10 Collocation Mistakes That Are Quietly Costing You Marks

Collocation errors are one of the most consistent features of Band 5–6 writing scripts. Unlike grammar errors — which are often obvious — collocation mistakes are subtle. They don't usually prevent communication, but they immediately signal to an examiner that a candidate's vocabulary knowledge is limited.

A collocation is a word partnership that native speakers use automatically. 'Heavy rain' — not 'strong rain'. 'Make a decision' — not 'do a decision'. These pairings aren't logical; they're conventional. Learning them is one of the highest-return vocabulary investments an IELTS candidate can make.

Why collocations matter for your score

Lexical Resource specifically rewards 'awareness of style and collocation'. At Band 6, the descriptor notes 'some errors in word choice'. At Band 7: 'uses a range of vocabulary... with some awareness of style and collocation'. The shift from 'some errors' to 'awareness of collocation' is a direct upgrade you can target.

The 10 most common collocation errors

1. make / do confusion

This is the most frequent collocation error across all first-language backgrounds. The make/do distinction has no logical rule — it must be learned by exposure.

2. Adjective + noun mismatches

'Heavy' collocates with rain, traffic, workload, debt, and schedule. 'Strong' collocates with wind, evidence, argument, and influence — but not rain. When in doubt, check the specific noun.

3. Raise / rise confusion

'Raise' is transitive (you raise something). 'Rise' is intransitive (something rises by itself). This error is extremely common and affects both GRA and LR scores simultaneously.

4. Interested in / interested on

Preposition errors are collocation errors. Other frequent ones: 'depend on' (not 'depend of'), 'responsible for' (not 'responsible of'), 'concerned about' (not 'concerned of'), 'aware of' (not 'aware about').

5. Conduct research (not 'make research')

Research is almost always uncountable in academic English. 'Researchers conducted a study' or 'research was carried out', not 'they made a research' or 'they did researches'.

6. Take / make measures

Similarly: 'take action', 'take steps', 'take precautions' — not 'make' any of these.

7. Play a role (not 'make a role')

This specific error appears in a very high proportion of Band 5–6 scripts, particularly from East Asian and Middle Eastern candidates whose L1 uses a different verb for this concept.

8. Broad / wide (not 'large') range

9. Reach a conclusion (not 'arrive to')

10. Overcome / face challenges (not 'resolve problems')

While 'resolve' works with disputes and conflicts, challenges and problems are more naturally 'overcome', 'addressed', or 'tackled' in academic writing.

How to fix collocation errors systematically

1. 1Keep a collocation log. Every time you learn a new noun, write 3 verbs and 3 adjectives that go with it.
2. 2Use a collocation dictionary — the Oxford Collocations Dictionary is the standard reference for this.
3. 3When proofreading, underline every verb-noun and adjective-noun pairing and ask: am I certain this is correct?
4. 4Read well-written English daily — model essays, quality journalism, academic texts. Collocation is absorbed through exposure more than memorisation.