Good Task 2 vocabulary isn't a list of rare words. It's knowing which of several similar words fits your sentence: problem, issue and challenge may share one translation in your language, but an examiner reads them differently. Below, synonyms are grouped by meaning, each with when to use it and an essay sentence.
You also don't need to replace every basic word. In 8,073 Task 2 essays scored by the GoPrep AI examiner (28 July to 26 September 2026), a lot of or lots of appeared in 26% of essays below band 6.0 and in 6% of essays at 7.0 or above. People and problem stayed common at every band.
What Lexical Resource rewards
Lexical Resource (your vocabulary) is one of the 4 equally weighted Writing criteria. The official band descriptors never ask for rare words on their own. Here is what the Task 2 column says about word choice.
| Band | What the descriptor says | What it means for synonyms |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | "frequent simplifications and/or repetitions" | The same few words again and again |
| 6 | "a lack of precision in word choice"; a risk-taker shows "higher degrees of inaccuracy or inappropriacy" | Swapping in words you're unsure of adds errors, not marks |
| 7 | "some ability to use less common and/or idiomatic items"; "an awareness of style and collocation is evident" | A less common word counts when it fits the style and its usual partner words |
| 8 | "skilful use of uncommon and/or idiomatic items when appropriate" | Uncommon words only where they fit |
Collocation means words that naturally go together: heavy traffic, not strong traffic. Style means how formal a word is: kids suits a message to a friend, children an essay.
Which basic words to replace
Not every basic word is a problem. We counted how often common words appear in Task 2 essays at different bands.
| Word | Essays: below 6.0 / 6.0–6.5 / 7.0+ | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| a lot of, lots of | 26% / 21% / 6% | many, much, a large number of |
| thing, things | 27% / 19% / 8% | Name it: factor, habit, device |
| get, gets, got, getting | 28% / 27% / 11% | become, receive, find (a job) |
| very | 19% / 17% / 10% | A stronger adjective, or cut it |
| good | 23% / 20% / 12% | Say how: beneficial, effective |
| bad | 15% / 10% / 5% | Say how: harmful, unfair |
| big | 13% / 9% / 4% | large, major, significant |
| kids, stuff, pretty, really, OK, okay, gonna | 14% / 12% / 3% | children, a specific noun; cut really |
| nowadays | 22% / 22% / 13% | Fine once; or in recent years |
| people | 89% / 91% / 84% | Keep; name the group when you can |
| important | 26% / 34% / 38% | Keep; vary only when the meaning changes |
| problem, problems | 39% / 42% / 40% | Keep; see issue and challenge below |
Two patterns stand out:
- Vague and informal words fade. A lot of, thing, get and big are 2 to 4 times rarer in essays at 7.0+, even though those essays are longer (305 words on average, against 241 below 6.0).
- Neutral words stay. People and problem stay common at every band, and important is even more frequent in higher-scoring essays.
In these essays, higher bands go with fewer vague words, not fewer basic ones. Showcase words like plethora or myriad turn up in only 1% to 2% of essays at any band. We counted whether a word appears, not whether each use was right, so read the table as a pattern, not as proof that replacing a word raises a score.
Task 2 synonyms by meaning
Each table groups words that look interchangeable and says when each one fits: meaning, formality and usual partner words. If nothing fits better, keep the basic word: a correct repeat is safer than a wrong synonym.
Important
| Word | When to use it | Example |
|---|---|---|
| important | Neutral, fits anywhere; safe to repeat | It is important for children to learn to swim. |
| crucial, vital | Stronger: without it, something fails; crucial for, vital for | Clean water is vital for public health. |
| essential | Something you can't do without; essential for, essential to | Basic computer skills are essential for most office jobs. |
| key | Mostly before a noun: a key role, a key factor | Teachers play a key role in a child's development. |
Increase and decrease
| Word | When to use it | Example |
|---|---|---|
| increase, decrease | Neutral; with or without an object, also nouns | Governments should increase spending on schools. |
| reduce, cut | Needs an object: you reduce something | Remote work could reduce traffic in city centres. |
| decline, fall | No object; decline is more formal; add an adverb for speed: declined sharply | Newspaper sales have declined for years. |
Rise vs raise: see the look-alike pairs below.
