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IELTS Vocabulary - Problems

In IELTS essays you are almost always going to need to write about a problem. To do this well, you need to be able to use a variety of words to describe problems. Here are a few basic variations. You should note that you will need not just synonyms for problem but also variations of adjectives and verbs. For more detail on this and an interactive exercise see my Problem Vocabulary page If you do not understand any of these words, I suggest you use the Macmillan Online Dictionary Synonyms and antonyms Nouns problem difculty question issue solution a fairly close synonym to problem: this is slightly different to problem: it is something people have different opinions about this is something people argue about/ similar to question you normally nd or come up with a solution Usage

Adjectives One key here is to avoid words such as big and little and to choose accurate word combinations. Here are some adjective-noun combinations Adjectives signicant fundamental real minor pressing Examples A signicant problem many countries face is falling birth rates This is not a minor issue, rather it is a fundamental problem A very real difculty in many households is rising fuel bills In my view, global warming is only a minor problem This is a pressing problem that needs to be dealt with urgently

Dominic Coles IELTS Blog

www.dcielts.com
Adjectives serious complex Examples Of course, global warming is a serious issue that needs to be addressed This is a complex issue and there are no easy solutions to it.

Verbs

Verbs address

Examples The government needs to address the problem of unemployment How to combine work with having children is a problem facing many women We need to deal with the pressing issue of global warming It will not be easy to tackle global warming Many families are experiencing difculties in paying their rising fuel bills Rising fuel bills pose a problem for many families The best way of resolving the problem of global warming would be to raise taxes

Usage similar to deal with and tackle

face

an alternative here would be the more academic confronting a close synonym of tackle: it includes the idea that the problem is difcult a close synonym of deal with a more academic way of saying have a good collocation to use with problem meaning make you can solve a problem or you can resolve a problem

deal with

tackle experience

pose resolve