Contents
Government .......................................................................................................................................................... 2
Immigration .......................................................................................................................................................... 5
Climate change.................................................................................................................................................... 8
Employment ....................................................................................................................................................... 12
Art

......................................................................................................................................................................... 16

Advertising ......................................................................................................................................................... 18
Technology ......................................................................................................................................................... 21
Family ................................................................................................................................................................... 27
Globalization...................................................................................................................................................... 30
University education ....................................................................................................................................... 34
Crime..................................................................................................................................................................... 39
Environment ....................................................................................................................................................... 43
Home town ......................................................................................................................................................... 47

1


Government vocabulary and ideas
Very often you need to be able to discuss social issues and what may need to be done about them. In this
case it helps to have plenty of government vocabulary to describe what governments do – or don’t do!

A quick note on spelling
GOVERNMENT is one of the most commonly misspelled words in English – don’t forget that N.

Forms of government
It helps to distinguish between different types of government – not all government is equal. If you do
this, you will find that you have more to say by comparing what different type of government can do.

This is a great example of how words and ideas connect. If you choose good words then you get better
ideas!
central government: this is the national government of a country
local government: this is the regional form of government that typically takes care of more local issues
the authorities: this is a general term for all forms of government – note that we use it in the plural
regulatory bodies: these are bodies which are sometimes set up by the government and sometimes selfregulatory and typically they control one specific area such as advertising. Legislation is not always the
answer.
enforcement agencies: these are bodies that have direct control of how laws are being obeyed. This is
something central government does not always do itself. An example of an enforcement agency is the
body that monitors pollution in rivers.
international organisations: don’t forget these either. many problems need global solutions and
demand international cooperation from bodies like the UN
NGOs: these are the opposite of governments! NGO stands for Non Governmental Organisation.
Almost always their work is charitable and very often in aid and development. You are most likely to
refer to them when countries help each other.
quangos: if you must know these are quasi autonomous non governmental organisations. They are
normally set up by central government to look after one issue.

What central governments do
This does depend slightly what country you live in – different countries have different legal and
political systems. Something that all countries have though is a central government – sometimes a
parliament, sometimes a senate and sometimes a congress and – for some lucky countries – all three!
Here is what they tend to do
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pass/introduce legislation: The time has come when the government needs to introduce new legislation
to protect the privacy of citizens.
bring in/enact laws: One possible solution is for the government to bring in laws that prohibit the sale
of tobacco to anyone under 21.

adopt policies: One possibility is for the government to adopt policies that encourage mothers to return
to work.
take measures/action: The situation is now so severe that the government must take measures to police
the internet.
raise (and lower) taxes: One way to limit air pollution from aircraft would be for the government to
raise airport tax.
have/provide a budget/funding: It is the responsibility of the government to provide more funding for
research into renewable energy.
ban/prohibit: Most people would agree that there should be a ban on the sale of automatic weapons.

People within a government
departments: The Health Department should ensure that doctors are not forced to work a 60-hour
week.
political parties; This is one issue where all political parties should work together to provide a solution.
politicians: If enough people protested then politicians would have to listen and take action.

What local governments do
This is one area that will vary greatly from country to country. Below you will find some examples of
the type of issues that local governments sometimes are responsible for and some of their powers:
impose fines: Local councils should ensure that householders are fined if they they do not recycle their
waste properly.
provide resources/services: Local government needs to provide adequate resources for schools so that
they can cope with the influx of children who speak English as a second language.
maintain: If local governments maintained the roads in a better condition, then there would be fewer
problems with traffic congestion.
fund: Councils could fund local community projects where residents work as volunteers in schools and
hospitals.
hire: It would certainly help if local councils hired more staff.

3



Thinking long-term and short short-term
Another concept to think about when talking about government action is whether it is short-term or
long-term.
temporary: One idea is that the government could introduce a temporary restriction on immigration to
determine what effect it would have on employment rates.
long-term The government needs to consider the long-term effect of a poorly trained workforce.
immediate Governments of wealthier countries should provide
in disaster zones to help with their immediate needs.

financial

assistance

to people

a stopgap measure While this may only be a stopgap measure, it would help if governments sent
financial aid to disaster areas.

