Type of Graphs

1. Line graph

2. Bar Chart or Column graph

3. Pie Chart

4. Table
 5. Multiple charts

6. Process or cycle

7. Describing Objects

8. Map

Now this number seems big, but fortunately the vocabulary you need to learn falls in only four
categories

1. Line graph vocabulary also called the time graph vocabulary

2. Percentage vocabulary

3. Process vocabulary

4. Maps vocabulary
How to write a graph
Introduction

You need only one or two sentence describing the following

Body

What you need to do is to describe factually the graph. No specialized knowledge

of your own is needed nor your opinion.

You don’t need to analyze the data. For example , you need give the reason for
why figures are high or low. Sometimes, when there is more on graph, there is
relationship between the tow , and you can bring in some comparison between
them but going beyond this is not necessary

Ending / Overview

You need not write a long and analytical conclusion. This has to be the gist of the
graph.

No data needs to be added here. This can also be placed after the introductory
paragraph. A few graphs have been presented in this way . They have been added
as ‘another sample answer’

All graphs which show changes over time – whether they are line graphs , bar
graphs or a table need this vocabulary. All line graphs are time graphs but all time
graphs are not line graphs.
Useful language

Go down

Go up

No change

Small
Change
Large
change

Fluctuation - fluctuated

Peaked at OR reached a high of

Dipped OR reached a low of

Medium change – moderately ,

modestly

Time phrases
It is important that you know how to use the common expressions of time.

Here are the common ones:

• In: • For:
a. In 2000… a. for the first six months…
b. In the 20th Century… b. For twenty years…
c. In the first ten years…
• During: • From – to
a. During the first six months… a. From September to November
b. During the first half of this century… b. From 2000 to 2005
c. During the reminder of the year…
• Stood at/ started at/finished at

Note that you can refer to a decade as the 1980s etc. There is no apostrophe before the s.
 Two sentences to remember
From January to February, sales increased slightly.

From January to February, there was a slight increase in sales.

The above two sentences are foolproof sentences to get your sentence structuring right in the IELTS line
graphs. Of course, you must make these sentences longer by adding data and also make changes to
words like January according to your graphs. Of course , you must make these sentences longer by
adding data and also make changes to make like January according to your graph (for e.g. there may be
years in the graph you get ) but the basic structure of sentence remains the same. When you use the
adjective noun combination then the three words “there was a” always precedes the combination.

Talking about combinations – Only two type of word combinations can be used in the time graphs – The
adjective noun OR the verb adverb . You must learn the relevant vocabulary by making a table like the
one given below.

Verb Adverb Adjective Noun

Increased Slightly Slight Increase
Rose Rapidly Rapid Rise
Decreased Moderately Moderate Decrease
Grew Substantially Substantial Growth
Escalated Sharply Sharp Escalation
Dropped Dramatically Dramatic Drop
Climbed Minimally Minimal Climb
Fell Slightly Slight Fall
Remained stable – there was a stability

Leveled off - there was a leveling off

Using the right tenses

It is important to select the correct tenses

 For most graphs a specific time in the past will be given and you need to use the past simple
tense . if two things took place at the same time, you may use the past continuous tense for one
of them ( while laptop sale was rising during this periods ,there was no change in cell phone
sale)
 If you use since or recently it means that you are referring to events that have come up to the
present . that means using the present perfect tense , (the use of the internet has risen
enormously since the 1990s)
 With ‘by’ you will often need to use the past perfect or the future perfect tense (by the end of
the century the rate of urbanization had doubled)
 Percentage vocabulary

You should not keep repeating the same structure. The key language of percentage graphs is
proportions and percentages.

Common phrases to see are “the proportion of…” or “ the percentage of…”

This table presents some example of how you can change percentage to fractions or rations:

Percentage Fraction
80 % Four – fifths
75 % There – quarters
50 % Half
25 % A quarter
20 % A fifth
10 % One in ten
If the percentage are not exact as above, then you can use qualifiers to make sure your description
remains accurate. Here are some examples

Percentage Qualifier
77 % Just above the three quarters
77 % Approximately three quarters
49 % Just under a half
49 % Nearly a half
32 % Alost a third
This table present some examples of how you can change percentages to other phrases

Percentage Proportion/number/amount/majority/minority
75 % - 85 % A very large majority
65% - 75 % A significant proportion
10 % - 15 % A minority
5% A very small number
The words above are interchangeable, though number is for countable nouns and amount is for
uncountable nouns.
 How to incorporate data in the graphs?

There are two ways of incorporating data

1. By using brackets – (….)

2. By using – which +
 Is
 Makes up
 Constitutes
 Accounts for

Example sentences

 White is considerably more common than blue.

 White (55 %) is considerable more than blue (20 %).
 White , which is 55 % , is considerably more common than blue , which makes up 20 %.
 Red , which constitutes 28 % , is almost twice as popular as blue , which is 13.8 %.
 The other colors , which constitute * % are considerable less popular than blue (20%).

