Positive words to describe yourself in any situation. Words to describe yourself in an interview. Words to describe yourself on a resume….Words to Describe Yourself in an Interview.
Resourceful | Focused | Reliable |
---|---|---|
Motivated | Methodical | Proactive |
Insightful | Disciplined | Organized |
Results-oriented | Energetic | Ambitious |
What do you write in a short professional bio?
How to write a short bio
- Introduce yourself.
- State your company or brand name.
- Explain your professional role.
- Include professional achievements.
- Discuss your passions and values.
- Mention your personal interests.
How would you describe yourself in three words?
Creative, flexible, and adventurous are three words I’d use to describe myself. My creativity helps me think of new things to make along with finding out-of-the-ordinary solutions to complex problems. I often go with the flow when a situation is out of my control, making me a rather flexible person.
How can I describe a girl in one word?
Affable – She has many friends and is a pleasure to be around. Ambitious – She has a personality that revolves around her goals and improving her situation. Captivating – She is a delightful person; you can’t take your eyes off her. Confident – She trusts her own abilities and knows that she has value.
How do you write a short autobiography?
How to Write a Short Formal Autobiography
- Identify the Audience. Identify the objective of your autobiography and its target demographic.
- Tell Your Story.
- Describe our Credentials.
- Mention Your Future Goals.
- Get a Sense Check.
How long is a short autobiography?
2,000 to 5,000 words
What is an autobiographical sketch for graduate school?
A graduate school personal statement or autobiographical essay represents a graduate school’s first qualitative introduction to the way you think and to the way you express yourself. The personal statement must serve as a reflection of your personality and intellect.
What is autobiographical sketch?
When a person writes the story of his or her life, it’s called an autobiography. A sketch is a short scene that describes only the key details. So if you write an autobiographical sketch you describe one “scene,” or event, in your life.
How do you introduce yourself as a writer?
Here are five steps to do it:
- State your name and your craft. “Hi, I’m Marianne, and I’m a children’s book writer and illustrator.”
- Tell people about your current audience.
- Add a thought or two on how you hope to grow in your chosen area.
- Stifle the critic in your head.
- Revel in it.
How long is an autobiographical essay?
Generally, an autobiography essay outline follows the common framework of any essay, meaning a five-paragraph paper. It shouldn’t be very long; however, you may change the standard outline according to your needs.
What are some strong adjectives?
Examples
Base Adjectives | Strong Adjectives |
---|---|
beautiful | gorgeous |
ugly | awful |
dirty | filthy |
good | superb, great, fantastic |
What are some descriptive words?
These are some other descriptive words you might find fun:
- Beautiful.
- Ugly.
- Smart.
- Clever.
- Gorgeous.
- Friendly.
- Happy.
- Sad.
What to say in introducing yourself?
How to write an introduction about yourself
- Summarize your professional standing. The first sentence of your self-introduction should include your name and job title or experience.
- Elaborate on your experiences and achievements.
- Conclude with a lead-in to the next part of the conversation.
How do you write an autobiographical sketch?
Here are a few things to do next:
- Always write your autobiography in the first person;
- Use details to describe the background and setting of your story by making it very detailed;
- Do not make it too broad;
- Do not start your essay with a quote, unless it is significant for your story;
- Start with something intriguing;
How do you describe a good writer?
An effective writer is able to distill complex thoughts and ideas into simple, clear language that’s quickly and easily understood by others. This valuable quality helps them tackle even the densest subject matter by breaking it down into uncomplicated pieces.
How do I write an autobiography of myself for school?
How to Write an Autobiography in 8 Steps
- Start by Brainstorming. The writing process begins by compiling any and all life experiences that you suspect might be compelling to a reader.
- Craft an Outline.
- Do Your Research.
- Write Your First Draft.
- Take a Break.
- Proofread.
- Write Your Next Draft.
- Refine Your Writing.
What is the creative way to introduce yourself in class?
Getting to Know You: 7 Creative Ways to Introduce Yourself to Your New Class
- 1: Mystery Bags. On the first day, introduce yourself to your new class with a mystery bag.
- 2: Truth or Lie.
- 3: Read, Run, and Write.
- 4: Toss ‘n’ Talk Ball.
- 5: Figure Me Out.
- 6: Send a Postcard.
- 7: This or That.
How do you introduce someone in English?
That’s why today we’re going to look at some natural and common ways to introduce yourself in English….How to introduce yourself in casual situations
- Morning! I don’t think we’ve met before, I’m Aryan.
- Hey there! I’m Surya.
- Hi Amy.
How do you introduce yourself without saying my name is?
Never use myself (your name) to introduce yourself it’s a wrong english. Always introduce yourself with a Smile that will make the other person comfortable. You can also say Hey Wassup, I am (your name) shake their hand with a firm grip with smile on your face.
How do you give an introduction?
These steps will help you write an effective self-introduction:
- Summarize your professional standing. The first sentence of your self-introduction should include your name and job title or experience.
- Elaborate on your experiences and achievements.
- Conclude with a lead-in to the next part of the conversation.
How do you introduce yourself in class in a creative sample?
How do you introduce yourself in one line?
Try these lines to describe yourself if questions arise where you can utilize them.
- “I can keep my cool under pressure.”
- “I don’t easily lose my temper.”
- “I’m good at multi-tasking.”
- “I enjoy meeting new people every day.”
- “I love making people’s day.”
- “I believe customers are the most important part of any business.”
What are comparative essays?
A comparative essay asks that you compare at least two (possibly more) items. These items will differ depending on the assignment. You might be asked to compare. positions on an issue (e.g., responses to midwifery in Canada and the United States) theories (e.g., capitalism and communism)
How do you write a powerful introduction?
Introductions
- Attract the Reader’s Attention. Begin your introduction with a “hook” that grabs your reader’s attention and introduces the general topic.
- State Your Focused Topic. After your “hook”, write a sentence or two about the specific focus of your paper.
- State your Thesis. Finally, include your thesis statement.
How do you introduce yourself in 10 sentences?
Hello, Here’s how you introduce yourself in English in 10 lines. You will learn this in 2 to 3 minutes….10) I enjoy listening to music.
- I enjoy listening to music.
- I enjoy eating.
- I enjoy watching television.
- I enjoy learning languages.
- I enjoy exercising.
- I enjoy reading.
How do you write a creative self introduction?
20 Creative Ways to Introduce Yourself
- “I’m shy, please come say hi.”
- A name is worth a thousand conversations.
- Highlight something that makes you unique.
- Start with a pop culture reference.
- Confess your nickname.
- Let the way you dress reflect who you are.
- Make a T-shirt.
- Make a “business” card.
What is comparing and contrasting ideas?
Compare and contrast is a rhetorical style that discusses the similarities and differences of two or more things: ideas, concepts, items, places, etc.
How do you introduce yourself in 100 words?
You can add some of your basic biodate for your point in your introduction in 100 words. For example, your name, your age, the date of birth, your favorite color etc. So, in yhat way you can introduce yourself in 100 words. Highlight only those events that impacted your life.
How do you introduce someone to the audience?
Tips for Introducing a Guest Speaker
- Remind the audience why the topic is important to them.
- Establish the speaker’s qualifications to speak on the topic.
- Get the presentation off on a high note by establishing an up-beat tone.
- Make the speaker feel especially welcome.
How do you compare and contrast multiple topics?
Begin by saying everything you have to say about the first subject you are discussing, then move on and make all the points you want to make about the second subject (and after that, the third, and so on, if you’re comparing/contrasting more than two things).
What are three things to compare and contrast?
How to Write a Compare and Contrast Essay
- Events (point to the differences and similarities of some historical events or episodes from the book)
- Situations (choose to compare two different cases or episodes from your life)
- People or fiction characters (choose the story)
- Places (describe different locations)
How do you compare two essays?
Writing a comparative essay
- Read the topic carefully. Make sure that you understand exactly what the topic is asking you to do.
- Give roughly equal weight to each text.
- Choose your preferred structure.
- Focus on differences as well as similarities.
- Use linking words and phrases.
- Explore a range of elements.
How do you introduce a name?
Introduce Your Name
- My name is …/ I’m …
- My full/ first/ last name is …
- You can call me …/ They call me …/ Please call me …/ Everyone calls me …
- My nickname is …
How do I write an essay introduction?
Key elements of an introduction
- Provide some background information and context.
- Limit the scope of your discussion.
- State your position / contention.
- Outline the structure or main supporting points of your essay.
How do you write a compare and contrast essay example?
How to Write a Compare and Contrast Essay
- Begin by Brainstorming With a Venn Diagram. The best compare and contrast essays demonstrate a high level of analysis.
- Develop a Thesis Statement.
- Create an Outline.
- Write the Introduction.
- Write the First Body Paragraph.
- Repeat the Process for the Next Paragraphs.
- Write the Conclusion.
- Proofread.
How long is a short essay in high school?
A short essay should be of approximately 400-500 words and 1 page to 2 pages. The page no. depends on the spacing between the lines. The essay needs to answer the question or, you can say the topic assigned to you.
How do you protect yourself as a writer?
Safety First! 4 Ways to Protect Yourself as a Freelance Writer
- Do business via websites meant for freelancers.
- Use a virtual private network.
- Keep your information safe.
- Use plagiarism technology to your advantage.
What is a good introduction for an essay?
When writing an introduction, you should typically use a ‘general to specific’ structure. That is, introduce the particular problem or topic the essay will address in a general sense to provide context, before narrowing down to your particular position and line of argument.
How do you introduce a writer?
How To Introduce an Author
- Find Out Who the Author Is. Get your details straight. Look up the pronunciation of their name, even if you think you know it.
- Weed Out Unnecessary/Unimpressive Details. So you’ve printed out the author’s Wikipedia entry. Don’t include the fact that they teach creative writing part-time at Eastern Nevada State.
What is a good essay length?
In the simplest terms, your college essay should be pretty close to, but not exceeding, the word limit in length. Think within 50 words as the lower bound, with the word limit as the upper bound. So for a 500-word limit essay, try to get to somewhere between 450-500 words.
How do you introduce yourself in 2 minutes?
5 useful tips on how to introduce yourself in 2 minutes
- Be simple. Sounds easy, but the simplest things are often the hardest.
- Be relevant. Your speech should be structured.
- Be confident. Show your originality by explaining why you are both unique and reliable.
- Be ready to convince. Be confident and convincing about what you’re saying.
- Smile. Yes, do not forget to smile!
How do you introduce yourself in unique way?
How do you see your self?
6 Steps to Discover Your True Self
- Be quiet. You cannot and will not be able to know yourself until you take the time to be still.
- Realize who you truly are, not who you want to be.
- Find what you are good at (and not good at).
- Find what you are passionate about.
- Ask for feedback.
- Assess your relationships.
How do writers describe themselves?
I would say that I am a very personalized writer. I like to put a lot of my emotions, experiences, and opinions into what I write. I like being able to make my writing something other people can connect to, or relate to in some way by generalizing the thoughts and experiences I’m writing about.
How would you define yourself in one sentence?
How to answer, “How would you describe yourself?”
- I am passionate about my work.
- I am ambitious and driven.
- I am highly organised.
- I’m a people person.
- I’m a natural leader.
- I am results oriented.
- I am an excellent communicator.
How do I introduce myself professionally?
Introduce yourself in a professional way In the reception area, introduce yourself. Hi, I’m Jill Jackson. I’m here for my 10:30 interview with Jane Smith. When you meet the person who’ll be interviewing you, extend a hand, say hello, and introduce yourself again.
What does a 500 word essay look like?
Answer: 500 words is 1 page single spaced or 2 pages double spaced.
Is a 500 word essay a lot?
Even though 500 words is a very typical size for a lot of essays and blogs, there are many occasions where you may need more or less than that specific word count. The most typical word counts we see in content marketing include 300 words, 500 words, 1000 words, 2000 words and 2500 words.
What is the best answer to describe yourself in one word?
Sample answer To describe myself in one word, I’m a very ambitious person. I take up all learning opportunities that enhance my skills and know-how to cope up with failures. I like challenging myself to find creative solutions as quickly as possible and resolve any issues at hand.
How many pages is a high school essay?
For high school papers, usually teachers want normal essays or research papers to be between 3-5 pages, and they expect more like 5-7 pages for final papers. In middle school or junior high school, normal papers will probably be 1-2 pages in length and final paper 2-4.
Hello friends how are you? Today you will read something which can help your writing skills in a great way. The topic for today’s blog is what descriptive writing is? This blog will help all the students who are writers and want to excel more in writing. You all have a basic idea regarding descriptive writing. In this blog, you will get detailed information regarding descriptive writing.
This bog will help those students who opt for taking assignment help when they get essay writing work. In short, your next five to ten minutes going to be the informative one.
Let’s have
a look at the topics which we will discuss in today’s blog:
- What is Descriptive Writing?
- The purpose of descriptive
writing - Descriptive Writing
Techniques - Descriptive Writing Examples
- Types of Descriptive
Writing - Features of Descriptive
Writing - Tips for good descriptive
writing work
So let’s
begin the reading of this blog
We can define descriptive writing as
a type of writing that gives a clear and concise description of everything. It
includes places, people, object or an event. The primary objective of
descriptive writing is to provide a clear picture of the place, people or thing
in reader’s mind. The writer provides enough details to evoke the senses. A
reader can feel all their senses working while reading any descriptive writing
work.
Descriptive writing is used to draw
vivid details in the reader’s mind. The reader will use sensory details when
he/she reads the text. He can feel the environment of the text through senses
like seeing, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. This form of writing will help
the readers to go into a world of the writer. You can find descriptive writing
in almost all forms of writing styles. These styles include a journal, travel
writing, biographies, poetry, diary writing, nature writing, memoirs, etc.
The purpose of descriptive writing
Being a
student you want to understand and know the reason why one must use descriptive
writing. For every student, the end purpose of writing a descriptive work is
the same, which is to describe. You need to give a perfect description of the
topic which you are describing. Your description should be so realistic that
reader can feel it.
Let’s see
first the purposes of descriptive writing for students:
- It helps
in writing paragraphs and essays in a detailed and structured manner. You will
learn how to describe various small and large things. It helps you to maintain
balance, and you get the idea what should you need to elaborate and what is
not. - Descriptive
writing helps in holding the reader for your writing work. By this I mean your
reader will stay attracted towards your text. It will keep your reader engaged
in your work. An engaging work would be the best compliment for any writer. So
if you want to see yourself as an excellent writer, enhance your skills of
descriptive writing.
- Are you the one who lacks the
vocabulary, or feel difficulty in writing because of a shortage of new
words. It’s time to practice descriptive writing. Why I am saying this
because, it will help you in finding new words and enhances your
vocabulary, when you get the task to write more and more, you will look
out on the internet for various new words. This automatically enhances
your knowledge regarding the new words. - Descriptive writing is a great
way if you want to clarify any topic or any subject. It describes
everything. You will see that you have to describe minute details as well
as other details in an elaborative manner. So more the description, better
clarity it will make. - With the help of descriptive
writing, you will learn how to present sensory details. The presentation
of sensory details will help in conveying the main idea. For those who are
planning to be a novelist or a writer, descriptive writing is gold for
them.
Descriptive Writing Techniques
As I have told you the definition of
descriptive writing, it should contain all sensory details. Your writing should
evoke sight, taste, sound, smell, and touch. Evoking these senses is not as
easy as it looks. You have to gain mastery over the descriptive form of
writing. Only then you can make your writing work an excellent one. Below I am
going to tell you some tips to enhance your descriptive writing skills.
Select a Right Topic
The
first and most important thing is to choose the right topic. Before writing
anything, choose topic aright. You should be able to write on your selected
topic. You must be able to provide a precise description of your topic to the
reader. Your topic should have enough details to convince and involve the
reader. Your topic should be able to make a picture in the reader’s mind.
Use Descriptive Words
As
it is descriptive writing, so words should also be descriptive. If your words
are descriptive only then it will help you in a precise description. Use words
which can provide sensory details more clearly.
Organize all the details in a Chronological Order
When
you are writing a descriptive article, structure everything logically and in
correct order. Your details should not be erratic. Otherwise, it will reduce
the readability and reader will not stay connected.
Use Figurative Language
Whenever
you are writing a descriptive essay or paragraphs, use figurative languages
like simile and metaphors. For example, Her smile was like sunshine.
Figurative
language will add feelings to your text and enhances the value of your work. A
reader will also find your work as a masterpiece of writing. It will help in
stimulating the interest of the readers.
