Right word, wrong partner
"I did a mistake in my essay." Every word in that sentence is real English. The grammar is perfect. It still sounds wrong, and an examiner hears it in half a second, the same way you would hear a wrong word in your own language. English words travel in pairs, and the pairs are habit, not logic. Nobody can explain why you make a mistake but you do research. You simply learn which words go together.
6 wrong pairs to correct today
Do a mistake
✕Many students do a mistake in the first paragraph.
✓Many students make a mistake in the first paragraph.
You make a mistake, a decision, an effort, progress and a difference. You do homework, research, business and your best. There is no rule, so learn the phrase whole.
Make research
✕Scientists made research on this problem.
✓Scientists carried out research on this problem.
Do research or carry out research. Carry out is slightly more formal and fits an academic essay well. It also works with a study, a survey and an experiment.
Strong rain, big traffic
✕Strong rain and big traffic delayed everyone.
✓Heavy rain and heavy traffic delayed everyone.
Heavy is the partner for rain, traffic, snow and workload. Strong goes with wind, coffee, argument and economy. Same idea, different partner.
Say an opinion
✕In this essay I will say my opinion about this topic.
✓In this essay I will express my opinion on this topic.
Express or give an opinion. Also note "on this topic", not "about this topic", in formal writing. Small partners, and both of them show control.
Spend attention
✕Parents should spend more attention to their children.
✓Parents should pay more attention to their children.
You pay attention, pay a visit and pay a compliment. English pays for a lot of things that cost no money.
Win money
✕Graduates want to win more money in their first job.
✓Graduates want to earn more money in their first job.
You earn a salary and win a prize. This one changes the meaning, not only the sound, so it can genuinely confuse the reader.
6 pairs that fit almost any IELTS topic
1play a major role in
be an important part of something
Example: Parents play a major role in a child's education.
2raise awareness of
make people notice a problem
Example: Schools can raise awareness of healthy eating.
3meet the needs of
give people what they actually need
Example: Public transport should meet the needs of older passengers.
4take action
do something about a problem
Example: Governments should take action before the cost rises further.
5have a lasting impact on
change something for a long time
Example: Early reading has a lasting impact on later school results.
6place a burden on
make something hard or expensive for someone
Example: Free healthcare places a heavy burden on the state budget.
How to learn collocations without a huge list
✓Never write a new word alone in your notebook. Write it inside a short phrase and learn the phrase.
✓When you read, notice the word BEFORE and AFTER the word you are learning. That is where the pair lives.
✓Learn the pairs for the topics that repeat: education, health, work, environment, technology, city life.
✓If you are unsure of a pair, use a simpler verb you are sure about. A safe correct phrase beats a risky one.
Why this beats learning more words
Lexical Resource does not reward the size of your vocabulary. It rewards using words correctly and naturally. So a student who writes heavy traffic, take action and meet the needs of sounds more in control than a student who memorized a longer word list and attached the wrong partner to half of it. You already know make, do, heavy and pay. Learning which ones go together costs almost nothing and shows up in every paragraph.
Read next
More vocabulary that changes your score: 8 words to delete from your IELTS essay and 5 small changes that take your writing from 6.5 to 7.
See the pairs you are getting wrong
Collocation errors are invisible to the person who wrote them. The word feels right, so nothing tells you to check it. Write your next essay in VoyaLang and read the corrections. Wrong word pairs are marked in your own sentences with the natural version beside them, which is exactly how these are learned: one real mistake at a time, in a sentence you meant. Create a free account and check your next essay in about a minute.
