies to improve your vocabulary .

Vocabulary for IELTS speaking topics

• Friends and family
• Food and nutrition
• Travel and tourism
• Modern technology
• Coronavirus vocabulary (new)
• Pollution and the environment
• People, personalities and characters
• Fitness and health
• School and education
• Work and careers
• University and student life
• Accommodation
• Books, film and art
• Climate change
• Working from home
• Social media
• Advertising
• Fashion and shopping

IELTS vocabulary for the writing section refers to the academic style and word choice (lexical resource) when writing your essay.

Below we have put together tutorials with word lists to help you improve your IELTS score.

• Vocabulary about climate change (word list included)
• Vocabulary: the environment (with Ted Talk and list of collocations)
• Vocabulary: sports topics (with Ted Talk and list of collocations)
• Vocabulary: globalisation – with Ted Talk presentation
• Vocabulary about law and order (word list included)
• Vocabulary: technology
• Vocabulary: politics with Ted Talk presentation
• Vocabulary: language and culture – with Ted Talk
• Vocabulary: health with Ted Talk presentation
• Vocabulary: education topic with Ted Talk and list of collocations
• Vocabulary about crime
• Vocabulary about employment and equal pay
• Vocabulary about fossil fuels
• Vocabulary about employment
• Vocabulary: employment and highly skilled jobs
• Vocabulary about sport with Ted Talk presentation

A collocation is a group of words that has an above-average possibility of being found together.

Using collocations in your writing and IELTS speaking helps to make your language sound more natural and fluent. This in turn makes your writing flow and helps you get a better scoring essay.

Important Vocabulary List to learn for IELTS

We have compiled a list of the most essential vocabulary words and phrases you need to know to perform well on the exam.

Our expertly curated list covers a range of topics commonly found on the IELTS exam, from education and technology to travel and the environment.

With our guide, you’ll be able to expand your vocabulary and improve your overall score on the IELTS.

Modern Technology

• Labour-saving devices
• State-of-the-art technology
• Internet-enabled
• Rocket scientist
• Computer crashed
• Shut down the computer
• Wireless hotspots
• Computer literate
• Hacking into the Internet
• Artificial intelligence

Global Warming

• Political issue
• Climate crisis
• Green consumer
• Carbon emissions
• Historical average
• Carbon footprint
• Climate solutions
• Current levels
• Global warming
• Environmental problems

Food and Nutrition

• Nutritious food
• Refined carbohydrates
• Food preparation
• Packed with vitamins
• Home cooked meal
• A balanced diet
• Daily consumption
• Savouring the food
• Seasonal fruits
• Homemade food
• Travel abroad
• Affordable travel
• Holiday destinations
• Out-of-season travel
• Exotic destinations
• Off the beaten track
• Self-catering accommodation
• Spectacular beaches and lush forests
• Travelling light
• Magnificent landscapes

Immigration

• Middle-income countries
• Western countries.
• Public opinion
• Increased movement
• Refugee group
• Multicultural society
• Global situation
• Developing world
• International community
• Immigration policies

The best way to learn topic-specific collocations is to look for them being used in context. We in the lists above, extracted collocations from Ted Talks , so you can identify how they are used in  context .

Using topic-specific vocabulary, collocations and words from the academic vocabulary list  will help considerably.

Below is a free PDF ebook of lexical resources with lots of vocabulary lists and examples to learn new vocabulary for your English language study. If you are still struggling then check out the Jump to Band 7 or its Free IELTS Course.

Click here for a free master list of collocations!

Elevate Your Writing with Online IELTS Essay Checker

Learning many words is good for the IELTS test. However, using them in essays can be tricky. Do you want to be sure your essays are the best they can be? We have a tool that can help you. It’s name? The online IELTS essay checker .

This tool is like a helpful friend. You give it your essay, and it tells you what’s right and what to fix. So, you can learn quickly. Another good thing? This tool can help you save money.

Many students pay a lot for classes and books to learn how to write. But our tool is not expensive and gives fast feedback. So, after learning new words on this page, use our online IELTS essay checker for your essays. It will show you how to use the words right.

In short, if you want to do well in writing and not spend too much money, our online IELTS essay checker is a good choice. It’s easy to use and can help a lot. We hope it helps you get a high score on your IELTS test. Keep learning and good luck!

• Improve your IELTS Writing vocabulary with these amazing tips
• Synonyms to improve your score in IELTS
• Writing and speaking vocabulary to improving your grammatical range and accuracy
• IELTS band 8 vocabulary and collocations
• Common idioms you can use in the IELTS speaking exam
• Writing task one: informal letter writing phrases
• Social Media Vocabulary
• How to use the right vocabulary in IELTS Writing

Audio tutorial

Podcast:  Play in new window  |  Download

To improve your vocabulary you could get feedback from an ex-IELTS examiner , our service offers very detailed IELTS essay feedback on your vocabulary and word choice.

However, if you are on a budget and need instant feedback then try our online IELTS writing evaluation , fast and free!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

IELTS Topic-based vocabulary: education; with definitions/meanings and example sentences

This post focuses on a shortlist of some most common words used in IELTS Writing, Speaking, Reading and Listening . Here, IELTS candidates can learn and practice education- related words and phrases. All the words are given here with definitions/meanings and their use in example sentences. This vocabulary list will help you write essays and speak on education, education-related problems and their solutions etc. 

Vocabulary list on ‘Education’ :  

Academic year – the time of the year throughout which students attend school or university, usually considered from the beginning of the autumn term to the end of the summer term – He joined his new school at the beginning of the new academic year .

Acquire – obtain something for oneself – Hannah acquired a cheque of $500.

Admission test/entrance exam – a test designed to identify students who are capable of admitting a school or college – He obtained the highest mark in the admission test/entrance exam.

Analyse – inspect (something) systematically and thoroughly, typically in order to explain and interpret it – We need to analyse any new idea before coming to a conclusion about it.

Assignment – a specific task or amount of work assigned or undertaken by an authority – They had loads of homework assignments.

Audio – of or relating to the sound that is heard on a recording or broadcast – She listened to the audio script carefully.

Bachelor’s degree – a degree after four years’ study in a college or university – She earned a bachelor’s degree in law in 2018.

Coeducational school – a school where boys and girls study together – I studied in a coeducational school .

Cognitive – relating to conscious mental activities (such as thinking, understanding, learning and recalling) – She developed her cognitive abilities in her secondary school.

Compulsory / major – subject/subjects that you must study to obtain a degree – She had four compulsory /major subjects in her first year of Bachelor of Arts in English.

Cramming – the act of  try ing to  learn  a lot very  quickly  before an  exam – Cramming right before the exam is not a good idea.

Credit – a  unit  that  represents  a  successfully   finished   part  of an  educational   course – The students attended all the classes because each of those classes was worth two credits . 

Curiosity – the desire to know about something or someone – The design of the building aroused my curiosity .

Curriculum – all the different courses offered by a school/college/university – Spanish is one of the optional foreign language on the curriculum .

Curriculum vitae / Resume – a summary of a person’s personal demographics, experience and skills – The Company has asked for complete curriculum vitae / resume of every participant.

Dean – the head of a university faculty or department or of a medical school – All the students much like the new  dean after his visit to their dormitory.

Dictionary – a book or an electronic resource that catalogs the words of a particular language (usually in alphabetical order) and provides their meaning, or gives the comparable words in another language, often providing information about pronunciation, origin, and usage as additional information – I don’t have a Spanish to English dictionary .

Diploma – a qualification awarded to a student by a university or college or a high school – She’s achieved two diplomas in social work and child safety.

Discipline – a field of study – She was previously a student in science discipline at Stanford University.

Dissertation – a long piece of writing/article about a specific subject that is done to receive an advanced degree – The students submitted their dissertation on British Politics to their mentor before deadline.

Distance learning – a system of studying in which lectures are transmitted or lessons are conducted by correspondence, where the student does not need to be present at a school or college – Computer has helped enormously to spread distance learning all over the world.

Doctorate / PhD – the highest degree that is given by a university – She’s applied for a doctorate degree/ PhD in British Law in Queensland University.

Dormitory – a building or facility on a school campus where students can live – St. Gregory College has two large and separate dormitories for boys and girls.

Drop out – ditch or dump a course of study – She dropped out of college due to financial crisis. 

Elementary education / primary education – the early  stages  of studying – We should give importance on elementary education seriously.