Descriptive
Writing Examples
Now after talking so much about descriptive writing techniques, I think we should now see examples. Below you can see a few good examples of descriptive writing:
- The Life of Princess Diana
- Describe the Castle at Vincennes
- Describe the Beauty of Niagara Falls
- The Great Himalaya Mountain Range
- The Hot Fudge Sundae
- Description of your childhood memories
- An event that changed your life
- A trauma or happiness
These are the few examples of
writing or beginning descriptive writing. You can choose any topic of your
choice also. But keep in mind that your topic should have things which you can
fluently describe and evoke some kind of emotion in the reader. This will make
the writing work more impressive.
Types of Descriptive Writing
Now its time to look out for the
types of descriptive writing. These types will help you more to know in what
way you should begin descriptive writing. As I said earlier, descriptive
writing could be seen in any form of writing. Whichever writing is describing
things in a detailed manner, it is called descriptive writing.
Let’s have a look at them one by
one:
Biography
A
biography is a form of detailed work, tell you about famous people’s life. A
biography may include many surprising facts and details which you never heard.
Travel writing
This
would be the best thing one would love to experience. Being a writer, you will
love to write on travel topics. Being a reader one would love to read on travel
topics. Travel writing also allows the writer to portray skills of descriptive
writing in a great way. You have to describe the beauty and uniqueness about
the places you visit. Your words will take the readers in that place.
Nature writing
Nature
writing also describes the beauty of nature. It can be fictional or
nonfictional. You must read John Keats’s poems, or Wordsworth’s poems to learn
the art of nature writing.
Journal
Many
people form a journal. It is a daily record of events or work you do. Journals
also refer to periodicals and newspapers that are published on a daily basis.
In Journal writing work you must give details of important events to meetings
in extended form to make it informative.
Poetry
This
is a form of descriptive writing that describes feelings, emotions, and ideas.
A poem is the best form of descriptive writing when it comes to expressions.
The poem expresses the best. A poet can bring a dead person to live with
his/her writing and use of words.
Features of Descriptive Writing
Descriptive Writing form encompasses
the following features:
- Descriptive writing describes all
information in chronological order. If describing a person, start with his
appearance, nature, and background. If you are describing a place. Tell readers
about the atmosphere, environment, day and night time, etc. these small things
are very useful to make text excellent and keep readers engaging. - When we talk about ideal descriptive
writing, it should have nouns, adjectives and strong action verbs. These three
things bring life to text and only then a writer can create images in the mind
of readers. The reader will also love to read that text again and again. - Most of the forms of descriptive
writing are colorful and holds a vivid description of sensory details. These
details play a key role in forming of the image in reader’s mind. The reader
will also get escapism from daily life only through this piece of art. - Last but not least is the use of
simile, metaphor, and analogy. These things are like the final touchup to the
writing. Without them, a piece of descriptive writing will remain incomplete.
If you want to be a good descriptive writer, understand the above-mentioned features very well. I understand that learning this form of writing is not as easy as it looks. You cannot master in it overnight. It requires a lot of time and efforts to gain expertise in descriptive writing. If you have some urgent work where you need to use descriptive writing, then taking assignment help online is the best way to deal with the problem. This will surely help you out from a current difficult situation.
Tips for good descriptive writing work
So
it’s time to write a descriptive essay. You cannot start it without any
preparation or else you will fail for sure. To make your first descriptive
essay an easy one, I am going to suggest you some tips which will help you out.
Let’s look at them:
Prewriting for the Descriptive Essay
This is an important phase of writing a descriptive essay. Prewriting phase will define how you will shape your essay. In this phase, sit back and think what you are going to write, how you are going to write, and on what topic you are going to write. You need not to have a famous or popular topic, but your writing should make it famous. When you select the topic, think about the qualities you are going to describe that topic. Give your brain a boost and make a list of all the details you will describe. You will have to make great use of what, where, and when.
Drafting a Descriptive Essay
Drafting is the second most important thing in descriptive writing. Make a rough draft of the final essay which you are going to write. In that draft make an outline of your work. In the drafting, part focus on the things which will make the images in the reader’s mind. This will include the vocabulary, jargons, and emotional and psychological description. These things easily make an impression on readers mind. Also, make a list of sensory information which you want to provide in your work.
Revising a Descriptive Essay
Now write a descriptive essay based on your rough draft. After writing it, revise what you have written. Make required modification in it and reorganize it if needed. Reread your work and look out for language errors. Correct if there are any grammatical errors.
Ask questions from yourself
- Does the essay unfold in a way that helps the reader fully
appreciate the subject? Do any paragraphs confuse more than describing? - Are there enough details to give the reader a complete picture?
- Do the word choice and figurative language involve the five
senses and convey emotion and meaning? - Has a connection been made between the description and its
meaning to the writer? Will the reader be able to identify with the
conclusion made?
Whenever you write, keep the reader in
mind. Your essay should be precise in details. It should cover everything in a
detailed manner but no exaggeration. Do not exaggerate or repeat if not required.
Repetition and exaggeration create monotony and dullness in work.
Publishing a Descriptive Essay
Publishing a descriptive essay is of utmost importance. If you do not share your work to others, you will not be able to get the good and bad about your writing. Take feedback from your users in a positive manner. And improve it in the next one. Publishing will also help in spreading your views and your skills. You may get a good opportunity from somewhere.
These tips will help you to write an excellent descriptive essay. If you are still hesitant to write a one take help from the expert writers online. They have got all the skills required for a great essay. They will provide you with excellent help in the descriptive essay.
Conclusion
So moving towards the conclusion, I
would like to have a recall of the things which we have discussed in this blog.
I began this blog with the definition of descriptive writing. The second thing
which you will read is the purpose of descriptive. Here you can read the
reasons for writing a descriptive essay. How it will help you. The third thing
in this blog is writing techniques for descriptive work. In this section, I
have explained the techniques of descriptive writing. Then I have discussed
examples of the topics you can choose. The fifth part is about the types of
descriptive writing in a detailed manner. This section describes all the types
of descriptive form of writing. After that, you can see the features of
descriptive writing. The last thing of this blog is tips I have provided to
enhance the descriptive form of writing. If you follow all these things, then
you may develop great skills for descriptive writing. Please share your
feedback to help me write better in the future. Hope you like the blog. Thank
you for your stay.
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IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 – Describing Trends – Vocabulary
Introduction
Even though this lesson is specifically aimed at students taking the academic version of the IELTS exam, all students at an intermediate or advanced level will find the information beneficial, especially students that are interested in Business English.
IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 is a description task. You will be given a line graph, a bar chart, a pie chart, or a table, and you are tested on your ability to interpret the information that is presented in it and describe this in your own words.
Occasionally you will have a diagram or a flow chart and will need to describe the stages of the process or how something works. We will explain more about this in another lesson but for now we will concentrate on describing trends.
How long is IELTS Academic writing task 1?
For IELTS Academic writing task 1 you must write a minimum of 150 words and you should spend 20 minutes completing this task.
Remember, 150 words is the MINIMUM, not your objective. Aim for 170 words.
Don’t spend more than 20 minutes on this task as you will have less time to complete the Writing Task 2 essay.
In order to do well in this section, you need to know specific vocabulary related to describing trends. We will learn this vocabulary by looking at line graphs.
LINE GRAPHS
Here is a simple line graph…
Line graphs are used to show trends or tendencies that happen over a period of time.
A graph has an X-axis which gives us information on the horizontal axis, and a Y-axis which gives us information on the vertical axis.
It is important to read what each axis is about.
In this graph, the X-axis shows us the time period years, more specifically the years from 2008 to 2016. If you are not sure about how to say the year in English, see our lesson about it.
The Y axis tells us the number of books sold in thousands.
A quick question for you… How many books were sold in 2010? (See the graph above)
If you say, in 2010 … 120 books were sold. This is wrong. Why?
Because 120 THOUSAND books were sold. This information appears on the Y-axis. The IELTS examiner will check to see if you have read and understood the information in the X and Y axEs.
With line graphs, it is important to look at the general features or characteristics of the graph and not just repeat the numbers at each time interval.
If you say… in 2008 150,000 books were sold, in 2010 120,000 books were sold, in 2012 100,000 books were sold, in 2014 (yawn… this is boring), you are just repeating what happens at each time interval.
The examiner will ignore this type of response as you not explaining the GENERAL trends.
What is the general trend you can see in the graph?
It goes down.
What is another way of saying that something goes in a downward direction?
We could use decline, decrease, or drop.
So, how can we describe the general trend of this graph?
We could say:
- The graph shows a decline in the number of grammar books sold.
Notice how we used a noun in this example …. a decline.
But this information is a little incomplete. We need to add the time period.
What is the starting point? 2008
What is the end point? 2016
So, we can say:
- The graph shows a decline in the number of books sold between 2008 and 2016.
Do you know of another way of saying this time period?
We can say:
- The graph shows a decline in the number of grammar books sold over an eight-year period.
The difference between 2008 and 2016 is eight years.
Yes, it says: eight-YEAR period (without an S) and not eight-YEARS period. …. Why?
Eight-year is an adjective, and adjectives never have a singular or plural form. Adjectives only have one form.
We say:
- 1 red car. (red is an adjective… because it describes the car, the car is red)
- 2 red cars. (red is used with one, two, three or a million cars)
The adjective RED does not change.
We never say 2 REDS cars. There is no S at the end of RED because it is an adjective. Adjectives have only one form.
You will also notice there is a dash or hyphen between the word EIGHT and YEAR… eight-year.
This is used to combine the two words to make an adjective or more specifically a compound adjective.
Compound Adjectives
A compound adjective is when a hyphen is used to join two or more words together to make an adjective.
Note: Sometimes native English speakers don’t put the hyphen between the two words but YOU are expected to do so for the exam. A bonus reason to use compound adjectives is that it shows the examiner you have a very good level of English.
Let’s see some more examples of compound adjectives used with periods of time.
- He works a forty-hour week. (There is NO S after hour)
- He went on a three-week vacation. (There is no S after week)
- It is a four-month contract. (Again, no S after month)
Now change the following sentences to include a compound adjective:
For example: He works 8 hours a day.
Can become: He works an eight-hour day. (Eight-hour is the compound adjective)
Now you do the rest:
- Her daughter is five months old.
- There was a difference of 20 seconds.
- The document had 7 pages.
- The class lasted two hours.
Let’s check your answers:
- Her daughter is five months old. … BECOMES… She has a five-month-old daughter.
Notice how this compound adjective is made up of three words, yes, the “old” part needs to be there when you give an age.
- There was a difference of 20 seconds … There was a twenty-second difference.
- The document had 7 pages … It was a seven-page document.
- The class lasted two hours… It was a two-hour class.
Let’s look at the graph again.
Here are two similar statements about it.
- The graph shows the number of books sold has dropped.
- The graph shows a drop in the number of books sold.
How much of a drop was it? Was it by a large amount or a small amount?
With our description we don’t know so we need to add additional information.
Look at these two words to describe the trend: Considerable and Considerably
What I want you to do right now is in each statement add the word considerable OR the word considerably in its correct position?
Where does each word go?
- The number of books sold has dropped considerably.
- The graph shows a considerable drop in the number of books sold.
Why did we put considerably in the first sentence and considerable in the second one? Why did we put them in that position in each sentence?
Let’s look at the first sentence:
- The number of books sold has dropped considerably.
The word considerably is placed at the end after the verb. Why?
To describe a verb, or how something happens, we use an adverb.
The word order is normally verb + adverb.
Some examples…
- It dropped considerably.
Drop is a verb, dropped is the past tense of that verb, and to describe how it dropped, we use the adverb considerably. - She walked slowly.
- He ate quickly.
Notice how the adverb comes AFTER the verb.
We also know considerably is an adverb because it ends in –LY. Most adverbs, not all, end in –LY.
- How did it drop? … considerably.
- How did she walk? … slowly.
- How did he eat? … quickly.
We are describing HOW something happens so we use an adverb.
How about the next sentence:
- The graph shows a considerable drop in the number of books sold.
To give more information we added considerable before drop. Why?
Considerable is an adjective. Adjectives describe things and they go BEFORE a noun. The word order is Adjective + Noun.
- The graph shows a considerable drop in the number of books sold.
Some examples of adjectives with nouns are:
- A considerable drop.
How was the drop? … Considerable. The adjective considerable describes the noun drop. The next one:
- A slow decline.
- A sharp increase.
Considerable, slow, and sharp all describe the trend. They are adjectives. Adjectives go before a noun.
So let’s look at these two sentences again.
- The number of books sold has dropped considerably.
- The graph shows a considerable drop in the number of books sold.
WHY did we include these highlighted words in each sentence?
We do this to give a more accurate description of the trend.
My IELTS writing tip…
You have to imagine that the examiner cannot see the graph so you need to give a detailed description by saying how things changed and by including numbers to state these changes.
Accurate descriptions
If I say: The price of chocolate rose.
How do imagine the graph to be?
Is it like Graph A or Graph B in the chart below?
Is there a difference?
Yes, of course there is a HUGE difference.
If you just say the price rose without saying how much it rose, that rise could be slightly (as in Graph A) or sharply (as in Graph B). They look and ARE very different.
That is why you need to give a more complete, more accurate description of the graph.
- In Graph A we can see that the price of chocolate rose slightly.
- In Graph B we can see that the price of chocolate rose sharply.
Now we need to learn more vocabulary to describe trends.
IELTS Writing Task 1 Vocabulary – VERBS
Let’s start with verbs. Verbs tell us there is an action, or that something happens.
What are some verbs that describe an upward trend?
- rise
- jump
- grow
- climb
- go up
- increase
- soar (soar = to increase rapidly above the normal level)
What are some verbs that describe a downward trend?
- fall
- drop
- decline
- decrease
- go down
- plunge
- plummet
Plummet and plunge both mean to suddenly decrease in a very rapid and almost straight down way.
IELTS Writing Task 1 Vocabulary – ADVERBS
As we have seen, to give a more accurate description we can use adverbs after the verb. Adverbs describe HOW something happens.
Some common adverbs include:
Slightly, slowly … this mean it happens at a small rate or amount.
Then we have steadily, gradually, and moderately which mean that the change is at more than a small amount though not a large amount.
When the change is by a large amount, we can use considerably, significantly, and substantially.
When the change is by a VERY large amount, we can use rapidly, sharply, quickly or steeply.
You can see that these adverbs have different degrees of strength.
But sometimes the pattern or trend isn’t always UP or DOWN. Sometimes the trend remains more or less stable or the same.
Here we can use the verbs stay or remain followed by constant, steady, stable, or unchanged. Yes, there is no LY at the end of these words.
Let’s see some examples of this vocabulary in use:
Examples of sentences using words that show an upward trend:
- The number of cars in the city increased significantly between 2010 and 2015.
- Production rose slightly from 800 units in May to 820 units the following month.
Examples of sentences using words that show a downward trend:
- Prices of Model X dropped considerably once Model Y became available on the market.
- In 2017, Company profits decreased moderately as was expected.
Notice the word order of VERB + ADVERB.
Increased significantly, rose slightly, dropped considerably, decreased moderately.
Examples of sentences using words that show a stable trend:
- Prices remained stable during the first six months.
- The number of people employed at the company has remained unchanged for the last three years.
Remain is used much more than the verb Stay.
As we saw earlier, we don’t always use Verb + Adverb to describe a trend. Sometimes we use an adjective + a noun.
- The number of books sold has dropped considerably.
(which is an example of a verb + adverb)
- There was a considerable drop in the number of books sold.
(this is an example of an adjective + noun)
This means we need to learn nouns too…
IELTS Writing Task 1 Vocabulary – NOUNS
Fortunately, most of the verbs have the same spelling or form when they are nouns. For example:
- The verb to drop becomes the noun drop
- The verb to fall becomes the noun fall
- The verb to rise becomes the noun rise
Just be careful with the EXCEPTIONS:
- To grow becomes the noun growth
- To improve becomes the noun improvement
- To fluctuate becomes the noun fluctuation
- To vary becomes the noun variation
- To reduce becomes… reduction
- To lose becomes … a loss
Now look at how we pronounce these words.
Verb: To inCREASE ….. Noun: an INcrease
There is a difference in Pronunciation between the verb inCREASE and the noun INcrease. (See the video to hear the difference)
Notice how the accent is on different syllables depending on whether we are giving the noun or the verb… we will see more about this difference in another lesson.
Describing Trends – Word Order
Now that we have most of the nouns, verbs, and adverbs we need, let’s see some example sentences.
First are trends that contain a verb + adverb.
Verb + Adverb
The verb tells us… what happened?, the adverb tells us… how did it change?
In the first sentence we have the subject SALES, what happened to the sales? We need a verb, FELL. How did it change? How did it fall? SLIGHTLY… which is an adverb.
- Sales fell slightly.
More examples:
- Prices dropped sharply.
