{"id":23928,"date":"2025-05-26T10:50:39","date_gmt":"2025-05-26T10:50:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ecenglish.com\/en\/?p=23928"},"modified":"2025-11-26T12:21:45","modified_gmt":"2025-11-26T12:21:45","slug":"student-writing-cities-and-collocations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ecenglish.com\/en\/blog\/english\/student-writing-cities-and-collocations\/","title":{"rendered":"Students write about cities using collocations"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-link-color has-large-font-size wp-elements-cec635e9f884b900aa443e58afffc5de\">In this blog, we&#8217;re going to understand what collocations are, read student summaries, and of course, learn from their work!&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-link-color has-large-font-size wp-elements-d8848335ae17bca6c1d521897457949b\">Zsolt, Yixin, Chayanit, and Esther are four students from Budapest, Beijing, Bangkok and Salvador. They&#8217;re currently on the <a href=\"https:\/\/ecenglish.com\/en\/english-courses\/education-exams-preparation\/ielts-exam-preparation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">IELTS Exam Prep course<\/a> at <strong>EC Malta<\/strong>. Writing tasks are an essential part of the IELTS exam, getting them right is important for earning a pass!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-link-color has-large-font-size wp-elements-82c604d7a36778eb0be38d0f93044607\">To practise writing, their teacher Isabella instructed them to write: \u201cA summary about my city using collocations\u201d. They definitely understood the assignment, as we\u2019ll see later. But first&#8230;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What are collocations?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">Collocations are <strong>pairings of words that sound natural to a native speaker<\/strong>. For example, \u201cmake a mistake\u201d sounds more natural than \u201cdo a mistake\u201d.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">Collocations can generally be divided into different types, such as:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Adjective + noun (e.g. &#8220;common sense&#8221;)&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Noun + noun (e.g. &#8220;beach towel&#8221;)&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Verb + noun (e.g. &#8220;make a decision&#8221;)&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Adverb + adjective (e.g. &#8220;highly recommended&#8221;)&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Verb + adverb (e.g. &#8220;strongly agree&#8221;)&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Verb + prepositional phrase (e.g. \u201clook forward to\u201d)&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">In fact, \u201cexam preparation\u201d is a noun + noun collocation; it\u2019s also a <strong><em>fixed<\/em><\/strong> collocation.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Fixed collocations<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">Fixed collocations are pairings of words that sound very natural together and are difficult to replace. These collocations are so widely used that they&#8217;ve become standard terms\/descriptors, like \u201ccrystal clear\u201d or \u201chistorical figure\u201d.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-large-font-size\"><strong>Can you spot the collocations in Zsolt, Yixin, Chayanit, and Esther\u2019s&nbsp;summaries<\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-dots\"\/>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:2px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-style-default has-error-disabled-background-color has-background is-vertical is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-4e9d1c8a wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\" style=\"padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--s);padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--m);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--s);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--m)\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-style-default has-error-disabled-background-color has-background has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div style=\"height:2px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-large-font-size\">&#8216;<strong>Budapest<\/strong>&#8216; <strong>by Zsolt<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:2px;width:0px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer wp-container-content-1abe4828\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left\"><em>Budapest is the capital of Hungary and it is the most populous city in the country by far with its 2M inhabitants. It is one of the oldest cities in Europe, so I would recommend visiting it for every tourist.&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><em>One of the metro lines of Budapest is the second (oldest) metro line in the whole of Europe, so travelling with it might feel like a time travel. Sightseeing is very easy because every building in the city centre is at least 100 years old.&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left\"><em>On the other hand, Budapest is a bit crowded, because a quarter of the Hungarian population lives there. On top of that, there are way more cars than should be. It would be a great innovation to create more talking streets for pedestrians like in other modern civilisations.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:2px;width:0px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer wp-container-content-1abe4828\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"1\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>capital of Hungary<\/strong> <strong>(noun + noun)<\/strong> <em>Capital of [country]&#8221; is a classic fixed expression commonly used in geography and political context.<\/em> &nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"2\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>most populous city (adjective + noun)<\/strong> <em>common descriptive phrase for cities<\/em>. \u201cPopulous\u201d is a more formal adjective meaning \u201cdensely populated.\u201d It commonly modifies nouns like city, area, country.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"3\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>by far<\/strong> <strong>(adverb + adjective) <\/strong><em>often used to intensify superlatives (e.g., &#8220;by far the best,&#8221; &#8220;by far the biggest&#8221;).<\/em>&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"4\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>oldest cities<\/strong> <strong>(adjective + noun) <\/strong>\u201coldest\u201d commonly collocates with \u201ccities\u201d when talking about history or heritage.