How people can influence governments
Another way to approach question where you need to talk about governments is to think about what the
people can do to have an effect on their decisions.
lobby politicians: Individuals could help here by lobbying their elected representatives and MPs to try
and force them to introduce legislation.
engage in peaceful protests/demonstrations It is possible that the government might be swayed by
peaceful demonstrations asking for more action on the environment.

Some links with more information
BBC schools: this is basic but it covers all the important points and has useful language

Queensland Gov: an Australian variant

4


Immigration vocabulary and ideas
This is a selection of immigration vocabulary and ideas with






some key words for immigration
some common word combinations to show different forms of immigration
arguments in favour of immigration
arguments against it
some possible measures

Get the key immigration vocabulary right
The key words for describing immigration are
immigrant – the person
immigrate – the verb
immigration – the idea
Note the mm. Also note that immigrants (people who enter a country) are also emigrants (people who
leave a country) and also migrants.

Some common word combinations
To discuss this topic well, it helps to distinguish between different types of immigration.
illegal immigrants: – people who enter a country illegally

economic migrants: – people who move country to earn more money
migrant workers: – note that migrant can also work as an adjective
immigrant community/population: – this can be used for people who have settled in country for some
time
influx of immigrants: – this is usually used in a negative sense meaning that there are too many
immigrants
first generation immigrant: – this is either an immigrant or a child on an immigrant [sometimes it is
hyphenated as “first-generation”]

Arguments in favour of immigration
There are various arguments in favour of immigration – these mostly relate to the economic benefits
immigrants bring to a country. Note that I have added examples to some of these reasons to explain
them further.
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dynamism: Immigrants provide dynamism which is beneficial to the economy and helps growth and
competitiveness. For example, many immigrants set up their own businesses.
unskilled labour: In many countries there is a shortage of unskilled labour and the
immigrant population is typically willing to do work that the native population is not. This
is particularly the case in agricultural communities where immigrants provide seasonal labour in the
harvest season.
skilled labour: A large proportion of young immigrants are highly-qualified university graduates and
they work in fields where there is a shortage of skilled labour.
childcare: Another benefit that immigrants bring is that they often work in childcare or as home helps
and this enables more mothers to return to work.
boost the economy: Most research shows that encouraging immigration actually provides a boost to
the economy as immigrants are net contributors to the GDP. There is also evidence that they actually
claim fewer benefits and pay more tax than the native population.
principle of freedom of movement: There is also the consideration that the principle of freedom of

movement is a human right and that people should be allowed to choose where they live.
short-term only: It should also be considered that many younger migrants return home once they have
earned enough money and will never claim pensions in their host country.

Arguments against immigration
These arguments are normally based on social consequences of immigration and the impact it has on the
native population. There are also arguments (factual or otherwise) that immigrants are bad for the
economy.
Also note the range of language to discuss problems (highlighted in red)
integration: The major argument against immigration is that so many migrants fail to integrate with the
local community and culture and this leads to social tension and even unrest.
local services and jobs: One common difficulty is that they increase the pressure on local services and
create competition for local jobs and this creates ill-will.
claim benefits/social housing: One reason why people want less immigration is that immigrants do not
pay tax and still claim benefits and require social housing that is paid for by taxpayers.
schools: Another serious issue is that in some areas schools do not have sufficient places for the
children and so class sizes become unmanageable.
language: Related to this is the problem that many immigrants only have a basic command of the
language and this can lead to difficulties in the classroom and elsewhere.
loss of trained workers: The impact on poorer countries who lose much of their trained workforce
through emigration should also not be forgotten.
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overcrowding/population: Many countries need to limit immigration because they are already suffering
from over-population.

Measures and solutions
You may also need to consider how immigration should be controlled.
taxes and law: One possible measure is to ensure that migrants pay taxes and are subject to the

criminal justice system.
language requirements: Another measure that could be put in place is to insist on a minimum
language requirement so that all immigrants are able to integrate into the community.
deportation: Some people believe that all illegal immigrants should be deported immediately.
quota: The United States for example has a quota system whereby a fixed number of green cards are
issued every year.

7


Climate change vocabulary and ideas
Below you’ll find plenty of climate change vocabulary and ideas. These are organised under headings:







Talking about the scale of the problem
Negative effects
Causes
Possible solutions
Ways of taking action
How individuals can help

The idea in doing this is to show you that ideas need to be organised if you use them. Also, if you are
one of those people who believes that global warming is not caused by human activity, you are not just
on the wrong page – you are wrong!