Problem, issue and challenge
| Word | When to use it | Example |
|---|---|---|
| problem | Something wrong that needs a solution; solve, tackle a problem | Traffic congestion is a serious problem in large cities. |
| issue | A topic people discuss or disagree about; can also mean a problem; address an issue | Animal testing is a controversial issue. |
| challenge | Hard but possible to overcome; face, meet a challenge | Moving abroad is a challenge for older workers. |
| concern | A reason to worry; a growing concern, raise concerns about | Childhood obesity is a growing concern in many countries. |
Cause and lead to
| Word | When to use it | Example |
|---|---|---|
| cause | A direct result, usually negative; cause + noun | Heavy traffic causes air pollution. |
| lead to | A result that comes after some steps; can be positive | Better training can lead to higher wages. |
| result in | Formal; the final outcome (result from points to the cause) | Cutting down forests results in the loss of habitats. |
| contribute to | One cause among several | Fast food contributes to obesity. |
Affect and influence
| Word | When to use it | Example |
|---|---|---|
| affect | Verb: to change something; no on after it | Screen time affects children's sleep. |
| influence | Changes thoughts, choices or behaviour | Advertising influences what children want to buy. |
| have an effect on, have an impact on | Noun pattern; add an adjective: a positive effect, a huge impact | Tourism has a huge impact on small towns. |
Show and prove
| Word | When to use it | Example |
|---|---|---|
| show | Neutral: data, examples or experience show | Surveys show that many teenagers sleep too little. |
| suggest, indicate | The evidence points that way, but it isn't certain | These figures suggest that fewer young people read for pleasure. |
| prove | Beyond doubt; rarely true in an essay, so use it with care | A link alone does not prove that video games cause violence. |
Giving your opinion
| Word | When to use it | Example |
|---|---|---|
| I think | Correct and clear; fine once in the introduction or conclusion | I think the benefits outweigh the drawbacks. |
| I believe | A firm view, often about values | I believe that healthcare should be free for everyone. |
| In my view, In my opinion | Neutral openers; never In my point of view | In my view, both sides make valid points. |
Many, much and a lot of
| Word | When to use it | Example |
|---|---|---|
| many | Plural countable nouns | Many families cannot afford childcare. |
| a large number of | Formal; plural countable nouns | A large number of graduates move abroad for work. |
| a great deal of | Formal; uncountable nouns | Building a stadium costs a great deal of money. |
| numerous | Formal; plural nouns, no of after it | There are numerous ways to save energy at home. |
A lot of isn't wrong, it just sounds spoken. Big is the same: in essays, use large for size.
Big, large and significant
| Word | When to use it | Example |
|---|---|---|
| large | Size and numbers: a large number, a large proportion | A large proportion of household waste could be recycled. |
| significant | Big enough to matter; a significant increase, role, change | Online learning has brought significant changes to universities. |
| considerable | Formal; amount or degree: considerable effort, time, cost | Learning a language takes considerable effort. |
| major | One of the most important of several: a major cause | Traffic is a major cause of air pollution in cities. |
Good and bad: say how
| Word | When to use it | Example |
|---|---|---|
| beneficial | Helpful; beneficial for, beneficial to | Regular exercise is beneficial for mental health. |
| positive, negative | With effect, impact, attitude, consequence | Social media can have a negative effect on self-esteem. |
| effective | Works well and achieves its aim | Fines are an effective way to reduce littering. |
| harmful, damaging | Causes damage; harmful to | Plastic bags are harmful to marine life. |
| detrimental | Formal; detrimental to; once per essay is plenty | Long working hours are detrimental to family life. |
People
| Word | When to use it | Example |
|---|---|---|
| people | Neutral default; fine to repeat | Many people prefer to live close to work. |
| individuals | Each person separately, often set against society or the state | Should individuals or governments pay for university? |
| citizens | People of a country, with rights and duties | Citizens have a duty to pay taxes. |
| residents | People who live in a particular place | Local residents often oppose new airports. |
| the public | People in general, as one group | The public has a right to know how taxes are spent. |
Nowadays
| Word | When to use it | Example |
|---|---|---|
| nowadays, these days | Correct, but a very common opener; vary it | Nowadays, most students own a smartphone. |
| today | Neutral; fits any essay | Today, many jobs can be done from home. |
| in recent years | Stresses change; use the present perfect | In recent years, remote work has become common. |
| increasingly | Inside the sentence, shows a trend | Children are increasingly spending their free time online. |
Solve
| Word | When to use it | Example |
|---|---|---|
| solve | Remove a problem completely; rarely realistic for big social problems | A new bridge would solve the town's traffic problem. |
| tackle, address | Start dealing with a problem seriously; formal | Governments must tackle youth unemployment. |
| ease, alleviate | Make a problem less serious: ease congestion, alleviate poverty | Free buses could ease congestion in city centres. |
| prevent | Stop it before it starts; prevent something from happening | Vaccination prevents many diseases from spreading. |
Look-alike words: same translation, different use
These pairs often share one translation in your first language, and a one-word translation hides the difference. A learner's dictionary with examples shows it.
affect or effect
- Use affect (verb) when one thing changes another; use effect (noun) for the result: have an effect on.
- Wrong: Noise effects concentration. Noise affects on concentration. Right: Noise affects concentration.
economic or economical
- Use economic for the economy (economic growth); use economical for cheap to run (an economical car).
- Wrong: Tourism brings economical benefits. Right: Tourism brings economic benefits.
rise or raise
- Use rise with no object (prices rise, rose, has risen); use raise when someone raises something (raise taxes). Increase works both ways.
