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Table 5 Phraseological units used in IELTS task 2 based on Moon’s (1998) typology

From: Phraseological competence in IELTS academic writing task 2: phraseological units and test-takers’ perceptions and use

Types

Unit

Example

Frequency

Percentage

Anomalous collocations

Ill-formed collocations

As well

86

12.57%

Cranberry collocations

Pros and cons

9

1.31%

Defective collocations

By the time

29

4.23%

Phraseological collocations

In fact

182

26.6%

Formulae

Simple formulae

On the other hand

329

48.09%

Sayings

Kill two birds with one stone

1

0.14%

Proverbs

A picture is worth a thousand words

1

0.14%

Similes

-

-

-

Metaphors

Transparent metaphors

In touch with

32

4.67%

Semi-transparent metaphors

Lose track of time

4

0.58%

Opaque metaphors

Silver lining

11

1.6%

Total

  

684

100%