Talking about the size of the problem
An important group of climate vocabulary and ideas is to say how large the problem is:
crisis: Climate change is a crisis that cannot be ignored by governments.
record levels/amount: Despite the claims of some scientists, we are now producing record levels of
CO2 and there is no dispute about the connection between this and global warming.
disaster/disastrous: It is not an exaggeration to say that the effects of global warming are disastrous.
global: Although some areas are relatively unaffected now, climate change is a global problem.
irreversible: The major concern is that the effects of our actions on the climate will be irreversible.
long-term: The effects of our use of fossil fuels today may last for generations and it is almost certain to
have long-term consequences for humanity.

Negative Effects
This group of climate change vocabulary gives you language to explain what the effects are. As you read
through the examples note the different language I use for effects and probability.
ill-health: It sometimes goes unnoticed that there is a clear connection between climate change and illhealth.
floods/rainstorms: One result of the rising temperatures is that floods and rainstorms are now a
frequent occurrence.
the Polar ice cap: One major concern is that rising temperatures in the Arctic are causing the Polar ice
cap to melt, which in turn is leading to rising sea levels.

8


heatwaves and droughts: Most experts agree that there is an increased risk of heatwaves and other
extreme weather conditions.
the natural world: Climate change will not only have a severe impact on people, but also devastate the
natural world and lead to the extinction of important species.
food shortages: We are already seeing in many parts of the world that climate change is leading to food
shortages as a direct consequence of extreme weather conditions.
housing/homelessness: One side-effect of rising sea levels is that more and more people who live by the

coast will become homeless.
conflicts/wars: If no action is taken on climate change, then it is likely that there will be more conflicts
between nations, especially over water supplies.
cost: It has been shown that any delay in making emission cuts will increase the cost of reducing
carbon dioxide by almost 50%.

Causes
You may also need to discuss the causes of climate change too. You don’t need any very technical
knowledge and this vocabulary should be enough. Again, note the cause language.
human activity: It is no longer possible to say that human activity does not affect weather conditions.
greenhouse gas emissions: If we are to halt climate change, we need to make substantial reductions
in greenhouse gas emissions.
power stations: One of the leading causes of climate change is the number of dirty power stations using
fossil fuels.
carbon emissions: Carbon emissions are still rising year by year and are at record levels.
illegal logging and deforestation: It should not be forgotten that illegal logging in the Amazon Basin is
still a major factor in climate change.
burning fossil fuels: Individuals can make a small contribution by not burning wood and other fossil
fuels.
CO2: The root cause of much global warming is the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere.

Possible solutions
These words and phrases show different kinds of solutions. Some show what should be done (use more
renewable energy and invest money), others show how it should be done (quickly and together).
wind and solar power: An obvious solution is to deploy much more wind and solar power.

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renewable energy: Wind farms and other sources of renewable energy will help to reduce Co2

emissions to an acceptable level.
international action/cooperation: International action on climate change could have a significant
impact.
quick/immediate action: Any action should be immediate because this is not a problem that can be
delayed.
investment: There should be greater incentives to invest in renewables and to reduce the current
reliance on fossil fuels.
decommission power stations: It goes without saying that coal-fuelled power stations should be
decommissioned.
protest/campaign: Individuals can help force governments to act by taking part in legal protests
against the continuing use of fossil fuels.
energy efficiency and waste: A greater emphasis on energy efficiency and reducing waste would
undoubtedly mean that less fuel was consumed.

Ways of taking action
Climate change is a problem – that almost everyone can agree on. When you have a problem, you need
to take action. These words and phrases give you a variety of ways of saying that. Note the different
structures used with these verbs.
cope: It is clear that national governments are no longer able to cope by themselves with the problem.
tackle: A global solution is necessary as only international bodies will be able to tackle climate
change.
avert: Investment in renewable energy will help avert the impact of the CO2 emissions.
prevent: The only way to prevent a disaster is to reduce these emissions to zero.
act/take action: Governments should take decisive action to halt global warming.
fight/combat: A way needs to be found to make combatting global warming that is affordable.
sustainable and affordable: The key is to ensure that all countries around the world have the chance to
adopt energy

How individuals can help
You may be asked what we as individuals can do about climate change. Here are some ideas – there are

plenty of them:

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lobby MPs: If enough of us lobbied our MPs and other elected representatives then they would have to
bring in legislation.
participate in peaceful protests: Another possibility is to take part in marches and other
peaceful protests to apply pressure on governments and raise awareness of the issue..
community projects: In some areas there are small-scale community projects to encourage local
residents to install solar panels and, in some places, help pay for them.
share transport: We also have the responsibility to consider how we contribute to global warming by
making unnecessary car journeys. We can always cycle to work, have a joint school run with other
parents and even share a car on the daily commute to work.
diet and our carbon footprint: Reducing food wastage is perhaps the way individuals can minimise
their carbon footprint and so help global warming.
energy-efficient lightbulbs: Another small way in which we can use less energy is to switch to
energy efficient lightbulbs.
solar panels: There are an increasing number of solar panels on the market and these can not only
reduce energy bills but also mean that less carbon fuel is consumed.
heat insulation: Likewise, it is important that people insulate their houses well so that less gas and
electricity is consumed.

Another way to get climate change vocabulary and ideas
One very smart thing to do is to put “Climate change” or “Global warming” or “Greenhouse effect” into
Google and then click NEWS – that way you get much much better results. You can learn a lot by just
reading what you see on the search page – without going into the news articles.

Other places to look for climate change vocabulary and ideas





BBC learning English
Education Scotland
Ocean Link

11


Employment vocabulary and exercises
One of the key topics in IELTS is work and employment. To help you out, here is a selection of useful
employment vocabulary. There are also examples of how the words are used and a series of exercises.

Employ
If you want to learn words well, it is important to learn different forms of them. Employ is one of the
key words and it has several different forms – you need to able to use them all if you want to write
flexibly.

12


Job and work
Sometimes the trickiest words are very common words. You definitely need to be able to use both these
words.
One
way
to
how
to

use
them
correctly
is
to
learn
phrases.

13


Career words
These words should come in useful when describing career paths.

Money words

14


There are a variety of different words we use to describe money and work.

Adjectives to describe jobs

15


Art vocabulary
This is a tough topic. The good news is that you only need a fairly limited range of art vocabulary. There
is no need to learn the technical words, just the general words that an educated person should know. If
you are a scientist, the idea is that you need to know the equivalent term for “internal combustion

engine”, you don’t have to say how it works!

What is art?
This is a big, big question. Here are some basic distinctions you may want to consider.
The fine arts
The fine arts are what most people mean when they just say “art”. These include artistic disciplines such
as painting and sculpture. Typically, they are objects created to be “beautiful”.
Arts and crafts
A craft is a similar, related concept and we do use the term arts and crafts. In arts and crafts, objects are
created by hand. A good example would be tapestry.
The visual arts
These are the ones we look at and include paintings, drawings and photographs. Does cinema count?
For some people, yes. Television?
The plastic arts
These are the ones we can touch. A sculpture and a piece of pottery are examples.
Performance art
This is when you see someone performing and what they do/produce is a piece of art. Theatre can be
called a form of performance art, perhaps a better example is juggling. We normally use this term for art
that is “different”. There is also a relatively new phenomenon of the street artist.

Pictures
There are many types of pictures. If it is picture of somebody, it is generally a portrait. if it is a picture
of a place, it is generally a landscape. While a picture of an object by itself is a still life.
Three genres of picture possibly worth knowing are a watercolour which is painted onto paper, an oil
painting which is normally painted onto canvas (a tent like material) and a sketch which is normally a
preparatory drawing.

Philosophies of art
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Art has changed greatly over the ages. You certainly don’t need to be able to talk about the differences
between Renaissance art, Mannerism, the Baroque, the Pre-Raphaelites, Impressionism and Cubism – if
you did, you would probably scare your IELTS examiner. It might help to have this much knowledge
though:
figurative/representational art: this is where the painting/object looks like something from life
abstract art: this is where you see squares, circles and other shapes and you cannot (immediately) tell
what the painting is about
contemporary art: this is the art of now. It’s dangerous to use the word “modern” because
“modernism” in art actually happened quite a long time ago (the 1930s was probably its heyday).