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"5\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>recommend visiting (verb + noun) <\/strong>standard collocation for giving travel or activity advice&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-pale-beige-background-color has-background\">Tip: In this context, visiting functions as a noun, because Zsolt is talking about the <em>concept<\/em> of visiting rather than the <em>action<\/em>. Verbs that function as nouns are called <strong><em>gerunds<\/em><\/strong><em>;<\/em> they always end in <em>-ing<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"6\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>metro line<\/strong> <strong>(noun + noun)<\/strong> fixed collocation&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"7\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>feel like (verb + prepositional phrase)<\/strong><em> used to describe a sensation or feeling<\/em>&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"8\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>time travel (noun + noun)<\/strong> <em>common metaphorical expression<\/em>&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"9\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>city centre (noun + noun) <\/strong><em>strong collocation describing the central area of a city<\/em>&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"10\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>a bit crowded (adverb + adjective) <\/strong>common informal intensifier used with adjectives (e.g. \u201ca bit boring\u201d, \u201ca bit interesting\u201d).&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"11\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Hungarian population<\/strong> <strong>(adjective + noun)<\/strong> typical demographic phrase&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"12\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>way more cars (adverb + noun)<\/strong> informal but strong collocation (especially in speech); way more is an informal intensifier that\u2019s used before countable and uncountable nouns.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">Tip: You wouldn\u2019t usually say &#8220;population of Hungary&#8221; in this kind of sentence (\u201ca quarter of the population of Hungary lives there\u201d is grammatically correct, but more formal and less direct than \u201ca quarter of the Hungarian population\u201d).&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"13\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>modern civilisations (adjective + noun)<\/strong> \u201cModern\u201d is often paired with abstract or cultural terms like \u201ccivilisation,\u201d \u201csociety,\u201d \u201ctechnology.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:50px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-error-disabled-background-color has-background is-vertical is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-4e9d1c8a wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\" style=\"padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--s);padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--m);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--s);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--m)\">\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-large-font-size\"><strong>&#8216;Beijing&#8217; by Yixin<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:0px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer wp-container-content-1abe4828\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left\"><em>Beijing, the capital of China, is a very big and populous city. People who are born in this city have some privileges than others in the country. For example, they have more opportunities to integrate into the best universities of China.&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left\"><em>This city has a very strong economy, and it is famous for tourism, which is of great historical significance. The most popular monument is the Great Wall. Its total length is around 22,000 km.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:0px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer wp-container-content-463bd4c8\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"1\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>capital of China<\/strong> <strong>(noun + noun)<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"2\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>populous city (adjective + noun):<\/strong> used in formal demographic contexts. Other more common alternatives are &#8220;large city&#8221; or &#8220;densely populated city&#8221;.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"3\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>born in this city (Verb + prepositional phrase)<\/strong> Born is a very common combination in English when discussing place of birth. The addition of \u201cthis city\u201d personalises it but doesn\u2019t break the collocation.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"4\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>have privileges (verb + noun):<\/strong> the word \u2018privilege\u2019 refers to a special advantage or honour. For example, one might say &#8220;I had the privilege of attending the event&#8221; or &#8220;She has the privilege of living close to school&#8221;.&nbsp;The verb &#8220;have&#8221; collocates with a range of abstract nouns like privileges, rights, responsibilities, opportunities, etc.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"5\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>more opportunities (adjective + noun): <\/strong>\u201cmore\u201d is a quantifying adjective that collocates naturally with abstract nouns like opportunities, choices, jobs, options&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"6\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>best universities (superlative adjective + noun): <\/strong>The word \u201cbest\u201d regularly collocates with \u201cuniversities\u201d in discussions about rankings and quality of education.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"7\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>strong economy (adjective + noun):<\/strong> this is a common phrase in economics and politics (other examples include \u201cstrong economy\u201d, \u201cgrowing economy\u201d, \u201cglobal economy\u201d)&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"8\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>famous for tourism (adjective + prepositional phrase):<\/strong> \u201cFamous for\u201d itself is a strong and frequent collocation. It\u2019s often followed by a noun indicating the reason for the fame (e.g. \u201cNew York City is famous for its food\u201d, \u201cCape Town is famous for its beaches\u201d).&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"9\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>historical significance (adjective + noun):<\/strong> a standard phrase in history, culture, and academia.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"10\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>of great historical significance (prepositional phrase\/fixed expression)<\/strong>: a formal fixed phrase often used in academic or formal writing&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"11\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>most popular monument (adjective + noun): <\/strong>a very common collocation in both speech and writing, and it naturally modifies nouns like destination, monument, show.