Short answer: Sociology essays and Speaking Part 3 questions reward precise social-science words, so terms such as socialisation, stratification, social cohesion and social mobility are among the fastest ways to lift your Lexical Resource band. The 30 words below come with meanings, natural collocations and example sentences you can adapt straight into an answer.
Society, culture and social change thread through a huge range of IELTS prompts: crime and punishment, the role of the family, social media, migration, gender and the causes of inequality all draw on the same core vocabulary.
Because the themes recur so reliably, the language is learnable in advance — and a candidate who reaches for stratification, marginalise and social cohesion instead of "rich and poor", "leave out" and "people getting along" reads immediately as a higher-band writer.
This guide gives you 30 genuine Band 7+ sociology words, each with the collocation that makes it usable and an example sentence in an essay-style context.
Why topic vocabulary lifts your Lexical Resource band
In both Writing and Speaking, Lexical Resource is one of four marking criteria, each carrying equal weight — so it accounts for a full quarter of your mark on those papers.
The public band descriptors are explicit that reaching Band 7 requires "a sufficient range of vocabulary to allow some flexibility and precision" and the use of "less common lexical items… with some awareness of style and collocation", as set out in the official IELTS Writing Task 2 band descriptors.
Preparing topic vocabulary in advance is the most efficient way to reach that standard, because a predictable subject lets you plan precise language rather than improvise under pressure.
The honest caveat is that the descriptors reward accurate use, not decoration. A less common word dropped into the wrong collocation ("make a discrimination", "a big inequality of the society") reads as reach without control and can pull your band down rather than up.
That is why every entry below is paired with its natural partners — the collocation is the unit to learn. For a structured month of building this kind of active, in-context vocabulary across topics, follow our 30-day vocabulary plan.
30 Band 7+ sociology words
Read down the table for the meaning, then across to the collocation and example — the example shows the word doing the job it would do in a real answer.
| Word | Meaning | Collocation / common usage | Example sentence |
|---|---|---|---|
| socialisation | the lifelong process through which people learn the norms and values of their society | primary socialisation, agent of socialisation | The family remains the most important agent of primary socialisation for young children. |
| norm | a shared, often unwritten rule about how members of a group should behave | social norms, cultural norms | Social norms around punctuality vary widely from one culture to another. |
| stratification | the division of society into hierarchical layers of wealth, status or power | social stratification, class stratification | Sociologists study social stratification to understand how advantage is passed between generations. |
| cohesion | the sense of unity and shared belonging that holds a society together | social cohesion, community cohesion | High levels of inequality can weaken the social cohesion of a community. |
| demographic | relating to the statistical characteristics of a population such as age or income | demographic shift, demographic change | An ageing population is one of the most significant demographic shifts facing developed nations. |
| marginalise | to push an individual or group to the powerless edge of society | marginalised communities, socially marginalised | Policies that exclude migrants from public services leave them socially marginalised. |
| assimilation | the process by which a minority group gradually adopts the culture of the majority | cultural assimilation, forced assimilation | Cultural assimilation can offer opportunities while eroding a community’s distinct traditions. |
| deviance | behaviour that breaks the accepted norms of a society | social deviance, deviant behaviour | What counts as social deviance in one era is often seen as ordinary in the next. |
| hierarchy | a system in which people or groups are ranked one above another by status | social hierarchy, rigid hierarchy | A rigid social hierarchy limits the opportunities available to those born at the bottom. |
| inequality | an unequal distribution of resources, opportunities or rights | social inequality, income inequality | Widening income inequality has become a central concern in political debate. |
| mobility | the movement of individuals between social positions or classes | social mobility, upward mobility | Education is often presented as the main engine of upward social mobility. |
| patriarchy | a social system in which men hold most of the power and authority | patriarchal society, challenge patriarchy | Feminist scholars argue that patriarchy shapes institutions far beyond the family. |
| conformity | behaviour that follows the expectations of a group | social conformity, pressure to conform | The experiment revealed how strong the pressure to conform to a group can be. |
| institution | an established structure, such as the family or education, that organises social life | social institution, institution of marriage | The family is the social institution through which values are first transmitted. |
| ethnicity | belonging to a group defined by shared cultural heritage or ancestry | ethnic identity, ethnic minority | Members of an ethnic minority may face barriers that the majority never encounters. |
| kinship | the network of relationships based on family and descent | kinship ties, kinship networks | In many rural societies, kinship ties determine access to land and support. |
| subculture | a distinct cultural group existing within a larger society | youth subculture, distinct subculture | Music has often been at the heart of youth subcultures across the decades. |
| secularisation | the declining influence of religion over public and social life | secularisation of society | The secularisation of society has changed the role that religious festivals play. |
| alienation | a sense of isolation and estrangement from society or work | social alienation, feelings of alienation | Repetitive factory work was said to produce a deep sense of alienation among workers. |
| solidarity | unity and mutual support based on shared interests or feeling | social solidarity, a sense of solidarity | Trade unions were founded on a sense of solidarity among workers. |
| bureaucracy | a system of administration run by officials following fixed rules and hierarchy | state bureaucracy, layers of bureaucracy | Applicants often struggle with the layers of bureaucracy that govern welfare claims. |
| meritocracy | a society in which status is earned through ability and effort rather than birth | a meritocracy, meritocratic ideal | Critics question whether any society is truly a meritocracy when wealth is inherited. |
| cohort | a group of people who share a characteristic, usually age, and are studied over time | a birth cohort, an age cohort | Researchers followed a single birth cohort for forty years to track social change. |
| status | a person’s rank or position within a social group | social status, ascribed status | In some cultures, social status is ascribed at birth rather than achieved. |
| prejudice | a preconceived, usually hostile opinion not based on reason or experience | racial prejudice, deep-seated prejudice | Contact between groups can gradually break down deep-seated prejudice. |
| discrimination | the unjust treatment of people on the grounds of a group they belong to | racial discrimination, gender discrimination | Legislation was introduced to outlaw discrimination in the workplace. |
| integration | the process of bringing separate groups into society as equal participants | social integration, integration of migrants | Successful integration of migrants depends on access to work and language support. |
| stigma | a mark of social disgrace attached to a person or condition | social stigma, attach a stigma | The stigma attached to mental illness discourages many people from seeking help. |
| collectivism | a value system that gives priority to the group over the individual | collectivist culture, collectivism versus individualism | Sociologists contrast the collectivism of some societies with Western individualism. |
| consensus | general agreement among the members of a group or society | social consensus, reach a consensus | A broad social consensus on the value of education makes reform easier to pursue. |
How to turn these words into marks
Learn each word inside its collocation, not on its own: memorising "stratification" alone does little, but "social stratification" gives you a ready-made phrase you can place in an essay without a grammar risk.
Meet the words again in real reading so the partnerships become intuitive, then use them — that recognise-then-produce loop is what turns a list into active vocabulary.
Practise them in context with our sociology reading practice, which generates Cambridge-style passages on this exact theme, and build a daily habit with the IELTSbiz Word Coach, which gives you a word a day with practice in using it.
Keep accuracy ahead of ambition and your Lexical Resource band will follow.