IELTS WRITING TASK 1
CHART
I.
MATCH THE DIAGRAMS WITH THEIR NAMES.
Table
II.
Bar Chart
Pie Chart
UNDERSTANDING THE CHART
Exercise 1: Look at the chart and answer the question
Line Graph
1 What is the chart about?
_ The chart is about the reasons why international visitors visit
New Zealand.
2 Why do people visit New Zealand?
_ The people visit New Zealand for holiday, visiting friends
and relatives, business, and other reasons.
3 What percentage of visitors go to New Zealand to see
friends and families?
_ 29%
4 What does the number 13% mean?
_ The number 13% means the percentage of international
visitors going to New Zealand for business.
5 What does it mean “other” in the chart?
_ ‘’other’’ means other reasons.
6 In general, do people visit New Zealand for work or for
leisure?
_ In general, people visit New Zealand for leisure.
Exercise 2: Look at the chart and answer the question
1
What
is
this
chart
about?
_ The chart is about computer ownership from 2002 to 2010.
2 What was the trend of computer ownership over the years?
_
The
trend
is
increase,
rise,
growth.
3 What was the figure for computer ownership in 2002?
_ The figure for computer ownership in 2002 was 55%
4 What was the figure for computer ownership in 2010?
_ The figure for computer ownership in 2010 was 75%
5 How much is the difference between the last year and the first
year?
_ The difference between the last year and the first year is 20%.
What are the differences between the two charts?
III. DESCRIBING CHANGES IN NUMBERS
Exercise 1: Put the words in the correct column. Are they
verbs (V) or nouns (N) or both?
Decline
Decrease
Drop
Fall
Growth
Increase
Grow
Rise
UP
Grow (verb)
DOWN
Exercise 2: Write the past simple and past participle forms
of the verbs
Infinitive
Fall
Increase
Drop
Past Simple
Fell
Increased
Dropped
Past Participle
Fallen
Increased
Dropped
Decrease
Rise
Grow
Decreased
Rose
Grew
Decreased
Risen
Grown
Exercise 3: Look at the charts and fill in the blanks
Percentage growth in average property prices
in between 2007 and 2010
1 Price in Algeria decreased by __________, from __________
in 2007 to __________ in 2010.
2 Property in China increased in price by __________, from
__________ to __________.
3 Property price in Argentina __________ by __________
during the first two years, from __________ to __________.
2010
70%
Increased to 90% in 2020
2020
90%
Increased by 20% in 2020
Exercise 4: Complete these sentences with BY, FROM or TO
1 Samsung’s sales grew by nearly 200 million units throughout the
years.
2 Apple’s sales increased from less than 50 million units sold to
around 150 million.
3 Nokia’s sales dropped dramatically by nearly 200 million units,
from over 400 million to only 250 million.
Exercise 5: Complete the sentences with a preposition from the
box.
between
in
from
of
to
1 The number of graduates went up.
2 It rose from 21% to 29%.
3 It increased by about 4%.
4 Between 1992 and 1996, there was an increase.
5 There was a rise in graduate numbers during the 1990s.
IV. PHRASES TO DESCRIBE CHANGES
A/ General Structure
Trend
Verb
increase
grow
rise
decrease
decline
fall
drop
remain stable
stabilize
fluctuate
Noun
increase
growth
rise
decrease
decline
fall
drop
A stability
A fluctuation
by
peak at
reach/hit a peak
hit the highest point
hit the bottom
hit the lowest point
ADJ
Small changes
Changes in a long
period
Big changes
slight
moderate
gradual
steady
considerable
significant
dramatic
remarkable
substantial
ADV
slightly
moderately
gradually
steadily
considerably
significantly
dramatically
remarkably
substantially
B/ Exercise: Use one pair of VERB + ADVERB to describe each of the phases A-E
Phase A (85 – 87): _________________________________
Phase B (87 – 88): __________________________________
Phase C (88 – 89): __________________________________
Phase D (90 – 91): _________________________________
Phase E (91 – 92): __________________________________
VERB + ADVERB  A/AN + ADJECTIVE + NOUN
The sales of alcohol increased slightly
 There was a slight increase in the sales of alcohol.
Grow Moderately  A moderate Growth
Decrease Gradually  A Gradual Decrease
Drop Dramatically  A Dramatic Drop
Decline Steadily  A Steady Decline
Exercise 1: Fill in the blanks
1/
A. experienced a significant rise
B. the consumption of pizza
C. fluctuated
Throughout the years, the consumption of pizza saw a drastic
rise, from only 5 times eaten per year in 1975 to over 80 in 2000.
In the same fashion, hamburgers experienced a significant rise
from 10 in 1975 to over 100 in 2000. Meanwhile, fish and chips
fluctuated between 1975 and 1985, before falling dramatically to
less than 40 in 2000.
2/
A. experienced a strong fluctuation
B. increased significantly
C. suffered a sharp decline
The number of students in course A ___________ from over 4 million to over 2 million, before
growing by 2 million to approximately 4.5 million in 2004. Course B also ___________ in its
students throughout the years, ending at just below 3 million. Meanwhile, course C ___________
in its student population by 3 million, from 2 million in 2001 to 5 million in 2004.
Exercise 2: Rewrite these sentences using noun phrases.
1 The number of female graduates fell substantially between 1990 and 2000.
_____________________________________________________________________________
2 At convenience stores, the purchase of coffee rose slightly.
____________________________________________________________________________
3 Throughout the period, banana imports from Mexico rose gradually.
______________________________________________________________________________