For IELTS Writing Task 2, you can raise your band level and achieve a band 9 by using a variety of more complex vocabulary words and phrases in your essay. In this post, I’ll look at advanced vocabulary for IELTS Writing Task 2 and explain how you can use IELTS Writing Task 2 vocabulary band 9 words to raise your band level.
These words and phrases work for both the Academic and General Training IELTS exams!
IELTS Writing Task 2 Vocabulary: Band 9 Factors
Before we dive into vocabulary, let’s take a quick look at what, exactly, IETLS Writing Task 2 is evaluating. As the IELTS rubric shows, you’re evaluated on four different areas:
- Task response (25%)
- Coherence and cohesion (25%)
- Lexical resource (25%)
- Grammatical range and accuracy (25%)
Lexical resource measures your ability to use a wide range of vocabulary without errors and in proper context in your written responses. In other words, vocabulary alone isn’t enough to get you a band 9 score. However, using a variety of words that are appropriate for band 9 can add to your lexical resource score, raising it overall.
That, however, comes with a few caveats. First of all, you must use the terms correctly. There’s zero benefits to using complex terms incorrectly—you won’t get extra credit for including them.
Second of all, you need to use a variety of words and phrases. If you can (correctly) use the term “Conversely,” that’s awesome—unless you use it five times in a single essay. In that case, it’s likely to hurt your score more than it helps.
Keeping that in mind, let’s dive into some advanced vocabulary for IELTS Writing Task 2!
Advanced Vocabulary for IELTS Writing Task 2: From Band 5 to Band 9
Again, keep in mind that the IELTS Writing Task 2 vocabulary band 9 terms I’m using here aren’t a guarantee of scoring in band 9. They are, however, advanced phrases that you can use to present more complex ideas. For each one, take a look at the example using it to see what it looks like in practice!
Ready? Here are some examples of advanced vocabulary for IELTS Writing Task 2 in different categories.
Examples of Introductions and Openings Vocabulary
| Beginner | Advanced | Example Sentences |
|---|---|---|
| To begin, To start, |
To commence, | To begin, it is important to consider how this issue affects society.
→ To commence, this essay will examine how this issue affects different aspects of society. |
| First, Firstly, |
First of all, | First, lots of young people like to spend time on social media.
→ First of all, many adolescents spend copious amounts of leisure time on social media. |
| Overall, | On the whole, | Overall, I disagree that shopping is a harmful activity.
→  On the whole, shopping has few negative effects and, in fact, does much good for the economy. |
| In general, | Generally speaking, | In general, too much screen time hurts children.
→ Generally speaking, excessive screen time can have negative effects on children. |
| Importantly, | Crucially, | Importantly, many young people have easy jobs when they first graduate.
→ Crucially, most entry-level jobs tend to involve primarily low-difficulty tasks. |
Examples of Stating an Opinion Vocabulary
| Beginner | Advanced | Example Sentences |
|---|---|---|
| I think… | From my point of view, | I think people who work should make more of an effort to exercise. → From my point of view, exercising is vital for those who have full-time employment. |
| For me, | Admittedly, | For me, it can be difficult to put a screen down. → Admittedly, minimising screen time presents its own problems. |
| I feel… | As far as I am concerned, | I feel that streaming movies is a good way to watch them. → As far as I am concerned, streaming movies is a perfectly valid, even ideal, way to view them. |
| I believe… | My opinion on the matter is… | I believe that children should go to school before kindergarten. → My opinion on the matter is that early childhood education should be begun as early as possible. |
| I am sure… | I am convinced… | I am sure that contactless credit cards will be more popular. → I am convinced that contactless payment is the chosen payment method of the future. |
Examples of Transition Vocabulary
| Beginner | Advanced Band 9 | Example Sentences |
|---|---|---|
| Second, | Likewise, | Second, science helps students develop reasoning skills.
→ Likewise, the reasoning skills that students learn in science courses will assist them in a variety of other disciplines. |
| Also, | In addition, Furthermore, Moreover, |
Also, some students can’t access a computer.
→ Furthermore, students with fewer resources or outside of an urban center may be unable to access a computer. Moreover, students with fewer resources or outside of an urban center may be unable to access a computer. |
| But, | Nevertheless, However, |
But researchers who publish their work also have rights.
→ Nevertheless, it is also important to keep in mind the authorial rights of researchers. However, it is also important to keep in mind the authorial rights of researchers. |
| And, | In addition, Furthermore, Moreover, |
And without healthcare for everyone, people are less able to work full-time.
→ Furthermore, universal healthcare has beneficial effects on the national economy. |
| On the other hand, | Conversely, | On the other hand, some students can’t access a computer.
→ Conversely, students with fewer resources or outside of an urban center may be unable to access a computer. |
Examples of “Giving an Example” Vocabulary
| Beginner | Advanced | Example Sentences |
|---|---|---|
| For example, | Evidence for this appears in… | For example, I make internet purchases when I am busy.
→ Evidence for this appears in my own life: I am far more likely to purchase items online when under pressure at work. |
| One example is… | A good illustration of this is… | One example of a superhero series with family values is Umbrella Academy.
→ A good illustration of a superhero series that depicts strong family values is Umbrella Academy. |
| For instance, | One piece of evidence for this is… | For instance, learning a second language can help you think differently.
→ One piece of evidence for this is that studies have shown learning a second language changes the structure of the human brain, making it more efficient. |
| Such as | One excellent example of this is… | It is important to spend money to maintain infrastructure, such as highways.
→ Maintaining infrastructure is vital to an area’s economy and is well worth the cost. One excellent example of this is highways. |
| The best example of X is… | The primary example that shows X is… | The best example of an overcrowded city is New York.
→ The primary example that shows that urban overcrowding drives up housing prices is New York City. |
Examples of Concluding Vocabulary and Phrases
| Beginner | Advanced Band 9 | Example Sentences |
|---|---|---|
| Finally, | In conclusion, | Finally, the arts are important to learning creativity.
→ In conclusion, putting money into teaching the arts is the same as putting money into teaching our children to think creatively. |
| Overall, | To summarise, | Overall, technological advances are a good thing for society.
→ To summarise, technological advances benefit society in numerous ways. |
| In the end, | On balance, | In the end, governments should make more public health laws.
→ On balance, the governmental implementation of more public health laws would benefit the population as a whole. |
| Last, | Therefore, | Last, working too long can affect your health.
→ Therefore, spending too long at work can have negative health effects. |
| That said, | Taking the evidence into consideration, | That said, spending money on the arts is not a waste.
→ Taking the evidence into consideration, public expenditure on the arts is money well spent. |
More IELTS Writing Task 2 Advanced Vocabulary Resources
Remember, the best way to get an IELTS Writing Task 2 band 9 is to work on improving all aspects of your writing. So what are your next steps in learning to incorporate advanced vocabulary for IELTS Writing Task 2? Check out the following resources to boost your score!
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