IELTS Writing Task 1
TRENDS
Jamshid Safarov
IELTS
Writing Task
1
1
Vocabulary for Introduction
Starting
Presentation Type
Verb
Description
The/ the given /
diagram / table /
shows / represents /
the comparison of…
the supplied / the
figure / illustration /
depicts /
the differences…
presented / the
graph / chart / flow
enumerates /
the changes...
shown / the
chart / picture/
illustrates /
the number of…
provided
presentation/ pie
presents/ gives /
information on…
chart / bar graph/
provides /
data on…
column graph / line
delineates/ outlines/
the proportion of…
graph / table data/
describes /
the amount of…
data / information /
delineates/
information on...
pictorial/ process
expresses/ denotes/
data about...
diagram/ map/ pie
compares/ shows
comparative data...
chart and table/ bar
contrast / indicates /
the trend of...
graph and pie chart
figures / gives data
the percentages of...
...
on / gives
the ratio of...
information on/
how the...
presents information
about/ shows data
about/
demonstrates/
sketch out/
summarises...
Just after you finish writing your 'Introduction' (i.e. General Statement + General
overview/ trend), you are expected to start a new paragraph to describe the main
features of the diagrams. This second paragraph is called the 'Body Paragraph /
Report Body". You can have a single body paragraph/ report body or up to 3,
(not more than 3 in any case) depending on the number of graphs provided in the
question and the type of these graphs. There are certain phrases you can use to
start your body paragraph and following is a list of such phrases ---
2
Sample
usage
1. As is presented in the diagram(s)/ graph(s)/ pie chart(s)/
table...
2. As (is) shown in the illustration...
3. As can be seen in the...
4. As the diagrams suggest...
5. According to the...
6. Categorically speaking...
7. Getting back to the details...
8. Now, turning to the details...
9. The table data clearly shows that...
10. The diagram reveals that...
11. The data suggest that...
12. The graph gives the figure...
13. It is interesting to note that...
14. It is apparently seen that...
15. It is conspicuous that...
16. It is explicitly observed that...
17. It is obvious...
18. It is clear from the data...
19. It is worth noticing that...
20. It is crystal clear/ lucid that...
21. It can be clearly observed that...
22. It could be plainly viewed that...
23. It could be noticed that...
24. We can see that...
3
Words to describe Changes
Vocabulary to show the changes:
Trends
Verb form
Increase
rise / increase / go a rise / an
up / uplift /
Noun Form
increase / an
rocket(ed) / climb / upward trend /
upsurge / soar/
a growth / a
shot up/ improve/
leap / a jump
jump/ leap/ move
an
upward/
improvement/ a
skyrocket/ soar/
climb.
surge.
Decrease
fall / decrease /
a fall / a
decline / plummet decrease / a
/ plunge / drop /
reduction / a
reduce / collapse / downward
deterioriate/ dip /
trends
dive / go down /
/a downward
take a nosedive /
tendency / a
slum / slide / go
decline/
into free-fall.
drop / a slide /
a
a collapse / a
downfall.
Steadiness
unchanged / level a steadiness/
out / remain
a plateau / a
constant / remain
stability/ a
steady / plateau /
static
remain the same /
remain stable /
remain static
Gradual
increase
an upward
------------
trend / an
upward
tendency / a
ceiling trend
Gradual
decrease
a downward
------------
trend / a
downward
tendency / a
descending
trend
Standability/
level(ed) off /
Flat
remain(ed)
No change, a
constant /
flat, a plateau
remain(ed)
unchanged /
remain(ed) stable
/ prevail(ed)
consistency /
plateaued /
reach(ed) a
plateau / stay(ed)
uniform
/immutable /
level(ed) out/
stabilise/
remain(ed) the
same.
Examples:
1. The overall sale of the company increased by 20% at
the end of the year.
2. The expenditure of the office remained constant for the
last 6 months but the profit rose by almost 25%.
3. There was a 15% drop in the ratio of student
enrollment in this University.
4. The population of the country remained almost the
same as it was 2 years ago.
5. The population of these two cities increase significantly
in the last two decades and it is expected that it will remain
stable during the next 5 years.
4
Vocabulary to represent changes in
graphs:
Type of
Adverb form Adjective
Change
form
Rapid
dramatically / dramatic /
change
rapidly /
rapid / sharp
sharply /
/ quick /
quickly /
hurried /
hurriedly /
speedy /
speedily /
swift /
swiftly /
significant /
significantly/
considerable
considerably
/ substantial
/
/ noticable.
substantioally
/ noticably.
