Collocations for Writing: Words That Belong Together
Writing Toolkit · Words
Native writing is built from partnerships: we make decisions, do homework, take risks, and reach conclusions. Learn the partnerships and your sentences stop sounding translated.
The Big Four: Make, Do, Take, Have
Make produces or causes: make a decision, a mistake, progress, an effort, a suggestion, money, a difference. Do performs tasks: do homework, research, your best, a favor, damage, business. Take seizes or consumes: take a risk, a break, notes, responsibility, time, a photo, action. Have experiences and states: have an effect, a conversation, access to, doubts, an impact.
- make progress / make an effort / make a point
- do research / do justice to / do without
- take into account / take place / take advantage of
- have in common / have no intention of / have the last word
Academic and Essay Collocations
Examiners and editors hear these as fluency markers. Draw attention to, play a role in, pose a threat, raise a question, reach a conclusion, provide evidence, take a stance, a growing body of evidence, widely believed, heavily influenced, strongly opposed.
- “The study draws attention to a neglected cost.”
- “The evidence plays a decisive role.”
- “Few writers reach this conclusion, because…”
- Verb + noun pairs beat adjective + noun piles: 'pose a serious threat' > 'be a very serious threat-thing'.
Adjective and Adverb Partners
Some adjectives marry specific nouns: heavy traffic, strong coffee, high prices, deep sleep, a golden opportunity, a pressing problem. Adverbs marry verbs: deeply regret, fully aware, widely accepted, closely related, bitterly disappointed, sorely tempted. When a collocation feels 'off' to a reader, it is usually a partner swapped at the altar.
- heavy rain / heavy smoker / heavy losses (not 'big rain')
- strong evidence / strong accent / strong likelihood
- highly recommended / highly unlikely / highly skilled
- perfectly reasonable / perfectly clear / perfectly capable
Watch Out: Common Errors
✗ We must do a decision about the budget and make our homework about it.
✓ We must make a decision about the budget and do our homework on it.
✗ The new law will do a big influence in small towns.
✓ The new law will have a big influence on small towns. (Influence: have/exert … on)
✗ She made a photo of the strong rain and the big traffic.
✓ She took a photo of the heavy rain and the heavy traffic.
Practice
Related lessons
✍️ Giving Your Opinion in Writing✍️ Academic Writing: Voice, Stance, and the Literature Conversation✍️ The Opinion Essay: A Position, Fully Defended📘 Grammar deep-dive← All Toolkit pages · Writing Lab
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