Encyclopedia – a book or set of books giving information on diverse subjects or on different aspects of one subject and typically arranged alphabetically – I have an encyclopedia of prehistoric animals in my collection.

Evaluation / assessment – the construction of a judgement about the amount, number, or value of something – Many education specialists resent the evaluation/assessment methods used in the prevailing education system.

Faculty – a cluster of university departments concerned with a major division of knowledge – The Faculty of Arts in Cambridge University is extremely famous.

Higher education – any of various types of education following secondary education – Universities and colleges both propose  higher education  opportunities for a diversity of students.

Inquisitive – tending to ask questions; having a desire to know to learn more – She seems to be quite an inquisitive woman.

Interview – a meeting of people face to face, especially for consultation – I had an interview with the board last night.

Itinerary – a designed route or journey – All the students were given an itinerary before leaving the bus.

Language skills – skills relate to diverse aspects of using language; such as listening, reading, writing or speaking – Candidates in the IELTS exam are given band-scores on their English language skills .

Lecture – an instructive talk to an audience, especially one of students or teachers in a university – Today we have to attend three lectures about social changes and demographics.

Literacy – the capability to read and write – Many countries have experienced an upward trend in their literacy rate.

Master’s degree – a one/two years’ degree after achieving a bachelor’s degree – She’s also achieved a master’s degree in law this year.

Memorise – to  learn  something so that you will  remember  it  exactly – I recall clearly that some of our primary school teachers forced us to memorise some poems.

Multimedia classroom – a classroom equipped with advanced technology such as laptops, tabs, projectors, digital chalkboard etc. – Nowadays most of the schools in developed country have multimedia classrooms .

Optional / non-major – parallel to the flat surface of the horizon; at right angles to the vertical – She studied Political Science as an optional / a non-major subject in her second year.

Pedagogy – the process and exercise of teaching, especially as an academic subject or theoretical concept – A teachers’ training college is indeed a school of pedagogy .

Peer pressure – the strain of thinking about or doing something because other people in the same group do it – One of the main reasons of drug addiction is peer pressure .

Postdoctoral – a work that is done after achieving a PhD – She will go on working on a postdoctoral study in transformation of laws in the 20 th century.

Portfolio – a compilation of materials that exemplifies one’s beliefs, skills, qualifications, education, training and experiences – This portfolio presents excellent insights into her personality and work.

Practical – of or concerned with the real doing or use of something rather than with theory and ideas – I liked Mr Chao’s classes because he’d always had a practical approach to discuss a topic.

Presentation – a speech or talk in which a new product, idea, or piece of work is shown and explained to an audience – The company official has delivered a PowerPoint presentation on how to use the product.

Procrastinate – holdup or postpone an action; put off doing something – Many students fail to achieve their goal in time because they procrastinate intentionally or unintentionally.

Professor – a university scholar of the maximum rank; the holder of a university chair – The old professor passed away suddenly.

Pupil – student, one who has been taught – She had some successful pupils who keep contact with her regularly.

Put down – record something in writing – She put down the gist of the speech beautifully in her notebook.

Qualification – skill or experience or knowledge that makes someone appropriate to do a specific job or activity – All the applicants with best qualifications are requested to participate in the coming exam.

Reference – supply (a book or article) with citations of sources of information – He used reference from at least 8 prominent articles.

Research – careful study that is done to find and report new knowledge about something – This research on chimpanzees will change the course of studying animal behaviour.

Scholarship / grant – a payment made to support a student’s education, awarded on the foundation of educational or other achievement – Reeha has got a $10000 scholarship/grant for excellent academic record.

Secondary education – the stage of education following primary education – Success in secondary education is highly dependent on elementary education.

Seminar – a gathering in which people receive information on and training in a specific subject matter – They arranged a seminar on how to develop the lifestyle of rural people.

Single-sex school – a school where either boys or girls can study – My sister studied in a single-sex school . 

Stipend – a particular amount of money that is paid regularly to someone – All the pupils from poor family background get a £250 monthly stipend from the school.

Survey – to ask many people a set of questions in order to gather information about most people’s insight on something – The outcome of the survey in the rural areas is quite bizarre.

Syllabus – subjects studied in a particular course – The syllabus for English Literature in developing countries is rather confusing.

Term – one of the  periods  into which a  year  is  divided  at  school ,  college , or university – She finished her term in the university successfully. 

Theory – a supposition or a system of proposals intended to make something clear, especially one based on general principles free of the thing to be explained – According to conspiracy  theory , there is no obvious end game for countries with natural resources.

Thesis – a long original essay or dissertation involving personal research, written by a candidate for a university degree – They submitted their thesis to the professor.

Tuition fee – money that is paid to a school/college/university for the right to study there – Her tuition fee for the course is $4500 a year.

Tutor – a teacher; particularly works with one student – Mr Stephen is Graham’s tutor .

Tutorial – a period of teaching given by a university or college tutor to an individual or very small group – I joined the new tutorial on macro-photography.

Undergraduate – a student in a college or university who is yet to earn a degree, especially a bachelors’ degree – Roger is an undergraduate at Yale School of Law.

Verbal – spoken; not written – We had a verbal exam before commencing our third year in college.

Visual – of or relating to vision – This automation visual navigation is designed by a complicated software.

Vocational – (of education or training) aimed at a particular profession and its skills – Many countries are now leaning on vocational education to solve unemployment problem.

Viva voce – an oral examination, typically for an academic qualification – The candidates were called for viva voce .

Click here for vocabulary list on ‘Crime and Punishment’

Click here for vocabulary list on ‘Environment’

Click here for vocabulary list on ‘Science and Technology’

Click here for vocabulary list on ‘Pandemic/epidemic/medical crisis’

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Academic IELTS Reading: Test 2 Passage 1; The Dead Sea Scrolls; with top solutions and best explanations

This Academic IELTS Reading post focuses on solutions to an IELTS Reading Test 2 passage 1 that has a passage titled ‘The Dead Sea Scrolls’. This is a targeted post for Academic IELTS candidates who have major problems locating and understanding Reading Answers in the AC module. This post can guide you the best to understand […]

Academic IELTS Reading: Test 1 Reading passage 3; To catch a king; with best solutions and explanations

This Academic IELTS Reading post focuses on solutions to an IELTS Reading Test 1 Reading Passage 3 titled ‘To catch a king’. This is a targeted post for IELTS candidates who have great problems finding out and understanding Reading Answers in the AC module. This post can guide you the best to understand every Reading answer […]

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Vocabulary for IELTS: Word Lists, Exercises & Pronunciation

IELTS vocabulary lessons with word lists, practice exercises and pronunciation. Learn word lists for common topics and how to pronounce words correctly in English. Vocabulary  is 25% of your marks for IELTS writing and speaking and also plays a key role in listening and reading. You need to develop your English language vocabulary if you wish to crack IELTS.

Vocabulary for IELTS Topics

Below are IELTS topics for improving your English language vocabulary.

• Advertising
• Art: Paintings
• Body Language
• CORONAVIRUS
• Extra Practice
• Clothes: Casual and Formal
• Education: School & University
• Environmental Problems
• Food: Vegetables
• Government 
• Musical Instruments
• People: Parts of the Face
• Plants: Speaking Part 1 Topic
• Urban Planning: Ideas, Vocab & Model Speaking Answers

Paraphrasing Successfully

Improve your IELTS vocabulary score by learn useful tips for paraphrasing in IELTS. You need to learn to paraphrase correctly and avoid errors to get a good score in all skills, particularly IELTS writing. Knowing which words to repeat and which words to paraphrase is essential.

Paraphrasing Video: How to paraphrase and avoid errors

Uncountable Nouns

Get a list of over 100 common uncountable nouns with practice exercises. This is an essential page to view before your IELTS test. The most common vocabulary mistake in IELTS is with uncountable nouns.

Common Uncountable Nouns List

Spelling: US vs UK English Words

Learn about the differences in spelling between UK English and US English. For the IELTS writing test, you ought to choose one type of spelling and not mix them. Click below:

UK & US Spelling Differences

Idioms count for your score of vocabulary. They are informal and should not be used in writing. But you can use some of them in IELTS speaking.

• Eat Your Greens Idiom: Video lesson

Individual Words for IELTS

Improve your vocabulary by learning the exact meaning of words and how to use them correctly. These lessons are either words lists or lessons which focus on how to use a particular word correctly. For students aiming to reduce the number of errors in their writing and speaking, these lessons are essential.

