Some useful comparing words and structures for IELTS speaking
Comparing is a very important function in IELTS speaking. To understand why and to see
how to use this language with examples from task 1 speaking see my article IELTS
vocabulary - the language of comparison (1).
You should note that these are just some of the variations possible: there are many more.
The idea is to improve the range of your grammar and vocabulary to improve your band
score.
If you need help with how to use use these words/phrases well, the best solution is to look
in a good online dictionary such as Macmillan.
The exercise
Look at the examples and then try and make your own. Each time you do, tick the box.
The task is to tick as many boxes as possible.
Compare
This is one of the most important words. Note how many variations it has and be careful
with the prepositions following it.
compare
In comparison,
in comparison to/
with
a comparison
between
compared to/with
eg “If we compare televisions to computers”
eg “In comparison, watching football is much
more exciting”
eg “in comparison to/with London, my town is
quite small
eg “thereʼs an interesting comparison between
reading and listening to music”
eg “compared to/with my home town,
Cambridge is much more cosmopolitan”
Dominic Cole’s IELTS Blog
www.dcielts.com
Contrast
Another very useful word. There are fewer variations here.
In contrast
a contrast
eg “In contrast, my home town is pretty small”
eg “thereʼs a really big contrast with my home
town”
Different
Be careful you know the difference between the noun “differenceʼ and the adjective
“different” - this is a common mistake in both speaking and writing.
different from/to
difference between
eg “I guess American English is slightly different
to/from British English”
eg “Thereʼs a difference between what people do
now and what they did in the past”
Similar
Here is another useful word with a noun form and an adjectival form. Similar is the
adjective and similarity the noun.
similar to
a similarity to
eg “