Science and research vocabulary: the words that lift a frequent topic.
Science, research and their limits run through Task 2 and Part 3, from funding priorities to ethical risk. 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 Science questions.
You do not need a glossary. You need a handful of accurate collocations in each of these areas, ready to deploy.
Research & discovery
scientific research · conduct experiments · a breakthrough · empirical evidence
How knowledge is produced, the base lexis.
The breakthrough followed years of research.
Funding & priorities
government funding · a research grant · fund research · allocate resources
Who pays and for what, a common Task 2 line.
Governments must decide which research to fund.
Application & benefit
medical advances · practical applications · improve quality of life · technological progress
What science delivers, where Task 2 lands.
Medical advances have raised life expectancy.
Ethics & risk
ethical concerns · unintended consequences · scientific responsibility · public trust
The limits and risks a balanced answer weighs.
Gene editing raises serious ethical concerns.
Use the language of evidence
The weak answer says “scientists find out things”. The lift is precise: conduct research, empirical evidence, a breakthrough, practical applications. One accurate term signals real control.
The same point, from Band 6 to Band 8.
At Band 5
Science is discussed with very general words (scientists, experiments, discover, good for people), with vague verbs (science helps us). Precise terms (research, evidence) are missing.
At Band 6
“Scientists do experiments and discover new things that help people, for example new medicines.” The idea is fine, but general.
At Band 7
“Government funding for scientific research drives medical advances, though it competes with other pressing priorities.” Topic collocations (scientific research, medical advances) carry real information.
At Band 8+
“While empirical research underpins technological progress, its benefits must be weighed against ethical concerns and the risk of unintended consequences.” Precise lexis, abstraction, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| scientists finding things out | conduct research | The team conducts cancer research. |
| a big discovery | a breakthrough | The vaccine was a major breakthrough. |
| proof from experiments | empirical evidence | The claim lacks empirical evidence. |
| money for science | research funding / a grant | The lab won a research grant. |
| new medical things | medical advances | Medical advances save lives. |
| using science in real life | practical applications | The theory has practical applications. |
| moral worries | ethical concerns | The study raised ethical concerns. |
| bad effects nobody expected | unintended consequences | Pesticides had unintended consequences. |
Two cautions. Do not overclaim, science suggests or indicates rather than proves. And weigh benefit against risk rather than treating progress as always good. For the general method, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| scientists studying something | conducting research | Teams conduct research for years before a single headline. |
| a big discovery | a breakthrough | One breakthrough repays a thousand quiet failures. |
| proof from experiments | empirical evidence | Policy should rest on empirical evidence, not on anecdote. |
| money for science | research funding / grants | Research funding follows fashion more than researchers admit. |
| worries about what science should do | ethical concerns | Gene editing raises ethical concerns that outrun the law. |
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. Any topic on this page can surface in Part 3 or as an essay in the question bank, and the word upgrader will 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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