Moderate moderately /
moderate /
change
gradual /
gradually /
progressively progressive
/
/ sequential.
sequentially.
Steady
steadily/
steady/
change
ceaselessly.
ceaseless.
Slight
slightly / slowly slight / slow /
change
/ mildly /
tediously.
mild / tedious.
Example:
1. The economic inflation of the country increased sharply
by 20% in 2008.
2. There was a sharp drop in the industrial production in
the year 2009.
3. The demand for new houses dramatically increased in
2002.
4. The population of the country dramatically increased in
the last decade.
5. The price of the oil moderately increased during the
last quarter but as a consequence, the price of daily
necessity rapidly went up.
5
Vocabulary to represent frequent
changes in graphs:
Type of
Verb form
Noun form
Change
Rapid wave /
waves /
ups
fluctuate / fluctuations /
and
oscillate /
downs vacillate /
palpitate
oscillations /
vacillations
/ palpitations
Example:
1. The price of the goods fluctuated during the first
three months in 2017.
2. The graph shows the oscillations of the price
from 1998 to 2002.
3. The passenger number in this station oscillates
throughout the day and in early morning and
evening, it remains busy.
4. The changes of car production in Japan shows a
palpitation for the second quarter of the year.
5. The number of students in debate clubs
fluctuated in different months of the year and rapid
ups and downs could be observed in the last three
months of this year.
Tips:
1. 4. DO NOT try to present every single data
presented in a graph. Rather pick 5-7 most
significant and important trends/ changes and show
their comparisons and contrasts.
2. The question asks you to write a report and
summarise the data presented in graphs(s). This is
why you need to show the comparisons, contrasts,
show the highest and lowest points and most striking
features in your answer, not every piece of data
presented in the diagram(s).
6
Types of Changes/ Differences and
Vocabulary to present them:
Great change / Huge difference:
Adjectives
Adverbs
Overwhelming
Overwhelmingly
Substantial
Substantially
Enormous
Enormously
Big change / Big difference:
Adjectives
Adverbs
Significant
Significantly
Considerable
Considerably
Medium change / Moderate difference:
Adjectives
Adverbs
Somewhat
Somewhat
Moderate
Moderately
Minor change / Small difference:
Adjectives
Adverbs
Fractional
Fractionally
Marginal
Marginally
Slight
Slightly
Dates, Months & Years related vocabulary and grammar:
» From 1990 to 2000, Commencing from 1980, Between
1995 and 2005, After 2012.
» By 1995, In 1998, In February, Over the period, During
the period, During 2011.
» In the first half of the year, For the first quarter, The last
quarter of the year, During the first decade.
» In the 80s, In the 1980s, During the next 6 months, In
the mid-70s, Next 10 years, Previous year, Next year,
Between 1980 - 1990.
» Within a time span of ten years, within five years.
» Next month, Next quarter, Next year, Previous month,
Previous year.
» Since, Then, From.
7
Percentage, Portion and Numbers:
Percentages:
10% increase, 25 percent decrease, increased by 15%,
dropped by 10 per cent, fall at 50%, reached to 75%,
tripled, doubled, one-fourth, three-quarters, half, double
fold, treble, 5 times higher, 3 timers lower, declined to
about 49%, stood exactly at 43%.
Fractions:
4% = A tiny fraction.
24% = Almost a quarter.
25% Exactly a quarter.
26% = Roughly one quarter.
32% Nearly one-third, nearly a third.
49% = Around a half, just under a half.
50% Exactly a half.
51% = Just over a half.
73% = Nearly three quarters.
77% = Approximately three quarter, more than threequarter.
79% = Well over three quarters.
Proportions:
2% = A tiny portion, a very small proportion.
4% = An insignificant minority, an insignificant proportion.
16% = A small minority, a small portion.
70% = A large proportion.
72% = A significant majority, A significant proportion.89%
= A very large proportion.
89% = A very large proportion.
8
Words/ Phrases of
Approximation Vocabulary:
» Approximately
» Nearly
» Roughly
» Almost
» About
» Around
» More or less
» Just over
» Just under
» Just around
» Just about
» Just below
» A little more than
» A little less than.
!!!
Using the word ‘Number’
Did you know that the word ‘ Number’ can be used as a
verb as well as a noun?
•
number – present verb
•
numbered – past verb
•
•
the number of – noun
outnumber – verb
Examples sentences:
1. Cars produced in Japan number around 9 million units
at present
2. Car production in Japan numbered around 9 million
units last year
3. Coal exports in The USA outnumbered steel exports
throughout the whole period.