• Detrimental: Practice Lesson
• Lacking in / Lack of: Practice Lesson
• Academic Reading Vocabulary List 1
• Common / Popular Definition lesson 

Vocabulary Lessons for IELTS Writing

• Line Graph Vocabulary
• Map Vocabulary and Useful Language: 1
• Practice with Linking Words for Essay Writing

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Vocabulary for IELTS Writing Task 2 Essay

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• IELTS Vocab

Learning new vocabulary and understanding how your Lexical resource band score is determined in the IELTS test will help you to achieve the best possible result. This vocabulary guide will show you useful tips and strategies to improve your vocabulary, and point you in the right direction of our other vocabulary guides on common IELTS writing topics .

Table of Contents

• What is Lexical Resource?

2.1 Avoiding repetition

2.2 using common and uncommon vocabulary, 2.3 avoiding spelling mistakes, 2.4 accurately using collocations.

• 2.5 Using topic-specific vocabulary

2.6 Communicating clearly

3.1 discovering new words, 3.2 deciding which words to practice, 3.3 reviewing new words, 1. what is lexical resource.

Vocabulary in the IELTS writing test is referred to as your Lexical resource and it makes up 25% of your overall score in both the writing and speaking parts of the exam.

Many candidates say their biggest problem when preparing for the IELTS test is their vocabulary . Have you ever found yourself trying to learn long lists of words? Or trying to cram in as many words as you can into your memory moments before the test? We are going to share some advice on the best ways to learn and remember vocabulary effectively.

2. How Your Lexical Resource Score is Decided

The examiner will mainly focus on the range and accuracy of vocabulary you use in your speaking and writing. This means that you need to:

• Avoid repetition
• Use a mixture of common and uncommon vocabulary
• Avoid spelling mistakes

There are also other things the examiner will be looking for. These are:

• Accurate use of collocations
• Range and accurate use of topic-specific vocabulary
• Clear communication

Using a range of vocabulary also includes avoiding words and phrases given to you in an IELTS statement , as well as repeating your own ideas .

Being able to paraphrase is a key skill to help you avoid repetition throughout your writing and speaking.

Take a look at our guide to paraphrasing for top tips and examples.

You also need to refer back or forward to people, places and things you mention in your responses. Compare these two examples:

• Children should be able to choose the subjects children want to study.
• Children should be able to choose the subjects they want to study.

In the second example, we have used the pronoun ‘they’ to replace the noun ‘children’. This is a simple example, but it is often the case that test takers do not take the time to look through their work to notice the repetition of words and phrases that could be replaced with a synonym or pronoun. Five minutes at the end of the test could make a big difference.

The reason we are mentioning both common and uncommon vocabulary here is that it is unnatural to use only uncommon or academic vocabulary in your speech and writing. Have a look at these examples:

• The threat of nuclear weapons maintains world peace.
• The intimidation of atomic accouterments cultivates global reconciliation.

In the second example, we have run nearly every word through a thesaurus. Note how it sounds very unnatural, even though ‘uncommon vocabulary’ has been used. You need to feel confident using this language and strike a balance between common and more unusual vocabulary.

Uncommon vocabulary, like idioms and phrasal verbs , are more appropriate in the speaking section of the exam than writing. For the writing section of the exam, we suggest you avoid phrasal verbs and idioms (although some idiomatic expressions may be appropriate for writing task 2).

Spelling is important in the written section of the exam. The fewer spelling mistakes you make, the higher your score in Lexical resources could be.

Candidates often ask ‘ how many spelling mistakes ’ they can make for each band score, but the answer is not as simple as this. Basically, If you make so many spelling mistakes that it causes difficulty for the examiner to understand your writing then you will likely score a band score 5.0 in Lexical resources . If your spelling errors are very infrequent , you may be able to achieve a band score 7.0 and above .

Your spelling mistakes are something that you need to take responsibility for. A teacher can highlight your mistakes, but you need to put in the hard work to learn the correct spelling. Spelling errors are often referred to as ‘ fossilised errors ’ which means that, just like the fossil of a dinosaur, the mistake has been formed a long time ago and can only be changed through practice and repetition .

To improve your spelling you could consider:

• Recording your mistakes in a notebook
• Creating flashcards of common errors
• Ask a teacher, or even a family member or friend to test you on your mistakes

Remember, it is a great idea to look at common spelling mistakes made by IELTS candidates, but some errors will be unique to you… write them down, memorise, hide the word, write… repeat . Repetition is really helpful to undo fossilised errors.

Collocation just means a frequent/common combination of words .

A typical example would be that you ‘make’ your bed (the verb ‘make’ and the noun ‘bed’ are a verb-noun collocation). However, you don’t ‘do your bed’… this is an incorrect verb-noun pairing.

Collocations are a relationship between words that need to be practiced and learned. There is no specific ‘rule’ to learn… practice makes perfect and will help you to sound more natural (as well as increase your Lexical resource score in the IELTS test.

One tip to learn collocations is to practice by topic . A common error is to try and learn long lists of collocations from memory. This will be overwhelming and often ineffective. When the exam comes and you get given a topic, you want to recall the vocabulary and collocations that are linked to the topic, not try to sift through long lists (that you will likely not remember under pressure).

2.5 Using  topic-specific vocabulary

You need to prepare yourself with vocabulary that is relevant to the topic you are given. We have put together comprehensive guides on a range of common IELTS topics to help you do just this.

Take a look at the following topics :

• Jobs & Work
• Government/Politics
• Pets and Animals
• News and Media
• Money and Finance
• Science and Technology
• The Environment

Being able to communicate clearly in your writing (and speaking) means that the examiner can understand the meaning you are trying to convey.

One way that vocabulary causes confusion for the reader is the wrong choice of word. You could have used the wrong word which has made the meaning of your sentence  unclear. Some candidates often take a risk in the test and decide to use words that they are not exactly sure of the meaning of. This could result in you using the word incorrectly and causing difficulty for the reader. Don’t use the test to try using words for the first time, it is more important to communicate clearly and accurately.

Reference is often an issue, for example, you may have referred back to a previous part of your paragraph or speech using the pronoun ‘it’, but it is not clear what ‘it’ refers to.

3. Learning New Vocabulary

As soon as you have decided that you are taking your IELTS test, you should be actively looking to expand your vocabulary

We recommend that you create a book or electronic copy of all your new words and phrases.

You should also read or listen to English texts as often as you can. These texts could be:

• Newspaper articles
• Youtube videos (preferably with English subtitles to improve your reading skills)

Do not simply add every new word you read to your list of vocabulary. Also, be careful when using a thesaurus. It is often difficult to find exact synonyms in English, and a thesaurus will give you a long list of similar words that may not be appropriate in the context you want to use them. For example, two synonyms of‘ big ’ taken from a thesaurus of  are:

If we want to replace big in the sentence ‘ the building is big ’, it is correct to say ‘the building is enormous’ but the sentence ‘ the building is boastful ’ is not appropriate .

We recommend you always create an example sentence of new words in context and a definition . A Learner Dictionary is a great place to find clear definitions for learners of English.

A good example of new words to note down are words that you have seen a few times before in a text, but do not fully understand. The frequency of these words show that they are common in English.

A great way to learn new vocabulary is by topic . Group new words, phrases, collocations, and uncommon vocabulary linked to a common theme. This will make it much easier to remember under pressure.

Do not try to learn a list of technical language or specialist words and phrases . Although topics, such as science or technology, might come up during the test, you are not expected to have specific knowledge of these subjects. Remember, the IELTS exam is a test of your English language ability.

Reviewing new vocabulary is the key to remembering it, and a step that candidates often miss.

It would be very rare to just write down new words, look at them once and be able to recall them in the exam. You need to review new words regularly to commit them to memory .

You also need to actively use a new vocabulary: set yourself a goal of using words and phrases you have learned in real life.

Here are just some ideas to review new vocabulary:

• Create flashcards
• Make a new vocabulary notebook
• Create a mind map
• Put posters around your home
• Record yourself using new vocabulary

There is no right or wrong way to review language, do what works for you .

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Education: Advanced IELTS Language

The following vocabulary is from my IELTS ebook for part two of the writing test.

