For those who are not familiar with the phrase, ‘lexical resource’, it is simply a collection of words and phrases with the knowledge where it fits correctly. In IELTS tests, 25% of a student’s marks come from their ‘Lexical Resource’. Naturally, the ‘LR’ is of immense importance to a student. The lexical resource is one of the 4 scoring criteria for the 4 types of IELTS tests.
Let me make a discursive discussion about the ‘LR’.
For the IELTS tests, you must possess a wide range of vocabulary. Since you are not expected to repeat the same words over and over in tests and lose points that way, your vocabulary should be rich in similar words. There is a hidden danger in using synonymous words, because in some cases a ‘Synonymous Word’ can have different meanings, so you must choose the perfect and suitable synonym for each word you use. The fewer common words you use, the better your score will be, but writing uncommon words does not mean that you write ‘Long and difficult to understand words’.
A very common mistake: Students or candidates often make a common mistake, they repeat the same word throughout the writing or speech (in the speaking test), instead of using proper ‘Synonyms’ (This happens due to lack of knowledge). Therefore, candidates are advised that if they make the same mistake of repeating a word over and over again, they rectify it while reviewing their writing.
Another big mistake is: To run their vocabulary, they guess and write an inappropriate word and are penalized. While writing an essay, candidates often get 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.
spelling weakness: Spelling weakness occurs due to lack of practice. Even a candidate with a strong vocabulary but weak spelling scores lower. Whereas if one makes rare or occasional misspellings, you can still make it ‘Band 7’. But there are no instructions on “How rare/occasional” bugs are allowed. So, to be on the safe side, strengthen your vocabulary with accurate spelling and pronunciation as well.
Placement: It is a part of ‘LR’, it simply means a grouping of words into sentences, it is a ‘Very Important Concept’ for any language learner. Only if your ‘Word Combination’ is correct in one sentence, your vocabulary will be counted. It is often seen that in trying to execute the vocabulary, candidates make a mess and lose points. At the same time, candidates need to know the proper preposition following a word, as they often make mistakes in ‘Collocation’. A candidate with a large vocabulary but no ‘Placement’ will not get any reward for their shattering efforts of cramming thousands of words. Using words in the wrong context is penalizing as it changes the meaning of the whole context. So, once again, some more examples: If you write: I/I have made a serious mistake. Yes, of course, it is a big mistake. You should have written: I/I made a serious mistake.
Errors in the use of prepositions: His painting consists from a series of montages Or, instead, if you write: Your work included from on number of mounts. You have used the words correctly, followed by the preposition ‘of’. But instead, if a candidate writes: his work contains from a series of montages… wrong, it must be: his work contains a series of montages. (just remove the preposition from and all is well). Therefore, vocabulary enrichment is not possible by cluttering dictionaries, but you must know the correct usage of each word in your vocabulary. Similarly, if you write: A major drawback of the system is… OR A major drawback of the system is… In both cases, you are right. But, if someone writes: A big disadvantage/inconvenience for gold on the system is… incorrect uses of a preposition, you better repeat a word once or twice but don’t make those mistakes.
Writing make a mistake or make a mistake is fine, but never write make a mistake or make a mistake… Both are wrong. If you write… This man has committed a crime… you have also committed one, well, not a crime but a mistake. You are right: This man has committed a crime (being perfect). In such cases, ‘Commit’ is the word that fits perfectly. for example, the boy jumped did the pond or on the point… they are both 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 cluttering dictionaries to enrich your ‘LR’. Naturally, the question comes to mind, ‘Why so?’ While adding a new word to your LR, you need to know the forms of it, the noun form, the adjective or 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 different… Wrong. If you want to use the word ‘difference’ here, you would write: These two pens have differences OR There are differences between the two pens. (Difference is noun and different is 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 be clear even to some non-native speakers. When you 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’ isn’t just your vocabulary, it’s about the in-depth knowledge of how to use words properly and accurately according to context. When writing for your IELTS tests and you are asked to write about a certain topic, you will find that more than a few words will require repetition. His ability to avoid ‘Repeated Words’ by replacing them with synonymous words is what he calls his ‘lexical resource’. Have it etched in your mind, your ‘strong lexical device’ 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 to several things, besides collocation, there is a ‘connotation’. It is an extremely important part related to ‘LR’. What is it really? There are many words that are used in both positive and negative senses. If you write: ‘She is thin’. It means that you are admiring the girl. But instead, if you write, ‘She’s skinny.’ Does it at all mean that ‘you are appreciating? No, you are criticizing the girl and stating that she is too skinny and looks skinny. But the word thin and the word skinny is almost the same word according to the dictionary (almost, not exactly). Therefore, you can use the word ‘Affect’ in both senses, examples: her speech had affected the children in such a way that they became motivated. (It is written in a positive sense). But, if you write ‘Her speech of hers affected the young mind of the boys’. Of course, it has been written in a negative sense.
Therefore, you need to be experienced in collocation, which means you need to write with clarity of understanding and not let readers continue to guess. So, it is hoped that the importance of the ‘lexical resource’ will be understood. I am providing some common ‘Collocations’ below. The Verb ‘have’ and related Nouns or Phrases are like: They have he went to the United States. They have Your breakfast. He’s making His homework. he will do it keep his promise It’s 4 in the afternoon, who doesn’t? to go and play? See, the uses of the words have, do, keep/keeping are used in such a way that you can call them a word family.