Think about these questions, or answer them aloud.
At band 7 and above, IELTS looks for less common and idiomatic vocabulary, used with awareness of style and collocation. This does not mean rare, academic or old-fashioned words. It means the precise words a fluent speaker would naturally choose.
There are three layers:
The golden rule: one precise expression used correctly is worth more than five idioms forced in. Examiners quickly notice memorised phrases that don't fit the context, and errors in idioms (wrong word, wrong form) are especially noticeable.
| General | More precise (collocation / idiom) | Example |
|---|---|---|
| very difficult to learn | a steep learning curve | The first month in the job was a steep learning curve. |
| very different from | a far cry from | My flat now is a far cry from my tiny student room. |
| find a middle way | strike a balance (between… and…) | It's hard to strike a balance between work and family. |
| start to understand how to do it | get the hang of (something) | It took me weeks to get the hang of driving on the left. |
| very important / essential | crucial / indispensable | A reliable internet connection is indispensable for remote work. |
| slowly change your mind | come round to (an idea) | I wasn't keen at first, but I came round to the idea. |
| a small visible part of a big problem | the tip of the iceberg | The complaints we hear are just the tip of the iceberg. |
| try to do too much | bite off more than you can chew | I bit off more than I could chew by taking three courses. |
Cue card: Describe a skill you learned that took longer than you expected.
Match each expression to its meaning. There is one extra meaning.
Complete each Part 1 or Part 2 answer with an expression from the box. Change nothing in the expression.
You have one minute to prepare and up to two minutes to speak. In your notes, write two or three precise expressions you want to use, but let them come naturally.
Describe a time when you had to adapt to a new situation.
You should say:
60 s preparation · 2:00 speaking
Save words to review them later with flashcards.
“Moving into management was a steep learning curve.”
“The new stadium is a far cry from the old one.”
“Once you get the hang of it, skiing is great fun.”
“Parents need to strike a balance between freedom and safety.”
“My dad has finally come round to the idea of online banking.”
“I bit off more than I could chew when I agreed to organise the whole event.”
“A colleague took me under her wing during my first year.”
“I felt completely out of my depth in the advanced class.”
“After a few months, using the software became second nature.”
“The report was full of legal jargon.”
“These cases are only the tip of the iceberg.”
