Globalisation vocabulary: the words that lift a frequent topic.
Globalisation runs through Task 2 and Part 3, from trade and culture to the movement of jobs and people. The ideas are familiar; the marks are in precise, topic-specific language. Swap the everyday word for the right collocation and the same point reads a band higher.
Why this matters. Lexical Resource is a quarter of your mark, and on a familiar topic the examiner has read the plain version a thousand times. The lift is not rarer words; it is accurate collocation used naturally. A common phrase used correctly beats a showy word used wrongly, every time.
Four clusters that cover most Globalisation questions.
You do not need a glossary. You need a handful of accurate collocations in each of these areas, ready to deploy.
Trade & the economy
free trade · multinational corporations · import and export · a global market
The economic engine of globalisation, the base lexis most answers open with.
Free trade has integrated once-separate national markets.
Culture & identity
cultural exchange · the spread of Western culture · cultural homogenisation · local traditions
The cultural angle Part 3 reaches for, from exchange to loss of distinctiveness.
Some fear that globalisation erodes local traditions.
Work & the movement of people
the migration of labour · outsource jobs · a skilled workforce · brain drain
How work and people move across borders, a common Task 2 line.
Companies outsource manufacturing to cut labour costs.
Interconnection & its critics
an interconnected world · economic interdependence · the global economy · widen inequality
The systemic view, and the objections a balanced answer weighs.
Economic interdependence can spread a downturn across borders.
Name the mechanism, not just ‘the world’
The weak answer talks about “the world getting closer”. The lift is naming the mechanism: trade, migration, technology and cultural exchange. One precise noun (interdependence, outsourcing) shows you understand how globalisation actually works.
The same point, from Band 6 to Band 8.
At Band 5
Globalisation is discussed with very general words (the world, big companies, other countries), repeated often, with vague verbs (things get connected). Precise topic terms (multinational, outsourcing) are absent, and meaning blurs on any less familiar idea.
At Band 6
“Big companies now sell things all over the world, and this brings jobs but also problems for local businesses.” The idea is fine, but “big companies” and “all over the world” could be almost anyone’s answer.
At Band 7
“Multinational corporations can create employment in developing economies, though they may also drive smaller local firms out of the market.” Topic collocations (multinational corporations, developing economies) carry real information.
At Band 8+
“While economic interdependence has lifted millions out of poverty, it has also widened inequality and left national economies exposed to distant shocks.” Precise lexis, abstraction (interdependence), and a controlled complex sentence.
The upgrade most worth making.
Each swap takes a vague, everyday phrase and replaces it with the collocation an examiner expects on this topic. Use them where they fit naturally, not all at once.
| Instead of… | Use… | For example |
|---|---|---|
| the world getting closer | growing interconnection / interdependence | Trade has increased global interdependence. |
| big companies | multinational corporations | Multinational corporations dominate global trade. |
| buy things from abroad | import goods | Countries import goods they cannot make cheaply. |
| sell things abroad | export goods | The country exports most of its output. |
| move jobs abroad | outsource jobs / offshore production | Firms outsource jobs to cut costs. |
| mixing of cultures | cultural exchange | Travel encourages cultural exchange. |
| everywhere becoming the same | cultural homogenisation | Critics warn of cultural homogenisation. |
| the rich-poor gap | widen inequality / the wealth gap | Globalisation can widen inequality. |
Two cautions. Keep it balanced, globalisation is neither wholly good nor wholly bad, so weigh benefits against costs. And avoid sweeping claims (“globalisation destroys all culture”); qualify with may, can or tend to. For the general method behind upgrading by band, see vocabulary & cohesion →
Say it another way.
The Lexical Resource descriptors reward paraphrase, and an answer that echoes the question’s own words proves nothing about your range. Each row takes a phrase the question will hand you and shows the version worth writing instead.
| The question says… | You can write… | For example |
|---|---|---|
| countries becoming more connected | growing interdependence / interconnection | Growing interdependence means a drought in one country raises prices in fifty. |
| big companies operating everywhere | multinational corporations | Multinational corporations answer to shareholders, not to any one nation. |
| moving jobs to cheaper countries | outsourcing / offshoring production | Outsourcing lowered prices at the cost of hollowing out industrial towns. |
| everywhere becoming the same | cultural homogenisation | Cultural homogenisation turns a hundred high streets into one. |
| rich countries and poor countries growing apart | widening inequality between nations | Trade has lifted millions while widening inequality between nations. |
One caution. Paraphrase the idea once, early, and then move on. Recycling every synonym you know reads as display, not control, and control is what the band descriptors actually reward.
Twenty to drill.
Choose the more precise, topic-appropriate option for each gap. Press Check answers for your score and the reason behind each one. Nothing is sent anywhere.
Ten to produce.
Recognising the right word above is the easy half. Now type the word each sentence needs. The first letter is given, and every answer appears somewhere on this page. Nothing is sent anywhere.
Then use it where it counts. Now take it into the exam. This is a set topic in the essay question bank, so drill it there next, and let the word upgrader ladder the plain words you still fall back on.
You can collect topic words. Using the right one, accurately, under timed pressure is the work.
Memorised “big” words used wrongly cost marks; precise collocations used naturally earn them, and the difference is hard to judge in your own writing.
In a lesson I mark your topic vocabulary the way an examiner does, where a collocation is exactly right, where it is forced, and where a plain word would have been stronger. Lessons are £20 for fifty minutes, one to one, in proper British English; the first lesson doubles as a full assessment. This page is drawn from the vocabulary work in The Proper English Grammar Guide to IELTS Speaking.
The book of the method
The Proper English Grammar Guide to IELTS Speaking
The method this site drills for free, written down properly: five response frameworks, thirteen grammatical structures taken to automation, vocabulary by band, pronunciation with audio demonstrations one scan away, and first-language guidance for eight language families. 614 pages, built from more than two thousand documented one-to-one lessons. Most guides teach every candidate the same English; this one starts from what your first language makes you do.
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