A collocation is a pair or group of words that naturally go together in English — and native speakers notice immediately when they're wrong. "Make a decision" is correct; "do a decision" sounds odd. Using collocations accurately is a clear signal of high-band vocabulary (Lexical Resource).
Verb + Noun Collocations
- raise awareness (not "increase awareness")
- tackle a problem / address an issue (not "solve a problem" — both work, but vary them)
- make a contribution / play a role
- pose a threat / present a challenge
- carry out research / conduct an experiment
- draw a conclusion / reach a decision
- implement a policy / enforce regulations
- achieve a goal / fulfil an objective
Adjective + Noun Collocations
- significant impact / adverse effect / profound influence
- growing concern / increasing pressure / rising trend
- widespread problem / acute shortage / chronic issue
- sustainable development / renewable energy / clean technology
- fundamental change / rapid growth / steady decline
Adverb + Adjective Collocations
- highly effective / largely successful / widely accepted
- deeply embedded / strongly correlated / closely linked
- increasingly common / rapidly growing / gradually improving
Fixed Phrases for IELTS Writing
- "play a pivotal role in..." (not "play a big role")
- "have a detrimental effect on..." (not "have a bad effect")
- "give rise to..." (not "cause to appear")
- "in the long run / in the short term"
- "on balance / all things considered"
- "to a considerable extent / to some degree"
How to Learn Collocations Effectively
Don't learn them as isolated pairs. See them in context: read IELTS model essays and academic articles, and highlight collocations as you read. A vocabulary notebook organised by topic and collocation type is far more effective than a simple word list.
Related Guides
→ Academic Word List · Writing Task 2 vocabulary · AWL sublists