- Production rose steadily.
- The percentage of X decreased significantly.
- The number of X increased dramatically.
Notice that the verb is normally in the past tense as we are talking about trends that happened (and finished) in the past. Though of course you need to double check this.
Adjective + Noun
When we want to use an adjective + noun to describe a trend, we often use:
There + a form of the verb TO BE + the article before the adjective and noun.
In the next example sentences, I will vary the tenses but mostly you will use the past tense.
- There is a slight rise in sales…
- There was a gradual fall in the price of X…
- There has been a dramatic drop in the rate…
- There will be a steady decline in the number…
More IELTS Vocabulary
Here is a chart containing a list of words in their noun form, infinitive form, past tense form, and past participle form. Unfortunately, it is not complete. Try to complete the information in this table yourself.
For example, if the noun is rise, and the infinitive is to rise, what is the past tense of rise?
rose … and what is the past participle of rise?
risen.
Now you complete the rest of the table. The answers appear in the video.
When you learn a new word, try to learn the other forms of it, which means, see if it has a noun form or a verb form. If the word DOES have a verb form, learn what it is in past tense and its past participle form.
Now you may have noticed the last word DIP… what does that mean?
A dip is a momentary drop in the level of something before it returns to its normal level. The verb is to dip… we double the final P in the past tense.
Some additional ways of describing trends include:
A fluctuation (this is an irregular rising and falling in number or amount; it is like a variation, something that is NOT stable)
The verb is…. to fluctuate. For example: Prices fluctuated over that time period.
We also have a peak (which is the highest point). Peak is a noun.
To use it with a verb we say: reach a peak which means it goes up to arrive at its highest point.
The opposite of peak is the lowest point or lowest amount.
We can use two verbs with this:
FALL to its lowest point or HIT its lowest point.
Notice how we need the preposition TO after FALL but we don’t use TO after the verb HIT.
a plateau … is when the trend goes up … and then remains level or stable for an amount of time.
The verb to use with plateau is REACH a plateau
IELTS Graph Practice – Simple Charts
Look at the following charts. Each chart shows a different trend.
Let’s look at the first one. What does the trend show? It is an increase.
But if we look at chart number 6, it is also an increase.
Are they different? Of course they are so we need to be more specific.
In graph one we can see a SIGNIFICANT increase.
Here we used a noun, or more specifically an adjective + a noun.
How can we describe the same chart using a verb? (Put that verb in the past tense)
We could say it increased significantly.
Significant is an adjective which we used with the noun. Since now we have used a verb, we need its adverb form… which is significantly.
Give a description of the rest of the charts using a noun in part A and a verb in the past tense in part B.
The answers appear in our video.
In IELTS Writing Task 1 Academic you have to describe a graph or a chart, a map/room layout or a process. Your written work has to be at least 150 words long. You have about 20 minutes to complete the task. Here you will find useful phrases, techniques, tips and examples of IELTS Academic Writing Task 1.
This page is about IELTS Writing task 1 Academic. For IELTS Writing task 1 General click here.
Contents
1. Line Graph
– Line Graph Description Example
– Description Vocabulary
2. Chart (Bar chart/pie chart)
– Bar Chart Description Example
3. IELTS Writing Task 1 Vocabulary
4. Process Description
– Process description example
5. IELTS Writing Task 1 Assessment criteria
6. Extra Tips
This task is intended to check your ability to see main trends and provide a description of data you are given, to compare it with other information, to highlight changes or to describe a process. All in all there are five distinct types of tasks:
- Line graph requires to describe changes in the graph over a period of time
- Bar chart and pie chart tasks are about comparing numbers that you are given
- Process description involves describing the sequence of stages involved in a process
- Map and room layout description of features and objects’ relative position and respective changes over time
Line Graph
The graph shows the change of average salaries in various spheres of employment in the US over a period of 40 years.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, make comparisons.
NB: The numbers I have used here are fictional and in no way reflect the actual salaries in their respective industries. Do your own research if you are interested in real salary figures.
We will be using this graph to go over the basics of IELTS Line Graph. Description of bar charts, pie charts and tables aren’t much different.
Understanding the main idea
First and foremost, you have to get the main idea of the graph.
Try to understand the key features of the graph. What does it show? What numbers are the biggest? Are there any trends?
You are encouraged to use your pen to circle and underline the main features of the graph.
Ideally you should be able to find one dominant and one or two secondary trends (if there are any).
General tips on describing a graph
- Do not try to analyse or explain everything in the graph
- Try to establish the main trend or trends
- Group the data
Study the graph above. Print it and don’t hesitate to make notes on it. Circle the important parts — how trends begin and end, sudden changes, low and high points, differences between trends and differences over periods of time.
The graph shows salary dynamics in various spheres over a period of 40 years.
Here are the main ideas that we can point out:
- Salaries in IT and engineering had been increasing
- Salaries in IT had displayed most prominent rise over the whole period
- Despite fluctuation, salary in sports had been higher than the other two spheres
- Salaries in sports witnessed a sharp decline in the year 2000
Once you have established the main trends, it is time to group them. Grouping information makes it easier to structure logically as well as read. The example of grouping data can be seen in the sample writing below.
IELTS Writing Task 1 Vocabulary
As you are going to be describing certain changes and processes you will need to use vocabulary that denotes those changes. In order to avoid word repetition it is a good idea to memorise as many such words and phrases as you can.
Verbs of movement, up (preposition) – usage Climbed (to) – neutral Went up (by) – neutral Increased (to/by/-fold1) – neutral Rose (to/by) – neutral Skyrocketed (to) – strong, inf. Gained (no preposition) – neutral Recovered (to) – after a previous fall Shot up (no preposition) – strong, inf. Surged (no preposition) – strong |
Verbs of movement, down (preposition) – usage Fell (by/to) – neutral Dwindled (by/to) – neutral Subside (to) – neutral Declined (by/to) – neutral Pitched (at) – neutral Decreased (by/to) – neutral Dropped (by/to) – strong Sank (to) – strong Plummeted (no preposition) – strong Collapsed (no preposition) – strong |
No change in the graph Remained constant/unchanged/stable etc. Leveled out (at) Evened out (at) Stabilised (at) |
Tops and Bottoms Peaked (at) Reached a peak (of) Topped (at) Bottomed (at) Reached the bottom (at) |
Verbs: Indicating To show To display To demonstrate To experience (as in “to go through”) To boast (about high figures) |
Synonyms for “number” Mark Level Volume High/low (to reach a new high/low) Point |
Examples: words and prepositions From 1990 to 2000 Over the next decade Went up/down by a quarter Increased twofold Reduced to 100,000 During the next twenty years Over the whole period in the graph |
Adverbs and intensifiers Slightly (weak) Gradually (weak) Marginally (weak) Considerably (strong) Dramatically (strong) Drastically (strong) Sharply (strong) Steeply (strong) Abruptly (strong) |
1. Twofold – twice, threefold – three times and so on
Remember: reusing the same expressions over and over again will reduce your lexical resource mark.
Now we will use these words and expressions to describe our line graph.
IELTS Line Graph Description Example
The graph presents overtime changes of the amount of money people were earning in three different industries over the period of 1970 to 2010
The industries of IT and engineering both displayed gradual increase over the whole graph period. While engineers’ salary growth was marginal, going from 55 to 70 thousand over the course of 40 years, the paycheck of IT workers showed a much more pronounced increase from 35 to 100 thousand in the same period. Both industries experienced no downward movement in their salary figures.
The area of professional sports showed slight fluctuation in numbers during the period from 1970 to 2000. Despite that, it still remained the highest paying occupation throughout the whole graph with a peak salary of 145 thousand in the year 2000. Over the next decade the numbers sank, reaching 110 thousand mark.
In conclusion, IT industry showed the fastest growing salary figures and engineering had the slowest change in pay. Despite of sports salary decline in 2000, it still remained the highest paying occupation of the three.
(171 words)
I want you to pay attention to the words in bold. They are examples of synonyms usage to get a higher lexical resource score (show-display-experience-present; numbers-figures-mark; industry-job-occupation). Underlined fragments are examples of words and phrases from the graph vocabulary table.
When writing your introductory paragraph you may be tempted to simply copy the task description. Don’t – the copied part will not be counted towards your total number of words. Instead, paraphrase the task.
Original: The graph below shows the change of median salaries in various spheres of employment in the US over a period of 40 years
Paraphrased: The graph presents the overtime changes of the amount of money people were earning in three different industries…
IT and engineering are grouped and described in the first body paragraph because they display similar dynamics. As it was said before, you only have to mention graph features that stand out the most – minimums and maximums, turning points, pattern deviations.
Paragraph two is dedicated to sports careers because the chart behaves in a different way and the salaries are considerably higher there despite of the end-graph plunge. Both the plunge and the fluctuation are worth noting in your writing, although this doesn’t mean that you have to put down the number for every fluctuation swing.
Conclusion can be a brief comparison, an overview of the salary dynamics. Again, it’s worth grouping industries with similar figures as I did. Try to make your summary at least two sentences long, though it can be quite difficult to come up with a relevant follow-up sentence. If you find yourself at a loss for the second sentence, just paraphrase the introduction and add a generalising statement that refers to the graph.
Chart Comparison
This task focuses on juxtaposing, or comparing the chart data. The main difference between line graph and chart comparison is that there is no dynamics in the latter. Instead you match different numbers against each other. These number can represent many things — city population, prices, market shares.
Below is the task that we will use as an example (a bar chart):
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task
The chart below shows the market share of mobile phones in each country in 2015.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features and making comparisons.
In order to keep your writing under 150 words, you have to group data. The data presented in this chart could be grouped in two different ways:
- By country (UK and USA have pretty similar statistics, Germany and China are alike too)
- By platform (iOS, Android and Windows)
For this particular chart I would recommend the second option. The reason for this is that grouping by country would be difficult – the data in this graph is very diverse. Grouping by platform is easier as the trends are more obvious.
Grouping by platform will require 3 body paragraphs, one for each brand. The order of paragraphs should relate to the importance of its respective brand. As Android’s presence is the largest, it makes sense to dedicate Paragraph One to its data. Then come iOS and Windows in Paragraphs Two and Three respectively.
Choosing to have three body paragraphs means that our description has to be very brief. Make sure you read about keeping your narrative concise.
IELTS Bar Chart Description Example
The chart described below shows the mobile phone market situation around the world. The data is structured to indicate the share of all three major mobile platforms in each mentioned country.
Android devices are dominant in all the countries presented, reaching the highest mark of 91% in Brazil. Mobile devices of this brand constitute more than half of the total market share with the lowest figure of 51.5% in the UK.
Mobile devices based on iOS are the second popular with the highest presence figures in the US and the UK with 43% and 40% respectively. The lowest mark of iOS-based devices is registered in Brazil, where it gets as low as 4%, outperformed by the third most popular brand – Windows.
Windows-operated gadgets are the least widespread with mere 9% of the market in Germany, 7.5% in the UK and only 1% in China
Overall, the market is divided among the brand unevenly with Android towering over the other two brands. Even though iOS-based units have a substantial presence in some countries it is dwarfed by the leader’s figures. Windows platform numbers are far lower than that of its competitors.
(172 words)
In this text I went slightly over the word limit. You are not penalised for that. However, keep in mind that more words mean more time spent on the text and more potential mistakes in it.
What you should be worried about is falling short of the 150 mark – texts that are seriously underlength (less than 145 words — a rough but sensible estimate, not the official figure) get reduced score. If you struggle to reach the 150 mark then you are doing something wrong, either missing a trend or not giving enough information about the graph. Usually keeping it under 150 is the real challenge that, however, can be made much easier by writing in a more concise manner.
Process Description
In IELTS Writing Task 1: Process Description you write about a process that can be shown in the form of either flowchart or picture. This task focuses on your ability to group smaller stages and to describe their sequence, or how they go one after another.
We shall use the task below for illustration.
The picture below illustrates how olive oil is made.
Write a report for your tutor describing the production process.
Links for bigger pictures: 1280px, 2980px
There are several challenges that set this type of IELTS Writing Task from others. As you will be describing processes — shown as a diagram or a flowchart — you will have to deal with the following difficulties:
- Grouping the process stages. It is necessary that you group your information – this will allow for easier paragraphing and make your text more readable. There should be at least two stages, three is the optimum figure. We will look into this in the example task below.
- Sequencing – tenses and vocabulary. Any process involves several things that happen one after another. To get more points for grammar and vocabulary, it is important to use various ways of expressing this order of actions. See article about tenses for more information.
- Description vocabulary. To describe a process you have to know what certain involved components are called and what they do. Again, look at the example task below for clarification.
Looking at the example task we can divide the process into three larger stages: preparation, processing and refining. If you want, you can combine two last stages into one.
Unlike other IELTS Writing Task 1 tasks, this one doesn’t require a separate paragraph for conclusion. Your writing ends with the last stage of the process description. Nevertheless, you are still required to write an introductory paragraph that briefly states the topic and purpose of your writing.
As you will be writing to your tutor, your style should be strictly formal. Do not use any contracted forms, informal expressions. Refer to the list of formal and informal language for further reference.
IELTS Process Description Example
The production of olive oil can be divided into three major stages. The first stage is cleaning and preparing the olives. Stages two and three process and refine the product respectively.
During the first stage the olives are poured into a funnel that sends them on the escalator, lifting the fruit to the washing machine. These get washed and then, with the help of the moving band transported to the leaf separation device.
Ready-to-use olives are then pushed into the crusher that turns them into pulp which is mixed by the melaxer right after. The resulting substance is then sent to decanter, where the pulp is filtered and turned into liquid. At the same time the residual pomice is produced during the filtering.
The final stage is refining the resulting liquid. Said liquid is poured into the oil polisher, where water and oil are separated. The water is discarded into sewage, while the clean oil is put in containers.
(159 words)
In this text I went with the three body paragraph structure because of three distinct stages that comprise the process.
Introduction clearly stated that by naming all three stages. It is good practice to make your reader aware of what the text is about before he continues to the body paragraphs.
Now look at the marked words. Underlined parts of text are verbs that describe transitions, or changes that take place during the course of the process. Do not resort to a couple of verbs like “it goes to” and “it moves”. In this particular text pay attention to the use of passive tense. Olives do not move by themselves, they are moved.
Words in bold are used for sequencing — order of things that take place in the picture. There aren’t that many synonyms for such words so whenever possible you should try to omit them, using the context as an indicator of what happens after what. Take a look at the first body paragraph. No sequence words were used there, but the order of stages is clear from context.
IELTS Writing Assessment criteria
1.Task achievement
Task one, Academic: How logically and clearly you group and present the trends, stages or differences in the task material; how clearly and appropriately you illustrate all of the points required by the task.
Task two: How fully address the ideas, mentioned in the task; how well you develop your position on the question, how appropriately you use points and ideas to support your opinion, their relevance to the task.
2. Coherence and cohesion
Task one and two: How clearly and logically you sequence(organize) your essay; how diversely and appropriately you use cohesive devices; how you use paragraphing to structure your essay.
3. Lexical resource
Task one and two: How varied and flexible your vocabulary is; How precise and accurate your word choice is, including such aspects as word register and style; How good your spelling and word-formation skills are.
4. Grammatical range and accuracy
Task one and two: How diverse your choice of various grammatical structure is and how appropriately you use them.
IELTS Writing Task 1: Don’ts
- Don’t try to analyze the figures in the graph. You are not required to share your vision on the trends and directions they take. Doing so won’t get you any points, but will eat up the word limit. All you have to do is describe what is going on in a clear, easy to understand manner. Your opinion can be voiced later in Writing Task 2.
- Don’t try writing a draft version of your essay first. You wont have time to write both the draft and fair copy. Instead, you simply go through your essay after you have finished writing it and correct all the mistakes or imperfections you find. You will not be penalized for self-correcting as long as it is easy to make out what you have written or corrected.
- Don’t write more than you should. As it was mentioned above, more writing means more mistakes that are likely to pop up. Unless you really have to, refrain from going over the set word limit of 150 words in Task 1 and 250 words in Task 2.
- Don’t waste your time counting your words. A better way to do that is to count how many words you have in one line and then multiply it by the number of lines. It will give you a rough, but reliable number.
- Don’t be biased towards info in the graph. That includes both personal attitude that was mentioned above and fair distribution of text space. Body paragraphs should be of fairly equal size. Do not let one body paragraph overpower the others in volume.
- Pay attention to prepositions. There is a difference between “decreased by 50” and “decreased to 50”. In the first one it went down by 50, so if it was 500 it became 450. In the second one it became 50 no matter how big the original number was.
- To avoid repeating more colloquial expressions refer to this list of synonyms for most overused words.
