How To Avoid Repetition Of Words And Phrases In the IELTS Writing Exam?

IELTS writing test is taken to make you eligible in writing the language of an English-speaking country. Many times, students come up with a problem of repetition of words in their essay or report/letter. Yes, it can become a reason for not exactly deduction of marks, but for scoring less. It means to score high; you should be an expert in lexical resources. Here, in this article, some tips and strategies will be given to avoid repetition in the IELTS writing exam: -

▶️ Usage of Synonyms

Using the same meaning words instead of repeating the words is one of the best and widely suggested tricks to ignore the repetition of words in writing. Yes, it does come up with many challenges as it is not at all a cup of tea to know each and every word of the English language. The English language is an ocean of vocabulary. Yet, it can be solved when you will be able to get pro in using synonyms for some of the common and widely used keywords in essays or reports. Synonyms are used to avoid the redundancy of the words and to prove that you know the different terms well. These can be

• Increase- rise, grow, upwards, enhance, plunge
• Decrease- downwards, decline, reduction, fall off, lessen
• Cities- urban areas
• People- folks, citizens (if talking about living)
• Nowadays, these days, in recent days
• Children, juveniles, infants, teenagers
• Different, various, distinct
• Consumption, intake
• Production, output, yield
• Number, amount, count
• Plan, layout, design
• Percentage, proportion, percentum
• Process, procedure, series of steps
• Modern, contemporary and traditional, ethnic
• Yearly, annually
• Variations, changes, alterations
• Disposal, garbage, waste, rubbish
• Shows, elucidates, unveils, represents, displays, gives
• Strict, stern, stringent, rigorous
• Salary, remuneration, emoluments
• Professions, jobs, occupations strengths is abilities and deficiencies or shortcomings is weaknesses
• Commonly, usually
• Initially, firstly, in the beginning
• Important, key, vital, crucial

▶️ Rephrasing the Sentences

Restructuring of sentence is also one of the way by which repetition can be avoided in writing. Whether it is Task one Or task 2, restructuring of the given statement is important. It can be done in two ways

• By changing the position of the words in the sentence
• by using the synonyms of the words but the positions of the words will remain same
• By the application of both the above ideas

Task 1

Question- The pie charts below show the percentage of water used for different purposes in six areas of the world.

a. Changing the position of the words in a sentence

Answer the pie charts Reveal the information about six areas of the world in which Consumption is done for different purposes.

b. Using synonyms but the word position will remain same

Answer The pie charts reveal the information about the proportion of consumption off water four distinct purposes in six different regions Over the globe.

c. By application of both the ideas

Answer The pie charts display the information about the Six regions over the globe where the proportion of water utilisation for different purposes is depicted.

Task 2

Question

It is impossible to help all the people in the world, so governments should only focus on people in their own countries. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Answer

a) It is usually said that the governments should focus on the population of their own countries only and the reason given is that all the people in the world can't be helped. In my opinion, helping each other is a gesture of kindness but I strongly agree to this notion that all can't be helped.

b) It is usually said that it is not possible to provide aid to the world's populace, So authorities should target the population of their own nations only. In my opinion, the notion is correct somewhere and I strongly agree with this.

c) It is generally believed that the authorities of different countries should aim add working for the welfare of the populations of their own nations as it gets difficult or somewhere not possible to assist the folks of different nations.In my opinion, my agreement to this notion is strong and I will describe it in my further paragraphs.

▶️ Adding Collocations

IELTS Collocation is basically referred to as grouping of words in a single phrase or word. It is an act of collecting, say

For example:- People say that (use instead- both elderly and youngsters say that). Addition of collocations will not only minimize the word length but also give weightage to your words and vocabulary.

• Some people say that – Few of the folks hold a view point that / few people reckon that
• Crowd- Hustle and bustle or hotchpotch
• Liking sports- I am very fond of playing, I’m very keen, interested in, yes I do love, yes it is very fun activity.
• Education after higher secondary can be written as university education
• In the state of being jealous can be written as jealousy
• Centre of attention- this person is a matter of interest or Concern of everyone
• Has a lot of work to do can be written as busy
• Not achieving anything or not ended up like thought- Turned out opposite

▶️ Adding Formal phrases

Another way to avoid the redundancy in IELTS writing to use formal phrases for some of the commonly used words. For example

• Instead of using only however for the opposite point

One should not forget that......... (point)

• A proof suggested that

A series of ample of evidences showed that

• It can be concluded that, a conclusion can be reached from the above discussion that, in conclusion of the above discussion
• For comparison- In contrast, contrastingly, in comparison to the above point, opposing to the above point
• To join one or two points - Additionally, furthermore, moreover, in addition to the above point, adding to

As earlier mentioned, the English language is the ocean of vocabulary and it is impossible to have knowledge of each and every term of English. However, with the regular practice of writing and learning will make you better in the above commonly used terms and synonyms. However in my opinion a student should learn only, no matter what the source is.

▶️Change the beginning of the sentence

It is considered very basic and clumsy to start a sentence with “he”, “she”, “they” or “it”. Therefore, it is recommended to start the sentence from passive voice instead of active voice. Starting the sentence with the object first, not only makes the sentence impressive but also helps in avoiding repetition of words and phrases in the IELTS writing exam. Also, it's part of Coherence.

Conclusion

Hope these tips help you in avoiding the repetition of words and phrases in the IELTS writing exam. You just need to practice more in order to increase your vocabulary so that you never get a shortage of words while expressing your ideas.

For more practice, enroll now in BDS Online IELTS Preparation Course today where you will get access to anytime/anywhere IELTS classes, with 400+ detailed video lectures, sample papers, and live classes by Dr. Roma. Candidates can also sign up for IELTS Dr. Roma Writing Templates + Cue Cards Course to get ready essay templates and solutions latest IELTS essay topics. So let's get started with IELTS writing practice.

Best of Luck!!