Rephrasing of some common topic words: children = juveniles, youngsters education= learning, instruction, acquiring knowledge students = pupils parents = caregivers, guardians, mothers and fathers schools = educational institutions society  = community, citizens teachers = educators Some useful Nouns

  Some useful verbs

Some useful Adjectives

2 thoughts on “Education: Advanced IELTS Language”

Very helpful. Interesting vocabulary. Thanks

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About Mike I’m Mike Wattie from Australia. I have been teaching IELTS for over 20 years in Asia and Australia.

I have written IELTS books and this enables me to be an effective tutor. This is because I understand the main problems that students have taking the test and also the ways to overcome them.

Maybe you would like me to teach you the necessary skills and strategies to pass your test.

IELTS is a registered trademark of University of Cambridge ESOL, the British Council, and IDP Education Australia and they jointly manage the IELTS test. This website is for test preparation only and has nothing to do with the administration of IELTS tests This website is not affiliated, approved or endorsed by the University of Cambridge ESOL, the British Council, and IDP Education Australia.

Vocabulary for IELTS Writing Task 2

Using the right vocabulary in the IELTS Writing Task 2 is on key to success. In this post, I’ve gathered useful words and phrases for you to learn and use. First, we’ll look at the most common vocabulary that you can use to raise your band level. Then, I’ll share where you can find more IELTS resources to strengthen your vocabulary!

Most Common Vocabulary for IELTS Writing Task 2

In IELTS Writing Task 2, you’ll be writing a formal essay. This could ask you anything from your opinion on an current public issue, to discussing the advantages and disadvantages of a solution to an issue, to coming up with solutions to an issue on your own!

Whether you’re sitting for the Academic or the General Training IETLS exam, you can use this most common vocabulary for IELTS Writing Task 2 in almost any situation.

Words to Use in IELTS Writing Task 2: Introduction

At the beginning of Writing Task 2, you’ll need to restate the prompt, give your thesis, and provide an overview of the essay. Here’s the most common vocabulary used in IELTS Writing Task 2 to do that.

• It appears that…
• It may seem that…
• I/This essay will show that…
• I/This essay will argue that…
• To examine this issue, this essay will examine both….and…
• Firstly, this essay will…and secondly, it will….

What does this look like in practice? Here are a few examples!

It appears that exercise has both physical and mental benefits. It may seem that studying the arts is useless, but the opposite is true. This essay will show that smartphones are actually beneficial. I will argue that the government should play a larger, not a smaller, role in public health. To examine this issue, this essay will examine both the social and physical effects of family meals. Firstly, this essay will describe the advantages of this policy and secondly, it will explain the disadvantages of this policy.

Words to Use in IELTS Writing Task 2: Paragraphs

Within each body paragraph, you need a clear topic sentence. Sometimes, these will be as simple as listing examples, but you can also use words and phrases to illustrate conflicts and contradictions between ideas. Here’s the most common vocabulary used in IELTS Writing Task 2 to do that.

• First of all,
• In addition,
• For example,
• For instance,
• Conversely,

First of all, the government takes a strong role in limiting gambling and other forms of entertainment, so it should also take a larger role in sports. In addition, employees may find that no further opportunities are available for them at the same company past a certain point. For example, self-checkout options lead to the loss of jobs within the community. For instance, electric cars damage the environment far less than cars that run on petrol. Conversely, the energy involved in producing electric cars may outweigh the overall energy savings. However, it is important to acknowledge the negative impacts of smartphones, particularly on mental health.

Words to Use in IELTS Writing Task 2: Conclusion

You’ll need to transition to your final paragraph (your conclusion) smoothly. Rather than just restating the thesis statement right away, use transition words and phrases to wrap up. Here’s the most common vocabulary used in IELTS Writing Task 2 to do that.

• To summarise,
• In the end,
• On balance,

Finally, young people should welcome advice from their elders. To summarise, junk food is an unnecessary burden on public health and should be regulated. In the end, universities should make history courses requirements for graduation. On balance, the recent dependence on the Internet is a positive development. Therefore, the government should more strictly regulate violent content in films and other media.

Linking Words, Phrases, and Paraphrasing

Within each paragraph, you’ll need to include linking words and phrases, as well as paraphrases of important ideas, to make the essay read fluently. Here are a few resources to check out for examples you can try!

• IELTS Writing Task 1 and Task 2 Linking Words
• How to Paraphrase on the IELTS
• IELTS Writing 2 Practice: Get Paraphrasing Feedback [VIDEO]

Podcasts for Learning Words to Use in IELTS Writing Task 2

Sometimes, it’s more useful to hear words spoken to integrate them into your vocabulary. This is also a great way to learn a variety of vocabulary words and phrases for IELTS Writing Task 2 quickly. Here are Magoosh’s top IELTS podcasts for learning new terms to use in different scenarios!

• Podcast 1: Information
• Podcast 2: Technology
• Podcast 13: School
• Podcast 11: Work
• Podcast 10: Travel

Vocabulary Lists and Resources

Because the topics on IELTS Writing Task 2 can be so varied, the words to use in IELTS Writing Task 2 are also varied! Here are a few resources, both general and specific, to help you out in different scenarios.

• IELTS Science Vocabulary
• IELTS Vocabulary: University Classes and Learning
• Complete Guide to IELTS Vocabulary: PDF
• IELTS Vocabulary Flashcards
• The Complete Guide to IELTS Vocabulary

How to Learn New Vocabulary

Of course, just sitting and staring at a bunch of words isn’t going to help you much on test day. Here are some resources to help you learn vocabulary for IELTS Task 2 in a way that will actually help boost your score!

• 5 Ways to Learn and Remember English Vocabulary
• IELTS Prep: Is It Useful to Memorize?
• Study at Home Tips (Using IELTS Vocabulary) [VIDEO]

A Final Word

When it comes to which words to use in IELTS Writing Task 2, there are a handful of terms you can memorize to set yourself up for success. However, more than just learning the most common vocabulary used in IELTS Writing Task 2, practicing with that vocabulary will be key to your success! So try a few practice sentences each time you learn a new phrase to better integrate it before test day.

If you’re ready to study vocab from other IELTS sections, check out our free guides to IELTS Speaking vocabulary , IELTS Listening and Reading words , and IELTS Writing Task 1 language and vocabulary . Good luck!

Eliot Friesen-Meyers is the Senior Curriculum Manager for Magoosh IELTS and TOEFL. He attended Goshen College (B.A.), New York University (M.A.), and Harvard University (M.T.S.), gaining experience and skills in curriculum development, ESOL instruction, online teaching and learning, and IELTS and TOEFL test prep education. Eliot’s teaching career started with Literacy Americorps in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and later, taught ESL programs at Northeastern University, University of California-Irvine, and Harold Washington College. Eliot was also a speaker at the 2019 TESOL International Conference . With over 10 years of experience, he understands the challenges students face and loves helping them overcome those challenges. Come join Eliot on Youtube , Facebook , and Instagram . Recent blog posts Complete Guide to IELTS Writing Task 1 Complete Guide to IELTS Writing Task 2

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One response to “Vocabulary for IELTS Writing Task 2”

currently preparing for my lelts examas and this has come in very handy. thank you so much

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IELTS Vocabulary: Topic EDUCATION

EDUCATION is a common topic in IELTS. Here is a list of words that you need to know to get a good score.

1. to cover a lot of ground Meaning: to deal with much information and many facts. Example: The history lecture covered a lot of ground today.

2. to tailor teaching styles/ strategies Meaning: to make or prepare teaching styles following particular instructions Example: When faced with classes of students with different levels of ability, teachers should tailor their teaching strategies to deal with this challenge.

3. a high-flyer Meaning: someone who has the desire and ability to be very successful in their studies Example: The problem with our teacher is that she explains things too quickly for most of the students and she pays most attention only to the academic high-flyers in the class.

4. transmission of knowledge Meaning: the process of passing knowledge from one person to another Example: I believe that the transmission of knowledge is more effective in face-to-face interaction with teachers rather than online learning.

5. interactive learning Meaning: Refers to a method of teaching and learning in which teachers ask questions in class, assign and check homework, or hold class or group discussions. Example: With or without the aid of technology, interactive learning helps students strengthen problem solving and critical thinking skills.

6. to bombard someone with something Meaning: to continually send someone something, esp. to inform or influence them. Example: Every day it seems as if we are bombarded with e-mail messages warning of computer viruses.

7. to have a good grasp of something Meaning: to understand a problem deeply and completely Example: Children who begin to learn a foreign language in primary school are usually able tohave a good grasp of the new language quickly.

