Using Collocation to Boost Your IELTS Score – Key Word: Advantage

Learning how to use collocations with the word “advantage” is an effective way to improve your IELTS Speaking and Writing scores. Collocations make your language sound natural, fluent, and more advanced, exactly what examiners look for under the Lexical Resource criterion. This blog explores useful verb, adjective, and preposition combinations with “advantage,” along with examples, explanations, and practice exercises.

Understanding the Word “Advantage”

The word “advantage” means a benefit, positive feature, or something that gives you a better position. It’s commonly used in IELTS Writing Task 2 essays about education, technology, cities, and globalization. For instance:

• There are many advantages to studying abroad.
• Having good communication skills is a major advantage in the workplace.

To use it effectively, it’s essential to learn its natural collocations.

Verb + Advantage Collocations

Certain verbs often combine with “advantage” to create natural and fluent expressions. Here are some of the most useful ones for IELTS:

Common Verbs with “Advantage”

give, have, outweigh, take, stress, weigh up

Each of these verbs changes the meaning slightly, depending on whether you are highlighting, using, or comparing advantages.

Examples:

• The advantages far outweigh the disadvantages.
• He had the advantage over other candidates because he spoke fluent Spanish.
• I’m still weighing up the advantages and disadvantages before deciding whether to emigrate.
• The Prime Minister tried to stress the advantages of the new system.
• His height and long arms gave him a huge advantage over other boxers.
• While staying at the hotel, we took advantage of its excellent facilities.

IELTS Usage Tip: In the IELTS Writing Task 2, instead of saying “benefits are more than drawbacks”, write “the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.” This makes your argument sound academic and natural.

Adjective + Advantage Collocations

Using adjectives with “advantage” helps you describe the type, extent, or fairness of an advantage. Below are some of the most common and useful adjective collocations.

Common Adjectives with “Advantage”

mutual, main, added, unfair, distinct, great

Examples:

• Not having to travel far is the main advantage of living in the city centre.
• The plan is to our mutual advantage. We will all benefit greatly from it.
• The new project improves living conditions and has the added advantage of creating rural jobs.
• Some people argue that private schools give an unfair advantage to wealthy families.
• His enormous height is a distinct advantage in basketball.
• The great advantage of the euro is not needing to exchange money when travelling in Europe.

Synonyms for Common Adjectives

Sometimes, you can use similar adjectives to add variety:

• additional = added advantage (The new law provides an additional advantage for small businesses.)
• considerable = great advantage (The new software gives a considerable advantage over competitors.)
• obvious = distinct advantage (Remote work offers an obvious advantage in flexibility.)

IELTS Tip: When writing advantages/disadvantages essays, avoid repeating “main advantage.” Try alternatives such as key advantage, major benefit, or significant advantage to show vocabulary range.

Advantage + Preposition Collocations

Prepositions change the meaning of “advantage” slightly depending on the context. Here’s how to use them correctly.

Common Prepositions with “Advantage”

in, to, over, of, for

Examples:

• There are several advantages in studying English in the UK or America.
• There are distinct advantages to taking a more radical approach to this issue.
• Government subsidies give these companies an unfair advantage over their competitors.
• Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of travelling alone.
• A bird’s strong claws are an obvious advantage for catching prey.

IELTS Writing Tip

Use phrases like “There are a number of advantages in…” or “One key advantage of…” to begin paragraphs in advantage/disadvantage essays. This gives your writing a clear, logical structure.

Common Phrases with “Advantage”

Here are a few additional expressions frequently used in IELTS:

• Take advantage of – to use an opportunity
  Students should take advantage of online learning resources.
• To your advantage – when something benefits you
  It’s to your advantage that you can speak two languages fluently.
• At a disadvantage / at an advantage – in a better or worse position
  Children from poor families are often at a disadvantage when it comes to education.
• Have an advantage over – to be in a stronger position
  Digital companies have an advantage over traditional businesses due to faster innovation.

These expressions make your English more natural and fluent, which is especially helpful in IELTS Speaking Part 2 and IELTS Speaking Part 3.

Practice Exercise

Try filling in the blanks using the correct collocations:

1. I think we should go ahead with the plan. The advantages far ___________ the disadvantages.
2. He ___________ the advantage over other candidates because of his language skills.
3. I’m still ___________ the advantages and disadvantages before I decide.
4. The Prime Minister tried to ___________ the advantages of the new education system.
5. His long reach ___________ him a big advantage in boxing.
6. While at the resort, we ___________ advantage of all the free activities.

Answers: outweigh, had, weighing up, stress, gave, took

Mastering collocations with “advantage” helps you express complex ideas naturally and accurately. Whether you’re writing about education, technology, or society, these combinations make your responses sound polished and professional.

So next time you face an IELTS Writing Task 2 question on advantages and disadvantages, use phrases like “take advantage of”, “the advantages outweigh the disadvantages”, or “the main advantage of this approach” to impress the examiner and raise your band score. For those aiming for top scores, following the IELTS Exam Preparation Tips for Band Score of 8+ can further enhance your vocabulary and overall test performance.

Also Check: 

• Improve Your Vocabulary for IELTS – Key Word: Space
• Improve Your Vocabulary for IELTS – Key Word: Size
• Using Collocation to Boost Your IELTS Score - Key Word: decision 
• Using Collocation to Boost Your IELTS Score - Key Word: a series of
• Grammar For IELTS : The Common Grammars And Sentence Structures In English (Part 1
• Grammar For IELTS : The Common Grammars And Sentence Structures In English (Part 2)
• Using Contrast in IELTS Speaking & Writing: Advanced Grammar in IELTS
• 100+ Advanced Vocabulary Word List for IELTS (PDF Available)