PTE Collocation List: Tips & Tricks To Memorize

Learning collocations is a must to score high on the PTE Reading section.

However, many test takers find collocations tough and often lose points in this grammatical area of a real PTE test.

Do not worry!

This post will summarize an ultimate PTE collocation list and some useful tips to help you memorize collocations easily.

(Read our Vietnamese version here)

Key takeaways

The Academic Collocation List (ACL) includes 2469 common academic collocations in English.
Collocations help you solve Fill-in-the-Blanks questions more easily, improve your essay writing skills, and answer Summarise Spoken Text questions more effectively.
Reading often, using flashcards, and observing native speakers are tips to help you learn collocations.

What is a PTE academic collocation list?

A collocation is a group of words often go together to make a specific meaning.

Collocations are critical to enhancing your English. It also plays an important role in the PTE Academic test, especially in the Reading section.

The Academic Collocation List (ACL) compiled by Pearson includes 2469 common academic collocations in English.

The list was created using the Pearson International Corpus of Academic English (PICAE) written curricular component containing over 25 million words.

The small but reasonable number of phrases in the ACL eases the pressure on test takers and helps them cultivate their English collocations more effectively.

Why it’s important?

Many students struggle with Reading and Writing Fill in the Blanks since they lack a solid understanding of common expressions in a specific context.

Collocations are considered one of the “golden keys” to help you solve Fill in the Blanks questions easier.

Additionally, it also greatly improves your essay writing skills and forms answers to forms answers to Summarise Spoken Text questions better.

The ACL identifies essential cross-disciplinary collocations. Thank this, it can help you improve your collocational competency to boost your overall academic English proficiency.

Moreover, the ACL can assist EAP teachers in designing their lessons and provide critical learning materials to strengthen students’ academic language development.

Where can you get the PTE collocation list?

pte academic collocation

You can visit the official PTE website to download the full collocation list for your PTE exam preparation activities.

There are two files:

You can download one of the two or both. Most convenient for you to take notes or add more collocations.

What are some examples of popular collocations?

Here is a list of the most common PTE collocation words:

Increasing Emphasis
Information Processing
Introductory Text
Legal Basis
Logical Approach
Major Decision
Maximum Duration
Municipal Government
Negative Attitude
Obvious Point
Paid Employment
Personal Responsibility
Political Identity
Positive View
Previous Decade
Professional Activity
Provide ( A ) Source
Quantitative Analysis
Recent Survey
Reliable Information
Rural Society
Sexual Behaviour
Significant Relationship
Social Construct
Sovereign State
Statistically Significant
Substantially Different
Theoretical Analysis
Undertake Work
Vary Greatly
Widely Different
Academic Year
Alternative Solution
Basic Component
Broad Category
Central Role
Immediate Environment
Indigenous Population
Intellectual Property
Key Source
Likely Outcome
Low/Er Frequency
Make Arrangements
Metropolitan Area
National Interest
Newly Created
Opinion Leader
Particularly Sensitive
Physical Symptom
Political Stability
Powerful Force
Primarily Responsible
Prominent Member
Public Domain
Raise Awareness
Related Factor
Report Findings
Scientific Theory
Show Evidence
Similar Situation
Social Isolation
Specific Function
Strong Reaction
Take Precedence
Top Management
Use Effectively
Visual Media
Widespread Acceptance
Actively Involved
Appropriate Action
Become Involved
Careful Attention
Characteristic Feature
Imported Goods
Individual Component
Internal Conflict
Large Percentage
Limited Range
Main Characteristics
Make Policy
Military Force
National Movement
Next Decade
Organizational Structure
Particularly Useful
Place Emphasis
Poorly Understood
Practical Difficulties
Primary Education
Proposed Legislation
Public Perception
Random Variable
Related Topic
Research Effort
Seek Help
Significant Amount
Single Entity
Social Phenomenon
Specific Needs
Strongly Correlated
Take On ( The ) Role
Traditional Form
Use ( A ) Method
Vital Role
Written Comment
Additional Problem
Appropriate Language
Become ( The ) Focus
Carry Out Research
Classic Example
Increased Production
Industrialized Country
Intimate Relationship
Learning Objective
Local Authority
Major Cause
Make ( A ) Judgement
Modified Version
Natural Science
Objective Reality
Overall Level
Personal Experience
Political Culture
Positive Impact
Present Evidence
Private Sector
Provide Insight
Qualitative Approach
Receive Information
Relevant Factors
Ruling Class
Set ( An ) Objective
Significant Interaction
Social Attitudes
Socioeconomic Status
Statistical Data
Subsequent Work
Technological Innovation

Tips for memorizing collocations

Students often have trouble with collocations for many reasons. Notably, they commonly translate directly from their native tongue.

No more worry! These top tips can help you learn collocation effectively:

Read often: Read as much as you can. Focus on how words are combined in phrases and expressions. Take notes and review them if necessary.
Use flashcards: Make flashcards with collocations and their meanings. Read them over and over again until you can memorize them.
Apply collocations in different contexts: Instead of cramming collocations, use them in different situations when writing English and communicating daily. Therefore, you can remember them better and longer.
Observe native speakers: Listen or watch how they use collocations through TV shows, movies, and podcasts.
Practice makes perfect: The more you use collocations, the easier you can grasp and use them correctly. You can practice with the MAGIC Platform for more flexible and effective learning.

Conclusion

Are you preparing for your upcoming PTE exam? Collocations would no longer be a headache if you master our tips above.