8. to make the grade Meaning: To successfully reach the necessary standard Example: Nobody can succeed in their studies if they rely on luck rather than hard work to make the grade.

9. continuous assessment Meaning: giving students marks for course work or projects, rather than formal exams Example: Many students prefer continuous assessment because they consider that exams are unfair and too stressful.

10. to be out of one’s depth Meaning: to be unable to understand something because it is too difficult Example: Streaming in schools enables pupils to study at the level which is appropriate for them, and therefore students rarely find themselves out oftheir depth.

11. a formal examination Meaning: a test conducted under strict, regulated conditions Example: Entrance to university usually involves achieving required grades in a formal examination, such as IELTS.

12. to work your way through university Meaning: to have a job when you are at college/university in order to help to pay for your studies Example: He had to work his way through university because his family was so poor that they could not afford his tuition fees.

13. to take a year out Meaning: It is when you have finished your school and you’ve got a place at the University but you’d rather spend a year at “the school of life”, either working, doing some community work, doing something adventurous. Example: Taking a year out before starting your degree course can give you a chance to further develop your skills, as well as giving you the opportunity perhaps to travel and work in a different country.

14. to sift information Meaning: to remove unwanted or less useful information Example: I had to sift hundreds of pages of information to discover the data that I needed to support my theory.

15. to work/study under supervision Meaning: work/ study under the direction of a responsible person Example: At college, I discovered I did not have to work under supervision all the time, and I was free to do independent research.

16. Top-tier institutions Meaning: leading or prestigious educational institutions Example: The government has pumped huge amounts of money into a select group of top-tier institutions in recent years.

17. to deliver a lecture Meaning: to give a lecture Example: It is just as easy to deliver a lecture online as it is to give a lecture in front of a class of students in a lecture theatre.

18. streaming in schools Meaning: the policy of dividing pupils into groups of the same level of ability Example: One disadvantage of streaming in schools is that children in the lower groups have less motivation to study because they think of themselves as failures.

19. extra-curricular activities Meaning: not part of the usual course work or studies in school or college Example: Most UK universities offer a wide range of extra-curricular activities such as sport, music and drama to help students enjoy university life to the full.

20. to fall behind with your studies Meaning: to improve more slowly in studying than other people so that you fail to learn the course material at the necessary speed Example: Irregular attendance at classes is one of reasons why some students fall behind with their studies.

21. to drop out of college Meaning: to leave college or university without finishing your studies Example: A number of students drop out of college when faced with the pressure of formal exams.

22. to pay off a student loan Meaning: to repay money borrowed in order to study at college or university Example: Owing to the difficulties of paying off a student loan, some young people prefer to look for a job after leaving school.

23. to impose discipline Meaning: to make students obey the rules of the school or college Example: If teachers fail to impose discipline in class, then students will not learn anything.

24. to disrupt lessons Meaning: to make it difficult to conduct the lesson in the normal way Example: If strict discipline is not imposed on pupils who disrupt lessons, then the education of all the children in the school will suffer.

25. distance learning Meaning: delivering education to students who are not physically at school/at university Example: Although she lives in a remote rural area, she is able to study for a degree by distance learning.

26. to give feedback Meaning: to give guidance on the work of a student through comments or corrections Example: It is essential for teachers to give some feedback to students, so that students understand their mistakes and can improve.

27. face-to-face learning Meaning: to study in the traditional way in a classroom with fellow students and a teacher Example: Face-to-face learning motivates students and encourages interaction in the classroom.

28. to sit an exam Meaning: to take an exam Example: Some students claim that they feel more motivated to study when they have to sit an exam at the end of their course.

29. tertiary education/higher education Meaning: education at college or university level Example: Some school leavers prefer to start work rather than enter tertiary education.

30. a virtual classroom Meaning: an online classroom in which participants can communicate and interact with other students, view videos and actively engage with the study materials Example: Many people argue that the virtual classroom will replace traditional teaching methods, eliminating the need for teachers.

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IELTS Topic: Education

Posted by David S. Wills | Jun 23, 2020 | IELTS Tips | 0

In this article, I am going to tell you all about education and IELTS. As you know (if you follow this website), the best way to learn new vocabulary is to study in terms of topics . There are many IELTS topics , such as environment , space , sports , health , and crime. We have talked about education many times in the past but today I will devote a whole article to it.

I intend to look at this topic in a structured way. We will explore it as such:

• Reading & Listening

You can either study the whole lesson or else skip to the part that is most interesting for you.

Education Vocabulary

If we look at the topic of education and IELTS , we can quickly see that there is a huge amount of vocabulary to learn. In fact, this is a vast topic. I will assume that you already know the basic words like “school” and “teacher” (or else you are probably not reading this right now). Instead, I will look at some more advanced vocabulary for IELTS education.

First of all, let’s look at some school subjects.

School Subjects

There many be some regional differences in the words used for these subjects (for example, mathematics is known as “maths” in British English and “math” in American English.

Depending on where you study, most people learn a subject called “science” when they are young and later this becomes several subjects, including chemistry, biology, and physics. We also have “social sciences.” This includes many areas of study. You can read about it here .

British English vs American English

I actually wrote in depth about the differences between British and American English last year . For now, though, I will focus on the differences in language when it comes to education. Here are a few ways in which we talk about these differences.

*The British and American school systems are quite different and what is known as “secondary school” in the UK lasts for up to six years. As such, this overlaps the American version. Anyway, those final years in the UK would more likely be called “fifth/sixth form” or “fifth/sixth year,” depending on which part of the country you come from. In England, it is usually “sixth form” and in Scotland it is “sixth year.”

Some other differences

American people talk about their school years in this way:

• Freshmen (1 st year)
• Sophomore (2 nd year)
• Junior (3 rd year)
• Senior (4 th year)

In the UK, we do not commonly use these terms but in the last few decades it has become normal to talk about “freshers” as people in their first year of university. For example, they often talk about “freshers’ week” as the first week in the university year because this is when the new students arrive.

Reading and Listening

Because education is something that affects pretty much everyone in the world, it is a topic that is really common in IELTS. It could appear in any part of the test , including the reading and listening sections.

When it does occur, you should be prepared. This means that you ought to know lots of vocabulary about this topic and also have some life experience and opinions on the matter. You can achieve that by including this topic in your regular reading.

There are many ways to achieve this. You can go on Google News (or any news service that you enjoy) and subscribe to their education feed.

Let’s take an article for an example and do a little practice. We will look first at a piece called “ With no students, small college town worries over its future .” Let’s look at the first two paragraphs:

What happens to a college town when the students disappear? Ithaca, a small upstate New York city nearby gorges and vineyards, is finding out. Most of the 24,000 students at Cornell University and 6,200 more from Ithaca College effectively vanished in March when the coronavirus pandemic struck, leaving behind struggling restaurants and shops. Locals still reeling from the outbreak and resulting exodus are wondering when — or if — things will get back to normal.

It is an interesting text that deals with a familiar situation: the fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic.

In this excerpt, you can see the word “exodus.” What do you think this means? Let’s isolate that sentence:

Locals still reeling from the outbreak and resulting exodus are wondering when — or if — things will get back to normal.

We can learn from the words around it. “Resulting” tells us that this thing happened because of the virus outbreak. We also know from the previous sentence that thousands of students are not coming to this place.

We can guess then, that “exodus” means “a mass departure of people.” This sort of skill is really important when it comes to IELTS reading. You need to be able to figure out the meaning of a word from context. Here is a video that shows you how to work out the meaning of difficult vocabulary:

I have covered the topic of education here many times, including this TED video lesson about making education better by introducing creativity to curriculums. (By the way, this is one of two possible ways to pluralise “curriculum”! The other is “curricula.”)

Here is another interesting video about education. This time it is about gender and education. Remember that sometimes IELTS topics overlap like this.

IELTS Speaking Topic: Education

The topic of education is really common in IELTS speaking. In fact, it is probably one of the most common topics that there is. As such, you need to be ready to answer these sorts of questions.

As you probably know, the first part of the IELTS speaking test is comprised of relatively simple questions that you should answer with one, two, or three sentences. You don’t need to develop your answers very much here.

Here are a few sample questions:

• Do you work or are you a student?
• Why did you choose that subject?
• Did you enjoy/Do you enjoy studying at school?
• Do you study English now?
• What kind of school did you go to as a child?
• Where do you study / Where did you study?
• What do you study/did you study in university?
• What was your favourite subject as a child?
• Who was your favourite teacher?
• Do you enjoy studying alone or with friends?