Where do you see art?
You normally find art in an art gallery. You walk around and admire the exhibits in an exhibition,
while discussing whether the curator has got the lighting right and whether that picture should really
be hung next to that one.
Sometimes you might also find art in museums, but that is much less common. For example, the British
Museum has artefacts from Britain’s past, while the National Gallery is a collection of art.

Would you buy it?
Art tends to be expensive. A masterpiece by Van Gogh could be said to be priceless – that’s so
expensive that no one has the money to afford it. A lot of art forms part of a nation’s heritage and the
government protects it from sale abroad.

People and art
Not everyone likes art. People who like to spend a lot of time admiring art are often termed culture
vultures (a fairly idiomatic term), while the idiom for people who dislike art is philistines.
There is of course art and art. People who appreciate the more elitist forms of art may be said to have
highbrow tastes, while those who prefer the less intellectual art forms may have lowbrow tastes.

What makes art special?

Another big question. Some people think that it is important for a work of art to be original or
creative. Others would say that what matters is how it appeals to our imagination.

One or two idioms
Perspective shows the depth of a picture – how many dimensions you see. If you have/keep a sense of
perspective, then you see a problem/issue for what it is – often meaning that it is not as serious as it
seems.
If you describe someone as being no oil painting, be careful. This means that they are ugly.
17


Advertising vocabulary and exercises
This lesson helps you with advertising vocabulary for essays and discussion tasks. You’ll find some
exercises at the bottom of the page to test your skills.

Advert, advertisement or ad?
All these forms of the words are correct but adis mostly used in spoken English only. You should also
be aware of a common pronunciation problem:




advert
advertise
advertisement

This means that you make an “iss” sound when say advertisement.This is a very common mistake and
one way to avoid it is to say and write advert.

Different forms of advertising


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Adjectives to describe advertising

Other related words

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Exercises
words


test your vocabulary and spelling – a crossword exercise on some of the most common
advertising words

paragraphs
These are model paragraphs that should give you ideas for writing or speaking about advertising

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

children and advertising
forms of advertising
how advertising works
the regulation of advertising


an essay


gapfill essay

20


Technology vocabulary and exercises
This lesson provides you with some useful vocabulary for technology – one of the key topics in IELTS.
I have tried to do more than give you a list of words, so you will find notes, phrases and examples:




to show you which other words these words are used with
to give you ideas for speaking and writing essays
to help you use the words correctly

There is also a download of this vocabulary at the bottom of the page and exercises to see how well you
know these words.

Progress words
When you write and speak about computers and technology, very often you will be asked to say how
technology has changed or progressed.

notes
Progress is an uncountable word, while advance is countable. So you say that “digital technology is an
advance” but you cannot say that “digital technology is a progress”


Impact words
Another common topic is to talk about what effect computer technology has had on our lives
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notes
Be careful with the difference between “affect” (generally a verb) and “effect” (generally a noun). Just
to confuse you, in English they sound exactly the same.
“impact” and “influence” are often used with the preposition “on”

Technology and computer words
It is very easy to keep on repeating the same word without knowing it. One way not to do this is to
change the form of the word or to use it in a different phrase.

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notes
Be careful with the spelling of technology.
A “technophile” loves technology and a “technophobe” hates it. In speaking, you could use the less
formal word “geek” for technophile, but I would avoid it writing.
There is no great difference between “ICT” and “IT”. However, as my example shows ICT is most
frequently used as the name of an academic subject.

23


Adjectives

notes

It is normal to use hyphens (-) in adjective phrases such as “state-of-the-art” when they are used before
nouns (“state-of-the-art technology”), but you do not always need them when they are used without a
noun (“this technology is state of the art”).
“obsolete” is similar in meaning to “outdated”, but is a stronger word to show that the technology is so
old that it cannot be used any longer.
It is normal to write “high tech” rather than “high technology”.

Device words
This is a rather confusing set of words to describe different kinds of objects.

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notes
A “device” is often something fairly small that allows you to complete a task. There is a strong
collocation (very common phrase): “labour-saving device”.
“Equipment” is an uncountable word so you need to say “a piece of equipment”. It is a very general use
word that can be used to describe almost anything mechanical.
“Gadget” is a word often used to describe objects that are either small or have a less serious purpose.
“Appliance” is typically used in the phrase “electrical appliances” (eg irons and kettles) that are less
advanced technology.

Other useful words
This is a selection of other words that may come in useful when discussing technology

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