Word Formation and IELTS Vocabulary

Module 2-lesson 1

Ahmed Abdirahman

9/28/20251 min read

Word formation is one of the foundations of English vocabulary. It refers to the different ways new words are created in English. Common processes include prefixation, suffixation, compounding, blending, clipping, and conversion. For IELTS learners, understanding these processes can greatly expand vocabulary range and flexibility.

Prefixes, such as un-, re-, and dis-, change the meaning of words. For example, happy → unhappy changes the meaning to the opposite. Suffixes, such as -ness and -er, often change the word’s grammatical category, such as teach → teacher. Research emphasizes that these word-building processes allow learners to quickly expand their vocabulary without memorizing isolated words (ELT Concourse, n.d.; Vedantu, n.d.).

Compounding and blending are also common in English. Words such as sunflower or brunch show how new terms are created from existing ones. According to Reading Rockets (n.d.), understanding roots, prefixes, and suffixes helps learners decode unfamiliar words and improve spelling.

For IELTS Writing and Speaking, knowing how to form academic words is essential. For instance, the Academic Word List (AWL) includes words such as analyze or assess, which have multiple forms: analysis, analytical, assessment. Students who can use these flexibly score higher in lexical resource.

In short, mastering word formation means not only learning more words, but also using them naturally and correctly in IELTS contexts.

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