Plan Collocation for IELTS: A List to Boost Your Score

Nehasri Ravishenbagam

8 min read

Updated On Sep 17, 2025

Learn the most useful plan collocations for IELTS success. Explore Verb + Plan, Adjective + Plan, and Plan + Preposition structures with examples, tables, and IELTS-specific applications to improve vocabulary, fluency, and writing skills for Band 7.0+.

Lists of Plan Collocations for IELTS to Boost Your Score
Plan Collocation for IELTS: Practice Exercises
Answer Keys for Practice Exercises Plan Collocations

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When preparing for IELTS, just knowing words is not enough to boost your vocabulary score. You have to learn how to use them naturally and in appropriate contexts. In such a situation, collocations (words that often go together) help you sound fluent and accurate. One commonly tested word is ‘plan’, which appears in IELTS Speaking and Writing tasks related to goals, future arrangements, and problem-solving, and makes learning plan collocation for IELTS essential.

In this blog, we will explore different plan collocations, categorized into verb, adjective, preposition, and other useful combinations, to help you enrich your IELTS vocabulary.

Lists of Plan Collocations for IELTS to Boost Your Score

Using the top important collocations for IELTS instead of single words shows the examiner that you have flexibility, fluency, and advanced lexical resources, which are essential for Band 7.0+.

Therefore, we will explore lists of different plan collocations for IELTS in the tables below. Each table will have the meanings and original IELTS-style example sentences for the specific collocation for ‘plan’.

Verb + Plan Collocations

These verb + plan collocations are used to describe actions people take with plans.

Verb + Plan	Meaning	Example Sentence
Make a plan	create a strategy or arrangement	Before starting my IELTS preparation, I made a plan to study for three hours daily.
Draw up a plan	write or design a detailed plan	The government has drawn up a plan to reduce carbon emissions by 2030.
Come up with a plan	think of an idea or strategy	My team came up with a plan to finish the project before the deadline.
Stick to a plan	follow the plan strictly	Many students fail because they cannot stick to a study plan.
Abandon a plan	give up or stop following a plan	Due to financial problems, the company had to abandon its expansion plan.
Revise a plan	make changes to a plan	I revised my travel plan because of unpredictable weather conditions.
Implement a plan	put a plan into action	The city implemented a new traffic plan to reduce congestion.
Announce a plan	make a plan public	The Prime Minister announced a plan to improve rural healthcare facilities.
Approve a plan	officially agree to a plan	The city council approved a plan for constructing new parks.
Change a plan	alter or modify a plan	I had to change my study plan because of unexpected work commitments.
Go ahead with a plan	proceed with a plan despite obstacles	Despite criticism, the government decided to go ahead with the plan.
Scrap a plan	cancel a plan completely	The company scrapped its plan to launch the product due to poor market demand.
Get a plan	obtain or secure a plan	I got a plan from my mentor on how to organize my IELTS preparation effectively.
Wreck a plan	destroy or ruin a plan	Bad weather wrecked our weekend plan for a picnic.

Adjective + Plan Collocations

Adjectives describe the quality, scale, or type of plan.

Adjective + Plan	Meaning	Example Sentence
Detailed plan	a plan with specific steps	Having a detailed plan helps students manage their time better during IELTS preparation.
Long-term plan	a plan covering many years	My long-term plan is to pursue higher education abroad.
Short-term plan	a plan for a short duration	In the short-term plan, I aim to improve my IELTS speaking skills.
Strategic plan	a well-thought-out plan for success	Every successful company follows a strategic plan.
Backup plan	an alternative option	It’s wise to have a backup plan when applying to universities overseas.
Financial plan	a plan for managing money	A financial plan is essential for students moving to another country.
Career plan	a plan related to professional growth	My career plan involves working in healthcare after completing my degree.
Audacious plan	a bold or daring plan	The startup launched an audacious plan to revolutionize online education.
Contingency plan	a backup plan prepared for emergencies	Airlines always keep a contingency plan in case of technical failures.
Crazy plan	an unrealistic or impractical plan	Some students come up with a crazy plan to study 12 hours a day before the exam.
Future plan	a plan focused on upcoming goals	My future plan is to settle abroad after completing postgraduate studies.
Original plan	the first or initial version of a plan	We had to modify our original plan because of time constraints.

Plan + Preposition Collocations

These plan collocations are useful in formal IELTS Writing and Speaking when describing proposals, strategies, or arrangements.

