For those of you who are not acquired with the phrase, ‘Lexical Resource’, it is simply a collection of words and phrases with the knowledge where it fits correctly. On IELTS tests, 25% of a student’s grades come from their ‘Lexical Resource’. Naturally, the ‘LR’ is of immense importance to a student. The lexical resource is one of the 4 qualification criteria for the 4 types of IELTS tests.

Let me do a discursive discussion on the ‘LR’.

For the IELTS tests, you must have a wide range of vocabulary. Since you are not expected to repeat the same words repeatedly on tests and lose points that way, your vocabulary should be rich in synonymous words. There is a hidden danger in using synonymous words, because in some cases a ‘Synonymous Word’ can have different meanings, so you have to choose the perfect and appropriate synonym for each word you use. The less common words you use the better for your score, but typing uncommon words doesn’t mean you are typing ‘Long, hard-to-understand words’.

A very common mistake: Students or candidates who often make a common mistake, repeat the same word throughout the writing or speech (in the oral test), instead of using the appropriate ‘synonyms’ (this happens due to the lack of knowledge). Therefore, it is recommended that candidates, if they make the same mistake of repeating a word over and over again, rectify it while reviewing the wording.

Another big mistake is: To execute their vocabulary, they make guesses and write an inappropriate word and are penalized. While writing an essay, candidates are often given familiar topics such as: health, education, environment, globalization, and a few more. Therefore, a genuinely prepared candidate, with adequate knowledge of common topics, is expected to have a wide range of vocabulary on those topics.

Weakness in spelling: Weakness in spelling is due to lack of practice. Even a candidate with a strong vocabulary but a weak spelling scores lower. Whereas if one makes rare or occasional spelling mistakes, they can still do so on ‘Band 7’. But there are no instructions on ‘How rare / occasional’ errors are allowed. So to be safe, strengthen your vocabulary with accurate spelling and pronunciation.

Placement: It is’ a part of the ‘LR’, it simply means, a grouping of words in sentences, it is a ‘Very important Concept’ for any language student. Only if your ‘Word Combination’ is correct in a sentence then your vocabulary will be counted. It is often seen that when trying to execute vocabulary, candidates make a mess and lose grades. At the same time, candidates need to know the proper preposition that follows a word, they are often seen to make mistakes in ‘Placement’. A candidate with a huge vocabulary, but no “Placement,” will not get any rewards for his harrowing efforts to cram thousands of words. Using words in the wrong context is a penalty, as it changes the meaning of the entire context. So once again, a few more examples: If you type: I made / have made a serious mistake. Yes, sure, it is a big mistake. You should have written: I made / made a serious mistake.

Errors when using prepositions: Your painting consists from various montages Or, instead, if you write: Your work included from in number of mounts. You have used the words in the correct way, followed by the preposition ‘de’. But instead, if a candidate writes: His work contains from several montages … wrong, it should be: your work contains several montages. (just remove the preposition of and everything is fine). Therefore, it is not possible to enrich vocabulary with cluttered dictionaries, but you have to know the correct use of each word in your vocabulary. Similarly, if you type: A big drawback of the system is … OR A big drawback of the system is … In both cases, you are right. But, if someone writes: A big disadvantage / disadvantage to gold in the system is … wrong uses of a preposition, better repeat a word once or twice but do not make such mistakes.

Writing make a mistake or make a mistake is fine, but never write if you made a mistake or made a mistake … Both are wrong. If you write … This man has committed a crime … you have also committed one, because it is not a crime but a mistake. You must be right: this man has committed a crime (to be perfect). In such cases, ‘Commit’ is the word that fits the bill perfectly. for example, the child jumped in the pond or in the point … both are wrong. The correct way to write this: the boy jumped into the pond.

Another point to explain the importance of the lexical resource: Already mentioned, there is no use filling the dictionaries to enrich your ‘LR’. Naturally, the question comes to mind, “Why?” When adding a new word to your LR, you need to know the forms of the word, the form of the noun, the adjective or the adverbial form, etc .: If you write: These two pens are different … Okay, you have written the form adjective. But, if someone writes: These two pens are the difference … Wrong. If you want to use the word “difference” here, you should write: These two pens have differences OR There are differences between the two pens. (The difference is a noun and different is an adjective). So knowing the different forms of each and every word is of immense importance.

However, the phrase ‘Lexical Resource’ instead of ‘Vocabulary’ may not yet be clear to some non-native speakers. When you come to know the meaning of a certain word, it is in your ‘Vocabulary’, but not necessarily in your LR. According to the dictionary, the meaning of the word ‘Lexical Resource’ is, ‘Available source of wealth related to words’. So it clearly explains, why ‘LR’ is not just your vocabulary, it is about the deep understanding of using words appropriately and accurately according to the context. When you write for your IELTS tests and you are asked to write about a certain topic, you will see that more than a few words would require repetition. Your ability to avoid ‘repeated words’ by replacing them with synonymous words is what is called your ‘lexical resource’. Keep it etched in your mind, your ‘Strong Lexical Resource’ will allow you to get a higher Band Score as it is always responsible for 25% of your score.

Connotation: A rich ‘Lexical Resource’ is linked with various things, besides placement, there is ‘Connotation’. It is an extremely important part related to ‘LR’. What is it really? There are many words that are used in both a positive and a negative sense. If you write: ‘She is thin’. It means that you are admiring the girl. But instead, if you write, ‘She is skinny’. Does it mean at all that ‘you’re appreciating it? No, you are criticizing the girl and pointing out that she is too skinny and looks skinny. But the word skinny and the word skinny are almost the same word according to the dictionary (almost, not exactly). Therefore, you can use the word ‘Affection’ in both senses, examples: His speech had affected the children in such a way that they have become motivated. (It is written in a positive sense). But, if you write ‘His speech affected the young minds of the boys’. Of course, you have written in a negative sense.

Therefore, you must have experience in placement, which means that you must write with clarity of understanding and not live, readers keep guessing. Therefore, it is to be hoped that the importance of the “lexical resource” will be understood. Here are some common ‘Collocations’. The verb ‘have’ and related nouns or phrases are like: have he went to the United States. They have Your breakfast. He is making His homework. He will do it keep her or his promise. It’s 4 in the afternoon, who isn’t? Let’s go And play? Look, the uses of the words have, do, keep / keep are used in such a way that you can call them a word family.