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"12\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>total length (adjective + noun)<\/strong>: the word \u201ctotal\u201d collocates frequently with nouns involving measurement or scope (e.g \u201ctotal cos\u201d, \u201ctotal are\u201d, total population\u201d).&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:50px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-error-disabled-background-color has-background is-vertical is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-4e9d1c8a wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\" style=\"padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--s);padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--m);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--s);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--m)\">\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-large-font-size\">&#8216;<strong>Bangkok&#8217; by Chayanit<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:0px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer wp-container-content-1abe4828\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left\"><em>Bangkok, the heart of Thailand is the centre of luxurious buildings, shopping malls and offices. The interior of several popular shopping malls, such as SIAM Paragon, Central World, and SIAM Discovery, one fitted with modern facilities and furniture. Not only does this city have modern buildings, there are also some aesthetically pleasing\/attractive old buildings worth for travellers to visit. Some blocks in the city are lined up with numerous interesting traditional restaurants and street food vendors. Finally, due to the fact that Bangkok is one of the most visited cities in Thailand, it has become more populous.&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:0px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer wp-container-content-463bd4c8\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"1\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>the heart of thailand (noun + prepositional phrase):<\/strong> \u201cthe heart of [something]\u201d is the central and most important part of it&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"2\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>luxurious buildings (adjective + noun):<\/strong> \u201cLuxurious\u201d often collocates with hotels, houses, interiors, and buildings. It emphasises elegance or wealth.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"3\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Shopping malls (noun + noun): <\/strong>widely used collocation referring to a large building with many shops.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"4\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Modern facilities\/buildings (adjective + noun)<\/strong>: very common in travel, housing, and infrastructure descriptions.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"5\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Aesthetically pleasing (adverb + adjective): <\/strong>fixed phrase in design, architecture, art, and criticism.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"6\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Attractive buildings (Adjective + noun): <\/strong>\u201cAttractive\u201d is a general-purpose adjective that collocates with buildings, places, features.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"7\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>old buildings (adjective + noun)<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"8\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Traditional restaurants (adjective + noun) <\/strong>\u201cTraditional\u201d is a very common collocate with food, restaurants, and customs.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"9\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Street food vendors (noun + noun): This one\u2019s like a collocation sandwich; <\/strong>\u201cstreet food\u201d and \u201cfood vendors\u201d are standard phrases, so \u201cstreet food vendors\u201d flows naturally.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:50px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-error-disabled-background-color has-background is-vertical is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-4e9d1c8a wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\" style=\"padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--s);padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--m);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--s);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--m)\">\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-large-font-size\"><strong>&#8216;Salvador&#8217; by Esther<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:0px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer wp-container-content-1abe4828\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left\"><em>The city where I live in is one of the most populated cities in Brazil. Being the first capital of the country, Salvador is very successful in attracting many tourists throughout the whole year, and especially in the summer. Our cuisine is rich, abundant in spices and seafood, and we have many beautiful beaches and historical monuments that are very well-preserved. In the touristic places, which is basically the entire town, it is very easy to find traditional crafts that you can gift your loved ones or keep as a memory of the city.&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:0px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer wp-container-content-463bd4c8\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"1\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>capital of the country<\/strong> <strong>(noun + noun)<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"2\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>populated cities (adjective + noun):<\/strong> &#8220;Populated&#8221; naturally modifies &#8220;cities&#8221; when referring to population size. This pairing is common in demographic and urban discussions.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"3\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>attracting many tourists (verb + noun): <\/strong>widely used in tourism contexts; \u201cattract\u201d is the most natural verb for describing how a place draws in tourists.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"4\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>throughout the whole year (preposition + noun phrase):<\/strong> common way to express continuity over a year; the word throughout strongly collocated with time periods.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"5\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>in the summer: (preposition + noun): <\/strong>A fixed seasonal expression.