You don’t need to have dazzling grammar or vocabulary skills to answer these questions. You can just give pretty basic answers. For example:

Q: Do you work or are you a student?

A: I’m studying at the moment but I also have a part-time job.

Q: Where do you study?

A: I’m studying at Shanghai Jiaotong University . The word “jiaotong” literally means “traffic” but the common translation for the name is “Shanghai Communications University.”

Q: What are you studying there?

A: I’m studying English literature at the moment but I will move onto a business course next semester and continue studying English on the side. Literature was interesting for me but I don’t think it will help my career much.

Notice that there was very little specialist vocabulary here. The only word that I used that might require explanation is “semester.” A school year is made up of two semesters. (The word “term” can also be used but different countries have different systems. In some countries, an academic year is four terms, which means that two terms make up a semester. But this is not the same everywhere.)

There are countless possible education cue cards for IELTS speaking. You might be asked to describe one of the following:

• an important memory
• the actual school you attended

The list is extremely long, but let’s look at a few possible education cue cards in more detail.

Describe a Subject

You may well be asked to describe a subject that you studied in school or that you wish you had studied. Remember that it could be your favourite subject or a subject you hated. It is always important that you read the whole cue card and do not jump to conclusions.

Here is an example:

Describe a subject you enjoyed studying at school. You should say: – when and where you started studying it – what the lessons were like – what made the subject different from other subjects and explain why you enjoyed the subject

Describe a Lesson or Project

Describing a subject presents many possibilities. You can talk about many different aspects of your chosen subject, including the classes, the books, and the teachers. However, the cue card might present you with a more specific topic, like this one:

Describe a project that you did in school with your classmates or friends. You should say: – what the project was – what it was about – how you completed it and whether you enjoyed the project or not.

Describe a Period of Time

It can be harder to answer a cue card when the thing you must talk about is a memory or period of time. These can be a real challenge because thinking of the right vocabulary and grammar is quite difficult. When you are presented with this sort of question, you might have to be a little creative with your answers. Here is another example cue card:

Describe a period of time from your studies that was the most difficult for you so far. You should say: – when it was – why was it hard – what you were doing at that time and whether you felt you were successful in overcoming the difficulties.

Describe a Teacher

Finally, we come to the obvious IELTS speaking cue card: describe a teacher . This is definitely a common cue card and also quite an easy one. I think that most people who sit IELTS should be comfortable describing people like teachers. If you are not, you should look at my other lessons on how to describe people. You may also find this article about the good qualities teachers possess to be helpful.

There are lots of different ways that this could be phrases. It could be a teacher who influenced you, a teacher you liked, a teacher who helped you, your favourite teacher… and so on. There are numerous possibilities. But here is one example:

Describe a teacher from the past whom you remember. You should say: – what subject the teacher taught you – how old you were then – what were some special characteristics of this teacher and explain why you remember this teacher.

Of course, there are also lots of possible questions about education for part three of the speaking exam. In this section, you will most likely be asked questions like “are men and women equally capable of teaching?” and “should boys and girls be forced to take the same lessons?” The issues of gender , age, and other social issues will often intersect with the main topic.

Here are a few examples:

• What are some essential qualities every teacher should have?
• How are education priorities today different from those in the past?
• How well do you think schools should prepare young people for working life?

Education and IELTS Writing

When it comes to task 2 of the IELTS writing test, education is also a really common topic. Again, there are countless possible questions you could be given, so rather than prepare for any single question, it is better to build your skill in dealing with this topic.

You should be familiar with the vocabulary given at the start of this lesson and also with ideas about education on a global scale. It is ok to have different opinions from other people, but you should be aware of all sides of these issues.

Keep in mind that education does not just mean “school” or “university.” It involves much more: teaching, learning, childhood, adulthood, books, reading, etc. It could be about community colleges or distance learning. Do not be surprised by these questions and do not think that you can handle this topic just because you are comfortable talking about high school. There is much more to it than that.

Here, I will give you four sample band 9 answers to typical IELTS writing questions. Two are from task 2 and two are from task 1, both general and academic tests.

Question #1

Many businesses think that the new employees who have just graduated from schools lack interpersonal skills, such as working with colleagues as a team.

What has caused this and what are the solutions to this problem?

Sample Band 9 Answer

It is claimed by some business owners and recruiters that graduates nowadays tend to lack interpersonal skills. This essay will first explore why this is the case, before then suggesting how it may be remedied.

If it is true that graduates now lack the interpersonal skills necessary to succeed in the modern workplace, then that surely can be blamed on the exceptionally high level of theoretical knowledge necessary to achieve a good degree. As universities have become more competitive, the requirements for achieving a degree have gotten much more stringent, and students are required to spend all their time reading books and preparing for difficult assessments. It seems likely that this hinders their opportunities to socialize or work with others on productive tasks.

Solving this problem should not be terribly difficult. In fact, university faculties should pay attention to these complaints and implement solutions into their courses. Perhaps the most obvious suggestion is that students must be required to participate in more group activities throughout their education. For example, rather than studying all day and night to write an essay or sit an exam, students could be asked to prepare a group presentation together with their peers. Ideally, these groups should be picked at random to ensure that students develop the necessary skills to work with others whom they would not have previously chosen to work.

In conclusion, it appears that universities are failing students by not educating them in how to develop their interpersonal skills, and as a result they are struggling in the workplace. These universities should thus require students to develop their communicative abilities through specific group-based tasks.

Question #2

Some people think that a sense of competition in children should be encouraged. Others believe that children who are taught to co-operate rather than compete become more useful adults.

Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.

People disagree over how to raise their kids, with many parents and teachers suggesting that competition is detrimental to their development. They think that children should be taught cooperation instead. This essay will look at both views, before deciding that these need not be mutually exclusive.

The argument against competition in children essentially revolves around the idea that it is unhealthy for children to be pitted against one another. Rather than teaching them to compete, these people argue, we should teach them to work together. Natural selection dictates that some children will invariably be winners while others will be losers, and in the modern era, this seems like an out-dated concept. All children should be winners.

On the other hand, competition is a part of life and therefore children should be exposed to it from the beginning. It needn’t be unfair, of course. When children are taught healthy attitudes towards competition – such as sportsmanship – then it is actually tremendously beneficial for them. They can learn how to participate in natural activities and then deal healthily with the result, whether that is victory or loss.

However, it seems to me that there is no real distinction between competition and cooperation. Team sports, after all, involve both these elements. If children play football, basketball, or rugby, then they will work with their teammates to compete against another team. In the end, both aspects are learned.

In conclusion, there is no need to separate competition from cooperation, and neither should be removed from a child’s education or environment. Both are important for child development.

Question #3

You recently did a short cookery course. The cookery school has asked for your feedback on this course.

Write a letter to the course director at the cookery school. In your letter

• describe what you enjoyed about the course
• say how much cooking you have done since the course
• suggest another cookery course you’d like the school to offer

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing in response to your request for feedback on the cookery course I recently attended. I am happy to give you some of my thoughts on the course.

First of all, I really enjoyed it. I had wanted to study French cooking techniques for several years and so I was really excited to see that this course became available. It certainly did not disappoint me, and I was delighted by the processes that I learned during that amazing week.

Since the course, I have been cooking and baking for my friends and family at every opportunity. They have been really impressed with my newfound skills, and I will continue to practice what I have learned.

As for suggestions, I do think that it would be worth adding some other sorts of cuisine to the courses on offer. I would love to learn how to cook Thai food, for example.

David S. Wills

Question #4.

There is a bar chart and a pie chart containing information taken from a survey on adult education. The bar chart describes why adults go into education and the pie chart shows who the respondents think should pay for it. People mostly go into education out of interest, and, perhaps unsurprisingly, it is believed that they should pay for it themselves.

According to the data, forty percent of adults go into education due to some sort of interest in a particular subject, while thirty-eight percent do it to gain qualifications. These are far and away the most common reasons, as the next most frequently cited reason was almost half this value. Several reasons were picked by about twenty percent of people, including the fact that it may help them earn a promotion at work. The least frequently stated answer was that adult education is a good way to meet new people.

The survey results showed forty percent of people believe the individual should pay the costs of a course. This matches quite well with the previous data, as the same percentage of people did these courses purely out of interest.

