The most common words band 6 students stick to when talking about their studies are: bad, good, big, small, boring, interesting, nice, and beautiful etc. Read 39 more alternatives below:
| Band 6 Word (basic) | ✨ Band 7 Alternative (precise/natural) | Example Sentence |
|---|---|---|
| good (place) | pleasant / lively / vibrant / decent / peaceful / chilled | It’s a pleasant town to live in, and the atmosphere is pretty chilled. |
| bad (place) | polluted / noisy / run-down / overcrowded | The city centre is a bit polluted and overcrowded these days, and some areas are a bit run-down. |
| big | massive / pretty large / fairly large | It’s a massive city, so getting from one side to the other takes ages. |
| small | tiny / fairly small / pretty small / quaint | It’s a tiny, quaint town, and most people know each other — it feels very close-knit. |
| interesting | pretty interesting / quite lively / has a lot going on / buzzing | My hometown is quite lively, especially around the market area. |
| boring | dull / uneventful / nothing much going on | It’s a bit uneventful, to be honest — not much goes on after dark. |
| nice (people) | friendly / welcoming / warm / easy-going | The people are really warm and welcoming, and everyone’s also pretty easy-going. |
| bad (transport) | inconvenient / unreliable / limited | Public transport is pretty unreliable, so most people use cars instead. |
| good (transport) | convenient / handy / efficient / reliable | The train system is really handy and reliable for getting around. |
| beautiful | picturesque / scenic / charming / attractive | It’s a very picturesque town with mountains all around it. |
Note: Use adverbs like ‘pretty‘, ‘fairly‘ & ‘super‘ before adjectives to sound more natural and precise. E.g. It’s a pretty small city/ It’s fairly boring here/ It’s a super interesting place.
Also consider what kind of place it is. Is it agricultural, coastal, economic, or industrial? Check out the words below and see if any of them describe where you live.
🌍 Words to Describe Different Kinds of Cities
| Category | ✨ Useful Words (Band 7+) | Example Sentence |
|---|---|---|
| Location-based | coastal / inland / mountainous / riverside / rural / urban / suburban | It’s a small coastal city, so obviously it’s got loads of beaches. |
| Economic-based | industrial / commercial / financial hub / trade centre / port city / economic powerhouse | Shanghai is a major financial hub in Asia as well as being a massive port city. |
| Agriculture-based | agricultural / farming / rural | It’s mainly an agricultural town, so most people work on farms. |
| Tourism-based | touristy / picturesque / historic / cultural hotspot | Prague is a massive cultural hotspot, and it’s full of historic buildings. |
| Modern/Developed | cosmopolitan / metropolitan / urbanised / developed / high-tech | Seoul is a super cosmopolitan city. |
| Undeveloped | underdeveloped / developing / deprived / run-down | It’s still a developing city, so the infrastructure isn’t very reliable. |
| Size-based | sprawling / vast / compact / densely populated / overcrowded / tiny | Tokyo is sprawling and densely populated. |
| Atmosphere-based | lively / vibrant / buzzing / hectic / peaceful / laid-back / sleepy | It’s a laid-back, sleepy town where not much happens. |
| Function-based | administrative / political / cultural / educational (university town) | Oxford is a well-known university town. |
Practice Exercise 1: Identify the place!
Task: Figure out which place is being described and match them!
1) lively, metropolitan, financial hub, Densely-populated, Port city
2) historic, Cultural, Political, touristy, Developed
3) decent-sized, Sprawling, laid-back, mountainous, picturesque, Inland
4) massive, modern, coastal, some run-down areas, Riverside
Practice Exercise 2: Describe!
Task: Use the vocabulary to describe the following places:
Possible Answers
- Ubud, Indonesia – a picturesque and cultural hotspot, fairly small but lively and touristy, surrounded by agricultural landscapes and rice terraces.
- Bergen, Norway – a coastal and mountainous port city, picturesque with colourful houses, peaceful yet buzzing with cultural life.
- Cusco, Peru – a historic and touristy town, fairly large but quaint in parts, an important cultural and administrative centre with a vibrant atmosphere.
- Bodrum, Turkey – a coastal and touristy town, pleasant and buzzing in summer, picturesque harbours, and a lively nightlife.
- New York, USA – a cosmopolitan and metropolitan financial hub, sprawling and densely populated, vibrant and hectic with a lot going on.
- Cobh, Ireland – a coastal picturesque town, fairly small and quaint, friendly and welcoming, with a peaceful harbour vibe.
- Antalya, Turkey – a coastal and touristy commercial hub, sprawling and pretty large, buzzing with visitors yet scenic and charming.
- Buenos Aires, Argentina – a cosmopolitan cultural hotspot, massive and vibrant, buzzing with energy, a political and economic powerhouse.
- Hoi An, Vietnam – a historic riverside town, quaint and picturesque, pretty lively yet laid-back, with cultural charm and scenic streets.
Practice Exercise 3:
Task: Describe your hometown and/or where you currently live. Bonus: Describe a city that you’d love to live in.
