IELTS Writing for Spanish speakers: How to Fix Unnatural word combinations
Learn words in natural pairs such as 'make a decision', 'raise awareness' and 'heavy traffic', not as single words. Collocation errors are among the most noticeable lexical mistakes at Band 6 and below.
At a glance
- For
- Spanish speakers
- Problem
- Unnatural word combinations
- Scoring criterion
- Lexical Resource
- Task affected
- Task 1 and Task 2
- IELTS test
- Academic or General Training (check your requirement)
- Typical effort
- two to three weeks
- First step
- When you meet a new word, note two or three verbs or adjectives that usually go with it.
Why this happens to Spanish speakers
Translation from another language produces combinations that are logical but not natural in English, for example 'do a mistake' or 'big traffic'. Examiners hear these immediately.
Why this affects Spanish speakers: Spanish allows long, flowing sentences and has many words that look like English but differ in meaning.
False friends and direct translations create unnatural word choices.
A strength to build on: Many shared Latin-origin words help reading and academic vocabulary.
Fix it in four steps
- When you meet a new word, note two or three verbs or adjectives that usually go with it.
- Use a collocation dictionary for your top ten essay topics.
- Replace one weak phrase per paragraph with a stronger natural pair.
- Read your essay aloud and mark any combination that sounds odd.
Before and after
Before
People should do more efforts to make a big pollution decrease.
After
People should make more effort to bring about a significant reduction in pollution.
Ten-minute drill: Write five correct collocations for 'decision', 'risk' and 'effect' and use one in a sentence each.
Questions and answers
How can Spanish speakers fix unnatural word combinations?
Learn words in natural pairs such as 'make a decision', 'raise awareness' and 'heavy traffic', not as single words. Collocation errors are among the most noticeable lexical mistakes at Band 6 and below. False friends and direct translations create unnatural word choices.
How long does it take Spanish speakers to fix unnatural word combinations?
Most learners need two to three weeks. Short sessions on collocation and punctuation give quick gains.
What is a collocation?
A pair or group of words that naturally go together, such as 'strong evidence' or 'pursue a career'. Using them correctly makes writing sound natural.
How do I find collocations quickly?
A learner's collocation dictionary or the example sentences in an online learner's dictionary show the most common combinations.
What does a good practice drill look like for Spanish speakers?
Write five correct collocations for 'decision', 'risk' and 'effect' and use one in a sentence each. Short sessions on collocation and punctuation give quick gains.
How can Spanish speakers tell they have fixed unnatural word combinations?
Few phrases in your essay are flagged by a dictionary or a teacher as unnatural.
What should Spanish speakers know about their IELTS Writing target?
Spanish-speaking candidates often need targeted work on false friends, punctuation and sentence length.
Should Spanish speakers practise this on Task 1, Task 2 or both?
It shows up in both tasks. Fix it in Task 2 first, because Task 2 carries about twice the weight of Task 1, then check Task 1 with the same checklist. Many shared Latin-origin words help reading and academic vocabulary.
Can an AI checker help Spanish speakers with unnatural word combinations?
An AI checker can show where this pattern appears in your own essay and which criterion it affects, which makes the fix concrete. It gives a practice estimate, not an official IELTS score, so use it to choose the next revision, rewrite, and check again. The first check on this site is free.
Check your own essay
See where unnatural word combinations appears in your own writing and which criterion it affects, then rewrite the weakest paragraph.
Feedback is a practice estimate, not an official IELTS score. Last reviewed 2026-11-11. Score requirements change, so confirm them with the organisation that will read your result.
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- Spanish speakers: frequent spelling mistakes
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