Grouping information

When you write a task 1 , you should always group information in logical way to make it easy to follow
and read

With an IELTS pie chart , the most logic thing to do is usually to compare categories together across the
charts , focusing on similarities and difference , rather than writing about each chart separately.

If you write about each one separately, the person reading it will have to keep looking between the
graphs in order to see how each category differs.
 1. The chart below shows the percentage of adults of different age groups in the UK who used the
internet every day from 2003-2006. Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the
main features, and make comparison where relevant.

Percentage of adulats by age group using the

internet from 2003 to 2006
120

100

80
2003

60 2004
2005
40
2006

20

0
16-24 25-44 45-54 55 -64 65 +

The given bar graph illustrates the percentage of adults of different age group using the Internet
between 2003 and 2006, in the great Britain. the over 65s had the least percentage of internet users.

The main users of the Internet were young adults aged between 16 and 24 years. In 2003 and 2004, they
shared the same percentage , which was 80 %. In 2005, this figure increased significantly to 100% , but
decreased slightly to 90% in the next year.

We can see from the chat that all the age groups experienced an upward trend as far as their daily use
of the Internet is conducted . in the 25 – 44 group , there was a gradual growth in the percentage, from
50 % to 80 % , between 2003 and 2006. There were similar increases for the 45 to 54 Years olds, rising
from 60 % in 2003 to 80 % in 2006. As for the other two groups, although the percentages had minor
fluctuation, the overall trend was upwards.

Overall, adults between 16 and 44 showed the greatest usage of the Internet and the users grew with
time regardless of their age.

(195 words)
 2. The chart below shows the percentage of whole population in four countries from 1950 to 2000,
with projections till 2050. Summaries the information by selecting and reporting the main
features, and make comparisons where relevant.

The given bar graph compares the changes in the proportion of population in India, China, the USA and
Japan in 1950 and 2000, and also indicates the projections for 2050. It is clear from the graph that China
had the highest percentage of world population in 1950 and 2000, but estimates show that India will
take the lead by 2050.

In 1950 , China accounted for a little over a quarter of the world’s population . although it decreased to
little under a quarter , it was still the highest in 2000, compared to the other three countries. It is
estimated that the population of China will continue to drop and would reach approximately 19% by
2050.

India showed an opposing tread to China. The population in India in 1950 was 15%, which was
considerably lower than that of China. However , the population increased moderately to 19% by 2020
and is further expected to grow and reach nearly 20 %, which would be the highest among the given
countries by 2050.

When it comes to the population of the USA and Japan , both showed a decreased from 1950 to 2000 . it
is predicted that the percentage will remain the same in the USA, whereas in Japan , the population is
likely to keep falling till 2050.

Overall, Japan had the least population in the given period, and the population is expected to decrease
to approximately 3% by 2050.

(241 words)
 3. The chart below shows the expenditure on three categories among different age groups of
residents in the UK in 2004. Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main
features, and make comparisons where relevant.

The given bar graph compares the amount of money spend by five age groups of the British citizen on
three different items, in the year 2004. It is interesting to note that the spending on food and drinks was
the least by the under 30s , and the highest by the above 76 age group.

It is noticeable that the largest proportion of spending went on food and drinks in most age groups,
except for the under 30s and those between 61 and 75 years of age. Expenditure on restaurant and
hotel was almost similar among all age groups below 60 years. They spent 12 – 14 % on this sector. The
61-75 and the 76 + age groups spent 2 % and & 5 respectively on restaurant and hotel. The under 45s
spent lesser on entertainment than on restaurant and hotel, but the vice versa true in their spending on
these two areas. They spent 2 % and 23% on restaurant and hotel, and entertainment respectively.

Overall, it is observed that as age advanced, the spending priorities of people changed. Older age groups
spent more on food and drink and entertainment . However, the 76+ age group did not give much
importance to entrainment.

(208 words)
 4. The charts below show the number of working hours per week, in industrial sector, in four
European countries in 2020. Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main
features, and make comparisons with relevant.

The given bar graphs compare the number of hours spent on work per week by industrial workers in
France, Denmark, Sweden and the UK in 2002. In three countries, it can be seen that the maximum
workers worked 36 – 40 hours, but in France the maximum workers worked 31-35 hours per week.

In France, approximately half the workers worked for 31-35 hours per week. The percentage of people
who worked for 36-40 hours and 46-50 hours was 35 % and 20 % respectively. The figures for the rest of
the working hours accounted for around 10 % workers each.

Denmark and Sweden witnessed the highest proportion of people working for 30 – 40 hours, which was
quite different from that of France. The second and the third place come from 31 – 35 hours and 42-45
hours workers (25% and 10 % Denmark; 35 % and 30 % in Sweden). The proportion of people working
for the remaining hours was higher in Denmark than in Sweden.

It s interesting to note that in the UK , the percentage of people working 50+ hours was the maximum .
Almost 50 % worked 36-40 hours per week.

Overall, France was a country where the people worked for the least hours , whereas the Swedish
people spent the most time on work among the people from different countries.

(224 word)