- If you write about something that has no relation to the topic it is possible that these words will not be counted towards your total number of words. Stay on topic!
- To have more idea about structuring your writing and other aspects of the written part of your English exam, see this article on essay writing.
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If you are taking the IELTS Writing Test, it is beneficial to have some key phrases in handy to assist you in getting a high band score.
Expanding your IELTS Writing vocabulary is a good idea, but it is even more crucial to write naturally and articulately to get the best results.
Phrases like ‘It can extend a person’s horizon,’ ‘The essence of the debate is, and ‘very debatable’ is now regarded as ‘scripted phrases,’ and using them in your IELTS Writing Test will only result in you losing marks.
To ace the IELTS Writing Test, you will need to use essential words and phrases to convey the points you want to make in an articulate, intelligent, and compelling manner.
While we do not encourage you to memorize phrases, having a better comprehension of the terms that should be used in an academic writing test will help you build the vocabulary that will quickly improve your marks in the IELTS Writing Test.
Continue reading and learn the most effective and common phrases in IELTS Writing to give you the band score that will be your ultimate ticket to achieving your dreams of studying, working, or living abroad.
Top 100 Phrases for IELTS Writing Test
What is the IELTS Writing Task?
The IELTS Writing Test is one of the four sections in the IELTS Test, the other three being Speaking, Listening, and Reading Tests.
It is different for the IELTS Academic and IELTS General Training modules, but both tests have two tasks to be completed. It lasts about 60 minutes, and you are advised to spend only 20 minutes on the first task because the second task has more weight.
The first task in the IELTS Academic Writing Test requires you to describe and explain the information given in either a graph, chart, map, table, or diagram.
On the other hand, Task 1 of the IELTS General Training Writing Test asks you to compose a letter responding to a situation and requesting information and explanation. You should write at least 150 words in IELTS Writing Task 1.
Moreover, the second task in the IELTS Academic Writing and IELTS General Training Writing is the same. You need to respond to a point of view, problem, or argument by writing an essay. You need at least 250 words in IELTS Writing Task 2.
Linking Structures and Cohesive Devices
The IELTS Writing Task will be marked on the following criteria: grammar and sentence structure, vocabulary utilization, task response, and coherence and cohesion.
Each contributes 25% to the overall score. Over the years, examiners have been impressed by candidates’ vocabulary and mastery of syntax but frustrated by how incoherently one sentence flows into the next.
Learn how to use linking structures and cohesive devices below:
How to Use Linking Words for IELTS Writing Task 1?
Academic Test:
You can use the different linking words in the IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 for:
- transitioning from a description of one visual to the next
- comparing and contrasting the key features of the visuals
- pointing out and emphasizing details of the visuals
General Training Test:
You can use the different linking words in the IELTS General Training Writing Task 1 for:
- describing the problem or situation
- transitioning from one viewpoint to the next
- explaining your requests
How to Use Linking Words for IELTS Writing Task 2?
Academic and General Training:
You can use the different linking words in the IELTS Writing Task 2 for:
- presenting your opinion
- transitioning from one paragraph to the next
- providing reasons
- giving examples
- explaining conditions and consequences of different scenarios
Connecting Words for Both IELTS Tasks
To get higher marks in the IELTS Writing Test, more linking words are required. To achieve coherence and cohesion, you must employ a variety of phrases to connect one thought to the next, allowing the reader to follow your reasoning.
Here are the most effective and common phrases in the IELTS Writing Test:
Transitional Words
Addition
- Likewise…
- In addition…
- Moreover…
- Furthermore…
- Additionally…
- On top of that…
Cause and effect
- Therefore…
- As a result…
- Accordingly…
- Consequently…
- On that account…
- For that reason…
Comparison/Contrast
- However…
- In contrast…
- Meanwhile…
- Alternatively…
- Nevertheless…
- On the other hand…
Conclusion
- Finally…
- In the end…
- To sum up…
- To conclude…
- To summarize…
- In conclusion…
Condition
- If…
- Unless…
- As long as…
- Provided that…
- Supposing that…
- On the condition that…
Emphasis
- Clearly…
- Especially…
- In particular…
- Particularly…
- Importantly…
- Without a doubt…
Listing
- …,such as…
- To illustrate…
- For instance…
- For example…
- The best example is…
- A very good example is…
Opinion
- I concur that…
- I agree that….
- I think/feel/believe that…
- Personally, I feel that…
- As far as I am concerned…
- From my point of view…
Concession
- Although…
- Despite…
- In spite of…
- Although…
- Admittedly…
- Even though…
Order
- First of all…
- To start with…
- Secondly…
- Next…
- Thirdly/fourthly/etc…
- Finally…
Vocabulary to Use in Writing Task 1
Academic Test: Vocabulary to Describe Graphs
Introducing the graph
The graph/table/pie chart/bar chart/diagram…
- shows …
- illustrates …
- explains why …
- describes …
- gives information about/on …
- provides information about/on …
Changes in the graph
- a rise of…
- a growth of…
- a peak of…
- a surge of…
- a fall in…
- a decrease in…
- a decline in…
- a dip in…
- a fluctuation in…
- a variation in…
Verbs
- surge
- grow
- leap
- rocket
- soar
- dive
- plunge
- plummet
- fluctuate
- vary
Adverbs
- gently
- wildly
- rapidly
- slightly
- sharply
- suddenly
- abruptly
- gradually
- steadily
- markedly
- modestly
- marginally
- dramatically
- significantly
- considerably
- sharp
- sudden
- rapid
- abrupt
- dramatic
- steep
- significant
- considerable
- marked
- substantial
- gradual
- steady
- consistent
- modest
- marginal
General Training Test: Vocabulary to Write Letters
1. Introduction of the Letter
Formal
- I am writing to inform you that …
- I am writing to ask/inquire …
- I am writing with regard to …
- I am writing in connection with …
- I am writing with reference to …
Informal
- It’s been a long time. I am writing to…
- I’m simply writing to inform you that…
- I haven’t seen you in a long time.
- Please accept my apologies for not writing in such a long time. I’ve been quite busy…
2. Body of the Letter
Asking for Information
- I’d like for you to…
- Could let me know if…
- I’d appreciate it if you could…
- I’m hoping you could inform me…
- I’d like to seek your opinion on…
Complaining
- This letter is to express my dissatisfaction…
- I’m writing to express my displeasure with…
- I’m writing to voice my disappointment with…
- I’m writing to tell you that I am disappointed…
Expressing Gratitude
- I am thankful for…
- I’m very grateful for…
- I very much appreciated…
- I’d like to thank you very much for…
Apologizing
- I really regret that/about…
- Please accept my apologies for…
- I’d like to express my regret for…
- Please accept my sincere apologies for…
Giving Advice
- You should…
- You ought to…
- Why don’t you…
- If I were you, I’d…
Giving Suggestion
- If you like, I can…
- Do you want me to…
- What do you think about…
- I believe it would be fantastic if you…
3. Closing of the Letter
Formal
- I eagerly await your response.
- Thank you so much for your assistance.
- Thank you so much for taking the time to read this.
- I’m hoping for a quick resolution to the matter.
- Please do not hesitate to call me if you need any additional information.
Informal
- Please stay in contact!
- I look forward to hearing from you as soon as possible.
- Thanks a lot for your assistance, send me a message soon.
- Anyway, I have to leave now. If you need additional details, please write again.
Vocabulary to Use in IELTS Writing Task 2 (Both Academic and General Training)
Vocabulary to Write Essays
Expressing Opinions
- I’d argue that…
- In my opinion…
- Personally, I believe…
- It appears to me that…
- I have to admit that…
- As far as I can tell…
- As for me, I believe…
- That is something I cannot deny…
- I’d like to emphasize that…
- In my personal experience…
Proving Arguments
- To attest…
- To prove…
- This is testified by…
- This is evidenced by…
- This establishes that…
- This is attested/proven by…
Expressing General Point of View
- It is commonly stated that…
- According to popular belief…
- It is commonly assumed that…
- It is generally assumed that…
- It is largely agreed upon that…
- It’s a widely held assumption that…
Outlining Facts
- It is evident that …
- The truth is that …
- It is obvious that …
- This shows that …
- There is no doubt that …
Giving Examples
- As an example…
- Take for instance…
- We can see this in…
- A good illustration of this is…
- Evidence for this is manifested in…
Concluding
- To summarize…
- In conclusion…
- In general…
- On balance…
- Taking everything into account…
Additional Reading: IELTS Grammar
IELTS Writing Sample Responses
The IELTS Writing Test is by no means easy. Most candidates would agree that this part of the test made them anxious.
To impress the examiners and get a high band score, it is advised that you read and study different sample and model responses and learn the different writing techniques to help you achieve your desired band score.
Here are some of them. Take note of the transition words and vocabulary used.
Example 1:
Country | Food and Drink | Housing | Clothing | Entertainment |
---|---|---|---|---|
France | 25% | 30% | 7% | 13% |
Germany | 22% | 33% | 15% | 19% |
UK | 27% | 37% | 11% | 11% |
Turkey | 36% | 20% | 12% | 10% |
Spain | 31% | 18% | 8% | 15% |
Sample Response:
"The table depicts the amount of monthly household income spent on four products in five European nations. The percentages were used to calibrate the data. Housing is clearly the top expense item for France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, since they each spend around one third of their income on it, at 30%, 33%, and 37%, respectively.
They, on the other hand, spend about a quarter of their income on food and drink. Surprisingly, Turkey and Spain follow the exact opposite pattern, spending a fifth of their income on housing but one-third on food and drink.
Furthermore, clothing and entertainment are two areas where all five countries spend significantly less. In terms of clothing, France and Spain spend the least, at less than 10%. The other three countries, however, spend almost the same amount, ranging between 12% and 15%. At 19%, Germany spends one fifth of its budget on entertainment. The UK and Turkey, moreover, spend roughly half of this amount.
Overall, the bulk of each country's money is spent on food and drink, as well as housing. Clothing and entertainment were far less expensive."
Example 2:
Topic:
You were supposed to start a new job next week, but you won’t be able to because of certain issues. Send a letter to your new boss. In your letter,
- give an explanation of your circumstances
- state your issues
- inform him/her when you think you’ll be able to begin.
Sample Response:
Dear Ms Smith,
I am writing with regards to the position of Assistant Office Manager that I am supposed to start next week. However, an unfortunate incident has arisen.
Like I said during the interview, I am currently working at my aunt's company, where I gained significant experience. However, she had been hospitalized, so my uncle is now taking charge of the business. She has asked me to stay a little longer and help him with the business operations because this is an especially hectic time of year.
I do understand that this will not be convenient for you, but I genuinely hope that, given the situation, you will be willing to let me start with you three weeks later than what we have agreed upon.
I would like you to know that I remain very keen to work with you, and that I will be obtaining further useful knowledge and skills during this time.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Nathan Dills
Example 3:
Topic:
How much do you agree or disagree with the claim that e-books and modern technology will completely replace conventional newspapers and magazines?
Sample Response:
"Technology is advancing at a breakneck pace, opening up new doors for us while keeping us informed about the latest news and events. As a result, many people believe that traditional newspaper reading will become obsolete. I disagree since the easiest and cheapest way to obtain news is through a traditional newspaper.
To begin, there are a variety of reasons why traditional news gathering methods remain popular. First, many people have developed a strong desire to read the newspaper. Everyone, whether affluent or middle class, can be seen eagerly anticipating the arrival of the newspaper in the morning and reading it with a cup of tea.
Furthermore, these are the most portable, least expensive, and simplest ways of staying informed about global events. It may be taken from one location to another in a bag and is reasonably priced. It's quite useful, and simply flipping through the pages can make you omniscient. Second, there is no need for power or other equipment.
Furthermore, the additional accessories are frosting on the cake. The Hindustan Times, for example, has a variety of articles such as women's fashion, job advice, culinary art, and so on.
However, technology has surely changed the way we read news. For example, videos provide a full and clear view of what we're reading, and we can also save, share, and forward it to our family and friends. Technophobia, it goes without saying, will have no place in an ever-advanced modern society.
To summarize, improved versions of technology have a significant impact on people's lives, but they will not, in my opinion, be able to threaten the existence of conventional newspapers and periodicals."
Example 4:
Topic:
Some argue that children should be educated to compete, while others argue that they should be taught to cooperate. What are your thoughts on the matter?
Sample Response:
"Children are society's future, and they must be instilled with true life values. As a result, there are those who believe that a competitive spirit should be instilled in them, while others believe that cooperative qualities must be possessed. Before forming a judgment, I shall discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each view.
Firstly, there are numerous reasons why children should have competitive ideals. Competition encourages young people to work harder in order to advance in their studies and other endeavors. They begin to work hard in order to compete with others and learn the value of perseverance. They are able to achieve first place in every competition because of their dedication and hard work. Second, competitive values instill in children self-confidence and self-reliance. They are highly likely to have self-achievement and fulfillment when they join in activities and compete with others. They believe they are deserving of a calm and peaceful mind. They tend to become self-sufficient, and as a result, they have the best decision-making abilities. Furthermore, a sense of accomplishment is a requirement. Without a doubt, people in the current period confront rivalry from infancy to adulthood. For example, in school there is a dance competition, a race competition, a poem competition, and as they get older, they face competition in finding a job, applying for college, and even completing an exam. As a result, a value is essential.
On the other hand, it is obvious how critical it is to instill the value of cooperation. This is the only way a youngster may learn teamwork, team spirit, coexistence, tolerance, and patience through their feelings. Furthermore, when looking at history, it is clear that the well-known icons of society are only those that have a helpful and sacrificing mentality. A self-centered person will never achieve fame in society. Second, constant competitiveness preaching may develop feelings of rivalry among peers and others. These feelings of rivalry quickly evolve into jealousy and personal grudges. A heart filled with resentment towards others can never be good for themselves or others.
To sum up, after weighing both competitive and cooperative values, I believe that each has its own significance. As a result, a child should be raised by evenly imparting both."
IELTS Academic Writing Test : Word Lists
The IELTS Writing Test requires an extensive vocabulary. Having a diverse vocabulary is one of the secrets to writing an effective essay. However, it is not enough to memorize the words; you also need to know how to use them in your writing.
We have listed a set of word lists to help you with your IELTS Writing Test.
Do not be worried if you will not memorize all the word lists: quality trumps quantity! It is far preferable to learn 1 word-lists well rather than 5 word-lists poorly.
Word List 1
Words 1 to 10 | Words 11 to 20 | Words 21 to 30 | Words 31 to 40 | Words 41 to 50 |
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Words 51 to 60 | Words 61 to 70 | Words 71 to 80 | Words 81 to 90 | Words 91 to 100 |
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Word List 2
Words 1 to 10 | Words 11 to 20 | Words 21 to 30 | Words 31 to 40 | Words 41 to 50 |
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Words 51 to 60 | Words 61 to 70 | Words 71 to 80 | Words 81 to 90 | Words 91 to 100 |
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Word List 3
Words 1 to 10 | Words 11 to 20 | Words 21 to 30 | Words 31 to 40 | Words 41 to 50 |
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Words 51 to 60 | Words 61 to 70 | Words 71 to 80 | Words 81 to 90 | Words 91 to 100 |
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Word List 4
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Commonly Confused Words in the English Language
English is a complicated language. Some words look the same, and some sound the same.
Recognizing the difference between these similar words could be tricky.
We want to help you succeed on your IELTS journey, so we are providing you with some of the most commonly confused words in the English language. Pay close attention to these words and avoid the past mistakes most candidates have committed.
Affect vs. Effect
Affect
Meaning: To have an influence or effect on something/someone
Example Sentence:
“Not winning the competition did not affect her as much as I thought it would.”
Effect
Meaning: To cause something to happen
Example Sentence:
“The effect of her medications on her illness was surprisingly quick.”
Loose vs. Lose
Loose
Meaning: Not fitting tightly or closely
Example Sentence:
“The dress she is wearing is obviously loose on her.”
Lose
Meaning: (1) To fail to win or
(2) to misplace something
Example Sentence:
(1) “I hate losing at chess against my sister.”
(2) “He lost his keys at the party last night.”
Lay vs. Lie
Lay
Meaning: To put down gently or carefully
Example Sentence:
“She laid her bracelet on the study.”
Lie
Meaning: To assume a horizontal position on a resting surface
Example Sentence:
“He lies down on the bed and takes a nap.”
Accept vs. Except
Accept
Meaning: To consent to receive
Example Sentence:
“She accepted the award graciously.”
Except
Meaning: Not included
Example Sentence:
“They go to the park every day except on Sundays.”
Complement vs. Compliment
Complement
Meaning: Something that fills up, completes, or makes better
Example Sentence:
“Her scarf is a complete complement to her outfit.”