- Wrong: The government should rise taxes. Crime has raised. Right: raise taxes; Crime has risen.
problem or issue
- Problem stresses that something is wrong and needs a solution. Issue often names a topic people debate, and it can also mean a problem.
- Compare: Traffic is a serious problem in my city (something to fix) and Animal testing is a controversial issue (a debate).
say, argue, claim or suggest (reporting other people's views)
- Say just reports words. Argue means giving reasons for a position. Claim reports a statement that may be disputed or unproven. Suggest proposes an action: suggest that + a verb.
- Wrong: Experts suggest the government to ban junk food adverts. Right: Experts suggest that the government should ban junk food adverts.
make, do or cause
- Make for creating and deciding (make a decision, make a mistake); do for tasks (do research, do harm); cause for a bad result (cause pollution).
- Wrong: Factories make pollution, and students do mistakes. Right: Factories cause pollution, and students make mistakes.
When a fancy synonym costs marks
The band 6 "risk-taker" swaps simple words for rarer ones without knowing how they behave. Three ways it goes wrong:
- Wrong style. Kids, stuff and pretty are too informal; hitherto and the aforementioned sound like a legal document.
- Wrong partner word. Strong rain → heavy rain; make a crime → commit a crime; high traffic → heavy traffic.
- Wrong meaning. A thesaurus lists notorious next to famous, but notorious means famous for something bad.
One idea, three ways, for the question Should governments spend more on public transport than on roads? These are GoPrep practice examples showing band features, not official band scores.
1. Repetitive (band 5 feature: "repetitions")
Public transport is very good for cities. It is good for people because it is cheap, and it is good for the environment too.
Good appears three times. Cheap explains one benefit, but the benefit for the environment stays vague.
2. Over-upgraded (band 6 feature: the risk-taker)
Public transportation is tremendously advantageous for metropolises, since it is economic for individuals and makes less contamination.
- tremendously advantageous: big words, still vague
- metropolises: means very large cities; use cities if you mean cities in general
- economic: should be economical, or simply cheaper
- makes less contamination: pollution is the more natural general word for harm from traffic, and it goes with produce or cause, not make
3. Precise (band 7 to 8 features: "precise meanings")
Public transport can benefit cities in two ways: a bus pass may cost less than owning and running a car, and well-used buses and trains can produce fewer emissions per passenger than private cars.
The precise version has no rare words at all. It says exactly how public transport is good, and that is what precision means in the descriptors. Speaking has the same trap with idioms.
Practice: make three vague sentences precise
Rewrite each sentence with words from the groups above, without adding new claims.
- Nowadays a lot of people get stressed because of work.
- Plastic is very bad for the sea.
- This thing is a big problem for cities. (the sentence before it talks about traffic)
One possible answer
- In recent years, many employees have become stressed by their work. The group is named; many and become replace a lot of and get.
- Plastic waste is harmful to marine life. Harmful to says how it is bad; very goes.
- Traffic congestion is a major problem for large cities. Name the thing; major and large replace big. Problem stays: it fits.
What the AI examiner flags at each band
After scoring an essay, GoPrep's AI examiner gives a Band Contract: up to three priority fixes. Here is how often a vocabulary fix made that list, by the essay's band.
| Fix | Below 6.0 / 6.0–6.5 / 7.0+ | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Word form | 27% / 19% / 4% | The right part of speech: economic growth, not economy growth |
| Collocation | 18% / 31% / 20% | The usual partner word: heavy traffic, commit a crime |
| Any word choice fix, including collocation | 34% / 53% / 77% | The exact word for your meaning |
Read it as an order of work, not a count of mistakes. Below 6.0, word form is often a top fix; at 6.0 to 6.5, collocation peaks. At 7.0+, word form fixes appear in 4% of priority lists and the broad word choice category in 77%. This describes feedback priorities, not the total number of errors.
Check yourself
4 questions: choose the word that fits the sentence.
FAQ
What vocabulary do I need for IELTS Writing Task 2?
You need words for problems, causes, effects, solutions and opinions, plus topic words for the question. Precision matters more than rarity: the band 7 descriptor asks for less common words used with an awareness of style and collocation.
Should I use synonyms to avoid repeating words in Task 2?
Use a synonym only when it means exactly the same in that sentence. Repeating a key word such as people or technology is fine, and a correct repeat costs less than a wrong synonym.
Is it "affect" or "effect"?
Affect is usually the verb: pollution affects health. Effect is usually the noun: pollution has an effect on health. There is no on after affect.
Can vocabulary alone get me band 8 in Writing?
No. Lexical Resource is one of four equally weighted criteria, so an undeveloped argument or weak grammar still holds the score back.
Where to go next
Words that connect ideas are in linking words for Task 2, and Lexical Resource next to the other criteria is in Writing band descriptors. The Task 2 overview covers all 5 essay types; graphs need their own words: Task 1 vocabulary. If your Writing is stuck at 6.5, see what changes from 6.5 to 7 in Writing.
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