Answer Collocation for IELTS: A List to Boost Your Score

The word ‘answer’ might seem straightforward. However, this word carries two distinct meanings in English: a reply to a question, remark, or letter and a solution to a problem or challenge. Therefore, understanding and mastering answer collocations can significantly improve your writing, speaking, and even reading and listening scores.

This blog explores essential answer collocations for the IELTS exam used by native speakers and examiners, complete with meanings, examples, and practical exercises.

Lists of Answer Collocations for IELTS to Boost Your Score

The word ‘answer’ appears in all modules of the IELTS exam - from describing opinions to explaining solutions. As a result, knowing which verb or adjective fits with the word helps you construct error-free sentences.

Therefore, we will explore lists of the top important collocations for IELTS related to ‘answer’ in the tables below, along with their meaning and example sentences.

Verb + Answer (Meaning: Reply)

These collocations describe the act of replying or responding to someone. They are commonly used in IELTS Speaking and IELTS General Writing Task 1 (letter) when explaining communication, interaction, or feedback.

Verb + Answer (Meaning: Solution)

When ‘answer’ means solution or resolution, it is often used in academic or analytical contexts like IELTS Writing Task 2 essays. These collocations show problem-solving, reasoning, and critical thinking skills, which are essential for Band 7+ writing.

Common Adjective Collocations with ‘Answer’

These answer collocations describe the type, quality, or accuracy of an answer. They are perfect for IELTS Writing (academic tone) and IELTS Speaking (evaluative tone).

Common Expressions and Phrases with ‘Answer’

These fixed expressions are frequently used in IELTS Writing and Speaking to express evaluation, reasoning, or decision-making.

Answer Collocation for IELTS: Practice Exercises

The following exercises are designed to help you with your understanding and use of answer collocations for IELTS, and you will be able to complete these exercises.

Exercise A: Use the correct form of these verbs.

1. Did you ___________ an answer to your letter?
2. We sent a letter of complaint ages ago. Three months later we’re still ___________ an answer.
3. The managing director ___________ an answer. He was furious and wanted to know why things had gone so badly wrong.
4. The Prime Minister promised to ___________ a written answer to the MP’s detailed question.
5. We ___________ an answer immediately. If you can’t give us one, we can’t get on with the job.
6. I rang the bell several times, but there___________ no answer.

Exercise B: Use the following adjectives in these sentences.

1. I don’t expect an___________ answer. Think it over and let me know by the end of the week.
2. Just give me a straight and ___________ answer, and stop trying to evade the question, will you?
3. Is that your___________ answer? If it is, I won’t trouble you much longer.
4. The ___________ answer to your question is NO!
5. They really were very helpful, taking lots of time to give us clear and ___________ answers to all our questions.
6. Very often some of these questions have more than one ___________ answer.

 Exercise C: Use the correct form of these verbs.

1. If I ___________ the answer, I’d tell you!
2. Yes, we are aware of the problem, but unfortunately we do not ___________ the answer.
3. You’ll never ___________ the answer in a million years! Do you want a clue?
4. We’re in trouble if someone doesn’t ___________ the right answer soon.
5. The new accounting system will ___________ the answers you need in a matter of minutes.
6. We ___________ the correct answer by a process of elimination. We rejected the choices one by one until we only had one left.

Exercise D: Use the correct form of these verbs.

1. There is no ___________ answer to the problems facing the economy. It’s a very complex situation.
2. Food aid may provide temporary relief to the people of Eritrea, but it is not a ___________ answer to the problems facing the country.
3. I think you’ve put the___________ answer for number 3.  It should be 5.25, not 5.52.
4. We are unable to treat this condition with drugs. An operation may be the___________ answer.
5. I don’t see what the problem is. If we can’t hire a bus, the ___________answer is to cancel the trip.
6. It’s too early to give a___________ answer. We won’t be in a position to do so for a couple of days.

Answer Collocations Answer Keys for Practice Exercises

Ex A:

1. receive 2. waiting for 3. demanded 4. give 5. need 6. was

Ex B:

1. immediate 2. honest 3. final 4. short 5. detailed 6. correct

Ex C:

1. knew 2. have 3.guess 4. come up with 5. provide 6. arrived at

Ex D:

1. simple 2. long-term  3. wrong  4. only 5. obvious 6. definite

To conclude, learning answer collocations equips you with the linguistic precision and natural flow expected in high-band IELTS responses. By mastering these phrases, you demonstrate control of both academic vocabulary and context-appropriate expression. So, practice these answer collocations for IELTS regularly to give your best answer in every test situation!

Useful Links:

• Excuse Collocation for IELTS: A List to Boost Your Score
• Account Collocation for IELTS: A List to Boost Your Score
• Result Collocations for IELTS - Advanced Vocabulary for Band 8+
• Using Collocation to Boost Your IELTS Score - Topic: Responsibility
• 50 Good Vocabulary Words to Use in an IELTS Essay