Compliment
Meaning: A polite expression of praise
Example Sentence:
“I was surprised by how he reacted over a small compliment.”
Farther vs. Further
Farther
Meaning: Over a large expanse of physical distance
Example Sentence:
“The black car is farther away than the white car.”
Further
Meaning: Over a large expanse figurative distance
Example Sentence:
“The newly-hired employee asked further questions from the manager.”
Passed vs. Past
Passed
Meaning: Simple past tense of ‘pass’
Example Sentence:
“She passed her exams in flying colors.”
Past
Meaning: Gone by in time and no longer existing
Example Sentence:
“She has to move forward and leave the past behind her.”
Elicit vs. Illicit
Elicit
Meaning: Draw out a response from someone
Example Sentence:
“I was not able to elicit any response from him.”
Illicit
Meaning: Forbidden by law
Example Sentence:
“I have advised him to stop the use of illicit drugs.”
Any way vs. Anyway
Any way
Meaning: A phrase that means in any manner or method
Example Sentence:
“Any way you suggest is fine, as long as we reach the venue in half an hour.”
Anyway
Meaning: Used to confirm an idea just mentioned
Example Sentence:
“It’s fine, I don’t mind. It’s my fault anyway.”
Than vs. Then
Than
Meaning: Used before the second element in a comparison
Example Sentence:
“The weather yesterday was warmer than today’s.”
Then
Meaning: An adverb indicating time or sequence.
Example Sentence:
“We went to the park, then ate at our favorite restaurant.”
Its vs. It’s
Its
Meaning: Belonging to or associated with a thing previously mentioned
Example Sentence:
“The milk is past its expiration date.”
It’s
Meaning: Contraction of ‘it is’
Example Sentence:
“It’s raining outside, bring an umbrella.”
Their vs. There vs. They’re
Their
Meaning: Belonging to or associated with people or things previously mentioned
Example Sentence:
“The tourists left their shoes outside the temple.”
There
Meaning: An adverb of place (in, at, to)
Example Sentence:
“We went to Singapore and stayed there for a week.”
They’re
Meaning: Contraction of ‘they are’
Example Sentence:
“They’re planning a surprise party for their parents.”
Your vs. You’re
Your
Meaning: Belonging to or associated with the person or people the speaker is talking to
Example Sentence:
“Your dress looks lovely.”
You’re
Meaning: Contraction of ‘you are’
Example Sentence:
“You’re chosen to represent the class in the competition next week.”
Who vs. Whom
Who
Meaning: A pronoun used as a subject refers to a person or people
Example Sentence:
“Who is the richest man in the world?”
Whom
Meaning: A pronoun used as an object referring to a person or people
Example Sentence:
“Whom did he marry?”
That vs. Which
That
Meaning: Used when the phrase after it is essential in the sentence
Example Sentence:
“Products that do not pass the standards are not sold to consumers.”
Which
Meaning: Used when the phrase after it is not essential in the sentence
Example Sentence:
“The homeless cat, which a stranger adopted, turned out to be my neighbor's lost pet."
To vs. Too
To
Example Sentence:
“I go to the supermarket every week.”
Too
Meaning: An adverb that means in addition or also
Example Sentence:
“I love apples and grapes too.”
Tricks to Learn and Remember English Vocabulary
You will not get very far with your language skills, no matter how brilliant your grammar is if you do not know any words to use it with. Vocabulary brings up new worlds while also making studying enjoyable and rewarding.
However, extending your vocabulary is like going on a diet. You need to exert effort, and there is no magic trick, no secret, and no one-size-fits-all method for doing so. You must identify what works best for you. Nevertheless, being patient, setting reasonable objectives, and rewarding yourself when you achieve them are sound strategies that can be supplemented with the following suggestions.
- Make Use of Memory Tricks: Mnemonics are mental shortcuts that will help you remember more complicated concepts or words. It is a popular approach to memorizing a language. You can make associations between words. For example, when you need to buy Spaghetti, Tomatoes, Olives, Rice, and Eggs from the STORE. Furthermore, the more you think about acronyms or associations, the better you will remember the phrases that go with them.
- Create an Environment Conducive to Learning: When you study abroad, you will hear and read the language everywhere, allowing you to acquire the language far more quickly through immersion. Luckily, you do not need to travel overseas to enhance your vocabulary gradually. You may create an inspirational and study-friendly environment wherever you are. Purchase publications or books in the new language, watch movies and prepare (or simply eat) local cuisine.
- Make Use of a Notebook: Writing new words in a tangible notebook has a romantic quality to it. Just add a new word to a running vocabulary list when you come across a new word that you do not recognize. Then, a few times a week, go over the list, obliterating the English definitions and attempting to recall what each term meant. The more you read through the notebook, the easier it will be to recall the words. You can eventually cross off the words you know, so you do not have to go over them again.
- Put the Words in Their Proper Context: Putting words in context is a fantastic way to learn more vocabulary faster. Consider putting them together in phrases rather than composing lists of random words. That way, you will understand how the word is utilized in everyday situations. It will also be easier to remember if you come up with entertaining sentences. You can also generate drawings or discover visuals that will complement the sentences and place the words in their natural home, depending on how you learn.
- Take it a Step Further: Allow adequate space for mind maps with connected words, synonyms, and antonyms if you want to take your learning a step higher. If you’re going to make the most of your learning, try explaining and describing the word in English rather than translating it into your original tongue.
- Put in The Effort: The most crucial thing you will need to recall English words is the appropriate attitude and the willingness to put in the effort. However, there is no such thing as a magical system. None of the approaches listed above are “correct” or “incorrect.” Find something that works for you and utilize it regularly. Experiment with a few to find which produces the greatest results.
Additional Reading: How to Improve Your English Speaking Skills
Additional FAQs on IELTS Writing Test
Is it Okay to Write 400 Words in IELTS Writing?
Candidates should write words that are slightly above the word limit. That is 170 – 190 words in the IELTS Writing Task 1 and 270 – 290 words in the IELTS Writing Task 2.
However, note that there is no word limit, and you will not lose marks for exceeding the word limit.
Keep in mind that the examiners will mark your IELTS Writing not based on the number of words you write but on the quality of your work.
Is a 7 in IELTS Writing Good?
Yes, a band score of 7 in the IELTS Writing Test is good. It means that you are a ‘good user’ and that you have impressed the examiner enough to give you a 7.
Most candidates have not been able to achieve this as the IELTS Writing Test is arguably the most challenging.
So if you get a 7 (or higher) band score, be proud.
How is the IELTS Writing Marked?
The examiner will focus on four primary areas:
(1) how you were able to answer the question well;
(2) how well you connect an idea to the text;
(3) your vocabulary range and accuracy; and
(4) your grammatical forms range and accuracy. Each criterion contributes 25 percent of your overall marks in the IELTS Writing Test.
В рамках ВПР в 7 классе, да и ранее в программах обучения английскому языку часто встречается задание по описанию картинки. «Ничего сложного!» — скажете вы. А вот и нет! Просто сказать «I see trees so green, red roses too…» — уже недостаточно. Оказывается, есть определённые шаблоны описания картинок, которым следует придерживаться. Об этом ниже.
Шаблон описания картинки на английском
Описание картинки можно схематично представить, как ответы на вопросы:
- Где и когда? (where and when the photo was taken)
- Кто/что? (whatwho is in the photo)
- Какой?
- Что делает и как? (what is happening)
- Ваше отношение к фото
Данные компоненты можно менять местами в зависимости от вашего желания и конкретной картинки. Давайте разберем каждый компонент в отдельности.
Где и когда?
В начале описания неплохо бы рассказать об истории картинки / фото, если вы ее знаете. Когда фотография была сделана? При каких обстоятельствах.
Ответ можно начать следующим образом:
- You know, I am fond of photography and I keep my best photos in my album. Please, have a look at this one. I took this photo last year in Greece. — Вы знаете, я увлекаюсь фотографией и храню свои лучшие фото в альбоме. Пожалуйста, взгляните на этот снимок. Я сделал его в прошлом году в Греции.
Если вы не знаете деталей, то можете предположить:
- It was (probably) taken inside / outside. — Возможно, она сделана в помещении / на улице.
- In this picture the action is taking place in (the house; the living room; the gym; the swimming pool; the theme park etc.). — На этой картинке действие происходит в (доме, зале, спортзале, бассейне, парке и т.д.).
- The photo/picture shows — Фото/картинка показывает.
- It wastaken by/in — Она была сделана. Она была нарисована.
- It’s a black-and-white/coloured photo. — Это черно-белая/цветная картинка.
Кто/что?
Начинаем с основного акцента картинки. Что на первом плане? Что на второстепенном?
- In the picture I can see.. — На картинке я могу видеть…
- There’s / There are — Здесь есть
- In the background you can see — На заднем плане вы можете видеть…
- In the foreground there is … — На переднем плане…
Можно использовать более сложные фразы с предлогами места:
- at the top/bottom of the picture — наверху/внизу картинки
- in the middle of the picture — в середине картинки
- on the left/right of the picture — слева/cправа картинки
- next to — рядом
- in front of — спереди
- behind — сзади
- near — рядом
- on top of — наверху
- under — под
Если что-то непонятно, можно использовать фразы:
- It looks like a — Это выглядит как…
- It might be a — Это возможно…
- Hecouldbe — Он мог бы быть
- Maybe, it’s a — Возможно это…
Какой?
Тут перечисляем все характеристики внешности людей и свойства предметов, изображенных на картинке.
- The girl / boy looks like she/he is about … years old. — Девочке / мальчику около … лет.
- She / he has … eyes and dark / fair hair — У неё / него … глаза и тёмные / светлые волосы.
- The girl / boy is wearing … — Девочка / мальчик одет в …
- I guess she / he is quiet and kind. — Мне кажется, что она / он спокойный и добрый.
Описание одежды можно скомбинировать с описание погоды.
- It looks like a sunny day outside. — Похоже, на улице солнечный день.
- I don’t think it’s very warm though. They both are wearing thick sweaters. — Хотя не думаю, что здесь очень тепло. На них обоих толстые свитера.
- It’s sunny though I can see their shadows on the ground. — Солнечно, хотя я вижу их тени на земле.
- I think it must be warm weather. — Думаю, сейчас теплая погода.
- The sun’s shining. — Светит солнце.
- The gold court looks very green. — Золотой двор выглядит очень зеленым.
- I can see trees in the background and a bit of blue sky. — Я вижу деревья на заднем плане и немного голубого неба.
- It looks very peaceful. — Выглядит очень спокойно.
Что делает и как?
Все действия описываем во времени Present Continuous:
- The man is …smiling.- Мужчина улыбается.
- The people are …working. — Люди работают.
- It’s raining. — Идет дождь
- Looking at these people / this girl / this boy I get the impression that they are/ she is / he is … (having dinner; watching a film; doing their homework etc.) — Глядя на этих людей/эту девочку/этого мальчика создаётся впечатление, что они/она/он… (смотрит фильм, делает домашнюю работу и т.д.).
Ваше отношение к фото
- I like the picture because the atmosphere is peaceful. — Мне понравилось картинка, потому что атмосфера дружелюбная.
- I like this picture as it is bright and colorful, full of positive emotions, and it makes me think of summer / winter / autumn / spring. — Мне понравилось картинка, потому что она яркая и красочная, полна позитивных эмоций, и напоминает мне лето, зиму, осень, весну и т.д.
Примеры описания картинки / фото на английском
Вариант 1
In this picture I see a young woman lying on the grass, smiling and listening to music with headphones.
She seems to be in her early twenties. She’s got long blond hair and a charming smile. She’s wearing a white T-shirt. She could be listening to some energetic rock music, because she looks happy and engaged. Maybe she is listening to the best album of her favourite singer and is singing along. By the way, it can be even not music at all. She could be listening to a humorous audiobook that makes her smile. She may be listening to an audiocourse, learning a foreign language and trying to repeat the phrase after the speaker.
I can see an engagement ring on her finger. Perhaps she has just got engaged and is trying to choose the song for the first dance with her fiancé during the wedding ceremony. I know how hard it can be because I’m getting married in August and I’ve been listening to various songs, trying to choose those to be played on my wedding day. I fall asleep with my headphones on and spend my working hours in a similar pair of headphones, not to irritate my fellow-workers with my music.
Перевод
На этой картинке я вижу девушку, лежащую на траве, улыбающуюся и слушающую музыку в наушниках.
На вид ей двадцать с небольшим. У нее длинные светлые волосы и очаровательная улыбка. Она одета в белую футболку. Возможно, девушка слушает энергичную рок-музыку, потому что-она выглядит счастливой и поглощенной музыкой. Может быть, она слушает лучший альбом любимого исполнителя и подпевает. Кстати, она может слушать вовсе и не музыку. Может быть, она слушает юмористическую аудиокнигу и именно поэтому улыбается. Возможно она слушает аудиокурс для изучения иностранного языка и пытается повторить фразу за диктором.
На пальце у нее кольцо, подаренное в честь помолвки. Возможно, она недавно обручилась и выбирает песню для первого танца молодоженов во время свадебной церемонии. По себе знаю, как это трудно, потому что я выхожу замуж в августе и слушаю разные песни, пытаясь выбрать те, которые будут звучать на моей свадьбе. Я засыпаю в наушниках и сижу в наушниках на работе, чтобы не надоедать коллегам своей музыкой.
Вариант 2
This picture shows a seaside resort in summer. The weather is hot that’s why the beach is full of people. There are no clouds in the sky and it looks light blue. Аs for the sea, it is a bit rough, I can see the waves, so the light wind is probably blowing.
In the foreground just a bit to the right there is a big merry-go-round. I can guess that a lot of children are riding horses there. They may be laughing, shouting, in other words, they are having fun.
Another kind of attraction is situated to the left of the first one. It looks smaller and at first sight you can suppose that it is a merry-go-round, too. But if you look closer, you can see that it might be a kiosk with some food or souvenirs because people are standing around probably looking for something to buy.
The beach is very crowded. The people are lying on the sand and swimming in the sea. In the background I can make out the outline of a white pier which stands out against the blue sky.
As for me, I enjoyed a lot describing this cheerful picture. This sunny beach makes me feel optimistic because in a few weeks I hope I will be enjoying swimming in the sea, too.
Перевод
На этой фотографии изображен морской курорт летом. Погода жаркая, поэтому на пляже много людей. На небе нет облаков, оно выглядит светло-голубым. А что касается моря, то здесь немного неспокойно, я вижу волны, так что, наверное, дует легкий ветерок.
На переднем плане, чуть правее, большая карусель. Могу предположить, что там много детей катаются на лошадях. Они могут смеяться, кричать, другими словами, им весело.
Еще одна достопримечательность находится слева от первой. Выглядит меньше, и на первый взгляд можно подумать, что это тоже карусель. Но если вы присмотритесь, то увидите, что это может быть киоск с едой или сувенирами, потому что люди стоят вокруг, вероятно, ищут что-нибудь купить.
Пляж очень многолюдный. Люди лежат на песке и купаются в море. На заднем плане я могу различить контур белого пирса, который выделяется на фоне голубого неба.
Что касается меня, мне очень понравилось описывать эту веселую картину. Этот солнечный пляж вселяет во меня оптимизм, потому что я надеюсь, что через несколько недель я тоже буду получать удовольствие от купания в море.
Вариант 3
In this picture, I can see people giving gifts to each other. They must be a family: a couple with two children and an older couple, who are probably a grandmother and a grandfather. It must be Christmas time as there is a Christmas tree in the background on the right.
In the middle of the picture, we can see a girl and her grandmother. The woman is wearing glasses and has gray hair. She hasn’t received a gift yet, she is giving a big box to a boy, sitting next to her. He is looking gratefully at his granny.
His parents on the right side are looking into each other’s eyes and smiling.
The girl is opening her gift box and seems to be very excited to see what is inside.
On the left, there is a man, probably a husband of the older woman. He is waiting for his turn to give his present.
All people are wearing light-colored clothes on top. The men are standing, the rest are sitting on a cozy sofa in a spacious, light room.
Everybody seems to be happy and enjoy the family moment.
Перевод
На этой картинке я вижу, как люди дарят друг другу подарки. Они должны быть семьей: пара с двумя детьми и пара постарше, вероятно, бабушка и дедушка. Должно быть, Рождество, так как на заднем плане справа изображена рождественская елка.
В середине картинки мы видим девочку и ее бабушку. Женщина в очках, у нее седые волосы. Она еще не получила подарка, она дарит большую коробку мальчику, сидящему рядом с ней. Он с благодарностью смотрит на свою бабушку.
Его родители справа смотрят друг другу в глаза и улыбаются.
