IELTS Vocabulary: Paraphrasing by using synonyms to avoid repetition
It helps the quality of your writing, especially your vocabulary score, if you are able to avoid repetition by using synonyms for key expressions or categories. Please note, however, that synonyms are not usually z 100% interchangeable. In other words there may be contexts where the one word doesn’t quite work as a replacement. Look down this list for some helpful options.
♦ a wide range/a broad range/a wide variety according to the data/the figures indicate that
♦ According to the table/graph/chart/map/diagram…/From the evidence/data in the
♦ table/graph/chart/map/diagram
♦ age group/age range/category
♦ amount/volume/level
♦ annually/every year
♦ ate/consumed
♦ babies/infants
♦ bought/purchased
♦ buyers/purchasers
♦ charge/payment
♦ children/youngsters
♦ clothes/garments
♦ company/business/commercial enterprise
♦ consisted of/comprised* (*no preposition!)/was made up of
♦ consumers/customers
♦ country/nation
♦ daily/every day/per day
♦ declined to/by/decreased to/by/fell to/by/dropped to/by dominated/were dominant/were predominant dramatic decline/sharp decline/major decline/steep decline dramatic increase/sharp increase/major increase/steep increase drank/consumed
♦ drop/decrease/fall/decline/reduction
♦ every two years/biennially/once every two years
♦ fell dramatically to/by/plummeted to/by/dropped sharply to
♦ figures/data/statistics
♦ fluctuation/variation/uneven pattern/uneven movement
♦ grew faster/accelerated its growth/speeded up its growth
♦ In terms of…/with respect to…
♦ income/salary/pay
♦ increased/rose/went up
♦ increasing/growing
♦ men/males/the same* gender (*used only after an earlier sentence which has ‘men/males’ as subject)
♦ monthly/every month/per month
♦ noticeably/significantly
♦ one hundred years/a century
♦ passengers/travellers
♦ peaked at…/reached a high point of…
♦ per capita/per person/per head
♦ produce/yield
♦ production/output
♦ proportion/percentage
♦ rate/speed
♦ recovered/regained its level/rate/position
♦ remained steady/stayed the same/maintained its level/stabilised
♦ shoes/footwear
♦ slight increase/modest increase/marginal increase
♦ spent on/devoted to/allocated to…
♦ spent their time/used their time/occupied their time
♦ step/stage
♦ steps/stages
♦ ten years/a decade/a ten-year period
♦ the 40-50 age group/the same* age group/the same* group/the same* cohort (*used only after an earlier sentence which has ‘40-50 age group’ as subject) the cost of/price of/charge for…
♦ The figures show/indicate/demonstrate that… tourists/holidaymakers/holiday travellers/visitors trend/pattern
♦ twice-yearly/bi-annually/every six months very slightly/marginally/minimally/barely visited/went to/frequented weekly/every week went down a little/dipped
♦ went on holiday to/holidayed to/spent their vacation in… women/females