About The Author

David S. Wills is the author of Scientologist! William S. Burroughs and the 'Weird Cult' and the founder/editor of Beatdom literary journal. He lives and works in rural Cambodia and loves to travel. He has worked as an IELTS tutor since 2010, has completed both TEFL and CELTA courses, and has a certificate from Cambridge for Teaching Writing. David has worked in many different countries, and for several years designed a writing course for the University of Worcester. In 2018, he wrote the popular IELTS handbook, Grammar for IELTS Writing and he has since written two other books about IELTS. His other IELTS website is called IELTS Teaching.

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IELTS Vocabulary Mastery: Essential Words, Tips & Techniques

IELTS Vocabulary is not assessed as a separate module on the test but does comprise 25% of your total score on the Writing and Speaking tests, and is therefore essential. The examiners will assess your ability to use a wide range of appropriate vocabulary and use those words accurately. 

What Does Band 9 IELTS Vocabulary Look Like? 

IELTS Vocabulary: Free Mini-Course

In this free 3-day mini-course, I’ll teach you everything you need to know about IELTS Vocabulary so that you can improve your skills from home and get the score you need.

By the end of this mini-course, you’ll understand:

• Why your vocabulary is so important.
• Myths that could LOWER your IELTS score (and how to avoid them).
• What Band 7 vocabulary looks like.
• How to use vocabulary to score a Band 7, 8 or 9.

Watch until the end to get my free Vocabulary Improvement Plan!

Learn IELTS Vocabulary in 6 Steps

• Find a source you enjoy. Choose a book, TV show, radio show, podcast, YouTube series or magazine that interests you. People learn more effectively when they enjoy what they are doing, so don’t pick something boring!
• Get a new notebook. It doesn’t have to be expensive, just somewhere for you to record your notes every day.
• Consume your source. Read/watch/listen to whatever you chose in Step 1, and pick out 15 words you don’t understand. Try to guess what they mean from the context. (This step is very important because it will help you remember the new words.)
• Note down new words. Note the 15 new words in your notebook.
• Look up the meaning. Look up the new words in an online dictionary. Beside each word, note the meaning, an example sentence or two, collocations, synonyms, antonyms, and pronunciation. You can also draw pictures – whatever helps you to remember the word.
• Review your new words. Review the new words after one week, two weeks and then one month. Practice using them in a sentence.

Follow this simple strategy for 5 days a week, and you will have 300+ new words in your notebook after just 1 month. After 6 months, you will have learned almost 2000 new words!

How Word Lists Can Lower your Score

If you type ‘IELTS vocabulary’ into Google, you’ll find 1000s of websites with long lists of complicated words. Most of these websites will let you believe that their ‘Word Lists’ or ‘Band 7 Vocabulary’ will boost your IELTS score…

But these websites are NOT helping you.

After years of marking IELTS essays, I can promise you that learning a few words from a list you found online will never increase your score.

The only way to effectively learn new words and use them properly is by learning them from context, or in other words, from real sources of information. NOT lists.

Did you know?

The human mind can only effectively remember around 15 new words in a foreign language per day – any more, and you won’t learn them properly and make mistakes.

What happens if I learn IELTS word lists?

In the past, many of my students have downloaded long lists of words or ‘Band 7 Vocabulary’ with the hopes that they could learn new words by memorising them. The result was always the same: they would try to use these new words in a sentence and get them completely wrong.

It doesn’t matter how ‘complicated’ your vocabulary is – IELTS examiners can tell when you use a word incorrectly and will give you a lower mark if you make lots of mistakes.

How should I learn new IELTS Vocabulary?

In my experience, the 6-Step Plan above is the most effective way of improving your IELTS Vocabulary. It has helped thousands of my students get the scores they need!

You can also click the button below to download my FREE IELTS Vocabulary Improvement Plan:

IELTS Vocabulary Word Circles

I analysed all of the Task 2 papers from the last few years and established that there are 10 common topics.

Below you will find a list of these common topics – click on them to find 20 words linked to each.

Here is an example:

Each word is visually represented, and I have also included synonyms, antonyms, meanings, collocations and example sentences.

Below is a list of topics of common IELTS vocabulary: 

• Technology Vocabulary 
• Education Vocabulary
• Environment Vocabulary
• Health Vocabulary 

Note that these are not definitive lists or a complete set of words that will help you get a high score in the test. These are to demonstrate how I use the vocabulary improvement methods outlined on this page to analyse common topics.

Is Vocabulary Important?

Vocabulary makes up 25% of your total mark in the Writing and Speaking tests, so the answer is yes.

Also, did you know that the Listening and Reading tests are really vocabulary tests too? Take a look at the table below:

You’ll find words in the question from an official IELTS reading test in the left column. On the right, you’ll find words that were used in the text.

As you can see, many synonyms are used in the IELTS exam and are needed to answer the question. Therefore, you MUST have a wide-ranging vocabulary to do well on the Listening and Reading tests.

Get more help with synonyms here.

Do Idioms Improve Your IELTS Score? 

We’ve helped hundreds of students get a Band 9. We analysed their practice tests and found 18 common idioms, but did they improve their score? Check out the article below to find out. 

Idioms for IELTS Speaking

Online Sources of Information

I know that many of you might live in countries with a limited number of good English bookshops. However, there are lots of online sources that you can use. The great thing about using online materials is that you can choose exactly what you want and never get bored.

Below are a few of my favourite websites for reading online, and all of them are connected to the most common topics :

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

NEW SCIENTIST

THE ECONOMIST

HISTORY TODAY

COSMOPOLITAN

You can also keep up to date with current events by reading the news every day. The news always uses relevant vocabulary:

BBC WORLD NEWS

Finally, podcasts are an invaluable and entertaining source of information. Check out my article below on how you can use podcasts to help you improve your English (it also includes a list of my favourites!).

BEST PODCASTS FOR ENGLISH LEARNERS

The infographic below is a quick summary of how to learn new vocabulary before your IELTS test.

You might also be interested in: 

5 Things You Need to Know About IELTS Vocabulary

What Band 7 Vocabulary Looks Like

Writing Task 1 Vocabulary and Grammar Guide

For more personalised help with your vocabulary skills, email me at [email protected], and I’ll be happy to help you out.

I also recently created a comprehensive step-by-step Vocabulary Course for my VIP students. Get in touch to hear more about it!

Developing your vocabulary in IELTS writing.

Improving your vocabulary for ielts writing..

Updated: October 2023

I often mark IELTS essays and I tend to find the same words keep coming up in the writing, such as ‘a lot of’ / ‘humans’ / ‘nowadays’ / ‘like’. Actually, these are not wrong, and using these in your sentences would not be considered grammatically incorrect.

However, the IELTS examiner is checking to see if you can use a wide range of vocabulary especially collocations . If possible, try to avoid overusing these words to help get a better vocabulary score… See the post below for more details.

Which of these sentences below look more academic?

1. A lot of people nowadays are shopping online, like using Amazon Prime to buy clothes and electronic goods. 2. A growing number of people in recent years tend to do their shopping online, such as using Amazon Prime to buy clothes and electronic goods.

Sentence 2 is better as it uses a collocation ‘a growing number of’ and ‘in recent years’ it uses hedging language ‘tend to’ and ‘such as’ for an example.

Click this link for how to use ‘ tend to’ 

The word ‘ like ‘ comes across as informal in IELTS writing when stating an example. Instead, use ‘ such as ‘ or ‘ namely ‘ to give a brief example.

Avoiding ‘a lot of ‘

Take a look at these two sentences below, which do you think has a more academic feel?

A lot of people are working from home recently. A significant number of people are working from home recently.

Both sentences are correct grammatically but the 2nd sentence above is much better as it uses a collocation.

Below are more academic ways to say ‘a lot of’’ + countable noun . (In sentence 6 ‘money’ is an uncountable noun) These phrases below are collocations and this would be better for your vocabulary score.

A growing number of people believe that A.i and robots will take their jobs in the near future. A large number of wild animals are losing their natural habitats. A large proportion of new cars have hybrid engines now. A significant number of people are working from home recently. More and more policymakers are concerned about the environment. The Japanese government spent large sums of money on hosting the Olympics By 2030, the vast majority of cars will be electric vehicles.

If I used the words ‘a lot of ‘ in place of the bold phrases above it’s not incorrect but it seems like weak use of vocabulary for an academic essay. I tend to see this a lot in Band 5 or Band 6 essays.

Correct use of the word ‘ humans ’

This is a word that is often used in the wrong context and is common in Band 5 or Band 6 essays.