Девушка открывает свою подарочную коробку и, кажется, очень взволнована, увидев, что внутри.
Слева мужчина, вероятно, муж пожилой женщины. Он ждет своей очереди сделать подарок.
Сверху все люди одеты в светлую одежду. Мужчины стоят, остальные сидят на уютном диване в просторной светлой комнате.
Кажется, что все счастливы и наслаждаются семейным моментом.
Описание картинки в ЕГЭ
Описание картинки для ЕГЭ по сути мало чем отличается от шаблона выше. Единственное, дополнительно могут стоять вопросы про личное отношение к фото, почему вы его выбрали и т.п.
Вот несколько вариантов описания фото для ЕГЭ по английскому языку.
Вариант 1
Well, I have chosen photo number 1. Look at this. I took it last year when I have a big holiday with my friends in Phuket. In the picture you can see a very popular beach Nai Harn. There is clear blue water, green mountains and yellow sand. There we walked with my friends Anna and Viktor and enjoyed such a sunny and hot day. I decided to take this photo because it is a really wonderful place for me. I wanted to keep this time in my memory. I would like to show you this picture because I know that you like sea and beautiful beaches. Maybe it will inspire you to go to Phuket. That’s all I wanted to say.
Перевод
Что ж, я выбрала фото №1. Посмотри на это. Я сделал его в прошлом году, когда у меня большой отпуск с друзьями на Пхукете. На фото очень популярный пляж Най Харн. Здесь чистая голубая вода, зеленые горы и желтый песок. Там мы гуляли с моими друзьями Анной и Виктором и наслаждались таким солнечным и жарким днем. Я решил сделать это фото, потому что это действительно чудесное место для меня. Я хотел сохранить это время в своей памяти. Я хочу показать вам эту фотографию, потому что знаю, что вам нравится море и красивые пляжи. Может быть, это вдохновит вас поехать на Пхукет. У меня все.
Вариант 2
I’ve chosen photo number 1/2/3.
You know that I am a regular traveler. From time to time, I visit exotic countries where I usually go windsurfing, diving, and the like.
Well, this photo I took last year when I was on my holidays in Vietnam. That was a wonderful trip full of extreme actions and unforgettable experience. During my trip I was taking lots of pictures, but this one is my favorite.
You can see wonderful yellow fish in the foreground of this photo. In the background you can see rocks of various size and shape.
Actually, nothing much is happening in the photo. Some fish are swimming by in the depth of the see. Besides, the sun is trying to shine through but only some specks of light can be seen.
Why do I keep this photo in my album? Well, I have a lot of pictures from underwater but this one is special. The fish look very unusual and admirable, and I keep this photo as a striking demonstration of diversity and uniqueness of sea life.
I decided to show the picture to you because I’d like to share my impressions from diving with you. I want you to see how beautiful the bottom of the sea may be and what unusual things you are faced there with.
Well, I hope you understand my feelings and how much I’m into traveling and diving. By the way, next year I am going to visit Vietnam one more time. Don’t you want to join me? If yes, then we will discuss everything next time. Now we have to go to school.
Перевод
Я выбрала фото номер 1/2/3.
Знаете, я регулярно путешествую. Время от времени я езжу в экзотические страны, где обычно занимаюсь виндсерфингом, дайвингом и тому подобным.
Ну, это фото я сделал в прошлом году, когда отдыхал во Вьетнаме. Это была прекрасная поездка, полная экстремальных действий и незабываемых впечатлений. Во время поездки я делал много снимков, но этот — мой самый любимый.
На переднем плане фотографии вы видите чудесных желтых рыбок. На заднем плане можно увидеть камни разного размера и формы.
Собственно на фото ничего особенного не происходит. В глубине моря проплывает какая-то рыба. Кроме того, солнце пытается просвечивать, но видны лишь некоторые блики.
Почему я храню это фото в моем альбоме? Ну, у меня много фотографий из-под воды, но эта особенная. Рыбы выглядят очень необычно и достойно восхищения, и я сохраняю это фото как яркую демонстрацию разнообразия и неповторимости морской жизни.
Я решил показать вам картинку, потому что хочу поделиться с вами своими впечатлениями от дайвинга. Я хочу, чтобы вы увидели, насколько красивым может быть морское дно и с какими необычными вещами вы там сталкиваетесь.
Что ж, надеюсь, вы понимаете мои чувства и то, как я люблю путешествовать и нырять. Кстати, в следующем году я собираюсь еще раз посетить Вьетнам. Разве ты не хочешь присоединиться ко мне? Если да, то все обсудим в следующий раз. Теперь пора в школу.
Вариант 3
So I choose photo number 2.
This photo was taken last summer when I and my father went to our favourite lake to do some fishing during the weekend.
In the foreground of the picture we can see me and my dad smiling as we have caught the biggest fish I have ever seen. Here I am wearing light clothes as that summer was extremely hot. In the background of the picture we can see an almost deserted beach as only local people know about this place.
In this picture my father is sitting on his knee while I am standing. We are holding the fish we caught several minutes before. The sun is shining so brightly that my father is wearing sunglasses.
I decided to keep this photo so that I could remember that amazing weekend and that great experience. I can open it and remember every detail of it any time I want.
So as you are choosing what to do on the forthcoming weekend, I decided to show you this picture. Maybe you will be inspired to do something like that. That is all I wanted to say.
Перевод
Итак, я выбираю фото №2.
Это фото было сделано прошлым летом, когда мы с отцом пошли на наше любимое озеро, чтобы порыбачить на выходных.
На переднем плане картины мы видим меня и моего отца, улыбающихся, когда мы поймали самую большую рыбу, которую я когда-либо видел. Здесь я ношу легкую одежду, потому что то лето было очень жарким. На заднем плане картины мы видим почти безлюдный пляж, о котором знают только местные жители.
На этой фотографии мой отец сидит на коленях, а я стою. Держим рыбу, которую выловили несколько минут назад. Солнце светит так ярко, что мой отец носит солнцезащитные очки.
Я решил сохранить это фото, чтобы запомнить те замечательные выходные и те замечательные впечатления. Я могу открыть его и вспомнить каждую деталь в любое время, когда захочу.
Итак, пока вы выбираете, чем заняться в предстоящие выходные, я решил показать вам эту картинку. Может быть, вас вдохновят на что-то подобное. Это все, что я хотел сказать.
Academic IELTS Writing Task 1 question requires you to use several vocabularies to present the data given in a pie/ bar/ line/ mixed graph or to describe a process or a flow chart. Being able to use appropriate vocabularies, presenting the main trend, comparing & contrasting data and presenting the logical flow of the graph ensure a high band score in your Academic IELTS writing task 1. This vocabulary section aims to help you learn all the vocabularies, phrases and words you need to know and use in your Academic writing task 1 to achieve a higher band score. The examiner will use four criteria to score your response: task achievement, coherence and cohesion, lexical resource, & grammatical range and accuracy. Since lexical resource will determine 25% of your score in Task 1, you have to enrich your vocabulary to hit a high band score. To demonstrate that you have a great lexical resource, you need to:
» Use correct synonyms in your writing.
» Use a range of vocabulary.
» Do not repeat words and phrases from the exam question unless there is no alternative.
» Use less common vocabulary.
» Do not use the same word more than once/twice.
» Use precise and accurate words in a sentence.
It is advisable that you learn synonyms and use them accurately in your writing in order to give an impression that you can use a good range of vocabulary.
Graph Writing Vocabulary Index:
The general format for writing academic writing task 1 is as follows:
Introduction + Basic/ General Trends + Details Description + Summary (optional).
Each part has a specific format and therefore being equipped with the necessary vocabulary will help you answer the task 1 efficiently and will save a great deal of time.
Vocabulary for the Introduction Part:
Starting:The/ the given / the supplied / the presented / the shown / the provided
Presentation Type:diagram / table / figure / illustration / graph / chart / flow chart / picture/ presentation/ pie chart / bar graph/ column graph / line graph / table data/ data / information / pictorial/ process diagram/ map/ pie chart and table/ bar graph and pie chart …
Verb:shows / represents / depicts / enumerates / illustrates / presents/ gives / provides / delineates/ outlines/ describes / delineates/ expresses/ denotes/ compares/ shows contrast / indicates / figures / gives data on / gives information on/ presents information about/ shows data about/ demonstrates/ sketch out/ summarises…
Description:
the comparison of…
the differences…
the changes…
the number of…
information on…
data on…
the proportion of…
the amount of…
information on…
data about…
comparative data…
the trend of…
the percentages of…
the ratio of…
how the…
Example :
- The diagram shows employment rates among adults in four European countries from 1925 to 1985.
- The given pie charts represent the proportion of male and female employees in 6 broad categories, dividing into manual and non-manual occupations in Australia, between 2010 and 2015.
- The chart gives information about consumer expenditures on six products in four countries namely Germany, Italy, Britain and France.
- The supplied bar graph compares the number of male and female graduates in three developing countries while the table data presents the overall literacy rate in these countries.
- The bar graph and the table data depict the water consumption in different sectors in five regions.
- The bar graph enumerates the money spent on different research projects while the column graph demonstrates the fund sources over a decade, commencing from 1981.
- The line graph delineates the proportion of male and female employees in three different sectors in Australia between 2010 and 2015.
Note that, some teachers prefer “The line graph demonstrates…” format instead of “The given line graph demonstrates…”. However, if you write “The given/ provided/ presented….” it would be correct as well.
Tips:
1. For a single graph use ‘s’ after the verb, like – gives data on, shows/ presents etc. However, if there are multiple graphs, DO NOT use ‘s’ after the verb.
2. If there are multiple graphs and each one presents a different type of data, you can write which graph presents what type of data and use ‘while’ to show a connection. For example -‘The given bar graph shows the amount spent on fast food items in 2009 in the UK while the pie chart presents a comparison of people’s ages who spent more on fast food.
3. Your introduction should be quite impressive as it makes the first impression to the examiner. It either makes or breaks your overall score.
4. For multiple graphs and/ or table(s), you can write what they present in combination instead of saying which each graph depicts. For example, “The two pie charts and the column graph in combination depicts a picture of the crime in Australia from 2005 to 2015 and the percentages of young offenders during this period.”
Caution:
Never copy word for word from the question. If you do do, you would be penalised. always paraphrase the introduction in your own words.
General Statement Part:
The General statement is the first sentence (or two) you write in your reporting. It should always deal with:
What + Where + When.
Example: The diagram presents information on the percentages of teachers who have expressed their views about different problems they face when dealing with children in three Australian schools from 2001 to 2005.
What = the percentages of teachers…
Where = three Australian schools….
When = from 2001 to 2005…
A good General statement should always have these parts.
Vocabulary for the General Trend Part:
In general, In common, Generally speaking, Overall, It is obvious, As is observed, As a general trend, As can be seen, As an overall trend, As is presented, It can be clearly seen that, At the first glance, it is clear, At the onset, it is clear that, A glance at the graphs reveals that…
Example:
- In general, the employment opportunities increased till 1970 and then declined throughout the next decade.
- As is observed, the figures for imprisonment in the five mentioned countries show no overall pattern, rather shows the considerable fluctuations from country to country.
- Generally speaking, citizens in the USA had a far better life standard than that of remaining countries.
- As can be seen, the highest number of passengers used the London Underground station at 8:00 in the morning and at 6:00 in the evening.
- Generally speaking, more men were engaged in managerial positions in 1987 than that of women in New York in this year.
- As an overall trend, the number of crimes reported increased fairly rapidly until the mid-seventies, remained constant for five years and finally, dropped to 20 cases a week after 1982.
- At a first glance, it is clear that more percentages of native university pupils violated regulations and rules than the foreign students did during this period.
- At the onset, it is clear that drinking in public and drink driving were the most common reasons for the US citizens to be arrested in 2014.
- Overall, the leisure hours enjoyed by males, regardless of their employment status, was much higher than that of women
The structure of the IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 (Report Writing):
Introduction:
Introduction (never copy word for word from the question) + Overview/ General trend (what the diagrams indicate at a first glance).
Reporting Details:
Main features in the Details
+ Comparison and Contrast of the data. (Do not give all the figures.)
+ Most striking features of the graph.
Conclusion:
Conclusion (General statement + Implications, significant comments)
[The conclusion part is optional.]
Tips:
1. Write introduction and General trend in the same paragraph. Some students prefer to write the ‘General Trend’ in a separate paragraph and many teachers suggest the both to be written in a single paragraph. Unless you have a really good reason to write the general trend in the second paragraph, try to write them both in the first paragraph. However, this is just a suggestion, not a requirement.
2. Your ‘Introduction (general statement + overall trend/ general trend) should have 75 – 80 words.
3. DO NOT give numbers, percentages or quantity in your general trend. Rather give the most striking feature of the graph that could be easily understood at a glance. Thus it is suggested to AVOID –
“A glance at the graphs reveals that 70% male were employed in 2001 while 40 thousand women in this year had jobs.”
And use a format /comparison like the following:
“A glance at the graphs reveals that more men were employed than their female counterpart in 2001 and almost two-third females were jobless in the same year. “
Vocabulary to Start the Report Body:
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 —
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 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…
Vocabulary to show the changes
Trends | Verb form | Noun Form |
Increase | rise / increase / go up / uplift / rocket(ed) / climb / upsurge / soar/ shot up/ improve/ jump/ leap/ move upward/ skyrocket/ soar/ surge. | a rise / an increase / an upward trend / a growth / a leap / a jump / an improvement/ a climb. |
Decrease | fall / decrease / decline / plummet / plunge / drop / reduce / collapse / deterioriate/ dip / dive / go down / take a nosedive / slum / slide / go into free-fall. | a fall / a decrease / a reduction / a downward trends /a downward tendency / a decline/ a drop / a slide / a collapse / a downfall. |
Steadiness | unchanged / level out / remain constant / remain steady / plateau / remain the same / remain stable / remain static | a steadiness/ a plateau / a stability/ a static |
Gradual increase |
———— |
an upward trend / an upward tendency / a ceiling trend |
Gradual decrease |
———— |
a downward trend / a downward tendency / a descending trend |
Standability/ Flat | level(ed) off / remain(ed) constant / 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. |
No change, a flat, a plateau. |
Examples:
- The overall sale of the company increased by 20% at the end of the year.
- The expenditure of the office remained constant for the last 6 months but the profit rose by almost 25%.
- There was a 15% drop in the ratio of student enrollment in this University.
- The population of the country remained almost the same as it was 2 years ago.
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.Tips:
1. Use ‘improve’ / ‘an improvement’ to describe a situation like economic condition or employment status. To denote numbers use other verbs/nouns like increase.
2. Do not use the same word/ phrase over and over again. In fact, you should not use a noun or verb form to describe a trend/change more than twice; once is better!
3. To achieve a high band score you need to use a variety of vocabulary as well as sentence formations.
Vocabulary to represent changes in graphs:
Example:
- The economic inflation of the country increased sharply by 20% in 2008.
- There was a sharp drop in the industrial production in the year 2009.
- The demand for new houses dramatically increased in 2002.
- The population of the country dramatically increased in the last decade.
- The price of the oil moderately increased in last quarter but as a consequence, the price of daily necessity rapidly went up.
Vocabulary to represent frequent changes in graphs:
Type of Change | Verb form | Noun form |
Rapid ups and downs | wave / fluctuate / oscillate / vacillate / palpitate | waves / fluctuations / oscillations / vacillations / palpitations |
Example:
- The price of the goods fluctuated during the first three months in 2017.
- The graph shows the oscillations of the price from 1998 to 2002.
- The passenger number in this station oscillates throughout the day and in early morning and evening, it remains busy.
- The changes of car production in Japan shows a palpitation for the second quarter of the year.
- 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).
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.
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 three-quarter.
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.
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.
What criteria would a band 9 graph response satisfy?
Task Achievement:
A) Fully satisfies all the requirements of the task.
B) Clearly presents a fully developed response.
What will be assessed by the examiner?
a) How appropriately, accurately and relevantly you fulfil your task requirements.
b) How accurately you write your report and how appropriately you present the data (compare/ contrast/ show the most striking trends/ features/ data.)
Coherence and Cohesion:
A) Uses cohesion in such a way that it attracts no attention.
B) Skillfully manages paragraphing.
What will be assessed by the examiner?
a) No misinterpretation and presentation of data and trend.
b) How well you organise your paragraphs.
c) Overall clarity and fluency of your report and message.
d) How well you have organised and liked the information, data and ideas in your writing.
e) Logical sequencing and appropriate use of linking devices between and within your sentences.
Tips:
- Do not incorporate more than 3-4 paragraphs.
- Do not use a single paragraph to describe everything.