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"6\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>abundant in spices<\/strong> <strong>(adjective + prepositional phrase): <\/strong>\u201cAbundant in\u201d is a common phrase for describing things present in large quantities, especially ingredients.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"7\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>beautiful beaches (adjective + noun)<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"8\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>historical monuments (adjective + noun)<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"9\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>well-preserved (adverb + adjective):<\/strong> a frequent collocation with old structures, especially in heritage or conservation discussions.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"10\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>touristic places (adjective + noun)<\/strong>: alternatives like \u201ctourist areas\u201d or tourist attractions\u201d flow more naturally&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"11\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>traditional crafts (adjective + noun)<\/strong>: used to describe handmade or culturally rooted artefacts; it\u2019s very common in travel and souvenir contexts.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"12\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>gift your loved ones (verb + noun phrase)<\/strong>: this one\u2019s common in marketing or informal situations.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"13\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>memory of the city (noun + prepositional phrase):<\/strong> \u201cmemory of [a place]\u201d is a typical way to express emotional or nostalgic connection to a location.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:5px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-dots\"\/>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:2px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-large-font-size\">We hope you learned a thing or two about collocations from Zsolt, Yixin, Chayanit, and Esther\u2019s work! Why don\u2019t you try it now? <em>Write a summary about your city using collocations.<\/em>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:5px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-link-color has-large-font-size wp-elements-288e5ffe9018719f9623d57faf0e07aa\">Practise writing exercises, learn test-taking strategies, and get personalised feedback on your work at EC! <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-link-color has-large-font-size wp-elements-5fb75e6dfce6772b79d7ad45c9da570a\">Our <a href=\"https:\/\/ecenglish.com\/en\/english-courses\/education-exams-preparation\/ielts-exam-preparation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">IELTS Preparation course<\/a> is available in <a href=\"https:\/\/ecenglish.com\/en\/schools\/malta\/learn-english-in-malta\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Malta<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/ecenglish.com\/en\/schools\/canada\/learn-english-in-toronto\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Toronto<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/ecenglish.com\/en\/schools\/uk\/learn-english-in-london\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">London<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/ecenglish.com\/en\/schools\/uk\/learn-english-in-brighton\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Brighton<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/ecenglish.com\/en\/schools\/uk\/learn-english-in-manchester\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Manchester<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/ecenglish.com\/en\/schools\/uk\/learn-english-in-bristol\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Bristol<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/ecenglish.com\/en\/schools\/ireland\/learn-english-in-dublin\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Dublin<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/ecenglish.com\/en\/schools\/south-africa\/learn-english-in-cape-town\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Cape Town<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/ecenglish.com\/en\/schools\/united-arab-emirates\/learn-english-in-dubai\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Dubai<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-vertical is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-76ce5f96 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex has-background\" style=\"border-radius:2rem;min-height:240px;padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--l);padding-right:2rem;padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--l);padding-left:2rem;background-image:url(&apos;https:\/\/ecenglish.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/06\/DSC09460EC-Live_Fiona-copy.jpg&apos;);background-position:30% 30%;background-size:cover;\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-ec-white-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-b65aa1bd3eb66785c0b1a8d5919c9202\" style=\"margin-right:0;margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--s);font-size:2rem;font-style:normal;font-weight:500\">Try a free online lesson with EC Live<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ec-white-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-5081f987feb7085cdbac893ff4496027\" style=\"font-size:1.13rem\">Live online English classes for continuous learning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\" style=\"margin-top:2rem\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button has-primary-dark-background-hover-color\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-primary-background-color has-background has-extra-small-font-size has-custom-font-size wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/ecenglish.com\/en\/english-courses\/learn-english-online\/?utm_campaign=17471923-blog-ec-live-cta&amp;utm_source=Blog&amp;utm_medium=Blog%20CTA&amp;utm_content=blog-ec-live-cta#free-trial-ec-live\" style=\"border-radius:200px\"><strong>try it for free<\/strong><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In this blog, we&#8217;re going to understand what collocations are, read student summaries, and of course, learn from their work!&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":12340,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_trash_the_other_posts":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23928","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-english"],"acf":{"post_subtitle":"","related_posts":""},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Student Writing: Cities and Collocations | EC English<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"See how four IELTS prep students use collocations in their writing and learn how these key word pairings can make your English sound more natural!\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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