Introduction
What does the book aim to do?
Cambridge Vocabulary for IELTS Advanced aims to extend and improve the accuracy of your academic vocabulary and help you prepare for the IELTS academic module. It introduces vocabulary through listening and reading texts that reflect the materials used in the IELTS test. Learning new words in context can help you to remember them and also helps you to understand their meaning. This book also gives you opportunities to practise new words so that they can become part of your active vocabulary

Who is it aimed at?
The book is designed for upper-intermediate or advanced level students working alone who want to revise and extend their vocabulary. But it can also be used as part of an IELTS preparation course in the classroom, or set as homework by a teacher. It is also suitable for advanced general English students, or those preparing to study English for academic purposes.
What order should I do the units in?
You can work through the units in any order, but you should study all the units if you want to prepare thoroughly for the test and extend your vocabulary. You may want to start with a particular unit because it relates to a topic in your course book or because you have a particular interest in that area. Unit 21 provides a very useful introduction to learning vocabulary so it may be a good idea to look at this first.
How do I use the book?
It is best to work through a unit from beginning to end as one exercise may revise vocabulary from a previous exercise. The test practice sections provide further opportunities to extend your vocabulary, as well as giving you practice in the different sections of the IELTS test. The practice test materials are also useful for extending your vocabulary. Once you have completed the practice test questions, look at the reading and listening texts and focus on the areas where you made mistakes. Make a note of any vocabulary you do not know or anything that may be useful for you to use in the test.
How are the units organised?
There are 25 units. The first 20 units present and practise vocabulary based on academic topics. Each topic is divided into two sections. Each unit has three pages of vocabulary exercises based on listening, reading, writing and speaking materials similar to those found in the IELTS test. There is also a focus on pronunciation. In addition, there is a test practice at the end of each unit, which includes examples of tasks in the following papers: Academic Reading; Academic Writing; Listening and Speaking. These tasks provide useful practice and revision even if you are not taking the test.
Following this introduction is a summary of what is in each part of the IELTS test. The last five units of the book provide a general guide to learning and using new vocabulary. Unit 21 gives useful tips on developing and using a dictionary. Units 22-25 focus on strategies for the individual sections of the test.

What is on the audio CD?
You need to listen to the audio CD to do the listening and pronunciation exercises in the units. The test practice listening tests are also on the audio CD. In the IELTS Listening test you hear everything only once so remember this when you replay the tracks.

How do I use the wordlist?

There is a wordlist for each unit at the back of the book. Some of the words may be specific to one topic area but many of them can be found and used in a wide variety of contexts. You may want to divide these lists up into smaller groups of words to learn at a time. It may be a good idea to study the wordlist before you begin each unit. Alternatively, your teacher might use the wordlist as a test or review at the end of each unit, or you could ask a friend to test you. You should be able to understand these words when you read or hear them, but you should also try to extend your active vocabulary by using them in your writing and speaking tasks. You should learn the correct spellings of words as well as any words that collocate with them.

How do I do the Writing test practice?
The Writing test practice questions give an opportunity to actively use the vocabulary from the unit. There are sample answers in the Answer key. These model answers can be used as a guide to organising ideas and using vocabulary accurately and effectively.
How do I do the Speaking test practice?
The Speaking test practice questions provide opportunities to actively use the vocabulary from the unit. In Part 2 of the Speaking test, you will be allowed to make notes, so think of any useful vocabulary you could use and write this down to help you as you talk. If possible, you should record your answers and play them back. Consider your pronunciation as well as the words you used. How could you improve your answer? Ask a friend or teacher for their comments.
When should I do Tests one to five?
There are five vocabulary tests. Each test assesses how well you have learnt the vocabulary from the previous five units. When you have finished five units, do the test and mark it using the answers at the back of the book. Highlight the questions you got wrong and go back to the units you need to look at again. If you are a more advanced student, you may want to take the test before you begin the units to see how much you already know. This may help to pinpoint your weak areas.
When should I use a dictionary?
The aim of the listening and reading activities in each unit is to give you practice in working out meaning from context. So you should try to do each exercise without a dictionary first unless you are instructed to use one. When you have finished, use the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary or another suitable monolingual dictionary to look up any words you don't know. You can also check your answers in the Answer key, but you may want to use your dictionary as a further check. Try to be aware of words you need
to look up more than once. These are obviously key words for you to learn. Write them down with their meanings, together with any example sentences used in the dictionary.
How do I learn and revise vocabulary?
Some of the vocabulary in a unit will be new to you and some will be words you are familiar with, but cannot yet use accurately. Even if you feel you know a word already, you may be making collocation mistakes and using the incorrect preposition or verb. You might like to use a notebook and organise your vocabulary in the following categories:

• New words to learn
• Words I need to use more
• Words I often make mistakes with
• Topic words, e.g. The environment; Fuel; Energy; Work, etc.

Alternatively, you could simply highlight these words using a different colour highlighter for each category, e.g. a blue highlighter for topic words, a red highlighter for words you often make mistakes with, and so on. Unit 21 will help you develop good vocabulary learning techniques.