Level C1 (approx. band 7-8) · Academic and General Training Lexical Resource is one of the four equally weighted Writing criteria, and many candidates chase it the wrong way. They memorise lists of impressive words, then drop them into essays where they do not quite fit: "The pollution is exacerbating the citizens." Ambitious but inaccurate choices are typical of band 6. At band 7 and above, the descriptors describe less common words used with an awareness of collocation and style, and at band 8, vocabulary that is wide, precise and flexible. In this episode: • Precision before rarity • Collocation: words that travel together • Style: neither too casual nor too grand • Avoiding repetition, and word families • Model • Language bridge • Practice • Self-check questions with answers Key points: • choose the word that says exactly what you mean; rarity is a bonus, not the goal. • learn words in partnerships, not alone. • neutral and accurate beats grand and wrong. • vary with synonyms and umbrella nouns, and check every word form. IELTS Complete Course: a self-study podcast from A1 to C2 for Academic and General Training. Listen, pause and answer, then take the 52-question quiz. Audio voiced with AI from an original script by Dr. Rashmi R Nair. Independent course, not affiliated with the IELTS test owners.