Keyword-Synonym Mapping Workbook (Extended)
Build a personal workbook that maps high-frequency exam keywords to safe synonyms and collocations. Use the step-by-step method, quality checks, and mini drills to read paraphrase traps faster and write with variety without changing meaning.
How-to playbook with numbered steps
1) Define the mission
A keyword is a core word in the task or passage, for example increase or policy. A synonym is a word with similar meaning in the same context. Your workbook links each keyword to 3 to 6 safe substitutes and 2 or 3 collocations, words that often go together. Goal, speed up paraphrase recognition in Reading and Listening, and reduce repetition in Writing and Speaking.
2) Set up the page template
Use one page per keyword family.
Headword: Part of speech: Meaning in this topic: Safe synonyms (ranked 1 to 5): Common collocations: Register note formal, neutral, informal: Sentence frame: Do-not-use list:
Benchmark: build 60 families in 2 weeks, 6 per day for 10 study days.
3) Build core families first
Start with verbs and nouns that appear across topics.
Change
- increase → rise, grow, climb, go up
- decrease → fall, drop, decline, go down
Collocations: sharp rise, steady decline, rise by 15 percent
Cause and result
- cause → lead to, result in, give rise to
- because of → due to, owing to, because
Frames: X leads to Y, Y results in Z
Evaluation
- advantage → benefit, upside, gain
- disadvantage → drawback, downside, cost
Frames: on balance, benefits outweigh costs
Policy
- start → launch, introduce, roll out
- make stronger → tighten, strengthen, enforce
Frames: enforce standards, roll out a program
4) Add domain bundles
Build topic pages so you can swap quickly during an essay.
Education
attainment → results, grades
reduce the dropout rate, raise standards
Environment
emissions → pollution, output
curb emissions, enforce waste segregation
Technology
automation → mechanization, routine scripting
adopt open source tools, strengthen data privacy
Health
primary care → frontline care, basic services
improve access, launch a campaign
5) Write two precise example lines per family
Keep one for data, one for policy.
- Data: Sales rose by 12 percent in 2024.
- Policy: The city introduced bus lanes to reduce congestion.
6) Protect accuracy with three checks
- Part-of-speech match: increase, noun vs increase, verb.
- Register match: avoid informal swap in essays, for example cut down on is informal for reduce.
- Collocation fit: strong evidence is natural, heavy evidence is not.
Rule of thumb: if one synonym fails any check, strike it out in the Do-not-use list.
7) Drill recognition and production
- Recognition drill, 3 minutes: read 6 sentences and circle the synonym that matches the keyword.
- Production drill, 3 minutes: rewrite 4 lines by swapping one verb and one noun with safe pairs.
- Speaking drill, 2 minutes: give a 60 second answer using two mapped pairs.
8) Two worked examples
Example 1, Reading trap upgrade
Text: The figure edged up in 2023.
Mapping: increase family includes edge up, creep up, small rise.
Answer moves from wrong, stable, to correct, slight increase.
Example 2, Writing upgrade
Weak: The policy will make better the bus system.
Mapped: The policy will improve service and reduce delays by rolling out bus lanes.
9) Mini case, Sylhet candidate
Raihan struggled with paraphrase in True False Not Given. He built 40 families in a week. For benefit, he mapped gain, upside, advantage, and wrote frames like deliver benefits. In Reading, a line said, Households gained from the scheme. He matched gained to benefit and chose True with confidence. In Writing he changed do more for the environment to enforce waste segregation and curb emissions. His accuracy and clarity improved in class mocks.
10) Measurable targets
- Daily quota: 6 families.
- Speed target: 90 seconds to fill one template after day 3.
- Recognition goal: 80 percent correct in a 10 item paraphrase drill by week 2.
- Writing goal: minimum 6 mapped collocations per essay, one per body sentence.
11) Mistakes to avoid
- Meaning drift: utilize for use adds formality without value. Keep use.
- Antonym traps with negatives: not uncommon means quite common. Handle negatives plus opposites carefully.
- Part of speech mismatch: a rise in costs, not an increase in costs if your sentence expects a noun.
- Over mapping: five safe choices beat fifteen risky ones.
12) Edge cases
- Topic-specific senses: charge can mean price or accusation. Add a note in Meaning.
- British vs American: program policy vs program software.
- Fixed phrases: take into account is fixed. Do not write take into consideration account.
- Numbers with verbs: rise by 10 percent, rise to 60 percent. Map prepositions with the family.
13) Mini glossary
- Keyword: core task word that controls meaning.
- Synonym: word with a close meaning in the same context.
- Collocation: natural word pairing like pose a risk.
- Register: level of formality, formal or neutral.
- Lemma: dictionary head form of a word.
Actionable closing
Create a 10 page workbook tonight. Add the four core families, Change, Cause and result, Evaluation, Policy, with two example lines each. Tomorrow add two domain bundles. Run the 3-3-2 drill, recognition, production, speaking. At the end of the week, test yourself with a 10 item paraphrase set and rewrite one essay using at least six mapped collocations.