- The conclusion part is optional. If you think that you have already written more than 170 words and have nothing to say, you can skip the conclusion.
Lexical Resource:
A) Uses a wide range of vocabulary with very natural and sophisticated control of lexical features.
B) Rare minor errors occur only as ‘slips’.
What will be assessed by the examiner?
a) The range of vocabulary you have used in your writing.
b) How accurately and appropriately you have used words/ phrases while presenting the graph(s) as a report.
Tips: Do NOT use words/ phrases that are already given in the question. Do so only if there is no alternative word(s)/ phrase(s) to convey the same meaning/idea.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy:
A) Uses a wide range of structures with full flexibility and accuracy.
B) Rare minor errors occur only as ‘slips’.
Tips:
Do not use the same sentence structure and data comparison/ contrasting style over and over again. Bring a variety in your writing to show that you can formulate different sentence structures without making any grammatical mistakes.
You do not need to write down every bit of information presented in the graph. Rather, you are expected to write the most significant features of the graph and the highest and lowest points are two significant information you should not miss in your writing. Following is a list of useful vocabulary to learn by heart and to use them in your graph response.—Vocabulary to represent highest and lowest points in graphs:
Vocabulary to represent highest and lowest points in graphs:
Type | Verb | Noun |
Highest Point | peaked / culminated / climaxed / reach the peak / hit the peak / touch the highest point / reach the vertex/ reach the apex | a (/the) peak / a (/the) pinnacle / a (/the) vertex / the highest point/ an (/the) apex / a (/the) summit, a (/the) top, a (/the) pinnacle, a (/the) acme, a (/the) zenith, |
Lowest Point | touch the lowest point / get the lowest point / reached the nadir | the lowest point / the lowest mark / bottommost point / rock bottom point/ bottommost mark / nadir/ the all-time low/ the lowest level/ the bottom/ rock-bottom |
Example:
- The price of the oil reached a peak amounting $20 in February and again touched the lowest point amounting only $10 in July.
- Student enrollment in foreign Universities and Colleges increased dramatically hitting a peak of over 20 thousand in 2004.
- The highest number of books was sold in July while it was lowest in December.
- The oil price reached a pick in 2003 while it was lowest in 2006.
- The selling volume of the DVD hit a pick with 2 million copies sold in a month but after just three months it reached the bottom with only 20 thousand sold in a month.
Vocabulary to show fluctuations/ups and downs/ rise and fall in Verb forms:
- Be erratic
- Rise and fall erratically
- Changes sporadically
- Rise and fall irregularly
- Changes Intermittently
Date, month & year related Vocabulary and Grammatical rules:
- Between …(year/ month)… and …(year/ month)…
- From …(year/ month/ day/date)… to …(year/ month/day/date)…
- In …(year/ month)…
- On …(day/ day of the week/ a date)…
- At ……, In ……, By ……
- During … (year)…
- Over the period/ over the century/ later half of the year/ the year…
- Over the next/ past/ previous …….. days/ weeks/ months/ years/ decades…
Presenting Percentages:
You can present a percentage data in one of the three different ways. It is suggested that you use all these formats in your report writing instead of repeating the same style to show percentages in your writing.
% = In percentage / in %. (20%, 25 percentage, ten per cent etc.)
% = In proportion. (two out of five, every student out of three etc. )
% = In fraction. (one-third, two-fifth, a quarter etc.)
Vocabulary to show how many times…
- Exactly the same.
- Roughly the same
- Practically the same
- Twice
- Thrice
- Four times
- Five times
- ……………
- Ten times
- ……………
- Hundred times.
Vocabulary to show how much changed…
- Halved
- Equalled
- Doubled
- Trebled / tripled
- Quadrupled (fourfold /four times)
- Pentadrupled (fivefold /five times)
- Hexadrupled (sixfold /six times)
- Septupled (sevenfold /seven times)
- Octupled (Eightfold/eight times)
- Nonupled (Ninefold/ nine times)
- ……………..
- Centupled (hundredfold/ hundred times)
Vocabulary to represent comparison in graphs:
Type | Word(s) should be used |
Similar | about / almost / nearly / roughly / approximately / around / just about / very nearly / |
Just over | just above / just over / just bigger / just beyond / just across |
Just short | just below / just beneath / just sort / just under / just a little |
Much more | well above / well above / well beyond / well across / well over |
Much less | well below / well under / well short / well beneath |
Example:
- The number of high-level women executives is well beneath than the number of male executives in this organisation, where approximately 2000 people work in executive levels.
- About 1000 people died in the highway car accident in 2003 which is well above than the statistics of all other years.
- The number of domestic-violence cases was just below 500 in March which is just a little over than the previous months.
- The average rainfall in London in 2014 was just above than the average of other two cities.
- The salaries of male executives in three out of four companies were well above than the salaries of female executives in 1998.
Expressions to focus on an item in the graph:
Use the following expression to focus on an item in the graph.
» With regards to
» In the case of
» As for
» Turning to
» When it comes to ….. it/ they …..
» Where … is/are concerned,……
» Regarding
Compare and contrast:
Useful Vocabulary to make Comparison and Contrast:
» Similarly, In a similar fashion, In the same way, Same as, As much as, Meanwhile.
» However, On the contrary, on the other hand, in contrast.
Make sure you the appropriate comparative and superlative form of the words when you make a comparison. Here is a basic overview of the comparative and superlative forms to help you remember what you already know.
One syllable
Adjectives with one syllable form their comparatives and superlatives form. In your academic writing task 1, you will often use such comparison and contrast related words.
cheap » cheaper » cheapest || large » larger » largest || bright » brighter »brightest etc.
Exceptions:
good » better » best || bad » worse » worst etc.
Examples:
1. The fast food items in uptown restaurants were comparatively cheaper than that of city restaurants.
2. The largest proportion of water was used in the agriculture sector in most of the Asian countries while the European countries used the highest percentage of water for industrial purposes.
3. The price of the book in store A is cheaper than the price of store B.
4. The temperature decreased further and that made the weather condition worse.
5. The temperature was better in the mid-April but in mid-July, it became worse.
Two syllables
Some adjectives with two syllables form their comparatives and superlatives:
pretty » prettier » prettiest || happy » happier » happiest etc.
Examples:
1. Customers were happier than now, according to the survey, as the price was cheaper in 1992.
2. The overall production level of this company made the authority happier as it was doubled in the last quarter of the year.
But many form their comparatives and superlatives using ‘more‘:
striking » more striking » most striking || common » more common » most common|| clever » more clever/cleverer » most clever/cleverest etc.
Three or more syllables
All adjectives with three or more syllables form their comparatives and superlatives using ‘more’ & ‘most’:
attractive » more attractive » most attractive || profitable » more profitable » most profitable || expensive » more expensive » most expensive.
Examples:
1. The price of the custom made cars was more expensive in 2014 than it is now.
2. The factory offered more attractive overtime rates and that motivated more employees to work for extra times.
Vocabulary to present Linkers:
However, On the other hand, Similarly, On the contrary, Meanwhile, In contrast, By comparison.
Vocabulary to show that something/a trend is similar or the same:
Use the following vocabularies if both subjects are the same/ identical:
… Identical to/ Identical with …
… Equal to with …
… Exactly the same …
… The same as …
… Precisely the same …
… Absolutely the same …
… jus the same as …
Use the following vocabularies if both subjects are not identical but similar:
… Almost the same as …
… Nearly the same as …
… Practically the same as …
… Almost identical/ similar …
… About the same as …
Way to show that something/a trend is just the reverse/opposite:
The reverse is the case…
It is quite the opposite/ reverse…
Rules of Time Preposition use:
‘In’
»» Use preposition ‘in’ when you talk about years, months, decades, centuries, seasons.
Example:
Years= in 1998, in 2015 etc.
Months= in January, in December etc.
Decades= in the nineties, in the seventies etc.
Centuries= in the 19th century, in the 14th century, in the 1980s etc.
Seasons= in summer, in winter, in autumn etc.
»» Use preposition ‘in’ to talk about past or future.
Example:
Past time= in 1980, in the past, in 1235, in the ice age, in the seventies, in the last century etc.
Future time = in 2030, in the future, in the next century etc.
»» Use preposition ‘in’ when you talk about a long period.
Example:
in the ice age, in the industrial age, in iron age etc.
‘On’
»» Use preposition ‘on’ when you talk about days (days of the weeks or special days).
Example:
Days of the week= on Sunday, on Friday, on Tuesday.
Special days= on New Year’s Day, on your birthday, on Independence Day, on holiday, on wedding day etc.
»» Use preposition ‘on’ when you talk about dates.
Example:
on July 4th, on 21st January 2015, on 5th May etc.
»» Use preposition ‘on’ when you talk about times (like morning/ afternoon/ evening/ night) of a day.
Example:
on Friday morning, on Saturday afternoon, on Sunday evening, on Monday evening etc.
However, notice the below list that shows a further use of preposition ‘in’ and ‘on’ for periods of the days versus periods. This is often confusing and mistakenly used by IELTS candidates. Look at those, notice the use and memorise it.
in | on |
in the morning | on Sunday morning |
in the afternoon | on Monday afternoon |
in the evening | on Tuesday evening |
‘At’
»» Use preposition ‘at’ when you need to express an exact time.
Example:
At eight o’clock, at 10: 45 am, at two p.m, at nine o’clock.
»» Use preposition ‘at’ when you talk about meal times
Example:
At breakfast time, at lunchtime, at dinner time etc.
»» Use preposition ‘at’ when you talk about weekends, holiday periods, or the night time.
Example:
At the weekend, at Christmas, at Easter, at night etc.
Words to make a comparison / contrast:
A bit/ slightly/ a little/ only just/ approximately/ about/ almost/ precisely/ quite/ nearly/ considerably/ a huge/ a great deal/ quite a lot/ completely/ exactly…
Example:
» This year population growth of the country is slightly larger than the previous year.
» This year population grown is almost twice than 2007.
» Sale of the company has increased quite a lot this year.
Using Appropriate Prepositions:
You must use the correct preposition in the IELTS writing task 1 to get a high score. Be accurate about the uses of to, by, of, off, in, on, for etc.
Examples:
» Papers are sold by the ream.
» Oranges are purchased and sold by the dozen.
» Students enrollment in the University has increased by 2% this year.
» Eggs are counted in dozens.
» Rice is measured in kg.
» He is junior to me by 4 years.
» The employees are paid per week in this factory.
» All these products are made of glasses.
Vocabulary – Using the appropriate “Prepositions”:
» It started at…, The sale started at $20…, It peaked at…
»Itr reached at/to…, It reached the lowest point /nadir at…
»It increased to 80 from 58. It decreased from 10 to 3.
»There was a drop of six units. It dropped by 3 units.
»It declined by 15%. There was a 10% drop in the next three years.
Formal and Informal expressions and words:
Few more informal expressions with their formal versions are given below. Since IELTS is a formal test, your writing should be formal as well. Using informal words or expressions should be avoided. Some of the informal words are so frequently used that it would be tough for you to eliminate them from your writing. However, we would suggest you make a habit of using formal words and expressions instead- for your performance and band score’s sake.
Informal | Formal |
Go up | Increase |
Go down | Decrease |
Look at | Examine |
Find about | Discover |
Point out | Indicate |
Need to | Required |
Get | Obtain |
Think about | Consider |
Seem | Appear |
Show | demonstrate/ illustrate |
Start | Commence |
Keep | Retain |
But | However |
So | Therefore/ Thus |
Also | In addition/ Additionally |
In the meantime | In the interim |
In the end | Finally |
Anyway | Notwithstanding |
Lots of/ a lot of | Much, many |
Kids | Children |
Cheap | Inexpensive |
Right | Correct |
I think | In my opinion |
Following are the vocabularies for Academic IELTS Writing Task 1 grouped as Noun, Verb, Adjective, Adverb, and Phrase to help you improve your vocabulary and understanding of the usages of these while describing a graph.
Noun:
Increase:
A growth: There was a growth in the earning of the people of the city at the end of the year.
An increase: Between the noon and evening, there was an increase in the temperature of the coast area and this was probably because of the availability of the sunlight at that time.
A rise: A rise of the listener in the morning can be observed from the bar graph.
An improvement: The data presents that there was an improvement of the traffic condition between 11:00 am till 3:00 pm.
A progress: There was a progress in the law and order of the city during the end of the last year.
Rapid Increase:
A surge: From the presented information, it is clear that there was a surge in the number of voters in 1990 compared to the data given for the previous years.
A rapid increase/ a rapid growth/ a rapid improvement: There was a rapid growth in the stock value of the company ABC during the December of the last year.
N.B: Following adjectives can be used before the above nouns to show a rapid growth/ increase of something:
Rapid, Sudden, Steady, Noticeable, Mentionable, Tremendous, huge, enormous, massive, vast, gigantic, monumental, incredible, fabulous, great etc.
(The above list is the words which are actually adjective and can be used before nouns to show the big changes)
Highest:
A/ The peak: The number of visitors reached the peak in 2008 and it exceeded 2 million.
Top/ highest/ maximum: The oil prices reached to the top/ highest in 1981 during the war.
N.B: Some of the words to present the highest/ top of something are given below:
Apex, pyramid, zenith, acme, obelisk, climax, needle, spire, vertex, summit, tower, most, greatest, max, tops, peak, height, crown…
Changes:
A fluctuation: There was a fluctuation of the passenger numbers who used the railway transportation during the year 2003 to 2004.
A variation: A variation on the shopping habit of teenagers can be observed from the data.
A disparately/ dissimilarity/ an inconsistency: The medicine tested among the rabbits shows an inconsistency of the effect it had.
Steadiness:
Stability: The data from the line graph show a stability of the price in the retail market from January till June for the given year.
A plateau: As is presented in the line graph, there was a plateau of the oil price from 1985 to 1990.
Decrease:
A fall: There was a fall in the price of the energy bulbs in 2010 which was less than $5.
A decline: A decline occurred after June and the production reached to 200/day for the next three months.
A decrease: After the initial four years, the company’s share price increased and there was a decrease in the loss it was bearing.
Using ‘Nouns’ and ‘Verbs’ to describe trends in a graph:
Direction:
Verbs Nouns
» Increased (to) An increase
» Rose (to) A rise
» Climbed (to) An upward trend
» Went up (to) A growth
Direction:
Verbs Nouns
» Surge A surge
» Boomed (to) A boom / a dramatic increase.
Direction:
Verbs Nouns
» Decreased (to) A decrease
» Declined (to) A decline
» Fell (to) A fall
» Reduce (to) A reduction
» Dipped (to)
» Dropped (to) A drop
» Went down (to) A downward trend
Direction:
Verbs Nouns
» Plunge
» Slumped (to) A slum / a dramatic fall.
» Plummeted (to)
Direction:
Verbs Nouns
» Remained stable (at)
» Remained static (at)
» Remained steady (at)
» Stayed constant (at)
» Levelled out (at) A level out
» Did not change No change
» Remained unchanged No change
» Maintained the same level
» Plateaued (at) A plateau
Direction:
Verbs Nouns
» Fluctuated (around) A fluctuation
» Oscillated An oscillation
Direction:
Verbs Nouns
» Peaked (at) The peak/ apex/ zenith/ summit/ the highest point
Direction:
Verbs Nouns
» Bottomed (at) The lowest point/ the bottom/ bottommost point
Use ‘adjective/adverb’ to indicate the movement of a trend.
Examples:
1. There has been a slight increase in the unemployment rate in 1979 at which point it stood at 12%.
2. The price of gold dropped rapidly for the next three years.
Use ‘adjective’ to modify the ‘Noun’ form of a trend and use ‘adverb’ to modify the ‘verb’ form of a trend.
Greater or Higher?
We usually use ‘greater’ when we compare two numbers, and ‘higher’ while comparing two percentages or ratio. Reversely, ‘smaller or fewer’ could be used to compare two numbers and ‘lower’ to compare two percentages or ratios. The following table would make it clear —
Examples:
1. The number of male doctors in this city was greater than the number of female doctors.
2. The number of European programmers who attended the seminar was fewer than the number of Asian programmers.
3. The percentage of male doctors in this city was higher than the percentage of female doctors.
4. During 2010, the inflow of illegal immigrants was lower than that of 2012.
5. the birth rate in Japan in 2014 was higher than the birth rate in 2015.
Vocabulary to compare to what extent / to (/by) what degree something is greater/higher than the other.
» Overwhelmingly, Substantially, Significantly. Considerably.
» Moderately, Markedly.
» Hardly, Barely, Slightly, Fractionally, Marginally.
Vocabulary to show the sequence:
» Subsequently, Respectively, Consecutively, Sequentially.