4. In September 2017, the total number of EU migrants
to the UK was just under 100,000.
5. The number of cars produced in Japan last year stood
at around 9 million, outnumbering the USA (7 million).
For ‘people’ we also use the word ‘number of’ as ‘people’
is a countable noun.
•
The number of + countable noun
‘The number of people living in London has risen to
around 10 million since 1970’
•
When comparing things or people you can also use
the word outnumber
‘The number of users on Facebook last year reached
around 2 billion, outnumbering Twitter which stood at 1.5
billion users.’
Note: A good way of paraphrasing ‘the number of ‘ is to
use ‘the proportion of..’ so I can also write:
‘The proportion of users on Facebook last year reached
around 2 billion, outnumbering Twitter which stood at 1.5
billion users.’
Using Comprised /
accounted for
To get a good score in vocabulary you need to vary your
language. Here are 2 examples:
‘Energy production in France comprised 6% hydro power
and 24% nuclear power in 2010′
‘In 2010, hydro power and Nuclear power accounted
for 6% and 24% of Energy production in France
respectively
Using the
word ‘Total’
•
totaled – past verb
•
in total – noun phrase
•
the total number /amount of – noun
1. The number of cars produced in Japan totaled around
9 million last year
2. The total number of cars produced in Japan last year
stood at around 9 million, outnumbering the USA (7
million).
3. In total, 300,000 iPhones were manufactured in the last
quarter of 2016
4. The total amount of electricity produced in the first half
of 2016 was around 2 million kilowatts
Using the word
‘Amount’
•
The amount of + uncountable noun
1. The amount of electricity produced in Canada from
Hydroelectric power has risen sharply since 2012
2. The amount of coal used in Australia doubled
throughout the whole period.
2. Car production in The USA amounted to around
250,000 vehicles in the first half of 2015.
Sometimes you can use the word ‘amounted to’ (past
tense) or ‘amounts to’ (present tense) This is a synonym
for ‘in total’ .
The cost of repairs amount to $700 (present) / The cost
of repairs amounted to $700 (past)
Using the
word ‘Figure’
This is useful if you want to reduce repetition in your
writing instead of constantly using ‘ the number of’ or ‘the
proportion of’
•
uncountable nouns: the figure for unemployment.
•
countable nouns: the figure for people
•
countries: the figure for the USA.
•
percentages: the figure for…… rose by 10%.
1. The figure for people entering University reached a
peak by 2014
2. The figure for CO2 emissions in The UK dipped slightly
by the end of the 30 year period.
3. The population figures for India rose by 12% over the
two decades.
4. The figure for unemployment dropped to 5% in 2015.
Using the
word ‘Period’
This is a good way to paraphrase a date range especially
in the overview where it is best to avoid numbers or details
, so rather than writing for instance, ‘from 2000 to
2010’ you can write:
•
‘in a ten year period’
•
‘throughout the ten year period’
•
‘throughout the whole period.’
In a graph with a time period, If I want to talk about the first
year I can write ‘at the start of the period’and for the last
year I can write ‘at the end of the period’
Practice
Here are 2 charts from BBC news stories about migration
from the UK and people arriving and leaving before and
after Brexit. (Note that this is for practice purposes only
and not official Cambridge IELTS material. Source: BBC
and ONS)
To see the News story click here for the link to the BBC,
this is worth reading as there is some useful IELTS
academic task 1 vocabulary that you could make notes on.
Try the exercise below and then check your answers. Note
that the grammar will need to be in the past tense here.
Use these words:
The proportion of / The figure for / outnumbered /
the whole 10 year period
amounted to / The number of / numbered
1. EU migrants ___________ around 90,000 in December
2012 and rose steadily until June 2016.
2. _______________ EU migrants rose steadily from
December 2012 to June 2016.
3. _______________ non EU
migrants _____________ slightly over 200,000 by
September 2017.
4. Non EU migrants ___________ EU migrants throughout
the ____________________
5. __________________ non EU migrants in December
2007 amounted to 200,000.
Show Answers
Use these words:
numbered / The figures for / outnumbered / the
figures
The number of / The proportion of / amounted to
1. ______________ EU citizens who arrived in the UK 12
months after Brexit ___________ approximately 240,000.
2. ______________ Non EU citizens that arrived in the
UK a year prior to Brexit, ______________those for the
period 12 months after Brexit.
3. EU citizens who left the UK in the 12 months following
the vote _____________ 123,000.
4. _______________ people leaving the UK before and
after Brexit were almost equal.
5. Overall, more people arrived in the UK prior to Brexit
compared to the year after the vote, according
to ___________