‘Humans’ should only be used in the context of people’s affect on natural habitats, and environment, comparing with other species, space travel, and evolution.

Example sentences:

Human activity, such as deforestation for the building of housing projects has had a detrimental effect on most species’ natural habits. It is highly likely that there will be human settlements on Mars by 2040. Humans have evolved over thousands of years to speak many languages. Genetically engineered humans is an immoral concept. Of all the species, humans are considered the most intelligent.

In the sentences below use ‘ people’ instead of ‘humans’

People these days tend to depend too much on their smartphones. People could be living on Mars in the next 20 years. (I can also use humans here) More and more people are deciding to live a minimalist lifestyle now. Most people are worried about the effect on the economy because of coronavirus lockdowns. Many people would say that global warming is a scam to tax citizens and make profits from carbon taxes.

Avoiding ‘nowadays / these days ‘

I see these words to start an introduction in many essays. It seems students like to use this as a synonym of ‘ recently ‘   This is not incorrect but it would be better to use a phrase such as ‘In recent decades / Currently / In recent times / In recent years.

Which of these sentences below would be better?

a) Nowadays many animals are on the endangered list or are close to extinction. b) In recent times, many animals are close to extinction or are on the endangered list. c) Nowadays , the vast majority of people are using the internet for studying online. d) Currently , the vast majority of people are using the internet for studying online. e) In recent months , the vast majority of people have been using the internet for studying online.

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Sentiences b, d, and e would be better here, it is not incorrect to use ‘nowadays’ but in my view, this word is overused in IELTS essays.

How would you improve the paraphrase of this IELTS writing task below?

Task: In recent times many wild animals are near to becoming extinct, while others are on the endangered list. What are the reasons for this, what can be done to solve this problem? Paraphrase: Nowadays, a lot of wild animals have been listed as endangered and some are close to extinction.  

In recent decades, a growing number of wild animals have been listed as endangered and some are close to extinction.

Any questions?  leave a comment below.

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IELTS Education Vocabulary : Useful Phrases and Expressions in IELTS Speaking

Updated On Dec 17, 2021

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To continue the IELTS vocabulary series for IELTS Speaking , this post will cover vocabulary about education, which could be useful for you when encountering the topic in real life situation or in the IELTS exam.

Now take a look at the vocabulary sets below, and pay close attention to the details presented for each word or phrase.

Types of School

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School Work

Qualifications : university & college.

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People in Education

Benefits and drawbacks of higher education.

• Open the door to better employment opportunities

Example: It is suggested that doing master degree will open the door to better employment opportunities.

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• Contribute to society

Example: An increasing number of higher educated workers could have a good contribution to society in terms of economy

• Require a huge investment in term of time and money

Example: Generally, continuing higher education will require a huge investment in term of time and money.

• Lose the current job

Example: When you decide to continue higher education, you have to face the risk of loosing your current job.

Common Phrases and Idioms on education for IELTS Speaking Topic:Education

1. State school: a school paid for by public funds and available to general public

Example: Because my budget is limited, then get a scholar ship and go to state school is a great idea.

2. Private school: a school that is not supported by government money, where education must be paid for by the children’s parents

Example: A private school usually offers good educational facilities compared to a public school.

3. Higher education: education, usually in a college or university, that is followed after high school or secondary school

Example: Lisa moved to American with the purpose of continuing her higher education.

4. To work your way through university: to have a paid job while studying to support yourself financial

Example: Peter has had to work his way through university, thus he barely has free time.

5. Tuition fees: the money paid for a course of study

Example: In order to pay for the tuition fees, I have been doing many part-time jobs.

6. To keep up with your studies: to not fall behind

Example: If you want to keep up with my studies at university, you have to spend more time on self-study.

7. To fall behind with your studies: to progress less quickly than other

Example: Sara spent almost her time on going out rather than studying, which caused her to fall behind with her studies, thus she failed the exam.

8. To sit an exam: to take an exam

Example: The time when I have to sit an exam is really stressful, because I need to stay up all night and have less time to relax.

9. To attend classes: to go to classes

Example: In order to pass the final exam, it is suggested that you should attend to all of the classes.

10. Face to face classes: join in courses in classroom with colleagues and teachers.

Example: When you take part in a face to face class, you will have an opportunity to interact with teachers in person, then you can respond to the teacher immediately.

11. Distance learning: a way of studying, in which you will learn, and communicate with teachers and classmates through the internet.

Example: One benefit of taking distance learning course is the timetable will be flexible, which means you can study whenever and wherever you want.

12. To learn something by heart: to memorize it

Example: The course requires me to learn a lot of things by heart, which is quite hard for me.

13. To take a year out: to take a gap year

Example: Before going to the university, I decided to take a year out to travel to some countries.

14. A graduation ceremony: an event that successful student receive his or her academic degree

Example: a graduation ceremony is one of the most important day in a student life.

15. Gain/obtain knowledge:  to acquire information and learn about a specific subject or matter

Example: Taking academic course will help students to gain a great deal of knowledge.

To extend your vocabulary sets, read articles on education and pick words or phrases that you can use on your IELTS, keep a dictionary and thesaurus handy and look for vocabulary activities on your IELTS preparation course book or online. And don’t forget to keep your vocabulary notebook (or notes) at hand whenever you’re studying for your IELTS.

What kind of school did you go to as a child?

I studied in public school all of my childhood, because at that time, the schools provided better education in comparison with private school.

What do/did you study in your university?

I studied business administration, which really suits my skills and personality.

Would you say you are a good student?

Yes, I would. I have skipped any classes, I find it easy to keep up with my studies , not to mention that my teachers usually compliment on my ability to learn quicker than other students.

IELTS Speaking Part 2 :

Sample answer .

Today I would like to share with you my memorable memories at my university. This is the time when I first moved to a big city and did my Bachelor degree in ABC University. At first, everything was new to me. I had to learn hard to keep up with my studies and spend a part of my time on doing part-time job, then worked my way through university . Although I led a hectic lifestyle at that time, I believe that it was the best time in my student’s lives, in which I joined in many clubs and activities, which gave me a golden chance to experience social lives, and make new friends.

Another thing that I remembered is when I was struggling to choose my major at university and received help from my classmates. As a junior student, my university required my to decide which major such as human resources management , accounting, finance I would follow. Having known that friends who had been studying with me for a long time might know better than me, I came to some of my friends and asked them for help. It was very kind of them that they spent time on analyzing my strengths and weaknesses, also discussing with me the pros and cons of each majors. After a few hours talking with them, I made a decision that I would go for human resources management. Now, I has been studying that major for almost 3 years and I have not ever regretted about my choice.

Through all those times, I realize that whenever I am in need, my friends are always be there for me.

What are the advantage of studying on a distance learning course?

The most foreseen benefits is that the timetable is flexible, which means students can learn anytime they want. In addition, tuition fees are likely to affordable because distance learning classes do not need to be invested in classrooms and other educational facilities. But people who take distance learning courses have to be motivated, otherwise they could fall behind with their studies.

Do all children get equal opportunities in education?

No, not really. In my country, students from well off families are likely to have better chance to study in private school with excellent facilities while this is still out of reach of few learners, because their families cannot support them.

In our next post on expanding your vocabulary for your IELTS, we’ll be looking at vocabulary related to  transportation , so don’t forget to keep checking our blog!

Also check :

• IELTS Vocabulary
• IELTS Speaking preparation tips
• Linking words for IELTS Speaking
• IELTS Speaking recent actual test
• Best IELTS Vocabulary books
• Grammar for IELTS
• IELTS Listening words
• Sports Vocabulary IELTS
• English Pronunciation in use Intermediate pdf
• Work Vocabulary IELTS
• Advanced Vocabulary for IELTS
• IELTS Pronunciation Guide
• Common English words in IELTS Speaking

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Courtney Miller

Courtney is one of our star content writers as she plays multiple roles. She is a phenomenal researcher and provides extensive articles to students. She is also an IELTS Trainer and an extremely good content writer. Courtney completed her English Masters at Kings College London, and has been a part of our team for more than 3 years. She has worked with the British Council and knows the tricks and tips of IELTS.

Improve your Vocabulary from our Vocabulary Topics

Kasturika Samanta

Janice Thompson

Post your Comments

Posted on Aug 28, 2016

Please check the example of phrase: “Contribute to society”.

IELTS Material

Posted on Aug 30, 2016

Thanks for your kind notice!

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