» Previous, Next, First, Second, Third, Finally, Former, Latter.
Tips:
“The market shares of HTC, Huawei, Samsung, Apple and Nokia in 2010 were 12%, 7%, 20%, 16% and 4% globally.”
This above sentence makes it ambiguous to understand which mobile brand had what percentage of market share. If there are more than 2 values/ figures, you should always use ‘consecutively/ sequentially/ respectively‘. Using either of these words would eliminate any doubt about the above sentence as it will clearly state that the percentages of market shares mentioned here would match the mobile brands sequentially (i.e. first one for the first brand, the second one for the second brand and so on.)
“The market shares of HTC, Huawei, Samsung, Apple and Nokia in 2010 were 12%, 7%, 20%, 16% and 4% respectively in the global market.”
Note: You do not need to use ‘consecutively/ sequentially/ respectively’ if there are only two values to write.
Vocabulary to show transitions:
Vocabulary to describe different types of data/trends in a paragraph while showing a smooth and accurate transition is quite important. Following word(s)/ phrase(s) would help you do so in an excellent way…
- Then
- Afterwards
- Following that
- Followed by
- Next
- Subsequently
- Former
- Latter
- After
- Previous
- Prior to
- Simultaneously
- During
- While
- Finally.
Few More Vocabularies:
Few more useful vocabulary to use in your report writing:
- Stood at
- A marked increase
- Steep
- Gradual
- Hike
- Drastic
- Declivity
- Acclivity
- Prevalent
- Plummet
Useful phrases for describing graphs:
- To level off
- To reach a plateau
- To hit the highest point
- To stay constant
- To flatten out
- To show some fluctuation
- To hit the lowest point
- Compared to
- Compared with
- Relative to
You will often need to use ‘adjectives’ and ‘adverbs’ to indicate the speed of changes in the trend (called ‘Degree of Speed) in your answer. Following is a list of vocabularies that will help you present the quick changes quite effectively.
Adjectives:
» Rapid, Quick, Sharp, Swift, Sudden, Wild.
» Steady, Gradual, Moderate
» Slow, Gentle.
Adverbs:
» Rapidly, Quickly, Sharply, Swiftly, Suddenly, Wildly.
» Steadily, Gradually, Moderately
» Slowly, Gently.
A different set of vocabulary to represent the ‘Degree of Trend’ would also be handy to summarise data presented in a graph. Both ‘adjective’ and ‘adverb’ form of this vocabulary list is given below. Use ‘adjectives’ to modify a ‘Noun’, while ‘adverbs’ should be used to modify a ‘verb’.
Adjectives:
» Significant, Huge, Enormous, Steep, Substantial, Considerable, Marked, Dramatic, Abrupt.
» Moderate, Slight.
» Minimum (singular), Minima (plural)
Adverbs:
» Significantly, Hugely, Enormously, Steeply, Substantially, Considerably, Markedly, Dramatically, Abruptly.
» Moderately, Slightly.
» Minimally
Vocabulary to describe a Map:
IELTS Map Example 1:
The map below is of the town of Garlsdon. A new supermarket (S) is planned for the town. The map shows two possible sites for the supermarket.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
IELTS Map Example 2:
The two maps below show an island, before and after the construction of some tourist facilities.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
» Horizontal, Vertical.
» Circle, Square, Rectangle.
» Across, Across from.
» Under, Over, Inside, Beside, On top of, Adjacent, Opposite, Next to.
» Along, Through, As far as.
» Midpoint, Halfway, In the middle.
» Intersection, Overlapping.
» Exterior.
» Parallel to, Parallel, Perpendicular to.
» Edge, Diagonal.
» In front of the, Behind the.
» To the right, To the left.
» On the right-hand side, On the left-hand side.
» North, South, East, West.
» Northern, Southern, Eastern, Western.
» To the north, To the East…
» Where.
» In which, To which, From which.
» Built, Erected, Replaced.
» Situated, Located.
» Changed to/ Converted/ Gave way to/ Became.
» While in 2001, it was ……, later, it was converted to ……
Vocabulary to describe a Process Diagram:
In Introduction:
The diagram/ picture/ flow chart depicts/ illustrates/ describes the proces of/ how….
While Describing the Process:
A) First/ Firstly, Second/ Secondly, Third/Thirdly …… Next/ After that/ Then, Following that/Followed by, Subsequently/ Subsequent to that, Finally/ Lastly…
B) Where/ From where/ After which/ After that/ Afterward…
C) When/ As soon as/ Immediately, Just after that…
D) At the beginning, In the end, Just after the beginning, Just before the end…
To denote the end of a step:
A) After this step/ stage/ process…
B) Once this stage/ step is completed…
To donate what a Step involves:
A) The phase/ step/ stage involved…
To denote the repetition of a cycle/ process:
A) The cycle/ process then repeat itself.
B) The cycle/ process is then repeated.
Vocabulary to describe Predictions:
Some graphs and diagrams not only list down the data that represent something from the past or the present time but also gives a prediction of the future. For instance, a line graph might present the population of a country from 1950 to 2050, over a hundred years. If you are taking the IELTS exam in 2017, you need to describe the population of this country till 2016 using the past tense. For the population figure in 2017, you will use the present tense. Finally, the population from 2018 till 2050 is a prediction and hence you should be using the future tense while describing it in your writing. Moreover, you need to use certain vocabularies to represent such future data/ predictions. Following is a list of such vocabularies to help you accurately describe any predicted data —
It is predicted/ estimated/ projected/ forecasted/ expected/ anticipated that……… will ………..
Is /are predicted/ estimated/ projected/ forecasted/ expected/ anticipated to …………
It gives prediction/ estimation/ projection/ forecast of ……….
It …… will ………
……. Will have ……. by ……. (year/month/decade)…….
Vocabulary to show the value/ Incorporate data/ figure:
You should not write down every piece of data/figure that is given in the diagram in your report writing and doing so would actually hurt your band score. You are expected to mainly show the following in your report writing: —
- Comparison of data/trend
- Contrast of data/trend
- Most significant figures/data/information/ trend (typically 4-6)
- The highest point
- The lowest point
- The overall scenario.
However, to compare/contrast data or to show a significant change/trend you will need to show a figure that you will use as the base. For example, The British spent over eighty thousand Pounds on average which was twice than the spending of Americans and approximately quadruple than that of Irish. Here, over 80 thousand pounds is the base figure.
Following is a list of vocabulary to use to show such figures in your report writing:
Is/ was/ were: The percentage of foreign students was exactly ten in 2001 in this university and it rose three times in ten years.
Stand at/ Stood at: The percentages of males and females who opined that they should be allowed to get married at 21 stood at 14 and 16 in 1990 but witnessed a noticeable decline in 2010.
Exactly & As high as: The sale in March was exactly 400 and went up as high as 1100 in June.
Using (): In summer, the number of refrigerators sold (154) was far greater than the refrigerators sold (63) in winter.
Which:
1. From January to March the death case rose three times which was only 23 between October and December.
2. The temperature, which was 21 degrees C in March, climbed to 39 degrees C in mid-July.
Makes up: In the first decade, the population remained steady, which made up 2.8 million approximately, but it doubled in the next 30 years.
Constitutes: The initial expenditure, which constituted 280 USD, climbed rapidly and reached the peak during 2014.
Accounts for:
1. In June 2016. the number of Asian students enrolment in this university accounted for 45 which is estimated to be almost double in the next year.
2. The number of infected people, which accounts for nine, is markedly lower than the number of infected patients in the last month, which accounted for forty.
Vocabulary to write the Conclusion part:
To draw the conclusion: In conclusion / To conclude / On the whole.
To Summarize: In short / In brief / To sum up / In summary.
However, according to some teachers and examiners, a more appropriate ways of drawing the conclusion of your graph writing should start with the words/ phrases:
Generally,
Generally speaking,
All in all,
From the graphs, it is quite evident that.
Examples:
1. In conclusion, third world countries have improved their production sectors like garments, over the last 10 years whereas the first world countries have improved their technology and research sectors during the same period.
2. In brief, the overall sale of the company has improved in the last 5 years except 2005 when the sale reduced significantly due to retrenchment.
3. All in all, the process of building an IC is a complex one and involves more than eight steps to complete including the testing phase.
4. It is quite evident that the women employment progressed remarkably in the last decade and in some employment sectors women are well ahead of men.
5. To conclude, weather forecasting is a complex process and a great deal of technology is used to prepare and broadcast the reliable weather forecasting.
Tip: ‘In a nutshell‘ is not a formal expression and this is why you should not use it in your IELTS Writing.
Everybody uses some common vocabularies to describe a diagram and to write a report. For instance, there would be hardly anyone who does not use the words ‘increase, decrease, fall, higher, fluctuate, climb, decline, quickly increase, sharply decrease, and those are really obvious words used by most of the IETLS candidates. If you too use these overused words and phrases, you would not be able to give an impression that your range of vocabulary is stronger and richer than others.
» Illustration: can replace – “diagram, chart.”
» As the diagrams suggest: can replace – “As can be seen, According to the diagrams.
» Illustrate: can replace – “describe, show, present data on.”
» Trifling: can replace – “small, insignificant.”
» Delineate: can replace – “show, present, describe.”
» From this graph, it is quite evident that: can replace – “In conclusion, In summary, In general.”
» The most possible ground: can replace – “the most common reason.”
» Elaborate: can replace – “describe, explain.”
» Nadir: can replace – “the lowest point.”
» Apex/ Vertex: can replace – “the highest point.”
» Soared: can replace – ” sharply increased.”
» Skyrocketed: can replace – ” very quickly increased.
» Frantically: can replace – “very quickly, very rapidly.”
» Slumped: can replace – “quickly dropped.”
» Plummeted: can replace – “quickly dropped.”
» Surged: can replace – “went up, climbed, increased.”
» Deteriorate: can replace – “fall.”
» Dip: can replace – “fall, decline.”
» Dive: can replace – “fall, drop.”
» Go into free-fall: can replace – “fall, drop, decline, decrease.”
» Plummet, plunge, slum: can replace – “fall, drop, decline.”
» Take a nosedive: can replace – “reduce, drop, fall, decline.”
» Slide: can replace – “drop, fall.”
» Decade: can replace – “ten years.”
» Projected: can replace – “predicted, forecasted, estimated.”
» Overwhelmingly: can replace – “greatly, significantly.”
» Hardly: can replace – “barely, merely,
» At the onset it is clear: can replace – “As can be seen from the graph.”
» Indicate: can replace – “point out.”
» All in all: can replace – “In summary, in conclusion.”
» Obtain: can replace – “get.”
» Commence: can replace – “start”.
» In the interim: can replace – “in the meantime.”
» Correct: can replace – “right”.
» Inexpensive: can replace – “cheap.”
» Depict: can replace – “show.”
» Plateaued: can replace – “remained the same.”
» Oscillate/ Vacillate/ Palpipate: can replace – “fluctuate.”
» Declivity: can replace – “drop, fall, decrease”.
» Acclivity: can replace – “An upward slope, an upward trend, increase.”
» A steep fall: can replace – “A quick fall”.
Vocabulary to ensure high band score in IELTS Graph writing:
Few more useful vocabulary to ensure high band score in IELTS Graph writing:
- Plateau
Meaning: Reach a state of little or no change after a period of activity or progress, levelled out.
Example: The share price of the ACME company have plateaued out.
- Dip
Meaning: Submerge, lower plunge, sink.
Example: The employee satisfaction score then dipped in 2005 and remained at this level for the next three years.
- Slump
Meaning: Decrease, decline, deteriorate.
Example: The number of passengers then slumped and reached to only 2500 compared to four thousand in the previous year.
- Steep
Meaning: Sheer, sharp, abrupt, perpendicular.
Example: The steep decline of the heavy drinkers contributed to the enhanced life expectancy in this country.
- Substantial
Meaning: Notable, considerable, significant, marked
Example: A substantial number of these diploma holders did not finish their tertiary education.
- Dramatic
Meaning: Significant, notable, noteworthy, remarkable, considerable, substantial.
Example: The dramatic rise of the car use has polluted the air.
- Gradual
Meaning: Step by step, slow but continuous, uniform, successive, progressive, steady, regular, even, consistent.
Example: The participation of women in these sectors gradually improved and in 2015, more than 38% women were employed in these job sectors.
- Decline
Meaning: Reduce, decrease, plummet, plunge, slump, shrink, fall off, lessen.
Example: Investment in clean energy declined in the third world countries in 2005 while it actually doubled in most of the first world countries.
- An upward trend
Meaning: The tendency of being higher, something that goes upward.
Example: An upward trend in the number of club members was visible from 2005 to 2007 after which it actually dropped.
- Respectively
Meaning: Consecutively, sequentially.
Example: Car theft cases in Denmark, Sweden, UK and Japan were respectively 240, 210, 354 and 189 in January 2018.
- Consecutively
Meaning: Sequentially, progressively.
Example: While the daily fast food consumption per person in the UK was 50 grams, it was 61, 32 and 25 grams in the USA, Sweden and China consecutively.
- Apex
Meaning: The highest point, peak, vertex, pinnacle, summit, top.
Example: The price then increased noticeably and reached the apex in 2017.
- Acclivity
Meaning: Ascent, climb, rise.
Example: The activity of the car ownership in Europe further developed and reached to 57% in 2011.
- Declivity
Meaning: A downward slope, decline, decrease.
Example: The declivity on the number of female members in 2011 was almost double than that of the previous year.
- Remained stable
Meaning: Remained constant, did not change.
Example: The ratio of highly skilled professionals in the former country increased significantly but remained stable in the later one.
- Plummet
Meaning: Plunge, fall, decline, slump, nosedive, drop, decrease.
Example: The ratio of unemployed youth, who have vocational education, plummeted in 2005 than that of two years earlier.
- Prevalent
Meaning: Common, general, usual, prevailing, widespread, endemic, rampant.
Example: The prevalence of the trend could be better understood if we compare the data with that of the last twenty years.
- Stood at
Meaning: To remain stable/ intact, to come to a stop.
Example: The old hospital stood at the same position as it was five decades earlier but the free-space in front of it was converted to a car parking area.
- Enumerate
Meaning: Identify, itemise, list, summarise, recite, specify, quote, relate.
Example: The illustration enumerates how Australian Bureau of Meteorology collects up-to-the-minute information on the weather.
- Radically
Meaning: Completely, hurriedly, abruptly.
Example: The technological advancement has radically changed the way employees used to work in their offices.
- Positive development
Meaning: Improvement, progress, stay forward, increase, grow, rise.
Example: The increasing number of female executives in the company is considered a positive development.
- Subsequent
Meaning: Following, next, successive, succeeding.
Example: Despite a hike at the beginning of the year, the oil price steadily declined in the subsequent months until June 2017.
- Commence
Meaning: Start, begin, set in motion, open, initiate, inauguarate.
Example: The construction of the road was commenced at the beginning of 2001 and ended in 2003.
- Plunge
Meaning: Slump, plummet, shrink, fall off, decline, decrease, drop, reduce.
Example: Employers’ contribution to the fee for skill development courses has plunged to a great extent in the last decade, as the graph suggests.
- Surge
Meaning: Increase, went higher, jump.
Example: Duration of watching TV as a leisure activity surged among the elder people in Australia after 1998.
- To dive
Meaning: Fall, descent, plummet, plunge, nosedive, drop.
Example: Consumption of word resources in some Asian countries, on the contrary, has dived after 2014.
- Abrupt
Meaning: Swift, sudden, instantaneous, hurried, startling, unanticipated, unexpected, rapid, speedy.
Example: The abrupt rise of the population in the early 21st century is contrasting to that of the beginning of the 18th century, as the data suggests.
- Relative
Meaning: Correlative, corresponding, parallel, reciprocal.
Example: The academic performance and professional efficiency are somewhat relative to each other despite the presence of many other variables, according to the survey outcome.
- Modest
Meaning: Tolerable, adequate, moderate, fair, satisfactory, acceptable.
Example: The wheat export then witnessed a modest decline and it affected the revenue earned in 2015.
- Variation
Meaning: Disparity, inequality, dissimilarity, difference, variety, diversification.
Example: It can be inferred from the given data that variations in the pH values are sometimes detrimental.
- Elucidate
Meaning: Explain, make clear, clarify, throw/shed light on, explicate, annotate.
Example: The line chart elucidates how much waste was recycled in the UK between 1990 and 2015.
- Unravel
Meaning: Untangle, clear up, disentangle, explain, straighten out, separate out.
Example: The data unravel the fact that the crime rate increases in the later decades despite some stringent initiatives from the law-enforcers.
»» Make sure you know all of these words/ phrases and can use them while writing a report/ describing a graph.