Plan + Preposition	Meaning	Example Sentence
Plan for	a plan aimed at achieving something	The government introduced a plan for improving rural education.
Plan of	the layout or outline of something	The architect showed us the plan of the new building.
Plan to	an intention to do something	The city announced a plan to build more eco-friendly housing.
Plan on	a focus or arrangement on something	The company has a plan on reducing waste materials.
Plan in favour of	a plan supported or agreed upon	The board approved a plan in favour of extending library hours.
Plan in opposition to	a plan that contradicts or challenges another	Several parties proposed a plan in opposition to the government’s reforms.
Plan for success	a strategy designed to achieve success	Hard work and discipline form a solid plan for success in IELTS.
Plan for change	a plan to bring about improvements or modifications	The new mayor presented a plan for change in urban transport systems.
Plan in detail(s)	a plan explained with precision and depth	The teacher explained the study plan in detail to the students.
The beauty of a plan	the best or most effective part of a plan	The beauty of this plan is that it saves both time and money.

Other Useful Plan Collocations

Apart from verbs, adjectives, and preposition combinations, these collocations are frequently used in IELTS.

Collocation	Meaning	Example Sentence
Business plan	a plan for starting or running a business	Entrepreneurs need a strong business plan to attract investors.
Study plan	a structured plan for studying	My study plan includes daily practice of IELTS Reading and Listening.
Travel plan	an arrangement for a journey	I had to cancel my travel plan due to visa delays.
Development plan	a plan for growth or improvement	The development plan focuses on building better infrastructure in rural areas.
Action plan	a detailed plan for achieving goals	The teacher created an action plan to help students improve writing skills.
Lesson plan	a teacher’s instructional guide	IELTS trainers often prepare a lesson plan before classes.

Note these ways of expressing opposition to a plan:

We remain strongly opposed to these new plans.
Parents are fiercely opposed to the plan to close the local primary school.
I am totally opposed to the plan to legalise the use of cannabis for personal use.
We are all fundamentally opposed to this plan to change the voting system.
The workers are bitterly opposed to the plan to increase the length of the working day.

Note these expressions:

There was an airline strike, so all our plans fell through at the last minute.
I don’t have any plans for the weekend.
Your best plan would be to take the train.
If everything goes according to plan, we should arrive around midday.
It soon became obvious that plan A wasn’t going to work, so we had to resort to plan B.

Explore our Vocabulary for IELTS to boost your IELTS vocabulary!

Plan Collocation for IELTS: Practice Exercises

In order to enhance your comprehension and use of the plan collocations for IELTS, you will have the opportunity to complete a few exercises given below.

Exercise A: Use the correct form of these verbs.

announce	approve
change	go ahead with
make	scrap
get	wreck

It’s important that you all look ahead and ____________ plans for the future.
We had to____________ our holiday plans at the last minute, when my mother was taken into hospital.
The school was forced to____________ its plans for a new library due to a lack of financial support.
I’m afraid the picnic had to be cancelled. The bad weather ____________ all our plans.
The committee unanimously ____________the plan. Not one person opposed it. Everybody supported it.
Yesterday the government ____________ plans to create thousands of new jobs.
If I ____________ my plan to open a restaurant, can I count on your support? I’ll need good advice and some financial backing to____________ my plans off the ground.

Exercise B: Use the following adjectives in these sentences.

audacious	contingency	crazy
detailed	future	original

Although____________ plans were drawn up for a new housing development, it didn’t get planning permission.
What a____________ plan! It’ll never work. Who on earth thought this one up?
Managers have drawn up a ____________ plan to keep the factory running if there is a power failure.
We looked at a number of different plans for a bridge over the river, but after much discussion we decided to stick with the ____________ plan of building a tunnel under it.
The interviewer asked me what my ____________ plans were. I could only tell him that they were dependent on getting this job!
The prisoners put together an ____________ plan to escape from prison using a helicopter.

Exercise C: Complete the sentences with these nouns.

beauty	change	details
favour	opposition	success

There’s been a _____________ of plan. We’re leaving next week instead of this week.
We expect to come up against a lot of _____________ to the plan. A number of people have voiced their objections to it already.
Remember that the_____________ or failure of the plan depends on you.
Everybody wants to know how the government is going to pay for its ambitious proposals, but the PM wouldn’t give away any_____________ of their plan.
The government pledged its support for the plan to build a new runway at Gatwick airport. However, none of the local residents are in _____________ of the plan.
The_____________ of this plan, what makes it so good, is that it won’t cost the members of the club a penny!

Notes:

In 1-3 ‘cancel’ and ‘drop’ are also possible.
In 1-4 ‘spoiled’ and ‘scuppered’ are also possible.

Answer Keys for Practice Exercises Plan Collocations

Exercise A:

make
change
scrap
wrecked
approved
announced
go ahead with, get

Exercise B:

detailed
crazy
contingency
original
future
audacious

Exercise C:

change
opposition
success
details
favour
beauty

To conclude, collocations are highly practical for IELTS exam since they appear in daily conversations, academic writing, and professional contexts. So, by practicing these plan collocations for IELTS in speaking and writing, you will not only enrich your vocabulary but also sound more natural and confident during the test. All you need to do is practice using them by creating your own sentences with at least 5 new collocations from each category every day to internalize them.

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